Renegade

Emily's POV

I looked up when the monitor beeped. A single blip, followed by another, and another, and another.

“Not possible,” Mike murmured, “Chiron, heart rate—”

“Theoretically possible within thirty minutes of heart failure. The brain restarts the heart on its own,” The centaur mused, “But I’ve never seen…”

“What does it mean?” I asked, feeling dizzy and ready to faint with anxiety.

“It means,” Griff’s voice said, making the sheet move up and down with his breath, “that technically, I’m alive.”

I screamed and rushed forward to his bed, ripping to cover sheet off and kissing Griff, his emerald eyes alive and open. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful sight in my entire life. I kept kissing him until even Chiron started to feel embarrassed. He cleared his throat, and I realized things were getting awkward.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, wanting to burst out in a massive smile and start giggling like a schoolgirl. I had Griff back. I held his hand as Annabeth and Percy came up and embraced him, tears welling in their eyes.

He looked at me from his bed with a tired glance, and I got the message. Coming back from the dead, if only for a little while, was tiring business. He needed rest. But I couldn’t help think that maybe my last kiss started something in him. A spark to help him wake up.

No, I told myself, C’mon, Emily, you can’t get selfish.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Griff then promptly went to sleep, and I stayed with him. I told myself that I would stay with him until he woke up, just as he did after Periphetes had stabbed me. Griff slept for hours, but I told myself to stay awake. When he finally did wake up, it was almost like I was a little girl again on Christmas morning. When his eyes opened again, it was the greatest present I had ever received.

But I couldn’t let him know that.

“You drool when you sleep,” I said, trying to keep a straight face. But I wasn’t really trying. It was so hard not to smile at him. Not to smile at our luck.

“I do?” he asked, embarrassedly wiping his face.

“I’m just joking, Griff,” I said, and I walked over and kissed him lightly.

“Thought you were,” He said when I released.

“Yeah right,” I told him in response.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Griff said.

Uh-oh, I thought. My mother had taught me from day one that that phrase, coming from a boyfriend, was a trigger phrase. Something to prick your ears up at if heard.

“About?” I asked, actually maintaining a poker face this time.

“About us, actually,” he said, “I mean, what do you think they think about us? They must love the fact that their children are getting together, right?”

“Don’t be sarcastic,” I chided, almost out of habit. We had been worried for so long about how our parents would take it, that when I looked in Griff’s eyes, I was surprised to see genuine sincerity in them.

“I’m serious, Em. I don’t mean to be egotistical or self-centered, but if we, you know, go farther, we will be the connection between two of the most powerful demigod families in history.”
I tried to control my huge grin as I replayed his words in my mind. One, he had mentioned ‘going farther,’ as in marriage. Smart boy. Second, he had a seriously good point. The pessimistic part of me said,

Yes, but if you two don’t work out, your families will be driven apart.

Then I told that part of me to shut up.

“Yeah,” I said, still spinning from his words, “I guess I’ve never thought about it like that. I mean, we’ll be partners for ten years, right?”

“Hopefully,” he said, his eyebrows darkening, “But after this whole fiasco, I don’t know if I want to stay in the Organization.”

“Are you kidding?” I asked, “They’ll want us to investigate every internal affair for the rest of time! We’ll have actual jobs to do, monsters to kill!”

“Mmm,” Griff hummed in thought, “Maybe, then. For you.”

I smiled into his eyes for the fiftieth time in five minutes, and nodded my head. Then, surprisingly, all four of our parents walked into the room, grinning like idiots. We were all now back where we had been five or six hours ago, when Griff…you know what? I think I won’t mention what happened last time we were in the Infirmary.

“What are you guys doing here?” I asked, smiling on the outside but wary on the inside. They kept grinning, and Percy responded,

“Well, I’m checking up on my kid—”

“I’m fine, dad! Really, I am,” Griff said, interrupting him.

“Griff,” Annabeth said, and Griff calmed down. She walked over and kissed him on the forehead.

Then, she looked at me with the weirdest expression. A mixture of mock indignation/being offended, and appreciation.

“Emily, I’m sorry, but Griff gets the drooling from his father.”

“Okay?” I asked, not sure where she was going with this.

“ ‘You drool when you sleep’ was the first thing I ever said to him,” she said proudly, and they smiled at each other.

My instinct would have been to say, ‘Great for you, now can you leave me and my boyfriend alone?’

But I knew that would be rude. And I could practically feel my mother glaring at me, silently urgingme not to be insolent.

“Oh come on, Emily,” Percy said with a massive grin on his face, “Just admit it! You two are in
love.”

I stammered something, and then took a breath, my cheeks feeling hot. I looked over at my parents, who were split. My dad was silently fuming, trying not to show it, and my mother was grinning like a schoolgirl at a boy band concert. Then, I looked over at Griff’s parents, and they were mellower. Percy was smiling pleasantly, looking honestly happy. Annabeth was harder to read, keeping up a stone cold poker face.

“Yes,” I said, “I guess you could say we are.”

“Yes!” Percy shouted in triumph, “suck it, Grace! I knew that my idea to partner them together would work out!”

“Wait, you partnered them together on purpose?” My mom and dad asked in unison. My mom was somehow grinning wider than she had four seconds ago, and my dad looked like he was getting ready to kill Percy.

“Oh, Styx,” Percy cursed, “I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

Annabeth just sighed at her husband and said, “Well, I think you two are a cute couple. Don’t you, Jason?”

Suddenly, all the red in my father’s face melted away. He looked at Annabeth and gulped, out of…fear? No way! My dad wasn’t afraid of anything! How could one little daughter of Athena spook him?

Then I looked into Annabeth’s eyes as she stared calmly into my father’s. Her look had one messaged blaring in it.

Look, lightning boy, if you don’t like them together, that’s your problem. But Percy and I do, so you’re going to have to like it.

“Yeah,” My father struggled to say, “I guess I do.”

Griff looked like he had just calmed down a lion that was about to rip his throat out. Then, I realized something. I looked around the Infirmary, and realized that one person was missing.

“Hey guys,” I asked, “where’s Nico?”

“Ah,” my father said, “he’s not one for mushy moments.”

All four of our parents laughed at that softly, and then kind of looked around the room with a wistful nostalgia in their eyes. I realized that this had been where they had grown up, where they had developed their first loves. I realized that they loved this place more than anything in the world, and I could see why.

I was just about to start talking again when an Iris-Message shimmered into existence just inside the door to Sick Bay. A man in black greeted all six of our faces. Since Xavier was…no longer here, I had no idea who he was. Like Xavier, he was dressed in a hood which covered his head entirely, giving him an air of mystery. But unlike Xavier, when he spoke, his voice was much younger in tambour.

“Hello, Officers Grace and Jackson,” He said. Not an official TFG greeting. I liked this guy already.

“Let’s drop the pretenses,” he said, “We need to meet. Be on Olympus in two days time at noon. I have a job for you.”

Notes

SUCK IT ALEC I DON'T KILL OFF MAIN CHARACTERS THAT EASILY. Sorry. What I meant was: I got you all on that last chapter, didn't I? Ye of little faith. Anyways, Griff's back., everyone! Sequels to plan, things to do! I hope you enjoyed this fanfic as this is the penultimate (second to last) chapter. Thanks for all the support through all of this, and I'll see you for the sequel: Renegade 2: The Wrath of Khan.

Enjoy,
Grafon

P.S. That title for the sequel is totally fake. I'll think of an actual one soon. For those who don't get the reference, shame on you. For those who do, live long and prosper.