A/N: Even I wanted to know where this was going…so…I typed up another chapter…and…eh…you guys…are…eh…youaregonnahatemesomuch.

What? Who said that…?

Well, enjoy. This is set up like a song-fic, it just adds more emphasis to the chapter, I think. The sing is Slipped Away by Avril Lavigne. I do not own said song.

I do not own PJO…

Note: I do suggest that reader discretion be advised. There is references to death in this, but in a different way.

Also, if you don't do the whole sappy "I need you", "I miss you," "I need to see you," "I love you so much," Romeo & Juliet "I'll kill myself to see you again," blah, blah…GTFO (in a totally nice way). This is the whole chapter. Come back next time! *Waves happily* Even I don't do it much. But…I liked writing it :D

Chapter Fourteen: Slipped Away

Six Months Later

December

Poseidon stood up. Adjusting the computer's direction, he sighed. Still the same boring job, still the same rowdy class of seniors. He couldn't wait for summer vacation. For the beach, for the time away from this place. But as much as he wanted summer to come, he also didn't. He didn't even want today to come.

He smiled sadly at the picture on his desk. It was a lovely woman with long, curly black hair, holding a small one-month old girl in her lap. Her smile was as white as snow, and her lips as red as a rose. Her gray eyes were startling, but held a calm tone. Her pale skin stood out in comparison to the tan man beside her, himself. Aphrodite had taken that picture.

Walking out of the classroom, he turned off the lights.

He drove slowly. The snow was piled high on the roads, and the flurries made it hard for him to see. But he never stopped. While not wanting to approach the place he was going, he also wanted to more than he had wanted anything in his life.

Finally, when he reached the old place, he reached over into the other seat. He grabbed what he needed, and got out of the car. Shutting the door loudly, he shivered as he walked to the gate. He saw a family of three inside the grounds, too, but on the opposite side of where he was going. After minutes of walking through the high snow, he reached the marking he was looking for.

He wanted so badly to use her mortal name, so that if he thought about it, she would feel like a stranger. But he couldn't. He'd be dishonoring her.

He took a look at it.

Athena
A brave woman who fought for what she believed in.

When most people passed, they assumed she was in the army. Maybe the Navy. Marines. Nothing else was said about her, so they assumed she was in the Armed Forces.

But they were wrong.

Really, she was once a woman who used to be immortal. She was a goddess. And even though nobody would ever say it to her face, she was a stuck-up stick in the mud. But she finally let go, a little bit, when she was forced to be mortal. She had fun. She had friends. And she became a mother, and almost a wife.

Her whole life changed.

She fought for her daughter's life, and for the sake of Olympus. She had never in her life, mortal or immortal, been greedy, as it was unwise. She was all about being wise. But the last day she lived, she followed her heart rather than her mind.

And that one time she did that, she died. And it was cruel.

Na na
Na na na na na

Poseidon walked up to her grave. He placed the wreath with red roses on it. He sat down beside the grave, and sat there for quite a while.

I miss you
Miss you so bad
I don't forget you
Oh, it's so sad

I hope you can hear me
Oh, I remember it clearly
The day you slipped away
Was the day I found it won't be the same

Oh

He began talking to her. He knew she wasn't really there, but he had hoped that Hades would somehow let her hear what he had to say. He blabbered at first, jumping from one thing to another. He had started at what it was like alone now, and ended up somehow talking about Christmas, which was fast approaching. Suddenly, he stopped.

He laughed. "If you can hear, you really couldn't care less, could you? I hope you can hear, though. It is bringing some comfort." He stopped for a while, staring at the snow growing on the tops of the trees.

"I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I really need to talk about it. The day…I mean, the day you…died." Poseidon sighed again. "But I just can't say it out loud…"

The day she died, after Poseidon had said Hera had won, many things happened. Hera took rule soon after. The other gods were banned from leaving Olympus ever again, under order of Hera. He was kicked out from Olympus, holding Athena's dead body in his bare hands. He had to walk through the dark, crime filled streets of New York, carrying a bloodied Athena where everyone could see.

A police officer stopped him. He had to take him in and explain. They were about to launch a murder trial when he stopped them, saying he killed the person who killed Athena in self-defense, as she was coming after him. When they asked where the body was, he lied and said he didn't know, he had walked so far, came such a long way with his dead fiancée in his hands. He was lying the whole time.

The only time he told the truth was when he sobbed to them about how much he loved her.

So they, willingly, allowed her to be kept in the examination room. They paid for the funeral for him. It was held the next week. When asked who to invite, he said the whole class of hers that year, as she was a teacher. Every person came. Molly Hedge came, and for once in her life, the only time anyone had seen, she cried.

When asked if she had any family, Poseidon said there was only him and their dead daughter. This caused several investigators and policemen alike to frown. He had lost so much…

But before any of this had happened, right after Hera left, all the other gods were forced into their quarters. Zeus had no control of what he did, Hera ordered him to. She threatened to make them mortal again and kill them off, too.

Poseidon was left alone in the bloodied, beaten throne room. He sat on his knees, and pulled the cold corpse of Athena close to him. He closed her eyes and laid her in his arms. He kissed her cheek, disregarding the blood and cuts. He wiped away some still fresh on her face with his hand. Since she wasn't coming back, he slowly pulled the glass long enough to get out from her head. He brushed off the granite that left imprints in her head. Took out the shattered pieces in her arms and legs. He tore off the bottom of his shirt and wrapped it around her chest. He couldn't look at the fatal blow that ended her…

He did not cry until the forensics analyst asked him to leave the room. While she undressed the girl, cleaning her wounds and stitching them, although it would never help, Poseidon sat outside, his back against the glass. He didn't want them to see him like he was…

They told him to go in. So he did. And he looked at her. They asked for her name, so they could put it on her exam table. He had said, "She went by Graeae Alisha. But her real name was Athena." They asked if Graeae was her middle name, and that be the reason. Too numb to try to explain, and knowing that if he had explained why that was her name, really, he would be shipped off to a mental hospital, he just nodded. So they put that, Athena, simply beside her.

Waking from his sad reverie, Poseidon glanced at the grave once again. "I just can't say it, but I have to."

Na na
Na na na na na

I didn't get around to kiss you
Goodbye on the hand
I wish that I could see you again
I know that I can't

I hope you can hear me
'Cause I remember it clearly
The day you slipped away
Was the day I found it won't be the same

Oh

Poseidon gazed off again, looking out at the dark, starry sky. He had been there longer than it felt. He no longer felt cold, just numb. "Athena, I never even got my chance to kiss you," he whispered.

He longed for her to talk back, to tell him something.

But she didn't.

"I'm sorry," he added. "I tried to save you,"

He did. He had tried making deals with Zeus, Hades, and even Hera. But they all said no. Hera, of course, just because she "hated the dumb brat," as she said. And Zeus and Hades because if they agreed to help, she would turn them mortal with Hecate's spell and kill them. She had told them this many times.

He had no idea how, but he had contacted Zeus, Hades, and Hera. Even though Hera put up a border between mortals and gods, he assumed it was because he used to be one, it didn't have a strong effect on him. He had made it passed the newly-improved border of Olympus. And of course, he knew how to get to Hades, as Hades was his brother. But he gave up, for none would help him.

The wreath he had put on her grave was now covered in snow. He moved it up from under it, and put it on top once again.

"Hera, please," he begged. "Just let me talk to her, just this once. It's been exactly six months since she's died…I miss her so much. PLEASE! HERA! JUST THIS ONCE!" He screamed up at the sky.

Suddenly, a gold light encased Poseidon. He was up on Olympus, he could tell, the next minute.

He came face-to-face with Hera. "Well? Why must you see her?" The Queen asked, sitting with poise on her throne.

"I love her, that's why."

Hera sniggered. "Well, mortals don't get the opportunity to see their loved ones once they are dead. I am afraid you are no exception."

"Please, Hera. I'll do whatever you ask." Poseidon said.

Hera raised her head. "Anything I ask?"

Poseidon nodded. "Anything. Anything at all,"

Hera chuckled. "I ask…that you leave now. And do not try to get me to let you see that piece of filth again."

"No. I'm not leaving." Poseidon said, roughly. "Not until I get what I want."

Hera smiled. "Ah, isn't it sweet? What a lover will risk for the other. You do know I can strike you dead right now, do you not?"

Poseidon shrugged. "Then do it. Show me. Because I think you are a coward. You wouldn't. You know then Zeus would get angry and overthrow you. He'd gain more power. If I go, he gets the control of the sea, doesn't he? Because no matter who sits in that throne, my brother is the ruler of the gods. He's just playing along in your games so none of his other children get killed."

Hera shrugged in return. "I am stricken with which to do. But killing you would bring you happiness, would it not? For, you would see your precious Athena. Keeping you alive makes you beg for me to let you see her."

Poseidon counteracted. "Then I'll kill myself, Hera. I didn't want to have to. But I see that maybe it is the only way," he said.

"Even if you did, I'd bring you right back. You'd be stuck here, as a god, with me." The gold encompassed him again.

He was back in the large house. It was empty and quiet. The only things left were himself and the three dogs. He had left each of the friends' rooms as they were before they left—when they had expected to come back. Especially Athena's. Not one single thing was moved. Even the several books that lay open on their page were left untouched. Her bed was still perfectly neat, he never sat on it. Except for this night. This night, Poseidon slept in Athena's room, and turned the not-broken, replaced baby-monitor he had bought for her on. It brought him some comfort to hear the buzzing from the other room's silence. It brought him some comfort to smell her, one last time…

TIME SKIP

One and a Half Years Later

Poseidon woke up in Athena's room. Once every six months, he had decided, he would sleep in there. Just to remember her.

He groggily sat up. He hated this day, the actual anniversary of her death. It killed him slightly to know that today, two years ago, he was too late to save her…too late…

He went through the day, somehow. Nearing the evening, he set out to her grave. This was a constant place for him now. He watched as the sun's last rays shone upon her grave. Once it was night, he moved closer to the grave. He wanted so badly to see her…but she was nothing but a skeleton now. Bones. No flesh. No sign of life anywhere except his memory.

I've had my wake up
Why won't you wake up
I keep asking why

I can't take it
It wasn't fake, it
It happened, you passed by

Now you're gone, now you're gone
There you go, there you go
Somewhere I can't bring you back

Now you're gone, now you're gone
There you go, there you go
Somewhere, you're not coming back

The day you slipped away
Was the day I found it won't be the same
The day you slipped away
Was the day I found it won't be the same

Why couldn't she come back? It was so cruel! Athena deserved to live! If anyone should've gone, it's me, he thought.

"I love you," he said. It was the first time he'd uttered those words to her so lovingly, but she couldn't hear it. And it was unfair.

He drove back home. No radio on. Just the sound of the car speeding down the highway. No TV on when he got home. Just the sound of the dogs' snoring as he walked in.

He went to grab something from the kitchen. Should he? It would insult Athena for sure. But it was the only way to see her. Then he would apologize for doing such a thing. Such a thing that happened to her in a horrible way. And he would be doing it to himself.

Or the cabinet, there was that, too. He had been prescribed anti-depressants since she died. It would be so simple to take a few too many, and just go when he was asleep…

Would that insult her, too? Of course it would. Why would he take his own life when Athena had been stolen from hers? It would make her mad. She would hate him. Surely she wanted him to just get through life happily.

After all, he would be a god again after he died. It's not like he could stay with her. Hera made that clear. He would see her for a moment. But then he's be taken away from her. He'd be trapped on the mount for the rest of eternity, never permitted to leave.

There was too much confusion. Certainly, nobody was supposed to live this way. Nobody should be forced to live such a life.

Na na
Na na na na na

I miss you…

But he missed her so much. He wanted to see her face…

A/N: Well. There you go.

SUZIE'S QUESTION CORNER!

-Will he do it?

-Will someone stop him?

-Will Athena be saved?

-Was this in any way sucky? (I think it was very sucky. I hated this chapter.)

I love feedback almost as much as Aphrodite loves love!

~Suzie