Chapter 1: Annabeth Pregnant
Percy's POV
I race into Cabin # 3, Poseidon, at Camp Half-Blood. Inside, I find my girlfriend, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, sitting on my bunk. At once, I become concerned that she looks almost….. depressed.
"Hey, honey." No reply from her. "Grover…. told me you wanted to speak with me?"
Annabeth nods and - to my distress - begins to cry. "I'm pregnant."
The bottom falls out. I feel dizzy, as though Zeus just struck me with the lightning bolt he still thinks I stole when I was 12. Or how I get after watching Chuck Norris beat everyone up during an episode of Walker: Texas Ranger. Either way, the lightheadedness that suddenly overtakes me is anything but good.
I clear my throat, and try to not allow my voice to come out in a squeak. "What do you want to do?"
Annabeth stares at me, almost bewildered. "I….. I want to have it. I mean…. of course I want to have it." It's spoken in a whisper, and I can tell she is shell-shocked. Gods, how long ago did she find out?
"OK….." I purse my lips, deep in thought. When none are forthcoming that seem good enough, I can only inquire, "Why?"
Wrong thing to say. "WHY?!" Annabeth shrieks, standing from the bunk. She's terrifyingly beautiful when she gets angry, but all the same, I attempt to diffuse the bomb before it explodes all the way.
"Don't….. don't snap at me, Annabeth. I just want to hear your reasons."
She gawps at me, letting me know that I should stop digging my own grave while I'm ahead.
"…..Because I love you! Because I don't know how many more chances I'll have. And I don't know what we're waiting for - that's probably the main reason. Because I'd think we'd be great fucking parents, Percy! And I just feel….. humiliated saying these things to you because I know that you don't feel about having a family the same way that I do, so…. I guess that's that."
"No, that's not that," I counter, even as I try to avoid an argument before it comes roaring up. Probably too late for that. I sigh. "Look: if this is what you really want, then…. I will support you. That's what we've always done."
She regards me curiously, gratefully. Then, she asks something totally unexpected. "So…. will you marry me, then?"
I stare at her, several thoughts running through my mind. First of all, I don't know of any half-blood couples who have gone on to share a life together. Normally, our lives are so dangerous. Would Annabeth and I be the first? Second….
But Annabeth voices that second thought herself. "I…. I know it's traditional for the guy to ask the girl, even for descendants of the Greeks like us, but….." She smirks. "You can be oblivious sometimes, Seaweed Brain. It's not like I was holding my breath over getting a ring or anything like that."
I blink, and belatedly grin at her tease. "I will. I mean…. yes, I will."
Annabeth drapes her arms around my neck. "Good answer," she smiles, kissing me.
