Aroma ~ A Percabeth Story (ongoing): Book 3 - Percy Jackson Fanfiction

Chapter Fourteen ~ ANNABETH

Chapter Fourteen
ANNABETH

"Imagine us, with kids," Annabeth said quietly. She laughed uncertainly. "I bet I was a terrible mother, Percy."

She sat next to Percy's bed. He was shirtless, covered by a soft blanket on a makeshift bed. Sweat poured down his face and bare chest. Annabeth gently held his hand, wary of the intense heat radiating from it.

"You were probably a good father," she continued. "You always wanted kids. I didn't, you see. I mean, I did, but... my career had to come first. Always. It just did, Percy, and I'm sorry about that. I put my career before us. You kept pressuring for kids and I wasn't ready and that destroyed our marriage. I spent more and more and more time at work trying to avoid you." Annabeth laughed again through her tears. "I was trying to avoid you when all the while I just wanted to be with you, be in your arms, have you tell me you loved me. I wanted that and more, Percy. You were my everything."

Annabeth hated herself for admitting it. She was an engaged woman - technically, she had no idea if she was still with Andrew or not. Her father and stepmother had organised the wedding for three weeks from today. There was still time.

But Annabeth wasn't so weak that she'd return to Andrew.

Was she?

She carefully lifted Percy's blanket and, ignoring her immense feelings, analysed the body as emotionlessly as possible. The leg was green-grey, and looked dead, in a way. Tyson - poor, dead Tyson - had tinged his club's spikes with hydra poison and hadn't told Percy that. Annabeth found that odd, as Tyson would never have done anything to hurt Percy. Something didn't quite add up right.

Hydra poison was like acid - it burned and it killed, with almost immediate effect. And it had been a good fifteen minutes before ambrosia and nectar was administered. But Percy didn't die. He hung on.

Or something helped him hang on.

Annabeth had no doubt that at least one of the gods had intervened and saved his life, which was kind of against the godly rules. Maybe Apollo, a healer. Or perhaps Hera, who loved messing with Percy and Annabeth's lives.

Someone had saved Percy. And Annabeth had no clue as to why.

The curtain around the bed drew back. "Come on, Annabeth."

It was Leo. He'd been called in last night when Percy had been admitted to the infirmary, and Annabeth had refused to leave his side in the seventeen hours since then. Dr Will Solace had run several tests and then compared them to Carlie Oswald's - or Esme's, Annabeth and Percy's daughter.

Dr Solace still believed that Carlie was the half-sister of Percy. He thought comparing the results of her tests to Percy's might help find a way to wake them both up. Ambrosia and nectar was only just keeping him alive.

If Annabeth told Will the truth - that Carlie was really a young girl called Esme, who was lost between the worlds and was actually Percy's daughter - something could be done to save them both.

But Annabeth felt like this would be the wrong thing to do. She felt like it was her duty to save Percy and their daughter.

She shifted Percy's hair off of his face and kissed his forehead. "I'll be back," she whispered softly. "Please don't die on me, Seaweed Brain."

She paused, hopeful, expecting Percy to smirk and announce it was all a desperate ploy to win her back. She'd be mad, refuse to speak to him for a couple of days, and then run to him and kiss him and...

But nothing. Percy remained still, his face ghostly pale, sweat dripping down his face and chest. She covered Percy back up with the cloth blanket, stroked his face once more and got up. Leo put an arm around her and led her out of the infirmary.