A Lofty Choice

Chapter 7

Annabeth was sitting at the coffee table with Sally.   "Annabeth, you can go home.  I am fine now," Sally said. 

Annabeth shook her head.  "Nope, I want those blue cookies."

Sally put a hand on her hips.   Annabeth had stayed overnight, and had not mentioned cookies until now.   Annabeth did enjoy cookies, but not to the extent that Percy did.   Sally was wondering now why Annabeth was demanding cookies?"

Paul would be back any minute from the school trip.  The trip was camping and it was only supposed to be overnight.  Was it because she wanted to wait for Paul?

Sally smiled at Annabeth grabbing the sugar and food coloring to begin prepping.

In forty minutes, blue cookies were laying on a rack and Paul had come home.

He looked at them and took one from the tray. "These look delicious."

Sally was studying Annabeth, but she made no reaction to the cookie being eaten.

Paul looked around Annabeth. Finding no Percy a crease appeared on his forehead. "Where is Percy?"

Sally's eyes started to moisten. Annabeth got up, grabbed a plastic bag, stuffed blue cookies in her bag, and left through the front door.

Paul watched her do this in stunned silence. "Did I do something wro...," Paul turned. He saw Sally's expression and went to her.

"Is Percy..." Dead. The unspoken truth that always hanged in the balance every time he stepped out the door. That fear cling onto Paul and weighed heavily on Sally.

Sally shook her head. Paul let out a sigh of relief. At least that was okay.

"Percy is okay, but we need to talk. It's a long story."

Paul dropped his overnight bag and sat down grabbing a blue cookie. He was going to need the blue cookie.

* * *

Percy woke up in his new room. He got up, in his pajamas and walked to the hallway to to find home.

He missed an exit and ended up in the wrong spot. Percy sighed looking at the halls that looked the same.

Bruce was in the hallway with a tube when he saw Percy who was looking around. He was pointing to hallways, and mumbling to himself "I came from that hallway."

Bruce smiled at the boy. He still could not believe that Nat had a kid, but he was happy for her.

"Hey kid? You lost?"

Percy was lost in his own thoughts, so when he heard a voice it startled him. Percy jumped in the air like a scared cat. Turning his body towards Bruce.

It was a good reaction when a monster approached Percy. It would mean survival for the monsters who tried to kill him. Bruce wasn't a monster, unless you counted the Hulk as a monster. In the very least, Bruce wasn't trying to kill him.

Percy acted like he was putting his hand in his pajama pocket casually. He slipped his pen back in his pocket. He smiled sheepishly at Bruce. "Do you know where the dining hall is?"

"I can walk you," Bruce said. He looked at Percy's disheveled hair and his pajamas. He thought it was going to be nice having a teenager around.

"As long as you don't think I am a puppy I will take you up on the offer."

Bruce had replayed the words "I can walk you," and understood what Percy meant. On second thought, having a teenager might be problematic. They looked cute, but they would paint grey onto their parents.

"So how was your first night?"

"Good," Percy said. No need to tell anyone about last night.

"That's good," Bruce said. "I am the doctor around the tower, so if you need medical attention you can come to me."

Percy thought of Will. "Thanks for the offer."

Bruce paused in his walking and turned to Percy, putting his hand on his shoulder. Percy flinched when Bruce grabbed him. He didn't mean to flinch, but he could not help but think of all the times someone grabbed him like that when he was fighting.

Bruce noticed and then concern lit his eyes. He dropped his hands and slowly lifted his hand. He didn't think he had a severe reaction. It was just a small flinch. It was only natural when he was grabbed suddenly, but Bruce acted severely.

Bruce acted like he didn't notice and Percy sighed in relief. "I don't think you are going to say "yes" to the medical attention."

Percy shrugged a shoulder turning his face away. Not because he was shy, but because he didn't want to show the face he was making behind Bruce's back. "Don't worry. I have a doctor."

"Really, do you mind if I look at your file."

"I don't have a medical file," Percy said.

"You have a doctor, so you should have a medical file," Bruce exclaimed.

"He doesn't put my treatment on a medical file."

Bruce looked at Percy concerned. "Why don't I give you a..."

"No," Percy said.

Bruce grumbled to himself. When they arrived Bruce took off to find Nat.

Percy sat down at he stool watching Bruce leave. He grabbed food wondering what Bruce was up to.

* * *

Natasha had left as soon as Percy had fallen asleep. Fury had answered her call, and they had a nice talk.

Fury didn't know what was going on with the kid, but from what Natasha had revealed about her son's father Fury knew there was going to be a problem.

"Keep interrogating the kid, and keep me updated. I will keep digging," Fury said.

Fury stood up with a file on his hand. He handed the file to Natasha. Natasha opened the file to see a young Percy.

Natasha smiled touching the image of the twelve year old boy.

"Time flies fast with kids," Fury said. "Spend as much time as you can with him. I have agents on this case, you don't have to personally look for information."

"Thanks, but I still want to work."

"Later," Fury said.

"Later," Natasha said.

That's when she went back to the tower, when she saw Bruce waiting for her.