Chasing The Dark

Chapter 11 - Asclepius Took It After Dad

Apollo flashed inside the chemotherapy area of the New York Memorial, more especifically, inside the janitor's room on the same floor. He walked outside the room, fixing his clothes and looking around, to blend with the visitors.

"Um, excuse me?" he leaned over the counter of the reception to talk to the middle age woman sitting behind it "I, um, I'd like to know in which room is, um, Naomi Solace?" he stammered a little. How is she gonna reach when she sees me? Will she scream at me? Will she hate me?

"Let me check just a moment, dear" the woman, replied, gently. Apollo waited while she checked on her computer "Are you a family member?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Apollo was taken away from his thoughts "Oh, I am, um, her husband?" At the end, it sounded like a question, like if he wasn't sure of it.

"Oh, you're Mr. Solace, then?" Apollo nodded at the question, a little more relieved "OK, dear... It's room 365"

"Thank you" Apollo thanked her, before walking down the direction where the room was.

~oOo~

Turns our the room was the last one on the chemotherapy floor, which means Apollo was wandering the halls like an idiot. But, when he found the room, all his doubts about what happened recently (Will's attack, his secrecy, the murder of his stepdad) fade away.

Breathing out, Apollo turned around the doorknob and walked into the room. The first image he got was the lying body of Naomi Solace on her hospital bed. She was sleeping, not connected to any wires or artificial breather. She just was sleeping.

"Nao..." Apollo whispered, rushing to the head side of her bed. Her hair, once her proud and beautiful asset, was reduce to strands lying around her head, that was close to be bald. Her body, her temple of health, was reduce to skinny muscles and visible bones "Oh, my..." he covered his mouth, trying not to get emotional.

He rushed to the clinical history to read it. According to the doctor, Cassandra had T-cell-prolymphocytic leukemia, treatable if it is caught on time. And both, Will and Naomi, were lucky to caught it on time.

"Don't worry, Nao..." Apollo promised, stroking her hand "You'll be OK..." After that being said, Apollo locked closed the door, in case any curious mortal could walk in and don't understand what was going on.

Apollo began to chant his own hymen, his hand a few inches away from Naomi's body and glowing, showing his powers in medice. He continued until he felt that Naomi was healthy. He considered to make her more fill in her muscles and make her hair grow back, but that would had cause a scandal about it. He only stopped when Naomi opened her eyes.

"Apollo..." she mumbled, her hand raising slowly and placing it over his glowing hand. That movement made him stop, surprised.

"Nao..." Even though he was tired, Apollo couldn't help but smile at her "We have a lot to talk..."

~oOo~

"And, remember that date we had on the beach? A dog chased you around the beach! It was so funny!" Naomi reminded him, chuckling from his bed. Apollo redden, but chuckled as well.

"I never wore that barbecue smelly cologne" he admitted at her, smiling at her, sitting next to her "I don't know why I wore it on the first place"

"I told you I liked steak. And you wanted me to like you" she explained to him, smirking. Apollo nodded, still smirking.

"Nao, we need to talk, seriously this time" Apollo turned serious, fighting with himself to not tell her. But she had to know.

"What about it?" she wondered, ignorant and curious.

"It's about Will" Cassandra sat up, concern "When you got here... the man you married, he... He's been abusing Will"

"Apollo, are you jealous?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow, with a smile playing on her lips "Apollo, you'll always be his father-"

"Nao, listen to me" he made emphasis in his words, the playfulness away from his voice and eyes "Your husband forced Will into gangs and mobs... He hurt him, all the time" Naomi looked scandalized, not believing a word that was coming out of the god "I saw his scars, Nao... I would never lie about Will's safety. I even told you about how dangerous was gonna be his life..."

"And you were right... Like always" she recognized, closing her eyes while a little tear ran away "God, I was so blind..."

"It's not your fault, Nao..." Apollo reassured her, grasping her hand in his "I had to spy on Will for me to know!" he told her, wiping the tears away.

"All those limping around, winces and- God, I'm a fool!!" she cried in his arms.

"He did it for you. Because, only that way, that bastard of your husband would had pay for your treatment" he said, stroking her hair.

"I wanna see him" she sobbed.

"Of course"

~oOo~

"Dad, I don't understand and you're making no sense" Will complained, while his father drove his 'sun car' to the hospital. Will was annoyed and Apollo understood it, considering that he didn't elaborated to him where they were going. All Will was aware of was that Apollo wanted to take him some place special. And even Nico di Angelo was a guest in this trip.

"I told you, Will... I'm gonna take your some place special to give you a surprise" he repeated, watching the teens with his mirror.

"Dad, I don't like surprises..." Will recognized, his facials changing for a second.

"You'll think different of this one, trust me" Apollo asked, pulling over. And, thanks to his polarized windows, the place was still a mystery until they got off the car "Here we are"

"Dad-" Will stopped talking when he saw the hospital entrance in front of him. Without saying a word, he ran inside, forcing Apollo and Nico to follow him.

"Where is he going?!" Nico demanded, racing with all in his body.

"Mom..." Apollo didn't answer to Nico. Instead, he stared at Will and Naomi's reunion. Both were in tears and hugging each other.

"Thank you for everything, Will..." Naomi whispered in her son's ear "We'll be OK now..."

"How did you know?" Nico wondered to Apollo, who gave him a look "Spying god, I assumed?"

"And, I'm happy I did"