9PM, August 17
Annabeth was four days past her due date. Her bump had grown huge. It was getting harder and harder for her to move, and sometimes, she found it
rather unpleasant, like when she wanted to kiss or hug Percy.
"No," Annabeth moaned. "Every time! How am I supposed to kiss you?"
Percy laughed. "That's okay, I'll just kiss you." He kissed her on the cheek.
"Don't forget to kiss Zoë."
"Oh, yeah." He kissed the bump, but he noticed a very strong kick.
"The kicks are getting stronger, Wise Girl. I have a feeling you might be going into labor soon. You ready?"
"Piper said you have to be really strong. I'm not that strong yet (btw Piper and Jason got a boy. They named him Dakota)." she laughed.
"Yeah, you are. If you weren't strong, how come you got through Tartarus?"
"Because you were there, to support me."
"Let's not forget, you kinda took care of me when I was about to die?"
"Kinda?"
Percy laughed nervously. He made a mental note not to get on a pregnant woman's nerves again. Then he ran.
"Percy! You're lucky I can't run that fast!" she shouted as he ran up the stairs.
A heavily pregnant Annabeth waddled to the kitchen, with one hand on top of the bump, and one hand beneath it.
"Let's make some tea, shall we, Zoë?"
As she waited for the water to boil, she felt a warm gush, finding its way down her pants and onto the floor.
"Oh, my gods." Annabeth's mind went fuzzy with panic. "Percy, I need you! Can you come down, please?"
Percy dashed down the stairs. "What is it you need? A massage? A hot water bottle? Do you need...Oh, gods."
"My water just broke, Seaweed Brain."
It was obvious to him at this point. "Can you take me to the hospital?"
"No problem, Annabeth. Have you packed the hospital bag?"
"Yeah, I packed it a few days ago."
"Okay, then." He helped Annabeth to the car, then brought out the hospital bag.
~~~~~
Unfortunately, there was huge traffic. What should've been a 15 minute drive turned into an hour's drive. Percy watched as his wife's face tightened when she got a contraction. He felt extremely guilty, because he knew that there was no way to stop it.
All he did was kiss her, rub her leg and say positive things.
"Babe?" Annabeth asked, once she has finished timing the contraction.
"Yeah?" Percy looked at Annabeth with concern.
"Stop blaming yourself." Percy looked at her quizzically. "Percy, look at me. I know that I'm in pain, but that's not your fault."
"But-"
Annabeth squeezed Percy's lips together with her thumb and her index finger, so all he could do was moan.
"Seaweed Brain, I know you well. Whenever something like this happens, you blame yourself. Yes, your fatal flaw is loyalty, but you shouldn't be stressing yourself. Were you the one that caused this traffic? No. Were you the one that impregnated me? Yes. But, deep down, you know that we both wanted a child. Even if I had them with another man (gods forbid), it would still be nobody's fault. That's just the way of the world," she said, as another contraction started.
