AN: Dinah means courage. Andrea means strong and brave in Greek.

Higher T for a non-descriptive encounter between boyfriend and girlfriend.

Disclaimer: This is an easy answer.

Chapter 13

Sitting in the gynecologist's office between my mom and my boyfriend was the most uncomfortable experience of my life.

Even though I had told Chris at least fifty times that he didn't have to be there, that he shouldn't be there, he insisted that he wanted to, as a show of support. It was supposed to make me feel better, I guess, but it only made me even more nervous. If nothing was wrong with me, if my body was fully capable of holding a child, I wouldn't be needing support.

"Clarisse, everything is going to be fine," Mom murmured into my ear. "You need to relax."

"I am relaxed!"

She gestured to my leg, which was tapping at a furious pace. Scowling, I forced myself to stop.

"You'll be okay, Reese." Chris kissed my temple. "This is just a reassurance visit."

"Easy for you to say," I muttered.

Before he could respond, the receptionist called, "Clarisse La Rue?"

I stood, along with Mom and Chris. "You stay here," I protested, shooting a look at Chris. "No way are you coming back there."

He raised his hands in a show of innocence and sank back into the chair. "You have him trained already," Mom mused softly. "Good for you."

"Yeah, well, what can I say? Teach them early." I shoved my hands into my jean pockets. "This is your doctor?"

"Yes. And she's amazing. So don't be worried."

"But what if-"

"No, Clarisse. Everything is fine. You are fine. Okay?"

"Okay," I muttered, not completely convinced.

She paused in her walk and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You're capable of having a child. Don't put yourself through this stress. But if, if, you're not, it won't be the end of the world. There are other ways for you to have a family with Chris." Lowering her voice, she added, "I already told they doctor why we're here and that you're...sensitive about this. She won't make you talk about it unless you want to."

"Alright."

She gave my arm a gentle squeeze before we continued on our way.

The room was sterilized white, with a bunch of medical machines and health posters and other things I'd rather not see. Instead, I focused on the doctor, who smiled and extended her hand. "Hello, Clarisse. My name's Doctor Margaret."

"Hi."

"So your mother told me why you're coming in today, so we'll jump right to the test. You have any questions before I begin?"

"No, um, I think I'm good."

"Okay." She handed me a dressing gown, only slightly better than the ones at the regular doctor. "I'm assuming you'll be wanting your privacy?"

Biting back a duh, I said, "Please."

She nodded understandingly, and her and Mom left the room. Sticking out my tongue in contempt, I stripped and pulled the robe over me, then pulled onto the metal table. "Okay."

Dr. Margaret came back into the room. "Your mom will be right outside, unless you want her in here with you."

"No, that's okay," I said quickly. Shifting uncomfortably, I asked, "This...this test? Is it...?"

"It won't take that long. And you'll feel mild discomfort, but nothing too bad."

I nodded and lay down. For the first time, I was thankful for my ADHD because it allowed my mind to think about anything but the examination, which could have been worse but still was far from pleasant.

"Clarisse? It's over."

I quickly sat up, readjusting the gown, and waited, wondering if she could hear my heart pounding.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Whatever caused your miscarriage wasn't your body. Everything is in perfect order. My best guess is a simple chromosome mismatch, which would have prevented the baby from developing normally. Nothing that would have been preventable, and nothing that is indicative of your ability to reproduce. Further, you've had a complete miscarriage, which means all pregnancy tissue has been expelled from your body, so there is no need for any more tests or treatments."

"Okay, cool. Thank you."

"You're welcome." She met my eyes and held my gaze. "I know this is very hard for you, so unless you have any questions, or if you want to speak to me, then we'll end the appointment here."

I wanted to say no, but what came out of my mouth was, "How soon can I try again for a family?"

If this took her by surprise, she didn't show it. "As soon as you're comfortable. There's nothing that would prevent you from doing that."

"Okay." Again, my mouth overrode my brain and continued, "Not that I'm trying. I'm on the pill."

She raised an eyebrow. "Were you on birth control when you got pregnant?"

"No. Broken condom. I started taking it after the miscarriage." I trailed my fingers along the metal table. "In case."

"That's perfectly understandable." She paused. "Are you handling this well?"

I shrugged. "Okay. Pretty okay, anyway."

Because sacrificing platefuls of food to the Greek gods and waking up every night to nightmares was a totally healthy way to handle this situation.

"Alright. Well, there's nothing else we need to do, so I'll let you get changed."

"Okay. Thanks."

I changed quickly and took great care to smash the stupid robe into as crumbled of a ball as possible. Mom and Dr. Margaret were talking quietly but stopped short when I came out of the room.

"Ready?" Mom asked, too brightly.

Pursing my lips, I said, "Yeah, 'course."

We were barely back in the waiting room when Chris stood and approached. "Is everything...?"

"Everything's fine. I'm fine."

A grin broke across his face, and he threw his arms around me, as though there weren't a handful of middle-aged women watching. Surprisingly, though, I didn't even mind.

The car ride home was relatively calm, Mom only offering a few embarrassing stories. When we got there, she leaned over to kiss my forehead. "I couldn't get out of work today. I'll be back by dinner, alright? There are leftovers, plus plenty of other food."

"Alright. Have fun."

She rolled her eyes. "Always."

Chris and I watched her pull out of the driveway; when she was down the street, I slipped my hand into his. "So...Mom's gone."

"Yeah."

"Remember what I said last night?"

"Yeah..." He whipped his head. "Really? You mean it?"

"Yes."

"This is awesome! This is the first time we're having sex during the day!"

"Hades, Chris, don't scream that!" I slapped his arm, hard. "I have neighbors!"

"Right. Sorry, sorry." He started tugging me toward the house. "Come on, let's go!"

"You are such a boy."

He gave a brief tug on my earlobe with his teeth. "And that's why you love me."

Considering how excited he was, it was a minor miracle that he didn't start taking off his clothes until we were actually in the safety of my room. "Are you in heat or something?" I demanded as his shirt landed on the floor.

"You could say that." He kicked off his shoes, and his hands started tugging on my tank top. Even though I positively hated it when he undressed me, I allowed it. "Seeing you out of your normal camp clothes...damn, Clarisse, do you even realize how gorgeous you are?"

I felt myself blushing, but he was so busy struggling with his belt that he didn't notice. Shaking my head, I slapped his hand away and did it for him. "We make a good team," he murmured into my hair.

"Because I'm competent and you're not?"

"I love it when you talk this way."

"Jeez, you are horny."

Instead of responding verbally, he just brought his lips against mine and picked me up to carry me to my bed. As we made out, he continued working out of his clothes and mine. As his hands landed on my waist band, I caught them tightly and breathed, "You have a condom?"

"You're on the pill," he reminded me, working at my neck.

Despite the sudden spike in euphoria, I wormed away and insisted, "Condom or nothing."

"Clarisse," he whined.

"No."

He exaggerated a sigh and rolled off the bed. A few moments of rustling through his bag and he returned triumphant.

"You have condoms in your bag?"

"Always prepared, Reese."

Every time with Chris was amazing, but this...wow. Wow. Seriously, no other word to describe it.

"Still think we should have done it last night?" I asked him, situating myself on his lap and kissing his neck. "That would've been a Hades of a lot to explain to Mom."

"I would have explained it with pride," he said, hands trailing gently along my back. "You've never screamed like that before. Not even the first time."

"Yeah, well, if I did, we'd have a lot of explaining to do to Chiron and Mr. D when the gods-damned harpies reported back to them."

"Like we're the only ones who have sex at camp."

"We're probably the only ones who have it in the fricking open."

"We could do it in my cabin."

"Yeah, right. Someone would totally walk in."

"We could try in yours."

I snorted. "Yeah, so Sherman could tear off your dick and Mark sew it back on to tear it off again. Seriously, Chris, you don't use your head."

"You sure about that?" he questioned, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

I punched his shoulder. "Lame."

"You liked it." He worked at my neck and slowly moved down to my chest. "You up for a round two?"

I glanced at the clock. Mom wouldn't be home for at least two hours...

"Okay."

"Really?" He kissed me on the lips and took no time in initiating his plan.

Unfortunately, my estimate was off by an hour, so just after we finished, I heard the front door opening. Biting back a shriek, I shoved Chris to the floor and hastily threw my clothes back on. "Get dressed!" I hissed, kicking his stuff his way. "Hurry up!"

"Okay, okay!"

"Clarisse! I'm home."

"Hey, Mom!" I struggled to clasp my bra. "How was work?"

"Fine. Only a handful of idiots this time."

I heard her footsteps ascending the stairs, and I cursed softly and tugged on my shirt. Glancing at Chris, I snapped, "Forget the belt and get on your damn shirt!"

"You guys have fun today?"

"Yeah!" Chris responded, too quickly and way too enthusiastically. I left a five-star on his upper back.

By the time Mom was at my room, we had both barely managed to make ourselves presentable. Leaning on the doorframe, she asked, "What'd you guys do?"

"Hung out," I said. "Talked. Too hot to do much else."

"Mmmhmm," she mused softly. "Not used to the Arizona heat, Chris?"

"Uh, no, not really."

"Yeah, it's pretty intense if you're not use to it. Rattles your brain." She gave him the once over. "Might explain why your shirt is on backwards."

He groaned and covered his face with his hand. I punched his arm. "Chris!"

Mom chuckled and backed away. "I wasn't here, I don't care. Now come on, I'm assuming you two were too busy to eat, and I brought home dinner."

We trailed behind her, me glaring at Chris and him offering his best sheepish face. I wasn't really that mad at him-Mom was real chill about this, and the sex was totally worth it-but it was what he expected from me, and, not that I'd say it out loud, but he's adorable when he squirms.

No, I wasn't really mad until I was down in the kitchen, helping Mom move stuff to the table. That's when a small piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Reaching down to pick it up, I read what it said. Even with dyslexia, the word therapist jumped out at me.