A/N: Hey, guys. I'm really, really sorry for not updating for almost three weeks. I'd been busy with work and I couldn't find sufficient time to write. I'd been turned into a nocturnal creature - awake at night and asleep during morning. I only write during the days that I don't have to report to work. It's quite stressful but I can handle it. It's taking a lot of my time, though. Don't worry, as soon as I buy my own tablet, I'd be updating much, much faster.

I don't know how you will feel about this. This chapter is frustratingly short and is a "filler" one. I just want to give Annabeth a chance to have a moment with Noah before all the troubles start happening. I just hope you'll like it.

Blackwing-Darkraven:Thank you for not hating it. :D

CimFan:Hey! I was wondering why you weren't reviewing. That's okay, though. I'm busy, too. That's quite a sad news about the girl. Hopefully, she'll be okay. :D

thggymnast998:Good, because that's what you're going to get for a good part of this story. PERCY and REYNA. :D

captaindauntless: Thank you. this story badly needs Reyna and I'm glad someone is starting to see it. I think I've heard about that story. :D

kamberroxs1998:Actually (SPOILER!) that's going to happen in the next chapter. Thank you for the suggestion, though. :D

df129: Glad I was able to help. :D

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NEVER LET ME GO

Chapter 5: UNDER THE MOONLIGHT

ANNABETH

I had never been more nervous in my entire life until that moment that I was standing outside my son's school, waiting for his last class to end.

When Nico called me to inform that I could have an afternoon with Noah alone, I didn't hesitate and said yes. Any chance of spending time with the five year-old blonde boy would be a rare one, and when it came, I couldn't turn it down.

I still had my doubts, though. What if Percy found out? But whenever I thought of the day I could spend bonding with my son, I found myself pushing all hesitations out, and making up my mind to just do what I wanted and let the chips fall where they might.

This might be counted as very selfish of me, especially as I was the one who abandoned Noah five years ago, but when I saw him the first time back at the coffee shop, I knew that I needed at least one chance to get to know him better. I needed to know who his favorite cartoon character was, what was his favorite color, his favorite foods – and wonder if he would give me the chance to prepare them for him – and what he liked to do during his free time. I needed to know if he was like me, or like Percy – and I hoped that he inherited his father's genes. I knew how selfish those made me, but it wasn't like I would tell Noah that I was his mother, and that I was the reason why he had a hole in his life.

I felt my throat closing up and my tears welling up in my eyes. Should I do this? Was I really that selfish to care about only my feelings and exclude what my son was going to feel by spending some time with me? I was, once again, having doubts – I seemed to be having them frequently since the moment I saw Noah and Percy. I wasn't used to this feeling. I was used to being certain of everything, solid in every decision I make, but now, I felt like I had to question every choice I make.

A small figure of a child stepped into my line of vision. He was wearing his school uniform – with his tie crooked – his backpack slung carelessly on his shoulder and had his head tilted to the side, like he was wondering what was happening. His messy blonde hair was sticking in rays on his head and was falling in ringlets over his eyes.

"Annabeth?" he asked curiously. "What are you doing here? Have you seen Uncle Nico?" He then frowned when I looked at him. "Are you crying?"

Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I knelt in front of him and held his arm. "Uncle Nico is busy today, just like your Dad, so I'll be taking you to the mall. Is that okay with you?" I asked him, unsuccessful in trying to meet his eyes.

He raised his eyebrows. "Why is Uncle Nico busy? Daddy said that he would be coming with me today." He then sighed before shrugging. "I guess it's oaky with me, but is it okay with you? I don't want to inconvenience you, Annabeth."

I felt a surge of pride flow through me. Noah was five, and he already was sensitive enough to think like this. I also felt a twinge of sadness, however. He was my son; he wasn't supposed to ask if he was an inconvenience because he never would be. But then again, I abandoned him so I didn't think it would be convincing coming from me.

"Of course not, Noah," I said soothingly. "It would be more than okay for me to take you to the mall."

Noah beamed. "Cool. Where's your car?" he asked, slightly bouncing on the balls of his feet.

I smiled as I stood up, ruffling his hair. He didn't duck, or glared at me, like he did when it was Percy who did that to him, but rather just grinned charmingly at me. "Here, follow me," I said, taking a hold of his shoulder and steering him to where I left my Prius. I opened the passenger's door and motioned for Noah to jump in. He seemed hesitant.

"Daddy never lets me ride shotgun," he answered when I asked him why. "He always makes me seat in the back, complete with all those seatbelts," said Noah, mimicking the way I knew Percy fasten all those safety harnesses on our son.

I laughed softly as I patted his back. "That's because he wants to keep you safe," I told him. "That's what every parents want."

He pouted. "I know that," he said. "But sometimes I just want to have fun, you know? Daddy has a tendency to overreact most of the time. He freaks out with the littlest things. Sometimes I feel like he doesn't trust me."

Noah said those words with such sadness that I knelt in front of him and held his arms. "Of course he does. Percy loves you, Noah. I can see that much. But you have to understand that he's raising you on his own and he can't exactly be dependent on anyone when it comes to you and that makes it twice as hard." He looked up and met my eyes. "Don't feel that way, Noah. If there's one thing I'm sure about your Dad is that when he loves someone, he does everything to keep them safe, and most of the time he can be overprotective." I shrugged. "He even acted that way about me once."

Noah's eyes widened until they were the same size as saucers. "You mean Daddy loved you?" He was frowning. "I thought you said he doesn't like you."

I cursed myself inwardly. I had forgotten how smart Noah was, despite his age. "It's something I can't really say now."

My son did that adorable tilting of his head again, frowning. His face then lit up in a smile. "Okay. I understand. But you will tell me once we're at the mall, right?" he asked before jumping in the car.

I shook my head, strapping Noah on the seat. Clever boy, I thought. Just like his mother. Taking out the keys from my purse, I went in after him and immediately started the car. Noah angled himself until his body was facing me. With the seatbelt on him, it looked like he was playing tug of war against the seat.

While on the way, Noah asked questions about me – what I liked doing during my free time; what I wanted to do when I was done with college; what I prefer: science or math; what kinds of books I had – the kinds of questions that grown ups usually asked, but I knew how smart he really was.

"I draw during my free time," I answered him. "And I always wanted to be an architect ever since I was a child, which is why I'm taking up Architecture. I guess that's what I'll be doing after I graduate."

Noah's eyes were probing, like he was getting more answers from me with the sheer force of his mind. "An architect? Why?"

I sighed. Percy asked the same question to me back when we were still together. "I always wanted to become an architect for the reason that . . . that I want to build something permanent, something that will last forever," I whispered.

I look over at Noah after some time and found him knitting his eyebrows. "That's deep," he finally decided. "I don't think I really understand it. I think I'm not as smart as Daddy tells me."

"Of course you are," I said. "But there are things that you will know and understand in time. You can't learn all life's secrets at once. Even in my age today, I still have a lot to learn." The creases on Noah's forehead deepened, and I couldn't help but laugh at his expression. Before I could stop myself, I reached across him and kissed his head. I quickly pulled back, afraid that I might've freaked him out, but he was still wearing that confused expression.

"Another deep one, Annabeth," he mumbled under his breath.

I chuckled nervously as I maneuvered the car into the parking lot, thinking, Definitely Percy's son. It was an amazing occurrence how my and Percy's genes created such a wonderful boy in Noah. Most of the time I wondered why I left them in the first place.

Noah momentarily forgot about our deep conversation and stared excitingly on the mall before him. From what Nico told me, I knew he was here with Percy every week, so I wondered why he was so pumped, but I guess when you were a kid, happiness isn't very hard to attain.

After unbuckling Noah's seatbelt, I went out the car and opened his door for him, locking the car behind me. Noah ran ahead of me, smiling hugely. "Come on, Annabeth; you're just like Daddy – you're both slowpokes!"

The comparison made me smile – I didn't know why. I raced after him, placing a hand on his shoulder to keep him with me, but not in the way that he would feel that I was directing him. If he was just like me and his father – which I suspected he was – he would hate being controlled by other people. I wondered for a while how stubborn Noah could be when he wanted to. With my genes and Percy's in him, he could be very adamant.

Before anything else, I lead Noah to the department store and bought some clothes for him without him knowing it. I knew how touchy boys can be when it comes to buying their clothes. Noah went with me with no protests. I didn't take long. I wanted to know what Noah liked to do when he was at the mall.

"Where do you want to go first?" I asked him.

Noah grinned up at me. "Arcade," he said, grabbing my hand and dragging me to where it was.

The arcade wasn't very much packed, but I suspected it wouldn't stay that way. Even at this hour, more and more patrons were starting to arrive. I kept close to Noh, making sure that he wouldn't get lost in the midst of all these students milling around. I took note of what games Noah liked playing. Kids his age would usually pick those gun-shooting good versus bad kinds of games – and sure he did play one of those – but I noticed that mostly he was playing trivial games, where he had to answer random questions in exchange for a bunch of tickets, the number of prizes depending on the difficulty of the questions.

He managed to answer four; In seahorses, the males give birth to the young – true or false?; What is the most precious metal in the Earth? and so, so. When he reached the question Who invented the battery? he paused and frowned, massaging his chin. He then scratched his head and typed in an answer. My son then thought about it for a while and erased what he had encoded. He turned to me, eyes asking for help.

"Annabeth?" he called. "Do you know what the answer is?"

I smiled as I sat down beside him and typed in the answer: Alessandro Volta. I looked over at Noah, wiggling my eyebrows, as I pressed the Enter. The machine dinged its congratulations and Noh jumped up and down, clapping his hand happily. I chuckled at his overjoyed face but was completely caught off guard when he hugged me around the neck.

Everything stopped moving around me. I was no longer deafened by the booming noise of the arcade; I could no longer feel the stares of the people around us at that moment – all I was aware of was the fact that I could feel the blonde boy with sea green eyes clinging to me tightly, laughing merrily in my ear.

I held him tight against my body, relishing in the feeling of having my son's body next to mine. I closed my eyes and let my senses feel the five year-old boy in my arms. For the thousandth time, I wondered why I left him five years ago, but there was something different this time. The regret had been magnified, like holding Noah somehow intensified all the bitterness I had been holding inside. There was nothing more effective to remind you of your regret than by having the object of that feeling right next to you. Before, I could deal with it; I lived with it every day. I slept with it like a black curtain hanging over me, waiting for the moment that I was unguarded to fall and suffocate me; I breathed with that regret every second for the past five years and I managed to survive. Now I question my return to New York. My come back had reopened all those wounds, refreshed the regret and pain and anger inside me in a higher degree. But if now, right this moment, I knew that I would never care if it was painful – if getting hurt meant having some time to spend with Noah, I would gladly take it.

He broke away from me, still laughing as he watched the tickets he won coming out of the machine. I bent down and started gathering them, seeing that my five year-old son had won at least 500 tickets. Noah previously gained at least two-fifty. I wondered what he was saving all these tickets for.

I felt a tug on the edge of my shirt. I gazed beside me and saw Noah pointing to a large stuffed dolphin hanging on the counter. It cost a thousand thickets. "I want that one, Annabeth," he murmured. So that was what Noah wanted. "But I still need. . ." he paused, frowning, no doubt doing the Math in his head. He snapped his fingers twice. "Two hundred and fifty tickets, I think."

I ruffled his hair. "Don't worry; I'll win it for you."

Noah's eyes widened. "Really?"

For the next half hour, I went from one game to another, trying to win the remaining number of tickets needed. Sadly, the ones which were vacant were the ones that I wasn't really good at. Annabeth Chase, playing a shooting game? Seriously? Luckily, with Noah's help, I managed to survive two rounds, with seventy-five tickets as a reward.

I looked around and saw that most games were occupied, so I decided to stick to this one. Besides, after the first round, I got the hang of it and managed to take down all the target the second time around, which meant that I won two hundred tickets.

Noah gave me another hug when we finished counting everything. He then dragged me to the counter to trade the tickets for the stuffed dolphin. My son handed the crew all his winnings, grinning hugely. The guy smiled at him, congratulating Noah. "Very cool of you to win all these tickets," he said.

Noah nodded. "Annabeth helped," he said, receiving his new toy. His eyes bugged from their sockets as he gave the dolphin a huge hug. The crew chuckled. "Is this a girl or a boy?" he asked.

The guy thought for a moment. "This can be whichever you want it to be," he answered after a moment.

Noah thought for a moment. "Then she's a girl. I'll call her Annabeth," he said, much to my surprise, hugging Annabeth yet again. "Hello there, Annabeth."

I watched him with tears starting to fill my eyes. How I wished I really was the dolphin and I was the one receiving that hug from him. I bit my lower lip to stop the ridiculous thoughts running in my head. I had cut off every connection I may have had with Noah when I left him. This would be the closest I could be when it came to him – watching and wishing.

At least you get to be with him, I told myself.

"Cute kid you got there," the crew said, breaking my reverie. I looked at him, nodding my head. "Where's his dad?" he inquired. I didn't like strangers butting in into my life. I knew that wasn't the guy's intention, but I still didn't like it.

I was saved from answering when Noah said, "Annabeth, I'm hungry," complete with a little pout.

"Okay, come on," I said, taking his hand. "Where do you want to eat?"

"Food court," he answered simply.

"Sure."

He turned his head back when we were walking away and yelled over the noise. "Thank you for Annabeth, mister!" before skipping merrily to where the food court was located.

Noah wanted a serving of red spaghetti, saying that "RR made me like spaghetti."

"Who's RR?" I asked, getting our order from the attendant.

"Reyna," he answered simply, searching for a table. When he saw one, he immediately jumped into a seat, setting Annabeth down beside him like the dolphin was going to eat, as well. "She cooks for me and Daddy when she's over and I just looove her spaghetti."

A lump formed in my throat. The way Noah talked about Reyna – the amount of admiration and love in his voice – I wanted him to talk about me like that.

I shook my head, once again scolding myself for thinking that way. "Do you like her?" I asked, setting a table napkin on Noah's shirt and handing him a fork. "Reyna, I mean."

Noah thought for a moment as I mixed the pasta with the sauce for him. "Yes," he finally answered after some time. "She makes my Daddy happy so I like her." He took a bite from his food, chewed, before proceeding. "Daddy promised me once that he won't date, that he will just take care of me. I didn't like it. I wanted to tell him he could have a girlfriend. I didn't want Daddy to make anymore sacrifices for me, you know?"

I was taken aback by his words. I mean, what kind of five year-old talks about his Dad's sacrifices for him. "What do you mean sacrifices, Noah?"

He sighed. "I know Daddy was very young when I was born. If I'm correct, he was still in high school. I think he didn't study for college. He did, he would still be in school, right? Even when he doesn't tell me about it, I know that Daddy gave a lot of things for me."

I was speechless. I wanted to say some things, comfort Noah to erase the sadness in his voice, but I couldn't seem to find the words to say. It never occurred to me how smart and sensitive my son was until that very moment. Most kids his age would be contented with having what they wanted, but Noah actually thought about his father.

"I'm sure your Dad made those sacrifices willingly," I finally managed to say. Noah looked up from his spaghetti. "When you love someone, you will do anything and everything for them. I think you, of all people, understand that, Noah."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You're doing the same for your Dad. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think you want something else. I can sense that you like Reyna but there's something else, isn't there? I can sense it."

He shrugged. "I really like Reyna. She's great. Except that she really loves Daddy and he loves her, she has been my Mom ever since she and Daddy started dating, but if it was up to me, I'd want . . . I'd want my Dad to date my Mom."

Oh, Noah, I wanted to say. If he only knew that his Mom was sitting right in front of him. If he only knew that his Mom was still in love with his Dad. I wanted to tell him, but knew I couldn't. I would never hurt him that way.

My phone chimed. I checked it and saw a message from Nico. Wer r u? Percy's freaking out! it read. I checked my watch and saw that it was almost nine. How did time pass so quickly? I picked up my bag. "I'm sorry Noah, but we have to go," I said.

Noah nodded without asking questions. We went back to my car and drove in silence. I wanted to pull Noah into my lap and comfort him. The boy was obviously distress but I didn't know how. I never had any experience in dealing with children. The only one I had was when I was forced to babysit my stepbrothers Bobby and Matthew and God knows that didn't end well – I just might end up messing things up.

When their apartment came into view, I saw Noah sitting up straight, a smile slowly lighting up his face. He was no doubt excited to tell his Dad about his day. I parked at the corner of the street and let Noah out after unbuckling his seatbelts. He went out when I opened the door for him, running ahead of me.

We were almost at the door when it opened and a very worried Percy came into view. "Why are you late, man? And why – " he stopped short when he saw us, his expression morphing from a worried one into an angry one.

"Daddy, look!" Noah said, probably saving my head from getting ripped off. "Annabeth won me this toy! It's cute, isn't it?"

Percy's nostrils flared. "Do you know what time it is now, Noah? Do you know how worried I'd been waiting for you here?" he demanded.

My son looked down. Percy was obviously furious and I didn't want him to take out his anger on Noah so I interjected, "Percy – "

"Don't talk," he said, cutting me off, his words venomous.

"Daddy . . ." Noah began.

"Get inside," he ordered him. Noah opened his mouth to say something but Percy beat him to it. "Noah, get inside now," he said slowly, enunciating each word with authority.

Noah sighed in defeat. He looked at me. "Thank you, Annabeth. I'll see you again."

I nodded as I handed him the bags of his clothes. He looked surprised but didn't say anything. He took them from me and went inside after looking at his Dad. When he was out of earshot, I said, "Percy, please don't be mad at Noah, or Nico." I only added Nico because I knew Percy'd be killing him the first chance he got and I didn't want him to be in trouble by helping me out. "He just wanted to give me a chance to get to know my son – "

"Don't use that word," he growled. "You don't get to use that word, Chase." I swallowed, hurt by his words. I looked behind him and saw that Noah was peeking at the corner of the living room. "This is the last time, you hear me? The last time," Percy said, slamming the door to my face.

I exhaled and wiped my eyes dry as I went back to my car. I wanted to do some thinking but it was like my brain was slowly shutting down in exhaustion. All I wanted to do was sleep so I stepped on the gas and hurried off.

From a distance, I saw that the light in my apartment was on. I frowned, wondering if the landlady was doing her checks. She had told me about it, to make sure the tenants were following her rules – I didn't mind as I had nothing to hide – but I didn't think she would be checking up this time of the night.

I climbed the stairs and saw that the door was ajar. I stepped in my apartment and saw a drunken Josiah sitting on the couch. A bottle of beer was on his hand. He was looking at something on the table. "Josh," I said in relief. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to surprise you," he said, his voice monotonous. "But I was the one who got surprised." I felt myself frowning. "I was tired and wanted to sleep so I went in your room to do just that but felt something under your pillow."

My breath got caught in my throat. Under my pillow was where I kept . .

"I found this," he said, holding up Percy's picture. It was taken during one of our trips to the beach. He was wearing that troublemaker smile of his, sunglasses on and hair very messy. I kept there, staring at it every night.

"Josh – " I began but didn't get the chance to finish because that was when Josiah stood up and hit me.

[Next - Chapter 6: FAMILY TREE]