Author's Note:

Here's chapter 8! A special thanks to:

-iStoleYourBlueMoonIceCream

-candy0304

-PiperDiAngelo-ImNotInnocent

-IFoundAPickl

-KayCee

-Riley Coyote

-C-Nuggets N.L

-Moonglacier

-Hermes Salazar Snape

-Sanubisfan

-Ilovestories

-Charmes4ever

-AnotherReviewer

-Princessp

-Kevin Stutler

-I Love Guinea Pig

-OliverWoodFan

-Santos56

-WiseboyLibra

Thank you so much everyone!

Disclaimer: I don' own anything!

Chapter 8-A New Beginning

Dr. Luke Castellan pulled up to the curb of the airport precisely at the moment Annabeth's plane was touching down. He showed a special pass to a policeman, who nodded and promised to keep an eye on the car. Even the policeman smiled at the doctor. Luke was a man no one could ignore. He had an almost irresistible charm, and a strength that showed through everything he did.

He wove his way into the airport lobby and spoke rapidly to a ground supervisor. The man picked up a phone, and within moments the doctor was ushered through a door, down a flight of stairs, and into a tiny airport vehicle, and then rushed out to the run-way, where he saw the ambulance standing by and the attendants waiting for the patient to be taken off the plane. He thanked his driver and hurried to the ambulance, where he quickly checked inside to see that his orders had been carried out. They had been, to the letter. Everything was there that he needed. It was hard to tell what kind of shape his patient might be in after the flight, but he had wanted her in San Francisco immediately, so he could keep a close eye on things. He had a lot of planning to do, and work would begin in just a few days.

The other passengers were held back a few more minutes while Annabeth was carried out through the hatch. He liked the look of the nurses. They were young but competent, and they seemed to work well as a team. That was what he wanted. They were all going to be part of a team for the next two years, and everyone was important. There was no room for incompetence. Everyone had to be the very best they could be, including Annabeth. This is his special project. It's not everyday that banking icon Paul Blofis asked him for his service. But it's not really the money that mattered a lot to him but the love for his work. Surgery was his life. He took pride in the metamorphosis of things when a new creation comes out so good, so perfect after the treatment and leading a happier life. Yes, Annabeth will be better than she was before. He would see to that. She was going to be the star of this show. He watched her being carried toward him and waited until the stretcher had been gently set down inside the ambulance. He smiled at the nurses but said nothing, and held up a hand gesturing them to wait as he eased in beside Annabeth and sat down on a seat next to her. He reached for her hand and held it.

"Hello, Annabeth. I'm Dr. Luke Castellan. How was the trip?" he asked so casually as though they were long time friends, as though she was someone, not just a faceless blob. She could feel relief wash over her at the sound of his voice.

"It was okay. You're Dr. Castellan?" She sounded tired but interested.

"Yes. But just call me Luke. Dr. Castellan sounds too formal for people who will be working together." She liked the way he said it, and if she could have, she would have smiled.

"You came out to meet me?"

"Wouldn't you have come out to meet me?"

"Yes." She wanted to nod, but she couldn't. "Thank you."

"I'm glad I did. Have you ever been to San Francisco before, Annabeth?"

"No."

"You're going to love it. And we're going to find you an apartment you like so much you'll never want to leave here. Most people don't, you know. Once they dig in their heels, they want to stay here forever. I came out here from Chicago about fifteen years ago, and you couldn't get me back there on a bet." She laughed at the way he said it, and he smiled down at her. "Are you from the Philippines?" He was treating her as though they had been introduced by friends. But he wanted her to relax after the long flight. And a few minutes without movement would do her good. The nurses were also glad of the opportunity to stretch as they chatted with the two ambulance attendants. Now and then they glanced in to see Dr. Castellan still talking to Annabeth, and they liked him already. He exuded warmth.

"Yes and that's where I grew up."

"It sounds very romantic. Philippines is an archipelago in the tropics with thousands of islands. Are you a beach person?" He gave everything a light touch, a happy note. Annabeth smiled at the mention of a beach. She remembered Percy and how they spent most of their weekend in the islands of Palawan.

"Not really. I'm more of an artist. But I have lots of memories in the water." Because of Percy, she almost said aloud. She's excited how she will come out after two years. And how happy she and Percy will be after he found her. She will be beautiful again. And Paul Blofis will regret he ever made that bargain

"Really? Now after your treatment and I have given you a new face, can we scour the ocean bed and corals of Palawan? " And she laughed at the tone of his voice. "But you need to hide from the talent searchers because after we're through with our project, young lady, you're going to be ready for Hollywood." That was easy. She had Percy to get ready for.

"Oh, all right." She said it with laughter in her voice.

"That's better." He signalled to the two nurses to join them, and the attendants moved toward the front. She was ready to go now, and he didn't want to tire her with too much patter. "Why don't you introduce me to your friends."

"Well, let's see, the cold hands are Lily, and the warm ones are Gretchen." All four of them laughed.

"Thanks a lot, Annabeth." Lily laughed benevolently as Annabeth smiled to herself. She felt safe with her new-found friends, and all she could think of now was what she would look like for Percy after it was all over. Will she be beautiful? Will Dr. Castellan make her the way she looked before? Will Percy recognize her? She liked Luke Castellan, and suddenly she knew that he was going to make her someone very special, because he cared.

"Welcome to San Francisco, little one." Lily's cool hands ware replaced by his strong, graceful ones, and he kept a light hand on her shoulder all the way into the city. In an odd way, he made her feel as though she had come home.

The ambulance door swung open and they carried the stretcher expertly into the hotel. The manager was waiting to greet Percy, and the entire penthouse suite had been reserved for his use. They were only planning to stay for a day or two, but the hotel would provide a breather between hospital and home. Sally had business meetings, and besides, for some reason Percy had insisted on a few days in a hotel before going home. And his mother was ready to indulge to his every whim.

The ambulance attendants set him down carefully on the bed, and he made a face. "For goodness sake, there's nothing wrong with me, Mother. They all said I was fine."

"But there's no need to push."

He looked around the suite and groaned as she tipped the ambulance attendants, who promptly vanished. The room was filled with flowers, and there was a huge basket of fruit on the table near the bed. They owned the hotel. It was one of the very first investments his grandfather put into in the early days of his life.

"Now relax, darling. Don't get over excited. Do you want anything to eat?" She had wanted to keep the nurse, but even the doctor had said that was unnecessary, and it would have driven Percy crazy. All he had to do now was take it easy for another couple of weeks, and then he could go to work. But he had something else to do first. "How about some lunch?" Sally asked.

"Sure. Escargots. Oysters Rockefeller. Champagne. Turtles' eggs and caviar." He sat up in bed like a mischievous child.

"What a revolting combination, my love." But she wasn't really listening to him. She was looking at her watch. "But do order yourself something. Paul should be here any minute. Our meeting downtown is at one." She walked out of the room distractedly, to look for her briefcase, and Percy heard the doorbell at the front of the suite. A moment later, Paul Blofis walked into his room.

"Well, Percy, how are you feeling?"

"After two weeks in the hospital, doing absolutely nothing, I feel mostly embarrassed." He tried to make light of his situation, but there was still a broken look around his eyes. He remembered how they argued in the library the last time they saw each other. Which led him to pick up Annabeth and then the….his eyes gathered tears again… Annabeth…His mother saw the sad look in his eyes and she held his hand tight. "Please rest darling ." she whispered and prepared to go. To divert the topic from the accident, she talked about the business, and the plans for the medical center that would soon be built in San Francisco.

"San Francisco? We're pushing through with the medical center in San Francisco?"

"Yes and you will be the one to handle the project. The board will still finalize it in the next meeting but as soon as you have recovered Percy dear, there might be a need for you to go to San Francisco. Just to check out the details maybe. And guess what? Your friend Nico has announced his intention to work for our company. How about you two handling the project?"

"Mom that would be great. I'm now excited to start."

"Great!" and she gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"I stopped in at your new office this morning Percy. It looks very handsome indeed. Well suited for the new Executive Officer." Paul smiled and sat down at the foot of the bed.

"I'm sure it does." Percy watched his mother as she walked towards the door. She was wearing a light gray Chanel suit with a soft blue silk blouse, pearl earrings, and three strands of pearls around her neck. "Mother has excellent taste."

"Yes, she does." Paul smiled at her warmly, but she waved nervously at them both.

"Stop throwing roses; we're going to be late. Paul, do you have the papers we need?"

"Of course."

"Then let's go." She walked quickly toward Percy's bed. "Rest, darling. And don't forget to order lunch."

"Yes, mom. Good luck at the meeting."

Percy watched them go, and then he sat up.

He sat patiently and quietly, waiting and thinking. How would he work in the office now without Annabeth at his side? And again, the feeling of guilt crept in him. It was his fault. It was his entire fault that Annabeth died. He was the one on the wheels and he could never forgive himself for her death.

"Ready?" asked the nurse as Annabeth was wheeled through the operating room. A few days ago, they had already removed the bandages from her eyes and it's good to see the light again, the vibrant colours around and the clean hospital walls. Dr. Luke said she used her hands to shield her eyes on the day of the accident. Lucky for her, they were saved.

"I guess so." she answered as she entered the room. She couldn't feel anything above her shoulders; it was as though her head had been cut off. And the bright lights of the operating room made Annabeth want to squint, but she couldn't even do that. All she could see clearly was Dr. Luke's face as he bent over her, his neatly trimmed beard covered by a blue surgical mask, and his eyes dancing. He had spent almost three weeks studying the X-rays, measuring, sketching, drawing, planning, preparing, and talking to her. The only photograph of Annabeth he had was the one taken with Percy with a crowd of campers in a beach. But her face had been partially obscured by the silly board-walk facade. It gave him an idea though, a starting point, but he was going much farther than that. She was going to be a different girl when he was through, a person anyone would dream of being. He smiled down at her again as he saw her eyelids grow heavy.

"You're going to have to stay awake now, and keep talking to me. You can get drowsy but you can't go to sleep." Otherwise she might choke on her own blood, but she didn't need to know that. Instead he kept her amused with stories and jokes, asked her questions, made her think of things, dig up answers, remember the names of all the people she met since childhood.

"And just think, in another couple of weeks we'll get you your own apartment, maybe something with a view, and then … Hey, sleepyhead, what do you think of the view? Do you want to see the bay from the bedroom?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Just sure? You know, I think you're getting spoiled by the view from your room here at the hospital, Annabeth."

"That's not true. I love it."

"Okay, then we'll go out together and find you something even better. Deal?"

"Deal." Even with the sleepy voice, she sounded pleased. "Can't I go to sleep yet?"

"You know what, Princess, you just about can. Just a few more minutes and we'll whisk you back to your room and you can sleep all you want."

"Good."

"Have I been boring you then!" She giggled at his mock hurt. "There, love … all … set." He looked up at his assistant with a nod, stood back for a moment, and a nurse gave Annabeth a quick shot in the thigh. Then Luke stepped back to her side and smiled down at the eyes he already knew so well. He need not even see the rest. Not yet. But he saw the eyes. "Did you know that today is a very special day?"

"Yes."

"You did? How did you know?"

Because today is Percy's birthday, but she didn't want to tell him that He was going to be twenty-five years old today. She wondered what he was doing.

"I just knew, that's all."

"Well, it's special to me because this is the beginning. Our first surgery together, our first step on a wonderful road towards a new you. How about that?" He smiled at her then, and she quietly closed her eyes and fell asleep. The shot had taken effect.

That's all my beloved readers! Poor Percy overworking himself. Here's a sneak peek!

"So what's up, Nico? How were the Hamptons this summer?"

Nico sat very still for a moment, watching him, before he answered. "Do you really care?"

"About you or the Hamptons?" Percy's smile looked pasted on, and he had the ghostly pallor of November. It was obvious he had gone nowhere all summer. "I care a lot about you, Nico."

"But not about yourself. Have you looked in the mirror lately? You'd scare Bellatrix Lestrange with that uncombed hair. It's like you just came out of Azkaban."

"Gee, thanks."

"Don't mention it. Anyway, that's why I'm here."

"On behalf of Bellatrix?"

"No, mine." Nico laughed. "Mom and Dad want you to come up to the Cape this weekend. They do. I do. We all do. And listen, if you say no, I'll come across that desk and drag you out of here. You need to get out of here." Nico wasn't smiling anymore. He was dead serious, and Percy knew it. But he shook his head.

"I'd love to, Nico. But I can't. I've got that project in San Francisco to worry about, and forty-seven thousand problems with it that we just can't seem to solve. You know. You were in that meeting yesterday."

"So were twenty-three other people. Let them handle it. For a weekend at least or is your ego such that you can't let anyone else touch your work?"

But they both knew it wasn't that work had become his drug. It numbed him to everything else. And he had been abusing the job since the day he walked into the office.

"Come on, Percy. Be good to yourself. Just this once."

"I just can't, Nico."

"Oh come on, man, what do I have to say to you? Look at yourself. Don't you care? You're killing yourself, and for what?" His voice roared across the office and hit Percy with an almost physical force as he watched his friend's face convulse with emotion. "What's the use, Perce? If you kill yourself, it won't bring her back. Annabeth is dead and you're alive. Twenty-six years old and alive—and wasting your life, driving yourself mad. Is that what you want? To live, eat; sleep, drink, and die in this business? Is that it for you now? Is that who you are? Well, I don't believe it. I know someone else in that skin of yours, mister, and I love that other person. But you happen to be treating him like a dog, and I won't let you do that. You know what you should be doing? You should be out there, living. Get out of your casket, Percy, before—"

"Cut it out Nico. Nothing you say will make me stand up here and take things easy."

"But it's your birthday pal and you ought to be celebrating. We ought to be celebrating."
Percy just looked at him seriously devoid of any emotions as if staring at a blank wall.

Nico left the office at six thirty that night, and when he looked up from the street, he could still see the lights burning in Percy's office. He knew they would still be lit at eleven or twelve midnight. He had a couch brought inside his office so that he could give his body a stretch whenever he wanted to. His mother was terribly worried. He came out of the accident and recovered but now he is killing himself. What Sally did not know was that he just wanted to numb himself of the pain. The pain of losing Annabeth in his life. How she missed her! One night, while everybody was sleeping he was just there sitting in that Louis IV chair holding a picture of Annabeth and his tears fell. One by one. He sobbed like a child. They had been happy hitching their bike at Granny's house just that day and strolling at the beach making a promise to never say goodbye and the following morning she was gone. He did not even see her dead body or where she was buried. After the accident, nobody knew. Even Thalia. She was just as mystified as he was. She was not informed of Annabeth's death. She gathered all of Annabeth's things in boxes and one day she was horrified! All the boxes were gone. Nobody knew who stole them. A neighbour said she saw some nurses bringing Annabeth's things and putting them in a van but why nurses? There was simply no hospital that got her record. Poor Annabeth! Why would somebody do these things to her?

R&R