Poseidon didn't remember booking the next flight to San Francisco or calling his wife telling her what happened.
He only recalled the long Uber ride to the hospital. It was late at night, and his stomach was in knots. If he ever thought he had true anxiety in the past, it compares to nothing than the panic he felt now. The nausea was overwhelming, the adrenaline running through his veins kept making him twitch every few seconds.
He wasn't informed about anything other than his son being in an accident. There was no mention about his son's condition, or about either Sally or her husband Paul.
It wasn't until he got to the hospital that he was truly terrified to hear the news about his son.
He took a breath and stepped in, there was a front desk twenty feet from the entrance.
He marched up to the front desk, "Excuse me. I got word that my son Perseus Jackson was in a car accident today. Is he okay? Where is he?"
"Give me a moment" The lady at the desk spoke, as she typed on the computer.
Poseidon let out a shaky breath and ran a hand through his hair, as he waited for further information.
"I'm gonna need your ID, sir" the lady at the front desk said.
He mutely nodded and reached for his wallet in the back pocket of his jeans. His hand didn't get a good grip on the wallet as they were shaking too much, and he dropped it on the ground.
The lady behind the desk seemed unfazed by it and waited until Poseidon was able to give her his ID. She took one glance at it before handing it back to him.
"Alright Poseidon. There's an officer on the fourth floor that will inform you about the accident."
"Okay, fourth floor. Do you know about the condition of my son? Is he okay?" He asked again, hoping for some clarification.
"The officer will give you the details." Was all she said before she directed her attention to the person behind him.
Poseidon stepped away from the desk, fighting the urge to tear out his hair, he headed towards the staircase. The nausea of the built up anxiety didn't go away as he made his way up the stairs.
"Are you Mr. Olympion?" An officer who was standing at the entrance asked once he stepped on the fourth floor.
Poseidon gulped, "Yes I am. Do you have news about my son?"
He motioned with his hand towards two chairs secluded from the rest in the waiting room. "Let's take a seat shall we?"
Poseidon nodded numbly following his direction. He sat down clumsily, and stared at the nervous police officer who was scratching his neck awkwardly.
"As you're aware your son has been in a car accident earlier this morning." The officer stated.
"I've heard that already. What I want to know is my son even alive? No one ever informed me about the condition of my son. What about his mother? I believe his mother and her husband were also in the car. Are they okay?" Poseidon asked well aware his voice was escalating in pitch as his nerves shifted into full gear.
"I'm gonna need to calm down sir. I can't give you the full details about your son, that is up to the doctors to discuss with you. What I can share with you is that your son is alive and stable."
Poseidon sat back relieved. Having confirmation that his son is alive lifted his heart from its heavy state.
"I'm afraid to tell you sir, the other two passengers, I believe they're your son's mother and stepfather, were killed in the crash." The officer clamped his hands together in nervousness.
"Sally... she's dead?" Poseidon gulped.
The officer just nodded trying to look anywhere but his face. It's obvious that this is his first time breaking news to families.
Poseidon just buried his head into his hands. Sally is still special to him in his heart, he only left her to ensure safety to her and Percy from his father.
Poseidon still loved her, even though he's married to a another woman he loves. There was no replacing Sally. Her bright smile warmed the coldest mornings at sea, her soft blue eyes twinkled at the inklings of mischief. She stopped at nothing to ensure everyone was taken care of. She was a true queen among her peers.
The officer cleared his throat, Poseidon glanced up at him from his hands. "Sir, there'll be some custody paperwork for you to fill out since your son is still a minor. You shouldn't have to go to court to get custody over your son, since you're the only guardian listed."
Poseidon nodded, everything felt numb. The thought of having Percy to come home with him forever sent a sliver of warmth through his body. Though he couldn't help but dread Amphitrite reaction, Poseidon knew she wasn't fond of Percy. He just prayed that she can hold it together, and doesn't make Percy's life any worse than it is.
"Well that's about all I have to tell you. I'll take you to his doctor." The officer quickly stood. Poseidon also got up to his feet and followed behind the officer.
The officer took winding paths through the halls, but he finally found the doctor.
"Dr. Yew this is Mr. Olympion. He's the father of the patient who was in the car accident earlier this morning."
"Hello Mr. Olympion, I'm Dr. Michael Yew. I'm the lead doctor in charge of your son Perseus. I'll need to discuss a couple of things for you."
Dr. Yew held his hand out for a shake and Poseidon hesitantly shook it.
"Well I need to go. I'll bring back those custody papers for you Mr. Olympion." The officer patted his pants for his keys before finding the correct pocket they were in.
"Wait can I have your name officer?" Poseidon called out before he left.
"Oh yeah I forgot to mention that. I'm officer Frank Zhang, or just officer Zhang." He waved as he exited, Poseidon waved back out of habit.
"Alright Mr. Olympion, before I take you to go see your son, I need to discuss some things with you."
The doctor motioned for him to follow as he took him to another room with a few chairs. The doctor closed the door to ensure privacy.
Poseidon sat down on the chair feeling his nerves creep up once more. The doctor sat across from him with a clipboard in his hand.
"I don't know if Officer Zhang gave you the full details about the accident? It was a very severe crash. The car rolled off from a cliff"-
"A cliff?!" Poseidon exclaimed.
"I can see that Officer Zhang did not give you the full details then. Yes, it appears the car swerved off a cliff. As you can guess the impact from the fall has its consequences. It is indeed very very lucky that your son is alive, and he didn't receive any more life altering injuries than what he has."
"What life altering injuries does he have?" Poseidon rubbed his face with his hands to disguise the tremors radiating from his hands.
Dr. Yew sighed, "His right leg is the most serious injury he has. The knee cap and his femur were shattered into tiny pieces."
"Were? Did you fix it?" Poseidon asked confused to why it would be life altering if it's fixed.
"We cannot fix a bone if it is in such disarray. Not to mention the tissue and muscle damage from the tiny glass like bone fragments sawing into them. We did everything we could to try to save the leg, but we had to amputate his leg just slightly above the knee."
"Amputate?" Poseidon asked in a low voice.
The doctor nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. Some of the bone fragments were too close to a major artery. We had to act fast in case any movement were to jostle the bone fragments closer to the artery. The operation went smoothly, he is on the mend. He does have a concussion, we have a good indication that he will not have any brain damage, but we cannot rule it out until he will wakes up. Considering the severity of the accident, he's indeed very lucky."
Poseidon took a deep breath in. Considering what happened to Sally and Paul, Percy is lucky. Percy should've have more injuries if he had fallen from a cliff. Poseidon should be counting his blessings.
"For now we are keeping Perseus under heavy sedation to give his body some rest. We'll probably start lifting the sedation in a couple of days, it all depends how fast he can recover. Do you want to see your son?"
He nodded getting to his feet to follow the doctor. Dr. Yew led him through some more winding hallways before stopping outside a room.
"Alright it's always a bit shocking to see your love one in such a condition, so I'll give you a moment. There's a call button besides Perseus's bed if you need to call for a nurse. I'll have a nurse come speak with you about arrangements about sleeping. If there's anymore questions let me know." The doctor patted the father on the shoulder before leaving.
Poseidon took a deep breath before entering the room. He wasn't prepared for the sight his son was in. Percy laid frightening still, his face pale and sickly. He has a baseball sized deep purple bruise on his left temple. The remainder of his right leg was swaddled with bandages.
"Oh Percy" Poseidon whispered stepping closer to his son. He slumped down onto the chair besides the bed. Poseidon took Percy's hand that isn't hooked to any monitors into his own. He rubbed his thumb over his son's hand affectionately.
"Everything will be alright Percy. I'll make sure of it."
He sat down in the chair besides his son's bed numbingly staring at his son. The past conversation with the officer and the doctor settled in.
He's going to have to raise his son full year round until he's eighteen. He didn't mind as he loved his son, but he knew Percy loved his mother more. He knew it would be a rough couple of months once they get back to New York, but he'll have to do his best to keep him comfortable.
Poseidon didn't know if his wife or his eldest son will do the same.
Michael Yew: Son of Apollo in the Percy Jackson original series. Was head councilor of cabin seven. - No relation to Apollo in this fic.
Frank Zhang: Son of Mars in Heroes of Olympus series. One of the seven in the prophecy. - No relation to Ares in this fic