Heroes Of Olympus Quick Stories

New Arrivals

   Percy was speeding, he knew. But there was no time to waste. Annabeth was in labor.
   The two heroes had been married for two and a half years now. Annabeth had found out she was pregnant 9 months ago, but the two had decided to keep the gender a surprise. They had names narrowed down to one per gender. Everybody had loved the idea. In fact, Jason and Piper, who'd gotten pregnant only one month after Annabeth, had decided to keep their own child's gender a surprise as well.
   But now, the day was here. Percy couldn't contain his excitement. Literally. Water pipes rumbled and burst as he sped down the road.
   Finally, after what seemed like forever, he pulled up to the hospital. He ran in the door and asked the clerk for a room number. When he got there, a nurse outside the door told him he'd have to wait.
   Percy sat on the floor and put his head in his hands. Calm down, he told himself. You're going to flood the entire hospital.
   That moment, Annabeth's door opened.
   "Percy Jackson?" A nurse said. Percy stood up.
   "Yes." He said nervously.
   The woman smile warmly. "Go on in."
   Percy walked in slowly and immediately looked at his wife. She smiled bigger than he'd ever seen in his life.
   "Annabeth," he breathed as he walked over and sat in a chair next to her bed. He took her hand and kissed it softly.
   "Percy. You should see them. They're beautiful." Annabeth smiled.
   "Them?" Percy asked, taken aback. Was she saying...
   "Twins, Percy. One of each."
   Percy's heart swelled. His eyes began to fill with tears of joy. Twins! They'd had twins. They could use both names now.
   "Percy Jackson," the nurse said. He turned to her, and couldn't help but let the tears spill over. In her arms were two of the most beautiful, innocent beings Percy had ever seen. "Would you like to hold your children?" The nurse asked. Percy nodded, speechless.
   He took the girl, and Annabeth was given the boy. Already, Percy could see a mop of black hair on his daughters head. Her startling gray eyes looked up at him.
    "Hello, Zoë." Percy whispered. She reached with her tiny hand and grabbed his finger. He smiled at her. Then, he turned to his son.
    I will raise this boy, he thought. He's my son. I will love him... Percy lost his train of thought when the boy opened his eyes.
    Maybe it was because of his puff of blonde hair, but for some reason Percy had expected the boy to also share Annabeth's gray eyes. Instead, deep, sea green eyes stared back at their father's matching pair.
    "Annabeth," Percy said through new tears. "He...he has my..."
    "Eyes? I know." Annabeth finished. "They're perfect. Want to hold him?" She asked. Percy nodded and stood, laying Zoë in her mother's arms and picked up his son. He rocked the boy in his arms, smiling down.
    "Talk to him," Annabeth suggested.
    "Hi, Luke." Percy said. At the sound of his name, the baby smiled. Percy smiled back and kissed his forehead. He sat back down and looked at his wife.
    "They're beautiful, Annabeth." He said.
    "That they are." She agreed. "But I think the hardest part is yet to come."
    "Oh, really?" Percy laughed. "And what's that?"
    "Oh, I think you know." She smiled.
    "Yeah, I do. My mom is never going to let us take them from her arms."
    Annabeth laughed. Then her smile faded. "Percy..." She said.
    "What is it?" He asked, more than a little worried.
    "I forgot..." She said. Percy looked at her, puzzled.
    "Forgot? Forgot what?" He asked.
    "You're birthday, Seaweed Brain." She laughed. "Or did you forget too?"
    "You know, funny enough, it never crossed my mind. I was too busy thinking about it being my kids' birthday." He laughed, but Annabeth only stared at him, a large smile plastured on her face.
    "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked. Annabeth kept staring, as if she was waiting for him to say the right thing. "What? What are you trying to...oh my olympus..." Realization of what he'd just said dawned on him.
    "There you go, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth smiled. Percy stared at her in shock. Then his eyes moved to his children. The children that had been born today. And the children that now shared their father's birthday.

I made up the children, but their names came from Rick Riordan's first series, The Lightning Thief. The original characters are his.