I lie in my bed, my wife next to me. I am barely aware of anything, except the numbness in my arms from the pressure of Annabeth squeezing it. Probably having a dream about cuddling with me, I think. It is very dark in the room, only the moonlight is our source of light. Oddly enough, it streams directly in Annabeth's face, making her look like a angel. Her face is smooth and other than the purple circles under eyes, she is beautiful. I think of our wedding day, how happy she was.

After I bought a house, she completely loved it. She added a few things though. Like an indoor pool, game room, and of course, got me a big flat screen. Did I mention she did this while 7 months pregnant? No? Well, she did. She was pregnant with our son, Simon, when I bought our house and moved out of our apartment. On Christmas eve, she went into labor. The very next day, about 12 hours of screaming, almost breaking my hand, cursing and crying, she had Simon Christian Jackson.

Flashback

"Push!" The doctor cried. "Push!"

"Ah!" Annabeth cried. My hand was turning purple, but I didn't care. He was almost here. He's almost here.

"Come Annabeth! Push! This is the final stretch!" The doctor cried again.

"I, ah! can't! It, ah! It hurts!" Annabeth cries. I kiss her, "Come on! You can do it!" I encourage her. I'm holding both of her hands now, squeezing them tight to let her know that I'm here.

"PERCY!" She screams. Annabeth shrieks one more time, and then a second voice shrieks louder than her, a sound I will never forget. The shrill cry of my baby. In some sort of trance, I walk over and the doctors hand me scissors, which they help me cut the cord because I am so distracted by the little thing they hold in their hands. I walk back over to Annabeth, who's eyes are red and puffy, and her hair is matted with sweat. I kiss her forehead. "We did it" She whispers. "No," I whisper back. "you did it."

"Mrs. Jackson?" A voice chimes in. "Would you like to hold your son?" Annabeth nods. The nurse gently places Simon on her chest, and he opens his eyes. He has blonde hair, and green eyes. As soon has he was put on Annabeth's chest, I swear she lit up like a Christmas tree. I think I did too.

As I lay down next to Annabeth, while Simon makes a gurgling noise, and I chuckle, "Hi baby." Annabeth croons. "Hi buddy." I coo. Simon smiles and make a little noise I presume to be a laugh. I sniffle and wipe a tear. Annabeth make no attempt to wipe hers away. Simon reaches out, and Annabeth gives him her finger. He latches on, staring at it like it's the most interesting thing in the world.

We both laugh, which makes Simon giggle. I kiss him of the forehead, as does Annabeth. He starts to close his eyes, so we watch him sleep until there's a knock on the door.

Everyone comes in to see us, and when I say everyone, I mean everyone I know.

. Thalia, Nico, Chiron, my parents, Annabeth's father, stepmother and brothers. Poseidon, Athena and Tyson come as well. What surprises me is that Mr. D, aka Dionysus, the wine god, comes as well.

"Well Well." he says. "Prissy Jacobson and Annie Bell Claire. My, my. So, you're married for a year and then get her knocked up eh?" He pats me on the back, but Annabeth and I ignore the 'knock up' part.

"Thanks Mr. D." We both say.

The best part was bringing him home early to spend time with him on Christmas. He was originally due on the first, but he was a stubborn child.

I wheeled Annabeth and Simon out on a wheelchair. Annabeth was still crying, still not believing she had a little boy. I was probably looking like an idiot, with my idiotic smile, walking around with my new son. I helped Annabeth in the back, and drove home. Annabeth fell asleep in the car, but I couldn't blame her. Bringing a life into the world isn't the easiest thing. Espescially for 12 hours. But as soon as I saw him pop out, I couldn't think of anything else.

I unlocked the door with the bags, and our two corgi's, Max and Gandalph, rush out to look for Annabeth. I yell for them to come back, and they run back, wagging their stumpy tails. I go back and retrieve my wife and child. Annabeth hands Simon to me, and she collapses on the couch, while the dogs circle me excited,

I carefully sit down on the floor, and Max comes up to sniff Simon. Simon giggles and pets his fur, which makes him giggle more. Max wags his tail, and Gandalph cautiously walks over, sniffing the air. He also sits by me, and rolls on his back. I set Simon down, and he starts to run the dogs' tummy.

Gandalph's leg starts to twitch, and I smile. Simon looks up at me tiredly. I pick him up, patting his back as I go upstairs to his room. Simons' room is pale blue and green, with a soft tint of gold, like on the sand on a beach. I walk to the green crib, and set my baby in it, handing him an old, brown teddy bear, which was Annabeth's when she was little. I sing to him for a couple of minutes until he's fully asleep, and I creep downstairs.

I find Annabeth sleeping, so I pick her up bridal style, and her hands immediately latch around my neck. I carry her upstairs, and set her under the covers.

"I love you" I whisper. "I love you too" she answers.

End of flashback

So here I lay, and a shrill cry jolts my eyes open. This is the seventh day we've had no sleep. I shake Annabeth's shoulder, "Your turn." I groan.

"No it isn't. I've done it for the last two nights." she replies, and Iimpress myself by the way I could somehow decipher her words.

Since she spoke straight into the bedding, it sounded more like she was eating cloth. Which she could have been, since the mysterious, vaguely horrifying thing called pregnancy and motherhood had caused her to develop the appetite of a bear before hibernation. Max and Gandalph, who are at the edge of the bed, turn to look at us, apparently waiting for the argument to begin.

"He wants you. He's probably hungry, and there's nothing I can do about that," I said.

She twisted and faced the other way so I couldn't see her expression. My guess: sleepy.

"He's not hungry. He just needs changing, and you can do that as well as I."

"How do you know?" I demand.

"I just do. It's a maternal instinct thing from the crying, babies, and…and diapers…and tired." She wasn't even coherent anymore.

"Well, you have a better sense than me. You do it," he said.

She groaned. "I swear to you, Percy, if I have to get up one more time, I will curl up and die. Do you understand? Die." She turned again so she lay flat on her back. Her gray eyes were tightly shut, and he guessed they would be more bloodshot than gray if she opened them.

"Oh come on…" I mumble. She sits up and looks straight ahead.

"Perseus. I carried him for almost ten months, had to deal with morning sickness, having to go to the bathroom every minute, and then had to give birth Percy. Birth. Tell me, have you ever felt birthing pains?" She says.

"No, cause last time I checked, I'm a guy" I answer.

"Well, think of your body ripping itself apart, and then imagine a body being pushed through your pelvis. Then come back and tell me how that goes." She replies, and flops back onto the bed. I sigh, knowing she has a point.

I climb our of bed and walk toward our sons room with my eyes closed, I had already memorized which way to go. I open the door, and the cry becomes louder. I walk to the crib and pick him up. "Oh come on…" I moan. "I need some sleep bud." He continues to cry, and I become aware of what he might want. He probably had a nightmare, something a parent would never think of. I bring him close, and shush him. He stops crying, but is still whining a bit.

"It's okay Simon." I coo. "Dada's here. Dada's here." He grabs my hand, and holds onto it with a death grip. I sing to him softly, something my mother would sing to me when I was little. It's not fancy, but not too old.

Come my child, and I'll hold you tight

I'll keep away the things you fright

Here it's safe, and here it's warm

I'll guard you from, every harm

Come my darling, it's okay

Down here, the soft green bay

Where the children come to play,

I'll hold you tight my darling

I'll hold you tight my darling!

Simon closes his eyes, and falls asleep. I set him back down and walk to my bedroom. I slip under the covers, and Annabeth mumbles "That was quick"

I chuckled softly and say "I guess I'm just cool like that"

I hope you like it. Thanks icy roses for the inspiration :D