A/N: This chapter is really short, so I'm really sorry for that. Think of it as some sort of prelude to the next chapter of Percy and Annabeth's relationship. But either way, I'll be posting something on Valentine's Day, so the wait will be a little shorter than usual.
Chapter Seven: A Cry in the Night
A shatter broke the silence between Percy and Annabeth, as Percy had dropped his champagne glass. Marco lapped up the beverage that was spreading on the floor.
"What?" Percy demanded, "I mean, uh, wow…I don't know what to say." He was speechless, yes, but he had good reason. So much was running through his head that he just couldn't process it all.
Annabeth laughed nervously, "I had a feeling you wouldn't." Percy looked away as he felt his face getting hot and rubbed his neck with unease,
"Well, let's go to bed, shall we?"
"Yep. Definitely." They simultaneously hopped off of the couch and stepped into their bedroom. All while not making a single moment of eye contact, they crawled into bed, each with their backs facing each other. Percy exhaled shakily, now that he was able to break down everything. Well, for starters, Annabeth was pregnant. That was obvious, she had just told him, of course. Percy buried his face into his pillow. He was going to be a dad. That was a pretty insane thought. But what really was catching in his thoughts was the fear of whether or not he was going to be a good father. For most of his life, he didn't have a father around, much less a fatherly figure. And as for Annabeth, she didn't have either of her parents around for the bigger portion of her early life. What if he was going to be an awful father?
Very early that morning, something stirred Percy out of his sleep. Sobbing was coming from Annabeth's side of the bed. He turned on his side to face her own portion of the bed, and he heard the nearly inaudible crying stop suddenly. He inched over towards her, wrapping an arm around her midsection. The crying picked up again suddenly, but louder than before,
"I'm scared to death, Percy. What are we going to do?" She hiccupped. Percy caressed her stomach, attempting to calm her down a bit,
"We'll figure something out."
"You…just seem so calm about it." Annabeth exhaled shakily, her body shuddering.
Percy chuckled a little, "I'm anything but calm, actually. Annabeth, I'm just as scared as you are." Annabeth turned in her place so her head was nuzzled into his chest,
"We're not even married yet, and I'm pregnant." Annabeth said in a tone of misery before picking up her sobbing once more. Percy put an arm around her, and took her hand with his free one.
"Hey, if that's anyone's fault, it's mine. Don't blame yourself for my sloppy move. I'm not saying this kid is a bad thing, but…" He trailed off from a loss of words. What in the Hades was he saying?
"Just go back to sleep, okay? We'll talk some more tomorrow…"
A/N: I can't say how sorry I am about how short this chapter is. But, like I said, I'll make it up to you guys by posting something special on V-Day...I've got a little something in mind. It's just down the road until we meet here again,
~L-P
