A/N: I'm so sorry that this chapter took so long. It's just that I'm so busy with my job and we had a family emergency. My sister was admitted to the hospital so you can understand why I got a little distracted. I can't promise that I will be updating faster. I will be really busy these coming days. I just hope you guys understand.

By the way, I thank all those readers who cast their votes. Thank you for explaining why you voted for who. But let me get this straight: I won't be the one to make the choice. Percy will. Let's just wait and find out, okay?

inkling13:Why, thank you. :D

bluelightningbug:Well, I apologize. But here it is. :D

FlorenceBradBury: I try to set aside my personal intentions because I don't want to ruin the story. As I've said above, Percy will be the one to make the choice. Anyway, I'm glad you can see both sides and understand both points. :D

CimFan:I apologize if that is the case, but this has been the story from the very beginning. I don't mean to make you feel bad and if I did, I apologize. i just hope you understand.

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NEVER LET ME GO

Chapter 12: BAD DAY

ANNABETH

"Okay, I'm going to admit it; I have no freaking idea how your mind works, Annabeth Chase," said Thalia. "I mean I did get the part where you said you're trying to protect them and all that. What I don't understand is why leave them when they obviously need you the most?"

I sighed as I stared at her from across the table. I was at Thalia's, temporarily bunking with her. I left my apartment because Josiah knew where it was and the last thing I needed was another confrontation with him. He tried calling me a couple of times but I decided I wouldn't call him back. At least not yet. I figured it would be better if I just take some time off and clear my head, that way we could avoid further more conflicts.

"I don't expect you to," I said. "You don't have a child yet."

Thalia snorted. "Seriously, Annie? That's the best explanation you can come up with? What happened to my best friend who could make me shut up with a three-word reply? What have you done to her?"

I shook my head. "She grew up," I answered, remembering what Percy had told me when we talked. "People have a tendency to do that. It's either because that's what we're supposed to do or because it's our own way of coping with the awful things that had happened to us."

"Oh, don't get melodramatic with me, Annabeth Chase," Thalia said impatiently. "I think there's no other way of saying that when you think you can't handle things anymore, you just run away. At the first sign that things are going out of your control, you take off. And don't try to say you don't because I'm not as stupid as people think I am. Just like you, I can also see people for who they really are and I can tell you that it's something you always do."

"And what makes you such an expert on who I am?" I challenged, upset. "Look, I don't expect that you'll understand me; you don't have a family of your own yet. I don't even know what I was thinking coming here." I stood up, picked my bags and headed for the door.

"You see now what I mean," Thalia said quietly. "I think you will understand now what I was talking about." I turned around and looked at her, asking. "Look at what you're about to do – you're going to run away again just because things aren't going the way you want them to. What do you call that, Annabeth? What do you call a person who couldn't face her problems and keeps on turning her back at them when she's supposed to be facing them head-on?"

Coward, I wanted to voice out but stopped myself, knowing that Thalia was right. I was a coward. Whenever I felt like things were getting too big for me, I tend to just turn my back and turn a blind eye toward it. Five years ago, I left when the idea of raising Noah freaked me out. But this time was different, I convinced myself. I was leaving because it would protect them from Josiah. This time, I told myself, I was doing the right thing.

"I was a coward, Thalia," I said, fighting to keep my voice steady. "But this time, I'm hurting myself to avoid causing them pain. Can't you see that? How can you even say that I run away? Maybe there was a point in my life that I did, but this time I'm running away for a different reason."

"Maybe there was a bit of a rationale behind this in your head – a bit – but did you ever think that maybe this time Percy and Noah need you with them? And – "

"Percy made it perfectly clear that he thinks my staying away is the solution to our problem with Josiah!"

"It shouldn't matter what he says! If he doesn't want you there, then be there for Noah. He's your son, Annabeth; you should protect him."

"What do you think I'm doing, Thalia! That's exactly the reason why I left them! Josiah hurt Noah because of me. I didn't leave them because I wanted to; I left because if I satyed, Noah would be caught in the middle of my mess and I would never hurt him again the way I did five years ago."

"And what, you think leaving him for the second time isn't hurting him?"

"I'm protecting him! Is that so hard to understand! Don't you get that, Thalia? Don't you get that even though I badly wanted to stay with them, doing so would only hurt both of them. I sacrificed my happiness to protect them."

"Maybe," said Thalia. "Maybe there really is a part of you who did that for them, but I think that the bigger part is only doing this because you want to feel better for leaving them in the past. I don't want to be harsh to you, Annie. I know how much this is hurting you, but I also want you to see that for you to get the better end, Percy and Noah are getting the worse of the situation." She paused. "Don't get me wrong, in other situation what you're doing is selfless, noble even, but take a look at them. Do you think Percy and Noah aren't hurting every single day you're not with them? Do you think that Percy has actually changed? He's still there, Annabeth. He's just waiting for the right person to pull him back. He needs his Wise Girl and not this woman standing in front of me." Thalia looked me in the eyes. "Do you really think he has moved on from you?"

"He has," I answered. "He's with Reyna now. One has to be extremely stupid; or inhuman, not to see how much he loves her." Saying the words felt like chewing needles. I told myself that I had accepted the fact that Percy and my time was over, but I don't that I really did. Somewhere deep inside, there was still a part of me hoping that the boy I loved was still there, trying to reach out to me. And that part only got hopeful because of what Thalia said. I wanted to tell her no, to quell whatever hope she was having, but I also knew that that little part of me was the only thing giving me reason to redeem the old Annabeth.

Thalia was right. At least I think she was. Or was believe the right word? Yes. I believed that my best friend was correct. I believed that somewhere deep in that hate-filled Percy was the Seaweed Brain I met, just waiting.

"That isn't enough reason," she argued. "You're the person who knows Percy better than he knows himself. You're the one whom he grew up with. You've been through so much together and you threw all of those away before, but Percy gave you a second chance, Annie. He gave you one more chance to prove that what you did is for them. You should take this chance and make Percy see that the girl he loves is still there." She stood up and held my arm. "The Annabeth Chase I know is a fighter. She fights for what she believes in. She always makes a stand for the ones that she loves. She doesn't need to use her mind because her heart thinks enough for them both. She's brave, courageous and she's not afraid of anything, and even if she is, she finds a way to conquer her fears." Thalia gave me a sad smile and I was reminded how close we really were. We were practically sisters. She was one of the few people whom I'd admit I need in my life. "Maybe you can do me a favor and bring her back; I miss her terribly." With a final tap on my forearm, Thalia turned her back to me and went to her room, leaving me alone to think.

I sat down on the couch and stared across the window. I grew up mostly having no one to count on. I grew up isolated and fending for myself the whole time. It is for this reason why when I found people whom I knew I could trust, I gave them my all. I made sure they are well-loved and protected. As long as I could help it, I do things to ensure that they would never go through what I went through.

When I left Percy and Noah, all I wanted was to protect them. I wanted to prevent hurting them because I couldn't perform my responsibilities. I wanted to protect them from me. And for the longest time possible I believed it, because it was true, but then I realized that there was something else. I'd been hurt a lot of times before and when I left them, I also wanted to protect myself from them. Noah and Percy were my strength but at the same time they were my greatest weakness. They were my Kryptonite, my Achilles' heel. I drew strength from them but at the same time they were the ones who had the biggest capability to tear me down.

I wanted to cry as I sat there. I had no idea where to go, or what to do. I never felt so lost until that moment. I knew that staying with Percy and Noah would mean giving Josiah the chance to hurt both of them, but I also knew that Thalia had a point. I had a tendency of turning my back on things that could hurt me because I didn't like the feeling of always being wary and having to check everything every time to make sure that I would be fine.

But then, a realization hit me. I wasn't afraid of feeling that way because that's how I'd been feeling all my life. There was no possible way for me to be scared of being afraid when all along, it was something that had been constant in my life. I realized that for me to be fully strong, I had to face the things that weaken me first.

Was that something I would be willing to do, when it could mean that Percy and Noah could get hurt? That was the reason why I left in the first place, wasn't it? To prevent myself from hurting them? But what if by doing so, I had hurt them in the worst way possible? What if in my decision to shield them from all the things that had happened to me, I had exposed them to harsher possibilities?

I buried my face on my hands and heaved a sigh, patting my cheeks dry. This woman, whom Thalia claimed she didn't know, was determined that she was doing the right thing. After all, she was sacrificing her own happiness to protect the people that she loved. You couldn't be nobler than that. But she was in doubt about the reasons of why she was doing this. Yes, she was doing it to give them a chance at happiness, but Annabeth thought that she was also doing it to, just like Thalia pointed out, make her feel better about what she did five years ago.

Annabeth Chase . . . what would she do in this situation? I had no idea. I had gone so long lying to myself and others just to conceal what was really going on that I had started believing my own lies. Was this woman really her? Was Annabeth Chase still here, or had she disappeared a long time ago, buried beneath all those fears and anger?

I stood up and grabbed my bag, heading to the door. I didn't know where I was going. I had no idea where I was headed but there was one task I knew I had to accomplish. There was someone I had to find. Her name was Annabeth Chase.

PERCY

When I was eight, I had this little accident. I was playing at my room, smashing action figures against each other when I heard Mom calling me, telling me that she had cooked pancakes for snack. I was crazy about Mom's pancakes. I threw all my toys aside and ran outside, yodeling in excitement. I was at the foot of the stairs when a little accident happened. I didn't notice this fluffy pair of slippers sitting there. I tripped and went rolling down the stairs. My back hit the last step, the impact knocking the breath out of me. I lie there, struggling to breathe, to do anything.

That's how I felt that moment. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't hear anything apart the doctor's words ringing through my ears and bouncing inside my skull. Mr. Jackson, Noah has cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Noah. My son . . . he had cancer. He was five and he had cancer.

My knees gave under my weight and I slid down to the cold, hard floor. It was a perfect representation of how I saw the world at that point. Cold and hard. How could this happen to an innocent kid? How could the world allow this? Wait, what world? There was no more world. It went crashing down with me. The planet had gone out of its axis, throwing everything in complete disarray. Everything ceased to exist.

Hot tears streamed down my face, forcing me to acknowledge the present. Reyna was gripping my arm tightly, her voice shaking. "Percy, please," she whispered. "Please stand up. You can do this."

"I truly am sorry, Mr. Jackson," said Dr. Mears.

Something snapped inside me with his apology. I stood up and lunged at him, grabbing the collar of his hospital gown and shoving him against the wall. Reyna gasped behind me and the doctor's eyes widened in fear. "Spare me your apologies, doctor," I said through gritted teeth. "Don't say you're sorry but do your job and save my son!"

"Mr. Jackson, I – I ," he stammered.

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around my shoulders and pulled me away from the stunned doctor. "Percy, stop. He's trying to help."

"He's just delivering the bad news, Rey. He's not helping Noah!"

"Percy, listen to me – "

I turned to Dr. Mears. "Is that all you can do, huh, Doc? Why don't you go in there and save my son instead of pretending to look like you're sorry?!"

"Percy – "

"You can't look sorry because my son is going to be fine, did you hear that? There's no use in making an apology when there's still something you can do about it! I mean, it's – it's not like my son is going to . . ." I swallowed thickly and tried to force the word out of my mouth, "there's no way that my son is going to die, so stop looking sorry and do your fucking job!"

"Percy!" Reyna slapped me, leaving a loud ringing in my ear. I stare at her, open-mouthed. "Pull it together," she said in a much softer voice. She grabbed the back of my neck and pressed her forehead against mine. "You have to pull it together. Noah needs you in one piece, now of all times. Do not fall apart, Perce. Come on, breathe." I tried to pull away but she squeezed me tighter. "Breathe in, come on," she said. I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of her voice. "Breathe in, breathe out. Nice and easy." I followed her instructions and took in a huge gulp of air, and then let it out slowly. "That's good. One more time, okay? Breathe in, breathe out." This went on for quite some time, breathing in slowly and exhaling even more slowly, until I finally calm down.

I opened my eyes and stared at Reyna's. Hers looked glassy and I knew she was holding back her own tears for my sake. "I'm sorry," I whispered, and watched as my tears slowly dripped down from the tip of my nose to her lips. She nodded and stood on her tiptoes, kissing my tears away.

"It's okay," she said. "You can do this. You have to do this."

I nodded and faced Dr. Mears. "I'm sorry I went after you."

He cleared his throat and fixed the front of his hospital gown. "That is understandable," he said, trying to sound cool about it but he was clearly shaken. He sat down and motioned for me to do the same. "If you will, there are some things I need to point out to you." I took Reyna's hand and sat down. "Noah is showing 12 % promyelocytes & 5% blasts which does indicate a leukemic syndrome. We need to conduct a bone marrow aspiration to be sure, but it is almost 80% that Noah's condition really is acute promyelocytic leukemia."

I felt myself shaking again. Leukemia. Cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Noah can't have that. He can't. I'd taken care of him. I made sure that he would always be safe and healthy. How could this happen? "What can we do to save him? I – I mean, we can still save Noah, right? We still can. There's chemotherapy. That can cure him, right? Right?"

"Percy," he said hesitantly, like calling me by my first name would set me off again. "Noah is very young; his body defenses aren't fully developed yet. We can try chemotherapy but it will weaken him greatly and what we need to do right now is to make sure that he stays strong for further medical assistance." He placed his elbows on top of his table and leaned closer to us. "We will be doing chemo, of that's what you want, and there's a chance that this could be cured but, I'm going to be frank, Percy, kids who have this kind of disease usually don't make it past five years old."

The air around me was stripped off of oxygen. I suddenly found it difficult to breathe. My vision swirled and I felt like the ground was crumbling down beneath my feet. "S-so you're saying that . . . that my son is going to die? Is that it, doctor?" My voice was starting to rise again and Reyna held me back.

"There's a chance that he will, but there's something else we can try to save him," he said.

This gave me hope. "What? What is it? Come on, tell me. Whatever it is, we have to try it!"

"We will," Dr. Mears said. "But there are some tests we need to conduct first before we could proceed. We can do bone marrow and white cell transfusions. Lymphocytes and stem cells. Those could help Noah recover. But we need a donor."

"Then I'll donate!"

"Percy, that's what the tests I was talking about," said Dr. Mears. "You can't just donate. We have to make sure that you and Noah are a match – "

"What are you talking about? Of course we are! I'm his father!"

"It's better to make sure than proceed with the procedure and be sorry in the end," he said. I let that sink in. Doing the tests meant taking more time and time was one thing we didn't have. It was my enemy. Every single second that we spent doing nothing was a second that Noah slipped away. But I also knew that Dr. Mears was right. If we do the transfusions and it turned out that Noah and I weren't a match, then it would only make things worse. "I need to make the necessary arrangements for the tests," he said, standing up and leaving the office.

I stood up and went after him. "Percy," Reyna called.

"I just need to see him," I told her.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No. I want to be alone with him."

I was like a brain dead person, walking but not actually moving; looking but not seeing; listening but not actually hearing. I wasn't even aware that I was standing in front of Noah's room. I saw him through the window. He was sitting on the bed with an IV drip attached to his right arm. He was looking around in bewilderment and there were tears running down his face. I so badly wanted to let mine fall, to succumb and cry but I knew I couldn't do this to him. I braced myself and twisted the doorknob.

Noah visibly brightened when he saw me. "Daddy! Why are they keeping me here? Am I sick? Can we go home?" I sat down beside his bed. He took my hand and squeezed it with both of his own. I rearranged the pillows propped behind him and kissed the top of his head. "Daddy?"

"You're fine," I answered, fighting so hard to keep my voice steady. "They just need to make sure that you're okay before they let us out?"

He beamed and hugged me around the neck. "That's cool. I don't like it here."

I chuckled in his ear but I could hear a crack in my voice. I was just thankful that my son didn't notice it. "That makes two of us."

He broke our hug. "When can we go home?"

I ruffled his hair. "Soon. I promise. But before that, I just need to hear something from you," I said. Noah frowned. "I want you to promise me that you will always be strong for me."

"Why?"

I shook my head. "I just want you to. And because Daddy needs you. I need you in my life, Noah. I need you with me so please, promise that you'll always be with me, okay? Promise me that you will never leave me. Please."

Noah hugged me around the neck again. "I promise, Daddy," he said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

I kissed his forehead. "Pinkie promise?" I said, holding out my littlest finger.

Noah giggled, hooking his against mine. "Pinkie promise." After that he hugged me again. I leaned and buried my face on my son's shoulder, hoping that he would keep his promise.

[Next - Chapter 13: POWERLESS]