Hey guys, glad to see you reading the second chapter lol. Anyways, tw: self-harm. It's mentioned in this chapter but is definitely just a side detail and it won't dominate the story in anyway. I have friends that have self-harmed (and I swear, there was a point at school where it was almost 'cool' to do it because all those people would get asked questions about it and they would act like celebrities it was so weird). Anyways, so while I have never self-harmed, I have seen others do it first hand and I have sort of helped people stop. Or at least that's what my 7th grade self thought. Not sure if I actually had a big impact though. I have also seen the aftermath. So again, it's included in this chapter but won't be talked about a lot after this chapter. Oh yeah, and there is also swearing. Sorry if you don't like that but I wanted to express real, raw emotion. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 2

Athena screamed. Actually screamed. It was the thing of horror movies. Percy only knew, not because he heard her scream, but because every single hair on his body flew up and stayed there.

He couldn't hear, his vision was going. It was as if he was lost in the depths of an olympic sized swimming pool at night time in a place he did not know.

Percy was shaken from his daze by Thalia violently grabbing his shoulders.

Was he screaming too?

"Are you okay?" she asked. Her usually static, electric blue eyes were washed over with concern.

Percy looked around the room. Chaos had ensued. People were running around, crying, staring. Alas, it was Athena who's emotions were the most intense.

Walking over she pushed Thalia's arms off of Percy. "Is he okay? Are you fucking kidding me?" she screamed. The way these words fell from her mouth was raw.

Zero filter.

They came deep from her throat making them sound even more emotion filled than they would have otherwise.

Overall, this had to be the first time any of they had seen Athena so unhinged. Harshly, she pointed towards the hospital bed. "This just became my daughter's deathbed and you're asking him if he's okay? Are you kidding me?" she asked again. She was at a point where she wasn't even speaking. She was screaming; she was screeching. Every single word produced hammered at Percy's chest.

For the first time ever, he truly felt for this woman.

Before Thalia's deadly look could turn into actions, Apollo came bounding into the room with two nurses behind him.

In the whirlwind of what was happening Percy could only catch statements such as "Code Blue" and "blood transfusion" before they began to wheel Annabeth out of the room.

Following the array of frantic hospital personnel, Percy thought back to a conversation he and Annabeth had had only a mere month ago.

"Hey," Annabeth had said, putting her book down. She and Percy were in bed, preparing to call it a night. Placing the book carefully on her nightstand and turning off the lamp, she turned her body towards him. Percy could see her eyes staring into his despite the darkness of the room.

She was about to ask a serious question. He knew. Otherwise, she wouldn't be studying his face so intently as if she was about to take an exam on every tiny detail.

Finally she asked, "If it came down to it, between me and the baby, who would you choose?"

Percy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "You, obviously," he laughed. "Is that even a question?"

Annabeth punched him playfully and frowned. "It's a good question," she mumbled, crossing her arms.

Percy's face dropped.

As he had to quite often lately, he asked himself if this reaction was due to hormones or genuinity.

"Annabeth." He grabbed her hands, and turned towards her. "I would always choose you. Are you actually upset about that?"

She leaned against the back of the bed frame as Percy dropped her hands. "I guess not."

"We can always make another baby," Percy explained carefully, pushing a loose piece of hair behind her ear. "Can't make another you, though."

Annabeth looked up at him skeptically. "But if you really had that mentality, then, yes, you could make another me. Or my parents could make another me, I should say."

Percy rolled his eyes earning himself another punch.

"Listen," she started. "You can't make this baby again. With these genes and this personality and this same exact smile..."

Percy smiled sadly. "Yeah, that's true. But nothing you say will ever change my choice, baby. Save a baby I've never even met over you? I would never do that."

Now, in the midst of all this hospital chaos, Percy realized that he may never get to make that choice.

Upon arriving in the ICU, everyone was asked to wait outside of the room. Athena immediately sat down in one of the seats provided in the waiting room. Percy, instead, opted to pace back and forth. He was pulling his hair out thinking about that conversation he and Annabeth had had. Finally he stopped and slid down the wall, landing on the cold floor.

Had he unintentionally chosen the baby over her?

Percy knew in his heart and in his mind that Annabeth should've had the damn C-section. He knew. But seeing Athena talk down to her daughter the way she did had clouded his judgement. So he told Annabeth to do what she wanted, maybe even encouraged her to not to have a C-section despite his better judgement. Just so he wouldn't let Athena gain the smug control over Annabeth she's always had and has always known how to get.

Now everyone's paying for it.

After what felt like hours and what very well could've been, they were allowed to enter the room. Apollo stood in the middle of the room. On the bed was Annabeth.

Was she moving? Breathing? Percy couldn't tell.

"I-" Apollo's voice cracked and he stopped.

Percy could feel his eyes welling up.

"I'm sorry," was all Apollo could manage. Percy's head dropped.

In his peripheral vision he could see Athena drop to the ground in the middle of the floor.

Percy, on the other hand, was numb. He couldn't move-he could barely process what had just been said.

It was only the wetness on his cheeks that told him he was crying.

Apollo tried to meet Percy's eye. "We tried reviving her and we were simply unable to. She died from the blood loss and-"

Athena cut him off as she suddenly got up from the ground. "This," she whispers, "is all your fault!" She pointed to Percy. "If you hadn't had knocked up my daughter, none of this would've ever happened. You killed my daughter!" Athena yelled. Her husband grabbed her by the arm as she flailed her arms wildly. "I wish she had never met you!" she screamed. The desperation in her voice was apparent. She needed something, someone to blame. Who else was a better target?

"I wish she had never let you become involved with her! And with your demon child! She should've had an abortion for goodness sake!" That statement earned her gasps from those in the room.

"Look at her now! She's dead!" She looked for something to kick, something to punch that wouldn't land her in a lawsuit. She needed to channel her anger. Giving up, she turned and sobbed heavily into her husband's chest. Frantically and mostly to herself, she spoke quietly. "He murdered my daughter."

The tears continued rush down Percy's cheeks. He closed his eyes. Murderer? He wasn't a murderer. Right? He didn't kill Annabeth. Right?

And then he said his earlier thought out loud.

"I should've told her to do the C-section," he said blankly. Everyone looked at him. He ran his hand through his hair. "I should've told her that I was wrong and that Athena was right and-"

"No." This time it was Jason grabbing Percy's shoulder and snapping him out of it. "This is not your fault, Percy," he said. "In any aspect."

Athena unravelled herself from her husband's husband's grasp, turning towards them. "Yes this is!" She came face to face with him. Tears were streaming down both of their faces.

Percy flinched as he prepared himself for the worst. Athena was brutal and he knew she wouldn't think twice about slapping him.

"Hey," Thalia yelled stepping in front of her cousin. "This isn't Percy's fault so back off. This was all an extremely unfortunate mess of an accident. And Olivia didn't ask to be born so don't you dare put any of the blame on her either. Nobody wanted Annabeth to die. Nobody anticipated asked for any of this. But why don't you take your head out of your ass for the first time in your life and think about the fact that Annabeth lives on in your granddaughter."

Percy watched Athena's face turn red. She was livid, he knew. Annabeth's face does-did- the same thing when she was extremely upset.

"Get out of here!" she screamed suddenly. It seemed like she couldn't string together anything better to say. "I never want to see any of you or that stupid baby ever again! She's no grandchild of mine."

"There's nothing you can do for Olivia not to be your granddaughter!" Bianca yelled.

Athena lowered her voice. "That child's birthday is my daughter's death date. I think that's more than enough criteria."

Walking over to the bed, Athena grabbed Annabeth's hand and threw something at Percy. It crashed onto the ground in front of him.

Percy looked down at the object, glanced up at Annabeth for what he figured would be the last time, and left the room.

As he distanced himself from the room he could hear Thalia yelling at Athena. She had always been like that. Fiercely defensive.

Sometimes he was grateful for her.

And sometimes she just said too much.

He knew this was going to be one of those instances.

In fact, he knew exactly what Thalia was saying to Athena.

He wanted to go back and tell her to stop but he couldn't face Annabeth's lifeless body in that bed. So he continued to walk forwards towards nowhere.

Behind him, he heard running footsteps approaching. He didn't know who it was but he started walking faster. He didn't know if he could talk to anyone without breaking.

"Percy, stop!"

It was Nico. Sighing heavily, he willed his feet to stop.

Nico caught up to him and leaned over breathing heavily. "Damn, you walk fast," he said between breathes.

Percy sighed. "Nico-"

He was cut off by Bianca, Nico's sister, approaching suddenly. Her hand was clutching a small object. The ring.

"Don't listen to her," Bianca said as she tried to push the ring into Percy's hand. Percy wouldn't take it. He couldn't. It was dead to him.

Nico and Bianca shared a quick glance Percy ignored.

Instead, he decided to confirm his suspicions. "What was Thalia saying when I left?"

Nico sighed heavily before answering. It was apparent that he didn't want to answer. "She was talking about how you helped Annabeth through what she went through," he explained. "She said...everything. As far as I know."

Percy clenched his fists. A lot of that was private. It was things that Annabeth didn't want her mother to know. Even in the grave.

"She knows Annabeth didn't want her mother knowing that," Percy finally said.

"Well Annabeth is dead so it shouldn't matter either way. Athena deserves to know what kind of scumbag she really is," Nico said bluntly. "Athena was really dragging your name through the mud Percy. It wasn't cool."

"And after you left she was acting so high and mighty like her one suggestion for Annabeth to have a C-section made her the best mother in the world," Bianca added. "Thalia wanted her to know otherwise and now she does."

Down the hall Thalia and Jason were coming their way. Percy didn't even have to say anything before Thalia started defending herself. His facial expression must've given it away.

"Percy, that was for the best," she said simply. "And this is going to sound cliche, but one day you're really going to thank me because-"

"Hey, guys!" From down the hall approached Piper, Jason's girlfriend. With her was Hazel, Nico and Bianca's half-sister, and Hazel's boyfriend Frank. Leo, a close friend, walked behind them. Piper greeted Jason with a kiss before wrapping an arm around him.

Hazel surveyed the scene with concern. "God Percy, you look like you haven't slept in days. What happened?"

"Annabeth died giving birth to Olivia," Percy said bluntly. Jaws dropped.

"Oh my God." Hazel wrapped Percy into a tight hug. Percy dropped his shoulders and hugged Hazel back. There was always something about Hazel that had been oddly comforting.

"Athena flipped out." Percy could vaguely hear Bianca continuing the story. "And to top it all off," Bianca finished a few minutes later, "Athena threw this at Percy." Digging into her jacket pocket, showing the engagement ring.

Piper made a strangled sound. "The ring?"

Percy shrugged. "I'm going to the pediatric ward," he muttered, walking off in a random direction.

Athena sat by her husband in a chair near their daughter's body. She couldn't stop crying. All she could feel was her husband stroking her hand, comforting her after all that had happened.

"Fredrick," she said quietly. "Did you know?"

He looked down at their intertwined hands. "Know what?"

"That Annabeth..." she gestured to her wrists.

A pause. Then, "Not necessarily."

Athena's brow burrowed. "What do you mean not necessarily?" she demanded. A feeling of betrayal washed over her. Athena hadn't had known so for Frederick to have known, he had to have kept it from her for who knows how long. Why would he keep it from her?

"I saw her scars one day and I asked her about it one day, okay?" Frederick said suddenly. Athena jumped. "And she begged and cried and made me promise not to tell you and I kept that promise to my child and that was that."

"And how long ago was this?" Athena demanded, her eyes welling up with tears.

No answer. Athena pushed his shoulder. "How long ago, Frederick?" she asked, her voice rising in volume.

Her chest was burning and her throat was burning. Every word pained her to say; her earlier act had left her throat scratched raw. The lump in the back of her throat had been there for what felt like hours.

She was in so much pain.

She just watched her firstborn die. And now she's being told that Annabeth self-harmed. Because of her.

"Eight years," he finally said.

Athena leaned into her seat. "Eight years ago. She was fourteen."

They sat in the silence. She was only fourteen Athena thought. She was just a baby back then. She still was. Her baby. Athena could barely process that. She wanted to cry all over again but she had no tears left to shed.

She heard her husband take a shaky breath. "Eight years ago, it was the middle of summer and Annabeth came down wearing a sweater like she always did despite the heat. I always figured she was just always cold. My mother was the same way." He paused. "I was in the kitchen making dinner and you were out with the boys-they were only six at the time. Anyways, I said, 'Anna, do you wanna help me make dinner?' and she said yes. So I told her to roll up her sleeves and wash her hands." His voice cracked. "And she did."

Athena closed her eyes and wrapped her fingers around the arm rests of the chair. "Then what happened?" she asked, leaving her eyes shut.

"Her arms were covered in scratches and cuts and they were red and swollen." He stopped to clear his throat. His voice barely sounded like him. He sounded like a shell of a person. Athena had never heard that from him before. "And I could just imagine the sound I made because all of a sudden her sleeves were down and she tried to run out of the kitchen. But I grabbed her-by the arm of all places-and I pulled her back.

"She was crying and she couldn't even look at me. I said 'Annabeth, what happened?' And she just cried harder. But finally she told me that she cut herself after you had argued with her the week before. And at first I thought to myself," he said tearing up, "we can fix this. This is new. These are the early stages. We can recover."

"But she had been wearing sleeves since she was thirteen," Athena said dumbly.

Frederick nodded. "And we sat down at the dining room table and I pulled her onto my lap and she just cried and cried into my chest. And I just kept telling her that I loved her and that she couldn't be doing this. And she just kept on saying okay and she begged me not to tell you. And I said okay. And we dealt with it. And she got better-at least I thought. I never knew Percy had such a big part in it."

"Why me?" Athena wondered, burying her head in her hands. "She argued with you all the time, but she only would cut herself after an argument with me?"

Frederick wrapped an arm around his wife. "Annabeth has always valued your opinion way over anyone else's. She always, always wanted your approval on everything ever since she was little. You had a lot of power over her, Athena. I don't know what else to say."

Annabeth's relationship with her mother had always felt like a cat trying to reach a toy dangling right in front of its face just for it to be yanked away right when its on the verge of catching it. When Annabeth and her mother were on the same page, it was like nothing could stop them. They were an unbeatable force. And when they weren't...it was like the collision of an electron and positron.

Annihilation.

No one won.

A nurse quietly entered the room. Athena watched her discreetly look down at a frayed cord. "Oh," she said quietly to herself, picking up the cord. Fidgeting with it, her face suddenly turned sheet white.

"What?" Athena exclaimed. "What is it?"

The nurse, flabbergasted, excused herself from the room and all but ran out.

Athena felt her stomach flip. She looked up at her husband who's jaw had dropped.

He heard it too. She wasn't crazy.

The heart monitor was producing a steady beep.

Annabeth was alive.

Percy entered the neonatal ICU ward. He scanned the babies before finally finding Olivia in one of the incubators sleeping. He placed his hand onto the incubator and admired his baby girl. And for a minute, everything was okay. The pounding thoughts about Annabeth dying that had been stuck in the back of his mind faded away. He knew Olivia had to stay longer but he just wanted to go home with her and sleep and cry and lose himself in oblivion.

But he knew he couldn't do that. So he took one last look at his girl before exiting. Outside of the room, his cousins and friends were waiting for him.

They had been hovering over him like a hawk. Like he was going to turn around and stab himself as soon as they weren't looking.

He tried to ignore their invasiveness as he headed towards the exit.

As he pulled out his car keys, Jason began to walk directly beside him. "It's pretty late man," he said.

Percy reached his car and unlocked it. "Yeah," he said. "It is." He took a glance at his watch. It was nearing one in the morning. It had been almost 6 hours since Olivia had been born. Time had flown by. Percy glanced sadly at the car seat strapped in the back of his car before getting behind the wheel.

"So we'll see you at your mom's then?" Thalia asked him through the open door.

"I guess."

"Okay."

Percy shut the door.

Through the window, he watched them separate into two different cars nearby as he slowly pulled out of the parking lot.

As he drove down the highway in silence he tried to keep his thoughts at bay. Through the rearview mirror he could see the others not too far behind. They were following him. Percy rolled his eyes.

He wasn't a lunatic and he could drive himself home without being monitored. Yawning, he looked down and fumbled with the radio stations.

A honk from behind him suddenly made him jerk his head up. All he could see on the dark road were headlights coming straight towards him. Desperately, he sharply turned the wheel to the right veering off road. He could feel the car flip. The airbag deployed. He tried to hit the breaks but of course that did nothing. The windshield shattered. He could feel himself bleeding. He was hurting. The car flipped again. Finally the car was stopped by wrapping itself around a large tree.

Percy tried to open his eyes but blood wouldn't stop entering them. With his hands still on the wheel he tried to focus on his breathing. Every breath hurt.

Suddenly he felt hands on his face.

"Percy?"

He barely recognized the voice. Squinting, he opened his eyes slightly.

"Thalia," he tried to say. He wasn't sure if the words had come out.

The door had been opened and standing beside him was Thalia. She was covered in blood. His blood? he wondered. Dazed and weak, he closed his eyes again.

"Oh God Percy," Thalia muttered. She sounded so scared. Thalia was never scared. Percy knew everything about Thalia. They had always been close.

But he did not know that she was capable of being scared.

Vulnerable, yes. But scared? Never.

"They're calling 911, Percy, just stay with me okay?" He felt her lift her hands from his cheeks. "Percy you were drifting into oncoming traffic and my honk must've woken you up or something because all of a sudden you were rolling down a hill. I love you Percy but sometimes you need to let other people help you." She paused and then said, "I hope you're hearing this."

Beside Thalia another frantic voice came. "Now is not the time for a lecture, Thalia. We need to figure out what to do. Take him out of the car? Take off the seatbelt? Can we even touch him or will that paralyze him?"

Percy knew that voice. That was Jason.

"If Percy dies Olivia will be orphaned," someone said through tears. Hazel. "And what about Sally? She'll be devastated."

"Percy's not gonna die, Haze," Jason reassured. "Listen, here comes the sirens."

"Everything is gonna be okay, Percy."

That was the last thing he heard before he blacked out.

Hey guys sorry it's been a while! I actually have two summer jobs so I'm busy 24/7. At night I work on this fic until 4 in the morning usually lol. Quick short author's note, thank you for reading! I wrote this on my phone instead of my laptop so I apologize for any mistakes or anything weird with the formatting. I wanna give a big thank you to everyone who is following and favorited this story! And to the commenters. Thank you guys I appreciate you loads and I respond to every comment that I can (which requires an account). This chapter actually took me so long to write, idk why. Hopefully it delivered. I wanna give a big shout out to the user Henrie James Locker who explained a lot of medical things to me in an effort to make this story more realistic. Thank you! Anyways, hopefully the next chapter will come quicker. Thanks for reading guys!