A thousand apologies for not writing in over six months. Been busy, lack of inspiration… you name it. Hope people are still reading.

Thanks for all the amazing reviews, conan98002, Mark C, GK, htbthomas, jjonahjameson2003, and Shadow Chaser.

Part Twenty-One

Sins of the Father

Two days later, Cait got her chance to see Central Park. It was breathtaking, almost overwhelming.

The day was cloudy, with light rain off and on. The park was still abuzz with people, even though it wasn't as crowded as it would have been had the sun been out.

There were single people, couples, families, and pets.

Peter and Mary Jane led Cait and Harry through some of the different parts of the park.

"It feels like I've been here before," Harry said as they walked.

"That's great to hear." Peter smiled when he said this.

Harry laugh quietly before saying, "I can hardly play tour guide like you're doing!"

As they started to walk through the Mall, Peter asked Cait, "What would you like to see next?"

"How about elm trees and the sculptures?"

"You know, Cait, since you want to take your time to look at the sculptures, I was hoping to walk through the Ramble with Peter," Mary Jane said. Then she turned to Harry and asked, "Do you want to keep Cait company or do you want to come with us?"

Cait was perceptive enough to know that M.J. was being polite that she was hoping to have Peter to herself for a little while. Touching Harry's arm briefly, she said, "I'd like it if you stayed. It would be fun seeing the sculptures with someone." She didn't want to remind him of his forgotten memories.

"Sure," Harry said after a moment's pause.

Peter and Mary Jane seemed happy with that, so they only stayed long enough to agree to meet up in an hour.

Cait noticed Harry watching Peter and Mary Jane's backs as they walked toward the Bethesda Terrace. She wondered what he was thinking, but didn't ask. Instead she asked, "Harry? Are you alright?"

He nodded and said, "Fine." Apparently, whatever thoughts he had, he wasn't going to share. He gave her a smile to reassure her, but Cait saw that the smile didn't reach his eyes.

Cait had never seen so many American Elms in one place before.

"How are the memories coming, anything today?" Cait asked. She had been wondering about it. She knew that Harry was starting to remember, but she didn't know anything in great detail.

"No, nothing new, mostly just things I already remember."

"I had meant to ask this before, but are you experiencing any headaches?"

"No, there haven't really been any headaches since the first few days after I woke up over two weeks ago."

"As for your memories, you don't want to try to force yourself to remember everything at once, it will come in time, I'm sure." Cait didn't have any guarantee on that; Harry might never regain his entire memory. But since he was slowly remembering things, it was an excellent start.

For the first time since they began their walk together, Harry turned to look at Cait directly in the eye. "Did you get a chance to talk to your brother about what you told me? About wanting to go into publishing and becoming an author?"

Was he trying to change the subject? But Cait decided to answer him anyway. Speaking softly she said, "I tried, but I backed out. Plus, Ivan always seems to have anything and everything on his mind." That was true, but it wasn't completely. She knew her brother would give her a chance to say what was on her mind. But she still didn't want to disappoint him.

Stopping, Harry waited until she faced him. "Does Ivan really not care about your dream at all?"

"Oh, no. It's not that. It's just…" Cait trailed off. She wasn't sure how to explain it. She had told him why she felt she had to become a nurse. But Cait knew she didn't want her brother to be disappointed in her. And if she tired to tell that to Harry, she didn't know if he would understand.

Ivan had given up so much for her. Cait still remembered how happy he was when she told him that she was going into nursing. And writing… she wasn't so naive to think she would become a best-selling author over-night, or for that matter have a bunch of books on the hot list. She could pursue it as a hobby, though.

They reached the Literary Walk, which held the sculptures Cait wanted to see.

She hadn't realized that she hadn't answered Harry's question until he asked, "Just what, Cait?"

"It's hard to explain," she said, then let out a weary breath.

Cait could tell he wanted to press her for an answer, but he must have decided to let the matter drop. Instead he asked, "What sculptures did you want to see?"

"One of the ones I wanted to see was John Quincy Adams Ward's William Shakespeare."

When they found it by the Olmsted Flower Bed, Cait took her time looking at it. The sculpture couldn't really begin to describe the man's plays. Or that even after 400 years they were timeless.

They walked for some time without talking, except to remark on some of the more remarkable sculptures. Two of them were Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns, both of them done by Sir John Stell.

Cait had to wonder why one sculpture, Jeronimo Suñol's Christopher Columbus, was in the Literary Walk.

But at the sculpture of Christophe Fratin's Eagles and Prey, she just stared at it.

It had a goat wedged between two rocks with two eagles ready to devour it. She didn't like the sculpture; it didn't seem to fit the tranquility of the area.

"This is quite… interesting." Harry said as he slowly walked around the sculpture to look at it from all angles.

Cait watched him. It was interesting? She begged to differ, but everyone had a right to their own opinion.

Harry stopped when he reached her side again. He spoke though it was to her; it was like he was talking more to himself. "The talons are already in the goat, though it still is alive."

That's not something I wanted to know. Cait could easily see what the birds where doing to the poor goat without having Harry say it out loud!

"That may be, but if the goat never got trapped in the first place it might have been able to escape," she replied.

"Eagles are faster, I think. And they have the advantage of being able to fly."

"So you think they still would have gotten the goat anyway?"

"Yes," Harry said as they moved to the next sculpture.

As they looked at the other sculptures, Cait still thought of the Eagles and Prey. Why that stayed with her, Cait didn't know. Maybe it had been Harry's comments about it.

They spent nearly an hour looking through many of the different sculptures. As they walked back under the American Elms, Cait was thinking about all she had seen. Harry walked with her in companionable silence.

"Oh!" Cait gasped when rain started pouring down from the sky. It was like heaven opened up and dumped water on them. Though the trees over the walkway provided some meager protection, it wasn't much.

"Come on!" Harry said over the rain. He grabbed Cait's hand, hurried off the walkway and closer to the trees for better cover from the downpour. Though the trees helped to a degree, they were drenched anyway.

They watched the rain come down in buckets. Cait figured that it wouldn't last long; it was one of those hard summer rains.

Glancing over at Harry, she hadn't realized that they were so close together. But he wasn't looking at her. He was as wet as her, no doubt, but she noticed that his hair was darker and curlier when it was wet.

Harry looked at her then, his face only inches from hers. Cait couldn't tell what emotions were in his eyes. But she was still surprised when he bent to give her a light kiss.

Whether they looked at each other for seconds or minutes, Cait couldn't tell. But she felt she knew Harry then, she couldn't put it into words, but she just knew him. She saw in his eyes that he knew her too.

The next kiss though, wasn't a surprise, but it was still tentative, building into something more.

The sound of a child's happy squeal broke them apart. Seconds later Cait saw a towheaded boy running by, not giving a care that it was raining hard.

"Robbie!"

That must have been the boy's name, for he stopped for a moment, before continuing on running.

A minute, Cait saw a woman, whom she assumed was the boy's mother say, "Robert Baldwin, you come back here at once!"

That stopped the boy in his tracks. Turning, he said in a not quite happy voice, "Aw, Mom…" He slowly came back to her.

"Running in the park at home in the rain is one thing, Robert, but we're in Central Park, and it's much bigger…" Robbie's mother's voice trailed off as they walked away. They hadn't even noticed Cait or Harry.

When Cait looked back at him, she laughed nervously. Harry began to smile as well, but his eyebrows drew down in confusion at her reaction. After looking away from him for a moment, Cait faced him again with a small smile.

Harry smiled back, though Cait was sure that he still a bit confused. "Since we're already soaked, why don't we look for Peter and M.J.?"

His question surprised her, but she laughed as she said, "Okay!"

The next evening, Harry absent-mindedly channel-surfed to see if there was something interesting on TV. There wasn't.

Letting out a sigh, Harry got up from the couch. For the first time in a few days he was on his own. He had asked Cait to come over after she was finished talking with her grandmother, if it wasn't too late. For her sake, he hoped she and her grandmother could reunite, despite the death of her grandfather.

Peter and Mary Jane had gone out somewhere. Harry didn't know where. Before they left, they had invited him to come along if he wanted to. But Harry knew that they wanted some time to themselves. After all, Peter had been staying with Harry for nearly two weeks, which didn't leave much time for them.

Going up the stairs, Harry wandered the halls aimlessly before finding his way back to his bedroom. Lying down on the bed, he stared up at the ceiling, unable to drift off to sleep. That last dream he had three days ago still haunted him. It wasn't like it was on his mind at all times, just when things were quiet, and especially when he wanted to sleep. Like now…

Getting up, Harry walked around the room to get his mind off of things. He knew what everything was and where it was. Some of the mementos he had, Harry didn't remember how he came by them, but others he did remember.

He stopped in front of one of the dressers.

The key!

He had found it a few days ago. Harry had all but forgotten about it.

Taking the key from its hiding place, Harry looked at it for a minute. It was the key to the study. Now, why would he lock the study door to begin with? Then hide the key?

There is no time like the present to find out, he thought as he left the room.

Harry was so preoccupied that he didn't hear the, "Excuse me, sir?" But he did hear the louder, "Mr. Osborn?"

Whirling around, Harry saw it was his butler, Bernard. "Yes?"

"I'm leaving for the night, sir. Is there anything else you would like to have done before I go?"

"No," Harry said after a moment's thought. As the butler turned around Harry said, "Leave the door unlocked. Pete sometimes forgets his key."

He waited until he heard Bernard exit through the front door before making his way to the study. But once Harry got there he stopped. He knew the key fit this door, but other than that, he had no idea what he'd find once it was opened.

Letting himself in, Harry walked into room. He took his time looking around.

As his limited memories began to kick in, Harry remembered talking with his father in this room about getting thrown out of another school when he was a teen. Of course there had been the dream he had a few days back…

Looking over the study with its green and browns, Harry took in the desk, high-backed chairs, tables, and the divan.

"If only I could cause you the pain that you've caused me. First we'll see who's behind the mask. Then I can look into your eyes as you die."

He had said that… but to whom?

Looking up quickly, Harry thought he had heard something. But all he saw looking around were different types of tribal masks. His father's collection - how Harry hated them. They had frightened him as a boy. But why Dad had a love for them I'll never know, Harry thought, frowning with distaste.

He heard something again this time… was it laughter? But he was the only one here. Harry turned and found himself facing… the mirror?

The mirror in question had a white sheet over it. Going over to it, Harry let the sheet fall. What he saw was startling.

There was no wall behind the mirror, and yet, he felt somehow he knew there wouldn't be. His heart had started to pound a bit faster, but he stepped through the broken mirror anyway.

Letting his eyes get accustomed to the darkness, he made his way through. After a few steps, his foot brushed against something. It was a knife, one that his father had owned. The tribal knife that had been in his hand when he had wanted to…

"Harry."

Dropping the knife, Harry looked sharply to his left, and came face to face with another mask.

Then it was like a veil on his memories lifted, like the sheet that had dropped from the broken mirror.

Different scenes passed through his mind almost all at once, one after another, in no particular order.

Peter in the graveyard at his father's funeral… How Pete said that he understood what Harry was going through. How he had said that he would make Spider-Man pay for killing his father.

The World Unity Festival… with the Green Goblin. He had attacked all those people, some had died, and many were injured. Even M.J. was almost harmed, but she hadn't been.

Frowning, Harry remembered something else. He remembered talking to Mary Jane after the Green Goblin had attacked at the World Unity Festival.

He had been worried sick about Mary Jane. He had been unconscious throughout the fight between the Green Goblin and Spider-Man. But he had found out that Mary Jane had been rescued by the wallcrawler and he had taken her somewhere.

Just where, though? That was why Harry had been worried and quite upset that day. But the fact that Peter had been in the room when Harry had finally talked to M.J. now turned his stomach into knots. Now that he knew that Peter was Spider-Man, Peter must have been silently laughing his ass off at the irony of the situation.

But Dad was the Green Goblin, the thought whispered, breaking into Harry's thoughts about that day.

Never mind that his own father was the one who had done the destruction that day, though it did leave a bitter taste in Harry's mouth. He tried not to dwell on the fact that he too could have died that day…

"You were always weak."

What was that? No one was here save for himself. Though it was familiar… Harry looked around. Everything seemed the same…orange pumpkin bombs lined up along one wall. Seeing the bombs again caused him to hold his breath for a few seconds. It wasn't so much the dream he had a few days before though that came to mind. It was the first time Harry had been in his father's workshop.

His eyes found the performance enhancers, but one was missing. Tentatively, Harry walked over to the table where they were displayed. But he didn't pick one up this time.

"Are you just going to stare at them all day?"

Now Harry remembered the voice, it was his father's voice. Yet, it was different…

"No." Harry snapped back. He wasn't sure who he was talking to. It wasn't the direction where the voice was coming from.

"The only way for you to stop being the pathetic son I regrettably raised is if you truly become what you were meant to be."

The disgust in his father's voice hurt, but then, it wasn't really out of the ordinary. Harry didn't let his feelings show. But then, who was here to see him? The mask? Now that Harry looked at it, he was sure his father had been talking through it.

But Dad is dead.

Whether it was more a memory or as if the mask could read his thoughts, Harry didn't know.

"No. I'm alive in you, Harry."

Going over to the mask, Harry picked it up and looked at it. "Is that so?"

With the mask still in his hands, Harry looked back up. He now noticed the unfinished glider, for that's what it was. He still remembered how the Green Goblin flew on it… correction, his father. He had to remember the two men were one and the same…

"Yes, becoming the Goblin gave me more power than I could have ever dreamed of."

Now Harry saw his father, not in a mirror like last time, but really saw him. He was standing off to the one side, behind the unfinished glider.

Norman wasn't in black this time. This time, Norman was in the Green Goblin suit. The only thing missing was the mask, which Harry still had in his hands.

But all the people you harmed…

"Sacrifice is necessary."

But why? Harry asked as he walked toward where his father was, still on the other side of the glider.

"Because people are weak."

"Like you said I am?" He knew his father had said that.

And Norman had always felt that way, hadn't he? And he had also said, "You'll always be weak until you take control."

"But you don't have to be, Harry. Look at Peter, his weakness for helping people. His sacrifice is contemptible." Norman's distaste at Peter being Spider-Man laced his words. "You want to be stronger than that, don't you? You can defeat Spider-Man because you know his secret."

There were several thoughts running through Harry's mind. But he tried to ignore them. He had told Peter once he'd make Spider-Man pay for what he did to his father.

What do I do?

Cait leaned back wearily against the elevator wall. She wasn't sure what to do. She had tried talking to her grandmother again, but the old woman thought she was after whatever inheritance she and Ivan might receive. That wasn't it, not by a long shot. Grandmother apparently didn't want to love or know any of her remaining family, or at least her grandchildren.

But she wasn't going to pour her sob story out on Harry. She was grateful that he still wanted her company.

The elevator came to a stop. Getting out, she headed to Harry's door. It was quite unreal that he owned this building, though most of his home was only on the top three floors. She remembered Mary Jane saying this place had belonged to Harry's father, Norman Osborn. That now had Cait wondering what his dad was like.

Knocking at the door, Cait figured that she would wait until someone answered it. But as time passed, no one came. Turning the knob, she was surprised to find it unlocked, since she had passed Bernard on his way out.

"Hello?" Cait called out to let someone know she was here. But silence was her only answer.

Stepping inside, she shut the door behind her. Cait peeked into some of the rooms downstairs to see if she could find anyone.

Well, it would seem no one is downstairs, Cait thought, maybe upstairs?

She had seen the entire house during her first visit here, and it was grander then anything she had ever seen before, with the exception of her grandmother's home.

Going up the stairs with no direction in mind, she started down one of the hallways. As she was doing this, she noticed how quiet the house really was. Why that made her uneasy, she didn't know.

Stopping, Cait thought she heard something. Walking toward where the sound had come from, she was surprised to see a door open. Not that an open door in itself was surprising; she had thought that door had been locked when she had been here last.

It is Harry's home and he can go wherever he wants, but it doesn't mean he would want you to see every part of it! Cait reprimanded herself.

Cait reached the study door, knocking on it and waited. She waited some more until she slowly opened the door to peek in.

"Harry?" Cait called out quietly, but loud enough for him to hear, as she opened the door further to see in the room.

The room appeared to be an office or a study. It was definitely masculine, with a green and brown interior. She wasn't sure what to think of the style of the office, but she wasn't very interested in the collection of different masks on the walls. And the room was empty. Harry wasn't here.

With a swift glance around, Cait took it all in all in. She really didn't give the room her attention. Her eyes stopped as she saw the gaping hole in the wall. There had been a mirror there at one time, she could tell that, but it had been smashed. Instead of seeing a wall behind the mirror, there was a hole leading to… somewhere.

Curiosity got the better of her, so Cait walked slowly toward the gaping hole. But she stopped short of going through. I shouldn't be doing this, Cait thought, I'm snooping around and this isn't my house.

Before she turned around, Cait thought she heard something. It was someone talking, though Cait couldn't make out what was being said, she could tell it was coming from someplace beyond the broken mirror.

Stepping through the space in the wall with care, Cait slowly walked through the small walkway that was in between the walls, or maybe it was a secret hiding place… but for what?

The voice got louder as she crept near. She realized it was Harry's voice. But who was he talking to?

She stopped when she saw some light. The far wall was lit up, and it had rows of orange… things adorning it. But she didn't get a chance to wonder much about that. Cait was still in the shadows unmoving when she heard Harry speak.

"What do I do?"

Peering around the corner, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

Harry was standing in front of some type of metallic contraption, with something in his hands. But what Cait didn't understand was to whom he was talking, for he was the only one there.

Something seemed different about him than the day before, but what was it?

Harry spoke again, "How are the performance enhancers taken?"

Cait was more confused then ever. Performance enhancers? What-

She never got to wonder what Harry was talking about. She felt something. Looking down, Cait saw a spider crawling up her arm. She let out a startled yelp and brushed the spider off.

Her cry hadn't gone unnoticed whatever Harry had in his hands dropped to the floor. Whatever it was, it must have been metal.

"Cait?" Harry's voice held shock at seeing her.

"Your door was unlocked, so I let myself in. Oh, I ran into Bernard and he said you were home," Cait forced herself to stop babbling as she walked a few feet toward him.

Harry looked to his left for a moment, then back at her expectantly.

Cait wasn't sure what to say.

"Aren't you going to answer?"

As confused as Cait now was, she managed to ask, "Answer what?"

"Dad's question: How much did you overhear?" Harry asked warily and was now giving her a strange look, one Cait didn't understand.

His father… but where…? She didn't have to look around to know they were the only ones there. "Harry," Cait said carefully, now getting worried. "There is no one here but you and me."

"But, don't you see…" Harry's voice trailed off, as he looked at her. He must have realized that she could not see or hear whatever he was.

Feeling a little scared for his sanity, Cait decided to ask something else. "What is this?"

"A glider my Dad was been working on."

Cait didn't understand what Harry meant, but something else came to mind, something she somehow knew without having to really ask. But she asked anyway, "Did you get your memory back?"

"Yes. I remember everything," something about the way he said that didn't make Cait feel comfortable.

Harry looked back at the same empty space that he had before.

Does he really believe his father is actually here? Cait wondered. She was feeling more terrified and apprehensive by the minute.

Turning back to her, Harry's face was unreadable. Suddenly, Harry grabbed Cait's arm, frightening her. He was stronger then she would have expected, his next words scared her even more than his actions.

"You know too much. Dad says you have to die."

Well it finally happened, Harry got his memory back. What we've all been waiting for, right? Or not…

And what a way to end it, right? I leave you guys with an evil cliffhanger. Maybe htbthomas' Déjà Vu and her cliffies are catching. And by the way, it's htbthomas' birthday today. Happy birthday!

Robbie and is mother are not mine, they belong to Marvel. Though I didn't say, I wanted to imply that they were visiting Central Park part of a family vacation.

Also note that part twenty got re-edited to these of you who reviewed it within the first few days of it's post, I edited it shortly after, but that was in August… how time gets away from us.

Thanks for reading! Please Review. Jenn