Thank you to everyone who reviewed! You guys are great! I'm glad everyone's liked this so far! :)
Here's the second chapter! I wasn't sure at first if I was going to continue this or not, but you guys convinced me! Tell me what ya think! :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
That night was a hard one. Sally had insisted that Annabeth stay the night, causing both her and Percy to look as if a huge weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Their obvious relief made Paul wonder if the two had been separated at all since coming home. He noticed how they were always close together, always touching, as if joined at the hip. He wondered if the only thing keeping one sane was the other.
When it was well past a reasonable time for bed, Paul announced that he was going to sleep. Sally hesitated, as if she didn't want to leave Percy, for fear that he wouldn't be there in the morning, but she gave the teens one last hug each, and made sure they had everything they needed for the night. Now, you might think that having your son's girlfriend over for the night was a bad idea, but Paul trusted the two to be responsible, and Sally did too. Secretly, Paul was worried that separating them, even for the night, would be hazardous to their mental health. It was obvious that, whatever it was that went on in Tartarus, it had badly scarred them both.
Annabeth, who was sleeping on the couch, accepted some old clothes of Percy's, and made her way to the bathroom. Paul stood in the hallway entrance, watching this. He noticed how Percy instantly stiffened at Annabeth's absence, and watched her retreating figure; as if he expected something terrible to happen to her in the short time it would take her to get ready for bed.
Percy seemed to come out of his daze, and turned and made his way to his room. Paul went into his and Sally's bedroom and got himself ready for bed. He climbed in, and was joined by Sally a few minutes later. All was quiet, and Paul felt himself drifting off, relieved and happy to have his son home again.
The peace was short lived however, when, what seemed like only minutes later, he and Sally were awaken by violent, terrified screaming that could only be Percy. The kid sounded like he was being murdered, and Paul's heart was in his throat as he jumped up and rushed down the hallway to his step son's bedroom with Sally at his heels. He burst into the room and found that Percy was not being murdered, but rather was in bed kicking and flailing, with tears running down his face as he screamed at the top of his lungs.
Sally rushed forward and attempted to comfort her son, but wasn't getting very far, as he was moving too much, and screaming too loudly. She turned to Paul, with a desperate look in her tear filled eyes. She was obviously terrified, and Paul wasn't doing much better. Then, it seemed to hit her.
"Annabeth!" she called to Paul over the screaming, "Get Annabeth!" It took Paul a few seconds to register what Sally was saying over the screaming and overall dysfunction of the situation, but once he understood, he took off down the hall and into the living room.
He found Annabeth in pretty much the same situation as Percy, only she wasn't screaming, not yet, at least. Paul placed a hand on Annabeth's shoulder and shook gently. She must not have been as deep into the nightmare, if you can call it that, as Percy was, because her eyes snapped open. Her face wore a petrified expression that changed to confusion, then to realization in a matter of seconds. She shot to her feet, careful to avoid her injured ankle, grabbed her crutches, and made her way, as quickly as possible, to Percy's bedroom, with Paul right behind her.
Annabeth pulled Percy close and held on tight, stroking his hair and speaking quietly to him.
"Percy. Percy, you're okay. Percy, shhh. I'm here. It's okay," Annabeth told him. This continued on for a minute or two before Percy started calming down. The screaming stopped, and eventually his eyes snapped open. He stared at Annabeth, held her close, and started sobbing.
"They were everywhere. They had you…you were, you-" he sobbed into her shoulder, holding onto her for dear life.
"Percy, I'm okay, you're okay. We made it out. We're fine," Annabeth comforted him. Finally, Percy seemed to get a hold of himself again, and he glanced at his parents, standing anxiously in the doorway. He reluctantly let go of Annabeth, and got out of bed. He made his way over to them.
"Sorry," Percy told them, "The nightmares have been pretty bad since… you know." He looked down sheepishly. Sally rushed forward, embracing her son, and assuring him that it was fine. They'd get through this. He'd be fine.
A few minutes later, things calmed down, and everyone made their way back to their respective beds. Paul had a hard time falling back to sleep again. Percy was the strongest person he knew. He'd been through so much, and still wore a smile every day; but never had Paul seen Percy in such a weak, unstable state. For the first time, Paul was genuinely concerned for his step son, but after a while, he fell asleep again.
About an hour later, it was Annabeth's turn. Paul and Sally were again awoken by petrified screaming. They rushed to the bedroom, but found that Percy was already there, comforting her in a way very similar to the way she had to him and hour earlier. Once Annabeth was brought back to reality, she too, apologized for waking everybody, but of course no one minded.
Paul decided to voice his concern. "Does this happen every night?" Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other, then at Paul, then at the floor.
Percy took a deep breath. "Yeah. Ever since we go out…" he told Paul.
"Sorry," Annabeth apologized again.
"Don't apologize, sweetie," Sally told her. "It's not your fault. You'll get through this. I'm here for you both. We both are," she glanced at Paul as she said that last part. Paul nodded his agreement.
"Thanks," Percy and Annabeth said together. After another few minutes and hugs all around, the four went to bed for the third time that night.
When Paul woke up, he was surprised to find sunlight streaming through the window and not having been woken up again by screaming. Paul glanced at the clock: 8:17am. He decided to get up, and was surprised to find Sally following him.
They passed the living room, expecting to find Annabeth sleeping on the couch, but she wasn't there. Sally must have noticed this as well, because she immediately took on a concerned expression. She walked to Percy's bedroom door and knocked. No response. She glanced at Paul and opened the door. A smile spread across her face at the scene inside.
In Percy's bed, fast asleep, holding onto each other as if their lives depended on it were Percy and Annabeth, with tear stained cheeks, and bags under their eyes that said they had yet to get a good night's sleep. It was obvious that there had been more episodes last night, but the other was there to comfort, before the screaming began.
Paul smiled at the two teenagers, happy that, at least for now, they seemed to be sleeping somewhat soundly. Sally closed the door and the two made their way into the kitchen. Paul knew that last night was only the first of many. Those kids were mental wrecks, and only time could heal those wounds, but it seemed that they were off to a good start. Not even the darkest pits of hell could separate the two of them. Paul knew, now more than ever, that as long as they had each other, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase would make it through this. And despite the current circumstances, this thought made Paul smile.
What did ya think? If you have any ideas for future chapters, feel free to PM me!
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