Aftermath-Percabeth

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The day was gorgeous, simply gorgeous. The weather was beautiful and everyone in New York seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Except for Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, of course. It's always them, isn't it?

As Percy entered his apartment, he was overjoyed to have a moment to himself. He'd snuck away from work at lunch time just to have a moment of peace and quiet.

His wife was now eight months pregnant and extremely hormonal. Whenever they spoke it always turned into an argument, which he greatly despised.

So that peace, even if only for a moment, was worth it.

He slid off his coat and placed his bag down. He rushed into the living room and placed his feet up on the the coffee table, a ritual his wife hated almost as much as he hated the fighting.

Then a small voice came from the bedroom. "Percy?"

Percy frowned, stood up, and fished around in his pocket for Riptide. After locating his trusty sword, he crept over to the bedroom.

"Annabeth? What are you doing home from work this early?" Percy asked, viewing his wife. Annabeth sat propped up on her pillow, a frown plastered to her face.

"They-they sent me home! Can you believe it?!" she exclaimed angrily. She threw her pillow aside. "They told me to start the weekend early and to rest. They treated me like a child! A fool!"

Percy, petrified of Annabeth, just nodded in agreement. Then he softly sat next to her and took her in his arms. "Annabeth, don't you think it's for the better? You're overworking yourself. You should be resting."

"Are you agreeing with them?" she asked angrily.

"No! I just-Annabeth, I just want you to be healthy," Percy protested. "No more working yourself up all the time."

"But-!"

"No buts! We are now only leaving the house when we have to," Percy said with a pout.

Annabeth bit her lip. "That may be a bit of a problem."

Percy, trying his best to ignore her, just sat there with his fists clenched and his arms crossed. Eventually his curiosity got the best of him. "Why?"

"You don't remember?" asked Annabeth, her voice suddenly breaking. "It's-its August..."

As tears formed in Annabeth's eyes, Percy suddenly was crushed with a wave of guilt on him. He thought about the date and wanted to join Annabeth in her tears.

"Ha! I totally got you!" Percy yelled as he jumped up. "I knew it was our anniversary, I just wanted you to be completely oblivious so I could surprise you with, uh, reservations to our favorite restaurant tonight!"

Percy hoped she couldn't tell through his lie.

She wiped her face free of tears, which was reassuring. "Oh, o-okay...."

She hiccuped. A small smiled appeared on her face as she heaved herself out of bed. "I better get ready then if it's tonight."

Percy watched as she walked out of the room and quickly grabbed his phone. After calling several restaurants, he found one that still had a reservation open, but for four in the afternoon.

"Better than nothing," he muttered to himself as he rushed to his closet to find a neater look. "Better than nothing."

~

By the time of their reservation, Annabeth was immensely regretting bringing to their anniversary. She was tired and sick of moving, but she had been the one who guilted Percy into this.

After searching her closet for hours in search of a dress that actually fit her, she was more than ready for the night to be over.

"Good evening, m'lady," Percy said with a small bow before handing her a bouquet of tulips. "For you."

Annabeth tried her best to smile. "Thanks, Perce. Are you sure this is the best idea? I'm feeling a bit tired-"

"C'mon, Annabeth! You deserve this," Percy tried to convince her, although all he wanted was for this night to end.

By the time they had arrived at the restaurant, both were tired and hoping for the evening to end. The line outside the restaurant was so huge that it didn't matter if they had a reservation or not, as they simply couldn't get past the giant hoard of people.

"I guess we'll just wait here," Percy murmured as he wrapped an arm around Annabeth, causing her to smile.

"Or we could be chased into camp by a hoard of monsters," she replied with a slight laugh.

Percy grinned and kissed the top of her head. "Remember when I was shorter than you?"

"I miss that everyday," Annabeth replied snarkily. "Although some things have changed, you will never stop drooling!"

"Hey!" protested Percy, although he was thoroughly enjoying the time he was spending with her. "At least I still don't sleep with a stuffed animal!"

Annabeth's face turned bright red. "You swore you'd never speak of him! Besides, I stopped that years ago. I....I don't, uh..."

Annabeth searched her mind for more embarrassing memories on Percy, while he triumphantly stood across from her, a smirk promptly on his lips.

"Oh, I have so got you-" Annabeth started, but was interrupted by a huge scream.

"ATTACK! WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!" a woman yelled as she ran past the two demigods, an expression of terror on her face.

Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other before turning to see what the fuss was about. Behind the woman was a long line of marching monsters, all snarling at innocent New Yorkers.

"Oh gods..." Percy muttered. He pulled out Riptide and immediately uncapped it, which caused the mortals to start yelling about his 'baseball bat.'

Then, as a reflex, the two demigods stood back to back. Percy swung his sword threateningly as Annabeth gripped her knife tentatively.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Percy turned to face Annabeth. "You can't fight!"

Annabeth's confidence faltered. "Oh, you're right...but, I can't just....watch...."

Percy bit his lip and then nodded. He knew what he had to do. "Annabeth, do to Piper and Jason's apartment. It's only a few blocks away. Get some back up, but do not fight! I'll fend them off....for now."

Annabeth nodded. She knew this was the only possible outcome that avoided her and the baby getting hurt, but it pained her to watch Percy try and fight all the monsters single handily.

"Why aren't you running? They're getting nearer!" Percy said desperately as he swiped at a harpy.

Annabeth bit her lip. "There's a slight problem..."

Percy sighed. "I know you don't want to leave me, but you've gotta-"

"Percy! My water...I think my water broke," Annabeth admitted, tears blurring her eyesight. "It's time."

Percy swallowed and dropped his sword. It clinked to the ground. "I....I...."

"I know."

Annabeth wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a huge hug. Then she whispered instructions slowly into his ear. "Stick to the plan. Someone has to defend New York. You'll get help soon. I'll get Jason or Piper to drive me to the hospital. I better see you there. I swear to the gods if you die in this battle, I'll kill you."

"I believe you," replied Percy shakily as they pulled apart. "Now run."