I do not own anything from Rick Riordan's Universe.

Chapter 31

Annabeth gripped tightly the sides of the toilet as her stomach decided to return the sandwich she had eaten at lunch. It was such a sudden outburst that she'd dropped Percy's shoes in the middle of the room before rushing to the small bathroom and quickly falling on her knees to reach the toilet in time.

It was the second time that day.

"We should go to the doctor," Percy said stepping into the bathroom and handing her a couple of napkins so she could wipe her mouth. Annabeth thanked him, cleaned her mouth, and flushed the toilet before sitting on the cold tiled floor, and tried to catch her breath.

"It's just stomach flu," she reassured him. "It'll go away."

Percy raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. "You've been like this for a couple of weeks now." Annabeth turned to look at him and her eyes stopped on the big scar on his right arm. Even if Percy was good at scarring, the remnants of the gunshot wound still made her wince every time she noticed it.

"Yeah, but it's less frequent."

Her boyfriend sighed and squatted next to her. "Should we…" he cleared his throat and picked at his hand. He doubted for a second but finally continued. "Should we buy a pregnancy test?"

Annabeth blinked a couple of times as she digested his question. She smiled tiredly, "I'm not pregnant, Percy."

He frowned. "How would you know?"

"Because we've been careful, and I had my period a week ago." And I know the real reason why I'm throwing up like crazy, she thought. After their camping trip, Annabeth's visions had returned. Luke's voice was recurrent in her thoughts and she'd even had a few night terrors when she tried to sleep.

Only they were worse because, most times, it was Percy's dead body and not Luke's.

Hestia had prescribed her a new type of medication, and its side effects were terrible. Like throwing up by surprise after her meals.

She hadn't told Percy though. She didn't want him to think she hadn't improved at all.

He shrugged. "Miracles happen. Have you seen that weird show where women don't know they're pregnant until they are about to deliver?"

Annabeth exploded in laughter. "Oh, gods, Percy. Help me up."

He smiled, also amused by the whole situation, and gently grabbed her hand to help her stand. Still smiling, Annabeth grabbed her toothbrush and washed her teeth again, as she heard Percy pick up the shoes she had dropped on the floor and put them in his suitcase.

When she stepped back into the room, he had made a mess trying to organize his stuff. "Let me do it," she said gently pushing him aside, and neatly accommodating his clothes in the small space.

"I was doing fine!" Percy complained but allowed her to take control. "Who cares if they get a few wrinkles on the trip."

"I do," she replied. "You need to cause a good impression."

"I'm gonna reject the job, remember?"

"Yeah, but it's better if your dad believes you're really trying," she suggested. She started repeating her mental list, "Shirts, pants, underwear, socks, shoes…Are you gonna pack something comfy to sleep in?"

He shrugged and sat on the bed next to the open suitcase. "I can sleep in my underwear."

She sighed. "Fine. Freeze to death if you want."

"I'm pretty sure they have heaters on Iceland," Percy said, scrolling through his phone. He typed something in silence as Annabeth kept talking to herself about things he'd need in another country.

"We should buy that medkit," she suggested. "You're prone to doing stupid and dangerous things, so it could come in handy."

"Uh-huh," Percy answered, clearly not paying attention to her. His phone dinged and he typed something else before saying, "Will agrees with me. You should go to the doctor."

"Jeez, Percy. You can't bother Will every time we have a simple pain! He has better things to do and worse things to worry about."

Percy put his hands up. "Hey, it's not my fault you have little concern about your health. And it is an important thing. It's not only the throwing up, Annabeth. You haven't been sleeping again. Not since…" he stopped to take a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "I just don't want things to escalate as they did before-"

"They won't," she interrupted him, her voice determined. "Of course, I'm a little bit more anxious, but it's not as bad as the time Luke died," she lied. "Things will be back to normal in no time."

He tapped his phone on his hand a couple of times, before locking it and throwing it far over the bed. "Okay."

Annabeth smiled. "Yeah?"

Percy laced his fingers with hers and pushed her closer to him before resting his head on her chest. "I trust you. I don't like the idea of leaving you alone for the first time in a month after a very traumatic experience. But it's your decision after all."

She brushed his black hair with her fingers and sighed. "Fine. I'll go to the doctor…"

"Thank the gods…"

"…IF I can afford it." She sighed, "I don't have a job anymore, remember?" Quitting her only job had really not contributed to her mental state, but after scaring to death a family with her scream at seeing a vision of Luke sitting with them, Annabeth and Eric had both agreed it was time for her to go.

She had been very disciplined and had saved a lot of money so she could still pay some rent, but it was a limited resource.

"And don't you dare say you could lend me some," she cut him off when he opened his mouth excitingly. "I owe my dad too much already and I don't want to be in debt to you too."

Percy clicked his tongue but didn't say anything else, until "What are you going to do with your apartment?"

"Find a roommate and move even further away from the city," she said, already fearing the question. "My dad offered the possibility of moving back to San Francisco and stay at home for a long time. Just rearrange my life as he called it."

Percy pushed her back to see her directly in the eyes. "What happens to you not leaving New York because the best architecture firms are here?" he asked softly.

She sighed heavily, "Honestly, Percy? That's really not my priority right now. I just want to make it until the end of the year." He nodded and Annabeth gave him a peck in the forehead before closing the suitcase on his bed. The accumulated tiredness from not sleeping well hit her out of nowhere and she felt her eyelids closing involuntarily.

"Can you finish cleaning the kitchen?" she asked him, putting the suitcase down. "I want to take a long nap before we visit your mom."

"Yeah, sure," he agreed standing up and to leave all the space on the bed for her. He retrieved his phone as she laid on the bed and asked, "Do you mind I put some music on?"

"Nop, it'll be my own white noise machine," she joked holding a yawn back. "Just don't put any heavy metal stuff."

He smirked. "Nico's playlist it is."

She threw him a pillow, but he dodged it expertly. Her eyes closed and she fell asleep moments after, listening to Percy's awful voice singing from the kitchen.

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyou

When Annabeth opened her eyes, she found herself in a strange room. There were toys everywhere, cute pink frames hanging from the walls, and a rocking chair on the corner. There was an elephant lamp on one commode with a warm and soft light coming out of it. Then she heard the breathing.

A small baby sleeping in the crib was fast asleep. Her daughter.

Finally, she thought. A good dream.

Trying not to wake her up, Annabeth turned off the light and tiptoed her way out of the room. She made sure she had the baby's monitor with her before continuing down the hall and down the stairs.

She recognized the house. It was one of the many she had designed. It was exactly like she had imagined it, with her favorite windows, French doors to the small garden, and open spaces.

After stepping into the first floor, Annabeth heard movement coming from the kitchen. She smiled. Could it be that her dream had put Percy on the last place she had seen him? She was so convinced of her premonition, that she didn't even think to look at the framed pictures as she made her way to the kitchen.

Her heart stopped as she turned over the last corner and the first thing that greeted her was a pair of baby blue eyes.

"Hey! Is she already asleep?" Luke asked drying the last dish with a towel and setting it in the cabinets. His sandy hair was better trimmed, and he had a business attire on. She had never seen him with one,

Annabeth blinked. "Uh, yeah. Where is Percy?"

Luke frowned and put his hands on the counter. "Percy?" He tapped his fingers for a few seconds before realization hit his eyes. "Ah! The guy you worked with all those years ago?" He chuckled. "I have no idea. Why do you ask?"

Her mind started swirling. Was she really in a dream or was that her reality and those things with Percy had never happened?

"Are you okay?" Luke asked, noticing her deep frown.

"Yeah, just a little dizzy."

"Let's seat then," he offered, as he left the drying towel on the counter and made his way towards her. He gently grabbed her hand and led her to the big sofa in front of a lighted fireplace.

She sat down and noticed there was a weird mist around the place. As if all had been taken directly from a fairy tale, and any sudden move would make everything disappear. Luke sat extremely close to her and grabbed her hand.

She let him, of course. Wasn't he, her husband? But why did it feel so wrong and so cold? Not even the fireplace was enough to warm her.

"How was work?" she asked, trying to warm things up with some light conversation. Did he even have a job?

He smiled. "It was excellent. We had a few problems with some inventory in storage, but we managed to control it before it grew worse."

"Sounds like you did a great job."

"Yeah, I'm proud of me."

Annabeth didn't remember ever seen him like this. Relaxed, proud, confident…She remembered a Luke that was always on his nerves, aggressive and unsatisfied. Maybe he had changed.

"Alice said her first word today," he announced as if he had been holding back for a long time.

Annabeth blinked. "Alice?"

"Yeah," he smiled embarrassingly. He was smiling a lot. "I didn't want you to be sad that you missed it, but I couldn't hold it anymore."

"What did she say?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Daddy."

"Really? Wow." She sighed. "Oh, well. I'm sure she'll say it again sometime."

He chuckled. "Yeah. You just wait. It was the best thing in my life."

Annabeth took a deep breath and allowed herself to relax. She really needed to stop overthinking everything. It seemed like a very happy life. They were both successful and had a beautiful daughter.

She looked at the burning flames in the fireplace.

Then why did it feel so wrong?

"I shouldn't have died," Luke said out of nowhere, a sad smile on his lips.

It was as if someone had dropped a bucket of ice over her head.

"What?" she asked, but her voice sounded far away from her.

"I shouldn't have died." His blue eyes were reflecting the flames as he looked deeply into the fire. "I lost the chance at this life and I died only with memories of a bitter one."

Annabeth opened her mouth, but her throat was dry. What could she possibly say? The room felt even colder than before, and the deadly silence was interrupted by the baby crying to the monitor. She was relieved to have an excuse to leave.

"I need to…" she signaled the monitor and tried to stand up, but Luke's hand gripped her arm firmly making her seat again. "Luke…" she begged.

"You were the only one that could have saved me," he muttered, his cold eyes still watching the burning flames. "But you gave up on me. You left me when I needed you the most."

"I didn't…I tried…" She began explaining but the baby cried even louder making it hard to think.

"You knew who I was hanging out with, and even then, you were more worried about your studies than helping me." His grip tightened and Annabeth winced.

"Let me go!" she yelled.

He laughed dryly. "You might have as well been the one who pulled the trigger."

Something heavy appeared on her left hand. A gun.

"No…" Annabeth cried trying to throw the gun away, but it was stuck to her hand.

"Go on," Luke spat looking into her eyes. "Shoot. It's the only way you're gonna get rid of me."

"I can't," she sobbed, his touch was burning her. "I won't."

"Oh, come on. You already shot someone. Don't be shy now."

Annabeth couldn't think. The crying was insanely loud, and the house seemed to shake more violently with every second that passed. She needed to get out, she needed to wake up.

"I'm not gonna let you leave, Annabeth," Luke warned. "You're gonna be trapped in your mind with me for all eternity. Unless you pull the trigger and finish all of this."

Without wanting to, her hand started to move slowly until the gun was pointing at him. "No, no, no…" she yelled. "Please don't do this. There must be another way. I'm gonna find another way."

Luke shook his head, sadly.

"Too late."

In a swift move, Luke lunged forward, and she pulled the trigger.

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyou

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Sally asked putting, in front of her, a plate with a huge slice of her famous blueberry pie. Her eyes were full of motherly concern for her, and they overwhelmed Annabeth to the point where she almost cried.

"I'm okay," she said giving her a warm smile. "Just worried about the trial next week, but Athena is the best. I'm sure everything will be fine."

Sally knew she was lying. She had a gift like that. Annabeth was aware she had a horrible and tired appearance and that Sally had noticed it since the moment they showed up at her front door.

The kind woman shot a look to his son, Percy, who was angrily stabbing his pie with a fork. He had been pissed at Annabeth since she had woken up from her nap, crying and shivering.

"I'm gonna cancel my flight," he had announced looking for his cellphone as Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Don't be silly," she had scolded him grabbing his phone before him and keeping it away. "It was just a nightmare."

They had argued for over half an hour before it was time to go to Sally's.

"Would you like tea or something?" Sally kept offering as she sat back on the table with her own slice. "Hot chocolate? It won't solve anything, but it'll give you the strength to keep going."

Annabeth smiled thankfully. She was so full that she didn't even believe she'd be able to finish all her dessert. But she felt bad rejecting another offering from her. "Tea would be nice, but I can prepare it myself."

"I'll do it," Paul said grabbing his empty plate and giving Sally a small kiss on her cheek. "I'm so full I need to stand up for a while before I get sick."

Sally waited until her husband was out of the room and then asked, "Is everything okay between you two?"

Annabeth was surprised by her bluntness.

"Yes," she answered at the same time Percy said, "No." She frowned at him and repeated, "Yes, we're fine."

Sally raised her eyebrows. "Okay…then what's the problem?"

Percy resumed his angry eating and Annabeth sighed. "It's not a relationship issue. We're just on our nerves with Percy's trip, my tight budget, the lawsuit…"

"Her stubbornness," Percy muttered. Annabeth took his pie away as revenge. "Hey!"

"Okay," Sally pushed her plate aside and laced her fingers. "Baby steps. Let's start with your trip," she told Percy. "What's the problem?"

"He doesn't want to go because he doesn't want to leave me alone," Annabeth snitched. "Even if he knows I'm a grown-up woman who can take care of myself."

Percy snorted. "Like you have recently?"

"I went through a hard time! I'm allowed to have anxiety from time to time."

"Well, I went through a traumatic experience too," Percy argued covering his scar with his hand. "And I'm allowed to have irrational fears from time to time."

"What if you stayed with someone while Percy was away?" Sally intervened, stopping their bickering. She signaled the hallway. "We can turn the study into an improvised bedroom. That way Percy will still travel, and it would ease his nerves."

Percy and Annabeth shared a look. "Is it okay with you?" he asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I can ask Piper too. I don't want to be a burden here…"

Sally waved her hand. "Nonsense. This is your house now." Annabeth tried hard not to weep at her statement. Gods, why was she so sensitive lately? "Second matter. Money issues."

Annabeth sighed. "I need to look for a new place and a roommate before my money runs out. Also, Percy offered to lend me so money, but I don't want to owe more than I do right now."

Percy's mom scrunched up her eyebrows. "Roommate?"

"To help with the expenses."

"What about Percy?" Sally suggested.

"What about me?" Percy asked with his mouth full.

"Can't you be her roommate? You already lived together for a few months, right? You already know each other's co-living rules, so it would be easier than finding a new companion. That is, if you don't think is too soon for your relationship," Sally advised, wisely.

Percy swallowed and frowned. "Why didn't I think of that before?" He turned to Annabeth. "What do you think?"

She blinked. "I don't know…It kind of seems like a big step." They hadn't even been dating for a full year, and their life together had been an extreme rollercoaster so far. But Sally was right. They had lived together for a few months in the past and things had been okay. Even better than okay.

"Let her think, dear," Sally told Percy warmly.

"We only had Rosemary," Paul said stepping out of the kitchen with a steaming cup. He put it in front of Annabeth.

"It's perfect," she smiled. "Thank you." She took a sip and instantly felt calmer. There was something about Percy's parents that always helped in seeing problems in a simpler way.

"And don't worry about the trial," Sally said squeezing Annabeth's hand. "You did nothing wrong, and you said yourself that Athena is the best. Everything will be fine."

And for once, Annabeth believed her.

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyou

"Can I spend the night at your place?" Annabeth asked holding a big Tupperware with the rest of the pie. Percy unlocked the car and she hurried inside, running away from the slightly chill September night.

"You don't need to ask, Wise Girl," he said turning the engine on. "You just get in bed with me and I'll get the hint."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I told you so you wouldn't drive me all the way to my place," she informed him.

"I wasn't going to anyway. You hate that place."

"It's still my apartment."

"Not for long," he pointed out as he pulled out the car from its parking spot.

They were silent for a few minutes before Annabeth said, "Your mom is great. She has a solution for everything."

He smiled. "She does."

"Remind me to call Piper. I appreciate your mom's offer, but I'll feel more comfortable with a friend."

"Will do. Although your memory is better than mine, so I don't think I'll need to." He tapped his fingers on the wheel and asked, "What about the living arrangements?"

"I don't know, Percy. Are you ready for that kind of commitment?" she asked, even though she was the one scared of taking that step.

He shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, as my mom said, we already lived together for a few months and we didn't kill each other. That's a plus."

"We won't have any privacy."

"Maybe, but we can talk to the other whenever we feel overwhelmed. I, for example, can spend some time at the pool while you have some alone time at home."

"Okay, but how about the rent? It's crazy expensive. I don't think I'll have enough to even pay half of it."

"I'm already paying it on my own. Whatever you can give, is enough help. And it's only temporary until you find a better job." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "C'mon, Wise Girl. No more excuses. It'll be good for both of us."

Annabeth bit her lip. She didn't want to tell him the real reason why living together would possibly be a problem. What if her nightmares grew worse? If Percy was worried now, she didn't want to imagine how it'd be when he saw how frequent they were.

On the other side, being with Percy was ten times better than with a stranger, and things were a lot easier while he was around. She really couldn't come up with a better solution.

"Okay."

Percy blinked and then smiled. "Awesome."

"I can move in while you're away," Annabeth proposed.

"Can't you wait 'til I come back? I can help with it."

"Nah, I want to leave that place as soon as possible," she confessed. "I just have to tell my dad about the arrangements and design a plan to pay him back. The guys can help me move in. Not that I have too much stuff, anyway."

"If that's what you want," he agreed. "You won't regret it, Wise Girl."

She laughed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I don't want you to eat your words in a few months when I'm throwing you your dirty clothes in the face."

He snorted. "You'd love it if I ate my words."

Annabeth smiled.

"Yeah, I would."

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyou

Annabeth couldn't erase the smile from her face as she opened the entrance door with the spare key Piper had given her. As she stepped inside, several pairs of eyes rested on her from over Piper's couch.

"Well?!" Frank asked excitedly as Annabeth took off her shoes and her jacket next to the door. "How did it go?"

"Let her breathe," Hazel advised. "She just arrived."

"We don't need an answer," Piper said, smiling. "Her smile says it all."

Annabeth cleared her throat and all her friends stared at her expectantly. "We won the lawsuit," she announced happily.

Her friends yelled a collective cheer and they all got up from the place to congratulate her. Piper had bought Champagne already as she had predicted the outcome beforehand and opened the two bottles with a satisfying pop. Since nobody wanted to cook, they agreed on going to a special place to celebrate.

Annabeth felt happy and confident, as she hadn't in a long time. She laughed and talked with her friends, without having to worry about her future. She had done something right. She had taken down a horrible corporation.

"So, that's it?" Will asked after dinner. "You're finally done with the whole process?"

"Yep, Athena took care of everything. I just need to sign a few papers, and all will be over."

"Athena?" Reyna asked pouring more wine in her cup. "Isn't she the one that helped you cover up the whole thing at the gas station?"

Annabeth's smile finally faded away. She cleared her throat. "Yeah, that one."

Reyna's eyes widened. "I didn't mean to say like that, Annabeth. You did nothing wrong. It was the fair thing that they let you go."

"Yeah," Leo agreed as he drunkenly tried to fix his belt. "Who cares if you had an illegal gun and the guy died, you saved Percy's life."

The whole table fell silent and murderous looks were sent towards Leo.

Wait, what?

Annabeth felt as if someone had just cold stabbed her in the back. "Died? The guy died?" She looked desperately at Piper. "You told me he has in surgery and that he was going to survive."

Piper closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You weren't okay, Annabeth. You were in jail! Telling you would only have made things worse…"

Annabeth stopped listening. "I-I murdered someone, and nobody told me?"

Her friends acquired a sudden interest in the table. Leo looked confusedly around and said, "Percy didn't want you to know."

"Leo!" Will hissed.

Annabeth stood abruptly from the table. "And you just agreed with him?" she demanded.

"You saved his life!" Piper said. "It was justified…"

"A death is never justified," Annabeth said sourly, the face of Luke coming suddenly into her mind. She couldn't panic. Not there with all her friends. "I need to make a phone call."

She hurriedly excused herself as her friends sat in silence, their eyes full of shame. She exited the restaurant and speed-dialed the number.

She had called him twice when he finally picked up.

"Hey," he muttered sleepily. It was two a.m. in Iceland after all, but she didn't care.

"Why didn't you tell me he had died?" Annabeth demanded, her voice unusually calm.

A moment of silence before his voice sounded again, more alert. "What?"

"The guy I shot in the gas station. Nobody told me he was dead. Why?"

"Who told you…?"

"It doesn't matter who told me!" she half-screamed. "I killed someone, Percy, and I didn't know. Why?"

"I was scared you'd do something stupid," he reasoned. "Like lock yourself up in a cell or something."

"Maybe I deserved it."

"You didn't, Annabeth. It was self-defense."

"I could have shot his leg…"

"You acted instinctively. There's nothing you could have done about it."

She tried to ease her breathing. Suddenly, her phone started ringing. She had another call. Slowly she took away the phone from her ear and looked at the caller ID.

Luke Castellan was calling her.

She took a sharp breath.

"Annabeth?" Percy called on the other side. Fully awake. "I'm going back. We can talk this better in person…"

"No," she said, her voice strong again. "No, it's okay. I understand. Sorry, I just freaked out."

"It's okay," he soothed her. "You did nothing wrong, Wise Girl."

Her phone kept ringing.

"I have to go," she said steadily. "Piper must be worried. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

Percy sighed. "I can grab the next flight…"

"I swear I'm fine," she reassured him. "Piper will keep me company, and we can talk about it when you come back."

"Okay, just call me when you wake up. I want to hear about your success in the lawsuit."

"Will do. Love you."

"Love you too."

She hung up and picked up the other call.

"Hello?"

A few haunting seconds of silence passed before Luke's voice was heard from the other line.

"I was a bad person too and the ones who shot me are in jail. Why shouldn't you be?"

The line went dead.

A/N: Hello! So the next chapter won't be the last one but we will finally have some closure on the whole Luke thing. Excited for you guys to read it.

Kudos and I hope you're all safe and healthy.