The New God Series Shorts and One Shots.

Never Really Gone

Percy's point of view

One day I was checking on Amber to make sure she was safe. Although she wasn't in any kind of danger I could see that she was obviously upset. She was crying, I didn't know why she was crying, but I knew I hated seeing her so upset. Due to that, I found it extremely difficult to not immediately go to try and comfort her. Ever since I had to leave her I've kept an eye on her to make sure she's safe so I check on her as often as I can.

I love her so I couldn't just leave her like that, I went to her and gently placed my hand on her shoulder. At my touch, she looked up and a look of surprise appeared on her face. I sat down beside her, brushed a hair out of her face and gently wiped her tears away. I hugged her as best I could considering her current condition and did everything I could think of to try and comfort her. Since my arrival, she seemed to be calming down, and now she was just sniffling a bit rather than sobbing.

After she had calmed down a bit she asked, "What are you doing here? I didn't think you were coming back,"

I replied, "I was checking on you and I couldn't stand to see you so upset. I've been watching over you, and doing everything I can to make sure you stay safe,"

"Basically you've been stalking me," she said, sounding more amused than anything.

I blushed because she wasn't exactly wrong, but I was doing it because I wanted to protect her.

I replied, "You're not exactly wrong, but I just want to protect you even though I technically shouldn't be here,"

She seemed okay with that and I asked, "What's wrong? Why were you crying?"

her tears had stopped completely now and she said, "I'm just worried and maybe even a little afraid. Our son could be born any day now, and I'm still not sure I can really be a good mother. not only that, but I know it won't be easy to raise this baby myself, and I'm not sure I will be able to give our son the kind of childhood he deserves. More than anything I miss you and wish you could stay. I still love you Percy, I wish you didn't have to leave but I understand why you did. I know you're doing everything you can and I appreciate that, but I wish you could stay and do more. I could really use more help and I know It will be even harder once our son is born,"

I nodded understanding and then I said, "Amber, Everything will be alright, I'm sure you'll be a great mother and I'll do everything I can to help you. I haven't told them yet but I'm guessing my parents will probably do what they can to help too. I wish I could stay but I won't risk you or our son getting hurt. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to either of you,"

Amber sighed I knew she would understand but she couldn't help but be disappointed. I kissed her softly she returned it and cuddled closer to me on her couch. After we had to break the kiss Amber said, "I never expected to become a mother this early, I always thought I would wait until I was a little older and get married first,"

I nodded, understanding completely. I said, "I understand, I wasn't really planning on becoming a father right now either, but something about you made it nearly impossible to control myself. Despite that, I already love our son, and I can't wait to see him,"
Amber smiled at what I'd said. I asked, "have you chosen a name for him yet?"

I knew our son could be born any day now so it would be a good idea for her to make up her mind if she hadn't already.

Amber replied, "Yes, I've decided to use the name you suggested,"

I smiled when she said that, I was obviously pleased by that but if she had chosen something else I probably would have been okay with whatever she chose. We went from talking to kissing, I knew I probably shouldn't stay much longer but so far I couldn't make myself leave. Eventually, my mind went back to our son who would most likely be born any day now. I knew that once he is born I would most likely return to visit him even though I'm technically not supposed to. For now, though I would be content with thinking about him or talking about him to Amber. I knew I would have to leave soon, but before I did I kissed Amber again, and then she said, "I bet our son will look like you,"

I smiled again, but I replied, "It doesn't matter to me what he looks like, I'll be happy as long as he's healthy,"

Once again Amber smiled, but her smile grew a little and she placed her hand on her stomach.

I looked at her in confusion before she said, "He's kicking," her smile still clear on her face.

I was a bit surprised but I smiled as well, especially after she took my hand and placed it on her belly. moments afterward I also felt it when Luke kicked again. I stayed with her longer than I probably should have that evening. but it's so hard to control myself when I'm with her. It's like I just can't think straight.

Before I left I kissed Amber one last time, told her that I love her, and promised to do everything I could to help her after our son was born. After that, I gently placed my hands on her stomach and quickly kissed her belly, the closest I could get to kissing our son at the moment. Although I doubted Luke heard what I said next considering he was still in his mother's womb, I murmured, "I love you Son, I will come back as soon as I can,"

I think Amber heard at least some of what I'd said because her smile was still clear on her face. She also looked to be tearing up again although this time I thought it might be because of happiness. Based on her expression I could tell her mood changed quickly once again. I was almost certain she was sad again as she tried her hardest to fight off fresh tears. Voice trembling she said, " Percy I wish you could stay, I think you would be an amazing father,"
Smiling at her sadly I said, " thank you, I love you, and I wish I could stay with you but I won't put you at risk again, I shouldn't have stayed this long,"

As I left I tried not to look back at Amber's sad face as she was once again disappointed by my leaving. As much as I enjoyed seeing her again I'd just ended up making us both sad again since we both knew that we couldn't be together again for a long time if ever. Technically I wasn't breaking the ancient laws by visiting her yet, but it was still a risky thing to do.

All I managed to do was help her temporarily before just upsetting her again. Because of that, I knew I would have to stop visiting her completely. I knew I would come back one last time after our son is born, but after that, I would have to just watch her from a distance. Technically I would come back occasionally to bring gifts and other things to help Amber support herself and Luke. I knew she would need help, Raising a child certainly isn't easy, and I wished I could do more for her, but I knew I couldn't. Once our son is born I would have to stay away from Amber as much as possible despite how much I still love her.

Despite how much I miss her I knew I wouldn't be able to visit her anymore but I would still keep an eye on her to make sure she was safe. I was certain that I was never going to move on from her so maybe someday after our son grows up we would be able to reunite. I would love to make her my immortal wife, but as long as she's pregnant the change from mortal to immortal could hurt her or the baby. Not only that but once she has the baby she will have to raise him and that would take  a while. I knew it would be at least a decade before our son would go to camp. I didn't know what was in store for us in our future but I hoped that eventually Amber and I could be reunited, and I would prefer that would be sooner rather than later.