Percy Jackson One Shots and Short Stories

#53 - Stuck With U (Part I)

Chapter 53 - Stuck With U (Part I)
published: Monday, 11 May 2020

Time Frame: April 2020, in the middle of quarantine; countries are in lockdown due to the coronavirus; basically exactly what we're going through now

Synopsis: A real-time look into the demigods' lives in quarantine. Each couple is quarantined together, and we get an exclusive look into the shenanigans they get up to during this time.

Contain(s): a very pregnant and hormonal Piper; character development; a ton of romance; family feels

Theme: "Stuck With U" by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber

—*—

"Jason! Orange juice, please!" Piper's voice travelled through the apartment, bouncing off the walls and reverberating crazily.

Jason winced at the holler, but he obliged anyway, pulling out the orange juice from the fridge and adding it to the bundle of things in his arms.

The sizzling sound of french toast on the pan filled the kitchen, the background sounds of the TV filling the living room. It was Monday morning, and what would usually have been a busy day of work was now a boring day of being cooped up at home.

The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic had quickly overwhelmed the world within mere months. Life in Manhattan, easily one of the worst-hit areas of the USA, had come to a standstill.

Jason still couldn't believe the pictures of an empty Times Square and deserted roads. Everything was very surreal.

He slid the food off of the pan and placed it on the tray with the rest of the breakfast items.

"I think I should go on MasterChef," Jason declared as he traipsed into the living room and set the tray down on the coffee table.

Piper's eyes never tore themselves off the screen, but the corner of her mouth quirked up as she leaned forward to grab the food. Jason allowed himself two seconds of amusement to watch as she struggled to reach over her very, very pregnant belly.

"Okay, you're killing me," Jason chuckled, passing her the plate.

Piper was in her 38th week of her pregnancy, about eight days past her due date. It left them on edge the first few days past, but now, both of them had agreed that worrying over this would just making everything worse.

The first weeks into the pandemic, Jason and Piper had been worried about going to a hospital to give birth, based on the risk of transmitting the coronavirus to themselves or the baby in the process.

After research and an inquiry with Will, they'd settled on doing a home birth, deciding that it wasn't worth it to go to the hospital.

"Do you have any conference calls today?" Piper asked, munching on her toast, satisfied and full.

Jason pulled a face. "Jam-packed, actually. It's like I'm working twice as much as I normally would." He frowned. "Are we supposed to Zoom call the gang?"

Piper nodded tiredly. "At 10."

"Can we bail?" Jason said hopefully.

"No," Piper insisted. "We haven't seen them face-to-face in a month. Every time we try to organise a call, someone has to bail."