A/N- This chapter takes place a few months later. Just to let you know, every little "line" break signifies a time interval for as long as a few more months. You'll be able to follow along after a bit, though.

I stare straight into Annabeth's gray eyes.

"Annabeth, your...your....your..." I stutter among my words. She nods.

"Yes, I'm pregnant." She says plainy, patting the small bump on her stomach. "And I need your ideas for names."

I shuffle around in my seat. We are sitting at a small diner with plates of food in front of us. "Annabeth," I say. "I mean, that's a huge decision-naming a kid. Do you even know if it will be a boy or girl?" Annabeth pats her stomach, showing little disappointment, although she doesn't answer me because frankly, I am still asking the questions. "I mean, come on, Annabeth!" I plead. "I'm not the Harvard graduate here!"

She chuckles bit and turns to me. "Rachel, you don't need a degree from an Ivy League college to name a baby."

I look away. "Yeah, I know." We sit quietly for a bit, not knowing what to say. Both me and Annabeth are lost in thought. I'm thinking about names for the arrival, but I can't seem to point to the perfect one. Finally, Annabeth is the one to break the silence.

"Oh! I've got it! Allele! Well, if it's a girl of course."

I sit there confused. "Why Allele?" I say. Annabeth sits up more at the table.

"Well, allele is one of several variants that can occupy a locus on a chromosome." She says promptly, then translates; "It's an ocean term."

"Oh." I say stupidly. "What if it's a boy?" I ask. Annabeth thinks for a minute before answering.

"Evenness! Yes, Evenness. That's when- oh, it's just another ocean term." I am relieved for her sparing me a long definition, I smile at the name.

"Well, that certainly is a unique pair of choices, Mrs. Jackson." I say with a hint of humor in my voice. "Very Unique."

RING RING!

"Hello? Annabeth?" I say into the phone quietly, so my boss won't here. We were never supposed to answer personal calls during office hours, but Annabeth was figuring out the gender of the baby today, and she said I would be the first person she called. After a few happy laughs from the other end, I finally get a reply.

"Rachel! You'll never believe it! It's a girl! A beautiful baby girl!" I can hear tears of joy exploding from Annabeth. I can't help but smile as I whisper back.

"That's...that's fabulous! Are you still going to name it-uh-her the name you chose that day at the diner?" I ask curiously.

"I've got to talk it over with Percy. You see, I haven't exactly told him yet, but...but..." Her sentence is cut off by more tears. "I'm just so happy!"

Before I can answer back, I hear a deep voice from another room.

"Ms. Dare, might I ask what you are doing?" It's my boss. I look to him.

"Nothing, I'll get back to work." I say to him. Once he leaves, I whisper into the phone, "Annabeth, I truly am happy for you, but I really have to go. Talk to me later, okay?"

"Okay."

Yes. Annabeth was happy. Percy was happy. Soon, they would be a big happy family, and I knew that. But...why could I help not to feel the least bit jealous? I knew it was horrible of me, but for a second, I wanted to be the one on the other end of the phone. I wanted to be the one with the perfect husband, perfect budding family.

But I couldn't, could I?

I walk through a baby store, passing all of the adorable sized outfits, and rattles. I'm struggling; what should I get the first ever quarter-blood? A blanket?

Then I'm thinking about the dollar amount. This was a very important child and I didn't want to show up at a baby shower with some cheap gift while the gods all brought majestic presents. Since when did gift-buying become so hard?

Soon, I am stocking my cart with dozens of cute outfits and blankets, all of them blue and have some reference to the ocean. For example, I had picked up a rattle in the shape of a fish. As I check out, my cellphone rings.

"Hello?" I say into it. I am replied to by a deep, obviously stressed out, voice.

"Rachel!" It's Percy. His voice sounds urgent. "Rachel, you've got to get down to the hospital NOW!" He practically yells into the phone. My hands shake.

"What?" I say, my voice quavers.

"Annabeth...the baby... The baby is coming early!"

A/N- Please review! And tell me what you think of the name choices.