A/N: Hey guys! Please know that I didn't intend to make you guys wait for a chapter that is really just a filler chapter (Chapter 27 written in Annabeth's perspective) but mid-July our town was struck by a typhoon and for two weeks we didn't have any electric supply. Once it was back beginning of Aug, I had to focus on reconstructing the part of our house which was wrecked by the strong wind, so yeah, I'd been pretty busy.

To be honest, I'm not very satisfied with this chapter and I'm not going to hold it against you if you feel the same way but here's what I want you to know: I'll make it up to you. How? Read the note at the end of the chapter and you'll know.

Once again, I don't have much time to really reapply to your reviews but I will TRY to next time I update. I don't want to make a promise again because I don't want to disappoint you.

Song of the chapter: Make You Feel My Love (Lea Michele's version. For some reason, this song helped me craft this chapter. Try to listen to it while reading the chapter.)

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NEVER LET ME GO

Chapter 28: SHADOW OF THE DAY

ANNABETH

Fifteen years ago,

Percy kicked their apartment's door open, throwing me over his shoulder while I clung to our backpacks, laughing.

He set me down on the kitchen counter as he went and raided their freezer, looking for some snacks. I hopped to my feet and went to ready the television and player. It was Friday afternoon and we were going to have a movie night. Paul and Sally were out having dinner with some of Paul's colleagues so Percy and I had the apartment to ourselves.

Percy went to where I was seated just when I was about to play the movie. I stopped because of what he had on his hands. He had with him half of frozen pizza and a tub of ice cream which I started to devour. I had a debate team practice and was starving. He, on the other hand, had swim team practice so it wasn't long until we were fighting over the food that was left. When we were both satisfied, we both laid back on the couch as the movie started to roll. I settled against Percy's chest and he started playing with strands of my hair.

"How was practice?" I asked him.

I could feel him smiling into my hair as he answered. "You sound like Mom," he complained. "Just be my amazing girlfriend and stop asking me about silly questions." I chuckled as I playfully slapped Percy's arm, which was wrapped around my shoulders.

"I thought that's what you like about me? That I'm like your Mom?" I inquired.

He groaned. "Ugh. You just have to put a whole new twist to our love affair, don't you? It's like you said I'm dating my own mother."

I smiled and made myself more comfortable in his arms. We watched in silence for some time. The movie that was on was some romantic comedy with a little bit of action. Then there was that scene where the lead characters were kissing while the sun set behind them, throwing their figures in shadows.

"Can I tell you something?" Percy asked.

"Sure."

"I mean can I tell you something without you laughing at me, that is," he corrected himself. "This is kind of embarrassing and to be honest, if it isn't you, I would never say it to anyone in a million years."

I looked up and gave him a teasing grin. "What is it?"

He nodded to the screen. "I'm an old soul and a romantic," he confessed, face red. I bit my lower lip to stop myself from laughing out loud, knowing he wouldn't actually appreciate it. "I mean I kind of dreamed about kissing my girlfriend in a setting not much different to how they were doing it," he added, nodding to the screen.

The smile disappeared from my face as let myself out of Percy's arms. He looked at me questioningly until I pressed my lips to his. He responded right away, kissing me with passion as his hands made their way to my lower back, drawing me closer to him. It wasn't our first kiss but there was something different with it. Maybe it's because of what Percy said – that after eleven months of dating he actually said something that wasn't very obvious, something that I knew took him a lot of courage to say.

Things started heating up when I felt Percy lifting the edge of shirt up and running his finger tenderly across the skin that was exposed. My breath got caught in my throat at the unexpected sensation. His lips left mine and travelled down to my neck, kissing the exposed skin softly while his hands had hiked my shirt up to my mid-waist and he was running his palms up and down the heated flesh.

My own hands ran down his still clothed torso, tracing the muscles beneath he had acquired from years of swimming. One by one the buttons of his shirt went undone by my trembling fingers. Percy's lips were glued to the exposed skin of my neck as his hands slowly slid my dress off of my shoulders.

After that, things were nothing but a blur of passionate kisses and heated touches. The next thing I was aware of was lying next to Percy on his bed, my head on his shoulder and an arm draped across his stomach. We were both panting and I was feeling a dull ache which was immediately overridden by the contentment of being with him that way. I was beyond happy as I snuggled closer to him and fell asleep. Even in the dreaming world, I carried the blissful feeling.

That was until three weeks later when I woke up feeling extremely nauseous. I was supposed to be up and be extra early at school because of the student council meeting but when I stood up to get ready, hoping that a quick shower would make me feel better, I had to rush to the bathroom as my dinner made a reappearance.

Even after emptying my stomach, I still felt dizzy, so much that I couldn't keep myself upright and I practically had to crawl back to my bed. Dad checked up on me and said that I didn't have a fever so he was not sure what was making me feel sick. He offered to take me to the hospital but I declined and just requested for him to give the school a call.

It was midday when I woke up. My head still felt like it was hit by a battering ram and my mouth felt like sand but I was feeling better. I was able to feed myself but was still wondering on what I could've caught to cause me feel that way. It could've been a simple cold but I didn't think that that was it.

I was sitting at our dinner table when an idea occurred to me, an idea inspired by a calendar. It was almost the end of the month and I usually get my monthly visitor either the first or second week. That must mean that I was . . .

No, I thought. It can't be. It's not possible. I refused to accept it but I knew that unless proven wrong, I wouldn't stop thinking about it. After a quick shower, I went to a drug store and purchased a pregnancy test kit, ignoring the stare the cashier was giving me. I went straight home and followed the procedure specified on the printed guide.

The waiting minutes the longest of my life. It felt like every movement of the second hand of the clock corresponded to an hour. When my phone signaled the end of the waiting time, closed my eyes and with shaking fingers lifted up the kit close enough for me to see the two vertical lines that forever changed my life.

I burst into tears as the future I had created for myself was suddenly replaced by a dark gray void, which promised nothing but frightening uncertainty. I thought about what my father would say once he found out and the fear that I was feeling climbed up a notch. What's going to happen to me now?

I wished that I could have a mother figure guide me to it and tell me what to do. For a while, I even considered calling my Mom but then I thought, What would she even say? She wasn't even there while I was growing up. And even when I didn't really look up to her as a mother, I didn't think I could handle her screaming at my face that I was a disgrace.

What was I going to do? I had no idea how to take care of a baby. I had no experience in that matter; except for the times when I had to change the twins' diapers because their mother was not available. I was completely clueless. What if I would end up being exactly like my mother? Hurting my child in the worst way possible?

I had no clue what I was doing. The next thing I was aware of was sitting at one of the lunch tables outside the cafeteria of our school. Last period had already ended and students were starting to pour out of the building. What was I doing here? Right. Percy. He needed to know. He deserved to know that he was going to be a father. But what if the knowledge drove him away from me? What was I going to do alone?

A pair of arms wrapped around my shoulders as Percy placed a kiss on the top of my head. "Hey," he greeted. "Are you feeling better? Your Dad said you were ill earlier today. I was so worried."

I looked up to the pair of sea green eyes which could see through everything in me, questioning if I trusted him enough to tell him the truth about what I had confirmed. Would knowing cost me him, too? I already knew that it was going to cost me my family, but would he be caught outside the net once it was cast, or would he chose to be trapped inside with me?

Percy's easy-going expression changed. He sat beside me and took my hand. "Hey, what is it? Are you okay?"

"I can't tell you, Seaweed Brain. You'll hate me."

He looked at me like I had gone crazy. "What are you talking about? Wise Girl? That would be the last thing I'll do. Look, I know I'm known for not taking things seriously but this? Us? This is the very first one I'm taking seriously."

With shaking hands, I opened my bag and took out the ziplock bag containing the kit. I handed it to Percy, saying, "Congratulations, Seaweed Brain; we're going to have a baby soon."

Shock registered on his face as he looked down and confirmed the news I was delivering to him. The red lines against the white background agreed with me and for a second I thought I saw doubt on his face, followed by denial and I thought, Here's when I'll lose him, but he fixed his expression and drew me to a hug.

"We're gonna be okay," he murmured against my ear. "I'm here; I'll never leave you."

I could hear them fighting from inside Noah's room.

Two people whom no one could doubt held strong love for each other were now divided. This situation we were in drove wedges between everyone. There were cracks beneath the foundation of our life, inner motivations and alliances, threatening that anytime our world could go tumbling down.

"They're always like that," Pierre commented from the couch.

I got up from my place beside Noah's bed and sat beside him, drawing him into a hug, trying my best to shield him from what was happening but then I realized it was futile; Pierre was already exposed and there was nothing I could do to reclaim the type of childhood he should be enjoying.

"Just tune them out," I instructed him. "Don't listen; bring your mind somewhere else."

Pierre snuggled closer to my chest and wrapped his arms around my waist. We would've stayed that way, trying not to listen to what was happening if not for the groan from the bed. We both stood up and rushed to Noah.

His eyes were tired but a smile lit up his face when they focused on us. "Hi," he said.

"How are you feeling?" I automatically asked him.

"Great," he answered sarcastically. He hated hospitals, a trait he got from his father. He looked down at the IV drip attached to his arm. "What is it this time?"

I opened my mouth to provide an answer but I choked and failed to get the words out. My son looked at me in concern. I turned my back on him and closed my eyes, forcing myself to stay calm. Seymour said that this would happen and when it did . . .

"Your kidneys are dead," Pierre answered.

Noah chuckled. "I envy them, then."

That answer made me turn around. I knew Noah was very much aware of how his journey might end but saying it out loud hurt like being hit by a sledgehammer. I suddenly felt it impossible to breathe. How to you breathe when one simple sentence took all your air? How do you keep yourself grounded when said words pulled the earth right beneath you and you found yourself tumbling into an endless void?

Pierre looked at me then to his brother, then, sensing that words that were not meant for him were about to be exchanged, he went back to the couch and put his headphones on.

"Why would you say that?" I asked him, the tremble in my voice very evident. "You're gonna be fine."

"Mom," he said firmly. "Please let's not kid ourselves. We both know what's going to happen now."

"Noah – "

"Mom," he repeated, "we don't have much time so please stop talking." He paused. "I love you, so much, and I know that this is very hard for you but you have to let me go. You have to, Mom."

I couldn't stop it anymore. I fell into his arms and sobbed. He wanted me to let him go. Why? Why would I let him go? I couldn't do that. I didn't want to do it. What I wanted was to see my son walk out of here healthy, I wanted to take his pictures when he graduated high school, be the one to drive him to his college of his choice. I wanted to see him off on his first day at work, give him tips on how he can effectively propose to his girl and be the one to walk him down the aisle the day he started a family of his own and teach him how to handle his firstborn but who was I kidding? None of those was going to happen now. The future I pictured in my head for my boy had now been stripped to nothingness.

"But before that, please give Dad a message. Will you, for me?" he asked, cupping my face between his palms. "I want Dad to know that I love him so much and that there's nothing he can do better. I don't mind my disease killing me but it's killing my family, too." He placed a kiss between my eyes. Those dry and cracked lips were already muttering their goodbye. "I'm ready, Mom."

He's ready. My son was ready to die, to let go, but was I? Looking at him, I knew that he's serious with what his saying. How many times had he implied this before? That was tired and he was ready to move on? I was just too selfish to listen. Why couldn't I do it when deep inside I knew that the only reason my son was in this prolonged suffering was because Percy and I couldn't just let him go?

"You don't have to do it now, yet," he said, brushing the strands of hair that had fallen to my eyes. "But please do me a favor and stop Reyna and Dad's fight before they say something they would both regret. You're the only one who can do it; you're the only one they would listen to."

I nodded and wiped the tears away. Anything. Anything that he asked I would do. For what little time that was left, I would see to it that these little wishes would be fulfilled. I made sure to check that Pierre was still sitting on the couch as I tentatively opened the door. This would be a good distraction from my recent conversation with my son, something to keep my mind off of the fact that he was asking my permission to die.

With a hand clutching my chest, I peeked and took a look at the scene before me the same time that Percy turned his head to me.

They exchanged harsh words; words I knew they would never say had their emotions were not taking control of them. I wanted to tune them out but I couldn't. Reyna's words were ringing in my ears. "Just don't forget that he isn't the only person in this equation. Just don't forget that Noah isn't your only blood here. You're already losing one son; don't make a decision that will cost you your other family."

Had Percy really forgotten that? Had he pushed Pierre aside because of our son? He may not be aware of it but I knew it was true. Maybe that was something that he and I had in common. We were both pushed at the back of the closet but another set of words spoken by Reyna again made themselves known.

"It might seem that you were pushed at the back of the closet when you were supposed to be up front but that was because that's where you were needed the most – to keep the foundation intact."

Then I guess that's what I had to do. But when I opened my eyes, Pierre was there. Somehow he managed to squeeze himself between the door and me.

"Noah needs a kidney? He needs a liver? Take mine! Take everything I have, just please stop fighting!" he screamed, tears running down his cheeks. All words that were being thrown ceased, leaving only the labored breathing of the people in the hallway that had seen the scene. With difficulty, Pierre added, "Please stop fighting."

Then he was off running.

Reyna was saying something to Percy, accusation burning fiercely in her eyes that were somewhat magnified by the dark color of her irises. Somehow I found myself sitting at the bench right outside my son's room. When I looked up, Reyna was gone and Percy had sat beside me.

I took his hand and listened as he recounted the indecision, the impossibility of the situation he was put in, how scared he was every single day he woke up. He was the head of the family and everyone expected him to make the choices that would define the outcome of the situation we were placed in. I know that from an outsider's perspective, he may seem too hard, or even heartless for even considering letting the transplant go on but I knew that it wasn't the case. I knew the Percy that would do anything to protect everyone he loved, the one who wouldn't hesitate hurting himself to keep everyone he loved safe and unhurt.

I let him know he wasn't the only one feeling that way because I was, too. Each day began with a question: Would this be the last one I'd get to spend with Noah? I just tried to ignore them because they're not going to do anything. The lines between hate and love within our family were already so thin that if I did let these thoughts get the best of me then everything would blur into a colorless mess offering nothing but pain. I had to let Percy know that he couldn't do what he was planning to. So I did.

He was obviously upset because he tried to stand up but I didn't let him. Then of course I had to tell him about what his son said. Percy deserved to know what Noah had told me, and I knew that if I was to let go of my son, the only way for me to do it would be with his father.

He wanted to say something; I knew he wanted to, except Seymour chose that moment to tell us about what we already knew. Percy was opposite him, I knew he would be, but with what Seymour had said, I knew that this was it. I couldn't keep Noah to myself anymore because it would be selfish. He had suffered for ten years already and keeping him with us wouldn't be a very parent-y thing to do. Then I realized that was one part of being a parent: knowing when to stop even when every single bone in your body tells you to fight, even when it is futile and hurts you so much, on behalf of your child, when you knew that it's what he wants and what is best.

Percy turned to me as Seymour was walking away. "Listen, Annabeth," he said, "that's not going to happen, okay? I'll work my ass off to find a donor to – "

"Percy, stop," I cut him off. He opened his mouth to speak but I stopped him again. "Please, if you don't want to listen to me then listen to Noah." I looked at my son's door, knowing that once I send Percy in, it would mean the end. "Go in there and have a talk with your son."

[Next Chapters - 29: BEFORE SUNSET; 30: NEVER LET ME GO]

Yes, next time I will be uploading two chapters at once so please standby. :D