Please bear with me on these updates. Life is insane right now and probably will be until Christmas break. I am trying my best to get at least a chapter a week up on both stories but I seem to be failing at that at the moment.
phantom753 - Your plot twist just got a little more interesting this chapter! At least I hope anyway.
So anywho, read, review and enjoy.
Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.
Chapter 15
"ANNABETH! GET IN HERE PLEASE!"
Percy was pacing in the bathroom, his heart racing. He never knew that one little stick could scare the hell out of him so much. He turned his back on the door as he started to pace again.
"AN-NA-BETH CHASE!" He knew his voice sounded harsh as he over annunciated each syllable of her name but at this moment he didn't really care.
He turned around to find her white as a ghost, arms up at her shoulders in an 'I concede' sort of way with Thalia looking on in an annoying sort of way.
He couldn't talk now that she was standing in front of him. His brain was screaming at him to ask her what was going on but words were just escaping him at the moment.
Annabeth couldn't tell what he was thinking. She tried to read his eyes but they seemed to be full of every emotion under the sun at the given moment. She wondered if he had actually looked at the stick on the counter or if he just saw the box and flipped.
She sucked in a deep breath and took a step toward Percy and the stick that held their fate.
Percy finally spoke up, "Is it true?" His voice was soft and quiet as he tried to read her eyes.
"Well, considering your reaction to it, I am going to say yes," She in turn was quiet with her response and dropped her head. "I am sorry Perce. I thought we were being careful enough to avoid this."
Percy instantly rushed forward and pulled her into his arms. He could tell she was on the verge of tears and suddenly the last week made sense to him. "You don't have anything to be sorry for babe. This is just as much my fault. I did this to you."
"Oh good God! When you two are done being whatever this form of disgusting sappy is, you will be able to find me in the living room watching a movie!"
"Seriously Thal? What, were you expecting us to scream and yell about this or what?" Percy gently pushed Annabeth away from him and he was suddenly annoyed with his cousin and found himself wishing that she were back home in New York.
"Well, I was expecting more than this," Thalia wailed as she flung her arms around in front of her, motioning at him and Annabeth.
"Go watch your movie Thal. I need to talk to Percy alone," Annabeth snapped at her best friend.
Thalia was about to retort but the glare she received from Annabeth made her snap her mouth shut sharply.
"Well, I will just be in the other room then. You know where to find me," She whined as she turned on her heel and headed toward the living room.
Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand and started to pull her out of the bathroom. On their way to the bedroom she grabbed the stick holding their fates. She needed to see it for herself.
Percy sat down on the bed and pulled Annabeth down with him. She sat down next to him with her head down, hands running over the back of the small stick.
Percy slowly put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. He watched her intently as she finally flipped the stick over in her hands.
The breath caught in her throat as one word glared back at her. Her mind was racing in a million different directions and suddenly she was overcome with emotion and started crying. 'Damn these pregnancy hormones," She thought angrily as she tried to catch her breath.
Percy pulled her head to his chest and she could feel his heart racing against her cheek. "What are we going to do Percy?"
"What do you want to do?" He rubbed her back gently. He knew what he wanted to do but he wanted to know what her answer was before he even gave his opinion.
"Do not lay this all on me Perce. That's not fair. I cannot make a decision like that when it affects the both of us," She cried into his chest.
Percy sat quietly, rubbing her back, trying to calm her sobs. They sat that way for several minutes before Annabeth was calm enough to speak again.
"Answer this for me," She requested as she sat up and looked him in the eyes. He simply nodded and she continued, "If this decision were left completely up to you, what would you want to do?"
He looked into her gray eyes, they were stormy at the moment, like the weight of the world was swirling around in them. He removed his hand from her back and gently cupped her face in both of them. "If this were completely left up to me, I would say keep it. That is our baby. A perfect part of you and screwed up part of me." Percy smiled at the last line and watched as her eyes began to calm ever so slightly. "Now, answer my question and we will see if we can find a compromise." Annabeth nodded and he asked, "What do you want to do?"
Annabeth sigh and pushed her face into his hands a little harder, a tear pushed its way out of her eye. "As much as every fiber in my being says we can't do this right now, I cannot get rid of a perfect part of you and the screwed up part of me."
She opened her eyes and looked into Percy's sea green orbs. The currents of the ocean moving within them and she could see the happiness flooding through them. "I know we aren't ready for this though."
"Do you love me Annabeth?" Concern was flooding his voice and features.
"Why would you ask that? Of course I love you Percy!"
Percy pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear, "Because, I love you more than anything and together we will make everything work. Do you understand me?"
Annabeth nodded and leaned up to kiss him lightly on the lips.
Percy returned the kiss with gentle pressure and then pulled away and smiled at her. "We're having a baby!"
"So what am I doing here?" Thalia looked around the room uncomfortably and tried to sink back into the seat even more.
"You are here for moral support. Shut up and deal." Annabeth didn't even look up at her friend but instead continued to flip through her book.
"I get the feeling these women in here think that I am your girlfriend and not in the 'best' sort of way you if you get my drift."
Annabeth dropped her book into her lap and smiled at Thalia. "Oh honey, stop being so insecure!" She then patted Thalia on the thigh and picked up her book, a smile spreading from ear to ear.
Thalia on the other hand burned scarlet, her cheeks tinting deep red at what Annabeth just said. She noticed several ladies looking ever at them and under her breath she said, "I hate you Annie, I really hate you."
"You love me and you know it, now suck it up and deal. I didn't want Percy here for this. Not yet. I need to know what to expect." Her eyes went back to her book and then to her friend. "Don't look at me like that."
"What? You already slept with the man Annabeth, like he hasn't seen it all already!"
Now it was Annabeth's turn to blush. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks and the tips of her ears burned. "You know I don't like to be caught off guard by things. Just bear with me please."
Thalia just nodded and rolled her eyes. "You can be a real freak sometimes Annie."
Annabeth ignored her, even though a small smile played at her lips.
"Annabeth Chase," A short, brunette nurse called for a door across the room. "Annabeth?"
Annabeth quickly stood up and gathered her purse and book and then grabbed Thalia by the hand and practically pulled her across the office.
The nurse smiled and held the door open for the both of them and said sweetly, "Chin up hon! Y'all are having a baby!"
Thalia reached forward and smacked Annabeth in the back of the head.
"That is no way to treat your partner!"
Annabeth couldn't hold it in anymore and she busted out laughing. "Sorry. She's not my partner. She's my best friend and here for moral support."
"Ah . . ." The nurse trailed off and flushed almost violet. "I am sorry. I just assumed."
"It's okay," Annabeth said through a fit of giggles.
"Okay, so I need your height, weight and vitals before we go into the room and prepare for the doctor to see you."
Annabeth nodded and quickly complied with the nurse so they could get into the room all the sooner. After about five minutes they were headed into a small room with two chairs, a large gray medical bed and small ultrasound machine with a rolling stool pushed up under the stand the machine was on.
"Okay, so, since you aren't very far along according to what you wrote down in your questionnaire, there will be a vaginal ultrasound to make sure the sack is at the right size for what you have here. So I need you to strip from the waist down and hop up here on the bed. You can cover up with this sheet." The nurse patted the sheet lying in the middle of the bed and then walked to the door. "We will be back in about five minutes!" And with that, the chipper young woman was gone.
"Good God, that woman was overly perky," Thalia declared as she plopped down in a chair next to the bed.
Annabeth simply smiled. "Well in case you haven't noticed, pretty much everyone in this state is like that." She finished her statement by throwing her folded up clothes into Thalia's face.
"They haven't rubbed off on you," She complained as she threw the clothes into the chair next to her.
There was a sudden knock on the door and a man who couldn't have been more than in his mid-thirties peeked his through. "We all ready in here?"
Annabeth nodded and he walked in with the nurse behind him.
"I am Dr. Boscoe and I will be with you on this crazy journey you are now embarking on," The man said as he walked across the room, holding his hand out to her.
She took his hand and suddenly she was nervous. This was all new territory to her. Sure she had been to the gynecologist before, but this was a little different.
The doctor quickly sat down on the little rolling stool and then flipped open her chart. He then pulled a little wheel out of his front pocket and moved the inner portion of the wheel around. He looked up at her and smiled sweetly. "So, according to everything here, this is your first baby, correct?"
Annabeth smiled weakly and nodded.
"And your last cycle started on September fourth?"
She nodded once again and waited for him to get on with the program. She needed to know what was going on in her body.
"That puts your estimated due date on June tenth." He smiled as he looked up from her chart and the little wheel he had been looking at earlier.
"God that seems so far away and yet so close all at the same time."
The doctor smiled and nodded back at her. "Well, I want to have a quick peek, just to make sure that we are on track size wise and that there are no discrepancies." He was quiet for a moment as he pushed his chair backward and positioned himself at the foot of the bed. "Cadence, a little help please?"
The nurse quickly came over from the corner she had been hiding in and helped him lower the last section of the bed. It folded neatly underneath and they each pulled out a stirrup from the side. Cadence continued to help Annabeth get her feet into the stirrups and lower her rear to the edge as the doctor moved back to the ultrasound machine. He lengthened a few cords and then rolled it to the new end of the bed. He positioned himself between her legs and Annabeth's cheeks flushed. Percy was the only man she willingly allowed down there and she was suddenly glad it was Thalia with her and not her boyfriend to see her discomfort at that fact.
"Cadence, let's get this ready," He exclaimed as he held up a rather odd looking instrument. Annabeth and Thalia watched as Cadence quickly draped a condom and a ton of blue gel on top.
"This, ladies, is an ultrasound wand. This will allow me to see into your uterus, because at this point, you are only five weeks and your uterus has not moved high enough out of the pelvis to do the outer ultrasound. Now Annabeth, this is going to be cold and most likely a little uncomfortable. I need you to stay relaxed."
Annabeth nodded and waited and then jolted as she felt the cold weirdness descend upon her. She tried to see the screen the doctor was looking at, but it was angled just enough that all she could see was a bit of gray on the screen.
"Hmmm . . . are you positive about your last menstrual cycle start date?"
Annabeth resisted the urge to sit up and asked as calmly as she could, "Yes, why?"
"Because this screen says otherwise!" He quickly turned the machine so both Annabeth and Thalia could both see what was going on.
Annabeth was confused at what she was seeing but Thalia was not. She started off as sonographer before finding her calling as an EMT. Thalia knew her eyes were more than likely the size of saucers and before she knew it she let out, "Oh holy shit!"