"MOVE! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Percy shouted, fighting his way through the crowd. He didn't think he'd ever felt his heart beat this fast or had his stomach in this many knots. It took all of his will power not to throw up right there and then. Only the thought of Annabeth kept him going. His eyes teared up as he prayed just about the millionth time for her safety. Anyone who can help, please please please I need Annabeth to be alright, we're so close. This can't be happening now, we only needed one more week. Keep her safe please keep them safe. In Percy's desperation, he might have accidentally knocked a few shoppers over as they were frantically fleeing the store.
Entering the sliding doors, Percy saw the Macy's was in complete chaos. Towering over the racks of clothing and the scattered mannequins were three hellhounds fresh from the depths of Tartarus. They were three of the biggest hounds Percy had seen aside from Mrs. OLeary. Their hot breaths created clouds of steam, raising the temperature of the store. Their growls practically shook the floor as they prowled around the store searching. One seemed to be limping, its blood splattered on the white linoleum. Looking closely, Percy could tell it was Annabeth's dagger lodged in its inner thigh that was causing the bleeding. It scared him that the monster got close enough to her that she could stab it.
Percy watched as a man trying to get away slipped and fell. He could hear the crying of a baby somewhere, but couldn't see it. Shoppers continued to scream and flee past him as he stood at the entrance. Fleetingly he wondered what they thought was ruining their Saturday afternoon of shopping. Terrorists maybe? That seemed to be the most popular theory these days.
"COME TO ME" Piper's voiced bellowed over the store and although the command wasn't directed toward Percy, he sprinted in the direction of her voice. Two hell hounds turned to look and with great effort went back to their searching, completely ignoring Piper. Percy skidded around a corner into the shoe department. The floor was littered with boxes and the tell tale signs of a battle. Piper was fighting the third hellhound in the middle of the wreckage. Well maybe fighting wasn't the right word. She was more annoying it than anything; pelting the beast with high heels and attempting to confuse it with her charm speak.
"SIT" Piper yelled. The hellhound did a half squat before roaring and lunging its massive body at Piper over the shelves. She yelped and dived down, the hound soaring over her and crashing into a display of boots. As she sprung to her feet she noticed Percy and instead of the relief he was expecting to see on her face, all he saw was guilt. Piper opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, one of the shelves crashed down on top of her. Percy couldn't see her anymore as the bulk of the hellhound stepped on top of the fallen shelf, hiding her from his sight. "FETCH" Piper yelled from beneath a pile of shoes. Before Percy could react, a moccasin hit him in the head. His gaze snapped to the monster as it came right for him. He quickly pulled Riptide out of his pocket and swung it in an arch. Percy's timing was perfect. The blade caught it in the neck, effectively decapitating the hound before it crumbled into a pile of dust.
Keeping Riptide uncapped, Percy ran to help Piper. It didn't take long to get her unearthed and back on her feet. "Percy," She turned to him, "These hell hounds are stronger than any we've ever fought. They don't listen to me at all, and and," her breathing caught, there were tear streaks down her face, her voice broke as she continued, "and Annabeth, oh gods I'm so sorry Percy I'm so sorry, so sorry."
Percy nearly crushed Piper's shoulders as he grabbed her, "Where is she?" His voice was frantic and he sounded scared. As long as he focused on one thing, finding his wife and getting her out of here, he could do this. The time for collapsing in fear was not now.
"She's hiding in the dressing room. Hazel's guarding it, it was my job to distract them, I tried I promise I tried." Piper broke down crying.
Percy hugged her quickly before saying, "Later, Pipes. We have to finish this." Piper nodded and wiped her cheeks.
"Follow me." She ran back towards the front of the store. It was eerily empty now, the only sounds were of the hell hounds' claws as they walked. Percy usually liked that sound. When it came to regular dogs, it was cute, but these claws scrapped against the floor and sent chills down his spine. He imagined them ripping into Annabeth and he ran faster, passing Piper as the two of them came up on another monster. There was no time to think, he had to finish this quickly, Annabeth was counting on him. Percy continued sprinting towards it until the last possible moment. He felt the warm breath hit his face before he dropped to his hip and slid under its belly. Not giving the hellhound any time to react, he stabbed it and ripped the blade down the length of its body. Percy coughed as some of the dust rained down on him. Piper's hand grabbed his forearm and hoisted him to his feet.
"DUCK" Percy found himself back on the ground without remembering moving. One of the checkout desks flew over top of him and Piper, raining used coupons down on them. Percy looked at Piper as they stood back up, "Sorry," she shrugged, "Come on."
Outside the dressing room, Hazel was doing her best to stay out of the reach of the hell hounds teeth. This one was the biggest of them all. Its gigantic size cleared the way for it as it barreled through displays. When it snapped its head to roar, whatever was closest to it ended up flying fifty feet away. Hazel's dress was ripped, so Percy guessed she'd already had a few close calls. "I got this," Hazel shouted, "You two get Annabeth out of here." Percy trusted Hazel could take care of herself so he skirted around the hellhound and slipped into the dressing room. Piper followed close behind, covering Percy's back.
"Annabeth?" Percy's dread grew with every step he took. The farther into the dressing room he went the more he didn't want to see what was waiting for him at the end. "Annabeth?" She had to be alright, they couldn't have made it this far together to have it end like this. Months of careful planning, months of constant surveillance, months of worrying, to have it all be over now? He wouldn't be able to stand it. What would he tell his mom? What would he tell the camp? Everyone had been routing for them.
"Percy?" Annabeth's voice was quiet and came from the second stall from the end. He found her lying on the ground up against the mirror. There was blood underneath her, but all Percy could see was the vacant dead look in her eye. The last time she looked this worn out was after she held the weight of the sky on her shoulders. "Percy? I think I lost him." She clutched her swollen belly and tried to rise to meet him. She stumbled, but Percy was already there, scooping her into his arms. Her head fell against his shoulder and she began to sob. "Say something Percy, anything."
"We'll make it through this, I promise." He kissed her forehead and turned to leave the stall. Piper's hand was at her mouth attempting to hold back her own tears. "I'll," She shook her head to clear it and continued, "I'll go pull up the car and call the hospital so they're ready for us."
"Thanks," Percy said as she ran off. He heard Piper shout "Coast clear!" and knew it was safe to leave the dressing room. Hazel was waiting, her sword still out and her breath still ragged. How she got a sword into a Macy's without it being disguised as a pen, Percy would never know. Probably mist or something like that. Hazel had really become quite powerful when it came to magic. She walked slightly behind Percy as they exited Macy's. Once outside, it seemed like a perfectly normal day. Cars were still driving, people were still walking, everyone was oblivious to what was happening. Although Percy thought, you could never count on regular people to help out, they'd just get themselves hurt.
He heard the sound of tires screeching as Piper pulled the car up to the curb. Hazel ran around and took shotgun while Percy ducked in the back, keeping Annabeth on his lap. Before the doors even closed, Piper was flooring it out of the parking lot. Percy needed to hold Annabeth right now to prove to himself that he had her and suspected she probably wanted to be held. Her eyes were closed and she looked like she was in an enormous amount of pain. Percy lowered his forehead to touch it to hers. He focused on matching his breathing with hers to calm himself down.
All Percy could do now was wait and hope that their luck would hold out. After all, they were the first couple from Camp Half-blood to make it this far. The majority of half-bloods died before adult hood and those that had the fortune of making it into their twenties usually opted out of children. You know because of the fact that living as a half-blood is extremely dangerous even for second generation children. Annabeth had been optimistic that they could protect their kids despite the fact that every monster in the world knew who they were. It did help however that they had the most powerful half-bloods of their generation on speed dial.
Percy was jolted out of his thoughts when Piper swerved off of the road and onto the sidewalk. Her driving could be described as reckless at best and suicidal at worst, but it was fast and that's what they needed right now. He looked to Hazel. She had her eyes closed and her palms turned upwards, concentrating. Through the windshield, Percy saw people calmly stepping out of the way of their speeding vehicle. "What are they seeing Hazel?" Annabeth asked.
"Shhhhhh." She responded, "Still. Hard. To. Manipulate. This many people."
Two thuds on the roof and Riptide was out again in a flash. Just as Percy was about to stab through the slight dent, Jason's head appeared upside down in the window on Percy's right. Jason shouted, "Don't worry, It's just me and Frank." In response, Percy heard a falcon shriek as it flew by.
"We're almost there," Piper said as she glanced over her shoulder.
"EYES ON THE ROA-ER SIDEWALK!" Percy yelled as they almost ran into a parking meter.
"Sorry…" Piper mumbled as she righted the car. They went around one more turn, bringing the lights of the hospital into view. Out of his peripherals, Percy saw Jason launch off of the car and fly to the entrance of the E.R. As the car pulled to a stop, Frank transformed back into human and opened the door for Percy and Annabeth.
Percy hated hospitals. They were too sterile and too depressing and the medicine tasted awful. He'd rather be at the infirmary at camp, but Chiron was hesitant to give Annabeth any nectar or ambrosia since they weren't sure the baby could handle it. Even in large doses it could kill a healthy full-grown half-blood. Plus, regular hospitals were much better equipped to deal with pregnant women than a summer camp was. But that didn't mean he had to like them.
The doors opened to Jason waiting next to a nurse with a wheelchair. She said, "Your friend explained the situation, we'll do all we can." Percy lowered Annabeth into the chair, her hands never leaving her belly, his eyes never leaving her face. The nurse wheeled her around, Percy close behind. She stopped and looked at him, "I'm sorry sir, but we'll take it from here. You can wait here. Rest assured that she will be in good hands."
"I'm not leaving her." Percy stared down the nurse refusing to budge.
"It's alright Percy." Annabeth said, "Let them do their job."
He bent down to give her a kiss and when he broke it off he stayed close and whispered, "I love you so much."
"I love you too Percy." Annabeth breathed into his lips. One last kiss and Percy watched as the nurse hurried her away behind swinging doors. He turned around and made his way to the chairs in the waiting room. Everyone was already sitting down.
Piper sat with her knees up below her chin, hugging herself. Hazel sat beside her rubbing her back and speaking quietly. Jason paced off to the side, his nervous energy too much to allow his to sit down. Frank looked like he didn't know what to do, his large bulk almost too much for the chair he was sitting in. Percy sat down on the other side of Piper, pulling out Riptide in pen form so he could fiddle with it.
After sitting in silence, Percy finally asked, "What happened?"
It was Piper who spoke, "Annabeth and I were looking at the jewelry when all of a sudden the lights go out and two hell hounds appear. Someone must have been tailing us, waiting to allow the monsters to shadow travel right into the store. We took them out fairly easily, Annabeth stabbing one in the throat while I jumped on top of the other, killing it from the back." She looked down at this point, avoiding Percy's gaze before she continued, "What we didn't know is that three more had also shadow traveled. They snuck up on us and one threw Annabeth into the wall. The only reason it didn't kill her right there is because Hazel came running from looking at scarves and punched the hound in the face."
At this, Percy looked at Hazel with wide eyes. "What?!" she said, "There was no time to think so I just punched it. After that, Piper lured them away and I was able help Annabeth hide before calling for help."
Percy put his left hand on Piper's knee, "Thank you both for keeping her alive."
Piper shook her head, "But it was our job to keep the baby alive too. If I would have just paid better attention, I could ha-"
Percy cut her off, "Stop, Pipes, just stop. I don't blame you and the baby could still be fine."
Jason spoke up, "None of us in your position could have stopped that hellhound from throwing Annabeth."
Piper took a shaky breath and nodded. "I was thinking about asking my mom for help. I mean she always had a special interest in you and Annabeth so I thought maybe…"
"That's not a bad idea, Piper." Hazel said kindly.
Percy doubted that any of the gods would answer their prayers, but he appreciated the efforts of his friends.
The door that Annabeth had gone through swung open again. "Mr. Jackson? Could you please come with me?" It was the same nurse from before and by the look on her face, Percy didn't think the news was going to be good. He stood up and followed her into the hallway. As they walked past rooms, she continued to talk saying, "Your wife will make a full recovery, there is definite bruising of the ribs, but nothing is broken from what we can tell. She is experiencing acute abdominal pains and continues to bleed. We performed a sonogram and checked for a heartbeat. It was very weak, but it was there." Percy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "There is a chance we can save your child if we perform an emergency c section. Here's your wife's room." They stopped outside a door towards the middle of the hallway on the left side. Annabeth was the only one in the room. Her eyes were closed as she lay reclined, both arms wrapped around her stomach. The nurse smiled at Percy and said, "I'll give you two a moment alone before we start."
Percy ran a hand through his hair, "Alright, thank you." He managed a weak smile before rushing to the side of Annabeth's bed.
She opened her eyes at the sound of footsteps and smiled when she saw Percy standing over her. He pulled a chair up, sat down, and reached for her hand. She squeezed him tightly and brought his hand on top of her belly. She was his everything, and she carried their future inside of her. There was nothing more important to him than her. They sat like that for a moment. "This is the longest I've gone without feeling him move." Annabeth said quietly. "The doctor thinks I experienced a placenta abruption , which means my placenta became separated from the uterine lining."
"Uh, what does that mean?" Percy wasn't very good with all these pregnancy terms. A placenta abruption certainly didn't sound good, but what it did to the baby he had no idea.
"It's not good. Without the placenta, our baby is being deprived of oxygen." She wiped a tear from her cheek and took a shaky breath. "I'm scared Percy."
"Me too." His throat closed up after that as he fought his own rising tears preventing him from saying anything else. Not that anything he said could have made a difference. Annabeth was too smart to believe him if he lied and said he was certain they would be alright.
A knock on the door frame was followed by a woman entering the room. Her image changed between facial features, each one more gorgeous than the last. The only difference between her now and when Percy first met her in that limo is that now she looked more like Annabeth than anyone else. She was holding a bouquet of flowers in a vase and set it on the table beside Annabeth's bed. Percy remained sitting as he greeted her, "Hello, Aphrodite."
Her voice was sad as she said, "I always enjoyed keeping tabs on you two and I wish I could help, but I cannot interfere. You know the rules."
"Then why did you come?" Annabeth's voice was cold. She had never liked Aphrodite even though it was probably her doing that the two of them survived this long to get married. Out of all the gods on Olympus, Aphrodite was the most open about her support for the young couple.
"To give you a name." Aphrodite pulled a piece of paper out of her pant pocket even though Percy could have sworn she was wearing a dress when she entered. "I've written down the name of the half-blood that betrayed you to Gaea and allowed those hell hounds to attack the store in broad daylight." She set the piece of paper next to the flowers. When Percy looked back at her face, there were tears streaming down it. She said to Annabeth, "For what it's worth, I am sorry I was not there to help at the time." Then she turned and left as suddenly as she had come. Her smell lingered in the room, it was the scent of Annabeth's strawberry body wash.
"Well," Annabeth said, "That wasn't entirely unpleasant for once."
"Should we look at the name?" Percy asked. If it was a half-blood like Aphrodite said, then they would know who he or she was, Greek or Roman. To think that Gaea still had enough strength to cause them strife made Percy glad that she never rose to full power. It was difficult and there were deaths, but the seven of them managed to win against her. There was still the occasional attack when they weren't at either camp, but overall monster activity had died down since Gaea fell back asleep.
"There will be time for that later," Annabeth said, "The doctor is here."
He spoke to the both of them as he entered, "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, I will be the surgeon performing the cesarean section." Turning to Percy he added, "If you would like to be present for the procedure, you will have to get dressed in clean pair of scrubs. You can follow Ms. Barnett here and she will show you where to change." Percy squeezed Annabeth's hand as he rose. Before he got out of earshot, he heard the doctor explain to Annabeth how they were going to numb her lower half with an epidural and then give her an additional anesthetic.
It didn't take long to change and soon Percy was with Annabeth again. They had her lying down with a sheet hanging to hide her belly. Percy was given a chair so that he could sit next to her head. Neither of them would be able to see the procedure happening. It was torture to not be able to do anything. The life of their baby depended on the actions of other people, strangers, and it was difficult for Percy to be comfortable with that. He wished he could be helpful in some way, do something to save the life he helped create.
As they started the first incision, Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand and started stroking her hair. Her face was tired, her eyes sad causing her to look much older than she was. She was right next to him, but she couldn't have been farther away. Her strength had carried him through most of life's troubles, her wisdom had provided him with counsel, her love had given him all the happiness he would ever need. Could he return the favor when she needed him the most? Annabeth always had the answers. If she became distant from him, Percy wouldn't know who to ask on how to bring her back to him.
Annabeth winced. "What is it?" Percy asked, his nerves on edge.
"I just felt a tug, it didn't hurt." She looked at Percy, "Did they get him out? Can we see him?"
"I don't know," he said, "I don't know what's going on." But Percy could tell something was wrong. There was a flurry of activity happening behind the sheet curtain. The sound of someone's shoes running from the room and quiet murmurings from the doctors. He closed his eyes and prayed. These past few hours he had asked more of the gods than he ever had before. They owed him and Annabeth their lives, twice over, and he wanted an answer from them. If he hadn't of been so worried, he might have mustered the strength to harbor a growing hatred against them. As it was, he could barely keep his lunch down.
The next half hour felt like an eternity. No one had come and told Percy and Annabeth anything. They were left with only their thoughts while the surgeons stitched up the many layers they cut through to deliver the baby, the baby, their son, that they hadn't seen yet. To pass the time Percy hummed camp fire songs. The familiar music distracted him and kept the room from falling into a deep silence.
Percy watched as a hand reached up push the sheet to the side. Annabeth let out a long breath, steeling herself. A tear escaped Percy's eye and he quickly brushed it away, no need to jump to conclusions, their son could be perfectly fine. Annabeth's hand was shaking in his, they weren't ready for this, how could anyone be ready for this? Was it possible to just go back to this morning when everything was perfect and live in that moment forever?
The surgeon was waiting behind the sheet as it was removed. His face gave it away. Annabeth let out a loud sob, her chest heaving as she tried in vain to hold back her emotions. Tears started traveling down Percy's face, pooling at his chin, before they dropped into his lap. Their surgeon said, "The child wasn't breathing when we took him out. Our staff did their best, but he died very quickly. There was nothing more we could have done. I'm very sorry for your loss." The words were hollow. What good could they do now? Sorry wouldn't bring their son back and it wouldn't help stem their grief. He asked them, "Would you like to hold him? It helps some couples gain closure to see their child."
Annabeth made to sit up and Percy quickly supported her from behind. He looked to her face. This was a decision he wanted her to make. She closed her eyes and leaned against his chest. Percy could feel her shaking beneath his hands. His tears continued to fall, now landing on her blonde curls. She spoke softly, "Yes. Yes I would like to see our baby." Our baby. Our baby. The words repeated themselves in Percy's mind. He realized that it would always be their baby. Percy would never get to see their son as anything other than their baby. No watching him grow up, learning to walk, to talk, to laugh. No little league, no first day of kindergarten, no braces, no high school graduation. They were robbed of all of that. What they would have instead is the pity of their friends and an empty nursery filled with baby supplies.
A small bundle wrapped in white was brought in and gingerly deposited into Annabeth's waiting arms. His eyes were closed and Percy could almost convince himself he was just sleeping. His eye lashes were dark and the slope of his nose was so small Percy marveled at how he and Annabeth made it. She pushed back the blanket and they could see a thin layer of black hair on his tiny head. He was perhaps the most beautiful thing Percy had ever seen.
"He would have looked just like you." Annabeth said.
Percy leaned his cheek on her head and reached down to touch their son. He rested the back of his pointer finger on their baby's face and felt how soft it was. "Yeah, but I'm sure he would have had your brains."
The corners of Annabeth's mouth twitched up, "Only if he was lucky enough not to get yours." She was teasing him, but it didn't have the same heart that it usually did. The fact that she was making an effort at all let Percy know that they could get through this together. Annabeth pushed the blanket down further and revealed a small set of chubby hands. Percy imagined them grabbing his own hands and the flow of tears became stronger.
The next part Annabeth revealed was the tummy. The umbilical cord had been cleanly cut and Percy could tell their son would have had a belly button that pointed inwards. Annabeth's hands were shaking more than ever and he could tell she was losing her grip the longer they looked. But, despite her occasional sob, Annabeth kept pulling the blanket back. Now the entirety of their son could be seen. "Have you ever felt this much love for something so tiny Percy?" Annabeth asked. "I feel like I'm about to burst since there's nowhere for the love to go."
Percy didn't say anything since he didn't feel the same way. If she was full to bursting with emotion, then he was an empty husk. There was a feeling so tangible within himself that he could have sworn a hole had appeared where the love for his son should have been. It physically hurt to look at what could have been.
Annabeth wrapped their boy back in the blanket and hugged him close. She stayed like that for a minute before kissing him lightly on the forehead and handing him to Percy without another look. He followed his wife's lead and hugged their child before kissing him and handing him back to their doctor. That was the first and last time he would ever see their son.
Annabeth was wheeled out of surgery and back to a regular room to stay for a few days and recover. Once the two of them were well and truly alone, Percy climbed into bed with Annabeth, his arms holding onto her abused body, the paper Aphrodite left on the table forgotten as they grieved. They didn't speak to each other and when night came, they let themselves fall to pieces knowing the other would be there to put them back together again.