Welcome back to chapter 3 of this story! SlytherinGoddess22 thanks for your kind works. I believe in Ship of the Dead it's said that Percy has a 'bad' singing voice but he may have been singing bad on purpose to cheer Annabeth up. You never know. Thanks for the idea, I'll see what I can come up with in the future.

Chapter 3: Breakfast Makes the Day Better

August 10

Annabeth

After their fiasco of Sally seeing them make out, Percy and Annabeth were sitting on his bed, their backs leaning against the wall. She was leaning next to him, head on his shoulder and he had his arm wrapped around her. They sat there, in peaceful silence just enjoying each other's company. It all broke when Percy spoke.

"My mom knows we did it," he said rather nonchalantly given the subject matter. He lightly tapped Annabeth's shoulder with his fingers.

"I see, I kind of figured," she said. After a moment, "was she mad?"

"Surprisingly no. I thought she might have been a bit more upset, but she said we were old enough to know the consequences of our actions… or something like that. I honestly don't remember it all. I was way too embarrassed when she found out." Percy pulled in her closer so that her head was on his chest.

"How did she even find out? Did you tell her?" Annabeth inquired.

Percy rubbed the back of his head with his other hand. "Well, it's kind of a funny story."

Annabeth smiled. "Spill it, Seaweed Brain."

"Well, it started when I told the doctor that I was doing some intimate cuddling." He began. He looked at her a slight smile on his face. She smiled back at the use of the phrase 'intimate cuddling'. "She said it was perfectly normal and I shouldn't be ashamed of it. She just emphasized that we should do it safely. You know, so we don't have a surprise child."

She nudged him waiting for him to continue the story. Unfortunately, he got sidetracked. "Now that I think about it. If we were to have a kid, would they be born the normal human way or the Athena way?" Percy asked inquisitively. He put his hand on his face to make a thinking gesture.

That is a good question Annabeth thought. She wasn't quite sure about it, but she reasoned they would cross that road when the time came. She took his hand off his face and started rubbing her fingers over his knuckles. "We'll worry about that when the time comes OK?" Percy started lacing his fingers with hers. "Now back to the story, how does the doctor's appointment lead to your mother finding out? Did the doctor tell her?"

"No, she didn't. My mom found out through other methods." She moved slightly to get in a more comfortable position. "At the end of the appointment, the doctor gave a goodie bag." He stopped for a bit to draw in some breath, and he smiled. "I, being the doofus I am, didn't check the contents of the bag and gave it to my mom."

Annabeth raised in eyebrow. She probably already knew what was in the bag, but she wanted to hear Percy tell the rest of the story. "What was in the bag then?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Snacks, pamphlets, medicine, nectar, and ambrosia." He stopped here, waiting to see if she would react and ask if there was anything else in the bag.

"Go on," she encouraged.

He smiled and finished telling her. "The last thing in the bag was a box of condoms. I didn't even know doctors could give out condoms. She put two and two together and here we are."

Annabeth laughed. "That's a silly way of finding out your son was doing gymnastics in bed."

Percy chuckled at her euphemism. "I guess it was. Although it's probably best she found that way. Could you imagine her reaction if she found a condom wrapper somewhere else? Like the trash bin, the floor or in my pant pocket."

"She may not have been as understanding if she found that way." She smirked.

"You're probably right."

Silence for couple more seconds. Annabeth could make out the rhythm of Percy's heart as she leaned on his chest. She always felt safe when she was with him.

"So… she's cool with us, right? Cool with us playing cards in bed?" She began after the seconds of silence.

"I guess so, although from what you saw earlier, she's adamant about us not doing it in her house."

Annabeth sighed. "That just means we have to find someplace else to do it." She felt Percy's arm tighten around her and felt his heartbeat speed up slightly. "I love you, Percy."

Percy didn't respond but he kissed her forehead and pulled her even closer to himself. At this point, she was practically on top of him. She felt his muscles and ribs through his shirt. It bought back the reality that he has lost too much weight and would have to put some back on.

He kissed her forehead again and he rested his chin on top of her head. He didn't often tell her he loved her, but he showed it through his actions.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask. Why did Piper have condoms on the Argo II?" Percy asked.

Annabeth thought back to the day she asked Piper if she maybe had condoms being the Aphrodite cabin head counselor and all. Annabeth knew that Piper had her fair share of dealing with…umm 'certain issues' around camp. Especially issues that dealt with male and female campers.

"Well, it's kinda of a funny story as well." Annabeth began. She recalled the story to Percy.

Ever since they came out of Tartarus, it was like they were attached at the hip. They seemed to spend every waking moment with each other and had started sleeping in the same cabin at night so they could help each other get through their nightmares. No one really bothered them aside from Buford the table. The table's ongoing annoying Hedge hologram had the pair promising to turn it into driftwood if it continued bothering them.

They had gotten progressively more intimate with each other each night and decided that one night with imminent death being a possibility, they could get very intimate.

Annabeth visited Piper in her cabin before she went to meet with her boyfriend. They talked for a bit before Annabeth popped the question. "Piper," she said. She paused for a moment and waited for Piper to look at her, when she did, she continued. "Being the Aphrodite cabin head counselor, do you happen to have… any condoms?" She said that last part almost in whisper. Her face was beat red.

"Sorry Annabeth what was that last part?" Piper asked.

"Would you happen to have any condoms?" she repeated a bit louder this time. She was facing the wall to avoid Piper's knowing gaze. When Piper didn't respond, Annabeth returned her gaze to Piper.

Piper appeared shocked at first but then smiled, a similar troublemaker smile that reminded Annabeth of Percy. She stood up, went to her drawers, pulled out a small box and tossed it to Annabeth.

Annabeth inspected the box. The box read 'Trojan'.

Quite fitting Annabeth thought.

"The whole box?" she asked.

Piper shrugged. "Yeah, take it, I have many more in there."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Why do you have so many in there?"

Piper shrugged. "Honestly, we are a bunch of hormonal teenagers going to our deaths with hardly any adult supervision. It's best to be safe you know." The daughter of Aphrodite took a seat at her bed and chuckled. "I've also dealt with certain issues back at camp that involved boy and girl demigods."

Annabeth nodded and took a seat next to Piper. "Honestly Piper, I'm surprised more people at camp aren't parents. Chiron's rules aren't the strictest."

They looked at each other then laughed. When they stopped Piper popped a question. "Annabeth, be truthful with me. When Frank found you and Percy in the stables sleeping did you guys dance in the sheets?"

Annabeth shook her head vehemently and waved her hands around. "No, no that was a big misunderstanding, we just slept together, and everyone got the wrong idea."

Piper smiled. "I see, although it was quite funny seeing everyone's reaction, especially how the goat flipped out. You should have seen Leo's reaction, boy was laughing like there was no tomorrow."

"That was quite embarrassing."

Piper perked up and started playfully shoving Annabeth out of her cabin. "Now go and have some fun tonight," she teased. Annabeth was growing a bright shade of red as she was pushed towards the door. "Oh, and you guys don't rock the ship too hard."

"Wait what?" Annabeth exclaimed, but she only received Piper's door to the face.

Percy chuckled when Annabeth finished telling her story. Annabeth lightly slammed her fist on his chest. Again, they sat there, in comfortable silence for a couple minutes, seeing the sky outside the window grow darker as time went by.

Percy told her about the rest of his day. She laughed when he told her the story of the broken skateboard and how he tried to whack his stepfather with it. He told her about his trip to the skate shop and showed her his new skateboard since his old one could not be fixed. Despite the room not having enough room to eccentric tricks, he did manage to pull of a couple of simple tricks but there were some sounds coming from the floor, like a downstairs neighbor was banging the ceiling with a broom.

"Guess that's my cue to stop." Percy said. He grabbed his board and placed it in the corner of his room by the window. He turned to Annabeth and crossed his arms playfully. "Mrs. Edwards doesn't appreciate the fine art of skateboarding indoors."

Annabeth chortled. "I wouldn't call skateboarding indoors a fine art, but whatever floats your boat." She patted the bed next to her, motioning for Percy to rejoin her in bed.

Percy shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Maybe next time I'll try riding my bike indoors and see if she appreciates that." Percy went and sat next to her again, back leaning against the wall.

Annabeth decided to change the subject. "Are you going to show me those swimsuits soon?" Annabeth asked.

Percy smirked his troublemaker smile. "Come to practice. Maybe you can ogle me there."

"I don't ogle you, excuse me very much."

"Whatever you say, Wise Girl."

August 11

It was near midnight when sleep was beginning to overtake them. Annabeth got herself up to leave, but Percy grabbed her and pulled her back down onto the bed. He insisted that Annabeth stay the night and rolled her eyes and explained the reasons why she couldn't. First, she didn't have a change of clothes, and secondly, she didn't bring her toothbrush with her. There were a couple more reasons, but those were the big ones.

Percy rolled his eyes and told her he could lend her some of his clothes and that there's extra toothbrushes in the bathroom. Annabeth was seriously temped, but she also bought up the issue of his parents.

Percy smirked and called, "hey mom, can Annabeth stay the night?"

Almost immediately Sally answered back, "sure, but leave the door open if you're going to sleep together."

"There you go, you're all set." Percy told her.

"All right, all right, I guess I'll stay."

He smiled and kissed her lightly before standing up and rummaging through his drawers to find her some clothes to wear. He gave her a pair of his black gym shorts and an old black Led Zeppelin t-shirt. She took the clothes and headed to the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. The clothes fit her bit big, but that only made them more comfortable. Maybe she would steal some of Percy's clothes.

She brushed her teeth and went back to his bedroom where Percy had changed as well. He was wearing dark blue gym shorts and a plain white t-shirt. He gave her a pat on head and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He was back a moment later and together they got into the bed, which was quite the feat. Percy's bed wasn't the biggest, but they made it work. He was laying on his back, with Annabeth laying her head on his chest. She had an arm wrapped around his waist and Percy's own arm was around her waist pulling her close. He used his other arm to turn off the lamp and the room was enveloped in darkness.

They made a couple jokes and talked for couple minutes before the steady sound of Percy's heartbeat sent Annabeth into a not so blissful sleep.

The smell of sulfur and complete darkness were all that she could see and feel. She wondered around, looking for something to touch when suddenly it felt like she had been picked up and placed somewhere else. She felt something large and warm press against her forehead and the darkness cleared. She was relieved, but that relief quickly turned into shock and despair as she saw her boyfriend on his knees. He looked terrible, he was covered in bruises and blood, his limbs were twitching, his eyes bloodshot, he was barely breathing, and he seemed to be losing consciousness.

She quickly made her way to him and got on her knees to hold up his weight by his shoulders. She embraced him tightly. She pressed her lips on his and then on his scalp and tried wiping away the dirt and sweat from his eyes. He was trying to wrap his own arms around her and pull her close as well, but he felt so weak.

"Please stay with me Percy, don't leave," she begged. Tears threatening to explode from her eyes like geysers. How hopeless she felt here stuck in the Pit. She wasn't sure what was worse. The feeling of abandonment she felt only moments prior or the sight of seeing her boyfriend so beat up and on the verge of death. She looked around, hoping to find Bob but there was no one there. It was as if he had abandoned them.

Her heart dropped. What was she to do? She could find water, perhaps that would heal him. But the rivers of the underworld were all unpleasant and had incredible consequences. Would she able to even make it to a river? Percy felt so weak that she doubted he could walk, and she would have to carry most of his weight and she herself was feeling weak as well. Even with the odds stacked against them, it was better than just sitting around doing nothing.

Yes, she had to, she would do whatever it took to get Percy out of harm's way, even if she had to carry him on her back through Tartarus she would get him somewhere, anywhere that wasn't here. Her resolve died seconds later when she felt his arms leave her back and fall to his side. His breathing became shallower, and then…he stopped breathing altogether. She felt his full weight suddenly come crashing onto her as the last bit of life left him.

"Percy? Can you hear me?" she asked quietly.

No response from him.

"Come on, stop playing," she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

No response.

"Percy! Please don't leave me. Please! What happened to never leaving my side ever again?" she pleaded.

No response.

She started shaking his shoulders, trying to get some, any reaction from him. She got nothing. His eyes were closed, and he was no longer breathing. She felt his wrist, hoping to find a pulse. Nothing at all. She was becoming desperate. She laid him down on the ground gently and pressed her ear against his chest, pleading, hoping beyond hope to hear a heartbeat. Hoping that he was still alive.

Nothing, absolutely nothing. The dam holding back her tears finally broke, and she cried. Loud sobs wrecked her body as she laid on top her boyfriend's dead body. He couldn't be gone, after everything they had gone through, he couldn't just leave her all by herself in the middle Tartarus.

"PERCY! PERCY! PERCY!" she screamed repeatably. Her screams echoed throughout the pit. She kept shaking his body. "Please don't leave me! I can't live without you," she pleaded.

She heard someone calling her name. "Annabeth! Annabeth!" someone called.

Her eyes sprung open. She was hyperventilating. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. She sat up in a quick motion, eyes moving rapidly, trying to take in her surroundings. She noticed she wasn't in her room. She would have panicked again but felt a familiar embrace around her as Percy wrapped his arms around her. His familiar ocean scent calmed her down slightly.

"Hey, everything's alright," he whispered against her ear. He was rubbing his hands reassuringly against her back. That calmed her down more.

Whatever she had seen had all been a nightmare. A terrifying nightmare that warped the reality of past events. She knew that the events of her nightmare played differently, but they all seemed so real. The despair and hopelessness that filled her had been so real. She wrapped her own arms around him, wrapping him in a hug that could have broken ribs.

He didn't say anything. Percy kept rubbing her back and began whispering reassuring messages in her ear. "Hey, it's alright, it was just a nightmare. There's nothing to worry about, you're safe here."

They stayed together for a couple more seconds before Annabeth's head slumped on his shoulder and she cried. She cried loud heart wrenching sobs. Hot tears kept streaming down her face, soaking Percy's shirt in the process. Percy for his part kept reassuring her and kept rubbing her back.

"Percy… I'm so sorry," she managed to get out through her sobs.

"Hey," Percy chided. "there's nothing to be sorry about."

"But… but" she stammered. She had a hard time getting the next part of sentence out. "You ended up in that pit because of me and you almost died because of me." Her breathing was becoming more labored as she continued talking. "I just couldn't live with myself if you died because of me."

She expected Percy to say something in return, but instead he kissed her. A soft, passionate kiss that calmed her down more. They broke apart after a moment and she leaned her head against his.

"Annabeth," he began, there was a soft and reassuring tone in his voice. She looked into his eyes, the eyes that she loved so much. "I decided to fall into the Pit with you. I made the decision to follow you through hell and back. I don't regret my decision. There's nothing to be sorry about." He paused thinking about what to say next. "Sure, things were bad down there, but what matters now is that we both made it home safe and sound."

She looked at him for a moment waiting for him to say something else. He took a deep breath and continued. "If you had fallen by yourself, I would have gladly jumped in to be with you." He paused again and took a deep breath. "I guess, what I'm trying to say is that I love you Annabeth. I love you so much I would walk through hell and back to be with you."

Her heart fluttered at his statement. Her breathing was much calmer now but the feeling of guilt was still present in her stomach.

"Besides, the Doors of Death needed to be closed from the Tartarus side. I guess the fates decided that were the best match to close them. So, blame the fates for that and next time we go to Olympus, we'll make sure to give them a piece of our minds. We could give them a bad Yelp review the next time we visit Olympus." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

She chuckled at his attempt to lighten the mood. "Percy?" she asked.

"Yeah, Wise Girl?"

"Thank you being here with me," she breathed.

"Always, Annabeth." He smiled and they hugged each other for a while longer. Percy let her know that they're a team and that they have each other's backs. That they will help each other get through this difficult time.

They sat on the bed, backs against the wall. Annabeth looked at the clock on the bedside table. It read 6:37 AM. It was almost time for sunrise.

She felt a bit constricted in the bedroom and wanted to get some fresh air. Well as fresh air as someone could get in the middle of Manhattan. She stood up slowly and stretched her arms over her head. Percy followed behind her.

"I see those gears moving in that brain of yours Wise Girl. You have an idea, don't you?" Percy asked behind her.

"Yeah, I want to get some fresh air. Will you join me?"

"Always."

She smiled and started rummaging around the room looking for her shoes. Percy did the same and soon they were dressed. Well dressed in their shoes and their sleeping clothes. They made their way out the room and left a note saying they went for a morning walk and would be back soon. Then, they walked out the apartment and into the city streets that were slowly coming to life.

They walked for a couple blocks and entered Central Park. It was nice to have an apartment so close to the park. They held hands as they entered the park taking in the sound of nature around them. At this point, Annabeth had almost completely calmed down. She cool morning air hit her face and an idea came to her mind. Her competitive self was coming forth.

"Hey?" she asked.

"What's up?"

"I bet you can't beat me to the fountain." She challenged, a smirk growing on her lips. She had always been the faster runner and she wanted to have a bit of fun to put that nightmare behind her.

"You're on, Wise Girl," Percy smirked as well. She thought that maybe Percy had gotten faster since the last time they had raced. They took their positions and she counted to three and started running to see which one made it first to the fountain.

Despite suffering from a broken ankle and a slashed leg earlier in the month, the wounds had completely healed. Her ankle had healed during Tartarus and Athena had healed her slashed leg in Athens.

Naturally Annabeth pulled ahead. The cool August morning air ran across her face, and she felt refreshed. She wasn't sure if she was laughing because of how fun this felt or because she knew she would beat Percy in their little contest. She continued running, waving at some of the other runners as she made her way through the park and towards the fountain. If she had a stopwatch on her she would have recorded the time that it took to reach the fountain. She was sure it was record time.

"Woo! I win take that Seaweed Brain!" She exclaimed, pumping her fist into the air. She looked back and saw that he was nowhere to be seen. She was panting heavily.

Ok he wasn't the fastest runner, but he wasn't that slow. He would show up any second now she thought. She waited there for about half a minute and then a full minute and he still hadn't shown up. Then realization dawned on her.

"Oh shit!" she cursed. She quickly sprinted back from the path she came from hoping that he was ok. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten about his lungs. Actually, it was likely that he had forgotten about his lungs as well but that besides the point.

She kept running for about 15 seconds and then she spotted him. He was sitting on a park bench, arms stretched across the back of the bench, his head leaning back, looking at the sky. As she got closer, she could hear his heavy breathing and wheezing. She bit her bottom lip in worry and approached him.

"Hey, you ok?" she asked cautiously.

He kept breathing for a couple more seconds. "Yeah… just give me a couple seconds," he managed through his labored breathing.

She moved to sit next to him on the bench and she wrapped an arm around his waist. He kept breathing heavily and then she apologized. "Sorry, I forgot about your lungs."

"Don't be," he told her. "I was being an idiot and forgot as well. I even forgot the inhaler back home."

"Yeah, you can be an idiot sometimes. An adorable, loveable idiot though." He smiled at this and wrapped an arm around her. His breathing was coming back to normal. They sat there for a couple more seconds and then she asked if he was ok.

"Yep. All better now. Just gotta remember not to exert myself too much."

Annabeth leaned in closer and started tracing patterns with her fingers on his leg. "How long did the doctor say it would take for your lungs to heal?"

"About a week or two and then she said I would perfectly fine."

"I see." She continued tracing patterns on his leg. "Will you be ok to play basketball and swim?"

Percy took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just gotta remember to not push myself too hard."

"Glad to hear it."

More people were joining the park now as the Sun was slowly rising over the horizon. Annabeth laughed when Percy told her that Apollo called the sun chariot the 'chick magnet'. He told her it was the name that Helios had given the chariot a long time ago and Apollo had kept the name.

"Didn't Thalia crash the sun chariot into the lake?" she asked.

"Yep, she almost ended the world right then and there."

They both laughed and then Percy said, "I haven't run that fast since Nike chased us for promoting Adidas shoes."

"You promoted Adidas shoes?" she asked flabbergasted. She hadn't heard this story before.

Percy shrugged. "Yeah, we had to get Nike to show up somehow and we promoted Adidas shoes. Leo took a pair of Adidas out of his belt and handed me one. We waved it around towards the sky yelling 'Adidas is way better than Nike'. He chuckled. "As you could imagine, she was pissed. She said we were jeopardizing her sponsorship deal with Nike. The sports brand, not the goddess herself."

Annabeth laughed. A deep full bellied laugh. It had been a while since she had laughed this hard. Leave it to her boyfriend to find new ways to piss off the gods. Percy joined her in and they laughed on the bench. Ignoring the look of the people that passed them by.

Once they've calmed, Annabeth stood up and offered Percy her hand to help him up. He took it and got on his feet. They hooked their hands together and they walked to the fountain just in time to see the Sun shine directly on it and the water created a rainbow. They stood there observing the rainbow until it passed.

They made their way out of the park and onto the street on their way to the apartment. The nightmare from last night all forgotten about.

"Say, what if I make you breakfast?" Percy asked as they neared the building.

"What's the occasion?"

"Do I need to reason to treat my lovely girlfriend like the queen she is?" He teased. That lopsided smile decorated his face.

She felt her cheeks grew a shade a pink. Gods Percy could such ridiculous things sometimes. Not that she was complaining. He was looking at her with those pleading 'baby seal eyes'. She couldn't resist and gave in. "Fine, Seaweed Brain."

"Yipee!" he exclaimed. She smiled at his reaction. She always enjoyed when Percy made breakfast for her. He was a pretty good cook, which made sense since his mother was Sally Jackson.

"What if next time, I make breakfast for you?"

Percy's expression turned completely poker faced. "If you're trying to kill me, poisoning me with your food would be a safe bet."

"Hey!" she protested. She wasn't sure if she should be offended or laugh at his expression. "My food isn't that bad."

"You keep telling yourself that sweetheart." He smirked. He dodged the punch that came his way. He managed to slap her butt and laughed as he ran inside the building.

"Jackson!" she yelled and ran after him.

True to his word, Percy made her meal fit for kings. He made enough food to feed ten people and she suspected he made so much because he ate ravenously and for his parents as well. He made his mother's famous blue pancakes, vegetable omelets, bacon, French toast and he cut plenty of fresh fruit. No wonder Sally had mentioned that her grocery bill was going to go through the roof.

Percy poured her a cup of coffee and he sat at the seat opposite of her and they began eating. As she was eating, she noticed the sink the background. It looked like the dishes were washing and drying themselves.

Wow, that's a helpful application of his power. It's like he's a dishwasher she thought. Percy went to fridge to grab some whipped cream for his pancakes. He asked her if she wanted any and he may have sprayed her nose with a bit of whipped cream.

"Percy!" she cried. He only smiled broadly and then moved close to her to get the whipped cream off her nose with his fingers.

"I swear you can be so childish sometimes" she chided. She wouldn't admit, but she treasured these little moments in their relationship.

"Smells like someone has made breakfast," she heard from the hallway. A couple seconds later Sally and Paul appeared from the hallway in their pajamas.

"Mom, Paul, why don't you join us? I made enough for everyone." Percy waved them over to the table.

"My my, I think I raised a pretty good son," Sally teased. She made her way to the table where she ruffled Percy's hair.

"Mom!" he exclaimed. "You're embarrassing me."

"I'm your mother, it's my job to embarrass you."

Paul joined the table holding two cups of coffee and they ate together as a family.

Percy smiled. A genuine smile that she hadn't seen in a while.

The day may have started badly with that nightmare, but these moments were something worth living for Annabeth thought as she continued eating.

AN: Ok so the middle section with the nightmare was a bit hard to write. (I was partially crying while writing it). Anyways, I think it's a nice chapter. I did slightly change what happened in Olympia with Nike for some comedic effect.

Here's a little sneak peek of the next chapter:

"On one condition though." There was a troublemaker smirk crossing Poseidon's face. Yep, the family resemblance was uncanny.

"What would that be?" Percy raised an eyebrow.

"When you publish your book, I want an autographed copy," he announced.

"You've got yourself a deal."

Hope you liked the chapter and look forward to more. I welcome any ideas that you guys may have. Right now, I have up to chapter 7 planned, but I'm not sure about afterwards. Guess we will see what I can come up with. Next chapter will be up in two weeks!