***So, I almost never do this, but I wrote this today (in between visiting with my mom, of course) and I'm posting it. The idea came to me because it's cold and rainy where I am today, so I went from there. Hope everyone had a good day!***
Her first Mother's Day was cold and rainy. Annabeth had been up most of the night with her eight-month-old son, who currently had a double ear infection. As the Sunday sun rose, he was screaming, red face scrunched up, while Annabeth paced back and forth across the living room, bouncing him and patting his back. His wailing sobs made her heart ache. She glanced at the clock, but there was still at least an hour until she could give him another dose of baby tylenol, which usually helped to minimize the pain, at least for a while. Annabeth blinked back tired tears as she cuddled her screaming baby.
To make matters worse, Percy was out of town for the weekend at a work-related conference. When he'd realized it fell on Mother's Day weekend, his eyes had widened in horror. "Oh gods, Annabeth, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I'd be missing—I totally didn't realize it was the same weekend. Look, I can ask my boss if I can skip—"
She cut off his stammered apologies with a gentle hand over his mouth and told him it was fine. He'd be home Sunday evening and they could celebrate then. But now, after two awful, sleep-deprived nights, she was really starting to wish he'd stayed.
"Baby, it's okay. Shh, I know it hurts, but it'll be okay. Ryder, sweetheart, you're okay. Mama's here. I've got you. It's alright." Annabeth kept murmuring to him, lips pressed against his soft blonde hair, cradling his head against her shoulder as he cried. His little hands were clenched into fists in her ratty t-shirt. She was so tired and heartsick she was about to cry with him. She'd fought monsters, Titans, and giants. She'd helped lead an army of teenagers through the streets of Manhattan. She'd trudged across Tartarus, where she'd held her dying boyfriend in her arms, unsure if she could save him. Even with all that, though, she'd rarely felt as miserably helpless as she did right now, unable to soothe her sick baby. "Let's try a compress again, baby. Let's try that."
It would be a lot easier if she could set her son down, but with his little fists gripping her shirt, it wasn't possible. So, one-handed, Annabeth soaked a washcloth in warm water and squeezed it out until it was just damp. Ryder was nuzzling his face against her shoulder, now hiccupping sadly, his cries fading to an exhausted whine. Gently, she wrapped the washcloth around the back of his head, making sure to cover his tiny ears. After a moment, his eyes widened in surprise and, slowly, over the next couple of minutes, he calmed down. Annabeth felt her tight muscles begin to unknit.
While he was calm, still cradling him against her shoulder, she quickly prepared a bottle, then carried him back out to the living room couch and collapsed. Ryder was still sniffling. Annabeth set the bottle on the cushion beside her, then shifted her grip on her son until she could see his face. It was red and blotchy from crying, framed by the washcloth over his ears. His green eyes looked at her, a little dazed and, she thought, slightly accusing, as if wondering why this was happening and why his mom hadn't fixed it yet. She kissed his soft cheek. "I'm sorry, Ry. If I could fix it, I would. But in about an hour you can have more medicine and that'll help." She untangled one of his hands from her shirt and it wrapped around her finger. So she kissed the tiny fingers wrapped around her own and, miraculously, the baby gurgled and smiled. Annabeth felt like the sun had broken through the clouds. She kissed his fingers again, then nuzzled his nose with hers and kissed his forehead, anything to keep him smiling at her like that. Finally, she reached for his bottle and settled back into the cushions while she fed him.
By the time Ryder finished his bottle, the living room was full of golden sunlight and both of their eyes were drooping. Annabeth dragged herself up to refresh the warm cloth around his ears, then stumbled back to the couch. She stretched out, laying down with her son on her chest, then pulled a blanket over both of them. Within minutes, they were asleep.
That was how the morning went, Ryder alternately fussing and resting, Annabeth frazzled and sleep-deprived, but trying her best. She managed to eat some yogurt that served as a sort of brunch before Ryder started crying hard again, tugging at his ears. That was also the point where Percy called. Annabeth suspected she didn't handle the conversation well, but between being exhausted and bouncing a screaming baby on her hip, she barely remembered what was said. Once they'd hung up, she carried Ryder into the bathroom, ran a warm, shallow bath, and plopped him into the water.
There was no question this was Percy Jackson's child. Ryder loved the water. He always had. Any time he was upset, a bath immediately soothed him. It worked now, too, especially as she kept pressing a warm washcloth against his ears. Ryder smacked the water with his hands and kicked his legs happily. Annabeth managed a tired smile. She kept her hand hovering near his back. He was doing pretty good at sitting up by himself, but was still a little wobbly, and she didn't feel like testing whether he'd inherited Percy's water-breathing abilities. She'd let her husband test that when their son was older.
She was debating whether or not to get Ryder out of the bath when there was a knock at the front door. That settled the debate pretty quickly. She scooped her son out of the tub and wrapped him in a towel. He didn't appreciate leaving the bath, which he made loudly clear. Annabeth's head started to throb as she carried the bundled baby to the door. She wasn't thrilled to have someone stopping by, especially since she was still in her pajamas and hadn't brushed her hair since Friday. She gritted her teeth and opened the door.
It was Sally.
"What are you doing here?" Annabeth asked in surprise. Then, realizing how rude that sounded, she said, "I mean, hi. I wasn't expecting you."
"Percy called me," Sally said, stepping into the hall and closing the door behind her. "He said it sounded like you were having a tough day."
A sob caught in Annabeth's throat. "Um, yeah, a bit."
Sally took one look at her face, then held out her arms for Ryder. He stopped whining and his face lit up when he recognized his grandma. He stretched out his chubby arms, reaching for her. Sally gently took him from Annabeth's arms. "How about I watch this little one for a while, and you take a shower and a nap, dear?"
Annabeth swallowed hard and wiped her eyes. "Really? Are you sure? I mean, is this how you want to spend Mother's Day?"
Sally smiled and reached out to give her a one-armed hug, while Ryder babbled. "I can't think of a better way to spend any day than with my grandson. And helping my daughter-in-law."
"Thanks, Sally," Annabeth managed. "I appreciate it."
Half an hour later, after the second best shower of her life (nothing quite beat taking a shower on the Argo II after climbing out of Tartarus), Annabeth changed into clean pajamas and collapsed into her bed.
She had no idea how long she slept, but when she woke up, the sunlight had shifted significantly across the floor and seemed to be setting. At first, she wasn't sure what had woken her up. The apartment was quiet. Then, she realized the bed had sunk slightly behind her, and she rolled over to see Percy sitting on the edge.
"Hey," he said quietly, "sorry to wake you up."
"It's okay." She yawned and rubbed her eyes, then stretched. "What time is it?"
"Almost seven."
"Almost...seven!" Annabeth shot straight up. "Oh my gods, I slept almost five hours! Is your mom still here? How's the baby? What's—"
"Annabeth," Percy interrupted, putting a hand on her blanket-covered leg. "Relax. Mom left a couple hours ago, when I got home. I just gave Ryder some more medicine and he's in his crib for the moment. I wasn't going to wake you up, but it's getting late and I thought you might want dinner."
Annabeth's stomach growled, which seemed to confirm that assessment. "I could eat."
"Good." Percy smiled and stood, offering her a hand up, which she took.
However, when he turned towards the door, she tugged him back, hugging him hard. "I'm glad you're home."
He rubbed her back, then kissed her cheek. "Me too. Come on, let's eat."
When she walked into their tiny dining room, though, Annabeth stumbled to a halt. There were candles on the table. And a vase of her favorite flowers. And take out boxes from her favorite restaurant all set out. The table was set for two. "Oh my gods. Percy…"
He slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. "Happy first Mother's Day. I know it was kind of a crummy day, but—"
Annabeth cut off his sentence when she kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Percy ran his thumb gently over her cheek. "Oh, also I got us museum tickets for next weekend for that exhibition you were talking about."
"Really?" She hadn't even realized he'd been paying attention when she mentioned it last week.
"Really." He smiled at the expression on her face. "Mom already said she'd watch Ryder. Apparently, Estelle is thrilled."
She kissed him again. "You're the best."
He shrugged, a little bashfully. "You deserve it. You're doing an amazing job as a mom. We should celebrate that, even if things didn't exactly work out this weekend."
Annabeth really didn't have a response to that, so she just kissed him again. Gods, she'd missed him for the last two days. She only pulled away when, down the hall, the baby cried.
"I'll get him." Percy kissed her forehead. "You eat."
"Have I told you I'm glad you're home?"
He laughed and kissed her forehead again, then steered her to a chair. "Eat. I'll be right back."
Annabeth was halfway through her plate by the time Percy sat down with Ryder, another warm compress around the baby's ears, and a bottle ready. While they ate, they filled each other in on their weekends, conferred on whether they thought the antibiotics the pediatrician prescribed were helping their son, and went over a few things going on this upcoming week. After she finished her food, Annabeth took Ryder so Percy could eat. The baby seemed to be feeling better. He snuggled against her as she rocked him gently, his eyes slowly sinking shut. She kissed his forehead. In spite of everything, it had been a pretty good first Mother's Day.