EVERYTHING

Introduction/Chapter 1

MARCH 20TH, 5:23 p.m.

Percy glanced down and was met with the sight of his hand, tightly enclosed within Annabeth's, both of which were turning an alarming shade of red. Assumedly reaching a momentary dispersion of pain, Annabeth released her grip on Percy's right hand, leaving him with a moment to inspect the tiny, red, crescent shaped incisions created by her fingernails.

Percy shook his hand out and looked down at his fiance in the hospital bed. Most of her curly, blonde hair had fallen out of her loose ponytail and was adhesed to her forehead with sweat.

"Jeez, Annabeth," Percy winced, showing her his injured hand.

Annabeth looked up at him and glowered, scarily, as if she was appalled that Perseus Jackson had even the audacity to complain in such a situation. She opened her mouth, certainly in preparation to curse him out, but was cut off by a contraction.

From the right, Apollo, Percy's cousin and their trusted obstetrician entered the room.

"How's it going, guys," he asked as he entered, as one of the nurses adjusted Annabeth's IV.

"Pretty good," was Percy's automatic response, earning him not only a glare from his pregnant girlfriend but from her mother as well, who was supporting Annabeth from the other side of the bed.

Sensing the tension in the room, Apollo smiled awkwardly as he pulled on a pair of latex gloves and quickly dipped down to examine Annabeth's dilation. He wasn't down there for long before coming up and taking off his gloves. "How close are her contractions?"

A nurse quickly answered him, explaining that they were coming on fast and hard. She also passed him chart of trends from the past two hours they had been there.

Apollo sighed deeply and shook his head as he flipped through the pages. Percy felt his heart drop in his stomach as every bad thought and complication Annabeth had researched flooded his mind.

"What's wrong?" he asked carefully.

Apollo grimaced and turned to his fiance. "Annabeth, I'm going to strongly suggest we do a cesarean section."

Percy turned to look down at Annabeth quickly, his overgrown black hair hitting him in the face, reminding him that he needed a well overdue haircut. Percy knew how much she opposed having her body surgically operated on. She had done the research and she had weighed the pros and cons between a c-section and vaginal birth.

"I'm not having a c-section," she had said after a long time spent on her laptop, five-months pregnant. "Longer hospital stay, risk of infection, staples in your stomach-I just don't want that."

Now, in the present, Percy suspected that all of her research had scared her into thinking about all the things that could go wrong. "Why?" she asked Apollo bluntly, her pain apparently having melted away.

"Your blood pressure is off the charts," Apollo started. Percy grabbed her hand and squeezed it, the cool metal of her engagement ring making him shiver. "You're due date is, what? May 12th, 7 weeks away. And we've known for weeks now that you're suffering from preeclampsia. If that develops, Annabeth, into eclampsia, you could start to suffer seizures, you could slip into a coma…" he trailed off, but it was clear by the ominous feeling left in the room. She could die.

Annabeth wiped her forearm across her forehead. The fear was apparent in her eyes. "I just-"

Athena, Annabeth's strict, no-nonsense mother, cut her off sharply. "Annabeth, this is a matter of life or death! It's time for you to just have the damn c-section."

Annabeth winced and sunk further back into her hospital bed. Percy's eyebrows lowered as he tried to bite his tongue because he knew that's what Annabeth would want. He just simply couldn't stand Athena. Since they were kids, Percy had been comforting Annabeth after every bad fight she had with her mother. In hindsight, Percy's premature association with Athena became based on what Annabeth told him about her after one of their fights-and those were never good things. Never the good things.

Finally, Percy turned towards Athena. "Not your body, not your choice," he told her bluntly, their eyes meeting.

Athena rolled her deep, grey eyes. "I wasn't asking for your opinion on abortion!" she snapped, her eyes turning another shade of grey all together, just as Annabeth's do. "This is my daughter's life we're talking about!"

Athena's hatred for Percy had been apparent for years. Athena had been okay with Percy and Annabeth together until she learned that Percy's father was Poseidon Olympian. Poseidon and Athena had been at each other's throats for years, for reasons that neither Percy or Annabeth truly understood. All that was apparent was that they have known each other for many years, had a falling out, and they haven't been able to stand each other since. That hatred seemed to automatically fall on Percy too.

"If you're daughter doesn't want a c-section then she doesn't have to have one!" Percy yelled at Athena. He knew Annabeth was scared and he knew she regretted all of the research she did about what could go wrong. Percy was sure every condition, every disease that could arise from a c-section, were swarming through her mind.

"She-" Athena was cut off by Annabeth yelling out in pain. Both Percy and Athena's building rage dispersed as they tended to Annabeth.

"Apollo," she said breathlessly, once her contraction passed. "Can we just try pushing for ten more minutes?" She paused to breathe. "And if that's not working, just do the c-section, okay?"

Apollo exchanged glances with the nurses before reluctantly agreeing. And although those ten minutes turned into an hour, Annabeth delivered their baby girl vaginally at 6:42 p.m. weighing in at 4 pounds at 7 ounces.

As the nurses took their daughter away Percy kissed Annabeth's forehead. "You did so good, Annabeth," he whispered pushing her hair off of her face. Annabeth smiled tiredly up at him and kissed him before looking around the room. "Where's my baby?" she asked.

"She's being cleaned up, Annabeth," her mother said tediously. Percy jumped slightly as he had forgotten Athena was there at all. Frowning, Annabeth nodded and eased into the hospital sheets. After what felt like ages, a nurse walked over happily, holding a small bundle of white. You would never know that a baby was in there if not for the loud crying coming from the blanket.

Annabeth reached out immediately, holding their child close to her chest. The sound of the clicks of a camera was the only thing that reminded them that their birth photographer had been in the room the whole time, hopefully capturing everything.

Tears sprung to Annabeth's eyes, her stormy grey colour identical to her mother's. Their baby continued to scream and cry as Annabeth prepared to feed their child for the first time. Percy slipped his finger into his baby girl's grasp, her little fingers immediately latching on. Underneath her pink cap was plenty of dark hair. Suddenly, the room began to fill with their friends and family. Annabeth's father, a tall blonde man steered in Annabeth's young twin brothers. Following them in was Bianca, Nico, Jason, and Thalia, Percy's cousins. Percy and his cousins had more or less grew up together which had forced them to all become close early on. Their fathers, notorious for their businesses, had been grooming their children to take over for years. This sort of lifestyle growing up was something unique to them and was something they all bonded over early on. Quietly, their family observed as the baby's cries died down as Annabeth breastfed their daughter. Jason, who was holding a video camera, zoomed in on the baby as their photographer continued to snap pictures.

Eventually, Annabeth passed their daughter to Percy who, of course, had Jason turn on the circle of life. Too exhausted to say no, Annabeth watched unamused as Percy lifted their child into the air, replicating the opening scene from The Lion King. Afterwards though, Percy sat down and held his daughter against his bare chest at the request of Annabeth who insisted that skin-to-skin contact would establish a bond between them. Finally passing his daughter to Bianca who had been eagerly anticipating holding her niece, Percy was approached by their photographer who explained that she had to go soon and wanted to show him the pictures before she left. Scrolling through the camera roll, a particular photo had caught Percy's eye. Annabeth holding their baby daughter with tears in her eyes as Percy kissed her forehead with his daughter grasping his finger. Percy felt a smile crouch onto his face as he showed the photo to Annabeth. Annabeth started to cry again as she looked at the photo.

"I love it so much," she sobbed. "Can you have all of them printed twice and sent to us each Lily?"

Their photographer nodded and quietly left the room.

After being held by everyone, their daughter made it back into Annabeth's arms.

"Just be careful, Annabeth," Apollo warned as he entered the room and picked up more chart information. "You've lost a lot of blood."

At twenty-two, Annabeth was quite young and complications arose when she couldn't dilate completely. Along with the preeclampsia she inherited from her mother, it was overall a difficult pregnancy. Looking back, would a c-section have been that bad? Maybe not, but Annabeth was relieved she had delivered naturally. Their baby girl's eyes opened gently revealing big grey eyes with swirls of green.

"Aww," Bianca cooed as the baby yawned.

"What are you going to name her?" Nico asked curiously.

"Well," Annabeth smiled weakly, handing the baby to Percy again. "Percy chose her first name, Olivia. And I agreed because it also comes from the Latin word for Olive tree."

Percy smiled and continued. "And Annabeth chose her middle name, Ariadne, because of, of course, Greek mythology. Ariadne was Greek mythological daughter of King Minos of Crete who aided Theseus to escape from the Cretan labyrinth after killing the Minotaur."

"So," Jason concluded, "Olivia Ariadne Jackson."

Percy nodded as he passed Olivia to Athena who didn't have the chance to hold her earlier.

"She's so light," Athena commented disapprovingly.

Annabeth glared at her. "She was 7 weeks premature and I was sick constantly," she said defensively, reaching for her daughter. "And maybe if I hadn't inherited preeclampsia from you, she could've been a regular weight."

Athena crossed her arms after Annabeth took Olivia back into her arms. "So you're gonna act like I purposely gave you something I can't control? Logical." Percy grimaced as he could see this was escalating.

"No, I'm gonna tell you to maybe put two and two together and stop judging my daughter for what she can't control."

"Well what you could've controlled, Annabeth, is how much you ate," Athena shrugged.

Annabeth opened her mouth to respond but opted for a sigh instead.

Percy scowled, remembering that Annabeth had been depressed and pretty much stopped eating after her and her mother had gotten into a huge argument.

The thing is, Percy and Annabeth are both only twenty-two years old. He and Annabeth were both about to graduate from New York University in May and they had been dating on and off for years now. Percy was in on a swim scholarship that, frankly put, he didn't really need. Percy's father was a rich business owner that lives in California along with his cousins' dads. Pretty much all of their moms were in the same boat-they had a one night stand with the rich man. Except, in Thalia and Jason's case; they and their mom had lived with their dad in California for a couple of years and when Jason was around five and Thalia eight, they came back to New York.

Percy isn't sure exactly what Annabeth and Athena argued about, but he was sure it had to do with them and their future. Whatever was said, that argument was enough to make Annabeth cry for days, despite her not being a big crier believe it or not. Percy was sure it was the hormones. However, it was eerily similar to when Annabeth had slipped into a depression years before. Percy had to comfort her then and he comforted her again this time, grabbing and caressing her free hand.

He supposed this is why he was surprised when Annabeth absolutely insisted on having her mother in the delivery room. He simply couldn't wrap his mind around it. Why would you want the woman who berated you for years by your side while you're giving birth to your first child? As soon as that first contraction had hit, it was her mother she was crying out for. Percy couldn't deny her that despite his better judgement.

"Annabeth, honey, you look tired," Fredrick Chase commented, in a clear attempt to cut the tension in the room.

"Yeah, maybe you should get some rest, Annie," Thalia suggested. She was the only person that could call Annabeth 'Annie' without having a finger broken. Annabeth despised that nickname but tolerated it from a close friend like Thalia. "Olivia will still be here when you wake up."

Annabeth yawned and passed the baby to Percy. "Okay."

Percy was surprised. Annabeth didn't even put up a fight despite her non-stop quarrel against having a c-section. Quickly, Annabeth's steady breathing filled the room. Beside her, the heart monitor beeped steadily. Finally, Apollo took Olivia away to the NICU. As light chit-chat filled the room, Percy turned to Thalia. "Well, I should call my mom…"

Trailing off, he glanced at Annabeth. A frown settled into his face.

"Percy?" Thalia asked, putting a hand on his shoulder, garnering his attention. Her big blue eyes pierced into his. "What's wrong?"

Percy turned back to stare at Annabeth. Suddenly the room was silent. He couldn't breathe.

The heart monitor continued to beep.

Percy watched with concern as Annabeth's chest rose and fell.

Suddenly, everything around him blurred. He could only see Annabeth. He couldn't speak. He could only feel the eyes on him as he continued to stare.

Her chest was slowing.

He couldn't breathe.

Annabeth's father runs out of the room. Only the monotonous rhythm of the heart monitor was left.

Beep…beep…beep…beeeeeeeeeeeeep.

The note held.

He couldn't breathe.

Annabeth's chest fell for the last time.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

BIG AUTHOR'S NOTE, PLEASE READ AT LEAST UP TO THE ASTERISKS (***):

Wow, would you look at that, I wrote something! For those of you that don't know this is actually a rewrite of a fanfiction that is already published on here. But I think that I wrote that when I was 12 or something like that, lol. I like the ideas but I don't like how it's written so I'm giving it another go!

When I wrote this story the first time, I omitted a lot of things I actually wanted to include because I felt like it was too much or I didn't have enough knowledge or experience with it. Trigger warning, I wanted to write about self-harm involving one of the characters as well even though it's ooc. I just thought it would fit, and it does. If I do decide to go with that it won't be very prominent or anything, just a side detail and I will include a trigger warning! Um, just to reiterate, I have another account under the name TheBookWorm3 on this website too and I think I may post this story to Wattpad as well. Maybe even ao3? Do people use that? Idk lol.

While this story is finished, I don't know if I would recommend reading the original if you haven't already because firstly, it's super cringy and secondly, I'm changing some of the plot. I mean, the first time I wrote this story there was no medical reasoning behind anything. But this time I did more research and I have, generally, a lot more knowledge on biology, chemistry and physics in general-not that that matters a lot, but I mean, I actually know how birth works in its entirety more or less. I could tell you all about hormones and what not. I thought about including the afterbirth in this story but, to be honest, I had no idea what that's like in real life. I mean, your baby is out and then like 15 minutes later it's like here comes the placenta? Idk. I am Canadian if you're wondering so I feel like, culturally, this story will be more "Canadian" than "American" not that there's a huge difference or that it's gonna take place in Canada. I guess I just mean spelling colour with a u. I don't know a lot of American restaurants like Dunkin Donuts or Sonic-never been there. Or whataburger I think it's called. That's what I mean by that, you know? Anyways, I'm getting off track. Oh, fun, random fact! I'm a scorpio and not that I'm a hard core believer in horscopes or anything like that, but back in the day, I was super petty about Olivia who was supposed to be a taurus which is my opposite. Her due date is on a significant day and couldn't be changed. So I made her premature and now she's a pisces. Which actually fits into the story now, but before I had just squashed it in.

I have read every single Percy Jackson/ Heroes of Olympus book except the Blood of Olympus. Like I said before, my friend and I are petty and love Percy so much and didn't want to read a book where his perspective wasn't even shown. Nowadays, I would consider reading the book if I ever get around to it. Thank you so much for reading and like I said last time, this story is very interesting, at least I think so. And has a happy ending, I promise! Please leave a review if you liked or didn't like this chapter. Thank you! Till next time.