HEY THERE! First week of college was so much fun! I've never had this much free time before. It's amazing! I've been writing a lot (sort of) but yeah... This is the moment you've all been waiting for... This chapter also marks the halfway point for this story. Yeah... It's pretty short. But I want to be able to focus on my classes this semester. I'm not gonna get into Medical school with Bs and Cs now am I? Well, Here's the next chapter for ya! But first...
Beeimahalfblood: You're gonna get more than just an epilogue for their life after the island. ;)
Ancient Tide: No... Sorry, no Poseidon or Triton in this one. Percy's pretty much gotten over the whole heiress thing with Annabeth but who knows what'll happen next? Oh yeah... I do. :P
A Faulty Spell Casting Demigod: By catching a fish with a stick... does actual fishing count? LOL! No, I've never had anything in this story happen to me in real life. And about that almost kiss... You may love me, or you may hate me. We'll find out after you read this chapter.
redconverse 23 (Guest): I'm doing pretty good! I'm 18 but I won't tell you where I'm from cuz I don't really put that stuff out there... But yes, I do remember #sorrynotsorry... so... #cheeseballs :)
Arbiter Prime: I don't know why, but I did too! LOLOL! My cousins play Minecraft all the time so...
the one and only anonymous: I don't really have much to say to you review except: ;)
and now for the...
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Percy Jackson and the Olympians... Obviously since I am in no way, shape, or form Rick Riordan.
Annabeth woke up to the sound of waves crashing and the sun beating down on her. It wasn't too hot, though, as it was still morning. She remembered that she and Percy had built the base of a shelter and a couple of cots for them to sleep in. With the black haired marine biologist in her mind, she looked over beside her and saw him still slumbering, a trail of saliva sliding down his chin. She smiled at the sight. She wasn't really one for calling things cute but she had to admit, Percy Jackson was freaking adorable.
As if on cue, Percy smacked his lips and his eyes fluttered open as his sight adjusted to the bright sun. They're eyes connected and they stared at each other for a while before Annabeth figured she should say something. She thought about saying 'good morning,' or 'how did you sleep,' but she was still thinking about him and his drool and noticed that the trail was still there so she didn't really have control when she blurted, "You drool in your sleep." Percy's hand wiped at his mouth and surrounding areas and managed to wipe it off.
"Sorry," he apologized.
Annabeth simply giggled in response. Then, she noticed the bandage still wrapped around his hand. "Let me change the dressing on your hand," she said holding her own hand out.
"Annabeth," Percy countered. "I told you yesterday that I was fine."
"I know. And I believe you," she replied. "But I still want to change the bandages. You could get an infection if I don't." Percy sighed in agreement and let Annabeth lead him back to the airplane where she re-cleaned and redressed the cuts and scrapes.
"So… We're going to continue building our shelter today, right?" he asked as she wrapped a strip of blanket around his palm.
"Sure." Percy seemed to notice that Annabeth wasn't as excited about building their shelter as much as she was the day before. But he didn't say anything about it, So Annabeth figured that he could tell that it wasn't something she felt comfortable talking about so he kept quiet and stood up, holding his good hand out for her to take. Pushing the thoughts out of her mind, Annabeth took his hand and grabbed a couple of water bottles from the drink compartment and stuffed them into a bag that she flung onto her back. The two of them descended the plane and made their way back to the beach to continue building their shelter.
By the time they had two walls up, the sun was already starting to descend, signaling that the day was over and Annabeth's stomach was starting to rumble. She was actually surprised that she had gone all day solely on berries that they had found while searching for wood and water. Percy must've heard her because he stopped lining up the sticks to make the next wall and offered to try and catch some more fish for them to eat. Annabeth, with her worries still clouding her thoughts, nodded him away and moved to their small pit and began working on creating a fire to cook the fish that Percy seemed to grow a knack for catching. Seriously, the guy was crazy good.
Just like Annabeth thought, by the time she had started a good, strong fire for cooking and the large bon fire to signal the rescue teams, Percy came running toward her with two fish impaled onto what they had dubbed the fishing spear. "Wow, don't tell me you got those at the same time."
"If I said yes, would you believe me?" he asked with the troublemaker grin that Annabeth had found to be endearing.
"Actually, I would," Annabeth said seriously.
"Well, as much as I would love to take credit for catching these two at the same time, I can't. I'm good. But not that good."
"I say give it a few weeks and you'll get it down."
"You really think we'll still be here a few weeks from now?" Percy asked, the mood dropping almost instantly. Annabeth couldn't answer him because the gravity of the truth that she believed in now was too much for her to process. So, instead, she simply took the fish from the spear and skewered them onto the cooking sick, setting them atop the fire, rotisserie style. "Annabeth, talk to me."
"About what? Percy?"
"Anything. I know something's wrong. What is it?"
"It's nothing."
"It sure doesn't sound like 'nothing.'"
"Just leave it alone, Percy."
"I don't want to," he said defiantly. "Now tell me, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she answered. She was so close to taking back everything she said about Percy being endearing and cute, because the man was seriously starting to get on her nerves with his incessant need to know what was wrong with her.
"No, something's up. Tell me."
Giving up, Annabeth looked into Percy's sea green eyes and she could feel her walls crumble. "I just… It's been a week, Percy. Where are they? I thought that by now, we would've been rescued. I've seen reports on television about missing people and after a certain amount of time, they just give up. They stop trying. What if they gave up on looking for us?" Percy's eyes softened and he pulled her in for a tight hug.
"Hey, now," he placated. "Don't think that way. We need to stay positive."
"How can we do that, Percy?"
"Like you said. It's only been a week. I doubt they would have called off the search teams this early."
"What makes you so sure?" Annabeth searched his eyes for answers.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"What are you talking about? You know-"
"What's your name?"
"Annabeth." Percy shook his head.
"What's your full name?"
"Annabeth Chase."
"And who are your parents?"
"Percy, I seriously don't see the point-"
"Just answer the question."
"My parents are Frederick and Athena Chase."
"Exactly," Percy said. "Your parents are two of the most powerful people in the business world. They are not going to put this case to rest until they have found your body, dead or alive. And by the looks of things, they are going to find you very much alive."
"How could you possibly know that?" Percy simply smiled.
"Because I know you," he answered. "And if your parents are anything like you, then I know that they'll never give up." Annabeth stared up at the black haired man sitting beside her with his arms wrapped around her, their faces inches from each other. She could feel his breath on her lips and the tips of their noses graze each other. Taking one last breath, Annabeth closed the distance between them and took Percy's upper lip as he took her lower one. She didn't know how long they had kissed for because time seemed to slow and his scent overtook her senses as she could smell the ocean on his skin and taste the salt on his lips. It was the most intoxicatingly stimulating experience she had ever come across and she never wanted it to end.
Unfortunately, as nature would have it, Annabeth's lungs began screaming for oxygen and they both pulled away, their breaths ragged and cheeks flushed. The sun had gone completely down and their fish had burnt to a crisp on one side and was still completely raw on the other. "Uhh," Percy managed.
"Wow," Annabeth breathed.
"Annabeth-" Percy never got to finish his sentence because a bright white light showed down on them and the wind began to pick up. Looking up, shielding their eyes from the light, Annabeth was able to make out the outline of a rescue chopper.
"Attention survivors," a man on a bullhorn announced. "We have come to rescue you. Please stay where you are as we descend for landing." The wind then began to pick up even more as the helicopter landed in the beach a safe distance away. Percy and Annabeth stood up and watched as a crew of men exited the now grounded chopper and made their way to them.
•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•
Every moment after kissing Annabeth went by in a blur. One second, it was just the two of them sharing an intimate moment and the next, a crew that highly resembled a CIA black ops team, except they wore bright orange jumpsuits instead of all black, were rushing toward them and examined every inch of their body. Soon, both he and Annabeth were escorted to the helicopter where they were secured into seats and flown back to New York.
They had landed on the roof of the Metropolitan Hospital Center and he and Annabeth were again escorted down into trauma rooms for full examinations and checked in for overnight observations. Percy's hand was properly cleaned and bandaged. He hadn't seen Annabeth the rest of that day and he was really starting to freak out. He needed to tell her everything that he wanted to tell her before they were shipped back to their old lives. The only problem was, he wasn't allowed to leave the room and Annabeth probably wasn't either. So here he was, stuck in his hospital bed, watching the news footage of their rescue on CNN.
Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, his room door opened. "Hey." He forced his eyes back opened and was surprised to see Annabeth standing over his body in a similar hospital gown as his own.
"Annabeth? What are you doing here? I thought we weren't allowed out of our rooms?"
"Percy, you're twenty-one, not eleven," she smirked. "But, if you want me to leave, then…"
"No!" he freaked. This could be his last time to tell Annabeth how he really felt. "I mean… Please, stay."
"Scoot." Percy scooted over in his bed to make room and Annabeth climbed in under the covers, laying her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arm around his waist. Percy in return moved his arm so it rested comfortably on Annabeth's back.
"Annabeth," he said.
"Yeah?" He looked down to see that he and Annabeth were only inches apart. Percy froze up. Instead of telling her how he felt, he found himself leaning down to meet her lips. Just as he was about to close the distance, the door opened and a nurse walked in with a computer cart and both Percy and Annabeth jumped and separated, Annabeth now out of the bed and standing next to the bed, red faced.
"Ms. Chase," the nurse said. "You shouldn't be out of your room."
"I know," she said. "It's just... I wasn't resting well and I've spent the last week with Percy so I thought he might be able to help."
"Well, I'm sorry but I'm going to need you to go back to your room. You can see Mr. Jackson tomorrow if you'd like." Annabeth nodded and left the room without another word. Percy leaned back in his bed and shut his eyes in frustration. "So, Mr. Jackson, how are you feeling?"
"Okay, I guess," he said glumly. "I don't even know why I need to be held here overnight."
"We just want to make sure that you have a clean bill of health. We don't know if there were any diseases you may have contracted while on the island or if you have developed any symptoms of PTSD. It's always better to be safe than sorry." Percy sighed.
"What are those medicines for?" he asked instead.
"These are just some antibiotics to help prevent that hand of yours from getting infected."
"Okay." She gave him one of the pills and a cup of water. He gulped the medication.
"I suggest you get some rest. The doctor will be by tomorrow for a check up and if all is well, you get to be discharged," she explained as she typed notes into the computer.
"Great." The nurse smiled once more and left the room taking the bottle of medication and the computer out of the room, leaving Percy to himself.
With the television still going on in the background, Percy couldn't help but think about Annabeth. He hoped that their getting rescued wouldn't be the last memory he had with her. It took him a week on a deserted island with her to realize that she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. And for a short time, he thought that he would get just that. The two of them together on that island. But here they were, back in civilization. They could get together here in Manhattan but their differing lifestyles could prove to be a very difficult barrier to break down.
Percy didn't care though. All he knew was that he wanted to be with Annabeth and that nothing would stop him. With a resolve, Percy got out of his bed and made sure that his gown was tight enough so that his butt didn't hang out. Peeking outside his door to make sure that the coast was clear, he snuck down the hallway, looking at all of the name plates on the doors to find a one 'CHASE, A.'
When he did, he peeked through the window to make sure there weren't any nurses inside but was shocked to see two adults, one woman and one man, dressed in business casual clothing. The woman had curly brown hair and the man had dirty blonde hair. He couldn't see their faces but he was sure that they were Annabeth's parents. Not wanting to disrupt their reunion, Percy stepped away from the door and made his way back to his own room.
When he got there, he was surprised to see his own mom and step-dad standing in the center of his room. "Mom? Paul?"
"Percy!" his mom cried, pulling him into a bear hug. "There you are! We were wondering where you were! Are you okay?"
"Mom, I'm fine," he said pulling away from the hug.
"Sally," Paul said setting his arm on his wife's shoulder. "Let's give Percy here some space. He probably just went out to find a vending machine." Percy chuckled and decided to go along with it so he didn't have to explain his… crush? on Annabeth to his mom.
"Yeah. It's been awhile since I had a good coke and some potato chips. It's all I had to live on in college."
"See? Nothing to worry about," Paul said.
"Okay," Sally acquiesced. "But I want you back in bed, young man. I want you to be discharged tomorrow so we can go home." Percy forced himself to keep the easy-going smile on his face so that his parents couldn't see the disappointed look on his face. Another shred of hope that he would still get to talk to Annabeth struck down. "I'm doing everything I can to keep your television appearances to a minimum. I know how much you want to rest."
"Thanks mom," Percy said. He climbed into bed and his mom tucked him in.
"We'll see you tomorrow, okay Sweetie?"
"Alright."
And voila! By a show of hands, how many of you hate me, how many of you love me, and how many of you don't know how you feel about me? And... if you don't know how you feel about me, explain it so I know how I made you feel. :P
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