She was twelve years old and her gaze was filled with curiosity and apprehension, she was studying his every move trying to see whose god was more likely to claim him. He was too skinny and weak for an Ares kid, no sense of how to use a bow and arrow and if the campfire sing-alongs had something to say, he definitely didn't have the pipes for an Apollo kid. Athena, Artemis, and Hera were discarded almost instantly the moment he arrived at Camp. He didn't excel at picking strawberries and he almost killed half of the Hephaestus cabin trying to use a hammer so Demeter and Hephestus were out.
"Do you think he's one of your siblings?" Annabeth had asked Luke one afternoon. Sword practice had just finished and Percy, who was currently being targeted by the Stolls, had managed to disarm a few campers.
Luke pursed his lips and for a second his eyes looked ice-cold, making his face look hard and angry. But just as quickly he was back to his carefree self.
"Nah, he's one of the slowest in the cabin and he definitely can't pickpocket stuff." Luke gave her a disarming smile that made her knees shake and her face feel hot. "And between you and me? I don't think he belongs in Aphrodite either." He ruffled her already messy curls and went back to the arena, ready to teach another class.
Percy had sad eyes, Annabeth had decided. He would smile at what the rest of his cabin had said but it wouldn't reach his eyes. Annabeth hated the fact she could see those eyes when she closed her eyes at night.
He was claimed not long after. A son of the big three, a Poseidon kid.
He was her rival.
She studied him more often, she acted colder towards him, trying to find his weakness and strengths, but he was a puzzle and he never reacted like she was expecting and it was driving her crazy. The fact that none of her siblings understood the animosity she felt towards him wasn't helping her mood.
"He's a Poseidon kid!" Annabeth exclaimed to her siblings one night after dinner. They were getting ready for bed and no one was taking her seriously.
"I know," Grace, one of her oldest sisters, said. "I lost ten dollars because of it."
"I told you he wasn't a kid from a minor god," Malcolm told her.
"Yeah well, you thought he was a Hermes kid." She fired back and started a debate about how they all had lost money on guessing who his godly parent was.
"Why don't you guys hate him?" Annabeth exclaimed angrily.
"Why should we?" One of her siblings asked.
"His father is Poseidon!" Annabeth exclaimed again. "And he is so dumb! And how can he be a big three kid! It doesn't make sense! And he has those stupid sad green eyes and-" Annabeth stopped talking once she realized the whole cabin was paying attention, most of them smirking or smiling at her. "What?"
"Well she is about to be a teenager," Grace said, making some of their siblings laugh.
"Better him than Luke," Malcolm mumbled.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Annabeth was angry. Her siblings didn't seem to mind that he was the son of their mother's nemesis. And now they were all looking at her with those knowing eyes, she had no idea what it meant but she wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of asking again. Instead, she walked towards the bathroom and slammed the door, not without hearing snorts and laughter from what she had assumed was a dignified exit.
Weeks later, when she had her arm around his neck laughing and wearing matching laurel crowns while the rest of the camp was celebrating the success of their quest. Annabeth would look at him in a different light. He was smarter than she gave him credit for and yeah, he drove her crazy but he also made her laugh. He was still shorter than her, something that Annabeth wasn't used to. Before his arrival, she had been the youngest camper, and it was fun to finally have the higher ground. But now when Annabeth looked at him, she didn't glare or curse at him, instead, she smiled and laughed along with the first best friend she'd ever had.
Thirteen had been different, just one year ago she'd been cursing Percy's existence but now she was cursing his half-brother's existence. But Percy, Percy was a different story, she looked forward to seeing him, they still had their ups and downs but their days at camp usually ended with them laughing on the lake dock. He had grown and was getting closer to her height, something that annoyed her a little bit. But his eyes weren't as sad as they used to be and his shoulders weren't as scrunched as they had been last year. He laughed more freely now, which made her laugh along with him.
But then Thalia's tree was dying, and Chiron was no longer at camp, and Luke was still plotting against them, against her, and Annabeth was feeling lost, lost, lost. Her world was darkening again but just like the constellation that shared his name, Percy was a shining star in the darkness. As long as Percy was by her side her world wasn't shrouded in darkness. Even when she was in a dark ocean swimming to her dream life that was ripped away from her, Percy was there holding her, letting her cry her heart out.
"You're safe now," Percy whispered against her ear in the middle of the sea of monsters. A comforting hand clumsily patting her back while a skinny arm wrapped around her, anchoring her to him somehow.
"Thank you," she half-sobbed half-whispered against his shirt. She wasn't sure if he was able to hear her, her brain remembering something about wax. The world was a scary place but Annabeth had a bright star guiding her way.
At fourteen he visited her in her dreams. Sometimes it was the version of him she had seen last. The version that was still shorter than her, his hair a little longer than usual and even messier. His voice wasn't as squeaky as that first summer and his face had a few breakouts that she knew made him feel self-conscious. She had them too, the breakouts, and while she had never cared about them before, she was starting to. She didn't understand why it mattered to her if Percy saw her like that or not but sometimes she looked at herself in the mirror and wished for another prettier version of herself, with shinier hair and defined curls, perfect skin and smile, a version that would make Percy do a double-take when he looked at her.
Sometimes the Percy in her dreams was a little bit out of focus. He was taller, definitely taller than her, and muscular, his tan skin shining under the sun. Those dreams filled Annabeth with despair. She knew what the prophecy implied, she knew that Percy was never going to be able to become the man in her dreams. After all, he was destined to die at sixteen. And she knew that just like in her dreams, he would disappear before she reached him.
She didn't see him just in her dreams, sometimes she was awake, and even though she knew it was impossible for him to be there, that he was probably a hallucination her brain made to cope with the incredible pain she was suffering, she could see him as clear as day. She couldn't hear what Percy was saying, he was kneeling in front of her, his brows scrunched in worry. Annabeth yelled in pain, the weight of the world was crushing her, the weight of Luke's betrayal was stabbing her heart. Annabeth started to sob, the weight was going to kill her. She was going to die there, alone in a cave with only a hallucination as her company.
"Just a little bit longer," Percy's voice was fading. "I'm gonna find you, I promise."
Next thing she knew she was on the floor, her body aching and burning, behind her Artemis was now holding the world.
Strong arms pulled her from the floor, there was no grace or softness in the action and her arms felt like they were on fire. "Percy," Annabeth sobbed.
"Forget about him, Annabeth." Luke's voice said next to her, at the same time her hands were tied behind her. "When we are done with him he will be as good as dead."
But Percy had come for her, she had to blink a few times to make sure he was real, but they were still in danger so she couldn't focus much on him. It wasn't until hours later in Olympus, after Thalia had joined the hunters (a bitter part of Annabeth told her she was being left behind again) and after Percy's weird outburst to her, that Annabeth finally had the opportunity to really look at him.
The music in her ears was slow, hopeful, and talked about patience and love. Percy's hand gently rested on her waist and Annabeth could feel her skin burn under her clothes from where his hand was resting. His other hand was interlocked with hers, something that they had done a million times before. But this time it was different, this time there was a feeling in her belly that made her want to giggle and touch his hair. Speaking of his hair, she looked back to the grey streak in his black hair that mirrored hers, she couldn't help but touch it again.
"We match." Percy joked.
She smiled gently at him before moving her hand back to his shoulder. "I guess we do."
It wasn't until later, when after a few songs a minor goddess had asked Percy for a dance and he had half-heartedly accepted, that Annabeth understood what was going on in her heart. She watched him clumsily try to dance with the goddess, but he had a growth spurt that summer, they both had, and she was still a few inches taller than him, and Percy was still getting used to his new longish limbs. While they had danced together Annabeth hadn't noticed his awkwardness at all, part of her hoped it was because they fit together in a way they couldn't with someone else. But now it was hard to hold back her laughter while seeing him trying to dance without hitting anyone in his proximity, something he wasn't being successful at and was currently being yelled at by a satyr and a nymph. He was a clumsy dork, who loved to say bad jokes and had stepped on her toes more than once. Percy had decided to ignore the satyr and instead he caught her eye, sticking his tongue out at her and rolling his eyes only to be yelled at louder by said satyr.
She was about to walk towards him to rescue him, she couldn't believe how much she liked that stupid idiot.
"Oh," she gasped.
She liked Percy, she liked him in a way she had never liked anyone before, not even Luke. She felt like someone had sucker-punched her and she could see Percy's brows starting to scrunch in that adorable way they did when he was worried about her, but that only made her feel worse. She was falling for her best friend, the one who was destined to die on his sixteenth birthday. The fates truly loved to laugh at her.
She was getting close to fifteen when her view of him was obscured by tears trying to fall, at the same time she was trying her best to avoid his gaze. There was so much going on in her brain, it was getting too loud, and in a state of weakness she would only ever show him, she opened her arms and found herself wrapped in his. She couldn't see him but she could smell the way the ocean followed him everywhere, a smell that had gone from being aggravating to annoying to comforting. She could feel the way he was no longer the scrawny little boy she had seen for the first time two years ago. He was getting close to her height, the muscles on his arms were starting to grow and it was weird, the way her body was reacting to his touch. Her skin was warm but most importantly, for the first time in so long she felt safe. She was going to lead them into an impossible quest but with Percy's arms around her it didn't feel as impossible.
Just a few days after that, Annabeth realized that she had been wrong, the mission was not only impossible but what she thought was pain before was nothing compared to what she was going through right now. Percy was gone, gone for good and she had known, gods, she had known since that first summer that he was destined to die young. But she thought she had more time, they had more time, not just a stolen kiss as a goodbye. He wasn't even fifteen yet, he couldn't die, he was supposed to reach sixteen.
Once the shock of the explosion and the adrenaline and anxiety of following the spider back to Hephaestus was gone, all she could feel was pain, raw pain that consumed her every second of the day. Percy was gone, her best friend was gone and she could still hear his last scream echoing in her ears at night when she tried to sleep. She wasn't sure how she had made it back to camp or who had been the first one to spot her, all she knew was that the arms that were holding her weren't Percy's and she would never feel safe again.
The next two weeks that followed had been the hardest she had to go through. Nightmares plagued her dreams, all of them filled with Percy's scream. Morbid thoughts crossed her brain during the day: Had the telkhines caught him before he burned himself to death? How long had he lasted before passing out in the lava? Her siblings looked at her with worry. She knew some of them were close to starting to spoon feed her so she had started to make appearances in the Dining Pavilion. She hadn't been insulted by Clarisse once, instead she had offered to take care of her chores. Silena had also tried to distract her by offering to go to the beach, but the moment the ocean smell filled her lungs Annabeth broke down crying. The Athena cabin had offered to make Percy's shroud and Annabeth had almost thrown up when she saw the green silk on one the desks in her cabin. Thalia, Luke, Percy ...all the people she allowed herself to open up to and love always ended up leaving her. Part of her knew it wasn't fair to put Percy in the same category as Luke; unlike Luke, Percy hadn't chosen to leave her. But the reality was that he was gone and she was alone and she was expected to give a speech in front of all the campers while they burned his shroud.
She spent the hours prior to the ceremony crying her heart out, mourning the boy that had been her guiding star, his best friend and the boy that had been stealing her heart. How could she stand in front of the camp and tell them about the person Percy had been? Hadn't they all witnessed his charisma, his intuition, his strength, his sense of humor? They all knew him, Percy who would put everyone's safety before his, that loved unconditionally and could kick anyone's ass with a sword, didn't they?
Standing there at the podium in front of everybody, she couldn't find her voice. Words weren't on her side but she tried her best to find them, Percy's memory deserved to be honored. "He was probably the bravest friend I've ever had. He-" she tried to hold back sobs and remember how to breathe. Looking at the campers was too hard, instead she decided to look at the back of the amphitheater, only to end up locking eyes with Percy himself, she felt like someone had dropped a bucket of cold ice on her head. "He is right there!"
She could hear the gasps from the campers, and from the corner of her eyes she could see some movement, but she was frozen on the spot, eyes locked on him. He was wearing white clothes and he looked fine, no burns or scars she could see from a distance. Relief washed over her, seeing him there made her feel lighter, the knot in her chest was starting to loosen. She found herself running towards him, frantically pushing campers out of her way until she crashed against him and her arms wrapped around his torso. He was here, his arms were around her and they both were safe.
Sixteen was equally the most miserable and scared she had been and the happiest she had been. Percy Jackson had been the main reason for those feelings. How could she celebrate turning sixteen if that meant Percy's birthday, and deadline, was closer than ever? And not only that, it seemed that Percy was doing everything he could to avoid being at camp. Annabeth wasn't dumb, quite the opposite, she knew that he was spending his free time not only with his mom and new step-dad, but also with that mortal girl. The one with the prettier curls and the one with the carefree laugh, the one that could give Percy the normalcy that he wanted so badly. She tortured herself at night. Not only did she have nightmares about the future war, losing Percy to Luke's, Kronos's, hand but her brain also liked to plague her with thoughts of Percy and that mortal redhead girl, walking hand-in-hand on the busy streets of Manhattan, sharing a milkshake in some cute dinner that only locals like them knew about, Percy leaning in and-, yeah. More often than not Annabeth tried to avoid sleeping. It's not like she even had time to sleep after all, she had battles to plan, campers to train in sword fights, the current sword teacher had his days numbered and was running around the city with another girl and the previous sword teacher was their current enemy.
Nobody could blame Annabeth for being cranky and having no patience at all, everybody needed to look at the deep dark circles under her eyes and how pale she looked and the fact her hair was starting to resemble a bird's nest. So nobody could really be surprised that when she finally lost it was to the one person she cared the most about.
"You are a coward, Percy Jackson!" Gods how badly she had wanted to take back the words the moment they left her mouth, but she was prideful to a fault and instead of apologizing she ran away from him. Maybe she was the coward after all.
She had planned on apologizing after dinner, food usually put Percy in a better mood but he had been nowhere to be found. She tried looking everywhere and a bubble of anxiety was starting to burst from her chest, she had made him run away hadn't she? She had told him to go and he did. This was her fault, gods, how could he even love her back when all she did was hurt people, hurt him? She hadn't realized how it happened but she found herself on the floor of Cabin Six, with some of her siblings trying to calm her down. She was crying, crying for Percy, for Luke, for herself, for how unfair life was and breathing was hard.
"Percy is somewhere with Nico," one of her siblings, Lilith, was repeating over and over until Annabeth was able to focus on her voice.
"What?" She croaked.
"Miranda came to tell us, she talked with Juniper who told her that Nico and Percy disappeared in the woods with Mrs O'Leary this afternoon." Lilith wrapped an arm around Annabeth's shoulder while Malcolm guided a glass of water to her lips. "It's gonna be fine, Percy is probably doing, what do you call it?
"Seaweed brain stuff," Malcolm happily added.
"That, right, but he's going to come back to you, okay?"
It had taken a few of her siblings comforting her before she was able to calm down and eat a little. Later that night Josh, her oldest sibling, gave her a glass of warm milk with honey before bed. The milk had probably been laced with some ambrosia because for the first time in months, Annabeth had a peaceful dream about Percy, the lake and camp side boats.
She saw Percy the afternoon of the next day, after a few voicemails from him telling her she needed to take the campers to Manhattan. He looked the same but at the same time there was something different about him, which was stupid since she had seen him the day before. But his skin looked smoother, she could swear there was a certain glow on his tan skin, those sea-green eyes she loved so much were brighter somehow, even his posture was different. He held himself taller. Power and confidence were radiating from him. Percy Jackson looked every bit the hero he was and Annabeth tried not to think about how he was about to lead the fight towards his death.
Except he didn't die and he declined Zeus' offer of immortality.
"No," he had said while looking at her, his sea green eyes locked with her grey ones. There was a smile on his face and even if the throne room was filled with demigods and gods, she knew that smile was directed only at her. The gods were glaring at him and some of them were speaking but his eyes weren't leaving hers. He was covered in grime, his pants and shirt were torn, his hair was even messier than usual and Annabeth could have sworn he had never looked better. The gods demanded his attention and he turned to face them, asking about another wish, but Annabeth was barely listening because Percy was alive, he had survived against all odds and he had turned down immortality and she finally allowed herself to hope and dream.
She didn't have to wait that much longer, a few hours later she found herself in the bottom of the lake, inside a bubble of air with Percy's arms around her and his lips moving against hers. They had no idea what they were doing, their kisses were clumsy and there were so many giggles in between but it was perfect. In the back of her mind she knew there were so many things they still had to deal with. Shrouds to burn, trauma attempt to recover from and a long conversation with Percy was overdue, but for now she would let herself enjoy a happiness she never thought was possible. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer for another kiss.
She had never considered herself someone who would laugh easily, it was hard to laugh freely when you felt unwanted by your family and when your second family was ripped apart because of monsters. Don't get her wrong, Annabeth wasn't someone who never laughed, there were a lot of times during her eight years at camp that she had laughed until her belly hurt. Beautiful memories of pranks between her siblings or with other campers, but it was different with Percy.
She couldn't even begin to count the times he had made her laugh, like full on snorting laughs, even before any romantic thoughts had crossed her mind. Percy made her laugh like no one else, it was a gift he had, his sarcastic witty responses to people, the faces he made to her behind the gods backs, the way he caught her eyes when someone was saying something ridiculous and would make her laugh at the most inappropriate times during head counselors meetings. He was currently telling her how he had accidentally gotten detention during P.E and gods, she was really trying her best to not burst out laughing and waking up his family.
The clock on the oven read 2:16 am and Percy and Annabeth were supposed to be sleeping. While this was not the first time Annabeth had stayed over at the Jackson's, it was the first time she had stayed over as Percy's girlfriend instead of friend. There hadn't been much of a difference than the previous times she had spent the night if she was being honest, except she had been upgraded to sleeping in Percy's bed instead of the couch and he had been downgraded to sleeping on the couch.
Actually, there was one big difference: now she had the girlfriend privilege of shamelessly checking out Percy without fear of being caught. And she had taken advantage of that sitting on the kitchen island while he had been making them brownies. Seeing Percy move around in the kitchen had been interesting, excluding the times he had to fight, Percy usually tried his best to avoid bringing attention to himself, but it was the opposite when he was cooking. There was a concentration on his face she didn't see often, a confidence in his movements while he mixed ingredients from memory. He sometimes talked or joked with her before shifting his focus back to the ingredients.
"You're cute," Annabeth said while he poured the brownie batter into a pan. He froze in his tracks, eyes widened and blush creeping into his cheeks and neck. She took the opportunity to sneak a finger into the brownie mix and steal some of the batter, laughing at his reaction. It was fun seeing how he would react to her flirting, he would usually blush and stutter and she would kiss him in reply. But Percy was looking cute, in his blue plaid pajama pants and back shirt, his mess of hair, extra messy from her hands when their movie night had become a make-out session.
"You're cute, too." He mumbled in reply before going back to the pan and brownie batter making her giggle from happiness.
"Do you know there's a pan that makes all the brownies have edges?" Annabeth whispered. They had moved to the couch after the brownies had been set in the oven. They had turned off the lights and hid when they thought Sally or Paul were coming down the hall to bust them for still being awake, and now with the lights off, sitting on a couch, sleep was starting to catch up with them.
Percy glanced toward the timer on Annabeth's phone. "Yeah, I've seen it around."
"I could get it for you, you know? For Christmas. That way you can have all the edges you want." She could feel heat reaching her cheeks. December was a little more than a month away and they hadn't been talking about their future that much, with the great prophecy completed it was nice taking things one day at the time without worrying about a deadline. But they had also been in a relationship for almost two months now, she hoped it wasn't weird to talk about Christmas stuff already and she definitely didn't want Percy to think she was overstepping a line. Dating was weird, more than once Annabeth's thoughts went to Silena; how much she missed her and badly she wished to hear her teasing about how nervous Annabeth was about her relationship with Percy before giving her advice.
Percy looked at her, guilt written all over his face, for a second Annabeth forgot how to breathe. She had crossed a line with that comment and before her brain started to spiral, he spoke. "My mom actually bought one last year."
Exhaling all the nervousness away, she playfully pushed him. "Percy! Why haven't you used it! You could have all the edge brownies you want"
"But then you wouldn't have the middle parts." He mumbled not looking at her face.
"What do you mean?"
"They're your favorite, aren't they?" He had started to rub his index and thumb together. "Every time we have brownies you always go for the middle ones."
Oh, this boy, as mistaken as he was, was truly going for her heart. "They're not my favorite, I actually love the edges but since that's your favorite part I always left them for you."
That was the statement that made him finally look her in the eye. "What?"
His voice had been louder than he had intended and they both turned to look at the hallway that led to his parents' room, after a few seconds of silence without hearing sounds coming from it, Annabeth lowered her voice and turned to face him.
"I thought it was only fair! Your mom usually makes them for you and you always shared them with me, so I just didn't think it was fair to grab your favorite parts, it was the right thing to do!"
Percy stared at her, blinking a few times, his sleepy brain still deciphering her words. "Are you telling me that all this fucking time we could both have been enjoying the best part of the brownies but we didn't because we're idiots?"
Idiots who wanted to make the other happy, it seemed. "Pretty much yeah."
It was hard to decipher with only moonlight to see by but Annabeth was sure Percy's look towards the oven was filled with longing. "Why couldn't we have had this conversation before I put them in the oven?"
Annabeth playfully and gently slapped his cheek. "It's okay, you can still have the edges of this batch."
"What, no you're having them. You've been deprived of them all this time."
"Oh my gods, Percy, just accept the edges."
"No, you accept the edges."
"Fine, we can both share them."
"You're impossible!"
"And yet, you still like me, Seaweed Brain."
Percy looked at her, eyes soft and a small smile that made her melt inside. "Yeah, I do."
She blew out the eighteen candles but her heart wasn't in it and she knew most of the people around her weren't either. Only her dad and brothers seemed to be excited, but Bobby and Matthew probably just wanted some cake. She and Percy had left for California with big plans and hopes, but all of them crashed when they had arrived to a half destroyed New Rome. Commodus and Caligula had created havoc around the city and their camp and New Rome University had been the ones most affected by it. Frank had been hopeful about the University being open by the spring semester but that would still mean that Percy would have to go back to New York until next year while Annabeth was still set on starting Berkley in the fall. Not only that, Frank had almost died during battle and Jason had been dead for five minutes before the paramedics had brought him back to life back in March. So to say her dreams and hopes for a new quiet start in California had crashed and burned was an understatement.
The cake was vanilla with strawberries, probably bought by her stepmother Seira in some fancy bakery, but she couldn't bring herself to enjoy it, it didn't hold a candle to the lemon blueberry cake Sally had made her before they left New York. She looked around the living room of her dad's house where her friends were gathered around, Hazel and Piper were talking by the window, Frank was having a polite conversation with her dad and Seira while Leo played Mario Kart with the twins. She was about to start looking for Percy when she felt him sitting down next to her in the window seat she had been hanging out in by herself.
"How can a cake look so pretty and yet taste so simple." He said and took another bite of his slice. "And this probably was like fifty bucks or something."
"Siera should have asked you to make a cake." Annabeth rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.
"Do you want to talk?" Percy left his plate next to Annabeth's forgotten one.
"I was really hoping for things to start picking up after last summer, you know? Don't get me wrong this is a complete improvement from my last birthday." Annabeth closed her eyes and she felt Percy wrap his arm around her. Her seventeenth birthday had been spent in Tartarus, except she wasn't sure in which moment that day had occurred. Sometimes when she was supposed to be sleeping but instead anxiety creeped through her body, she started to fuel those thoughts wondering when she had turned seventeen: Was it when she had a dying Percy in her arms begging Bob to save him? Or the first time she drank Lava and almost passed out into the river, maybe it had been when Tartarus itself showed its true form in front of them. Time had passed differently in Tartarus, the others told them they were there for eighteen days, but then how could she have only slept twice down there if it had been so many days? Did she actually turn seventeen if time was different down there?
"I'm sorry," Percy said bringing her back from her thoughts, she hadn't realized she had started to zone out.
"It's not your fault."
Percy turned to look at her and gently guided her head so she was facing him. "It's not yours either."
They were talking about the summer events but she knew Percy's words had a double meaning. She felt a sob starting to form in her throat. Percy kept telling her that Tartarus wasn't her fault, Piper had told her the same thing when she had finally broken down and told her friend some stuff during their trip to Athens on the Argo II, but Annabeth couldn't believe them. She was the one that did that to Arachne, the one who had taunted her and ended up being dragged down, taking Percy with her. Time was healing their scars, Percy had gained back the weight he had lost during those days, his hair had gotten back the shine and his dark circles were less noticeable. Annabeth for her part had taken longer to get her muscles and weight back, her ankle still bothered her if she didn't warm up correctly, her hair was growing out and her curls were healthier. After they had won the war again she had ended up cutting her hair to a shoulder length, her curls had been absolutely damaged after Tartarus and her hair had been falling out in bigger chunks than usual, probably because of stress. Their bodies might be healing but her mind wasn't.
"Hey." Percy gently wiped the tears that had started to fall from her eyes. "Do you want to go and rest? I can say you have a headache."
Any other day Annabeth would have taken the opportunity her boyfriend was giving her to lock herself in her room and avoid her family, but her friends had dropped all of their business to come and celebrate her birthday, and Annabeth had truly missed them. Besides Leo was leaving the Bay area soon and Frank and Hazel couldn't really afford to take more time off from helping rebuild New Rome, and Percy was going back to New York by the end of the summer. "No, it's okay, let's go to Crissy Field instead."
The fresh air mixed with the laughs of her friends running around between the sand and the shore splashing each other and shrieking from the coldness of the ocean was bringing a smile to her face, temporarily shutting the intrusive thoughts that had been following her for a while now. Leo and Frank were laughing while Percy spun Hazel around on the sand. Annabeth on the other hand had decided to build a scale model of the Parthenon on sand while listening to her close friend. Piper had decided to sit next to Annabeth and had started catching her up on Jason's rehabilitation therapy. He had been in a coma for over two months and his muscles had atrophied, that combined with the intensity of his injuries, he was learning how to walk again. Annabeth had finished the Acropolis and was starting with The Erechtheion when Piper changed the topic of conversation.
"I haven't had the opportunity to really ask you, how are you holding up with everything?" Piper asked her.
Since the moment they arrived at the Roman Camp and were told of Jason's situation, Annabeth had spent almost all the opportunities she had to be next to Piper, supporting her in any way she could. She couldn't help but feel guilty that she hadn't been there for her during that traumatic experience. The last time she had talked with Piper was a few weeks after her friend broke up with Jason, not long after that communication between demigods was almost impossible: texts wouldn't send, IM wouldn't work, calls wouldn't go through. She wished she had tried harder to contact Piper.
Annabeth paused for a few seconds before continuing to mold the sand. "I'm holding on."
"Do you still have nightmares?" Her friend's voice was soft.
"Not as often as before." Annabeth turned to face Piper who was already looking at her, concern on her face. Piper had become someone so important in her life and she wanted to make up for the months they didn't talk. "Percy is gonna stay the weekend at Camp Jupiter helping with the rebuilding, I was gonna go too but maybe instead you can stay over at my place?"
"As long as ice cream is involved, I'm in," Piper said, a small smile on her face that Annabeth reciprocated. Having a friend over at her place to stay the night sounded fun and so normal. Even now, with Percy staying for the whole summer with her at her dad's it wasn't the same as having a sleepover, especially since they weren't allowed to share a room. Percy had been sent over to the guest room on the first floor next to her dad's study. Or what Annabeth assumed a sleepover was, between living at camp and school dorms, she had never experienced one. Happiness started to fill her chest, it was silly how the idea of having a best friend over could make her this excited, but it was a nice change from the feelings she had been having most of the day.
"It's girl's night then."
A shriek from the shore caught their attention, Leo was being attacked by Frank and Hazel who were throwing sand at him while Leo yelled at Piper to help him. Percy had decided to sit down and cheer on Hazel and Frank. His left leg was extended while his right was bent, his arm resting on his knee. He was laughing and the wind was playing with his black hair and he looked like a sea god that deserved his own shrine. While Annabeth was worried about what was going to happen once the summer ended and Percy would pack his stuff from the guest room at her dad's place and drive the 2892 miles between Berkley and New York City, a possible breakup was not one of those worries. Percy, probably feeling her gaze on him, turned around towards her and winked, she blew him a kiss in reply, yeah, they were going to be fine.
Annabeth could understand why some demigods had confused Percy with a god before. She couldn't help but laugh at the way the Disney Princesses tried to stay in character while checking him out, Ariel had loved to mention how much he looked like Eric. But she and Percy were currently in the hotel pool area, taking a break from the busy park. Annabeth was sitting in a chair, sipping the Margarita that was supposed to be Percy's first legal drink but instead of drinking it, he was currently in the pool doing some laps and trying to refresh himself from the California sun. Annabeth could count at least eight different people who were currently checking out her boyfriend.
The moment he got out of the pool, Annabeth could have sworn all eyes were on him. His tan skin was glistening from the small water droplets that adorned his skin, the way his muscles moved when he grabbed a towel was making Annabeth bite her lips with really inappropriate thoughts. His perfectly defined chest with those abs that were making Annabeth wish they were in their hotel room and not in a very public pool area. His swim trunks were resting sinfully low on his hips, giving Annabeth a view of his v-line that made her take a long sip of the Margarita after a sudden rush of heat that had nothing to do with the sun. Little water drops were falling from his hair onto his bare broad shoulders before sliding off his body, what Annabeth wanted to do to those water droplets was something she couldn't do in public and even less in a Disneyland hotel.
Annabeth finally looked at his face, where his troublemaker smirk was waiting for her, the way his eyes were shining with mischief told her he knew what inappropriate thoughts were going through her mind that only made her want him even more. All eyes might be on him, but his eyes were only on her.
"Did you just introduce me as your roommate?" Annabeth's voice was incredulous but also filled with amusement.
They had been enjoying the sun at the outside tables of Ithaca Bakery, drinking coffee and eating pastries while also working on homework, when Percy had run into one of his classmates and had introduced Annabeth as his roommate.
"Hey, I haven't had a roommate since I was twelve at Yancy, this is exciting for me," Percy said and she barked a laugh in reply.
"Did you just downgrade me from girlfriend to roommate?"
"No, no you are my girlfriend and my roommate."Percy took a sip of his coffee. "It's an upgrade." He grinned.
Annabeth snorted and stole a piece of his chocolate croissant. Their junior year of college had started a few weeks ago and after freshmen dorms and Annabeth studying abroad for a year, they were finally sharing an apartment. She couldn't believe it was actually happening. When they had made plans for college during their senior year of high school, they had thought they would be living together by their sophomore year, but in reality they had encountered a few unforeseen layovers before actually moving in together. It had ended up happening in Ithaca where Percy was attending Ithaca College while she was at Cornell. And while Annabeth had had roommates during the first two years of college, Percy had lucked out, maybe via a godly hand, and had ended up with a single dorm both years.
"Wait, what about Tyson, he was your occasional roommate."
"He's my brother, that doesn't count."
"He absolutely counts!"
Percy shrugged. "You say tomato I say potato."
"Babe, that's not how the saying goes."
"I also have to warn you that once we're married I'll call you my friend with benefits."
"I'm sorry to burst your bubble, Perce, but I don't think we can be friends with benefits if we're already dating, even less if we're married. "
"No, no you're getting it wrong. The benefits would be, you know, sharing health insurance and tax deductions and stuff like that."
"I don't think that's how taxes work."
"Do you even know how taxes work?" Percy smirked at her, knowing that he had gotten her there.
"Your brain is quite something today."
"Shut up, I had therapy this morning, my brain gets a pass today, I'm exhausted."
"Do you want to nap?" Even if her tone was teasing, Annabeth wasn't actually teasing him. Sometimes during a particularly intense session during her therapy sessions, she could spend all day in bed. It wasn't as common now as when she first started therapy after she dropped out of Berkley and had to take two sessions per week. Now her therapist would see her every couple of months to check on her.
Percy seemed to consider her offer, his eyes narrowed in concentration and he started to bite his lip. "What if we go home and catch up with Netflix? I really don't feel like reading an essay on how marine animals were made extinct by asteroids."
She wondered if she was going to reach a moment when she wouldn't feel giddy at the reminder that she and Percy were living together. It was a small studio apartment and the two of them could barely fit in the bathroom together, they couldn't brush their teeth at the same time unless they wanted to accidentally get elbowed. But she could go to sleep next to him every night and not have to squeeze together on a tiny twin bed, plus their tiny apartment was a mix of their styles together. Going out to Target and Ikea to buy stuff for their apartment had been one of the best days of her life, the day they bought their bedsheets she had been bursting with happiness. For the first time in her life Annabeth had a home, not a dorm room or a bunk bed in a cabin she shared with all her siblings, and not a room in her dad's house that never truly felt like it was hers. She had an apartment with a lease that had both of their names, and it was going to be a place they could call their own for the next two years.
Annabeth saved her project and closed her laptop. "That sounds good, roommate."
She had never wished she had Rachel's ability to paint as badly as she was wishing it right now, because the way Percy Jackson's profile looked in the candlelight should have been illegal in at least twenty states and Annabeth would pay anything to have it immortalized on canvas. She had taken art classes in the past, Rachel herself had tutored her a few times and after years of only drawing buildings and landscapes, she was getting the hang of human anatomy. But she knew it didn't matter how much her drawing skills had improved, she would never get right the straight line of his greek nose, his high cheekbones, the perfect jawline that she had traced with her fingers on numerous occasions. It didn't matter how many times she studied Percy's face, she was never able to give him justice in her sketches.
She grabbed a magazine out of the junk mail pile on the small coffee table and started fanning herself. The windows were open letting the fresh October air in, but the apartment was overheating with the oven on, and with no power on, she was starting to melt.
New York City was having a power outage and Annabeth's current obsession with Bath and Body Works candles was coming in handy to illuminate their Flatiron district apartment. They had been without power for a few hours now, her phone was close to dying and her laptop was already dead. She was dying of boredom since Percy had decided to take the opportunity to make brookies, if it wasn't because she really wanted brookies, she would have already found a way to make Percy entertain her instead.
She slowly started sliding on the couch until she was laying down. It wasn't even nine pm and she usually didn't go to sleep until after midnight but maybe she could take a quick nap and hopefully the power would be back by the time she woke up.
She was starting to drift off when she felt something cold touch her feet making her jump awake.
"The fuck?" She yelled and turned to look at Percy. Her fiance was standing at the end of the couch with an ice cube in his hands.
"If you want to cool down you need to refresh your feet first or at least that's what mom always says." Percy threw the almost melted ice in a mug resting on the coffee table, the mug that was sitting half empty with cold coffee she had been drinking when the power went out. "And that's why she claims that every time I get sick it's because I was barefoot and the floor was cold."
"Are you trying to get me sick?" Annabeth joked.
"I was trying to refresh you! You're covered in sweat."
"Whose fault is that?"
"Who has been begging me to make brookies all week long?"
Annabeth tried her best to look innocent. "I don't know, Estelle?"
Percy only rolled his eyes at her in response and moved her legs so he could sit next to her on the couch. "Well we have twenty minutes to spare until they're done, what do you want to do?"
"Buy portable fans that work with batteries."
"Yeah, I don't think amazon prime is that fast."
"Do you have better ideas?"
"Actually I do." Percy grabbed his phone and started to tap things until a slow song started to play. "Let's dance."
Annabeth propped herself up from where she had been laying on the couch to look at him. "Are you serious?"
Percy opened his mouth to reply but closed it almost instantly, blush appearing on his cheeks. "You're right, it's a silly idea."
He reached to pause the music but Annabeth gently grabbed his wrist, stopping. "It's not a silly idea, I was just not expecting it."
"No, it's okay really we can do another thing."
The thing of knowing Percy for ten years and dating him for seven of those years was that now he could be an open book for her, like in this moment. He was avoiding looking at her, he was nervously rubbing his thumb with his index finger, which was his main anxiety tell.
"Hey, Perce, what's wrong?" Annabeth's hand was still holding his wrist and she slowly started to caress his skin with her thumb.
Percy sighed. "Remember how I went to camp this past weekend?"
Annabeth nodded, Chiron had asked Percy to help teach sword fighting and had hoped Annabeth would have time to talk with some campers who really wanted to be architects. As much as she had wanted to go, she was actually behind some work and Percy had ended up going alone.
"The Hunters were there. And while I know Thalia was mostly joking and didn't really mean it, she was asking if I had started taking dance lessons so I wouldn't trip you or step on your wedding dress and rip it and stuff like that."
"I see."
"And I'm twenty three, I shouldn't care what someone with the mentality of a thirteen year old says," he looked at her widened eyes and a guilty face. "Don't tell Thalia I said that."
"Thalia has always known what nerve to hit to annoy people, a gift or a curse depending who you ask." Annabeth slid her hand from his wrist and took his hand.
"And I usually just let her tease me but I just, I don't, I don't want to ruin our wedding."
"Hey, there's no way you can ruin our wedding, even if you decide to show up in sweats I wouldn't care because the only thing that would matter to me is that we would finally be married."
Percy smiled at her, she could see the way his shoulders were starting to relax."Are you giving me a pass to wear sweats at our wedding?"
"I said you wouldn't ruin it not that I wouldn't be pissed, you can't deny me the pleasure to see you looking fucking hot in a suit."
"Are you only marrying me so you can see me in a suit? That sounds like so much trouble, all you had to do was ask."
He was still smiling at her, his fingers rested calmy against her skin, the smile wasn't fully reaching his eyes but it was an improvement to a few minutes ago.
"Bitch please, like if you haven't dreamt about me in a wedding dress for who knows how long." She playfully slapped his arm, winning a laugh from him. This time it almost reached his eyes.
"You got me there." Percy winked at her. "Can I see it?"
"Sure you can, on our wedding day." Maybe Annabeth didn't believe in superstitions but at the same time, her dress was safely stored in Rachel's massive closet with no risk of Percy accidentally seeing it. Better safe than sorry, after all she didn't want to tempt the fates.
"I'm wearing a white floor length dress on a beach and then at camp, you accidentally stepping on it wouldn't be the worst of the terrors that poor dress is going to go through." She stood up from the couch and pulled him with her.
"And maybe I'll be the one accidentally stepping on you and tripping you." She rested a hand on his shoulder and raised their interlocked hands at the same time his free hand rested on her waist. They slowly started to sway to the music coming from his phone. "If I do that, would you think I ruined our wedding?"
"I see what you're doing." Percy chuckled and shook his head. "Of course not, I would never think that."
"Well then, the same applies to you."
He didn't reply and Annabeth didn't say anything else, she just let him guide their bodies following the cues from the music. They still hadn't decided what song they would use for their first dance, they should get on it soon.
"Hey," Percy said after a few songs, she turned to look at him and found a mischievous smile on his face, before Annabeth could say something, he dipped her making her laugh. "I love you."
And before he could guide her to a standing position, she pulled him close and caught his lips with hers. After all, they had to practice for the wedding day.
And if Percy didn't dip and kiss her at least once at their wedding, well, she might have to consider divorce.
While their reception guest list was past the hundreds, the ceremony guest list was small, just their close friends and loved ones gathered on the beach in Montauk with Chiron officiating the ceremony. Guests standing next to white chairs framed the aisle guiding her towards her future husband, she could feel all eyes on her but her eyes could only see him. Percy was waiting for her at the end of the aisle, with Grover by his side. So many times she had thought there was no way Percy could look even hotter and more handsome and beautiful than he already did but every time she was proved wrong. His navy suit fit him perfectly, emphasizing his broad shoulders and lean body. The collar of his suit jacket had a small boutonniere pinned to it, some small blue thistle flowers mixed with some smaller flowers that matched the ones she was holding. His black curls were somehow miraculously tamed, maybe a small blessing from Aphrodite. He was having trouble holding his smile, but she knew it was not because he was hesitant or was having doubts, on the contrary she knew it was because he was overwhelmed with emotions about the fact this moment was actually happening, that they were finally marrying. And then there were his eyes, his eyes that were following her every step she took towards him. Those beautiful ocean eyes that matched the sea on his back, that were shining with unshed tears of joy. They had made bets how long they would last before one of them started to cry, apparently none of them had managed to keep it together after they got their first sight of the other.
It was funny, people talked about how nervous she would be on her wedding day, but it was the opposite for her, or maybe nervous was the wrong word, because even if she was nervous the bubble in her belly had nothing to do with fear. How it could it when she had gone through Tartarus and back with the man that was waiting at the end of the aisle. She and Percy had been living together since their junior year of college, they were both on the lease of their NYC apartment, there wasn't much that was going to change after they exchanged their vows and said ' I do' . No, she wasn't bursting with nerves but instead with anticipation and excitement, to start a new chapter in their life, to be able to call him her husband. She wished her seven-year-old self could see her now, how her dad was walking her down the aisle so she could marry the love of her life at twenty-four, that she could see the way Percy was looking at her, eyes filled with raw love as if there was no one else in the world but her. But then again, in this moment, taking the hand that Percy was offering to her, there wasn't anyone else but him for her.
The next morning she had woken up a little confused, her brain catching up with the previous day, and when it did she couldn't help but smile and giggle at the fact that she had married the love of her life and was currently on her honeymoon. They were currently staying for a few days at The Inn and Spa at East Wing Hotel, a wedding gift from her family, before traveling for a week to Hawaii. After they had won the war against Gaea the Big Three gods had promised to let the kids of the others roam freely in their domains, meaning Percy could go on planes without fear of it being stricken down by Zeus, but Percy was still wary of flying.
The hotel room had been freezing and instead of looking for her suitcase for some clothes to wear she had just grabbed the complimentary bathrobes and wrapped herself in one while leaving another one on the edge of the bed for Percy. Annabeth never really told him before but Percy was beautiful. In the past she had used so many adjectives to describe Percy to his face: cute, adorable, handsome, hot. But honestly, he was beautiful, especially when he was asleep. The way his dark lashes framed his cheeks, his perfectly kissable full lips that were currently slightly parted while exhaling. The way the worry lines weren't present on his forehead, he looked so peaceful and Annabeth allowed herself to observe him for a little longer, after all it was not common for her to wake up before him. When she had woken not that long ago she had been surprised to find him still sleeping, contrary to the popular belief of their friends, Percy didn't sleep in often, years of waking up early since he was little for the odd job had given him an annoyingly strict morning body clock. But then again the previous day had been their wedding and wedding night so she wasn't surprised he was still sleeping, what she was surprised about was that she was awake already.
"Are you watching me sleep?" Percy mumbled sleepily, blinking a few times getting used to the sun coming through the open blinds.
"Please, like you haven't watched me sleep ever, especially not in college."
"Well it was hard to not watch you sleep when you always wake up late and we were living in the smallest studio apartment." Percy started to stretch himself on the bed. Annabeth appreciated the way the muscles in his chest followed his movements.
"Whatever you say, Edward Cullen."
Percy grabbed a pillow and playfully threw it at her making her laugh. "How dare you compare me to him, Annabeth Chase, especially when it was you who was pulling an Edward."
"You're an idiot." Annabeth stuck her tongue out at him, he only booped her nose in reply.
"Starting our marriage with our usual pet names, good to know." He winked at her before grabbing the other bathrobe and covering himself before walking toward the desk with the coffee maker.
"Did you know you look beautiful when you sleep?" Annabeth said, she couldn't help but laugh when Percy fumbled with the coffee cups and coffee packages he was picking up.
"What?" He was staring at her, cheeks red and eyes wide. "You think I'm handsome?"
"I don't think you're handsome, I know you are, just like I know you're beautiful." She said and softly laughed at his reaction, a small smile was forming on his lips. He looked absolutely adorable, hell he was even glowing and if telling him those words made him that happy, she would say them more often. "And saying that is how I want to start our marriage."
"I'm the one that is supposed to be making you blush, Chase."
"That's the second time today you've called me Chase."
Percy looked at her, confusion clear on his face. "Well, that is your last name, after all."
"But it's not, it's Jackson now."
It was an immediate reaction, the way his lips parted and his arms pulled away from the coffee maker. His full attention was on her. "Are you sure?"
She raised her arm towards him inviting him to come closer, she was still sitting on the edge of the massive bed. She didn't speak until he had closed the space between them and was standing in front of her, his hand interlocked with hers.
"I mean, I don't know when I'll legally do it because the whole process is so fucking long and there is so much paperwork and I'm still looking into the fact that professionally I'm gonna keep Chase and all that stuff, but yeah, I'm sure."
"You're taking my last name?" Percy asked softly, a smile breaking onto his face, the smile that showed his dimples was reserved to people he loved. "For real?"
She reciprocated the smile and nodded. He had never asked her to change her name, he had never brought up the topic actually. She knew he had assumed she would keep her last name. But Jackson was more than just his last name, it was Sally who had welcomed her with open arms and had treated her with nothing but love since the start, who had taught her what the love of a mother was in the way she raised Percy and Estelle. It was the small apartment in the Upper East Side that smelled like cookies and apples and was warm and safe, the family dinners and, later on, family trips she had been invited on during High School and College, the birthday cakes Sally and Percy had baked for her year after year. It was Estelle's laugh and the way she called her Annabee , it was Paul's patience when he helped with her homework when her dyslexia was acting up. But most important, it was Percy, the boy and now man who never gave up on her, who knew all her flaws and still loved her unconditionally, who was her best friend and her partner in crime. Maybe one day she would be able to find the words to tell him what an honor it was to take his last name and be accepted into his family, but for now a bright smile and happy eyes would have to do.
"For real."
"Annabeth Jackson," Percy said slowly, testing the words. "It has a nice ring to it."
"Are you telling me you have never thought of those words together?" She playfully asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I can neither confirm or deny that."
"It's okay, the way your cheeks keep turning red gave me the answer I needed."
"You know what Mrs. Jackson?" Percy smirked at her. "I think it's my turn to make you blush."
Annabeth made a half squeal, half laugh when Percy threw himself at her, promptly making them crash against the mattress in a fit of laughs that quickly were silenced with kisses. And it would be a while before either of them actually enjoyed a cup of coffee.
To say Annabeth was exhausted was an understatement, she couldn't be sure but there were probably 19 hours since her water broke to the moment she finally held her daughter in her arms. All the pain she had been through giving birth had been forgotten the moment her eyes locked with her baby. She was perfect, absolutely perfect and she was hers, hers and Percy's. Annabeth had been surprised when she saw the tiny mess of blonde hair, she had been so sure their daughter would take after her father, and she hadn't been that far off, she had Percy's nose and dark green eyes that would hopefully end up being as sea green as Percy's. But now her baby had been taken away for a bath and for a little incubator time, all standard procedures her doctor had assured her.
And now that she and Percy were alone in her hospital room, exhaustion washed over her, she was fighting hard to keep her eyes open.
"Hey." Percy kissed the top of her head. "You can sleep, I'll wake you up when they bring her back."
"I'm so tired," Annabeth managed to say, even talking was hard.
"I know you are babe." He was caressing her hair and it was only making her more sleepy. "But you did an amazing job, you are perfect, she is perfect."
"You will wake me up?"
"No one will be allowed to hold her before you wake up, well you know excluding medical staff and me."
Annabeth laughed gently. "You're an idiot."
"Is that really how you're gonna talk to the father of your daughter?" Percy joked.
"Shut up, I love you."
"I love you too, babe."
She wasn't sure how long she had slept, it probably had been more like a power nap than a restful sleep but she guessed that was going to be her life for the next year or so. Annabeth slowly opened her eyes, the lights in the room were slightly dimmed, probably to help her sleep comfortably. She blinked a few times and her eyes landed on Percy, he was sitting in the room's comfy chair and his eyes were fixed on the little pink bundle of blankets in his arms. He hadn't noticed her being awake yet and Annabeth took the few extra seconds to memorize the scene in front of her. Percy was looking with awe and adoration at their daughter, he would slowly move his arms, bouncing her. He was whispering to her, and he radiated happiness. It was a scene Annabeth had dreamt about for so long, far longer than when she found out she was pregnant on her thirtieth birthday, and now she was finally witnessing it. She wanted to let Percy have his moment with their daughter but her body was aching to hold her again.
"Can I hold her?" Annabeth asked while moving herself so she could be in a sitting position in the bed
Percy raised his head to look at her. "Yes, oh gods, sorry I know I said I was going to wake you up but then I got distracted and yeah."
Annabeth laughed gently, wincing at the slight pain she felt when her body moved. Percy sat up and with all the care on the world rested their daughter in Annabeth's waiting arms.
"She has been asleep the whole time but the nurse said it's not long till she starts crying for food and to call her when that happens so she can help you feed her." Percy said but Annabeth was half paying attention to him. She couldn't keep her eyes from the little faces her daughter was making. A few fingers were poking out from her blanket cocoon and she gently touched them.
"Hi baby, I'm your mom." she could feel tears starting to form in her eyes and she was trying her best to blink them away not wanting them to fall on her tiny little face.
"She's perfect, isn't she?" Percy sat down next to her on the bed. "Perfect like her mother."
"And her dad."
"She's quite the star, having fans waiting outside until they can meet her." He gently touched their baby's forehead.
"Has anyone seen her yet?"
"Nah, the nurse brought her back like five minutes ago, I know my mom is dying to see her and your dad called like an hour ago, his flight arrived at JFK and he's on his way here."
"We can let Sally and Paul come in."
Percy nodded, but he didn't move yet. "Have we locked in the name?"
When they had finally decided on a name during her pregnancy, Annabeth had told him that nothing was going to be official until she held their baby and saw if it felt right. And now with her baby in her arms, her heart was telling her it was perfect. "Alexandria Jackson."
"It's perfect for her, isn't it?" Percy planted a kiss on Annabeth's hair before starting to move, probably to let his mom finally meet her granddaughter.
"Wait." Annabeth gently touched her daughter's little nose before slowly moving her arms so the baby was facing both her and Percy. She smiled at Percy and then turned to face her daughter. "Hi, Alexandria, it's mom and dad."
For darkmagyk
Full disclaimer: I haven't read the last two Trias of Apollo books and we all know I have been in denial about what happened to Jason, so while I have taken certain TOA book plots, I usually make my own canon.