Percy knew she had something to say the second he walked into the room. Maya nervously shuffled in the kitchen as he gathered a plate of food for Kate. She bit her lip a few times and opened her mouth, only to shut it seconds later before Percy finally took mercy on her.

"Something on your mind Maya?"

"I-I-"

"It's okay to tell me whatever it is. It looks like it's troubling you."

Maya's face grew red as her fingers wiggled together anxiously. Percy set Kate's plate down on the counter and waited for her to gather the courage to talk to him. She was reminding him of Alice when she was nervous and it made him smile to himself. He was settling growing more amused until Maya managed to stutter one word. Then his blood ran cold.

"A-Annabeth."

Percy surged forward, pausing only to give her a few feet of space. Maya didn't flinch away from him but instead took a breath and clenched her fists. It looked like she mentally debating with herself. Finally she let out a sigh and looked him in the eye.

"A-Annabeth found Alice and I when we were s-separated…That first night s-she—god why do I feel bad about telling you this?—she was having a hard time… Y'know d-dealing with everything that happened…S-She-"

"Did she hurt herself Maya? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

Maya timidly nodded and Percy sucked in a breath.

Oh gods his chest was starting to hurt. He couldn't imagine someone as strong as Annabeth doing that to herself. She was a fighter. He had seen it with his own eyes. She wouldn't actually go through with that would she? Annabeth wouldn't leave him behind after everything would she? She couldn't; how could he go on without her?

"S-She was staring at these knifes when I walked in. She didn't actually d-do anything but…but I think she might have wanted to."

Percy reached behind him to grip the counter for support. Maya hesitantly reached for him. Now knowing he wasn't going to lash out at her for what she was telling him, Maya smiled weakly.

"She thinks she's broken Percy. Annabeth didn't know what to do without her family, Nico or you. The last couple of days have been hard for all of us."

"Thank you for telling me Maya." Percy mumbled lowly. He shot her a quick smile to let her know he meant it, patted her shoulder and dashed off with Kate's plate of food. He passed Piper on the way. She was smiling ruefully as she wiped at a large wet spot on her shirt. Percy slowed down to check on her.

"Everything okay?"

"Oh yes." Piper dismissed with a small smile. "Alice just got a little too excited about bath time. Annabeth helped us fill the tub with water she carried in from outside and was stuck in the splash zone. If you're looking for her, she's changing her shirt in the second bedroom."

Percy thanked her quietly and headed towards Mason's room to check in on Kate. He awkwardly nodded at Troy as he passed him. Just like he always was, Troy was waiting outside the door; far enough that Kate felt like she had space but close enough to monitor Mason for himself.

Percy was still reeling with what Maya had told him. Trying to imagine Annabeth frowning—maybe even crying—as she stared down at knives, knowing exactly what she could do to herself, made him want to hit something. He never wanted her to feel trapped like that; he wanted to give her whatever happiness she could have in this world. Didn't Annabeth know that? She must not have if she thought for even one second that taking herself out was the answer. Losing her family was awful but didn't she know they weren't her only family anymore? Didn't she see that his family was her family too? That he was her family?

Percy had been fuming silently since Maya had clued him in. He had to take a few deep breaths before visiting Kate. He didn't want to be angry around her. When he pushed open the door, he heard her sniffles against Mason's shirt and immediately felt his heart reach out for her.

"Hey Kate." He whispered delicately. Kate glanced over at him through red rimmed eyes but stayed silent. He pushed the plate towards her. "I brought you some food. Be sure to eat it all okay? It won't do us –or Mason—any good if you get sick."

Kate nodded but he knew that she would dismiss the food as soon as he left. He crossed his arms like a scolding father and waited for Kate to notice. When she did, she sighed but took a large bite of the food he had placed down for her. She looked at him for approval as she chewed but he could tell she was very annoyed with him. He didn't care; he wasn't letting anyone else lose themselves.

"Two more bites."

Kate rolled her eyes but listened and once he was satisfied with the amount she ate, he reached over to rub her hair back on her head. Kate sighed tiredly and leaned back into his hand.

"Things are going to work out the way they're supposed to okay? I'm here for you; we all are."

"…Thanks."

Percy ignored the croak in her voice as he bent down to kiss the crown of her head. Kate managed a weak smile before she was laying her head back down on Mason's chest. Percy held back a sigh as he left the room. He nodded at Troy once more before walking down the hall towards Annabeth's room. When he heard her shuffling on the other side of the door, all that hurt and anger returned.

He was going to give her a piece of his mind.

0~0~0~0~0

Maya sighed as she carefully placed a blanket over Kate as she slept. She had found her best friend once again hunched over her brother out cold and had enlisted Troy's help moving her to a makeshift bed on the floor. Maya had wanted to move her to one of the other bedrooms but Troy had insisted Kate stay with Mason, knowing that when she woke up, she would be panicked if she didn't see Mason right away.

Kate whimpered in her sleep and Maya flinched but Kate simply rolled over and sniffed. Troy watched her sadly and Maya reached down to grab his hand to gently lead him out of the room. He let her tug him along but he stared at her until she shut the door behind them.

"We should let them sleep." Maya whispered quietly. Troy nodded. "I already checked Mason's bandages like Piper taught me and everything looks okay."

"We're hitting day four." Troy reminded her solemnly. "Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

Maya sighed and let the question linger in the air. Piper had assured them that Mason could still pull through despite the fact that he hasn't woken up yet. She had said this mini coma was his body's way of healing; he needed to build his strength back up so his body could handle the shock of having a limb removed. Maya didn't doubt Piper's knowledge but part of her was still unsure. She just wanted him awake. Troy slumped against the wall and let his butt hit the floor. He shoved his head in his hands and Maya watched his fingers grasp the dark locks desperately. She sat next to him wordlessly knowing he needed the comfort.

"Haley's gone, Mason might be next and Kate hates me." Troy whispered tearfully. "I don't—I can't—what am I supposed to do? What can I do?"

"Be there for her; be there for them."

Troy looked over at her miserably and she smiled sadly. Maya gently placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it supportively.

"No one could have predicted things would turn out this way. This time a year ago, everyone was still alive and something like this could only be a nightmare. The only thing we can do now is move forward."

"But how can we just leave those we've lost behind?" Troy asked quietly. He shook his head. "I can't leave Haley behind. I don't want to."

"You don't have to." Maya assured him. "I meant that we have to pick ourselves up and keep moving. We can carry the memory and love of those we've lost but we need to keep going. When situations like this happen…We need-"

Maya gasped as a pain filled her chest. Her eyes filled with heavy tears as she pictured Mason, Vincent and Kate smiling at her. The sound of Haley's laughter rang in her ears. This was too hard. How had things turned out this way? She began to sob and Troy quickly pulled her into his arms. Maya rubbed her eyes on his shirt in a futile attempt to dry them.

"We n-need to stay strong a-and be there for e-each other." Maya choked out. She gripped Troy's arm to remind herself that she wasn't alone; someone was there for her. Troy placed his chin on the top of her head and quietly shushed her; his own tears were falling onto her shirt but she didn't care.

"W-we can make it t-through this." Maya whispered. "We h-have to."

0~0~0~0~0

Annabeth had just pulled her new shirt over her head when Percy slammed the bedroom door open. She merely raised her eyebrows in surprise when he firmly shut the door behind him and stormed over to her in a huff. He gripped her shoulders, tight enough to make sure she didn't move but gentle enough not to hurt her. Annabeth stared back at him silently and waited for him to explain himself.

"Maya told me." He snapped. Annabeth's indifferent expression vanished instantly as her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. He didn't need to elaborate.

"What the fuck Annabeth? Are you serious? Do you….How could you even think about that? Don't you know what that would do to the rest of us? Don't you know what losing you would do to me? How could you?"

"I-I don't…I didn't-"

"But you wanted to! You wanted to because you felt your back hit the wall and you thought there wasn't another way out. You were about to give into grief."

"So what if I was?" Annabeth snapped. "Look, I had a moment of weakness. We had just gotten separated and Acheron had just fell and Luke and my family- It was too much and I had a moment of weakness. I'm human Percy. I felt like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders and I just wasn't strong enough to do it by myself."

"You could have let me help you carry it then." Percy slowly let his hands travel down her arms and grasp her hands. He squeezed them tenderly. Annabeth let her eyes fall to their intertwined fingers.

"We weren't together. I had no idea if you were even alive."

"My heart knew you weren't dead. I had faith that you were alive and waiting for me and you were."

"You can't ask me to blindly trust faith Percy." Annabeth shook her head and pulled her hands free of his to wrap them around herself. "I did once and look what happened. I won't let myself feel that way again."

Percy fell silent at her confession and Annabeth bit her lip as she hugged herself tighter. She felt completely exposed talking with him like this. Percy looked at her seriously for a moment as he considered her words before a soft smile broke through. Something in his head must have clicked. Percy reached out again, thought better of it and pulled his hands back to his sides. He was trying to reach out to her but a cold wall of anguish was surrounding her, almost impossible to break through.

"How we deal with tragedy defines who we are." He told her quietly. "You went through so much in such a short amount of time and you still kept moving forward despite the pain. You wanted to end things but you didn't. You protected Alice and Maya and gave us all hope with that bus message while your heart was barely working. Do you know what kind of person that makes you?"

Annabeth stayed silent but felt her tight grip on herself loosen slightly as she awaited his answer. Percy took a hesitant step closer.

"You are one of the strongest people I've ever met Annabeth. Gods I can't tell you how lucky I feel just to be around you sometimes. You-You're amazing. You may not believe in hope or faith but you're practically the living definition of it. I was only able to push through my own grief and pain because I thought of you. You were the one to give me strength."

"How can you think so highly of me?" Annabeth asked quietly. "Look at that I've done to you since we met. I put you in more danger then any walker could."

Percy had the nerve to laugh at her. His deep chuckles rumbled in her ear as he pulled her into his chest. Annabeth let her arms stay limply at her side but she nuzzled her forehead into his shoulder. Percy let his hands sensually slide up her thighs before they settled on her hips. She pulled away far enough to look up at him. He was smiling softly at her.

"You are the best thing that's ever happened to me." He whispered. "I never thought I could find something like this. I've never had anyone make me feel the way you do; no one Annabeth."

"But I-"

"I don't care." Percy shook his head quickly. "I don't care about what's happened in the past. I only care about the now and right now I'm holding you and you're looking at me and my heart is practically dancing in my chest because you're safe and letting me be touch you like this."

Annabeth sighed and looked up to see if she could still find that sadness in his eyes. It had been on clear display when they found each other again and she couldn't bear to look at it. Looking now, all she could see was honesty and love. Some sadness still lingered in the color of his sea but everyone had that lingering in their eyes. He was genuinely happy to be there with her. She reached up to squeeze his forearms.

"Percy." She whispered, unsure how to convey what she felt. "I don't—I'm not…My heart."

"I know baby."

Percy used his grip on her hips to slowly pull her back towards him. She let her hands slip to wrap around his waist as he hugged her tightly. He pressed gentle kisses against the side of her head as she shut her eyes.

"We'll make it through this okay?" He whispered into her ear; his breath warm on her skin. He squeezed her tighter. "I'm gonna be right by your side. I'm not going anywhere. You and me okay? We-we'll get through this together."

Percy reached up to grab one of her hands to place against his heart. His heartbeat was strong against her palm and Annabeth found herself releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding. He had done this when they found each other again; his own physical way of saying I'm here for you.

"I'm right here okay baby? Can you feel me?"

Annabeth felt her mouth twitch at the words. Soundlessly, she reached down to grab his free hand and place it over her own heart. She watched as his eyes lit up once her heart was beating against his hand; it didn't feel strong or undamaged when he touched it and she wanted him to know it was beating for him. She was there for him too. Annabeth reached over to place her forehead against his. They both shut their eyes as they let their heartbeats echo in their ears; they were in synch.

"I can feel you." Annabeth whispered. She patted the hand touching her heart. "I can feel you right here."

0~0~0~0~0

"Ugh." Thalia moaned as she slammed her head down onto the kitchen counter. Piper took another bite of her apple and chewed absentmindedly as she watched her sister-in-law be dramatic. Jason rolled his eyes and nudged his sister with his foot. Thalia didn't move her head.

"Everyone is tense and our couples are being awkward and rude."

Maya and Nico shared a look as Piper giggled quietly. It was true that the house atmosphere was a little tense but that was to be expected with Mason's condition still lingering. Piper was fairly certain he would pull through but he had still yet to wake up. Kate was still at her usual spot by Mason's side while Troy sat outside the door, close enough to be there for when Mason woke up but far enough that Kate wouldn't get upset. Percy had stormed into one of the bedrooms upstairs where Annabeth was changing, hell-bent on yelling at her about something but neither of them had emerged from the room yet. When Thalia had tried to get them to come out and eat lunch with them, Percy had snapped at her to leave them alone as they were talking about something important.

"Well Kate and Troy have always been dramatic." Piper mused. Jason nodded in agreement and reached over to slowly rub her swollen stomach. She was experiencing minor discomfort but didn't want to worry anyone. Having Jason rub her stomach was helping.

"Oh aren't they though?" Nico cheered. "Those two could be a soap opera, I swear!"

Maya giggled and playfully smacked his chest. He scoffed at her dramatically and Maya tried to give him a stern look; it didn't work as her smile broke through.

"They're trying to work through their feelings." Maya clarified. "That can be confusing before the end of the world; throwing death and grief into the mix is never helpful."

Everyone fell silent and Piper sighed as the mood intensely decreased. Maya looked guiltily at all of them, feeling bad for ruining their light hearted mood. Piper sighed. They were all still trying to recover from Acheron. Everyone was still coping with all the death they witnessed and the pain of being separated. It would take some time for them to get back to the way they were before.

Piper opened her mouth to try and change the subject and improve the mood but she felt something warm slide down her leg. She froze and glanced down; worried she might have peed herself. It had happened a couple times on the road and she didn't want to call attention to it and embarrass herself. A single, thick stream of liquid rolled down her leg, making a wet line in her legging. She frowned in thought and tapped Jason's arm gently. He glanced at her.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom. Can you get Alice a snack for me?"

"You got it. Shout if you need anything."

Piper smiled and casually walked to the bathroom to remove her pants. She did a quick check and nodded to herself. Realizing this was real and about to happen; Piper leaned up against the sink counter and took a few breaths, making eye contact with herself in the mirror. Nodding to herself, Piper took one last breath and walked back into the kitchen.

Jason was smiling as he gave Alice a small can of peaches. The small girl happily began to swing her legs from the counter top as she began to eat. Thalia was still pouting against the table top while Maya comfortingly rubbed her back. Nico was cleaning dirt out of his fingers when he noticed her. He smiled cheekily. Piper rubbed her stomach gently as she felt a small stab of pain hit her; nothing to get worked up over.

"Hey honey?" She called out sweetly. Jason's head snapped up to meet hers and she was careful to keep a soft smile on her face despite her discomfort. Jason grinned back at her.

"What's going on sweetheart? You feeling okay?"

"Ugh." Thalia moaned again. "You two and your pet names."

Piper rolled her eyes affectionately and continued to rub her stomach. Nico walked over to keep an eye on Alice as Jason walked over to stand by her side. Piper reached over with her free hand to rub his arm soothingly.

"Yes. I'm okay." Piper told him carefully. "…but—and don't freak out about this—but my water just broke."

Ha finally here we go.

Okay so the chapter was really late, and for that I apologize but I went back last minute and added in some stuff and editing out the ending. Look at what the chapter included:

~MayaXTroy friendship

~Percabeth fluff (lovely)

~Piper going into labor

I WAS going to reveal the gender in this chapter but its more dramatic if I cut it off after Piper announces she's in labor. So next chapter is it. You guys waited 37 chapters ya can wait one more hahaha

Something to address: water breaking is not super dramatic like in most stories or the movies. I have several moms telling me that it basically felt like they had peed themselves.

Okay so Friday's chapter is going to be mostly focused on Piper's birth (obviously) so look forward to that!

Since it will be the day after I'll say it now.

*Happy (early) Thanksgiving!*

~Question Time!~

1) (Oh snap!) Piper is in labor! We've been waiting forever for this. Final answers? What do you guys think the baby's gender will be?

2) What about that Percabeth?

3) What do you think they group is going to do now? Now things are way different; they'll have a baby with them!

I'm so close to being done with Saudade: Before the Dawn. Its a series of different POVS smashed together in one, one shot. I only have to do Thalia, Jason's and Annabeth's. I'm hoping to be done with it by Friday and post it when I update the next chapter.

I'm so thankful for you guys, you have no idea. We're almost at 700 reviews. Once we hit past that Saudade will officially have more reviews then Just Another Hollywood Romance and that was one of my main goals for this story. You have no idea how happy I was; guys I legit teared up so thank thank thank you!

Thanks to BlazingSkittles15, stormrunner74, ALittleMoreLove22, IIII Winter Wolf IIII, AnnaUnicorn, Mistycharming, Naked Brothers Band Forever, 1quintisfan (7), MAL-DaughterofChaos (2), FireFly9917, GottaLuvSassyPonies, AmarilloSkys, KorrohShipper, SapphireTrafficker, MelodyDaughterOfHecate, BlameJade2k16, Adrift an Open Sky, TypicalBlueCookie, Currentlyfangirling, rhig122, Loloree, p3.25, Guest (2), WalrusInSocks, AlphaX14, gabbyhero, Anonymous (2), Someone, Chicadiva75, and Myfanfics1332 for reviewing!

You guys were amazing with reviews so here's your sneak peek!

Everything seemed to come to a screeching halt. Thalia even lifted her head off the counter to stare at her in shock. Jason froze at her side and Piper worriedly poked him to try and bring him back. His blue eyes blinked a few times as if something was stuck in his eye.

"Honey?" Piper called out quietly. She poked his arm but no response. "Hm okay. Well, can one of you help me get ready until Jason comes back?"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait." Thalia muttered, lifting her hands to hold them out in front of her. "Are you seriously telling me you're in labor right now?"

"Yeah basically."

"Why aren't you freaking out!?" Nico screeched. Piper smiled through a tight wince but shook her head and gestured to Alice. She hunched over for a minute until the contraction passed. It was still a baby one.

"Well there sitting on that counter is living proof that I've done this before. These contractions aren't strong yet and they aren't as painful as Alice's were. I say we have a bit before baby Grace actually makes their appearance into the world."

"But you're in labor right?" Thalia asked again. "Like right now?"