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Warning: HOH spoilers

“‘You’re not dying on me, Seaweed Brain,’ Annabeth said, ‘Remember? Never separated again. And after we get home…’
‘What?’ Percy asked.
She kissed him. ‘Ask me again, once we defeat Gaia.’
He smiled, happy to have something to look forward to.”
- The House of Hades by Rick Riordan, pp. 582-583

If only he knew.

The blissful smile on his face turned her stomach, although she couldn’t help but smile herself. He was happy, smiling genuinely for the first time in days. Annabeth had to grant him that, and as worried as she was at the moment, she allowed herself to be grateful that they were finally out of Tartarus, safe (right now), and together. But the worry gnawed at her, and the words nearly fell off of her lips as she spoke to him.

Annabeth had deliberated. This was his son, his daughter. He needed to know, but the moment Percy locked eyes with her she’d crumbled. Maybe it was selfish, but Annabeth was terrified that if she did, he wouldn’t let her do anything. She would be rendered useless, and she knew that she had to be present if they were ever going to defeat Gaia. The prophecy had called for seven for a reason, and six wasn’t going to cut it. Plus, Percy was already bitter enough; Annabeth was scared to see how he’d react when he figured out that against all odds, she’d gotten pregnant. She remembered how he’d acted in Tartarus. His powers had grown unquestionably stronger, and his willingness to use them scared her. He’d all but drowned the goddess Akhyls in her own poison; he’d killed Arachne and frowned, unsatisfied. ‘She deserved worse,’ he’d said, and Annabeth wasn’t sure that she wanted to know how far he would go to protect her if he knew that she was pregnant, how desperate he would feel to make up for the wrongs of the universe. He was already angry enough, and Annabeth needed him. They all needed him, and it would be stupid to distract him at such a crucial time.

Stupid. They were both so stupid, but at the time their actions had felt so right. It’d happened back on the Argo II, that one night they were alone in the stables. It was the first time they were together in months, and their hunger for closeness had been overwhelming. They should have been more careful; hell, they shouldn’t have even done what they did, and yet Annabeth was so filled with love for the child that she knew was inside of her that sometimes she almost didn’t care about the stupidity, the fact that they’d brought this innocent baby into the world right when they were supposed to be saving it. It was the first time they had done anything together, and of course she had gotten pregnant. The humiliation that had struck her when Athena told her, in a dream while she was down in Tartarus, was crushing; however, the fear was worse. It had left her trembling as she cried out, clinging to Percy and choking back her desire to spill everything to him right then and there. It was the same night she’d dreamt of Reyna; her mother’s voice whispered to her as she fell into the darkness just as it had countless times before, in dreams, in battle.

As a child, Annabeth had always doubted that she would have kids, but she’d always hoped that she would if she lived past her early twenties. And now she was only 17, but even so the fact that her prospective son or daughter was alive right now amazed her. The baby was part Percy and a part of her and there was absolutely no way that she could imagine losing him (or her).

Annabeth glanced out the porthole that opened out from Percy’s cabin on the Argo II. The sun was just beginning to peek its head over the horizon, but its light was shrouded in clouds. Percy lay beside her, his head tilted into her neck. He snored a little, and Annabeth smiled, twisting around and running a hand through his hair. Her other hand moved to rest on her flat stomach as if she could sense the child, who couldn’t possibly be larger than a peanut, within her.

It was a while before Percy stirred. “Morning, Babe,” he muttered, gazing at her sleepily.

She scoffed, smiling slightly. “Babe?”

“Mhm,” he murmured, rolling over and pulling her to him like a teddy bear. She decided she didn’t mind much, and she pressed her lips to his jawline, curling into him.

“Seaweed Brain,” she said softly, but he was asleep again. Her own eyes drifted shut.

Baby…babe.

The word scared her to death, but it had a ring to it.

Percy’s touch enveloped her, inviting her to stay a little bit longer.

Babe.

She fell back to sleep.