Hey guys! Here's Chapter 29. Sorry it's so short, but I think it's cute and had to post it anyway.
Re-edited: 1/2/17
I rolled over, half asleep and not quite functioning enough to process the noise blaring from the baby monitor next to the bed. Before I had the chance to determine what it was and/or fall back asleep, Annabeth's arm collided with my back as she insistently rapped, rather clumsily, on my shoulder. "Percy," she said, sleep slurring her words, "Baby." My response was something between a sigh and a groan. When I made no immediate attempt at getting up, she persisted, "Your turn."
I sighed. "Okay, okay," I defended, "Stop hitting me." I heaved myself into a sitting position, "I'm going." I got out of bed, barely conscious. She said something unintelligible, maybe some form of thanks, and fell promptly asleep again.
I made my way blindly, half-stumbling and quite ungracefully, to Logan's nursery across the hall. I opened the door and made my way to his crib, inside which, the newborn lay crying, his feet kicking at the blanket draped over them. "Alright, buddy," I murmured, scooping him up. His cries quieted only slightly, "It's okay."
Logan had been home with us for over a week now, and in that time he'd learned how to use his lungs particularly well. Annabeth and I took turns getting up with him, but it was starting to take its toll. I'd thought I'd been tired before; I'd been on enough quests and in enough wars to know what it was like to lose a night or two of sleep. The thing about that though, is that adrenaline keeps you going.
When you're up every hour with a newborn… not so much.
I shifted the baby so he rested upright against my shoulder and started patting his back soothingly; swaying back and forth slightly as I paced the room. It was a gait I'd learned and perfected quickly over the last week.
Logan was still crying against me, which meant he was likely hungry. I left the nursery with him and made my way through the dark apartment to the kitchen. There, I warmed one of the bottles Annabeth had prepared earlier that night for him. The second it reached his mouth, to my immense relief, the baby's crying stopped. I glanced at the time displayed on the stove: 4:42am.
I took a deep breath and walked into the living room, settling in on the couch, holding Logan in one arm and the bottle he was drinking from in the other. I leaned back into the cushion and closed my eyes, grateful for the peace and quiet having returned.
I woke up to someone gently shaking my shoulder. "Percy," I heard through the haze of sleep. "Percy, wake up." The voice was gentle and familiar and sounded slightly amused.
I opened my eyes and then quickly closed them again in response to the brightness of the room. The sun must have come up. I tried again, more careful this time, and saw Annabeth standing before me, still in her pajamas. She was smirking at me, her gray eyes tired-looking but sparkling with mirth.
I sat up and realized that Logan was still tucked in my arms, out cold. I'd fallen asleep feeding him; the bottle he'd been eating from had obviously rolled out of my hand at some point and onto the floor, where it now lay on it's side by my feet.
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, still blinking. "What time is it?" I asked groggily.
"About 6:30," Annabeth answered, still watching me and the sleeping baby in my arms, "You never came back to bed."
"Yeah," I said, coming further out of my fog. "I'm noticing that now." She smiled wider and moved to sit down next to me, where she rested her head against my shoulder and gazed down at our sleeping son in my arms. I leaned down and kissed her head, putting my free arm around her. She snuggled in close.
"Tired?" she asked.
I smiled and lied. "I'm alright."
"Is it harder than you expected?" she asked quietly after a minute.
I thought for a second. "I don't know what I expected," I admitted, then, after a second, added, "But I know I never expected anything as great as him." I shifted to look at her. "Or as you."
Annabeth smiled beautifully, the kind of smile she gave only to me and no one else ever saw. "I never expected someone like you either, Percy," she told me quietly, "But I know I wouldn't have it any other way." I smiled too and leaned down to kiss her gently. She'd taken the words right out of my mouth.
"Well there's no going back now," I said after we pulled away.
Her smile turned a little wistful as she curled against me again. "I think I can live with that."
We sat in silence for a minute, enjoying the peace that surely wouldn't last much longer. I closed my eyes and rested my head against Annabeth's. I would have been content to stay like that the rest of the day if Logan hadn't decided he was hungry five minutes later.
I withheld a sigh and looked down at the whimpering baby. Annabeth simply smiled and sat up. She took him from me and set to feeding him like it was the most natural thing in the world and not something she'd done for the first time not two weeks ago.
I sat back and watched them for a second, my eyes drifting from her to Logan and back again. Seeing them and knowing they were mine, that this was my family, I felt like the luckiest man alive. Then again, it wasn't as if we were underserving of a little happiness. In all actuality, we'd fought long and hard for it, Annabeth and I. We'd earned it, we deserved it, and now we were finally enjoying it.
But I'd never expected it to be this amazing.
Maybe, demigods or not, we weren't so unlucky after all.
And there you have it.
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As always, you guys are amazing!
