Part Ten: On Deserving More

A/N: I did it. I finished the story. A whole year and a half later. I'm sorry I had left the story for so long, but writing while studying has been extremely difficult.

Disclaimer: Still nope.

Althea did her best to keep her walk steady. She didn't want to give her mother the satisfaction of seeing her fall apart. As soon as she felt that she was out of sight, she sprinted towards the Big House to find her father.

Travis was sitting in the lounge with Connor, Chris and Percy, playing cards and exchanging light-hearted banter. Ever since his last conversation with Katie, he'd finally felt some peace. When he saw her, he still felt the pain of the past, but instead of the sharp pang of hurt, it was more a soft, dull ache. A small reminder of what had happened, but nothing that indicated any present feelings. He didn't really feel anything towards his ex-girlfriend, no anger, no love. Just…sadness. He felt sad for Katie. She had made her decision to walk away from him, to walk away from Althea and that was a choice that she was going to have to live with. Nobody won in this situation. Travis was left heartbroken and with a baby. Katie was alone and confused. But in the end, things had a way of mending themselves.

Everyone looked up as the door abruptly swung open. Althea was standing there, eyes misted over, hair in a mess and she was breathing heavily. She caught sight of her dad and rushed over to him. He couldn't remember standing up, but he caught his daughter in his arms as she crashed into him. As she buried her head into his chest, he held her tight, running his hand through her hair soothingly. In that moment, he'd realised tonight was when Althea had scheduled to meet Katie. It was evident that it hadn't gone well, and part of Travis was desperate to know what had happened and what had gone wrong. But Travis stayed in this moment, holding to his daughter tight. Comforting her. Because in the end, this was all that mattered to him.

Without thinking, Katie ran after her daughter, desperate to make amends. She knew that she had made mistakes, but she wanted to make things better. She wanted to get to know her daughter. She wanted a relationship with her daughter. Everything about her daughter was completely unknown to her and all she wanted to do was make it right.

When she arrived at the Big House lounge, she was a little surprised at what she saw. Travis was holding his daughter tight, his arms enveloped around her body. Katie felt a pang of hurt as she remembered what it was like to be wrapped up in those strong arms. After the times where her cabin had frustrated her, when she had lost one of her closest friends after a failed mission, those arms had always been there to hold her.

"Look Travis, I can explai-" she began. She wasn't the bad guy, she reminded herself firmly. She was making the best decision she could have at the time. At least that's what she liked to tell herself. Somehow, watching Travis console his…their daughter, she wasn't sure anymore.

Travis was getting more and more infuriated by the second. There was nothing more he hated than seeing his daughter cry. The last time she had cried was when she was nine, and this whole stupid ordeal had her crying twice in the span of a month. This had to end. This had to stop. This wasn't fair on Althea. This wasn't fair on him. He had waited for Katie for fifteen years. He had moped for the first three or so years. But since then, he had been rebuilding his life. He didn't need her. He lived without her, and he was living a great life. He had moved on, even though he didn't think he had. Sure, he had never dated, but that wasn't the point. He had everything that he ever needed, all he wanted in life. And that was enough for him. He was going to open his mouth to speak, but Althea suddenly pulled away from him.

She'd also had enough. Her father's words from a few days ago were still circling her mind. It's not your fault. Although she didn't quite believe it yet, she was starting to. It wasn't her fault that Katie had decided to walk away. And the dark haired girl was really starting to get sick of the way Katie got under Travis' skin. It was like she had some crazy spell over him. Sure, it had weakened over the past fifteen years, but you could still see it. And it made Althea sick to her core. Her dad was the kindest, funniest and most trustworthy and loving person she ever knew. He didn't deserve this kind of treatment. Not from someone who chose to walk away. She sniffled, wiping her hands across her face before turning to face the daughter of Demeter.

"Listen Katie," she began, not caring that all her dad's friends were standing there, trying not to look as intrigued as they were. She wanted all of this to be over with. "This ends now."

Katie looked at her daughter, shocked. There had been no emotion in Althea's voice, but the anger caused her dark green eyes to flicker. This isn't what I wanted, Katie thought, her anger beginning to grow. She was Althea's mother, she deserved a chance.

"No it doesn't. I am your mother," Katie retorted, her tone harsh but her voice trembling. This set Althea off, and she exploded before anyone got a chance to say a word.

"No you are not!" Althea was practically screaming now, tears still flowing down her face. She couldn't contain her anger anymore. She was sick and tired of this crap. "You are not my mother! You are the person who gave birth to me, so thank you for that," Althea continued, sarcasm dripping from her voice. Travis put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down, but she shrugged it off. No, she was going to do this. All of this needed to be said. No more hiding, no more pretending to be okay. "You lost your right to be my mother the day you left me. It's been fifteen years and you don't know the first thing about me."

"That's the thing! I want to get to know you Althea," Katie pleaded, tears starting to form in her eyes. That's all she wanted. She knew that she may have been asking for too much, but seeing her daughter, seeing Travis, it made everything so real. It had been so easy to sweep everything under the carpet when she had no idea what her daughter looked like and had no connection to her. It was easier to pretend that she hadn't made that mistake. But seeing them in the flesh, there was no denying it. Her daughter was grown up, and she'd missed out on everything.

"I don't want you to," Althea replied, her tone even. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She was still absolutely furious, but she knew that if she lost control she might say something she was going to regret. She was angry, but hurting her mum wasn't going to make anything better in the long run. "You left. That was your choice. And that broke my dad's heart. You broke my dad's heart." Althea tried to keep her voice from cracking. She had suddenly realised why she was so angry with Katie. It wasn't just because she had left her, it was because she had left her dad.

"Althea, it's okay," Travis interjected. He'd let his daughter go off at Katie, well, because she kind of deserved it. Katie didn't deserve to get to know his daughter, and it was completely ridiculous to him that she thought she had some right. But at the same time, Travis was not very good at feelings. Namely, when it was his feelings being aired out to the world. He was very aware that his friends and brother were watching the whole scene, looking completely in awe. They were all invested into this situation somehow, and everyone knew the story, but it felt weird to him that they were a part of this…intimate moment.

"No dad, it's not okay," Althea replied, holding her father's arm tentatively. She looked over at her Uncle Connor, who smiled encouragingly, urging her to continue. The younger Stoll was glad that this whole Katie situation was finally being dealt with. Althea turned back to face Katie, taking another deep breath.

"You left him Katie. You left my dad in pieces. And that's not okay. My dad is the best person in the world," she began, gripping her father's arm tighter. The gravity of what had happened fifteen years had finally hit her and it tore her heart into two. Her dad had been nothing but loving and caring to her since the day she was born. She'd heard the stories from her Uncles and Chiron about how irresponsible and crazy her dad was growing up, and she knew nobody thought she was going to turn out normal. But she had. And Travis had changed for her. He lost the love of his life, for her. He carried all this heartbreak and pain for so long, just for her.

"I know that," Katie replied gently, the memories of their past starting to bubble up in her mind. She'd thought about what it would've been like to be with the Travis now. He was so different to what he was like when they were dating, but at the same time, he was still so the same.

"No you obviously don't," Althea said, glaring at Katie. "My dad changed. He changed for me. Because he loves me. And I know that he loved you. He was willing to change for you, to have a chance at a family with you. And you gave that up."

"That's because I was scared! I was eighteen, I couldn't trust myself to be a mother!" Katie replied, raising her voice. She didn't like the fact that her daughter was telling her everything she knew. Katie knew that Travis was willing to change. That was all they had fought about during her last few months of pregnancy. She wanted nothing more than to have a family with Travis, but not that way. Not when they were young and immature. That wouldn't have been fair on the baby.

"Then you should have trusted dad!" Althea was doing her best not to yell, but her anger was starting to get the better of her again. "Because dad changed. He is a good father. He loves me. He cares for me. He has always been here for me. He loved me enough to stay. You didn't. You didn't love me enough to stay. And you didn't love him enough either. But you know what? That's fine. Because we don't need you. I don't need you. I have mothers. I have Aunty Chelsea, I have Annabeth, I have Clarisse. Dad doesn't need you either. You broke his heart. You left him. You can't waltz back into his life to mess with him like you have been, turning up here with your new husband. My dad deserves so much better. My dad deserves the world and more. You didn't want me. But he did. He wants me. And he deserves someone who wants him too. And that's not you."

A/N: So there it is. The ending to the story. I absolutely love Travis and Althea. I hope to write more in the future. Please let me know what you think.