Hello and Happy Holidays everyone!
This idea popped in my head a while back and I was finally able to finish it just in time for the holidays. It was a way for me to get out of my writers block for my other story G,G,L. For those who haven't read it, please check it out.
I have never read a story, or seen a movie that celebrates Christmas this way, so I just wanted to see how it would go putting this out there. This is a combination of how my family celebrates Christmas, and how I wish to someday celebrate Christmas, once I have a family of my own.
This story is all fluff, with a little bit of plot. Mild language, and some suggestive content.
Disclaimer: All mistakes are mine, I apologize ahead of time. I don't own Rick Riordan's characters, I simply twisted them into my own story.
MEET THE JACKSONS
Percy
Sun rays where shine across the sky as I slowly wake up to another beautiful day.
A smile makes its way across my face as I remember the night before and how I made love to the love of my life. I look over at her and smile at how her curly locks are scattered across the pillow, face down, hand under her cheek, her right leg hitched around my hips. Gods, she's beautiful.
My hand reaches for her leg, pulling it tighter, and her body with it, as I reach over and whisper kisses along her cheek and neck. A soft moan emanates from her lips. My eyes meet hers, awake and sleepy, grey silver pools stare back at me, smiling. My thumb strokes her face and she smiles at me, morning breath and all.
"Good morning," she whispers sweetly.
"Morning, beautiful," I smile back. Her arms wrap around me as she snuggles into me.
"I don't want to get up," she whines childishly. I chuckle, the irony not lost on me.
"Come on, I thought you were supposed to be the responsible one."
"It's boring being responsible all the time. Why can't you be it for a change?" she pouts at me, lifting herself in order to look at me.
"You do have a point there, Mrs. Jackson," I agree, teasingly.
"Of course I do, Mr. Jackson." She smiles, having won her argument. She leans down to give me a long sweet kiss on the lips. Just as soon as I start getting into it she gets up, ending it. "I always do. Now, go wake the twins."
"Tease," I admonish. She shrugs and grabs a pair of shorts and one of my t-shirts, then makes her way to the kitchen.
Once I'm dressed with pants and a shirt, I make my way to the boys' room. I open the door to their rooms and sigh at the mess awaiting me. Toys scattered all over the floor; Legos, race cars, dinosaurs, building blocks, even shoes… and is that chocolate milk stains on the carpet?
They have bunk beds because they wanted more room to play. Boys. The beds are in the left-side corner, a large window facing the door, and on the right side was their closet, toy trunk, and book shelf. Annabeth insisted.
I turned off their baseball nightlight and headed for the window, opening the blinds and letting the morning sun shine through. "Come on boys, time to get up, we have a long day ahead of us." I exclaim cheerfully.
Simultaneous groans come out from under the covers of both beds, their heads hiding. I grin, as an idea hits me. I reach over Aiden's bed and start tickling, he squirms instantly. I pick him up as he squeals and throw him gently onto Adam's bed as they giggle uncontrollably with my tickle assault.
"Daddy! Stop! Stop!" they scream, delighted.
"Magic word," I sing-song.
"Please, please!"
"Ok, I'll stop." I grin, releasing them, letting them catch their breath. Their dark hair scattered across their heads. They are spitting images of me. Hair, nose, face, everything. Except their eyes, they have their mother's eyes. Two pairs of sparkly grey orbs look up at me, giggling, hands wavering.
My beautiful boys just turned four this October. Adrien and Adam. Annabeth and I were shocked when we found out we were having twins, but once we got over that, we were overjoyed. I did not let Annabeth out of my sight for more than a minute, and I was on stand-by whenever she so much as winced. Of course she wasn't amused but I told her to get over it because I wasn't going to stop, not even if I wanted to.
"Daddy, are we going to get the Chwistmas twee today?" Adam asked, Adrien agreeing.
"Yes we are, but first we have to go Christmas shopping. Don't you guys want to buy something for your mommy?" I asked, standing up. They followed excitedly.
"Can we buy her a reindeer?" Adrien asked.
"Or an elf?" Adam added.
I chuckled, taking out their clothes for the day. "Sorry, fellas. We can't afford to feed a reindeer. And I'm pretty sure we don't need any elves running around if we have you two." They snickered and started taking off their PJs as I helped them get into their clothes.
I can't say I don't like doing this every day.
Annabeth
"Mom, have you seen my red scarf? I can't find it." Perla walks into the kitchen, searching for her scarf. Percy gave it to her for her seventh birthday this year. She doesn't go anywhere without it.
"Have you checked the living room, honey?" I ask without batting an eye as I finish up breakfast, French toast with strawberries, honey and whip cream along with some delicious hot chocolate.
"Ooh, that smells good. Can I have a strawberry?" Alexander walks in, picking at the strawberries.
I slap his hand away, "No. not until breakfast," he pouts. At thirteen years old, he has mastered his powers against me. "That will not work, mister, now go wash your hands so you can help me set the table." He sighs but does what he's told.
"Can we help too mommy?" I hear the twins running down the stairs, tumbling over each other. I sigh and smile gently. Boys.
Once the table is set, we all fix our plates and sit down to eat. Once everyone has taken a bite, conversation ensues.
"Mommy, Daddy says we can't have a reindeer," Adam comments. I give Percy a questioning look, and he just shrugs at me.
"I think Daddy is right. Are you two going to be responsible for it?" they both stare at me, not knowing what I just asked.
"What's wesponsibe?" Adrien asks.
"The fact that you guys don't know what it means, means you can't have one," Alexander states.
"Alexander, don't be mean to your brothers," Percy admonishes.
"I wasn't being mean, it was just a comment."
"That's true. If I can't have a Pegasus, they can't have a reindeer," Perla agrees.
Percy and I smile at each other.
"Alright," Percy announces standing up and picking his plate up. "Who's ready for some Christmas shopping?" All at once, the kids get up, running towards the sink to wash off their plates, beating Percy. They are well trained, if I do say so myself. I refused to wash dishes and let my children be slobs, as well as my husband.
We decide to go to Fashion Valley mall. The kids want to buy presents for their cousins, Grover, Thalia, Nico, and Bianca.
"Are your parents joining us this year?" I ask Percy, as we stroll behind the kids, hand in hand.
"Yeah. Dad didn't want to leave the aquarium unattended before the holidays, but since the animals were doing well, they decided to close. The workers still have to go and check up on the animals though, but they won't have to work full shifts." Percy's dad owned Poseidon Aquarium in Montauk. We take the kids there every summer and they love the beach and playing with the animals, and of course their grandparents.
'Oh, that's great. When will they get here?"
"The 18th. If that's ok?" He looks at me, questioning, when he knows it is completely fine.
"Of course. We have to set up the guest room for them, and the kids need to agree on a present to give to them." He nods, agreeing.
We stroll for a few more hours, and when the kids find some store they want to go into, we follow them. When the kids wanted to look at toys to give to their cousins, we had to separate. I went with Perla and Percy took the boys.
In the end Perla and I ended up going to clothing stores, both of us wanting new outfits for the holidays.
"Mommy, what about this one?" Perla asks showing me a hot pink fluffy dress. Uh… no.
"Honey, its Christmas. Don't you want a prettier dress that makes you feel like a queen instead of a princess?"
Her face scrunches up in confusion, her dark curls getting in her face. Percy says she looks just like me except for the dark hair with green eyes. She's beautiful. "But mommy, I can't be queen, Daddy will get mad."
"Why would he get mad?"
"Because he always says that you are his queen and I'm his princess," She declares, her head nodding.
"Oh, of course, how could I forget? But you know, you would be queen someday, might as well start practicing now." I smile down at her, and her face brightens, already running around to find the perfect Christmas dress.
Percy
The boys were giving me whiplash. We ended up in Target and the twins are on a rampage finding every possible toy in every aisle and putting it into the cart. I try to tell them that we are not buying all of these, but it doesn't seem to faze them.
"Dad, can I go look at the clothes?" Alexander asks me after he seems to lose interest on the twins search for perfect toys.
"Um, what for, Alex?"
"Um, I uh…" he coughs, blushing. This should be good. "I want to wear something nice."
"Really?" I muse, questioning. "Since when do you want to look nice? Your mother use to always pester you on dressing up for the holidays."
"Don't make me say it dad," he begs, his eyes pleading.
"Man to man, you can tell me. I'm listening, Alex."
He looks at me, debating, then seems to brace himself for what he's going to say next. "I like Reyna," he whispers.
"Like her like her?" I egg on. I suspected it, but it's good to have some evidence. Reyna is Leo and Calypso's daughter. She is fourteen and I'm sure Alex is self-conscious of liking an older woman. But then again, they're only five months apart. Ah, young love.
"Yes," he confirms, lowering his head in embarrassment.
"Alex, there is nothing wrong with liking Reyna. She is a beautiful girl and you guys are best friends, how could you not like her?"
"So it's not weird? Since I've known her my whole life?"
"Kid, do you know how old we were when me and your mom met?" he shakes his head. "We were six. Our parents met and became good friends. Your mother and I became the best of friends, we were inseparable. She was my first kiss, first girlfriend, first everything."
"Wow, I never knew that," he comments, a toothy grin escapes him. "Should I tell her?"
"I think you should do whatever you feel is right. Go with your heart." He smiles determined, and nods as I pat his shoulder.
We all reunite around lunchtime, the kids vote for sushi so we walk towards the food court with our food in hand. Perla tells me that she bought a burgundy dress, with a flow-y tulle skirt and a big pretty flower, her words not mine. The twins show the presents they picked to give out to their cousins and Alexander blushes as he says he found a nice dress shirt and tie. Annabeth seems confused, but I mouth to her I'll tell her later.
Once the kids have had enough of their Christmas shopping, we head off to find the perfect tree.
"This one, this one!" Adam and Adrien shriek, pointing to a tall fluffy monstrous tree.
"No, this one. It's so cute!" Perla cheers, referring to a short fluffier one.
Annabeth and I just eye each other, thinking. Oh, man, we are never going to find a tree. Alexander chuckles and points to a skinny tree.
I gather the kids as an idea pops in my head. "How about, you guys find the tree that needs the most love?"
They all stare at me, puzzled. "How do we know it needs love?" Adrien asks, Adam nodding.
"Because it makes you sad looking at it, lonely, forgotten. It might need our love to find a home for Christmas," Annabeth replies catching on. Bright smiles reach their faces as all four run off in different directions.
In the end we go with a stubby, fat, lopsided one. With branches sticking up on some sides, and branches missing on others. The kids declare it as the tree that needs the most love.
Once we get home, Annabeth and Perla head off to the kitchen to start on some cookies and hot chocolate while we men set up the tree. Coco, our three year old beagle jumps around trying to catch fallen leaves and pulling on the ornaments the twins try to put on the tree. My queen and my princess soon bring out the treats and help us put the finishing touches. Alexander starts playing Christmas tunes, and grabs Perla to twirl her around. She giggles joyfully.
Once all the decorations are on, the lights are turned on, there is one last thing to be done. Together, Annabeth and I scope up Adrien and Adam as they giggle.
"The star is the most important part of the tree. Are you guys ready to put it on?" Annabeth questions. They both nod profusely. With one twin on my arm, and the other on Annabeth's they both reach up together to place the silver crystal star on the tip of the most beautiful tree I have ever seen, all out of love.
Alexander and Perla cheer as Coco does twirls and barks happily. "Wooh!" I cheer, lifting up Adam onto my shoulders and run around the house. Annabeth follows, swinging Adrien in the air.
"You guys are so silly!" Perla exclaims, giggly.
Alexander just shrugs and munches on some cookies. "They have been doing this my whole life, and I have learned to deal with it," he contemplates.
"Ok, that's enough you two," Annabeth admonishes. "Do not finish the cookies or else there won't be enough for the movie later."
Soon, the whole house explodes in excited yells for movie suggestions, since we never agreed, we decided to watch as many as we could until the kids passed out in the living room.
It was a good day if you ask me.
Annabeth
Poseidon and Sally will be arriving any minute now and the kids are all buzzing with excitement. Being officially on break now, they spend their days decorating the house and writing their letters to Santa, as well as making their own present to their grandparents.
Alexander on the other hand seems more preoccupied with blushing and stuttering anytime Reyna is mentioned. Being the daughter of Leo and Calypso, we always considered her family, and that's why I feel they struggle with their feelings for each other, even though they're not blood related, it seems odd for them to care about the other in non-platonic ways. I can definitely relate.
Ever since the twins were born, Percy and I have been hosting Christmas, having the most kids out of the whole family, it seemed easier for everyone to come to us, then the other way around.
Jason, Percy's brother, and his wife, Piper, are bringing their kids, Thalia and Grover on Christmas Eve. Piper is very pregnant with baby Zoe, who is expected to arrive in late February. They are all pretty excited. Frank and Hazel, Percy's sister, are part of the gang too, along with their kids, Nico and Bianca. And of course, Leo and Calypso, with Reyna, and one year old baby Daniel.
We are a big family, and it only seems to be growing, but I wouldn't have it any other way, especially not now.
The in laws arrive at four in the afternoon, tired from the two hour drive from Montauk to Glen Cove, New York. The twins attach each other to one grandparent each, clutching onto their leg as they find their way inside the house.
"Adrien! Adam! My goodness you boys are so big!" Sally greeted enthusiastically, picking up Adam from her leg, and places a wet sloppy kiss on his cheek.
"How old are you now, six?" Poseidon adds, placing Adrien on his shoulders after he gave him his own greeting.
The twins giggle happily, overjoyed with their grandparents affection. "NO! We just turned four!" Adam states, proudly.
"You are stunning, my dear," Sally greets me, kissing my cheek, and embraces me in a very much missed hug. She was always the mother I needed after my parents died in a car crash when I was seventeen.
"It's nice to see you, sweetie," Poseidon follows giving me a fatherly hug and a kiss on my head. Yup, they are more than just in laws to me.
A squeal makes its way to our ears as Perla comes running from the living room and launches herself onto her grandparents. "Grandma! Grandpa!" she screams excitedly, hugging them to her in one embrace. Alexander follows, greeting his grandparents with a tight hug each. That boy has always been more reserved.
The kids wanted to take their grandparents to the park, so they could see all the lights on the trees and the streets. When I was pregnant with Alexander, Percy and I decided to move out of the crazy city of New York, and go somewhere calmer, more family friendly, hence our new home in Glen Cove. It's quite a small town actually, and there isn't many ways of entertainment, but the kids are happy, so that's all that really matters.
One thing I do like about Glen Cove, is the greenery during the spring. All the colors and smells of fresh flowers blooming from the homes. And during the winter, the snow is almost picture-esq, white, soft, and sparkling from the Christmas lights of the city. It really is a beautiful sight and now, the kids are showing their grandparents the magic of Christmas in are small hometown.
The Adrien and Adam play with Coco, as she fetches with her chew toy in the snowy grass, while Perla talks the ears off of Sally and Poseidon, who only seem to be thrilled by it. Alexander watches the twins from the swings, his earplugs in while he listens to music, with a contended smile on his face. Percy and I sit on a bench, his arm over my shoulder as I snuggle into him.
"Do you think we should tell them it's time to go home now? The twins might get sick." I ask worriedly, after we have been in this chilly air for about an hour or so.
Percy snuggles his face into my neck, rubbing his cold nose on my cheek. I laugh like a teenage girl at this act he's been doing for years. I swear, he still has that effect on me. "No, let them enjoy the night, because then we're all going to be busy making preparations for the big day," he states kissing my neck.
Oh, this man and his dorky corny ways.
I inch my face closer to his as he smiles down at me. "Hi," I whisper.
"Hi," he echoes. We stare for a couple seconds, before finally leaning in, our lips meeting in a sweet gentle kiss.
"Ew! Mommy, Daddy, that's gross!" Adrien and Adam simultaneously yell. We all burst out in joyous laughter.
Percy
"Percy would you please stop messing around and give me a hand?" Annabeth yells out exasperatedly at me.
I am currently leaning on the counter, stealthily stealing the desserts for tonight. Well, trying to be stealthy, as apparently Annabeth didn't even look my way and knows what I am up to.
"Yeah, Daddy, stop messing around and help us," Perla pouts as she snatches the cookie from my hand and places her hands on her hips.
"Ok, princess," I comply kissing her forehead. "What do you and mommy need help with?"
"Well, for starters, wash your hands, then you can help Perla cut up those vegetables," Annabeth replies.
"Oh yes, my dear, we need all the help we could get, no matter how useless it is," my mother states as she appears with grocery bags from the market and places them on the counter.
"Hey, I'm not useless!" I exclaim petulantly. And yeah, I pouted, sew me. The women then set to work after thoroughly embarrassing me.
Today is Christmas Eve and we need to have all the food ready and fix the house for tonight before the family arrives later in the evening. After I finished helping Perla, she shoos me away to help her brothers and Grandpa set the lights outside, even if the house is already full of Christmas decorations. The kids seem to want more fluffy Christmas arrangements.
"Alright, Alex, you want to help me put up these lights?" Poseidon asks, climbing up the latter.
"Sure," Alex replied, as he stood next to the ladder holding the pile of colorful lights.
"Daddy, we need more of this fluffy stuff!" Adam shrieks not knowing what it's called, as him and Adrien finish tying it around the porch rail.
"Of course you do," I chuckle giving them a hand. We then got to work on putting on the red, gold, and green tinsel around the steps and porch. Soon, our roof, windows and bushes were filled with colorful lights, and celebrative tinsel sprinkled around the house.
Once we were done, I scooped Adrien in one arm and Adam on the other. "Alright, let's go get you boys cleaned up." They giggled and squirmed in my arms as my dad laughed out loud. "Oh, and you to Alex. We don't want Reyna thinking you're a slob, now do we?" I smirked at him while he groaned, his cheeks tinting.
Frank and Hazel arrive first, with Bianca and Nico in tow, and another bag full of presents and couple of deserts for dinner. Perla attaches herself to Bianca and they ran off to the living room. Nico sat down with the twins playing some videogames and grabbed another controller. In the corner of my eye, I saw Alexander rubbing his hands on his thighs, nervously looking at the clock.
"Hey Frank it's good to see you" I greeted with the signature man hug.
"Hey Perce! Dam, it feels good to finally be here. The kids would not shut up about today,"
"Yeah same with mine. Especially the twins being hyperactive and all."
"Yeah, I wonder who that reminds me of?" he suggests, knowingly.
"Hey, I was not this cute!"
"No I suppose not because they do have half of Annabeth in them, and then there is the fact that there is two of them." We both chuckle and chat some more as Annabeth and Hazel do some finishing touches in the kitchen.
Jason and Piper arrive next, Grover waving greetings and Thalia helping her mother waddle in, pregnant belly and all, while Jason drags in the bags of presents.
Not ten minutes later, Leo and Calypso arrive carrying baby Daniel. Alexander perks up when he sees Reyna cross through the threshold with a pan of desserts. They greet each other shyly as he helps her carry it to the kitchen.
Annabeth
Once everyone arrived, we all settled in the backyard were we had several tables arranged to fit us all. The backyard is mostly surrounded by white lights with gold tinsel raining from our festive tree, and red Poinsettia flowers placed as table centerpieces. For dinner, we are having Cordon Bleu with Alfredo pasta, garlic rice with cilantro, and steamed vegetables. Children will be having apple cider while adults drink white wine, with the exception of me. We all use fancy glasses since it is a special occasion.
The children decide to sit in the 'cool' table leaving us adults in the 'boring' table. Happens every year. "Dad, would you like to make the honors?" Percy asks once everyone has their plates ready. Poseidon smiles.
"Actually I think you should do the honors, son." Poseidon states, everyone nodding in agreement.
Percy blushes at that, and I squeeze his leg in encouragement. "Mghm… ok well, I would like to say that this year has been a great year. We are all still here, alive and healthy and I think that that is the most important part of the holidays. I am grateful for my parents who are still with us, strong and healthy. For my brother, Jason, and my sister, Hazel, who have always supported me through thick and thin, I love you guys. Piper and Frank you're both more than just in laws in this family, we're siblings. For our friends Leo and Calypso who have always been with us, whom are more than friends, but family to us, I love you guys too. For my nieces and nephews, always so happy and energetic, best ones I could have asked for, I hope I'm your guys' favorite uncle, eh," everyone laughs at that. Percy pauses and turns to our kids. "And for my four beautiful children, I think it's safe to say that you are all special in your own way. I can't think of a day or moment where I feel that you where nothing but a blessing for me and your mother. I am proud to call myself a father to you kids, you have made me a better man every day since the first time I even found out I was going to be a father. Alexander, Perla, Adrien and Adam, I love you all so much and I am so grateful every day for having the chance to be there for you guys, whenever you need me."
Everyone seems to be tearing up at this speech, but me, well I am a complete puddle of tears and snot. This man is going to kill me one of these days. "And finally, to my beautiful wife," Percy states, turning to me. He interlocks both my hands in his and looks me in the eyes. His green eyes sparkling so beautifully in the white lights. "Annabeth, I have known you my whole life, I realized I had already fallen in love at the age of 10. Can you believe that? At 10. There has not been another woman out there for me because you were not only the first girl I ever loved, but you were my best friend, my partner in crime, my first kiss, my first and only girlfriend, my wife, the mother to my children, and my one and only soul mate. You are the most stunning, intelligent, creative, noble, caring, understanding, kick-ass, beautiful woman I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I thank the gods above for bringing you into this world, because without you, I would be nothing. I love you Annabeth, with all my heart and I hope to tell you and show you that each and every day for the rest of our lives together."
There it is, ladies and gentlemen, he killed me with his beautiful, heart-warming words. "Oh, love, don't cry," he begs wrapping me in his arms and kissing my tear-streaked cheeks.
"I love you, Percy. Gods, I love you…" I form out, croaky voice and all. We kiss then, passionately, sweetly, and chastely, all at the same time. Afterwards, everyone applauds Percy and digs into the Christmas Eve dinner, chatting away into separate conversations. Percy and I stay quiet, enjoying our meal, with a serene smile on our faces, and our hands locked together under the table.
Hours later, when everyone's bellies are happy and satisfied, the kids pair off. The boys to play videogames on the floor of the living room, while the girls sit and gossip on the couch, laughing and giggling. Alexander and Reyna sit side by side on the love couch, speaking softly. They seem very much happy and I hope they can express each other's feelings when the time is right.
I watch my family for a bit. The twins are dressed in black slacks with a black dress shirts and red plaid sweater vests. Perla is a beautiful princess in her burgundy velvet dress with a tulle skirt and a flower on the side. Alexander looks handsome in his black slacks, red dress shirt and black bow tie, while Reyna wears gold fluffy dress with a red cardigan and red flats. They look perfect together.
"Love, they'll be alright. Stop spying," Percy whispers to me as he hands me a glass of wine. He looks dashing as ever in khaki slacks, red dress shirt, green suspenders and bowtie. We are all gathered in the dining room table chatting and laughing about our kids and our jobs.
"I know. I'm just happy for them, because I know they will be ok, they'll figure it out soon enough and I want to see it happen." Percy wraps his arm around my waist and holds me.
"Yeah, it kind of reminds me of us when we were young," he smiles slightly.
And yeah, it definitely does.
At 11:00 we all gather in the living room, the boys turn off their video games and we all decide to play some family games, while listening to some holiday music and enjoy some dessert, apple and pumpkin pie, peanut butter and chocolate brownies, and red velvet cookies, as we wait for the clock to strike midnight.
"Oh, it's almost Christmas everyone!" Perla yells out, joyfully. Someone turns down the music as we all watch the clock strike 12.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" We all shout, gleefully. We all hug and celebrate, embracing our family members individually. I reach Percy last. I hug him tightly, my arms around his neck, his arms around the small of my back as we snuggle into each other.
"Merry Christmas, love," he whispers in my ear.
"Merry Christmas love," I echo into his neck.
"Can we open presents now?" Adam asks, pulling on my pant leg. Adrien pouting behind him.
"Well I guess we can," I chuckle, rubbing his head. He bats my hand away, as they both scurry off to take their seats on the floor with Grover and Nico in front of the Christmas tree. Perla, Thalia, and Bianca settle in a corner close to the Christmas tree and Alexander and Reyna sit leaning against a couch, Coco in between them, most likely jealous.
Sally sits by the tree as she starts announcing gifts, one by one, a present disappears into the hands of an excited child, or in Percy's case, man-child.
I see the twins open up their presents, race cars, a soccer ball, a basketball set, and two new games for their Xbox One. Perla gets two blouses, a purple bag for school, an art kit, and some body sprays. Alexander gets a jacket, converse, a baseball set, and a cell phone.
I notice him and Reyna interchange presents as they both blush and smile down opening their presents. He opens it up to reveal a pair of earbuds and a picture frame, where him and Reyna are hugging, laughing at each other. Reyna opens her present to reveal a silver necklace of a pegasus. And, yeah, I cry when she leans over and gives him a kiss on the cheek.
I was given a scarf and beanie, perfume and lotions, a purse and wallet, a pair of heels. But he best present was Percy's. He gave me a silver charm bracelet with several charms on it already; a chocolate kiss, a horse, an owl, a heart, a number one, an infinity symbol, a rose, and four box presents. I smile widely at this knowing what all these charms stand for. I thank him with a sweet kiss and a grateful hug. All the while thinking he might need to add one more charm onto the bracelet.
"This present seems to be for Percy from his beautiful wife," Sally announces, glancing at us and throwing the present to Percy. My heart starts beating, and my palms get sweaty. For the past few days I've been debating over to give him this present for Christmas or earlier, but I couldn't help thinking it would be a great way to give him this. Now, I'm just nervous of what his reaction would be like in front of the whole family.
Percy shakes the small box, curiously. He eyes me, then starts on unwrapping the gift. A small pair of purple baby shoes. He picks them up, a frown on his face, and somewhere in the background I hear several gasps. "There is more," I urge him, quietly, after he seems to not understand. He digs deeper and finds a picture of an ultrasound. Seconds tick by and he is motionless.
Percy
Once I open my gift, a pair of baby shoes, my first thought was, these aren't my style. But then my mind started buzzing with questions and ideas and when I finally see the ultrasound, it clicks. A baby. Annabeth is pregnant! We are having a baby! My eyes snap to her face, expectant and nervous, while all I can do is rephrase that sentence in my head to make it real before I even have the capacity to form words.
"A baby? Really?" I finally manage to squeak out. She nods vehemently and I pounce on her, wrapping her in my arms and yelling at the top of my lungs. "We're having a baby!" Annabeth wiggles in my arms but that only makes me happier as I wrap myself protectively around her and start pecking her face cheeks chest and stomach. I rub her belly reverently. "How long?" I ask, my eyes not leaving her belly.
"Ten weeks. The doctor said we need to wait for at least twelve to know the sex, but I know it's a girl," she says, placing her hands over mine.
"Yeah it is a girl." I state confidently.
The crowd gathers, congratulating us and we end up celebrating all over again. Our kids come over excitedly, buzzing with the news of another sibling. We stay together for a few minutes discussing baby related themes until finally the kids get bored and the adults get tipsy.
We put on a party mix and dance around for a bit, enjoying the night. Calypso nurses baby Daniel in the corner, Leo watching closely, and I can't help but smile because in a few months, that would be Annabeth again. Piper sits after a few songs rubbing her large belly, Jason handing her a glass of water. Frank and Hazel are slow dancing together while my parents sit comfortably in each other's arms by our lopsided Christmas tree. I notice Alexander pull Reyna up to dance and they laugh gleefully with each other. I smile as I spin Annabeth a few more times until I pull her tight against me. "I like the name Phoebe."
She thinks about it for a minute, "Phoebe Jackson. Yeah I like that, a lot."
"You hear that Phoebe, your mommy and daddy can't wait to meet you," I say, rubbing Annabeth's stomach once again. Now that I know she carries another meanie version of ourselves inside her that is all I will be able to do for her in the next eight months. After a few more songs we take a seat on the love couch. I notice the boys have passed out from playing with their toys, so I pick them up and take them to their room.
"Well, we are going off to bed now. Good night," my dad calls lifting my mom up as they wave goodnight to us.
"Yeah, I think I'm going to, I need some rest," Piper calls out rubbing her belly, "Jason, honey you want to help me up?"
"Oh yes, of course!" he quickly stands up and tucks her into his arm.
After each parent has tucked away their kids, Leo and Calypso, as well as Frank and Hazel, go off to bed as well.
"Perla is sleeping now, took her a while, but she's good," Annabeth exclaims coming out of her room and heading for the kitchen to put the food away.
"Is Coco with her?" I ask, giving her a hand.
"Yeah, she definitely got a lot of treats this year. Thalia, Bianca and Reyna are their too, they are all so beat."
"I bet. And the others?"
"Baby Daniel is with the twins, and Grover and Nico are with Alex."
"Ok, good." I help her for a bit but then I just seemed to get sidetracked by her beautiful curves wrapped up in that red form fitting lace dress. I spend the whole night not looking at her carefully, afraid that if I did, I would lock her up in our room. And with good reason, because that is what I plan to do right at this moment.
When Annabeth turns to look at me, her eyes widen at what she probably sees reflected on mine. "Oh no," she cautions, moving back.
I follow her pace, smirking at her, "Oh yes, baby, we have to celebrate," and with that I scoop her up bridal style and take her to our room as she giggles the whole way.
After thoroughly worshipping my wife, I lay my mead on her bare belly, satisfied and content. "I just can't believe it," I whisper mesmerized.
"Yeah, me neither. But considering how, ah… active we are, it shouldn't be a surprise," Annabeth says, eyebrow raised.
"Hey, it isn't my fault I have an irresistible wife who always makes my pulse race and my eyes fog."
"Gods, you are so cheesy," she chuckles, running her hands through my hair. I love it when she does this. "But I love you, Percy. I too thank the gods for having you in my life."
I arrange myself so that we are laying face to face, wrapping my arm protectively around her. "You have given me a beautiful family that I love dearly, and the best life I could have asked for by your side. How could I not be happy?" I kiss her deeply, our tongues dancing together, tasting the sweet nectar of her lips. Gods, I love her.
"I love you Mrs. Jackson," I whisper into her lips after we pull apart.
"I love you too, Mr. Jackson," she whispers into my neck.
We doze off then, dreaming of the simple wonders of life and the true meaning of Christmas. Family, friends, and love. When you have this, there is nothing else you really need. Nothing is worth more than cherishing the moments spend with those you love and who love you in return.
So, who saw that coming? Another kid, gosh these two. lol.
Anyways, I hope you guys liked it. Please let me know what you think, I love reviews. Even if you don't like it, I would like to know your opinion.
And for those of you reading G,G,L... I will be updating in January after the holidays. Please, hold tight.
Finally, everyone, I hope you spend this time of year with people you love and cherish the moments you spend with them. It's not always about the gifts (even though sometimes it is) just remember to tell them you love them.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
XOXO : )
