Annabeth
My eyes flutter open when the sun hits them, and I stretch out. I gasp when I realize where I am, in Percy's apartment and him still peacefully sleeping behind me. I stayed the whole night. No wonder I didn't have any nightmares. Percy's the only one who could ever keep them at bay. My heart rate picks up as I try to think about what this means. Did he let me stay here on purpose? Or did he just fall asleep like I did and is going to be upset when he wakes up? My heart pounds in my chest, and I sit up, careful not to wake him, and rub my temples trying to make sense of everything. What this means really is going to boil down to if he meant for me to stay over or not. If he did, then that's great. That's one step closer to him really being mine again. But if he didn't, if he just fell asleep before he could wake me up to go home, it could wreck what progress I've made with him. I take deep breaths and try to calm myself down. It could be either. Goodness gracious I hope he meant for me to be here. If he didn't then the smartest thing I could do is leave. He wouldn't have to wake up with me unwanted and unexpected in his living room. But if he did want me to stay and I'm gone when he's up, he'll think I bolted again. His watch face catches my eye and I gasp, realizing it's already 8:30 and I was supposed to be in the office at 7 this morning. I've got to go, but that doesn't solve the Percy dilemma. Steeling my nerves, I decide the best thing to do is make sure he knows I didn't run. Him thinking I ran would be way worse than falling asleep here by accident.
"Percy." I whisper and shake his shoulder. "Percy wake up." No use. When he's out, he sleeps like he's dead. I sigh and try to think about what I'm going to do, and decide I should just leave a note explaining why I had to leave. So I grab the legal pad off the end table next to the couch we're sleeping on and write a quick explanation, signing with I Still Love You. As Long as we're together. And rush out the door, not even bothering to try and be quiet, knowing he'll sleep through it.
….
Percy
I wake up and stretch out, my back a little stiff from sleeping on the couch instead of my bed. I tilt my head down to smell Annabeth's hair, frowning when I don't find it. I don't feel her in my arms either. Frowning, I open my eyes and realize she's not here. I get up and look around the apartment, and she's not in the kitchen or bathroom either. I sit back down on the couch and let out a frustrated growl.
"She left. Of course she did. She got scared of what sleeping here meant and overthought and bolted." I snarl. I shake it out of my head and put it in the to deal with later contents of my mind and get dressed to go get Luke.
But I can't just get it out of my head. She couldn't even handle staying over one night without getting scared. Why, though? This is what she wanted, wasn't it? So why'd it scare her? It doesn't matter. If she can't handle this, she's got a long way to go before I can let her near my son. I decide to forgo picking up Luke for now and head towards Annabeth's office instead. The last month, All I've told her is that I needed her to be here, I needed her to stay, and she can't even do that. This isn't something I'm just going to let go. I pull into a parking spot and head inside, Ignoring the receptionist, I head down the hall to where the signs point to the office, and stop at a door labeled A. Chase. Chase. She says she wants to be married again, but she's still using her maiden name. I walk in without knocking.
"Percy!" She says and jumps up in surprise. Her hair is pulled into a French braid, no makeup, and she's wearing a burgundy dress with leggings and boots. Normally I'd think she looks good. Right now, I'm pissed enough I don't care.
"One night. You couldn't do it one night. All I've been telling you for weeks is that I need to know you'll stay, you won't bolt when things get hard or scary or tough, and the first time something remotely scary comes up like you staying an unplanned night at my house and you bolt."
"Percy, I-"
"I've got a kid to think about, Annabeth! It's not just about you and me! You say you want to be a family again, but you're still using your maiden name! What am I supposed to think about that? Last night was big for me. I decided to let you stay the night and you were gone when I woke up."
"Percy, listen-"
"No! I-I don't know what to do. I can't have a wife who's going to bolt! Luke can't have a mom who's going to do that! I don't know what to do with you!"
"You could shut up and listen!" She raises her voice and stands up. "I left a note, Seaweed Brain." She says with a roll of her eyes. The way she said Seaweed Brain is the same way she used to use it when she'd really be calling me a dumbass. It slightly irritates me, but typically when she'd use that she knew something I didn't. So I hear her out. "When I woke up, yes I was scared. Because I didn't know if you meant for me to stay over or if you fell asleep yourself and would be upset I was still there. But I was going to stay until I realized it was already 8:30 and I was supposed to be here for a meeting with Malcolm and our clients at 7am and I missed it! I tried to wake you up and say bye but you wouldn't wake up." She explains. The frustration inside me dies down a little. "And I'm going by Jackson again. They just haven't repainted my door yet."
"Oh. Sorry. Still, you could have left a note."
"I did! On the end table!"
"Oh." I say and drag my hand over my face, sitting down on her futon. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. I guess I'm a little over sensitive." She giggles a little.
"It's okay, Percy. I should have made sure you saw the note."
"Why are you smiling?"
"Because I wasn't sure you let me stay on purpose. But you did. And that has just made the rest of my week."
"Still, I'm sorry I freaked out on you. And I didn't know you had to be here early or I would have set an alarm."
"It's okay. It's worth it a thousand percent."
"Well…I'd better go get Luke. See you around."
"Bye, Seaweed Brain." She says, still grinning ear to ear as I walk out.
…
Annabeth
Six Weeks Later
"Lukas!" I call as I walk down the hall. "Please tell me you're ready!" I walk into his room and see him playing on the floor in his underwear, his T Ball uniform all over the floor. I sigh and try to reign in my frustration. "Luke, come on! We're going to be late." Since Percy started taking me on dates again, he's also started to trust me with Luke more. When he has a Saturday shift I take him instead of him going to Malcolm and Maryanne's now, and sometimes I'll take all three kids so Malcolm and Maryanne can have a date night. And I love this little boy as much as my own niece or nephew, maybe even more, although I'd never say that. He can still be frustrating though, like forgetting to get dressed before a game and just playing with his trains in his underwear.
"Can I just play with my trains today? I don't feel like baseball."
"Sorry, kiddo. You made a commitment, you gotta go." I tell him, having fought this battle before. He always loves it when he gets there. He raises those ice blue eyes up to me and pouts. "You're very cute, Lukas. But that doesn't work on me."
"I don't want to go!" He complains, slamming his hand against the floor. I raise my eyebrow at him.
"Luke, you're going to the game and playing whether you want to or not. But if you go with a good attitude, you get ice cream with your team after. If you throw a fit, we'll stop at the fire station on the way and let your dad give you a spanking. Consider your options carefully. Are you going to get dressed or throw a tantrum?" I say calmly. His face gets hard as he thinks about it.
"I'll get dressed." He says and starts putting his clothes on.
"Good choice. I'm going to load your stuff up in the car." Since our company is doing so well, and I've started taking care of Luke more, I figured it was time I finally got a car of my own. I'd never in my life get a minivan, but I did decide a SUV would be good since I take care of Ella Claire and Max sometimes too. And Since being demigods, you never know when you'll get a quest or if that quest will take you off road, I decide to get a Range Rover. I make sure Luke's bat bag is in the back and get in, him joining me a few minutes later.
"Need me to buckle you?" I ask him.
"No thanks. I got it." He fastens himself in, and we head to the field. He pouts the whole time, but as I expected, as soon as we get there and he sees Max on the field he smiles big and rushes out of the car to meet him. I grab his bat bag and put it in the dug out for him, nodding at his coach and going over to sit in the bleachers with Maryanne while Ella Claire stands by the fence in her cheerleader outfit from Halloween, cheering for the boys. It makes me smile. Percy says he's hoping when Luke and Ella Claire are older they'll end up together. I have to admit, it would be a cute story. Hopefully with all the drama between me and Percy that isn't even resolved yet will be enough to satisfy Aphrodite for a generation.
The game is fun to watch, but only because I taught myself the best way to enjoy toddler sports is to pretend they're drunk midgets. It makes everything wayyyy funnier, the errors and strikes tolerable and entertaining instead of frustrating. Luke and Max are the only ones that are actually playing and playing well, but you can't expect mortal kids to be on the same level as legacy kids. They're part god, after all. By the time it's over, Luke's team is ahead by three runs. Not officially, of course, you have to let everyone be a winner now, but I think that's a load of shit so I keep score in my head. We go out to take the team to Dairy Queen and let them all get mini blizzards. Ella Claire and Max beg for a play date before we go, but Maryanne says no because they have something planned already. We get home, and I force Luke into a bath while I go and soak his uniform. He had a couple of head first slides and the red dirt covers him head to toe. Benefits of a Poseidon legacy, I don't have to worry about him drowning. When he gets out and dressed I look at the clock. 4:30.
"Hey Luke, how would you like to have supper at the Firestation with your dad?" I ask. He gets a wide bright eyed smile.
"Yes!" He answers excitedly. I laugh.
"Okay, I'll start making some food. What do you want?"
"Aunt Maryanne's Ziti!"
"Couldn't just say pizza like a normal kid, could you?" I tease him. "Ziti sounds good. When it's finished we'll go over." I say and he smiles and goes off to play in the yard while I make enough Ziti for a dozen hungry firemen. As soon as it's in the oven I go and shower and change into a cute dress Percy got for me a couple weeks ago when he saw me eyeing it in the window of a shop. Sighing, I start thinking of how I am towards Percy now versus how I was before we split. I never made as much of an effort back then. Me cooking was a joke, I never tried to look nice for him for the sake of looking good, and I insisted everything was fair and equal split right down the middle in terms of house work, with no rooms or gifts or blessings on either side. And he's right, I didn't respect him as much back then. Not in the way I do now, any ways. As much as I hate to admit it, I think we needed the time apart for me to really appreciate who I married, and not take him for granted. Makes me think of that story in Genesis about Joseph, and when his brothers apologized for the terrible things they did he told them What you meant for evil, God meant for good. I hate those years I wasted, but everything that happened made me want to be a better wife now.
Once the Ziti's out of the oven, Luke and I load it up and start towards the fire station. When we get there and park, Luke happily unbuckles and runs inside looking for Percy. I grab the Ziti and head inside to the kitchen, where I see Kaleb and Jerry standing over a pot that smells like Chili.
"Hey, Y'all." I say and they look over. "Hope it's okay, I brought some Ziti over for everyone." I tell them. They smile.
"That wouldn't happen to be Maryanne Pace's Ziti recipe, would it?" Jerry asks. I smile at him.
"In fact it is. You know Maryanne?"
"She comes over from time to time with Luke and her kids. And when she does she always brings food. Thank you for making it." Kaleb tells me. I nod.
"Of course. It's hot and ready whenever Y'all want to eat." I tell and put the ziti on the counter.
"Well I'm ready now." I hear Percy say and look over my shoulder to see him coming up the stairs with an easy smile and Luke happily perched on his shoulders.
"Annabeth made me take a bath at four, Daddy. At Four!" Luke Complains. Percy just laughs.
"I guess you needed one then." He says and walks over to lightly kiss my temple, sending shivers down my back. He's been pretty reserved with physical touch, I haven't even kissed him since I found out about Becca and came to the fire station to apologize for everything, so even one kiss on my temple means the world.
"Thank you for this, Annabeth." He whispers in my ear with a low voice, making heat rush through my body. Coming up the stairs Behind him are the rest of the firemen on shift today, and within a few minutes everyone is seated with both Chili and Ziti on their plates. Percy Blesses the food and everyone digs in. I sit farther back from everyone, just watching. I love seeing Percy here, the easy camaraderie he has with his fire buddies, and the love he has for Luke always on his face. Luke Finishes his food and giggles, running all over the place and feeling right at home. I feel a little on the outside of it all, but that's no one's fault but mine, and I'll have to keep trying to earn my way back in. Almost like he can read my mind, Percy looks over at me and gets up to come sit next to me before pulling me in his lap, making me shriek with laughter as he kisses me on the cheek again. He then turns his head and does a taxi cab whistle to quiet everyone down. They settle and look at him.
"Okay I know everyone's seen her here before with my mom a couple times but for anyone who hasn't had a proper introduction, this is my wife, Annabeth. She's the one who made the Ziti tonight. Annabeth, this is C shift." He says and I feel myself blush as I nod hello at everyone.
"What was that about?" I whisper in his ear. He smiles.
"I just want to make sure you know I'm still proud to introduce you as my wife." He tells me. I could just stay in this moment forever, but less than a minute later the speakers come to life and the bell starts ringing, announcing a structure fire. Everyone jumps up and rushes to the fire pole, Percy only a second behind because he pauses to kiss me deeply on the mouth for three seconds before running to catch up, ruffling Luke's hair as he passes him. I press my hand to my mouth, smiling like an idiot.
I let Luke play while I clean up the kitchen and put everything in the fridge, still smiling from ear to ear when Luke and I finally load up to go home. Right before I do I get a text from Percy, which is strange since he's putting out a fire.
This is Bad. Please Pray.
My smile falls off my face and anxiety shoots through me as I think about how bad a fire needs to be for him to send that to me. Bad enough he can't just put it out with his water powers.
"Everything okay, Annabeth?" Luke asks. I force a smile and look back at him in my rear view mirror.
"Everything's great, baby. Excited for your play date after church tomorrow?"
"Yeah! Uncle Malcolm said he'd start teaching us Archery tomorrow!"
"Exciting!" I say and pull out of the station, starting down the road to home. My stomach drops when I see the black smoke polluting the sky, evidence of nothing smaller than a massive fire.
God, Please keep him safe.