Unexpectedly Expecting (Previously Known As Unexpected)

19 - Annabeth

One thing I was sure of was that traveling while pregnant was EXAUSTING. I'd never been more tired in my life by the time we got to Paul and Sally's apartment. I was sure that if I didn't sleep in that moment, I'd fall asleep while walking and hurt the baby.

I sit on a kitchen chair and lean back, relaxing myself. I close my eyes and just breathe, which has been getting a little more difficult lately. It feels good to just relax and have a second to myself.

Not long after, Sally steps into the kitchen and leans against the counter. "Are you okay?" She asks me. "Do you want some water? Something to eat?"

"No thank you," I say. "Just tired."

She sighs and pulls out a chair and sits by me. "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but I kind of miss being pregnant."

I laugh. "Just be happy your kids are 16 years apart and not just several minutes."

She gives me a smile. "I know it might be hard to see it now, but when those kids are born, your whole life is going to change forever. I mean, you're going to be a mother. Those kids will be your life, and you will do anything for them. I speak from great experience."

I feel a kick on my lower stomach. "Did you.. did you ever see yourself as a mother?"

"Well, I'm sure I did at some point. I never really put much thought into it. Not until it was too late."

"What about Percy? Did you ever see him as a father? Having your grandkids?"

She sighed before reaching forward and taking my hand. "There are some things that mothers want for their sons. Some want them to pursue a career in a specific environment, others want them to go their own way. Some mothers want their sons to have families, some want them to live a more exciting life without children. But every mother wants their son to be with the person that they love. And for Percy, that's you. You are the one that he wants to spend the rest of his hopefully long life with. I never saw Percy as the type to settle down and have a family, so I never really took it into consideration. Not until he met you. You've changed him, Annabeth. For the better. And that's all a mother could ask for."

It wasn't long before my hormones took over and I began to cry. Not hysterical sobbing, but audibly crying. "I'm sorry," I say, wiping a tear off my cheek. "I just... m-my dad would never be this supportive of me. God, I don't think he's ever going to talk to me again."

She stood and pulled me out of my chair, pulling me into a hug. "I'm so sorry to hear about your dad, Annabeth. I know it must be so hard for you."

After a minute, I pull away and wipe my tears away. "You know what, screw him. I don't need him. Not when I have you. You're- you're like the mother I always wanted but never had."

She smiled, then looked down at the floor, tears in her eyes. "Well, great, now you've got me going, too."

I couldn't help it, and in spite of myself, I laughed, for the first time in weeks.

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I later went to go find Percy, who was sitting on the firescape in the freezing cold fall air. I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and stepped out there with him. He was staring off into the distance, almost as if he were remembering something.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

He looked up at me, startled. "What are you doing out here? It's freezing! It's not good for the babies."

"I'll be fine. What were you doing?"

He stood up off the step and sauntered over to me, grabbing my hands and idly moving his thumbs over the back of them. "Do you remember in high school when we'd just... come out here, talk, sit, unwind? I used to drag you out here and kiss you for hours until my mom would tease us to 'get a room'."

I looked down at our joined hands. "I do remember. I could never forget." I took a deep breath of the cold air. "Gods, high school feels like so long ago."

It was true. High school was when we never had to worry about... anything, really. Tests and homework, pretty much. We didn't have to worry about college schedules, apartment rent, and especially not kids. It seems like I'm this whole other person with a whole other life. I'm farther out of my comfort zone than I've ever been in my life.

I know that sounds ridiculous, but it's the honest to god truth, despite everything I've been through. Yes, I've fought monsters, giants, titans, even Tartarus himself. I've suffered great losses, but bringing 2 more lives into the world seems scarier than anything I've faced. Those other things, though they were horrible and scarring, didn't last. This is never going to end, no matter what. Even if they somehow don't survive, I will be carrying a burden forever. The burden that I was not able to protect my own children.

No, Annabeth, don't think like that. You'll be a great mother.

"Come on," Percy says, pulling me away from my thoughts. "Let's go back inside. You need sleep if we want to visit camp tomorrow."

I smile. "Okay."

He takes my hand and we step back into the warm apartment.

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Woo! I finnaly updated! Sorry it took so long, guys! I've been really busy lately! I always try to update as much as I can, but that's not always possible.

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-Liv