Hey so…here we are. This is my epilogue: a collection of scenes from Percy and Annabeth's relationship (and maybe Jason's and Piper's.) But before you start reading, I have some thanks to give, some words to say, and some thoughts to send.
I first had the 'idea' for this…in March. I'm not sure if you can call it an idea because I'm sure you've seen a million versions of the soulmate AU before, be it where they are soulmates (the majority, and this one), where they aren't (which is less but still there) or whatever. There's the tattoos, and the words, and the eyes, and I'll confess I've read a lot of soulmate AUs myself.
But I wanted to write my own. It's probably just the same as every other soulmate story you've read, but it's special to me because it's mine, and I'm proud of it. I had a wonderful time with this story; from the planning that began a week to the fighting over a name and a college with E.
In particular, I'd like to thank:
ThatGirlWithaCat, my beta reader who offered me a lot of insight into the story and helped me plan. She was the person who pushed me to write this thing in the first place, after all.
Snowy SunBear, who puts on a charade and is a lovely person who has supported me and this story since just about the beginning, freaked out about Jasper and Frazel cameos and Piper's Cheshire Cat grin and a lot of little funny tidbits and tirades on Percy's MBTI type. (Those darn Se users.) [Also, I know you're SnowBear, you say so in your first review, which was on chapter three.)
Nothing could go wrong, who has also supported me, and this story, since the beginning. She's offered long reviews (as many of you have) and insight into hate-to-love relationships and comments on Percy being an idiot (lol) and cheered me up.
Daughter of Sally Jackson, who has offered encouragements and little comments as she has on virtually everything I've written.
Poseidon1702, who offered encouragements and 'stay safe's that meant a lot, really.
In actuality, there are a lot of people I could thank and a lot of people I would thank but I don't want to make this A/N longer than my last epilogue A/N so I'm going to cut it short. Those four are just people who have been there since the beginning and been there every time. But if you reviewed, favorited, followed, even just read this story, I'd like to thank you for giving it a chance.
What am I going to do now that this is done? That's a good question. As of January 1st, 2021, I am going to be on a six week hiatus. I might post a few one shots and prompts for the Camp Jupiter: War Games forum, but I won't be writing very much. I want to focus on figuring some things out and working on some stuff I've neglected. I'll be finishing up my other two ongoing stories (Dear Mira Green and Allegra) before the year's end. I'll be back on Valentine's, when I write the sequel to a different story, 'Mortal Friendships'- that one called 'Immortal Enmities'.
You may also find that on my profile there is a poll, which isn't anything concrete. Just some ideas. We'll see if I do write them or not. But anyway, I don't want to do this much longer, so on the epilogue- or as I like to call it an anthology, of little moments. By the way, they aren't in order. There are 15, I think, so I hope you enjoy them! Side note, they are all in Annabeth's POV, and for a weird 'stylistic'- according to my beta- thing you will find that not once do they use names except in dialogue. So. There you go, I guess. Thanks for sticking around for this old thing!
Poseidon1702: This is the longer...I don't know if you can call it a chapter. It just fills in the rest of their story, blank enough to not give me a heart attack, woven together well enough, I hope. :( Sorry! It's sort of reached the end of what I foresaw. Thank you. Stay safe.
ThatGirlWithaCat: Justin Hayward is the lead singer, you doofus. ;) So sorta sung by the Moody Blues. They all include Justin Hayward, anyway.
...not Justin Hay.
That poem is quite melodramatic.
Thank you.
Nothing could go wrong: *tries to figure out what she's talking about**blanks* Uhh, yes, not everyone is the same. Lol. Thanks!
Stealthanato: Thank you very much!
Daughter of Sally Jackson: Thank you!
He twines her finger idly with his. It's moments like this where she feels it.
Soulmates.
"I love you." It slips out and catches her off guard, a riptide dragging her under for a moment; just a moment, but she can't breathe. He says it so easily, so fluidly, as if he'd been saying it his whole life. He's never said it before. The March day should be cold, but it's beautiful and warm. They lie on the grass, idly moving pinecones out of their way, staring up at the sky and the trees. It's a perfect moment.
She can't figure out whether to smile or to cry.
They've dated ten months; and yet-
"I love you too."
His smile could warm the sun.
"Go, go!" her best friend pushes her out of their apartment with a wide smile full of promises and mischief. "Don't make me lock you out again." She rolls her eyes, resisting the urge to go back in just to spite her. "I can hear you out there…go have a night with your boyfriend." She leaves; her friend is right, if not a little misguided in her attempts to make her go out.
"Hey, Annabeth." His smile is bright and he laces her arm with his. It's been almost a year since their first date so long ago. "Shall we?" her grin is giddy and his gaze is alight.
"We shall." They walk along the sideway, jostling into each other slightly. They look like young teenagers on a first date; giddy and so, so happy. He brushes her soullink out of her face.
"Can I ask you something?" he asks nervously. She rolls her eyes.
"You already have Seaweed Brain." It takes the edge off his nervousness and he laughs. "You can ask me two questions, if you like." He rolls his eyes at her but now the conversation has been reduced to banter. "What is it?" She prompts.
"Well…" he toys with the hem of his shirt. "I know we haven't been dating that long, and so I totally understand if you want to take things a little slower, but," she feels a vague sense of alarm. He's not going to ask her to marry him, right? Way too fast. Definitely too fast. She likes things the way they are. She's not ready to get married… "But would you, uh, like to…move in together?" She chokes on her own gasp of surprise- he looks like she just punched him in the throat as he gapes like a fish. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you I take it back there's no rush we don't have to move in together it was just a thought really-" and it endears her that he gets so flustered but he looks crestfallen, and she hasn't said a word. Their relationship has been a lot of treading lightly; and she doesn't really like how quickly he rushes to 'remedy' the situation.
"I would- I would love to move in together. Percy- it's okay. Look at me. I'm sorry. I was just surprised."
"You think it's too soon?" He mumbles.
"No! Percy, it's alright. We're okay. Now give your new roomie a kiss." He grins at her.
"Yes ma'am."
"Ohmygod…." he says from the side, staring at what the doctor holds in his arms. "Oh, she's perfect. Annabeth, she's perfect." Her throat is parched and every bone in her body is aching and she can't see, but she has it in her for one last snarky comment.
"Of course she is, she's half me." Her husband rolls his eyes. "Does she have any hair?" she cranes her neck and sits up but her idiot husband is blocking her view.
"See for yourself." He watches her with an adoring smile on his lips as the doctor hands her the baby. Their baby. She stares at her face, screwed up and flushed red and with what she fancies will grow into curls. Their baby girl. Her fists are balled up and she looks like she's trying to glare a hole in her mother's forehead with her eyes closed, but she already loves this tiny human.
There's a gentle knock on the door, but Annabeth doesn't look up from where she's immersed in family bonding time. "I heard crying….is it over?" Her best friend pokes her head in. Annabeth lifts her head for just a moment to give her a weary smile. She wants to sleep….wants it terribly badly. She's been laboring for approximately twenty-one hours and she's only been able to have ice chips, not even a proper drink of water or a meal in more than half a day, and it's something like five in the morning now.
"It's over." she sighs. The baby in her arms makes a noise of disgruntlement and her husband kneels by the hospital bed. Her mother-in-law won't be able to get in for at least another day and her own parents are in San Francisco, California, and Olympia, Washington, and she's in a hospital in Oregon.
She's not sure if they even know about their newfound granddaughter.
"Do you mind if we come in?" her husband looks at her with his questioning green gaze- she wants those eyes for their baby- and she shrugs.
"Sure. This is…." she hesitates. The talk about names was one they didn't really have. "Well, we aren't sure yet."
"Well, there's always Piper," she suggests cheekily. "Piper's a wonderful name."
"I'm not naming my baby Piper, Piper." her friend pouts.
"Why not? It's a lovely name, Bethie…you should show appreciation for your wonderful best friend who you love very much."
"Maybe for her middle name," she says, just to appease her. Piper doesn't look convinced but shrugs, looking down at the baby girl she holds in her arms.
"She's precious, Beth." she says softly. Percy has withdrawn, giving the two their moment, but Annabeth wants him to come back. It's his fault that she was in labor twenty one hours, he ought to make up for it.
The baby opens her eyes and she smiles at them- a blue close to her own gray. In the harsh light they look brighter than her mother's but her daughter closes her eyes before she can really have a good look at them.
They fall silent, just watching the baby. She knows things between them will be different now- she's already married, while her friend is only engaged, and she's a mother now. All her time will go toward taking care of her child.
"Here, babe. I got you some water and some food from the cafeteria." she smiles at him as he lays it on her legs.
"You're a saint." she turns to the now third wheeling friend. "Can you give us a moment?"
"Of course." she kisses her cheek as she leaves, a sisterly gesture. She appreciates it, but she stares at the baby in her arms instead of her friend's retreating back.
"What should we name her?" she whispers. He doesn't say anything for a few moments. "Percy? We have to do this before we leave the hospital, we may as well get started right now." he jolts for a moment, staring at her face.
"Sorry, what?" she rolls her eyes. He kisses her forehead. "We could name her Annie," he suggests, jokingly. She glares at him with dagger eyes. She hates the name Annie.
"I don't think so, Seaweed Brain. I'm not subjecting my child to the same thing I had to go through for so many years...Annie is a terrible name." he sighs.
"Okay then, what about Lou? We could call her Lulu for short."
"How is that for short? Lulu has more syllables and more letters than Lou does." she looks up at him in time to catch him rolling his eyes. "What about...Ellie."
"Veto," she tells him. "Luella Jackson." He shakes his head almost immediately.
"Luella Chase." she wrinkles her nose.
"Luella Chase-Jackson."
"Deal." he grins at her with a wondrous expression. "I love you." she leans her head against his chest. She doesn't need to say it back for him to know it's true.
"Ugh, I wish I wasn't moving." Her best friend tells her, sighing. "I'm going to miss this." She pats her cat's fatty tummy with a grin on her face. "And you, I suppose."
She feels bad. She's the reason her friend has to move; because in two days' time her boyfriend will be moving in.
"Well…I mean. Maybe you don't have to leave." Her friend rolls her eyes.
"And stay here while you lovebirds kick up a ruckus?" Her tone is wistful even though she scoffs at the idea. She bites her lip as she stares at the tuxedo kitty chilling on the couch next to her. "I dunno, Beth. Percy doesn't want me living with you guys."
In response, she only presses the call button. "Wait! No! Annabeth, don't do that!" Her boyfriend picks up.
"Hey, babe. What's up?" Ignoring the glare being sent her way, she puts him on speaker and grins unconsciously at her phone screen.
"Hey Seaweed Brain. I was wondering how you felt about a third roommate." There's a pause.
"Annabeth, I thought we already discussed this. I have no problem with Mango, and I still think she likes me better than you." In the background, her friend guffaws.
"That's ridiculous! I'm her mama." She realizes she's getting off track. "But that's not actually what I meant. I meant a third human roommate." She lifts the phone to her ear and turns off the speakerphone.
"I mean. I wouldn't be opposed to it. Why?"
"Well," she lowers her voice. "I feel bad about making Piper move. She doesn't have anywhere to go, she might have to move to a different city to find a place, and I just...it doesn't seem very fair to Piper. I've had roommates move away before. It's not very fun."
"Why doesn't she move in with Jase?"
"She says they aren't in that place." The silence permeating the air worries her somewhat.
"What the heck, sure." She's careful not to give her friend any facial clues. "See ya." She ends the call and puts it in her pocket.
"Well?"
She sighs. "I tried, but there was nothing I could do. In the end..." she watches as her face falls slowly. "He agreed to let you stay."
"Piper," she says insistently. "Piper." the girl does not wake up, rolling over and burying her face in her pillow. She rolls her eyes. "Piper, I want to ask you something." her friend wakes with a groan, obviously unhappy with what she has done- waking her up.
"What, Annabeth?" she grouses, blinking. "It's early, isn't it? If you're going to come home really late, stay over at Percy's. Don't come back here and wake me up." She neglects to answer. "Spit it out then, I'm already up."
"Will you be my maid of honor?" Her eyes widen infinitesimally.
"Oh. My. God." she slowly stares down at her hand. "He proposed? Why didn't you say so?" Laughing, she rolls her eyes. She'll make a good maid of honor, she hopes. After all, she's been her biggest cheerleader when it comes to this relationship. "Of course I'll be your maid of honor." The tight hug she engulfs her in speaks a million words, and a lump grows in her throat. She wasn't nervous about asking her, but it wasn't easy. After all, they haven't known each other that long, and even though she doesn't have anyone else, her best friend might.
"Thank you," she breathes. She only gets a grin in response, one full of anticipation and happiness- happy for her, she realizes. It's nice. "I'll tell you all about it in the morning."
"Luella Sandrine, you come back here right now." she only hears a giggle in response. "Lulu, come back and help your mother." She's grateful for her husband and the life they've built, but she's not grateful for what he's done- sticking her down in their house all day, all week, all year, watching his child with another one in her belly. Her career at the firm has long since been quit for their baby girl. The books she wants to write, has tried to write, have also been left behind in favor of the stay-at-home mom gig. She doesn't really like it. She shifts uncomfortably on the seat, seven months pregnant and not at all happy.
"Mama," her daughter beams. "I made you a picture!" The little baby girl from the hospital is four years old now, and the half-curls she had at birth have fallen away. Her eyes, blue, are a mix of her parents- intense like the ocean like her father's, hard and strong like her mother's.
"It's beautiful, Lulu," she tells her. "What did you draw?" her daughter won't be designing buildings anytime soon, but she tries hard.
"I drew Finley." her daughter states simply. she peers at it. It's vaguely in the shape of a human.
"Finley?"" she asks. "Who's Finley, Lulu?" The eye roll her daughter gives her is all her, even though she can only see her husband in the four year old.
"My sister," she says matter of factly. "She wants to be alive now. I saw her over there." she points toward the stairs that lead to the second floor and her room. There is no sister, and that is what scares her.
"Is she your imaginary friend?" she mulls this over, as if looking for the best way to phrase what she wants to say, shrugging as she does so.
"No. She's real, but we can't meet yet. She says she misses us." Peering around the corner toward the stairs for a minute shows nothing, and she isn't sure what her daughter means.
"Is Finley the baby?" she asks patiently. If there's one thing she's learned about parenting in the last four years it's that she needs to humor the girl, even if what she's saying makes no sense. She watches as her daughter turns back to the stairs, fixing something nonexistent with her blue-eyed gaze.
"Eh." she traces her soulmark on her collarbone- just visible under her shirt. "She has my mark." a chill runs down her spine as she speaks. Her mark? Her sibling being born with the same mark? That's not possible...right? "Don't get scared, Mama. It's okay." She smiles at her daughter and works out a tangle in her hair.
"Of course it is, sweetheart."
When the second baby is born, her daughter's guess is incorrect. "Oh,, he's beautiful...oh, and look. His soulmark is on his ear." their daughter sulks next to her, holding her mother's hand. She doesn't want another sibling, not anymore. "Luella, sweetie, it's okay." She looks at her husband. "What about Finley?" and that's when hell breaks loose.
"No! That's not Finley!" their daughter's face screws up. "Finley is a girl, and this thing isn't Finley!" she points at him with slightly chubby fingers. "I don't like him. His name should be...Olive Head!" she points triumphantly at the black tufts on his head. "He's an Olive Head."
"Percy, what do you think of Oliver?"
"Good idea," he replies.
"You may kiss the bride," says the pastor. Her newfound husband doesn't ask twice. She can practically feel her maid of honor tearing up at the sight and internally rolls her eyes, but it doesn't really matter. She had gotten married today. Married. And to her soulmate, no less. She'd never thought this would happen.
If you told her ten years she'd be marrying her soulmate, she would have asked you what you were on. And now she actually was marrying her soulmate.
"I love you, Miss Chase." she rolls her eyes.
"It's Mrs. Jackson now."
"Mom, I brought someone home!" her daughter sounds uncharacteristically nervous. "Mom? Dad?" she appears in the doorway of their bedroom. "Oh. There you are. Uh, before I introduce you, can you guys...act cool?" she asks. "His name's Ethan, and-" she stops as her father turns toward her with new interest on his face.
"Ethan, huh?" she nods. "Has he been a gentleman? I still don't know about the whole dating thing, Lulu, so-"
"Dad. Ethan's sweet. And if you have to call me a nickname can't you just use Ella? I don't want you guys to embarrass me!" Their daughter has come a long way. Nineteen years old now, studying German at the University of San Francisco and hoping to go on exchange. Sometimes she doesn't know how all the time passed so quickly, because in her mind the girl pleading for her parents not to embarrass her in front of a guy shouldn't be nineteen.
"But Lulu," he starts to say. "Ella is your mom's thing. Lulu is my thing. You can't just switch it up! And if Ethan's a keeper, he'll just think it's cute." she doesn't look very convinced. "If he's going to get scared off because your old man calls you Lulu instead of Luella, is he really worth it?" she mumbles something. "Wise Girl, a little help?"
"As much as I hate to admit it, your father is right. But, between me and you, Lulu is a worse nickname than Ella. That's why I wouldn't let your dad name you Lou or Ellie." their daughter smiles, she's heard the story of how she got the name more times than anyone can count. "You and Ollie were such odd children."
"Mo-om-" She starts to say.
"Relax, honey. Your father and I will be on our best behavior. No promises about your brother, though." their daughter rolls her eyes and she bites back an endeared smile, leaning against her husband. "Though, I do advise you not to get married too fast. And soulmates don't matter as much as you might think. And please use contraceptive-" she yelps and dashes out the door covering her ears. He chuckles.
"You're scaring her, Wise Girl." she rolls her eyes.
"Luella is nineteen years old. I daresay I should be warning her about using contraceptive devices. Ollie is only fifteen, I am not ready to be a grandmother, and I don't think she's ready to be a mother." her husband snakes his arm around her waist and stares at the open doorway their daughter's fled through.
"They grow up fast, don't they?" she sighs.
"They really do, Percy. I miss my baby girl. You remember when she was born? She was so small. Now we're getting old." There's a whoop and a shout of something like 'I finally get to embarrass my sister!' down the hall in what they know to be their son's room, and their daughter's groan reaches their ears. She smiles, because even if they're fifteen and nineteen now they're still the children they were ten years ago.
"Hey, Percy," she smiles. He jolts when he notices her and stands hastily from where he's been kneeling down on the ground. "What are you doing?" she laughs. She's utterly carefree and yeah, people have been acting a little shifty around her but that's not something she's paying attention to.
"I just thought I saw a penny on the ground," he says, eyes darting. "But it was a stone." he starts to take something out of his pocket and freezes. "Uh, I don't have it on me though...it must have fallen out of my pocket." she raises her eyebrows at him because of how strange he's acting at the moment, shifty and oddly nervous.
"Percy, are you okay? Is someone sick? Are you sick? Did someone die?" he looks alarmed at her words. "Oh my God, someone died. Who died?" he holds up his hands in a placating gesture.
"Slow down, no one died. Well. I mean, obviously people died, people die every day, but no one that we know died, unless you do know someone who did die, but that's not the point," He rambles. "Uh. The point is, I was kinda thinking we could go on a walk, have some dinner, you know, catch up." she raises an eyebrow at him.
"Percy, we already 'catch up'...every day. We live in apartments above and below each other. But sure. Dinner and a walk sounds great." she tells him, watching him deflate in what seems to be relief. The wheels start to turn in her head. "So. Where to?" The walk turns out to be a drive down to the nearest town, where they visit a fancy restaurant and he orders champagne and doesn't even ask for it to be blue- something that lets her know something is up.
They eat and wander through the streets, pointing at stars in the sky and trying to remember which one is Venus and wondering if they can see Mars, and under the lamplight, his face shines golden, beautiful and bright. "So, Annabeth, I was thinking…" she turns her head to look at him. "Well, we've known each other for what, a year and a half?" she nods, and they stop at a bench. It begins to rain just then. He keeps going.
"Well, we've known each other for a year and a half. And, well...and I know this isn't really what you want to hear, but we're soulmates, and I've never known another person like you. And maybe this is a bit too fast, but…" what she thought was him tying his shoe was him getting down on one knee. She can't speak as the wind gets knocked out of her.
"Annabeth Chase, will you marry me?"
"Seriously. But it's so scenic!" her best friend protests. "You seriously want to get married at the courthouse?" she shrugs.
"Well, I don't want a big flashy wedding. I'm also not engaged to a movie star, Piper. I can't really afford to pull out all the stops. And Percy and I talked about this. I didn't want a big engagement, I don't want a large wedding. We just want a few friends and family. Getting married at the courthouse is just...less expensive, less of a big deal. I live in this tiny town, Piper, do you really take me for the sort of person who wants an extravagant party?"
"Your wedding is not a party," her friend mumbles. "But fine. Have your low key wedding. I still call maid of honor. OOh! Can I be the officiant? I saw on Friends that you could get ordained online…" amused, she shakes her head. "Annabeth, don't be a spoilsport."
"You're not officiating my wedding."
The day her daughter is married is a dreary day. The rainfall obscures her vision until she can only really see her baby girl dressed in white next to a blob that is her now husband. Her son looks at her with concern. "Mom, don't cry." she wipes away a raindrop. Not a teardrop. A raindrop.
"I'm not crying, Oliver. Now hush." he hushes, turning to murmur something to his own significant other. Her husband squeezes her hand, similarly misty eyed. Their daughter is positively giddy, looking radiant and tightly holding her new husband's hand. It reminds her of the day she married her own husband. It's been years since the day in the courthouse with a few friends and family, and their daughter didn't choose that route, but it's okay.
Because her baby girl married the love of her life today.
"Percy," she whispers. He's fast asleep in the bed they share in their house on the avenue she designed at the firm, but she's queasy as she's been all week. "Percy. Wake up." he makes a noise halfway between mumble and groan.
"Annabeth, what is it?"
She holds the stick in front of his face until his eyes cross, and it takes a solid two minutes before he stares at her with surprise and wonder and hugs her.
"OOmf." she complains.
"I love you, I love you so much-" he's saying. She knows.
"Do you mind if we come in?" their daughter looks up wearily from the bundle she cradles in her arms. She's never looked more like her mother in that moment, with the same sweaty blond hair and their eyes a few shades away from each other's. She merely nods.
"It's a boy," her daughter's husband tells her. His gaze is filled with a soft, childlike wonder, the same sort she saw in her own husband's eyes when their daughter was born. "We've named him Liam. Liam Aston."
"Ethan, Liam and Luella Aston." she says, testing the names. "He's a beautiful boy. More so than your brother," she says teasingly, and their daughter laughs tiredly. "Where is Ollie, by the way?" she shrugs. "We'll leave you to rest, okay Lulu? Just spend some time with your new family." their son-in-law gives them a thankful smile and their daughter says nothing else, her attention already back on the new baby she holds in her arms.
He keeps on coughing, and she doesn't know why. It started out light, nothing serious, nothing to worry about. He said so himself, and she saw no reason to doubt him. Now, it's become colder and more unforgiving, and he coughs more often and harsher. The cough isn't so much a cough now but a wheeze and quick breathing. She isn't sure if it's because they're old or if he's sick, but he shakes his head when she looks at him. He doesn't want to go to the hospital.
"We're going," she says firmly. "Come on. I'm not letting your breathing issue turn into the flu." he looks like he wants to argue. "No, Percy. You can't stay home."
Pneumonia.
That's what they tell her when she brings him in. Her eighty year old husband has pneumonia, and due to his age and the condition of his lungs, he might not make it through. But she doesn't dwell too much on it, because he couldn't be beaten by something like pneumonia. He's strong. Nothing's going to happen. But she calls their son and daughter and tells them the news.
"MOm? Uh, what's going on?" their daughter asks so innocently. She doesn't know what her mother knows, and she can picture her face crumbling as she tells her the news.
"LUella, your father has pneumonia. We're at the hospital. They don't know if he's going to make it." her voice cracks. She tells herself it's nothing to do with him. Their daughter is silent for a few moments, precious heartbeats.
"Ethan, Liam and I will be there as soon as possible." she promises. She hangs up, and then it's time to phone her son.
"Mom, I'm kinda in the middle of work, can we make this quick?" her eyes sting.
"Oliver, your father is in the hospital. He has pneumonia and the doctors can't tell if he's going to make it." her son goes silent. "When you get time, I think it would be best if you can come here...because you might have to say goodbye."
He finds his voice. "Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can." Annabeth turns off her phone and goes back.
She sleeps in the hospital beside him, and she's the first one awake when the machines get loud. Their children have gone already, will be back in the morning. Right now, they, beside a few doctors going in and out, are the only ones in the room. She's numb as they rush in and usher her out.
She's numb still when they tell her what's happened.
She's still numb in the morning when her- their- children come in.
She's number when she sits beside him after they've gone home.
Her eyes prickle with tears when she gives the doctors a nod, and she squeezes his hand as they take him off the life support.
His eyes open infinitesimally small just for a moment before he goes, and the flash of sea green clouds her vision.
They find her like that in the morning, make her go home. She's already told them what she wants done; and they say they'll take care of it.
She wanders their empty home they've shared for so many years, newly widowed.
She knocks on the door of the apartments he lived in, she lived in, together. She's turned away when they open the door but that last glimpse is all she needs.
Her hands shake at the service and she holds the urn close to her chest. Her children ask her what she's going to do now that she's alone. Now that he's gone. What's she going to do with his ashes. Whether she needs anything. She always gives them a shake of the head, it's not time yet.
She's a widow now.
She's numb for the next year; a year that she can't allow herself to grieve, doesn't scatter the ashes, keeps them on her bedside next to her when she sleeps. Aside from when she was a kid, it's the hardest year of her life.
She has no regrets the day she wakes up and knows it's her last. She takes a walk, goes to the places she visited with him, goes to her best friend's grave, phones her children, and says goodbye. She knows she's not going to wake up, but it's okay.
Annabeth Chase may not wake up tomorrow morning, but someone new will.
She's looking forward to seeing him again.
In the morning, her daughter finds her cold with the last note she's written folded up and sitting under her husband's urn.
I know I won't wake up in the morning, but that's alright. I've lived a long life and I've been very lucky. This year without Percy has been the hardest one in many, many years. So to Luella, and Oliver, and your spouses and significant others and children, I want to say it will be okay.
You may think it crazy that I would do nothing when I know I'm about to die, but there is a soulmate out there I have not seen for a year, and now I will be seeing him.
There is a theory I have, that when you die, you'll be reincarnated, and you'll have the same soulmate- reincarnated- that you had in your past lives. That's why I know I'll see my husband again.
I also have a request. Upon discovering my body, sometime next morning, I would like to be cremated, and for my ashes to be buried with my husband's in the same gravesite Piper McLean, Pandora McLean and Mango Chase have been left.
Annabeth Chase
Her daughter reads it, and somewhere in a different realm, her mother and father unite, because the world is full of many things. Love, loss, life, all filtering into one thing.
Soul shards.
It's not the end.
After all, it doesn't say so.
I'd thank you all again, but it would get old, wouldn't it? You all know who you are, anyway. That's what matters.
I guess this is the end of this story's documented adventures.
I read something once; that stories are never ended, just abandoned. But I don't think this is abandoned...but it's time for this chapter to close. I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas, and if you don't celebrate it, I hope you have a lovely day.
Once again, I had a great time writing Soul Shards. I hope you had a good time reading it.
Nymph of Faeryland
P.S.; The Swallow.