Status: Could stand alone but I have ideas to continue
After it all
Chap one
As the ship got under way the 6 demigods and 1 satyr dispersed. Jason, the son of Jupiter and Piper, the daughter of Aphrodite went towards the prow of the boat to talk about what had happened. Leo, son of Hephaestus went towards the controls, muttering about the sphere and how to connect it to the ship. Coach Hedge went below deck presumably to watch baseball or a cage match. Hazel, daughter of Pluto took Nico, son of Hades to the sickbay. And the son of Mars, Frank Zhang, went to the galley.
He wandered, slowly and almost robotically, into the galley and grabbed one of the magical plates out of the cabinets. He sat down in the nearest chair and put the plate down. Frank sat there staring through the plate lost in thought. “If only I had been faster with those ropes. Then Annabeth and Percy would be here right now,” He mumbled to what he thought was an empty room.
“You did the best you could,” a soft voice spoke from the doorway.
“Hazel,” Frank said softly. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Not very long,” The daughter of Pluto said moving to sit on the arm of Frank’s chair. “You can’t keep beating yourself up about it.”
“But I could have saved them,” A dejected Frank responded lacing his fingers with Hazel’s.
“You heard Nico. Tartarus pulls at anyone who gets near it. If you had tried you would have gone down too. That would have killed me Frank,” Hazel said looking down at his large hand holding her small one.
He was silent for a long moment. Then he sighed and said “I feel guilty for leaving them. I just wish there was something we could do for them. I keep replaying it in my head and now I can’t recall why I didn’t see them falling. It’s eating at me.”
Hazel leaned down and kissed Frank’s check. She pulled an inch back and whispered “I wish there was something we could do for them as well. But the best we can do is meet them at the Doors. There is one ray of light in this darkness though, they are together. They wouldn’t want it any other way. Any way together is how they are strongest. They’ll be okay, Frank.”
“You always know what to say” Frank said quietly leaning forwards to capture her lips. They shared a moment of pure bliss. In that short sweet moment, the pan of what had happened dulled. When they pulled apart they spent a moment looking into each other’s eyes just being grateful they were together.
After a long moment Hazel snuggled into Frank’s chest. She sighed contently, bring a small smile to his lips. Frank wrapped his arms around her, almost ad if challenging the known and unknown forces of the universe to try and take her from him. They sat there in silence for a long time, just enjoying the feeling of each other. The warmth of Frank, the feeling of being protected, and the events of the day, had Hazel drifting off to sleep. Frank sat in the chair a long time, just thinking about everything Hazel had said about the events of today and how lucky he was to have her. He knew he should put her in a bed, but after everything that had happened he was unwilling to let her out of his sight. Frank decided that after everything that had happened he was allowed to be a little bit selfish.
Slowly the events of the day began to take their affect on Frank. At first he fought sleep, whether if it was because he was frightened of being attacked or he was afraid Hazel would be taken from him while he slept he wasn’t quite sure. But slowly Frank was losing the battle. Eventually his head slipped forward until it was resting in Hazel’s curly hair. But even in sleep his arms stayed firmly wrapped around Hazel, a bit like a child with a beloved stuffed animal.
He wandered, slowly and almost robotically, into the galley and grabbed one of the magical plates out of the cabinets. He sat down in the nearest chair and put the plate down. Frank sat there staring through the plate lost in thought. “If only I had been faster with those ropes. Then Annabeth and Percy would be here right now,” He mumbled to what he thought was an empty room.
“You did the best you could,” a soft voice spoke from the doorway.
“Hazel,” Frank said softly. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Not very long,” The daughter of Pluto said moving to sit on the arm of Frank’s chair. “You can’t keep beating yourself up about it.”
“But I could have saved them,” A dejected Frank responded lacing his fingers with Hazel’s.
“You heard Nico. Tartarus pulls at anyone who gets near it. If you had tried you would have gone down too. That would have killed me Frank,” Hazel said looking down at his large hand holding her small one.
He was silent for a long moment. Then he sighed and said “I feel guilty for leaving them. I just wish there was something we could do for them. I keep replaying it in my head and now I can’t recall why I didn’t see them falling. It’s eating at me.”
Hazel leaned down and kissed Frank’s check. She pulled an inch back and whispered “I wish there was something we could do for them as well. But the best we can do is meet them at the Doors. There is one ray of light in this darkness though, they are together. They wouldn’t want it any other way. Any way together is how they are strongest. They’ll be okay, Frank.”
“You always know what to say” Frank said quietly leaning forwards to capture her lips. They shared a moment of pure bliss. In that short sweet moment, the pan of what had happened dulled. When they pulled apart they spent a moment looking into each other’s eyes just being grateful they were together.
After a long moment Hazel snuggled into Frank’s chest. She sighed contently, bring a small smile to his lips. Frank wrapped his arms around her, almost ad if challenging the known and unknown forces of the universe to try and take her from him. They sat there in silence for a long time, just enjoying the feeling of each other. The warmth of Frank, the feeling of being protected, and the events of the day, had Hazel drifting off to sleep. Frank sat in the chair a long time, just thinking about everything Hazel had said about the events of today and how lucky he was to have her. He knew he should put her in a bed, but after everything that had happened he was unwilling to let her out of his sight. Frank decided that after everything that had happened he was allowed to be a little bit selfish.
Slowly the events of the day began to take their affect on Frank. At first he fought sleep, whether if it was because he was frightened of being attacked or he was afraid Hazel would be taken from him while he slept he wasn’t quite sure. But slowly Frank was losing the battle. Eventually his head slipped forward until it was resting in Hazel’s curly hair. But even in sleep his arms stayed firmly wrapped around Hazel, a bit like a child with a beloved stuffed animal.
♠ ♠ ♠
So this could stand alone. But I have an idea, where i do i short chapter for each character still on board the ship and what they think as they find the sleeping pair. Does anyone want this to happen?