Chapter 12

For hours I sat there, waiting, for nothing in particularly. But I didn't want to see anyone. My mind kept repeating the words, "I'm your father" over and over again, like it was some sort of Star Wars spoiler.

I believed General Corral (well, I supposed I should call him Father from now on) because it all made very much sense; he was always particularly nice to me, and, not to mention, he had taken me in.

But I never felt like his son. Well, at least, not that I could remember. That thought just felt so strange…

Mostly, however, I was angry at my father. Why didn't he prevent my mother from dying, if he really cared about her so much? Was he too busy at work? I suppose it could have been impossible, considering he probably hadn't known anything about Gabe Ugliano then, but still… I just couldn't shake the feeling that he could have helped… could have turned my life back to normal.

Right then, I felt like running out of the F.B.I. building. Then I realized I was still lying in the hospital bed, hooked up to an IV bag… I had to admit, at that moment, I felt fine, physically. I just wanted to get away from there.

Slowly, I swung my legs over the side of my bed and got up, ripping the needle out of my hand. When I started to walk, searing pain immediately shot up through my body… yeah, I definitely needed some rest, but I was just going to ignore it.

I pushed the door open and walked out of the room, my head low, though no one was in the hall at the moment. I was evidently in the hospital wing, though it seemed to be a private section that I had never been to… Wow, Dad gave me royal treatment, I thought grumpily.

I reached a door at the end of the hallway, hearing voices on the other side. It must have led into the regular hospital wing. If I stepped out, everyone would notice me, and no doubt send me back to my room. An invisibility hat would have been perfect right then…

At that moment, the door opened, though I barely had time to acknowledge who had come through before they bumped into me and we nearly went sprawling to the floor. "Sorry!" said a familiar voice, and I looked up into Annabeth's eyes. They immediately clouded over with confusion. "Percy?"

"Annabeth…" I began, but she immediately cut me off.

"What are you doing? You need to get to bed, you can't even walk..."

"Yes, I can," I replied indignantly, trying to stop my swaying from side to side. "Annabeth, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" she asked.

I took a deep breath, then blurted, "General Corral's my father."

Her jaw dropped. "W… What?"

"I know! He never told me until now!"

"Why not? Tell me everything, Percy." Annabeth seemed to forget all about telling me to go back to bed, and we both took a seat as she listened.

And so, I spilled the beans, saying everything that General Corral had said. It felt good talking to Annabeth about it, she had some sense, unlike my father. I decided to tell her about how I felt about all of this, too.

"So, what do you think?" I asked her when I was finished.

"Well, I understand that General Corral was busy with the F.B.I…" Annabeth began. Oh, really, you're on his side? I thought angrily, but then she continued. "But I still agree with you - family is more important than jobs…"

I sighed. "I really want to get away from here, Annabeth, from all of this…"

Annabeth was silent for a moment, then she said, "No. You can't just run away from the truth, you have to face it. Even if you did run away, you would be breaking your father's heart -"

"He broke mine for sixteen years."

" - And he would no doubt go looking for you. Just… hear your father out, Percy. I'm sure that he didn't have any bad intentions, and that he's truly sorry."

Though I was still angry, something inside me said to trust Annabeth. She was pretty wise for a girl my age. But I just really didn't want to see General Corral… at that moment, however, I didn't have a choice.

"What are you doing out of bed?" asked the voice of my father, and I looked up into his angry eyes. This was the first time, since I had started to work for the F.B.I., that this man had ever gotten mad at me.

"I feel fine now," I lied.

"No, you don't, that's impossible," General Corral replied.

"What do you care?" I spat, getting to my feet and trying to ignore the dizziness that caused it. "You left me alone for all my life anyway!"

Sadness flashed behind my father's eyes. "Percy, we can talk about this…"

Taking Annabeth's advice, I stopped myself from yelling, "No!" and sighed, taking a seat. "Fine. What do you have to say?"

General Corral bent down so that he was level with my face. "Percy, I'll admit, I've made some bad choices in my life… and maybe my reasons for them aren't good enough. But you have to understand that I am truly sorry. I promise you that the only thing I want, the only thing I've wanted, is for you to be safe. So please, give me a second chance. I love you, Percy, I mean it."

I looked up at him, tears welling up in my eyes. Then he pulled me into his arms and gave me a tight hug. I hadn't hugged someone in so long, it truly felt good… and for some reason, my father smelled like a calming sea breeze.

He pulled away, still smiling. "Do you accept my apology?"

I… I did. What my father said was true, he had made some mistakes, mistakes that he regretted… but I wasn't going to get anywhere in life if I just hated. I wanted to give him a chance because maybe we could start a new life… one as a family.

There was a sniffle to my right. I turned and saw Annabeth, smiling at the both of us while a tear ran down her cheek. "Aww, come here," my father added, and she joined in for another hug.

It was a savouring moment, until an F.B.I. agent, Katie Gardner, I believed, walked up to my father. "I'm sorry to interrupt, General," she said as we pulled away, "But there is someone here who wants to visit Gabe Ugliano."

"Really?" my father repeated. "Well, then, I suppose we should go, too."

Annabeth and I looked at each other, exchanging a look like, Who could it be? But I was glad we were visiting Gabe Ugliano; there was still a few things I'd like to say to him.

I hope that was a cute chapter, because it felt cute writing it. - Key