expecting; percico

032

(a/n: this chapter is probably going to be shorter than usual. i'm sorry)
edit: not sure why i makes this 034 but i did.

The last two days had been nothing but pain for Nico. He watched as Zoella got nothing but worse. It got to a point where it was a shock if someone hadn't rushed to Zoella's side every now and then to check quickly if she was okay. There was no cuddling and kissing their newborn babies face. There wasn't any cute smiles or grumpy cries. The only thing to be heard was the heavy breathing their daughter was struggling to achieve.

Percy and Nico didn't leave Zoella's side. The sat in two chairs, hand in hand, only able to watch their daughter get more ill. Nothing was seeming to help. Kate was always reading up on things, trying to find something that could get her a transplant. Alas, nothing worked.

Shane kept checking up on the three demigods. Making sure they were eating and all that.

Kate tried not to bother Nico and Percy with her random medical facts, but still, she would always be running in to do tests to see if she was eligible for something.

And every test ended in a 'nope, sorry, too sick.' And if it wasn't 'too sick' it was 'too young' or 'too different' 'too much of a special case.' Nico and Percy actually talked to one of the doctors that were running a trial and they actually answered with 'No can do, she's a lost cause.'

That really put them down. Nico started crying, Percy hung up the phone angrily. Kate had gone back to looking for other answers.

It had been at least two hours since that last call and they were now trying to forget the words 'lost cause' as the held each other close.

"She's in s-so much p-pain," Nico said, his voice shaky, Percy almost couldn't understand what he was saying.He also didn't know how to respond to that. There was no 'she'll be getting better' because they didn't know if she would be getting better.

He wanted to be optimistic, he wanted to be able to say that Zoella would get better, but he knew that wasn't likely.

"Let's say she lived through all of this, what kind of life would she have? Would it be full of doctor's visits? Will she ever be able to run outside without getting winded or hurt? Is she constantly going to be frustrating when she can't do things the other kids can?" Nico cried, looking at his daughter. "Why couldn't the gods just leave us alone, I just want her to be happy and healthy and I want the fucking gods to leave u-us alone," Nico said as he started to sob. He turned his head into Percy's chest.

"I know, I know," Percy said, kissing the top of Nico's head, then gently resting his chin on top of Nico's dark locks. "You'd think they would."

Percy felt tears roll down his face and made no effort to wipe them away, silently crying as he rubbed his hand up and down Nico's back. "You really think they would." Percy sighed.

-

Two more hours passed and Nico and Percy had fallen asleep on those uncomfortable chairs next to Zoella's bed. Shane walked in and sighed, not knowing what to do. He didn't want to wake them up, they would need all the sleep they could get, but he also needed to take Zoella's blood pressure and wasn't sure if he should do so without them knowing.

Though, after a few moments of contemplation, he decided they would be fine with. "Hey, baby girl." He said, sighing sadly. He slid his gloved hands into the previously locked holes in the side of the incubator. He took Zoella's hand and wrapped the tiny sleeve around her arm.

Working delicately was hard to do with gloves on and a mask covering part of his vision, but he had to do it for many reasons. Zoella's immune system was too weak to handle germs or anything really. Shane knew he had to be careful.