Hey guys so here's our next update. I'm sure a lot of you are excited! I totally am. Due to the fact that I've been so so busy lately, this chapter isn't that long and really only skims the surface. I promise to give you an epic update soon.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize
Children ran past them happily, a dog barking as it followed behind them. Couples walked together hand in hand, smiling as if the world was perfect. Light music was being play through a small radio in the center of town and people were dancing merrily. The image was picture perfect.
Annabeth winced. As soon as they had walked into town, everything seemed to freeze. She swore she even heard a record halt like in the movies. Standing tall and keeping her head held up high, Annabeth made a point to be at the head of her group. Everyone around them began to whisper and point and Annabeth it was sure it was because of their appearance. All those long days on the road did nothing for their cleanliness and she was sure they looked awful; probably smelled even worse.
"Annabeth?"
Everyone turned to the voice and Annabeth almost smiled when she saw him push through the crowd. Leo Valdez, rushed towards her in excitement. His tool belt clanked against his hip and his brown curls bounced against his head while Annabeth braced for impact. As soon as he was close enough, he launched himself at her and squeezed her in a tight hug.
"Where have you been Beautiful? Everyone thought you were dead!"
Annabeth gave him a firm squeeze before gently pushing him away. She was happy to see him, Leo had been one of the only guards to listen to her about Luke, but right now she needed some distance. Nico and Percy both glared.
"Who's this bitch?" Nico asked as his dark eyes shamelessly roamed over Leo's form. Annabeth rolled her eyes and rested her elbow on Nico's shoulder.
"Guys this is Leo Valdez. Leo you can make your introductions later. Have you seen my family? Or Luke?"
Leo shifted uncomfortably and Annabeth felt a chill go down her spine.
"Your family was transferred to the second base about two weeks ago. Random families were chosen to go and make it safe. Luke's been locked in his office all day. We lost two more yesterday."
"Two?" Annabeth questioned. "How?"
"…Walker pit outside." Leo answered quietly. The air around them grew heavy. Annabeth had explained to Nico and Percy what she had seen and Leo knew firsthand the gruesome punishment Luke felt he had the power to serve. Annabeth nodded and a voice raged in her head.
How could there not have been a rebellion when I was gone? Everyone knows what's going on around here and do nothing!
A few more guards walked up to them almost threatening and Annabeth's eyes hardened. Her fist twitched; it wanted to punch someone. She glanced behind her and noticed Piper and Jason cradling Alice protectively and tried to calm down. They were here for them.
"Leo I'd like you to meet the Grace family." Annabeth introduced quickly, her eyes still on the guards. "This is Jason, Piper and their daughter Alice."
Leo shook their hands and gestured to Piper's swollen stomach.
"I see you have another one on the way. My lady and I have been talking about making one of those!"
Piper smiled sweetly and rested a hand over the bump. Mason took a step forward to shake Leo's hand and introduced his family. The guards had reached them when Leo had just finished shaking Troy's hand.
"Annabeth Chase." The biggest one called. "Luke has requested to see you in his office immediately."
"Fuck that!" Percy shouted irritably as he moved a little closer to Annabeth. His fingers skimmed hers and Annabeth held back a pleasant shiver. "Annabeth doesn't go anywhere without me."
"Or me." Nico chimed in with a mildly annoyed look. "She and I are partners."
"Luke told us to bring Annabeth to his office and that's what we're going to do."
"No." Annabeth refused. She leaned in closer with a small smirk. "Look around you General. We're surrounded by the town, you cause a scene and a panic will break out. We don't want that do we? You tell Luke that if he wants to see me, he can come to me and my friends here."
The guard glared but nodded to his men and they quickly disappeared into the main building. Annabeth let out a shaky breath and smiled when Percy intertwined his hand with hers.
"You okay?"
"Not sure. I'm about to see Luke and I have no idea where my family is. This wasn't supposed to happen."
"We're here okay Annabeth? No matter what happens we'll be right by your side."
Annabeth silently thanked him with a small smile and squeezed his hand. Leo began to lead Piper and Jason to the doctor's office, shooting a worried look behind him. Annabeth waved lightly and turned to Mason and Troy.
"Things might get a little intense here. You want me to point you to the housing so you can get yourself some rooms and not get caught in the crossfire?"
Mason seemed to study her as he thought the offer over. Ultimately he shared a look with Troy and shook his head.
"We should meet whose running this place. He's supposed to be keeping us safe; let's see if he can do a good job."
Annabeth nodded and squeezed Percy's hand once more to give herself some comfort. Percy smiled at her and she felt a little stronger. Nico placed a hand on her shoulder just as the door opened. She noticed the bright blonde hair immediately and felt something get caught in her throat.
'Annabeth just shush! You want your family to stay here don't you? Just let me get my release and you can stay another three days'
'Annabeth if you want your little brothers to have food tonight, you better get on your knees'
'Annabeth your father didn't have his door locked at ten last night. What are you going to do for me to ensure I won't put him out on walker pit patrol?'
Annabeth felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes as she felt disgusted shivers run down her spine. She felt disgusted with herself as Luke's pure blue eyes met hers. She quickly rid herself of any tears or signs of weakness and gripped Percy's hand a little tighter as she stood up straighter. Luke grinned at her pleasantly but his gaze rested on her interlocked fingers.
"Annabeth." He purred. "You're back. I've missed you."
"Where's my family?" Annabeth snapped.
Luke simply grinned wider.
0~0~0~0~0
Leo smiled at them one last time before he shut the door and Piper took a calming breath as the doctor began to set up equipment. Apparently Luke only allowed the machines to run during certain hours to prevent them from wasting gas but their doctor Will had assured them that they were a special case and simply couldn't wait until three the next day.
"So Doctor Solace….How long have you worked for Luke?" Jason asked curiously. Alice was balanced in his lap and happily placing with her giraffe.
"Please call me Will." Will told them kindly. "And I suppose since the beginning. Luke saved my life and I helped close off the town to the monsters outside."
"Was it bad for you too?" Piper asked quietly. Will paused with a forlorn expression on his face before shaking his head and smiling lightly.
"I guess I've had it as hard as everyone else. I'm safe now and that's what matters. Now this is all ready. Can you pull up your shirt for me Mrs. Grace?"
As Piper did so she glanced at all the machines. They were obviously taken from a hospital. She had worked with all of these. Will prepared the jelly he was about to rub on her belly.
"I was a nurse before everything went down." Piper informed him. She gasped as the cold jelly was smeared on her skin. "Jason insisted I skip work when things got bad…I was ready to punch him! It was my job to help cure those who are sick and the hospital needed everyone they could get. I was five minutes away from the hospital when I noticed all the people on the street….Everyone was attacking everyone else. Walkers had gotten out and the world was slowly falling apart. I rushed back home and Jason and I packed up everything and took Alice with us to meet with Percy and Thalia."
"If you're offering your assistance I would love that Mrs. Grace." Will smiled once more. "Things can get dull around here when you're by yourself. I look forward to working with you. May I call you Piper?"
"Of course!"
"Well then Piper, I'd like you to see your baby."
Both Jason and Piper gasped when a blurred vision of beauty appeared on the screen. The baby looked bigger then Piper imagined and the sound of its heartbeat brought tears to her eyes. When she leaned over to kiss Alice's head, she noticed she wasn't the only one who was choked up. Jason smiled at her and mouthed thank you. Piper returned the gesture.
"It's a little hard to tell from your size but you look about eight months along."
That brought them crashing back to reality.
"Wait what?" Jason cried.
"Eight months!?" Piper shouted in disbelief. "Are you sure? I thought we were only five or six months along."
"No Piper I assure you, you're about four weeks from delivery. This baby is looking pretty healthy considering our circumstances. I'm going to make sure you get enough food because you're underweight. Any nutrients you were getting was going directly to the baby and we need to make sure Momma is gonna be okay too."
"Eight months…." Piper mused. "That means we conceived before the walkers appeared."
Will nodded and looked over to Jason with an amused smirk. He had crashed to the floor and Alice was giggling happily as she poked her Daddy's face with a chubby finger.
"Would you like to know the sex?" Will asked pleasantly. Piper glanced over to Jason and chuckled when she noticed how out of it he was. She nodded timidly and looked expectantly to the screen. Will grinned and pointed towards the bottom left of the screen.
As he told her what her next child would be, Piper felt happy tears slid down her cheeks. Jason must have heard from the floor because he shot up like a rocket and started to kiss her happily. Will had picked up Alice and explained to her as well. The little girl squealed and threw herself at her parents to celebrate.
Too distracted with the good news, no one inside the doctor's office was aware of the small war occurring right outside the door.
Aren't I a stinker?
Not telling you guys the sex!? How could I!?
Haha well it's going to be a surprise for everyone but the Grace's for a while.
I know Luke and Annabeth reuniting wasn't as dramatic as it could have been but wait until those two rascals are alone. Things are going to heat up really soon guys I promise.
1) What do you think Piper and Jason are having based on their reactions?
2) Does Luke know something about Annabeth's parents that no one else does?
3) What do you think is going to happen now that the gang is in Acheron?
I also have some big news guys. So I was wanting to kind of break away from the Percy Jackson Fandom for a bit to see if I could write something else and I picked Fairy Tail. I started watching the anime about 6 months ago and I started reading the manga about a month ago. I've only read like the last 20 chapters that have been updated and thanks to the internet spoliers, I pretty much know what's going on. When I have the time, I WILL go back and read through everything though.
Anyway.
I've written two new and different stories for Fairy Tail. When The Dust Settles and Bullet Wound. Be sure to check out both of them!
Thanks to NeverBetAgainstGirls, IIII Winter Wolf IIII, MAL-DaughterofChaos, AlphaX14, SapphireTrafficker, AnnaUnicorn, Jedi1, piggysthree23, rhif122, Myfanfics1332, Guest, stormrunner74, Guest, AmarilloSkys, daughterofposeidon9, twinsarekeepers, PunksNotDeadYouAre for reviewing!
WE'VE REACHED PAST 300 REVIEWS! Thanks so much guys!