The Beginning:

Chapter 7:

They talk well into the night, despite Percy's mortal need for sleep, and he answers her questions as best he can (although he is the first to admit that his knowledge of his myths is somewhat spotty, and sometimes even he knows that some things should be kept a secret).

He was careful to not mention Zeus by name though- something told him that that was one of the things that needed to happen naturally.

Still, it is a start.

After he explained what he could about what happened with Kronos, and her children, Rhea shook her head in shock, muttering about how she had been expecting many things, but never this.

Percy could definitely relate. His life was insane.

Still, the more time they spend conversing, the more time Rhea seems to relax, believing him more and more to be truthful.

It is a relief to see that a tentative trust has grown between them, and Percy suspects that there will be no more lions in his future, thank the- well, not Gods. Not yet, at least.

Maybe Titans? Urgg, no. Just because he had met like, one good Titan didn't mean he was going to start using them in his internal monologue.

Still, by the time they lapsed into silence, Nyx had been overcome by her daughter, Hemera- which was a fancy way of saying that the night had been passed, and it was now day.

Percy was still deliberating the pros and cons of screwing up his sleep schedule and just falling asleep now after the long night (because after dropping the 'future person' bombshell he couldn't very well just go to sleep, huh), but his gaze drifted to the goat curled up against the wall, and he raised an eyebrow in consideration.

It had been easy to forget she was there, to be honest, but now it seemed strange.

"So is there a reason our fuzzy friend hasn't woken up yet?" Percy says groggily, still a little bitter about having to stay up so late despite it being mostly his own fault. He was the one who decided to drop the bombshell of being-from-the-future-without-a-DeLorean late at night.

Rhea smiled slightly, sounding way to cheerful at this time in the morning (stupid Immortals and lack of needed sleep), as she said, "Actually, since Amaltheia is going to be nursing my child, she doesn't really need to be awake just yet. She prefers to sleep through days until she's actually needed."

Huh. The goat may have the right idea, after all.

Wait.

"So…" Percy nods to Rhea's pregnant stomach, "When is the kid gonna pop out?"

Rhea placed a hand on her stomach, looking thoughtful. "In around 3 of Selene's cycles, I think. Around noon, to be precise."

Percy was going to ask how on earth she knew that, then swallowed his own tongue. Right. Titan of Motherhood, the Great Mother. It was basically in her job description.

And then her words actually hit.

"Wait," Percy blurts out in panic, his eyes wide. "In 3 days!?"

Rhea raised an eyebrow dangerously. "Is that a problem?"

"Um," Percy mutters, unable to explain that he really really didn't wanna see the joys of childbirth, especially the birth of a God. His middle school "Physical Development" course had scarred him as a child.

Percy had more trauma from that course than the entirety of the Titan War. Doctors were truly the real MVPs of the human race.

He couldn't come up with a good excuse in the face of Rhea's disapproval though, so he decided to do the next best thing.

Change the subject.

"That does raise an interesting question. You'll have to go back to Mount Oryths right after, to perform the switcheroo-"

"Yes," Rhea interrupts, "Although I still don't quite believe it. A rock? Where would I even get it?"

Percy shrugs, smiling slightly. "I find it funny that you find that more concerning that Kronos not noticing that he's eating a rock."

Rhea looks contrite. "You haven't seen Kronos of late. He's sluggish, and slow. Perhaps his consumption of five gods is getting to him after all." She looked vindictively pleased at the thought. "Usually, he would realise he was being tricked. Actually, in any other subject he would. But I don't believe that he likes eating my children, although his paranoia drives him too it. He doesn't usually like to linger on what he has done."

"So you think he'll just swallow it down and try to never think about it again?" Percy asks, slightly fascinated but mostly grossed out.

Greek mythology was weird.

Rhea nods firmly. "Exactly. Which brings me back to my question. Where do I even get this rock?"

At the Titan's words, as if triggered by them, the ground began to shake ominously, with both Percy and Rhea shooting to their feet from where they had been conversing on the furs.

Scrambling back from where the ground was shaking the most, as they watched, a small crack appeared in the ground a few feet from where they had been sitting. It was off putting, to say the least, and Percy put his hand in his pocket.

He remembered his less than perfect experiences with cracks in the ground and monsters jumping out, after all and having his hand near a sword was never a bad thing in situations like this.

However, his forward thinking was soon interrupted by Rhea putting her hand on his arm.

Her eyes are shinning.

"My mother! This must be the work of my mother!" She shouts over the loud noise of crashing rocks.

Percy has a sudden flash of understanding. "Your mother, the Earth?!"

"Yes! Gaia!"

Percy would have asked more questions, but the shaking dislodged a few of the rocks on the ceiling, and he narrowly jumped back just in time to avoid a decent sized chunk of rock, falling exactly where he had been standing previously.

Despite Rhea's optimism, an earthquake in a cave sounds like a death trap.

Suddenly, as if to prove Percy wrong, everything stops, and the world goes quiet. Rhea seizes his shoulder.

"Look!" She grins, pointing. It was entirely too girlish of her, nothing like the fear that had entered her eyes so often since he had known her, and Percy relaxes at that if nothing else, turning to look where she had been pointing.

There, where the crack had been previously (and had obviously been closed up) was a smooth, oval shaped rock.

They stare at in silence for a bit, blinking at it. The conversation they had been in the middle of before comes back, and Percy barks out a laugh.

"Well," he says grinning. "Will you look at that? I guess you got your rock after all."

And in the corner, the goat is still, unbelievably, asleep.

Notes:

Read and Reveiw! A little silly chapter on the Rock, huh. It's basically an honorary Godly sibling by now, right? Everyone knows that the entirety of Greek Mythology hangs on the Rock. I propose the name Rocky. Anyway, we get more of Gaia (kinda) and Rhea and Percy bond, (kinda). Hope you like the chapter!