Hey guys!
So, I didn't get both updates finished before school started, but I've been waiting to write this chapter for a while now. I'm super excited to have it done. Hopefully it puts as big a smile on your face to read it as it did on mine while writing it!
This update is sort of the result of multiple ideas put together and honestly, guys, SO MANY PEOPLE guessed what I've been hinting at these past few chapters. Seriously, I was so close to changing my entire plan just to throw you all a curve ball. I didn't do that - you're welcome. However, here's hoping my future plans for this story wind up being a bit more surprising than this one was.
"Are you serious?" I asked, walking with Annabeth down the hall from the garage, Logan listening on from behind us.
"I'm completely serious," she answered, smiling. The surprise that was surely written all over my face still had not fully left her own eyes. "She said she's just over fourteen weeks."
"Piper Grace? Our Piper?"
She laughed, continuing on to the dining room, where the book I'd seen her reading earlier lay open and waiting. "We don't know another Piper, Seaweed Brain." Carly sat at the opposite end of the table, her homework spread out before her. She watched us with interest, clearly having overheard everything.
"Oh my gods," I muttered, bracing my hands atop the chair beside hers. I could think of little else to say.
"Imagine how Jason feels," Annabeth said lightly. Honestly, I couldn't imagine it. Another baby after so long? It was the last thing I would have guessed, even if it did explain a lot.
I shook my head. "What did you tell her?"
"Well, I said I was happy for them, obviously, and congratulated her. They only found out themselves on Thursday. She still doesn't seem fully over her own shock."
"Well, that's not surprising."
"No, it's not," she agreed.
"Wait," Logan put in slowly, lingering in the doorway, "But Izzie's fourteen and Caleb's only, like, two years younger or something, right? That's a giant age difference."
Annabeth nodded right as the sound of the front door drifted through the house, followed by Nicky's and Hannah's voices and the clicking of Ollie's nails on the floor as he led the way in, moving to find the rest of us. "Mom! Dad!" Nicky's voice called, louder now, "Hannah's here!"
"Hi, Hannah!" Annabeth called in reply, brushing an absent hand down Ollie's neck as he cantered past. Hannah's answered greeting sounded a second later and she turned back to Logan. "Surprises happen sometimes," she said simply.
"What's going on?" Nicky asked now, rounding the corner with his best friend a step behind. He looked between the three of us in curiosity.
"Aunt Piper is pregnant," Annabeth informed him.
He blinked. "Wait, really?" he asked.
She nodded. "She called while you were out cleaning."
Beside him, Hannah smiled. Between the time she spent with us and the time Jason spent at Camp Jupiter, she was well aware who he and Piper were. "Aw, that's so cool," she said happily.
Nicky, meanwhile, looked like he wasn't quite sure what to think of this development. I couldn't blame him—I didn't remember being particularly fond of babies at his age either. "Wow," he said awkwardly.
It was Carly who saved him—and possibly damned the rest of us—by speaking up now. "Can one happen for us?" she asked vaguely, her voice hesitant and oddly hopeful.
"Can what happen?" I asked her.
"A surprise," she answered, her eyes landing on her mother as she continued. "Can you have another baby?"
My eyebrows shot up at that and even from my peripheral, I could see how wide Logan's eyes grew at the suggestion. Annabeth exhaled in a surprised laugh. "Definitely not," she told her gently.
"Why?" Carly asked, deflating.
"Because we don't need any more babies," Annabeth answered simply, "We have three already. And a dog." Logan, appearing relieved, took the opportunity to slip out the doorway and vanished back down the hall. Nicky and Hannah remained, though the latter looked like she was trying to decide between discomfort and curiosity. Nicky watched the back and forth like a tennis match.
"But I want a baby sister," Carly protested, disappointed.
"Sorry."
"But could you if you wanted to?" She pressed, looking for all the world like she was trying to complete a puzzle she did not have all the pieces to.
"Yes," Annabeth informed her patiently, "But it doesn't matter because we're not."
The nine-year old considered this for far too short a time before she asked, "How?" Behind me, Nicky abruptly straightened as if he'd been shocked. I, too, paid a bit closer attention. Carly, either oblivious to or unconcerned with the shift, elaborated. "How do you get a baby in you?"
"NO!" Nicky all but yelled, blushing furiously and pushing frantically off the wall he'd been leaning against. "No. No, no, no. Oh my gods, we're leaving!" He was already moving, dragging a wide-eyed Hannah from the room. Carly only watched them go, immense confusion written across her face.
I glanced at Annabeth, who bit her lip now as if fighting a smile. Clearly, she took far less issue with Carly's question than everyone else, myself included. Nicky's outburst had proved enough a distraction that I had not immediately noticed the deep dread that had pooled violently in my gut in response to the innocent inquiry. I certainly did now.
Carly's confusion was quickly turning to distress as I turned to face her again, steeling myself. "What did I say wrong?" she asked, looking between us.
"Nothing, honey," Annabeth answered sympathetically.
"I only asked a question."
"It's okay."
"Do… you know the answer?"
Annabeth met my eyes, the smile playing around the edges of her lips once more. I silently told her, in no uncertain terms, that she could absolutely take the lead on this. Her eyes, bright with amusement and the slightest trepidation, informed me in no uncertain terms that I was expected to endure this conversation with her, just as she'd endured it with the boys—the discussions with them, while still awkward beyond all measure, had still seemed less uncomfortable than this. I'd have thought this sort of thing would grow easier with time, not harder. This was not at all how I'd planned to spend my afternoon.
"Yes, I do," Annabeth amusedly answered Carly now, holding my gaze for another second longer before turning her eyes to our daughter once more. I took a fortifying breath and, releasing it slowly, turned to look at Carly as well, just as Annabeth began, "Remember what I told you about the difference between boys and girls?"
Olympus help me.
I lay across our bed that night with my hands behind my head, staring up at the ceiling and contemplating the very real possibility that I'd never be able to comfortably look my daughter in the eyes again. It had taken Annabeth over half an hour to thoroughly explain everything to Carly. During this time, I'd sat uncomfortably straight in my chair and struggled not to stare down at the tabletop for too long at a time.
And I swear, for all the ways our daughter was like me with her fairly regular impulsiveness and her near-constant desire to be moving and entertained, she was one-hundred percent her mother than it came to learning things. Logan tended to be like this too, always excited about new information and a challenge, but while he and Nicky had both been too uncomfortable and disgusted during their own Talks, Carly had had follow-up questions, which had definitely been worse. She hadn't just wanted to know how things worked, but also the what and why behind it all. I hadn't been prepared for that, not from my nine-year old daughter; nor had I had any clue whatsoever as to how to reasonably answer those questions. Annabeth had taken it all in stride. I'd spent almost as much time thanking the gods for my wife's existence during that conversation as I had cursing them for putting us in that position in the first place.
I was suddenly beyond grateful to only have one daughter.
The rest of the night had passed pretty normally once we finished. Hannah stayed through dinner—she and Nicky were apparently as happy as I was to pretend the earlier conversation in the dining room had never happened. She went home shortly after and Annabeth put on a movie for us all. By the time the kids were in bed—Carly and Nicky already asleep and Logan propped up on a pillow with a book; I'd nearly forgotten the whole thing. Until I changed into pajamas and sprawled on my back, the bedside lamp still on and waiting while Annabeth brushed her teeth in the bathroom. My brain chose that moment to relive some of the more mortifying parts of our chat.
I sighed out my nose and closed my eyes, stifling a groan. The sound of running water stopped in the bathroom and Annabeth padded silently out, slipping into bed beside me. She ran a hand through my hair and I didn't need to see her to know she was smiling when she said, "It wasn't that bad, Seaweed Brain."
I wasn't the least bit surprised she knew what I was thinking. I opened my eyes and found her beautiful gray ones on mine as she laid beside me with her head propped on her other hand. "Babe, I think I'd rather fight in the Titan War all over again than have that conversation one more time."
She rolled her eyes, smiling. "You're such a drama queen."
"I'm serious," I insisted, "How do you explain the motivation behind sex to a nine-year old?"
"You don't," she answered simply, "She'll understand one day." Admittedly, this wasn't all that different from what she'd told Carly earlier.
I really did groan now. "That day had better be a long way off," I said, "Like, twenty years, minimum."
"You're just upset your little girl is growing up," she countered wryly.
"Yeah, I am," I said plainly, "Did you give her permission to do that?" She smiled again. I sighed, growing serious. "She just found out about the gods, and now this."
"I know," she said softly, shifting now to pull the covers over both of us before settling down next to me. She laid her head on my shoulder as I reached behind me and turned off the light. There was comfortable silence for a few seconds before I broke it.
"I told the boys about you know where today." I was careful to avoid saying the actual name—I'd used it earlier in as it was. It didn't matter. Annabeth still shuddered slightly against me. I'd been expecting it and tightened my grip on her a bit.
"You did?"
I nodded against her. "They asked."
"What did you tell them?"
"Not much," I admitted. "They heard about it as a rumor; they didn't think it actually happened."
"I wish it didn't," she said dryly. I hummed in agreement. There was a short pause before she spoke again, a smirk plain in her tone. "Sounds like you've had quite the day for difficult conversations."
"You can say that again," I muttered. She gave a surprised laugh then. "What?" I asked, looking at her in the dimness.
She shook her head against me. "I was just thinking if today didn't make Hannah part of our family, I don't know what will."
I laughed now myself. "Nicky's reaction was pretty priceless."
She snickered. "Gods, I've never seen him so mortified!"
I won't lie. We spent a solid minute laughing at his expense.
"I blame Piper and Jason," I decided after we quieted, "None of that would have happened today without them."
Annabeth snorted and then sobered. "I can't believe she's pregnant again."
"I'm glad she is. Jason had me worried."
"I know. Hopefully the hormones settle down a bit though. He's in for a long six more months otherwise."
"Still better than the alternative," I replied.
"True." She shook her head. "Could you imagine, Percy? Another baby now?"
"It would be crazy," I allowed and then grinned. "I'm game if you are."
Annabeth snorted. "I thought you didn't want to have to have the Talk anymore."
"I suppose I could survive another go if I had to," I reasoned playfully.
"Shut up," she said, slapping my shoulder lightly. Our room wasn't quite dark enough to completely hide her smile though.
Thanks for reading! Hopefully you laughed a bit, or at least managed a smile or two!
I'm hoping to have the next update finished within a week or so. It all depends on school, really. Thanks for your patience.
(And for those of you who read Unconditional, I promise I have not abandoned it! I've been busy with other stories, but I plan to focus my attention on that next, so stay tuned!)
