Oh, my gods, you guys! I'm so excited to be able to update this chapter! I felt a little bad by leaving you guys hanging, but here you go! :) It is a very, very, very long chapter, so please sit down and read in your own time.

I do not own PJO - this story is for entertainment purposes only!

Enjoy! :)

Percy was oblivious to the store around him, which made Nico have to work a little harder to get everyone's order straight. But Percy didn't pay attention because he knew Nico was doing a fine job.

All he cared about was seeing those stormy gray eyes. In that moment, his eyes fixed on the door, looking out its window, and searching for her walking up the sidewalk, her curly blond hair sweeping through the air in her pony tail.

Excitement built up in his chest, and he had the urge to jump over the counter and pick her up, hugging her and kissing her right when he saw her walk through the door. He was used to this feeling every day and never got tired of it. He always wanted to see her and was always pleased when he did.

But he wasn't pleased now.

Because Annabeth wasn't here, and that made his heart weigh down a little. He glanced up at the clock that hung above the door. It was past noon—that's when she usually came.

Percy thought that maybe she was finishing up something at Piper and Jason's house, and that she'll be here soon. He nodded, trying to assure himself, but he wasn't quite convinced. Percy put his mind to the tables and began to clean up the one that someone had just left.

The dishes clattered as they fell into the sink. A jolt was sent through him, erupting in his chest, and he looked closer at one of the cups. There was now a tiny crack that lined its clear surface.

He frowned and placed it to the side, a reminder telling him that he needed to find someone to fix that. Percy went back to the table just as Nico had turned on the blender and he flinched at the loud sound. Why was he so on the edge today? He fell off his bed this morning when his alarm clock woke him up—he'd never done that before. He still has the fresh bruise to show it.

Percy shook his head a little and continued to wipe off the table with his dirty rag. He lingered by the table because it was the closest one right in front of the door, giving him a good view of what was outside.

He did what he usually did. He searched for her, wondering where she was and why she wasn't here—with him. There was a pressure that hugged onto his chest, and his hands began to shake a little.

Percy was frightened by this and he looked up at the clock, leaving the cloth on the half-wiped down table.

Then the strangest thing happened.

The hands on the clock twitched, like they were going to move to the next minute, but then it stopped altogether.

Percy blinked and looked closer, thinking he was imagining it.

But he wasn't.

Nico stopped the blender and even though there were many people there, the entire Café was silent. Not quiet, but silent.

Percy stared at the clock and dread filled him like a weight was lying on him, holding him down. That pressure hugged him tighter, his chest closing up. He felt like he was swallowing hot air.

The hands hadn't even reached the next minute. It was in between.

This was strange, and for some reason, it made him think something horrible has happened.

He guessed that minutes had passed, but he wasn't sure since the clock had stopped. And then his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Percy took it out, his hands trembling, and he put it to his ear, turning it on. He didn't have time to greet the person because once it clicked on, they started shouting in distraught.

"Percy!" It was Annabeth, and she sounded scared.

"Annabeth? Wh-what's wrong? Where are you?"

"Something happened! I need you! Come quick!"

Percy immediately took off his apron and he ran to the door.

"Percy!" Nico called in confusion. "Where are you going?!"

"I gotta go! You can handle the shop!" he called back, and he hung up on Annabeth.

"But—"

But Percy was already out the door.

For once, Annabeth didn't even think. She jumped over the back of the couch and sprinted up the stairs, skipping two at a time. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she was shaking. Her skin felt cold like she'd been put in a freezer.

Her footsteps pounded against the wooden stairs and she sprinted right into their room, expecting to find the couple, but they were nowhere in sight.

"Annabeth!" Jason cried again, and his voice was hoarse and in absolute terror. And from the way he said it, she could tell he was sobbing.

"Jason?"

"Piper, it's going to be all right," Annabeth heard him say. "Help is coming—Annabeth!" He yelled more urgently.

Annabeth ran around the other side of the bedroom, hearing his voice coming from the hallway that connected their room to the bathroom. She ran to it and looked to her right, where the bathroom was and her breath caught in her throat and she stopped abruptly.

What she saw was horrible and sad. Annabeth was speechless and she stepped back, the pads of her fingers pressing against the wall behind her because she felt like she was going to faint or be sick.

Piper sat on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, but not making any sound, and the tears rolled down her cheeks. She had her legs spread like she had collapsed to the floor and she was so pale and looked so fragile. Blood was all around her, and she was swiping at it, like she was trying to put it back together.

Jason sat behind her, like he had fallen with her, and he held her, trying to grab at her trembling hands, and saying in between their sobs that it was going to be all right, and that she needed to let go.

"No!" Piper shrieked and she choked out a sob and her fingers kept rubbing over all the blood. Her frail body racked and shook. "This can't be happening again! Why?!"

"Pipes! Please!" Jason shouted, holding her tighter. "Just stop! You need to go the hospital!"

"No!" she shouted and her voice was louder and echoing through the tiles in the bathroom. "I want my baby back! Give it back!"

"Annabeth, help me get her up!" Jason began to stood, almost slipping in Piper's blood, but then he regained himself and looked down at what he had slipped on. He bit back a cry and hugged his arms around Piper by under her arms.

She tried to scramble out, but then gave up, staring at the blood that belonged for her baby, not her bathroom floor. She leaned back against Jason, but still sat on the floor, and she buried her face into his arm and sobbed. "Why does this keep happening to us?"

"I'm so sorry, Pipes," Jason said softly as he cried and he pressed his lips to the top of her head. Then he looked back at Annabeth, who hadn't moved.

"Annabeth! Help me!"

Annabeth couldn't breathe. There was so much blood, so much lost. She swallowed hard, but her throat was dry and ended up breathing heavily. Her lungs closed up and she could feel the tears coming up to her eyes. She blinked them away and reminded herself that they needed her help.

She ran to them and then grabbed Piper's furiously shaking hands. Piper opened her eyes and looked at Annabeth.

Annabeth had never seen a pair of eyes that looked so broken. That looked fragile, made of glass. And she'd seen Thalia's, Nico's, and Percy's after Luke and Bianca's death. They were nothing compared to this.

"It's going to be okay, Piper," Annabeth said. "We're going to help you."

Piper cried and took in a shaky deep breath as she shook her head. "Laney's gone, too. Nothing can help her now."

Annabeth didn't have time to think about what was happening, because all she knew was that Piper was losing more blood and looking paler by the second. She gripped Piper's slender hands and pulled her up.

Piper's knees wobbled and she felt sick just looking at her own blood—at her baby's blood. It didn't look right, how it mixed with the color of her bathroom tile, looking pink instead of crimson red. She felt her body heaving and Jason yelped.

"Piper," he warned out, but Piper fell to the sink and the bile came out of her lips and into the bowl of the sink and drain. She sobbed harder; she felt so sick, and she just wanted this to end.

Immediately, Annabeth was there with a wash cloth and she turned on the sink, wetting it, and then dabbed Piper's face. The wash cloth was ice cold and made a shiver crawl up her spine. Piper must've shortly blacked out because suddenly Annabeth was holding her hands, putting them under the water running from the faucet. The water wasn't cold or hot, and for some reason, the water against her skin felt good. It calmed her down a little.

Jason was holding her hair back, and while Piper stood there, with her hands under the water, she looked up and saw a crying stranger that had died, the person looked strange.

And behind that person, she saw Jason and Annabeth.

Her lips fell apart when she realized that that person was her. She looked so pale and purple rings were underneath her sunken eyes. Her lips were blue, and her skin was almost a yellow color. Her hair was ratty and fell around her face, and her eyes were dull.

She couldn't hear much, because all she heard was a ringing noise.

"Put her hair up, Jason, and I'll find her some clothes and call 911." Annabeth said.

Jason nodded and pulled up Piper's hair, but he didn't have a hair band. He stammered. "Um…"

Annabeth sighed. "Oh, get back, I'll do it. You go find her some clothes." She took his spot as he stepped back and she brushed back Piper's hair with her fingertips.

Piper didn't always like it when people touched or played with her hair. But when Annabeth did it, so calm and so gentle, she wished she was sitting in front of her mirror, smiling, and Annabeth was doing this for fun, not so that it got in the way if she puked again.

Piper saw the pink blood in the corner of the mirror and the sight made her stomach choke again and she heaved into the sink once more. The smell of her own blood and puke was coming up to her nostrils, engulfing her, and her clothes and skin and hair now smelled like it and it wasn't going to ever escape her now that it was embedded into her memory. She began to cry some more, and her stomach still hurt.

Jason came back with her pair of clothes and Piper looked up at him, her eyes filled with concern and sadness, as if she were asking him how much longer she could go through with this.

Jason stared back, and his eyes read that he was sorry. He never wanted this to happen; he wanted to make her better. He gave the clothes to Annabeth, who had just finished putting up Piper's hair into a knot.

Piper had been clutching onto the edge of the sink, but her fingers somehow loosened, but her legs were too weak in that moment to hold up her weight. They wobbled and she fell again. She expected the ground to slam up to her, but Jason had caught her before that contact.

She felt his hands wrap around her and then one arm went under her, and he pulled her up. Piper found herself looking over his shoulder and she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder, and her legs instinctively went around his body.

He carried her like she was a little kid; like the daughter they were supposed to have. Jason pressed his cheek to hers and carried her out of the room. Her cheek was so cold against his, and he was worried; this was worse than the times before. "Annabeth, get an overnight bag with some blankets and pillows and towels! And anything else you find important."

Annabeth nodded and went to their closet, hurriedly dragging out a duffel bag. She stuffed a blanket they had on their bed into the bag, grabbed a couple of towels that were in the bathroom closet, and she put in shampoo and their wallets and credit cards. Annabeth zipped it up and grabbed their pillows and walked out of the room, following Jason, who was already out the door.

She rolled her eyes. How the heck did he suppose he was going to get in the car without the car keys?

"Do I have to even think for you?!" She asked, but he hadn't heard her as he was out the door and she reached over to the island and picked up the keys and she went to the door.

Annabeth also took out her phone. She hadn't thought about it, but her hand immediately went there. Once she pressed on the phone number, she suddenly realized who she was calling. She needed his help.

Percy rushed to the hospital. Annabeth hadn't told him why she was at the hospital, she just said that something was wrong and that he needed to come. He drove his car, which he barely drove since it was New York, and it's honestly just easier to walk. But this was a need to be fast.

The windows were rolled down, so the wind ripped at his hair and clawed at his clothes. He didn't care, though, because his mind was set on seeing the HOSTPITAL—EXIT ON YOUR RIGHT sign. Finally, he saw it, and drove around all the other cars and swerved on the road. The smell of burnt rubber filled the inside of his car, but he didn't pay attention to that, either, as he saw the hospital's parking lot.

He turned in, and, unfortunately for him, the entire parking lot was packed. Percy circled all the parking slots, measuring each one to see if it was the right fit for his small blue car, but none was of the liking—especially since there was none.

But finally, on the very back of the right side of the parking lot, was a space.

"Finally; thank the gods," he murmured under his breath and he sped to the spot.

Then his hood collided with the hood of another car.

It sent his head back, slamming into the seat, and his teeth clattering together so hard, his brain rattled. He squeezed his eyes shut, red spots dancing in the blackness that covered behind his eyelid, and his foot slammed on the brakes. The echo of something that sounded like paper being ripped filled the air, and burnt rubber was once again smelt.

He opened his eyes, the daylight blinding him, and he saw that both he and the other car were tilted sideways, in the position to show that they crashed because both of them had hurried to the spot without seeing the other.

Fury raged in Percy. He had to go now, and this was only sidetracking him. The other guy should've seen him coming! His blood ran through his veins so fast, he could almost feel the adrenaline. He climbed out of the car, feeling a little dizzy from the contact of the whiplash, but slammed the door.

The other guy got out too. He was a little shorter than Percy, but still tall and lanky—he didn't look very strong. His dark hair was curly, like Nico's, except a little off his forehead, and messier, like brushing it isn't exactly the first thing he does when he wakes up in the morning. He had an up-turned nose, and his ears were like an elf's as they poked from the curls. He had brown eyes that glowed mischievously. He wore the strangest outfit, but Percy guessed he was a mechanic with the skinny trousers tied around his waist with a tool belt and he had a white button-down shirt with some grease marks on it. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

"Hey!" Percy pointed a finger at him. "You little—"

"Name-calling isn't nice." The guy cut him off, rolling his eyes lazily, like this crash wasn't a big deal.

It made Percy madder. He ignored the comment and continued: "I saw this parking space first!"

The man put his hands on his hips, his thumbs wedged in between the pockets of his tool belt. "Oh, sure, because you know exactly when I saw the parking space." He gave Percy a look. "C'mon, man, there's no way you can know for sure who saw the space first. So are we really going to have this conversation like in the movies?"

Percy looked at him confusingly. How could this stranger be taking this off as some sort of joke?

The guy looked at him as if he were serious. "Dude, this is, like, the all-time classic of movie clichés. Where the love interests bump into each other on accident, and then they end up going to the same place, and they meet and fall in love with the extra conflict." He stares at Percy, and then adds on with a limp wave of his hand, "You know, the usual jazz."

Percy blinks at him, still deciding if this was real or not.

The man dipped his head down, looking up at Percy with wide eyes under his eyebrows that were reaching his hairline. "Do you not know what I'm talking about?"

"I don't care!" Percy raised his shoulders and flustered out his hands. "Honestly! I just want this space because my girlfriend is in there and she's in trouble and needs me!"

The man scoffed and looked offended. "I thought I was your love interest! We just did the cliché!" He gestured his hand to the still-empty parking space.

Percy narrowed his eyes at him, his shoulders dropping. "I don't even know you! We aren't love interests!"

"Rude,"

Percy shot him a glare.

The man stepped back and closed his mouth. "You're right, you're right. So maybe not love interests, but I can guarantee you that this means that our lives were going to cross paths soon."

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "Now, move your car back so I can park here." Percy said as he began to walk back to his car.

"Hey!" The man jogged up to Percy, trying to follow him to his car. "I have someone in there that needs me too! This is a hospital, you know."

Percy ignores him, bitterly saying in his mind to do so because he's holding off time for too long already. He reaches for the door handle on his car door, but then suddenly, that man slips in between him and the door. Percy steps back, appalled, but then he glares at him.

The man raises his scrawny arms and his eyebrows furrow. "Whoa. Whoa, man, chill,"

"Will you move?!"

"No! Because I'm not letting you take that spot! I need it, too!"

Percy was getting fed up. He pressed his lips together so hard, they formed a white line, and he took a deep breath through his nose. His fingers curled into his palms, forming fists.

The other guy glanced down at them, and then rose an eyebrow back up at Percy. "Um, that's the complete opposite of chilling." He moved his hands down, and his right arm accidentally knocked against Percy's side mirror, causing it to clatter to the ground.

This made Percy even angrier, and he gave the guy a look, pursing his lips together.

The man seemed awkward, like he couldn't breathe, because he frowned with his mouth opened. He was stiff, and he poked out a finger, pointing to the part of Percy's car. "I can fix that." He promised.

"You crapped up my already crapped-up car!" Percy yelled.

"Well then you shouldn't have a problem if it's already crapped-up!"

Percy glares at him, and he's confused. He's not sure what to do with this guy.

"Listen, I can fix this, if you weren't being so ignorant." The guy says to him.

"I'm not being ignorant!" Percy counters, feeling offended.

The man gives him a sarcastic, Oh, really? look.

"I'm not." Percy says in a lower tone, suddenly his fists unraveling and his fingers straightening a little, and then going limp by his sides.

The other guy sees this, and his shoulders drop and he can breathe without the thought that Percy's going to punch him in the face.

"Then prove to me you can fix this." Percy says.

The man holds up a finger, telling him he'll be one second, then goes back to his own car, which is a skinny truck with no backseat. It's red, and the sides are painted with flames that say: LEO'S HOT STUFF MECHANICS. He goes into the passenger's seat and Percy hears some clanking around, like he's got some tools.

Percy takes a step forward, tilting his head a little. "Leo?" He asks.

"Valdez here," the man comes back around, holding a bucket. Then he stops and looks at Percy. "Wait, how'd you know my name?"

Percy points to the side of his truck.

Leo looks back and sees it, and his shoulders relax again. "Oh. Right; for a second, I thought we knew each other."

Percy shrugs. "I still don't know who the hell you are."

Leo waved it off and opened the bucket. Inside was white liquid that splashed out of the rim and then landed on the gravel road beneath them. It hissed due to the heat. Suddenly he hands the paint bucket to Percy, shoving it into his arms.

Percy groans and the paint splatters up to him, but he backs away, holding the bucket out away from him at arm-length. "Dude!"

But Leo's not paying attention. His fingers are out, one eye squeezed shut, and he's measuring the parking space. He barely lifts up his trousers before bending down and he takes out a tape measure from his tool belt. He measures the parking space, and then the front of Percy's and his own car. Then he straightens, puts it back into his tool belt, and gives Percy a cheeky grin.

"Good news."

"You're not going to do what I think you are, aren't you?"

"There's no time to think about that." Leo waves around his hands as if to wave off the subject.

"Didn't you just think about the parking space?"

"No. Because I believe thinking gets in the way of being nuts."

"I figured that was your motto." Percy said.

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying that I'm nuts?" When Percy didn't say anything, he added on, "Cuz you're absolutely right: I am." He takes the bucket from Percy's hands and reaches into his tool belt, taking out a paint brush.

Percy is too dumbstruck to ask or think about how that paint brush could fit in his tool belt without Percy seeing it sticking out.

"We're going to paint a line down the middle of the parking space, and then it'll make two," Leo is already dabbing the paint brush into the bucket and then taking it out as it's dripping.

"Isn't that illegal?"

Leo scoffs. "Who cares? I'm pretty sure we're both in more complicated situations."

Percy sighs as he watches Leo begin to paint a smooth line down the middle of the parking space. He's there to make sure it stays straight. "You have no idea."

Leo stands back up once he's done and he wipes off the paintbrush and puts the lid back onto the paint bucket before putting both back into his truck.

Percy moves and starts to raise his arm toward Leo, and he flinches back, covering his face and yelping.

"Come on, dude! I just fixed our problems! Don't hurt me!" he inches back.

"Leo, I'm—"

"Ignorant and don't know what you're doing? That's okay, I know. Just don't punch me in the face—it's my prized possession."

Percy sighs and rolls his eyes and lays his hand on Leo's shoulder. "I'm not going to punch you in the face, Leo. I'm going to thank you."

Leo's hands slowly go away from his face and he relaxes again. "Whoa, really?"

Percy nods his head, his eyebrows raised. "Yeah, I never would've thought about doing that."

"I know. You don't seem like the guy who apologizes."

"I meant the parking space."

"Oh. Right," Leo smiles. "I'll go park first." He begins to go back to his car, but Percy catches the back of his collar.

"Not so fast. I saw it first, I park first."

Leo sighs. "You're never going to get over that, are you?"

Percy shakes his head. "Nope; because I know it's true." And he goes around to his car and backs up, his arm on the other seat as he's twisted back in his seat, looking out the back window to make sure he's not going to crash into anyone. Then he stops the car and puts it into drive and inches forward, turning into the parking spot. Something crunches beneath his car, and it rattles. He's confused and stops the car, opening his door and looking down to find that he ran over his side mirror that Leo had broken off.

Percy looks up at Leo through the windshield.

Leo looks stiff and awkward again.

Percy gives him a look saying: That was your entire fault.

Leo bites his lip. "I can fix that."

Jason is exhausted in just a matter of half an hour. He didn't think that that was possible for a human being, but he was proven wrong when they wouldn't let him near Piper after the doctors took her into some room that had a sign next to it that read "Surgery/Emergency Room. Personnel Only."

He slumped into a chair in the waiting room, leaning down, and a sigh lazily dragged from his mouth. His heart weighed in his chest; he couldn't believe this was happening again. He thought, for sure, that this would be it; this would be the time that actually worked. He can't help but think that this is his entire fault.

Annabeth is frantic. Her hair's a mess, and she's on the phone, screaming into it as an apostrophe, "Why won't you pick up?!"

Jason isn't sure what she's doing, but none of that matters right now. Nothing matters now, because there's nothing he can do about anything.

"Finally! Thalia, I've called you thousands of times! Why didn't you pick up?!"

It's his sister, he finally realizes. And he can hear her on the other end, she's screaming so loud.

"Where the hell are you?! I came back from the store, and everyone's gone and there's blood all over the bathroom floor and puke in the sink! Did someone die again?!"

"We're at the hospital." Annabeth answers and she covers up the speaker a little once the other people in the waiting room give her looks. "Piper got sick and she started bleeding…" She glances at Jason, who just stares up at her in exasperation. "She lost the baby." She says.

Jason can't hear anything from Thalia. And he thinks it's because Annabeth's covering the speaker, but her hand goes down once he assumes that and he still can't hear anything. So he knows that Thalia is just as speechless as they are.

"I'm on my way," he finally hears from her and then Annabeth takes the phone away from her ear and turns it off, putting it back into her pocket.

She walks towards him and sits in the seat next to him, her back banging against the chair, but she doesn't care, because her entire body is numb. She can't feel anything, and her emotions are stripped bare when flashbacks of Piper in that bathroom come to her mind. It's horrible, and she closes her eyes, hoping that Piper will be all right. She knows it's a bad thing when she thinks this, but she doesn't care if the baby gets hurt—she just wants Piper to be okay. Annabeth doesn't think she'll be able to handle another death of someone close to her.

Piper is like her sister. She can't even bear the thought of losing her smile that always greets her, or her way of always welcoming Annabeth—not as a servant, but as a part of her family.

Jason leans forward and puts his head in his hands, rubbing his tired eyes and his temples. His fingers feel rough and smell of blood. He takes them away from his face and then excuses himself from Annabeth before going to the bathroom.

There's another guy there, but they soon leave after they wipe their hands on a brown paper towel. Jason walks up to the sink and turns on the faucet. He puts his hands under the water and looks up into the mirror. His face is tired, with dark rings under his eyes. It hasn't even been a day here, but it's still nerve-racking. He doesn't like hospitals; he hasn't liked them since the first time he lost his child.

He sighs and he stares down into the sink, and he can't help but think about when Piper threw up into their sink at home. He groans and closes his eyes, wishing he couldn't think about that, but it's hard not to. All he's ever wanted to do was make sure she was okay. He just wants Piper to be happy and healthy; he wants to take care of her—and that's not what he's doing. Jason feels as though he's failed.

He looks back up at the mirror, at his tired reflection.

Jason hopes to see some sort of sign in his own expression that'll tell him that it's going to be okay. But he sees nothing.

Jason sighs and shakes his head, rinsing off the soap from his hands and then flicking the water off his fingers before turning off the squeaky faucet, and leaving the bathroom.

While Jason is gone, Annabeth stays and her heart is being held in cold hands inside her chest. Time is passing, but she is impatient, and she wants someone to walk through those doors and tell her that everything is going to be okay.

She stares at the doors of the surgery room.

No one comes out.

But then the door to the waiting room opens.

"I'm telling you, there's no way you can prove that you saw that space first!" a familiar voice says.

"Leo," Another voice says and the sound of it makes Annabeth's heart bound and she straightens. She looks over and finds that it is Percy, and that she wasn't just imagining things.

He stopped and gave Leo, someone she knew from Piper and Jason's house, a serious look as he warned out a straight hand to him. "I know I saw it first. Just stop arguing about it; we already fixed the problem."

Annabeth stands up and smiles a little. She's so glad that Percy's here, because suddenly, that cold hand releases its grip on her heart.

"Fine, then," Leo replies snootily.

Percy smirks and then turns to look around the waiting room. Her heart flutters when his eyes land on her, and his smirk drops and he runs to her.

"Annabeth!" He says as he releases a sigh. His arms capture her and he buries his face into her neck, tightening his grip around her body. "I'm so glad you're all right."

She kisses his cheek and wraps her arms around his firm and slightly bent torso—so he can reach down to kiss her.

"Wait a minute," Leo says as he slowly approaches them with a confused expression. He wiggles a finger between the two of them. "You guys know each other?"

They nod simultaneously.

Leo looks at Percy. "So you know scary ninja girl?"

Annabeth gives Leo a look. "My name is Annabeth."

"Yeah, I do." Percy says as he wraps an arm around her.

"Whoa! You two are dating?!" Leo exclaims, but then a look of recognition settles on his facial features. "Oh, yeah, I remember when Annabeth took off from work to go on her date with you."

Percy's eyebrows furrow at Leo. "So you already knew me?"

Leo shrugs. "Yeah, I guess I just hadn't remembered you." Then he has a look of alarm. "Ha!" He points a finger at Percy. "I told you that cliché meant something!"

"Leo!" A voice exclaims before Percy can answer. It's Jason. "You're here!"

He and Leo share a man hug, clapping each other on the back. Jason turns to Percy, and Annabeth is waiting for him to be confused, but instead he says, "Percy! Wow! Long time, no see, eh?!"

"Hey; yeah," Percy laughs and he claps Jason's back in their hug, too. "That's probably because I've actually got a job I'm sticking with."

"You mean one you haven't gotten fired from," Jason laughs as well.

Annabeth has to conversation, because with each friendly and calm word they speak to each other—as if they've known each other for years—she's getting even more confused. She puts a hand on both of their shoulders. "Whoa, whoa, whoa; hey! Wait a second—you two know each other?"

Percy gives her a look, surprised as to how she doesn't know that. "I knew them since before I met you, remember?"

Annabeth's face breaks out into alarm. "Oh, yeah! It's been so long, I…I kind of forgot," she blushes sheepishly and tucks a blond strand of hair that came loose from her ponytail behind her ear.

"Okay, enough with this meeting-each-other business." Leo interrupts. "When can we go see Piper?"

"I don't think she came out of surgery yet…" Jason trails off and his weight of concern settled on his heart, and it made him so impatient.

Percy's eyes grow wide. "Piper's in surgery?! What? What happened to her?"

Jason frowns and he looks down at the ground, blinking, and he's not sure what to say. Should he tell Percy about all the other kids they've lost? About how he's failed again? Leo can tell that Jason has a lot on his shoulders and he softly claps his hand on Jason's shoulder.

"We're going to go for a walk," Leo says without Jason's permission. "You guys can do…whatever you want; call us when Piper comes out."

Annabeth nods, because she knows what Jason's probably thinking right now, and she's glad that Leo's there to help him out.

Percy mumbles softly, "Sorry…" he turns to Annabeth and says in the same tone, "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no," she says hurriedly and lays a hand on his shoulder, turning him back to the seats in the waiting room. She sat him down, and explained very carefully and slowly, since the memories and wounds of her friend were still very fresh, "Listen, what happened to Piper was…"

"Hey, man," Leo says to Jason after they walk away. "How're you holding up?"

Jason gives him a tired look.

"Right. Stupid question," Leo says and he shakes his head a little. "Listen, you know Piper. She's a strong b—" he stops because he can feel Jason's glare. "Well, you know, she's a strong girl. She can handle anything. I have no doubt that she'll be perfectly fine in a couple days."

Jason shakes his head, and those memories of his Piper, sitting on that floor, broken. Because she knew that everything was gone—again.

"No, Leo. You don't understand. You didn't see her. You weren't there when it happened—when any of it happened."

Leo's eyebrows furrow together and they walk out of the hospital and across the street to a diner. "What do you mean any of it?"

Jason's lungs close up and he realizes that he or Piper hasn't told him about when they lost the other children. He doesn't know—this is the only time. There's a diner nearby, and they go in, and order a couple cups of coffee.

"What else happened?" Leo asks, and Jason knows he's serious because he doesn't immediately drink the caffeine once the waiter gives it to him.

Jason sighs and explains.

"The first one was a, uh, boy." Jason cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the lump. But it wouldn't leave, and it cracked his voice, like how a fragile egg would crack at any harsh contact.

Leo stared at him. "The first one? When was this?"

"The first time we ever told you."

"No," Leo said, pointing a finger at him. "You said that the test had made a mistake."

Jason shook his head. "No, Leo. It didn't. We just told you that."

"Why?!"

Jason tried to shush him down, the lump becoming bigger and getting closer to his mouth, the tears forming. People glanced at them at Leo's outburst. "I'm sorry. We just weren't ready to admit it, okay? We didn't want to worry you."

"Yeah, and how worried do you think I am now?"

Jason stared at him, and through his eyes he asked for Leo to be patient, and to just let him explain.

"Sorry," Leo murmured and he sat back a little. "Continue,"

"This was five years ago," Jason continued, and somehow the lump had disappeared. "It happened one day, and…she was so sick, Leo. I couldn't tell you because then you would freak out and she didn't want people putting that on her. She had just wanted to be alone. I'm sorry we didn't tell you, though,"

Leo nodded. "I understand,"

"The doctor cleared it up and he explained that this was normal for most couples. It happens all the time. But usually, it works the second time." Jason pressed his lips together and he looks down at his coffee. It didn't seem very tasteful right now, and the smell just smelled of something burnt. The only thing he could see was pink—that pink color from the bathroom floor that twisted his stomach into a knot.

"We tried a second time. He was wrong. We lost another baby boy."

Leo sighed a little and frowned, his eyebrows pulled tight. He was never told of this, and now that he is now, it scared him. That's what Piper and Jason had been through? He never would've thought of it, because they were so happy all the time. But, inside, he knew they weren't. They lost the elements that meant the most to their family.

"It was a different doctor that time. Piper didn't seem to look as bad after the surgery. The doctor said that the second time would work."

Leo was confused. "But, that wasn't your—"

"That's what we told him." Jason said, and he still didn't look at Leo—his gaze still stared into the coffee. He seemed calm, but his eyes were sad. "He frowned and said, 'Oh. I'm sorry for your loss,' and walked out of the room. He didn't say anything about the third time working.

"We tried again the next year. This was two years ago. We were told it was a baby boy again, but…when we lost it too, there were twins inside of her, not just one."

Leo's heart weighed inside his chest, and he felt so bad now. He couldn't even fathom about this ever happening, but it was, and his mind couldn't even process it now.

"So Piper wanted things to replace her kids. That's why we got those dogs, and those two fishes, the hamsters and the guinea pig."

"Wait, a guinea pig? I don't remember that."

"That's because we only had it for a couple days. But I think Percy stole it, though, because he came over one day, mowed the lawn, came inside for a while, and then when he left, suddenly Circe left too."

"Circe?" Leo tilted his head to the side a little.

Jason shrugged. "I dunno, Piper came up with the name; said it was something from a book she read, or something." He blinked slowly, tired, and shook his head. He really didn't know who that was, though, so he couldn't really explain.

"Why would Percy—?" Leo cut himself off and shook his head. "Let's not get into that. So, why didn't you guys get a cat?"

Jason blinked, and stared at Leo solemnly when he said, "We couldn't find a cat that would cooperate enough to let Piper cuddle with it all the time."

Leo frowned. He could imagine Piper holding a cat in her arms, hugging it from under its front paws, and its bottom half of its body stretched down. He could imagine its shocked face. He could imagine no cat wanting to be in that position.

"That's why Piper wanted a maid, because after all those animals died, she couldn't take death anymore, and wanted an actual live being to be with her."

Leo nods his head and stands up, mumbling, "Let's go outside," and Jason nods and stands. "And this is where scary ninja woman comes into play."

Jason stretches, bringing his coffee cup with him, and paying a couple dollars to the cashier. He looks back at Leo, and blinks with confusion. "You mean Annabeth? She's not scary."

Leo looked at him, appalled. "Are you kidding me?" He whispered fiercely, "She's got eyes on the back of her head."

Jason laughs a little and they step outside, the bell from the door ringing, and they continue their walk around the hospital building. They're quiet for a while, and soon, Jason throws away his cup of coffee in a trash can.

Leo's brain rethinks about the history Jason has told him, and he can think back to those times when he visited them. He remembered when Piper was just tired all the time, and for a phase, she just didn't want to do anything. Like they'd lost all hope—which they had.

"She was our first." Jason said with his voice quiet and calm, as they walked on the sidewalk that bordered the building, and its giant gray shadow cast over them.

Leo didn't respond. The setting around them was calm, and the breeze softly whistled by them.

"Laney was our first girl." Jason added on. His hands began to tremble by his sides, and the lump reformed in his throat. His lungs closed up, and he breathed heavily. Jason stopped in his tracks and he ran his hands through his close-cropped blonde hair, and the tears came up to his eyes.

Leo stopped and he turned back to Jason, frowning.

"I'm not sure how much we can take, Leo. We've lost them all already. I can't take it! It puts so much guilt on me!"

"Jase, c'mon, man," Leo said softly as he reached out to grip his shoulder.

Jason didn't say anything. He bent down, his heels balancing his body, and his elbows on his bent knees. His body racked with silent sobs and he screwed his eyes shut, thinking it'll drive those images away. The images of Piper's blood on the bathroom, her face twisted with pain.

Leo bent down with him, taking both of his arms and pulling them away from his face. "Jase, it's okay. Just calm down. She's going to be fine."

"You weren't there!" Jason sobbed. "You didn't see it happen! You weren't in that terror!"

In his whole life, Jason had never sobbed. He had never felt this pain—where it tears down his inside, just breaking down all his walls. Yeah, he'd been in the military, but he's always been used to that. He'd been used to losing people, but for this, he could sob for a thousand years and never get over it.

He rocked his body back and forth and his foot slipped, his body falling to the concrete. Suddenly, he found his body forming the position he'd been taught that would help when you've got a headache. He wondered if it was the same with getting flashbacks of bad memories.

His knees rose up and with his hands still tangled in his hair and he hung his head in between his knees. He gritted his teeth, but it didn't work. He still saw all those times Piper had been in pain. His vision swimmed and he saw red spots in that vision. His head was killing him with a migraine.

"Jason." Leo said sternly as he gripped his shoulder. "Hey, you gotta keep it together."

Leo's been with Jason since they were in middle school. Not once had he seen Jason have a complete meltdown like this. He was surprised on what to say or do.

"It's my fault, Leo!"

"It is not your fault! You would never want Piper to be hurt—"

"It's my fault they're dying! She's a great mother and she's not doing anything wrong. It has to be my fault."

"No, it doesn't have to be."

"I-I must be doing something wrong."

"No, you're not, Jason."

"Then what are we doing wrong?!" Jason screamed as he grabbed Leo's collar and a spark of anger went through him. This was getting nowhere, and it was never connecting right—but what was the reason for that blockage putting off the thing to make their child alive? What could they possibly be doing wrong?

"You're not doing anything wrong!" Leo yelled back.

"Then why isn't it working?!" Jason cried. He took back his hands and vigorously rubbed his eyes, twisting the balls of his palms into his eyes and temples, because his headache was drumming the inside of his skull.

"Jason, these things happen."

"Does it happen five times in a row?" Jason asked quietly.

Five times. They had gone through this sadness five times. Five different reasons to believe that they were doing something wrong—that they were bad parents.

Five smiles they never got to see.

"Maybe it's just not fit for you guys to have a kid," Leo said softly. "It might just not be for you guys."

Jason didn't respond because he was working on calming his fast heartbeat that thrummed through his ribs. It hurt—his whole body hurt. His shoes scraped against the concrete as he put down his knees and crossed his legs.

"Criss-cross, applesauce," He'd always been looking forward to saying that to his own children. But that would never happen. That seemed like a million years away.

He slowly took his hands away from his face, and his vision moved a little, but then it stood still as he was able to take in the sights around him. The world kept spinning, kept moving on; kept making beautiful things. It may not have created his children, fully or completely just yet, but that doesn't mean that he can't keep living. His children would be disappointed in him.

He had to set a good example for them, so he put down his arms onto his knees, and took in a shaky deep breath.

"You're right, Leo," he said.

"I am?" Leo mumbled softly, but then he cleared his throat and his eyebrows pulled together a little. "Yeah, I am. Thanks for listening, Jase,"

Jason laughed a little, but he didn't want to get up just yet. He wanted to stay here, in the nice and cool shadow, with the breeze pointing at the perfect angle. He wished that he was on a picnic, with Piper, beautiful as always, and their just as beautiful family. This would be the perfect weather for that.

But they weren't. And that's what made him dislike it a little.

It shocked him how sudden the world was so calm, like after the bad thing had happened, it sighed with relief, glad that it was over.

It wasn't over. It still played in Jason's mind.

Piper had started to shake in his arms, and she made a low groaning noise.

"Pipes?"

She slipped from his grasp a little, but then stood back up like a puppet being yanked by its strings. She nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah. Just…take me to the bathroom."

"Are you okay?"

"Just take me there! Please, Jason," She looked up at him, her eyes wide as if pleading or in fright.

Jason should've caught that warning then. Because now, he could still see the light that had started to fade from her eyes.

He had wrapped his arms tighter around her and guided her to the bathroom. Her hand shot out and flung into the doorknob, and she leaned against it, trying to detach herself from Jason.

"Hey, don't you want me to help you?" he asked.

"I'm fine. No worries, I'm fine." She said and shook her head a little while waving out her hand. The color started to drain from her face and she went inside, beginning to close the door on him, but it didn't latch itself to the lock just enough. It cracked open and Jason could see a small sliver of her through it.

He kept one eye on it, to make sure she was alright.

All he saw was red, though, as it went down her legs and he had the urge to close his eyes and look away, but Piper fell so hard that the bathroom lights flickered, and she cried out.

Jason shot into the door, pushing it open, and not caring if it left a dent in the wall. Right as he reached Piper, he cried out, "Annabeth!" And he fell to the floor as well.

Piper cried, sobbing, and she said one thing that made him cry.

"Why don't you love me enough to stay?"

A ringing noise cut off the flashback for Jason, and he was glad for it. His eyes cut up to Leo who looked startled as he took out his phone from his pocket. He looked at the number and the face blinking up on the screen, and he put it to his ear.

"Yeah?" he asked into it, like he already knew who was on the other line.

Jason waited for a couple seconds, and then Leo nodded. "All right, gotcha, we're on our way." Leo brought it down and turned it off before putting it back into his pocket.

He looked Jason in the eyes, the blue fading out a little.

He only said two words that helped Jason breathe again.

"Piper's okay."

Percy was…dumbstruck. He never knew anything about this between Jason and Piper, and…he just didn't know what to say. Was there anything to say about it?

But he was even more speechless when a girl, about his age, with black hair that was ruffled, and bright blue eyes burst through the hospital doors, her face filled with worry and most frighteningly, anger.

Her glare worked around the faces of those around her in the waiting room.

"Jeez," Percy said under his breath.

"You better get used to it," Annabeth replied.

"Huh?" he looked over at her with one eyebrow raised.

"Annabeth!" The girl said as she stomped over to them. She was about to say something else, but then the girl saw Percy, who still looked confused. "Who's this kelp head?" She asked Annabeth.

Percy shook his head, letting his confused expression fall. "Hey!" He yelled defensively.

Annabeth snickered. "That's Percy, Thalia," she turned to Percy while gesturing to the girl. "And this is Thalia, Percy."

"Oh, so this is the famous boyfriend," Thalia smirked. "Couldn't you have picked a better fish in the sea?"

"Um, excuse me," Percy stood and pointed a finger at her.

"You're excused."

Agh! Percy screamed in his mind. His nostrils flared and his hands turned into fists. He rolled his eyes. "First I had to deal with Leo, and now I have Thalia?!" He sat back down, slumping in his chair. "Jeez, Annabeth, how many more crazy friends do I have to deal with?"

Annabeth patted his arm. "At least you don't have to live with them."

Percy sighed and said in a low voice that he was going to get a drink of water. So he stood, walked around Thalia while giving her a glare, and went across the waiting room. The water jug dispenser was a few feet away from the front waiting door, and so as he was pouring some water into his little, Styrofoam cup, he heard the door open.

He looked over, but saw no person. His eyebrows furrowed at this, but he shook his head and thought he had imagined it. Once the cup was halfway full, he let go of the plastic lever, and pulled his cup away, bringing it to his lips as he turned away.

Percy felt something rubbing against his leg. He stopped—the cup still to his lips. Then he heard something that sounded like a vibrating machine.

Percy brought the cups away from his mouth and looked down. Now he definitely knew he was going crazy, because there was a cat rubbing its face on his jeans pant leg!

"Guys," he called out to Thalia and Annabeth.

"What?" Thalia snapped back at him because Annabeth was in the middle of explaining to her what had happened with Piper.

He pointed to the cat. "Am I seeing things?"

Both Thalia and Annabeth gasped, but the black-haired girl was the one to stand up and run to him. "Sliders!" She bent down to pick it up. "What the hell are you doing here?! How did you get here?"

Suddenly, the doors opened again and Percy looked over to find two girls—one with pale, freckled skin and bright curly red hair, and the other had darker skin with black curly hair. They were both panting and leaning on their knees as if they had run to get here.

"Damn, that cat can run fast," The girl with red hair said.

"Um…" Percy trailed off, not sure what to say.

"And what are you two doing here?!" Thalia said, still holding Sliders in her arm, who was purring. The cat looked over its shoulder and meowed at the two girls.

"We were following the cat!" The dark-skinned girl exclaimed as she waved her hand towards the cat. "Sliders ran away!"

"Sliders?" Percy asked.

"The cat," Thalia said.

"Why would you name it sliders?"

"Because, it's like those flip-flops, you know?"

Percy narrowed his eyes. "Those are called Slides. Who named it that?"

"I did. So shut up," Thalia glared at him.

Percy laughed out loud and shook his head, mumbling, "Look who's the kelp head now?"

Thalia punched him in the shoulder.

Annabeth appeared and she separated them. "Guys, stop fighting."

"We aren't!"

"Yeah, you are," Annabeth said, "now stop it because we're attracting attention."

Thalia looked at the cat. "You're new name is upgraded to Slides."

"No!" Rachel complained. "I like Sliders!"

Thalia groaned. "Well this stupid-head," she pointed to Percy. "Insists that it's Slides."

"Well, let's let the cat decide." Percy says and he takes a drink from his cup.

Thalia glared at him again. "You're even more of an idiot than I thought."

"Hey!" Percy was offended.

"Excuse me," An unfamiliar voice was interrupted into the conversation. "Do any of you know a Piper McLean?"

Everyone in their group raised their hands and yelled, "I do!" And they all turned to look at who it was. It was a man with a kind-of bald head, wearing a doctor's uniform like he just came out of surgery, wearing lime green scrubs.

He backed away a little in surprise, as he began to take off his gloves. "Well, I only need the immediate family."

"Um," Annabeth said, "we'll call her husband."

The doctor nodded. "Well she's okay, and you can go see her now, if you'd like."

"Thank you," Annabeth said again, smiling, as she got out her phone.

"Wait!" Thalia stopped him. "Is the baby okay?"

He frowned and shook his head. "I'm sorry. We tried doing all that we could do, but the baby was already gone by the time she got here. I apologize for your loss."

They simultaneously nodded their heads, and then the doctor's eyes set on Slides.

"Um…how did a cat get in here?"

Thalia and Percy glanced at each other, and then they turned back to the man and said in unison, "You don't want to know,"

Piper had a strange dream. She stood in front of a window that had sunshine pouring from it and brightening her skin and eyes. She was holding a baby in her arms, cradling it. The dream felt so real, because she was singing to it, and it was grinning up at her. It started to laugh, and then Piper stopped singing so she could look down at her baby and smile back.

But then it started to cry because she gave up singing to it. Its tears turned red, like blood, and it started to sob blood.

She became worried, and tried wiping away its tears, but it wouldn't go away. It was as if it were stained to her baby's once-soft white skin. She began to cry as well, and the sunshine outside began to rumble to a darkness. Her baby's blood poured from it, and it started shaking while it was crying.

Piper was so startled that she dropped her baby, and it cried as it fell.

Before it touched the floor, someone pulled back on her hand, squeezing it, and said, "Pipes, it's going to be okay. I'm going to take care of you."

The glass from the window broke and shattered with a piercing scream, and she turned away, her arm rising up to her face to block the shards of glass from touching her.

The hand pulled her away, the person guarding her from the glass, and all she saw was a tint of blond. Lightning zapped in those eyes that stared back at her.

Her own eyes opened, and everything around her was pure white. She thought she was in heaven, but blinked her eyes again. She was dumbstruck, not sure what to say at first, but then the memories came rushing back into her.

The lump formed in her throat and the tears swelled in her eyes in big groups. Her nose was already filled, so it was hard to breathe, and the tears spilled down her cheeks uncontrollably, calmly, and silently.

She stared at the window, which was swimming in her vision because of the tears. Quiet and small sobs coughed from her throat as she raised a hand to her mouth, trying to silence them. The tears didn't let anything stop them as they mourned for her baby, and they rolled over her fingers.

Piper, in that moment, gave up. With each child she lost, she could feel it inside of her when they were gone, that they had taken a piece with her. Every time they died, a part of her heart and soul dies too.

That last child had taken that last piece.

What more could she do? What more could she live through? What else can she live for, if she can't help her and Jason build a family?

Jason. Just thinking about his name, gave her hope. She remembered him, and how even though it's been five tries, he's still here with her. He still hasn't given up on her and hasn't left her side. He isn't tired, or mad, he's just Jason. Unless if he's just playing that as an act, and right now, right this moment, he's planning on leaving her.

As if on cue, the door opened.

"I'm not sure if she's awake or not yet," the nurse was saying to someone behind her. Then she looked into the room, and a smile bloomed on her face at the sight of Piper's opened eyes. "Oh, well fortunately, she is." The nurse propped the door open, sliding a door stopper with her foot under the door.

Jason is the first to walk in. He looks just as tired and sad as she feels, and she lets her hand down from her mouth. His eyes are red, and his pale cheeks are splotchy, like he'd been crying. He's also got dark shadows hanging under his eyes, and a frown settled on his mouth.

But his blue eyes are glowing when they land on her. He feels some energy run through him, and he feels complete. This entire time, the only place he's wanted to be at was next to her, and now he finally gets to fulfill that desire. Jason crosses the room towards her and isn't sure what to do next. He doesn't know how she's feeling, or if she's hurt or disoriented from the surgery, or if she's sad from the loss—or if she even knows about that. So he just stands there, staring at her in concern, worry, and confusion.

Piper's chin wobbles and she limply rises out her arms, offering them out to him. No, it's not an offer, it's a plead—it's a cry for help. It's a symbol of wanting him there with her.

Jason falls into her arms, pressing his face to the side of hers, and tightly holds her in his arms, firmly, and making her cold body warm. He holds her and closes his eyes, and knows not to take this moment for granted. Jason isn't sure how long they've been like this, but all he knows is that Piper's arms tighten around him, and he feels her hands shaking on the back of his neck. He squeezes her small body, just a little, and it feels so much thinner than before—when her stomach was swollen with something alive inside of it—and for a split second he thinks she might look anorexic. But when he pulls back, she looks perfectly normal, like always, and realizes that it's only because of that sudden difference.

The nurse excuses herself and apologizes for getting in their way, but that she has to check up on Piper. Jason steps back, and goes around on the other side of the bed and immediately takes her hand, which Piper had already been reaching for before he got there.

The nurse asks Piper questions, like how she's feeling, if she remembers who she is, if she's hungry, if she feels any pain, things like that as she performs tests on her like taking her blood pressure, checking for a fever, and then checking her IV bag hanging next to the hospital bed.

The nurse gives her another smile and says, "Well, it looks like you're all good."

"That is great news," a deeper voice says and the real doctor walks into the room. He had changed from his scrubs to his usual white coat. He doesn't look at them yet, but he looks down at a clipboard from over his spectacles. He checks off some things, then hangs it on the end of Piper's bed, and takes off the spectacles while smiling at her.

Piper stares at him with confusion. She wonders if, during the surgery, he had lost his mind.

"No, it's not." She says breathlessly.

The doctor tilts his head at her. "Why? What's wrong?"

"I lost my baby, you idiot! You think I don't remember that part?! Of course I do! That's not a good thing, I am hurt!"

The doctor nods his head, and the nurse looks hesitant, but she also lays a soft hand on Piper's shoulder, whom shakes it off, because she's mad and sad. She also can't believe that they thought they could get away with it. All she wants is an explanation—and that's exactly what she's going to get.

"Why is this happening?" Piper asks.

The doctor doesn't say much. He doesn't say anything, in fact, like he's at a loss for words.

"Tell me!" Piper screams and Jason squeezes her hand.

"This is normal for every couple." The doctor warns out his hands, as if he's trying to calm her down. But she's far from that already, and there's no going back at this point.

"That's what they all said!"

"I'm sure it'll work the second time," The doctor continues.

There is a silence that fills the room because Jason and Piper know a horrible secret that the two doctors in front of them don't know.

"That's what they said the first time." Jason says in a low voice. "They didn't say anything about a third time." He finally makes eye contact with the doctor. "Or the fifth,"

The nurse gasps a little, and her eyes are wide, and the color has suddenly drained from her skin. She steps back a little, and this is supposedly the largest number of miscarriages, Piper thinks. The nurse excuses herself to check up on some reports and she leaves the room to just the couple and the doctor.

"Tell me," Piper repeats, but in a softer voice, because she knows that if she strains her voice any louder, another lump will appear right in the middle of her throat. She doesn't want that—she wants her voice to be strong and heard.

"This…this isn't normal for most couples, to have five losses. I am truly sorry, but what I know is that maybe having children isn't just fit for your bodies." He looks her right in the eye. "I hope you find a way to have a family." Then he's out the door again.

They're silent for a while, and nobody says a thing. Piper isn't sure what to think because that response is so different from all the others ones that she's had. She turns to Jason, who's rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

"Jason—" she speaks up just as Jason says her name.

They pause and stare at each other, as if asking who should talk first.

"Pipes, I want to tell you something." He begins, and he holds her hand with both of his, wrapping his firm fingers around her slender ones. "I am so sorry."

Her eyebrows furrow. "For what?"

"For putting all of this on you; it's—I feel like it's my entire fault that this is happening to you, and that you're in this position, in this hospital—" he begins to splutter out the words, the hard lump in his throat again.

Piper stops him, her eyebrows pulled tight, and she's shaking her head, taking out her hand and placing them on his cheeks, making him look at her. "No. No, don't you ever think that this is your fault. You heard what the doctor said, basically—it's none of our faults, and it's just the way it is."

Jason is surprised, wondering how she is taking this so easily—easier than he is, more than he thought. He smiles a little and places his hand on top of hers that's on top of his cheek. "You're amazing, you know that?"

She smiles softly and presses her lips to him. "I love you,"

"I promise that, from now on, I'm going to take care of you. Because I love you, too, and I can't bear to see you hurt." He says in a soft voice.

"You're already taking care of me," she smiles softly and adds on, "And you're doing a beautiful job at it."

"Not as beautiful as you are," he says and kisses her.

After they visit Piper, Annabeth and Percy sit outside on the steps of the hospital. Well, Percy sat and he had a plastic coffee cup in his hand, and inside was his usual seaweed coffee. He knows this is bad for him because it's nighttime, and he should be drinking coffee in the morning, but he doesn't care. He hasn't had his seaweed coffee all day.

Annabeth was sitting, but then her mind got to thinking and she couldn't just sit. She stood up, stretching her long legs, and walks back and forth, pacing. Every now and then, she groans and tugs at the curls that are making her ponytail loose.

"You know if you keep doing that, then people are going to think you're from the mental ward and I'm here to watch over you." Percy chuckles and then shakes the contents in his coffee cup, mixing the seaweed, and then takes a drink out of it.

Annabeth ignores the comment and says, "We can't just leave them like that. Honestly, they've lost five! There has to be a way that they can have their family."

She sits back down next to him, and he sets the cup on the opposite side of him. Then his arm slithers up her back and rubs the back of her neck, trying to calm her down. Her eyes close and she puts her head into her hands.

"Hey," Percy murmurs. "C'mere," he says and brings her close to him, hugging her.

"We have to do something, Percy. We just have to."

"I know we do."

"I mean…five children," she says and rests her forehead against his jaw. "I don't think anyone could ever really live through that without some sort of trauma."

"I know," Percy says as he rubs her back softly. "I know my mom couldn't be able to live through that. That would be horrible—for any human being. Even guys, if they could get pregnant…" he trails off.

For once, Annabeth didn't hear his Seaweed-Brain-like comment, because she's too busy thinking. Something about his mom triggered a memory. She could remember a time when Percy mentioned something about what his mom now does for a living…

She gasped and stood up suddenly, causing Percy to yelp.

"That's it!" she exclaims as if she's saying, "Eureka!"

"What's it?" Percy mumbles.

"Your mom!" Annabeth grins down at him.

"Hey," he warns defensively. "This isn't a time for one of those 'your mom' jokes."

She sighs and rolls her eyes. "I didn't mean it that way. C'mon!"

"Where are we going?"

"To your mom!" Annabeth takes his hand and drags him up. "Keep up, Seaweed Brain! Let's go!"

"What are you talking about?"

She sighs impatiently and she only says one sentence: "Your mom works at an adoption agency, remember?!"

"Oh, yeah," he mumbles, his face frowning, and then its alert and his green eyes are glowing. "Hey, Jason and Piper—!"

"See, now you're catching up," Annabeth says and then pushes him towards the car.

"Don't be such a Wise Girl, Annabeth."

"Just hurry up. We don't have much time!"

(To be continued…)

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