Annabeth's P.O.V
Christmas day was perfect, just me, Percy and Nightshade and our unborn child. Percy woke pretty early like he always did on Christmas; I was a little later which was usual for me. We had a light breakfast and opened our stockings, with mugs of blue hot chocolate. This was probably one of my favourite traditions that Percy and Sally had included me in since I had known them. There was just something so magical about receiving a stocking that had lots of little gifts in that someone else had spent time to find for you. They didn't have to be big or expensive they just had to have thought behind them and that's what I loved, knowing how much thought, Percy had put into my stocking and seeing how much joy he had when he saw how much thought I had put into his.
We were on our own this year; Sally, Paul and Estelle were spending the holidays with Paul's brother. I remembered Percy being quite upset when he found out that he wouldn't be spending Christmas day with them, but now we were trying to keep the pregnancy a secret it actually had worked in our favour. We said we'd call around eleven and it was so much easier to do that now we had the rainbow network phones, it also meant that an Iris message wouldn't appear unexpectedly in a mortal's home which was also good.
Percy had been particularly busy this year, I noticed as there were more presents under the tree for me than there were for him. As it turned out a lot of them were last minute additions; he told me when I told him he didn't need to spend so much on me.
Sally and Paul got us a joint gift this year for the house, it was lovely, it was a hostess trolley, which I sure most people would think was a boring gift, but it actually meant we could keep food warm when we had a lot of guests round so it was perfect. Percy was really looking forward to trying it out today for the Christmas dinner which he had already started. My Dad and Helen had given me a yearly subscription to a monthly magazine on architecture which I was thrilled with that I could keep up with the latest designs in the mortal world. Bobby and Matthew had given us a joint gift, of tickets to the fair that would be in town in San Francisco in February, it was a thoughtful gift and I loved the fair they knew that and it was also their way of ensuring we visited them too, but I knew this year I wouldn't be able to go on half of the rides we normally would. I appreciated the gift all the same, and actually thought it might fall around the time we would be in New Rome for the scan anyway so we would be able to tell them about the baby too, which I was really excited to do. My Dad and Helen got Percy a book, which to begin with he looked a bit disappointed about until he realised it was on top aquarium attractions, Percy wanted to set up and run his own aquarium so he could make sure the fish were treated well and also do something he loved, so the book was actually perfect for him.
I had given Percy a new chest to store his photo albums in, with some more blank ones to fill. I knew with the baby on the way he'd be taking lots of photos, although at the time when I had bought it, it was because he didn't have enough room for our honeymoon photos as well as our wedding photos to fit in his current one.
"Thanks Annabeth, it's perfect, I can finally finish putting all our honeymoon photos in an album!" He said before he kissed me.
"At least I know what you'll be doing when I go for my nap" I replied, but I was thrilled that he liked his gift. Naps had become like a regular thing for me over the past week, I started off fighting it insisting that I didn't need a nap, but actually after giving in to a couple, I stopped fighting it and have accepted that pregnancy is much more exhausting than I ever could have thought and that the naps are needed much to my husband's delight. It did mean however that I wasn't getting as much of my work done as I would have liked but as we're in the holiday season I fortunately am having a chance to catch up.
Percy smiled and went to get me hi gifts for me. "This one," he said handing me a gift "is your actual gift; I'll explain the rest when we get to them." I raised an eyebrow in suspicion and he chuckled and just gestured that I should open it, which I did. It was perfect; it was a mini laser printer.
"I thought, y'know with all your projects that you're doing with Leo and then also with your architecture firm that you could y'know use it to make prototypes on a much smaller scale of obviously-" Whatever else he was going to say wasn't voiced as I cut him off with a kiss.
"It's perfect Percy thank you"
"I'm so glad you like it" he said before retrieving all the other gifts under the tree.
"You know you really didn't have to get me anything else, this is enough." I said, gesturing to my laser printer which I couldn't wait to set up and start using.
"I know that, but in light of recent ah- news" he said smiling "and as we're the only ones who know, I wanted to make a big deal out of it so I got a few extras." He said.
I instantly understood his meaning and found that I was actually more excited to open these even though I absolutely loved my actually gift. There were seven gifts in all, one was an incredibly cute baby grow that said Baby Jackson on it with little footprints underneath, one was a book on pregnancy and what to expect when you were expecting. I was really grateful for this one, Percy had said he'd go and get one from the city a few days ago, but I didn't realised he'd actually had time to do so. The third one was a tiny pair of booties, which were grey and had owls on them.
"Where did you manage to find grey owl booties?" I asked him.
"Actually not as hard as you might imagine, finding ones with tridents on – impossible," He laughed and so did I "but, actually a lot of the baby clothes I looked at had owls on, and a lot of stores use grey as a gender neutral colour, it took a little while but eventually I found them." He said and I kissed him, he was so sweet.
The fourth gift was a baby name book and I have to admit that I hadn't even thought about what we were going to call the baby and I was looking forward to coming up with possibilities.
The remaining three gifts were a small hat for the baby, some scratch mitts and a dummy with fish on. He just had to get fish in there somewhere, I smiled.
"Thank you Percy, I love them all, and I love that we're also celebrating the baby too." I said and his response was just to lean over and kiss me.
Although we did get Nightshade a present, she was much more interested in tearing up the discarded wrapping paper. Which, we were fine with, for the first time in just over a month she wasn't guarding me, she was just having fun which was exactly what we wanted for her.
Ψ
Percy's P.O.V
December soon passed into January, and Hazel and Frank welcomed Baby Emily Marie Zhang into the world, she was a beautiful baby she had Franks complexion but she had Hazels features well apart from her eyes. You can't tell what colour a baby's eyes will be until they're six weeks old because that's how long it takes for the irises to develop (What? I'm learning stuff; I'm going to have to know it soon). I suspected that the colour of her eyes might take on Hazel's but the shape of them that she had definitely inherited from Frank.
I loved meeting baby Emily, it made me all the more excited about ours and no else even knew about it. I think my favourite meeting for Emily was Malcolm and Piper, they had visited with us and Piper was cooing much like Annabeth but for different reasons but Malcolm looked totally freaked out at Piper's reaction, it made me smile and yeah ok I did laugh a little, if he was freaked out now, wait until he finds out he'll be an uncle! He did however for all of his fear hold Emily and actually he was a natural at it, which made Piper look at him more lovingly than she already did, if that was even a possibility.
January soon passed into February and we were in New Rome for the scan. Today was the day, and I was so excited, no-one knew we were here, which is probably a good thing because Annabeth had started showing. She wasn't showing a lot but it was definitely obvious she was pregnant, and she looked incredible, I mean she always looked incredible but this was different somehow, I can't really explain it better that she looked incredible. We'd decided with the help of Fleecy and Iris that once we'd had the scan we would set up a four way Iris message to our parents, we wanted them to all find out together and as Annabeth was showing, when we got to her Dad's there would be no way of hiding it any longer. Not that we wanted too, the past month and a half had been the absolute hardest, I was such a bad liar for one thing, those closest to me always knew when I wasn't telling the truth so it had been especially hard to keep from mom and Paul.
"Annabeth Jackson" Annabeth's name was called and we got up and went into the sonographer's room. My stomach was doing butterflies, I couldn't imagine what Annabeth's was doing, I was just so excited I couldn't really contain it any longer and soon I wouldn't have too.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Martin Clive, I'll be your sonographer today, is it your first one?" Dr. Clive asked.
"Yes" Annabeth replied nervously and I think he could tell.
"Don't worry, just hope up on there and lift your shirt, and roll down the top of your trousers to just about here." He said indicating on himself to just below where the top of Annabeth's underwear would normally sit. "Mr. Jackson, if you take the seat next to her, I'll apply the gel and then we'll begin." I took Annabeth's hoody and bag and sat next to her, I was so excited that I didn't even correct him and ask him to call me Percy.
I took Annabeth's hand as Dr. Clive put a screen in front of us. "Now, if you watch this screen, you'll be able to see your baby." He said, "This might be a bit cold, apologies we do try and warm it up a little." He told Annabeth as he applied gel to her stomach and reached for the ultrasound wand. If the Gel was cold Annabeth didn't show it, her vision had tunnelled on to the screen in front of us.
"Alright, give me a minute to find the baby and then I'll put the image up on your screen." Dr. Clive said and the anticipation was killing me, I squeezed Annabeth's hand supportively and she smiled at me. "Here we go, if you look at your screen now, you'll be able to see-"
He did carry on talking but I didn't hear what he was saying displayed on that screen in front of us was our child, all I could do is stare and I slowly started to zone back into the conversation Dr. Clive was having with us.
"So here's the first one" He said.
"I'm sorry, the first one?" Annabeth asked.
"Yes, if I zoom out a little you'll see what I mean." Dr. Clive said and we did.
There on the screen were two children, we were having twins!
"Congratulations, you're having twins" Dr. Clive said "I just need to take a few measurements and them I can tell you, your due date."
I looked at Annabeth, who was already looking at me, I could feel my smile beaming on my face, I was so happy. Annabeth smiled back at me, she too looked so happy and I that only made me happier. Twins, I couldn't believe it.
"I guess, we'll need another baby grow" was all I could think to say.
"I guess we will" She replied smiling, her eyes, sparkling with joy.
"Everything looks as it should, based on the measurements we have, you're 11 weeks rather than 12, but don't worry that's quite common at this stage, you're due date is August 15th." He told us.
"Wow" I said, I literally didn't know what else to say, we were having twins, I was going to be a dad, the babies looked good according to Dr. Clive and they were due in August. If they were late, we might even share a birthday, the thought made me smile; my mouth was seriously starting to hurt.
"Would you like a print out of the scan?" He asked.
"Yes please" Annabeth said as she wiped the gel of her stomach. "Would we be able to get a few copies? Our parents aren't together anymore." She said and Dr. Clive smiled and nodded.
Soon we were on our way out, holding five copies of the scans; I couldn't stop staring at the images in my hand.
"How do you feel?" I asked Annabeth as we walked back to the car, she'd been nervous about keeping one baby alive now we found out there were two.
"I'm really happy Seaweed Brain, it's still terrifying but we're nearly a third of the way through and we're doing it together. I'm really excited to tell our parents." She said and I was too. "How do you feel? You spaced out quite a bit in there" She asked me.
"I'm so happy Wise Girl, I can't even put it into words, my mouth is so sore from smiling all the way through that scan, I mean I was excited to have one but two? Gods Annabeth, this is amazing!"
I gently picked her up and spun her round in my arms, placed her back down and then kissed her with all the love I could possibly convey. She smiled at me, and I knew we both just wanted to tell people now. Once we got to the car we drove to the edge of the city of limits and pulled over before we left the boundaries.
We Iris messaged Fleecy and handed over the extra drachmas required and she set us up with a message to mom and Paul, Fredrick and Helen, Athena and dad.
"Hey" We said together and they all said hi back and then noticed that they went the only ones in on the message, before anyone could ask why, we carried on.
"We have some news" I started.
"You're going to be" Annabeth carried on.
"Grandparents" we finished together.
Smiles, all I could see were smiles, they were all happy and all I could do was smile back much like my beautiful wife.
Sally's P.O.V
"We have some news" Percy started, and I could feel anticipation building in me, I knew something was going on due to the lack of visits we'd received recently but that wasn't always unusual with the demigod world.
"You're going to be" Annabeth carried on.
"Grandparents" they finished together.
Yes! I'm going to be a grandmother! I smiled at my son and daughter-in-law this was perfect news!
"Congratulations" we all said, they'd managed somehow to put all the parents on an Iris message.
"We'll phone you all separately in a minute, but we wanted you all to find out together" Annabeth said and then they disconnected.
I turned to my husband Paul, still smiling. "We're going to be grandparents" I said and he smiled at me.
"We sure are" he said.
Ψ
Fredrick's P.O.V
"We have some news" Percy started, and I wondered what couldn't wait until they arrived.
"You're going to be" Annabeth carried on.
"Grandparents" they finished together.
Grandparents! I'm going to be a grandfather! Wow! I felt a smile creep on to my face; I'm going to be a grandfather!
"Congratulations" we all said.
"We'll phone you all separately in a minute, but we wanted you all to find out together" Annabeth said and then they disconnected.
"Grandparents Fredrick, how amazing is that?" Helen asked me joyfully.
"Yes, how amazing is that?" I asked smiling proudly, my little girl was going to be a mom, and I knew she'd be great.
Ψ
Athena's P.O.V
"We have some news" Percy started, and I had a feeling I knew what that news was.
"You're going to be" Annabeth carried on.
"Grandparents" they finished together.
I smiled, I had never been a grandparent before, as the Romans did not have children from me, this was a first. A smile graced my face, I was excited.
"Congratulations" we all said.
"We'll phone you all separately in a minute, but we wanted you all to find out together" Annabeth said and then they disconnected.
I flashed out to New Rome to see my daughter and son-in-law.
"Hi mom" Annabeth said hugging me.
"Hi Annabeth, Percy" I said as I returned her hug, I wasn't the most affectionate parent, I knew that as did Annabeth, and I knew you weren't supposed to play favourites but I couldn't help it, with my pride, Annabeth was my favourite.
"Hi Lady Athena" Percy said respectfully, I did approve of the man, but it was still a little fun to keep him on his toes.
Just as I had, Poseidon had flashed himself to New Rome.
"Hi Dad" Percy said.
"Hi Son" Poseidon said and they also exchanged a hug, he also hugged Annabeth which I found strange to witness, but if Annabeth found this unusual she certainly didn't show it. "Hi Annabeth, you look radiant by the way." He said stepping back beside Percy.
"Hi Lord Poseidon" Annabeth greeted warmly, and he was right (urg! Do not tell Fish Breath that I admitted that!) My daughter was looking radiant; she definitely had what mortals called the 'pregnancy glow'.
"We have something for you both" Percy said, and handed each a set of scan pictures.
"Twins?" Poseidon asked and Percy nodded, still smiling, it was difficult not to smile when you were in the presence of such jubilation from the two of them.
"Fraternal twins, I'd say" I said looking at the scan and Annabeth nodded at me.
"Fraternal?" Percy asked Annabeth and she smiled endearingly at him, I had never understood why she hadn't fallen for someone who was more book smart, but I was starting to understand. Although Percy was smart in his own way and had actually become more book smart than he was, I think he, nowadays anyways, gave Annabeth opportunities to teach him things even if he did know the answer already. And, I could see that she loved to explain to him the things he didn't know, it wasn't a relationship I wanted, I think I'd actually find it very annoying but my daughter loved it and that was what mattered.
"Non-identical, Seaweed Brain" She told him and if possible his smile grew.
Ψ
Poseidon's P.O.V
"We have some news" Percy started, and I had a feeling I knew what it might be.
"You're going to be" Annabeth carried on, yeah I definitely knew now, a smile crept on to my face.
"Grandparents" they finished together.
Best message ever! My son was going to be a father and he was going to be great at it.
"Congratulations" we all said, Sally, Paul, Athena and Annabeth's mortal parents were on the iris message too.
"We'll phone you all separately in a minute, but we wanted you all to find out together" Annabeth said and then they disconnected.
I immediately flashed out to New Rome. Athena had beaten me here and was hugging Annabeth but I didn't mind, I was so proud for my son.
"Hi Dad" Percy said to me.
"Hi Son" I replied and embraced him, I also hugged Annabeth. "Hi Annabeth, you look radiant by the way." I said stepping back beside Percy, she was definitely glowing, pregnancy suited her.
"Hi Lord Poseidon" Annabeth greeted me with a warm smile, which I returned.
"We have something for you both" Percy said, and handed each a set of scan pictures. I noticed immediately that there was more than one baby.
"Twins?" I asked and Percy nodded, still smiling, I was beginning to think my son's face might be set that way for a while.
"Fraternal twins, I'd say" Athena said and Annabeth nodded and I looked at the scan again and she was right the babies looked to be in separate eggs.
"Fraternal?" Percy asked Annabeth and she smiled lovingly at him.
"Non-identical, Seaweed Brain" She told him and if possible his smile grew, if that was even possible.
Ψ
Annabeth's P.O.V
After we said goodbye to our Godly parents and they went back to what they were doing before we messaged them, but not before a small detour each. Percy asked Poseidon to flash to his mom's to give her their copy of the scan picture and my mom offered to do the same and I thought it would be nice for them to know that it was twins before I phoned them so I thanked my mom and handed her a second copy of the scan before she flashed away.
We phoned our mortal families separately, we figured Sally would want to speak to both of us and would be so excited I'd be able to hear her through the phone anyway, so I hoped my dad was the same.
"Percy! Oh hunny! Congratulations I'm so made up for you both! Is Annabeth there?" She said.
"Yes mom, you're on speaker, she can hear you" Percy replied
"Hi Sally" I said.
"Oh Annabeth, I'm so thrilled for you both! Twins too! Percy your dad just dropped of the photos, thank you! Oh I'm so pleased, when are they due?" She asked and I could hear the joy in her voice and I could also hear Paul laughing in the background. The smile which had been plastered to Percy's face since he saw the scan on the screen was so bright, you could see how pleased he was that his mom was thrilled.
"Sally take a breath" Paul said, they had put us on speaker their end too.
"Hi Paul!" We said together
"Hi kids!" he replied "Well I suppose I'll have to change that greeting" he said as an afterthought and we all laughed.
"They're due on August 15th mom" Percy said. "We thought we might stop by on the way home from the Chase's, if that's okay? It'll probably be around Sunday lunch time?"
"Oh of course it is, will you be staying?"
"That would be lovely thank you, Sally" I said.
We made some more small talk before hanging up and dialling my family. We decided while talking to my family to get back on the road we were only about twenty minutes from my parent's house so it wouldn't take too long to get there.
~Author's Note~
Thank you all for reading I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much I did writing it. Please let me know what you thought.
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