Don't Think So Much Annabeth
Chapter VIII: Poseidon Industries

Week 12

The next four weeks were uneventful, much to the blonde's relief. Doubling her water intake and taking the additional vitamins she'd been prescribed were helping relieve the majority of her nausea, and as a result she could finally go back to work.

Her coworkers waved with a smile as she strode into the building, several large tubes holding her blueprints slung across her back. Annabeth smiled back, happy to finally return to the sanctity of her office. Even the familiar woody scent of the office boosted her mood, new ideas, and modifications for existing plans already bubbling into her imagination.

Percy had taken the spare room he used to store things and turned it into an office for her (which had made her cry from his kindness) and while she loved it, something about her office was just better inspiration. She was sure something psychological was involved, but she didn't care enough to look into it as long as the ideas kept flowing.

"Welcome back!" Amanda squealed, racing around the messy desk to give her a hug.

The last first week she'd taken a vacation week, and the two weeks after she'd telecommuted from home. No one could know about her pregnancy yet, aside from her doctor, Thalia, and Percy, and running to vomit in the trashcan or bathroom every hour would have been a glaring sign to her colleagues.

"I'm glad to be back. Anything interesting happen while I was out?" Amanda followed her as she strode into her office, unloading her purse and storage tubes to their designated spots.

"Hmmm, not really. A lot of questions asking where you were, but I didn't tell them anything except that you had taken some time off."

"Good, thank you. How did the buyer for the Grant Street plans go? I know they were expecting me to be at the meeting to finalize details, but I was just too sick to do anything more than lie in bed."

"Sick?" Amanda asked, concern with a gleam of curiosity washing over her face. Whoops. She didn't mean to let that slip.

"I caught the flu, but since I wouldn't rest properly, I had trouble recovering as quickly as I should have. Percy was a sweetheart and took care of me."

Nice cover. Now I just need to remember that little lie until everyone knows about the baby.

Amanda nodded, sympathy clear in her eyes. As soon as she began to babble about her last bout with the flu, Annabeth internally sighed with relief and continued to prepare to start the day.

The day continued to run smoothly, and to the blonde's delight, her lunch didn't upset her stomach. She'd been cautious when selecting what foods to take with her as snacks and her midday meal, avoiding anything that had caused her stomach to rebel in the last few weeks.

It wasn't until she was walking through the parking garage that her body began to betray her. The nausea started in the pit of her stomach, an all too familiar feeling, but Percy's apartment wasn't too far. She could probably make it before her lunch made its reappearance.

"Hey, Miss Chase! How are you? I heard through the grape-vine you've been out for a few weeks." One of the interns from the local college, she believed her name was April, waved happily from the other side of the level.

"Please don't come over here," Annabeth whispered to herself, panic crawling down her spine as her churning stomach got worse. She tried to smile at April but was afraid it came across as more of a grimace.

"Do you have time for a few questions? I need an outside eye on a blueprint I'm working on. Something just isn't fitting right when I look at it, but I can't for the life of me figure out what it is."

No no no no no no.

"Actually, I'm in a bit of a rush." She politely rejected. Annabeth started to turn to unlock her car, but the look on April's face made her heart hurt.

"How about we have lunch tomorrow in my office if you're free? I don't want to rush over your plan in a stuffy parking garage when we should discuss your vision for the building first."

"Thanks, Miss Chase! I'll see you then!" April beamed, and practically sprinted down the stairwell to her car.

Annabeth smiled for a moment, happy she didn't hurt the girl's feelings before she felt an intense wave of nausea wash over her. The floor was empty now, thank the gods, as she hurled into the closest trashcan. She didn't even want to think what all was in that nasty trashcan as she gripped its edge.

A good dousing of hand sanitizer and twenty-minute commute later, Annabeth was sliding the shiny new key Percy had given her into the lock. She'd been living with him for almost four weeks now, and surprisingly she had adjusted to living with another person quickly.

She'd thought her prolonged solitude in her living situations would have made it difficult to accommodate another person into her routine, but if anything, Percy's presence amplified the happy feeling she usually got when she settled into the couch alone. She didn't quite understand how a feeling she typically experienced when alone could be enhanced with another person, but who was she to question it?

Percy wasn't home yet, probably still at the office. Or rather what she assumed was an office. Despite several attempts to steer conversations to his line of work, he expertly avoided them every time and changed the subject.

As she kicked her flats off and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth, she couldn't help but let her mind wander to what work Percy could possibly do. What she did know, was it was a family business and he worked closely with his father. He wore a suit and tie most days, but occasionally left dressed in nice, yet casual board shorts and a plain t-shirt. His board shorts seemed to take casual Friday to another level, but this outfit wasn't always worn on a Friday.

It wasn't fair Percy knew what she did, where she worked and had the ability to pop in on her whenever he pleased. Maybe he was worried she wouldn't approve of his work? Or maybe that he worked with his father, and Percy wasn't ready to introduce them yet?

No, he'd gushed about Annabeth meeting both his Mom and Dad when she felt ready.

The urge to google Percy's name grew stronger each passing day, but she felt like it would be going behind his back at this point. There had to be a reason he was keeping everything secret, but her curiosity was close to its peak.

"I'll ask him tonight, and I won't let him worm out of the question." She vowed, smiling at her reflection in the mirror.

While she waited for Percy to return, she busied herself straightening up the bedroom and making sure the kitchen was scrubbed clean before she started on dinner. She was so absorbed into her task that she didn't hear Percy come through the door, or his soft snicker as he snuck up behind her.

"What's cooking, good looking?" He asked, placing his hands on her hips to ensure she didn't try to swing at him with the pan in her hands.

"Percy!" She screeched, followed by a string of curses as suds flew into the air and rained down on them. Percy laughed, pulling Annabeth closer to kiss her cheek. She scowled at him but couldn't restrain the corners of her lips lifting into a smile.

The dynamic they had was so different than the one she grew up in, enabling Percy to sneak up on her before showering her with affection quite frequently. She didn't mind his antics, but sometimes she really felt like just beating him with whatever happened to be in her hands.

"You're going to make me go into early labor if you keep this up!" She exclaimed, a hand to her chest to still her pounding heart.

"Alright, I'll stop scaring you. How about breakfast for dinner as an apology?" He offered, still nuzzling her neck and pulling her close to him.

"How about you stop scaring me, but surprising me with kisses or hugs is more than okay?" She conceded, turning to look at him.

Gods she would never get tired of his bright smile and bright green eyes.

"Deal. Pancakes or eggs?"

She helped him cook, enjoying the respite her body was giving her from getting sick at a moment's notice. They played music while they worked, loud enough to hear over the sizzling of the foods, but not too loud as to disturb the neighbors. No noise complaints, or concerns, had been filed with security since their movie night and she didn't intend to change that.

One dinner was complete, and they were settled at the table, Annabeth worked up the courage to ask him. Part of her was afraid he would react poorly, and either leave the apartment or tell her to get out. The rational part of her knew Percy wasn't like her parents. He wouldn't do anything more than change the subject or politely request she drop it.

"Hey, Percy? Will you please tell me where you work?"

"Huh?" The fork holding a piece of egg stopped midway to his mouth, dropping back to the plate when he froze.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't seem to want to tell me, but my curiosity is getting the best of me. We're living together, having a baby, but I still don't know what you do for a living."

"You mean you don't know?" He asked with genuine confusion.

"No?" She responded, trailing off into a questioning tone. Did he really think she knew? Had he said something, and she missed it?

"Oh, I thought you knew. Like googled my name or something once you moved in." He shrugged, taking a bite of his toast.

"No, I wasn't sure why talking about it made you uncomfortable, so I didn't want to pry. I figured you would tell me in your own time, but then it never came up." Her eye wanted to twitch. She wasn't mad at him for forgetting, but how could he forget something like that?!

"Well, I work at Poseidon Industries. I handle our relationships with partner companies, make sure they're following our rules, reassure them we're following their rules, and settle any disputes. When I can, I also go down to the docks to help with the ocean clean up."

Annabeth knew of Poseidon Industries and even wrote a research paper on the company for one of her business classes. The company was clean as a whistle and ethical to boot. They advocated for cleaner energy, recycling, awareness of the impact humans had on the environment and spent hundreds of millions of dollars each year funding volunteer groups to clean up the sea.

"Why would you keep that a secret? Your company does amazing work, and you've helped so many animals! I'm really proud to be dating someone as caring as you." Percy blushed under her praise, his hand automatically coming up to rub at his neck.

"Well, it's complicated. Usually, I keep who I am a secret because a lot of people just want money, but with you, I was afraid you would leave. You talked about how you wanted to make a name for yourself and getting involved with me could result in the media recognizing you as something other than the amazing architect that you are.

"Once I asked you to move in, and you agreed, I just assumed you would look into my name at some point and then really hoped you wouldn't leave." He sounded so unsure as he explained as if she would run as soon as he stopped talking.

"How do you know I'm not a gold digger?" She asked coyly, trying to keep a straight face but failing miserably. Percy smiled and chuckled.

"The only thing you've asked for since you moved in was food and affection— not typical gold digger actions. Seriously though, you're not mad?"

"No, not at all. Well, a little at myself for waiting this long to ask when I could have weeks ago, but not at you. Percy, I want to make a name for myself, that's true, but if I can do it while dating the famous Percy Jackson and mothering his child then I'll know I have earned it. I love a challenge, and I love you." The words slipped past her lips easily, but she didn't regret them.

Despite an unplanned pregnancy, her intense morning sickness, and only knowing him for a short amount of time, Annabeth loved him. Her confession was long overdue, but this moment felt right.

"Really? You mean it?" That ridiculous grin of his made her smile too, and she simply nodded her head.

"I love you too!" Like something out of a movie, Percy snatched her from her chair to twirl her around. She giggled, clinging to his neck as he stopped.

"Does that mean you'll marry me?" He teased.

"Percy!"