Hey guys! This is the mysterious EXTRA FLUFFY PERCABETH ONE-SHOT! It's kind of random and sad, but I hope you'll enjoy!
Annabeth POV
This was it. The moment of my final ultrasound. And after that…would come the birth. The birth of the six children I carried within me. Three boys and three girls.
Percy and I had decided to name them according to the order of their births. For example, the first baby's name would begin with 'A'. The second baby's name would begin with 'B' and so on.
Our doctor, Dr. Pell, entered the room, clasping his gloved hands together. "Good evening, Mr. Jackson," he said, nodding to my husband, who stood beside me like a loyal puppy. "And Mrs. Jackson. How are you doing? Any complications with the babies? Overwork?" I shook my head, adjusting my neck on the paper pillow so I could view him properly. "I'm fine, thank you," I replied cheerily as Dr. Pell crossed over to the monitor and dug a familiar white tube out of the drawer. "I've been on bed rest for the pass couple of weeks." Dr. Pell nodded, sliding my pink shirt up over my huge stomach and applying the freezing goop. I shuddered from the contact and gave Percy's hand a tight squeeze. Dr. Pell sat down on the stool and flipped on the television-like appliance while swerving a metal stick over my abdomen.
Tiny, blurry white figures popped up and I felt my heart swoon. These were the children Percy and I had created, had given life to. Dr. Pell pointed to one of the disorientated blobs at the top.
"This is Baby A," he told us. His finger moved across the screen, just as he glided the stick to the right. "This is Baby B."
I beamed at Percy. His bottom lip quivered slightly and his sea green eyes were filled with overwhelming devotion and love. "Oh, wow," he whispered.
"Both are completely healthy and big, especially considering you're only at thirty one weeks. Okay, here we have Baby C-" Dr. Pell paused, scanning the screen feverishly. "Oh. Oh, my." "What's the matter?" I cried, jolting upright.
Dr. Pell pinned my shoulder back, his face dry of emotion. "Calm down, Mrs. Jackson. Mr. Jackson, sir, if I could see you outside, please," he said to Percy, rubbing the bald patch beneath his fuzzy white hair anxiously.
Percy gave a curt nod and followed him out the door, smiling back half-heartedly before shutting it. I leaned back and sighed, trying to remain calm.
I caressed the edge of my stomach and murmured to my babies. "What's going on in there? Huh? Is everything okay?" As if responding, Baby E kicked. "Oh!" I exclaimed, pressing my palm to feel the faint vibration. A smile broke out on my lips, only a tiny mirror to how much my heart swelled at that moment.
Percy came back in. He looked shocked and alarmed, his hands shaking. Dr. Pell poked his head in. "I'll leave you two alone." Percy pulled up a chair and sat beside my bed, taking my head and peering sorrowfully into my eyes. "Annabeth," he whispered.
"What?" I demanded, beginning to get scared.
"One of the babies- Baby C- it's…There was no heartbeat." Icy daggers pierced my nerves, throwing me into a violent fit of sobs. My whole body racked with devastation. I wept into my hands, tears pouring like rivers down my cheeks.
"No, no. It can't be true!" I choked out.
Percy wiped the tears from his eyes and chewed his lip. He buried his face in my hair, sniffling uncontrollably. "I know, baby, I know." What went wrong? I thought shakily. What did do wrong? My thoughts were jumbled. I was boiling in the River Styx.
Percy and I sobbed as one, letting our tears of agony collide and our bodies tremble. It was unbearable to think of one of our babies, our babies, dead.
Minutes that seemed like hours later, Dr. Pell entered once more. "I'm sorry to interrupt," he apologized. "After consulting with my fellow associates, we've come to the conclusion that it is most wise to begin the c-section now, if possible. The sooner the deceased infant is out, the safer. The longer it remains inside you, Mrs. Jackson, the longer it continues to become a threat to the other babies…and yourself." I glowered up at the ceiling, debating my options. Risk the babies' health while keeping them inside me or risk their health after premature birth. Percy nuzzled my neck.
I turned to Dr. Pell. "Let's have some- have some quintuplets." I swallowed hard, digesting the new name. Quintuplets. Five babies. Fresh tears began to plop onto my shirt.
Dr. Pell nodded sadly and called to nurses. They wheeled my bed down the hall, handing Percy a crackling blue gown and mask.
The c-section room unmasked an unfound fear in the pit of my stomach. It was empty, except for a small table on which sat several sharp objects and masks; and six bassinets, ready to hold the tiny forms of life that would soon exit my midsection.
They rolled me into the room and before I knew it, they had given me the epidural and I was lying on my back, struggling to see past the blue sheet that concealed my stomach and the doctors at work.
Percy clenched my hand, his forehead dripping with sweat. He pecked my lips comfortingly.
"Alright," said Dr. Maus, the delivery and labor physician. "You should feel almost nothing but slight pinches and hard pushes, okay? We're just going to make an incision and deliver these babies! You're going to feel a slight tug, okay?"
I tilted my head back and chewed my tongue through the pain. "You're doing great," cheered Dr. Maus.
Minutes later, a piercing cry split the air the crowd of nurses clapped. "It's a boy!" announced Dr. Pell, who began to cleanse and rid the baby's mouth of the white filth.
I smiled. "Oh, gods," I muttered. "Oh, Percy! Look at him." Percy ran to his side, watching with fascination as the nurses rubbed him down and attached tubes to help him breathe. "He's amazing." "It's a girl!" My head snapped up as I stared back at my second child. She was a bit smaller and a lot quieter. It had happened so fast.
Percy moved along to beam at his little girl. Tears of joy streamed down his cheeks. He smoothed the tuft of ebony hair on her head. "She's gorgeous." I glanced back just in time to see Dr. Maus hold up another infant. But this one wasn't crying or moving. My breath hitched as the lifeless baby was handed gingerly to a nurse.
I let out a shallow breath and struggled to stop whimpering. Percy looked at it briefly. "It's a boy," he stated.
My son. My son. My son. My heart shattered in my chest and I couldn't register anything.
"Annabeth!" shouted Dr. Maus. "Stay with us, okay? We're almost done! Three more to go. Just breathe." The world became blurry. Dr. Maus' voice was distant and almost unintelligible. I focused on the flooring's pattern, relishing the distinct yellow dots.
Then, I blacked out.
I awoke the shrieking of several babies. I sat bolt upright, then laid back down slowly at the instant stab of pain that claimed my abdomen. I observed my surroundings.
Thalia was on my right. In her crooked elbow was nestled a pink bundle. Nico stood beside her, awkwardly cradling a blue bundle. Grover was on my left, grinning down at another magenta bundle, Juniper standing behind him and cooing softly. Sally was lightly kissing the peach forehead of a baby wrapped snuggly in a blue blanket.
Percy held a pink bundle to his chest. He was looking at me, though. "Annabeth, darling, are you alright?"
I nodded numbly. "Hello, everybody." "Hi," they all replied distractedly.
Percy crossed over to me and handed me the sweetest creature in the world. My eldest daughter was tiny, her skin dotted with red blotches. On her head a patch of ebony hair. Her eyes were stormy grey, like silver orbs of thunder clouds. "Blaire Thalia," I murmured.
I recalled the names we had discussed. Ashton Poseidon, for our first little boy. Caleb Nico…the one we lost…for our second little boy. And Dustin Grover, for our third. Our first girl would be Blaire Thalia. Our second would be Evangalina Sally and our third would be Felicia Juniper.
Life is a rollercoaster. It really is. It's unpredictable and horrifyingly amazing. The gods will throw unexpected things at you, like loosing a baby. And nothing is harder then that. But then, they will grant you with the upmost pleasant of things. Like having quintuplets.
I'm going to do my best to teach my little angels this lesson. Whether or not I will succeed, is up to the gods. But hey, do them a couple favors…you know…save Olympus…and they'll throw in a couple spoonfuls of sugar. ;) Thanks for reading!