I am so sorry for such a long wait, you guys! But strap in folks! This is a bit of a long one, but I hope you enjoy it ;) (it's also like 5550 words which is pretty satisfying) also I love you all so much your support on my page is just unbelievable and I'm so grateful for every single one of you and I mean it. Seriously. <3
Ps. I have no idea how to make cookie dough, I always just buy the pre made one and then bake it, but like 🤷‍♀️ so take it easy on my if my shit isn't lining up lol.

Saturday, October 13th
6:30 pm - Annabeth's house
10 weeks and 3 days

"Are you sure that you're alright?" her father asked again through the phone.

"I promise, I'm fine. It's just some rain, nothing I can't handle," Annabeth reassured.

"And you have—"

"A flashlight, first aid kit, batteries, radio, and yes, my phone is charging. Everything is all ready, but the power isn't even out. I think I'll be okay, dad."

"Alright, Pumpkin. Just... be careful," he sighed. "I love you, Annabeth."

"Love you to, dad. Bye," she said before hanging up the phone. In case it wasn't clear, a storm was coming, and of course, it started out with rain.

Annabeth had never really been afraid of the storms, but instead always fascinated by the lightning. She used to sit by the little window in the basement while her mother held her and they watched. Storms always reminded Annabeth of her mother. They were a quiet, but strong presence at first, and you always knew one was coming, but never exactly what it entailed. Then, the lightning; like her mother's eyes, which Annabeth was thankful were given to her. It was hard for her not to think of her mom.

Usually Thalia came over and they waited them out together, but Thalia was away with her father and brother, on another 'I'm sorry for being a shitty dad' trip. At least, that was what Thalia called them. Thalia asked Annabeth if she wanted her to stay, but Thalia had never been to Paris, and at least one of them needed to make it there in their life time. She could never hold her friends back; it wasn't being good to them.

Suddenly, the winds picked up outside and the lights flickered off. Of course, it was already dark outside, because it was getting later in the year. She flicked on her flashlight and went to sit on the couch, with everything she needed. She grabbed herself a snack; these multigrain sort of chip-cracker hybrid that were absolutely delicious. She pulled her book into her lap and began reading under the ray of her flashlight.

She had been reading for a good fifteen minutes before she heard a noise. Now of course, this is where she gets paranoid. Her house wasn't huge, but it was big enough to the point that if someone were to get inside, she might have a hard time finding them. Which also meant that it was big enough for her to get scared.

She convinced herself that it was only her imagination; it was just the wind. She continued on reading.

She read word after word, but nothing was sticking to her; she was distracted. Knowing she would have to re-read the pages anyways, she closed the book. She sat there and she looked around the living room. She pulled open her bag of chips and began eating them. She started to hum her favorite song as she ate, feeling pretty happy with the chips.

At this point, she was really wishing she had a dog. Or a cat. Or just any animal to keep her company. She would have liked to go sit up in her room, but it was too dangerous. She suddenly remembered that she had brought down fairy lights—she didn't know why, it was just on a whim.

Luckily, they were battery powered, and she flipped the little switch. They turned on, a soft golden light surrounding her. She spread them out across her lap and all over her things, like a net of light. It was so pretty that she couldn't help her smile. She grabbed her laptop, which had been charging all day and turned it on. She decided that she could spare some time for The Office on Netflix.

She clicked on it and the show started playing. It was a good distraction from what was going on outside.

~*~

Saturday, October 13th
8:45 pm - Annabeth's living room

Annabeth had been watching Netflix for about two hours, although it didn't feel that long. She decided that that was enough Netflix for the moment, and she closed her laptop. Now she really didn't know what to do.

She was alone.

Except for one person.

She clicked on the name in her contacts, calling the number. It rung twice before he picked up. "Jello?"

Annabeth chuckled. She couldn't help smiling at the sound of his voice. "Hi, Percy. So, funny story, the power went out and I'm bored."

"Is your dad home?" he asked.

"No, but I'm fi—"

"You're alone?!" Percy exclaimed through the phone, cutting her off. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything about her dad.

"Percy, I'm fine. I promise. I just wanted someone to talk to," she reasoned.

"Ok. You can talk to me on my way to your house," he said.

"No! Perseus Jackson," yup. She had figured that out and was very happy to, "you are not driving in this rain, don't do that to your mother!"

"She's finally decided to very rightfully treat herself to a small weekend getaway with Paul." There was some ruffling on his end before she heard his voice again. "The apartment is all mine and either way, they'd welcome you with open arms."

"Hypocrite! Why are you yelling at me for being home alone when you are too?" she said in fake defense.

"I live in an apartment building. You're never really alone. And besides, once I get you I won't be any more." Annabeth could practically hear his cheeky smile through the phone. She could picture it exactly in her head, too.

"I'm not gonna be able to stop you, am I?"

"Can you hear my turn signal ticking?" He laughed.

"Percy, dear god, please be careful." Annabeth said a small prayer for the boy. He wasn't a crazy driver or anything, but he was a little mischievous.

"I'm fine."

"Ok. Can I hang up the phone?" she asked, teasing him.

"Okay," he relented. "Bye,"

"Bye, Percy." Annabeth smiled.

"Even though I'm gonna see you in two seconds," he mumbled before hanging up. She chuckled to herself and rolled her eyes. She stood up and began cleaning some things up. She grabbed her lap top, phone and chargers and put them in a bag. Grabbing a few other essentials, she put away the crackers and fairy lights. Then she heard a knock on the door.

She opened it to find Percy with his jacket over his head. She pulled him inside.

"Hi," he breathed. "There was a bit of a sprint to your house from my car and I was lucky enough to step in a giant puddle," he explained, smiling a bit sarcastically. "Isn't that great?"

Annabeth laughed sympathetically. "I'm sorry." She pouted her lips. They laughed. His hair was wet and his eyes were shining. His soaked shirt clung to him and she found it hard not to stare. She snuck a glance while he wasn't paying attention, smirking to herself. She needed to stop. Then she pulled on her shoes and her coat. She zipped up her bag and threw it on her shoulder.

"I don't have an umbrella, unfortunately." Percy looked out the door at the rain. They stepped onto the porch and Annabeth locked the door before sticking the keys in her pocket.

Annabeth pulled up her hood. "There's puddles everywhere," she said in amazement. It really was crazy how hard it was raining.

"Well, here's your solution." Percy scooped Annabeth up bridal style.

She yelped, grabbing his shoulders. "Percy, no!" He ran. He began running to the car, both of them laughing and Annabeth squealing. He placed her down and they got in the car. They took a few minutes to catch their breath. Both of their cheeks were flushed and they had water droplets in their hair. Percy smiled over at her and Annabeth grinned at the butterflies he gave her.

"You didn't have to carry me, you know," she mumbled, smiling. "But thank you."

"No problem. I mean, we made it here in one piece." He shrugged and she laughed. Percy began the drive to his house. They sat in silence for a little while, just comfortably quiet.

"So what's the plan?" she asked.

"Well, I mean, I'm definitely not about to let you sleep alone. So you should just stay at my house," he said as he turned the corner.

"Percy, I couldn't ask you for—"

"You're not asking for anything. I'm offering, and also kinda not letting you say no. But not in a creepy way, because that's not cool," he muttered.

Annabeth chuckled. "Definitely," she said. They spoke quietly, relaxed. It was nice; She felt safe.

"And we are here." Percy pulled into a parking lot in front an apartment building. "Surprisingly, my spot hasn't been taken, so that's good." They unbuckled their seat belts and Annabeth grabbed her bag.

"Ready?" She turned to Percy, her hand on the door handle.

"Nope. But let's go." They laughed. And together, they ran out into the rain. The wind blew Annabeth's hair all over the place, and within the 8 seconds it took for them to get from the car to the building, they got absolutely soaked.

They walked into the building, chucking and out of breath.

"Holy shit," Annabeth breathed.

"Yeah, that's one way to put it," Percy agreed. They walked past the front desk, and Percy waved to the receptionist. "I've lived here all my life." He shrugged.

"Wow. And to think I live just around the corner and have never hung out with you before. Really makes you think," Annabeth said as they walked into the elevator.

"How so?" Percy pushed the button for floor four.

"Because. It shows that everything is meant to happen in its own time, at its own pace."

"Interesting, very interesting." Percy stared at the floor, considering her observation. "Astute hypothesis, Miss Chase," he said in a mock of being fancy and proper.

She laughed. "I'm certainly not the first person to come to the realization," she admitted.

"But still." He shrugged and smiled over at her. They stood side by side in the elevator, still soaking wet. Finally, with a ding, the doors slid open and she followed him down the hallway. They walked a bit before stopping at a door. Percy pulled his keys out of his pocket, and stuck them in the lock.

"There's a trick to this," he mumbled and smirked at Annabeth. "You gotta push up," he pushed the key upward. "And wiggle it around," he wiggled the key around. Annabeth laughed when he pushed the door open. "And voila," he said. He stuck out a hand, motioning Annabeth in first. He followed her inside. She tried not to go too far inside, for she was still wet. She looked around.

In front of her was a living room, with a wall-window through to the kitchen. The couch sat below the window, and was across from the television. A big chair sat more towards the back corner, and a smaller loveseat directly opposite the chair. The kitchen seemed small, before it led down a hallway to where she assumed were the bedrooms. A lamp glowed warm, yellow light in the living room. It was small and cozy. She liked it.

"Welcome to my New York City penthouse," he joked.

Annabeth laughed. "No, I love it. It's so nice." She had never been to Percy's house, but she felt safe there, oddly. They pulled off their boots and hung their wet coats on the coat rack. They pulled off their socks, which were also wet. Annabeth then took off her hoodie, which was probably about ten times heavier than usual. Percy took off his sweatshirt before pulling his shirt off over his shoulders. He let it flop to the floor. Annabeth had seen Percy shirtless before, but she couldn't help her stare. She resisted the urge to run her fingers along his broad, smooth shoulders and down his spine. She gnawed on her lip and pulled her eyes away. She needed to stop.

Suddenly, they heard another crack of thunder. They both looked to the window at the far end of the living room. It was mostly covered by blinds, but you could still see the flash of lightning through it.

Percy suddenly looked to Annabeth, looking at her clothes. "I will go get us some dry clothes, feel free to take a look around." He began walking down that hallway. "Though I have to warn you, flash photography is prohibited, and anything lost or broken on this trip is not under the responsibility of the Jacksons to replace," he explained, going on as if she was about to go on a tour of a museum. They laughed before he turned and walked through a door.

Annabeth walked carefully though the house, her footsteps silent. She looked at the wall around the window to the kitchen. There were pictures of Percy and a woman with chocolate brown hair and baby blue eyes. She assumed she was Percy's mother; they had the same nose and lips. There were a few baby pictures of Percy. One was especially adorable.

It must have been his first birthday. He wore a tiny cone party hat and was sat in a highchair. There was bright blue frosting all over him, and in his hair, but his little chubby cheeks were in the biggest smile, and he looked so proud of himself. Annabeth chuckled to herself. "Flash photography is only prohibited if you're caught, right?" she mumbled to herself. She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture.

Then she moved on to a few other pictures. Annabeth caught sight of wedding pictures. She looked closely at one of the few that were up; it was Percy's mother, and a man. She assumed it was the Paul Percy had been talking about. They smiled at each other as they stood holding hands in a garden. Annabeth could see how in love they were with just that one picture. Percy's mom looked beautiful. Her white dress was simple, long, and elegant. Her hair was done in an updo and a small vale clipped in.

Annabeth wished she would find someone and love them like that, and they would give that same love back. For a long time, she had thought that person was Luke. But looking back, there was never a love like that between them, even at their best. Sure, they had grown up together. But that kind of love took a certain understanding of one another. And that understating took effort. But Luke just didn't want to put in the time for things like that.

"Hey," Percy said, coming back with clothes. She noticed that he had changed. He wore light grey sweatpants and a tight maroon t-shirt. His hair was messy as usual, but he still looked adorable. Annabeth really couldn't deny that the boy was gorgeous.

"Hi," she said, smiling at him. She looked back at the wall. "I was just looking at some pictures." Suddenly, looking at the wedding pictures, Annabeth realized something. "Wait," she pointed, "is that Mr. Blofis?"

Percy chuckled. "Yeah..."

"Why didn't you tell me your mother married my English teacher?" she asked. They laughed.

"I mean, I get that reaction a lot, and it's usually followed by, 'hey man, you think you can get me a free pass for this paper?' Like, no do your fucking work." He suddenly blushed. "Sorry,"

"No it's fine. I mean, it's probably hormones but I have just been cursing like a sailor, when normally I keep it like, on the down low—"

"On the down low?" Percy laughed. "You're priceless."

"What?" she defended. "That's a thing that people say!" She insisted. They laughed. "Anyways, yeah. I've just been really blunt lately, and the mood swings," she scoffed.

"That sounds like so much fun,"

"Right?" She smiled at Percy. "Anyways, they look really happy," Annabeth noted.

"Yeah, they are." Percy stared at the photo and smiled. Annabeth knew about Percy's first step father, and she had a feeling that this whole situation meant a lot to him. She was just glad to see that they were all happy.

"And that?" She pointed to a picture of Percy in a blue dinosaur costume, face paint and all. He must have been about six. "That's just—that's adorable."

Percy's cheeks turned pink. "Thanks," Annabeth thought he looked cute when he blushed. She looked back at the photos.

"Your mother is beautiful," she blurted.

Percy chuckled. "Thank you."

"Must be where you get it from," she muttered.

"Oh, what was that, Miss Chase?" Percy looked at her, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

"Oh, nothing," she played it off, knowing full well he had heard her. Percy laughed and she chuckled.

"Um, here are your clothes," he said, handing them to her. There was a pair of dark grey sweatpants, a graphic t-shirt—although she couldn't see what was on it—and a pair of socks. She appreciated those—Annabeth loved socks.

"Thank you," she said. "Is there a bathroom?"

"Oh, yeah, right down the hall and the first door on the left."

"Got it." She smiled in thanks before walking to the bathroom. She closed and locked the door. Quick to strip off her wet clothes, she pulled on the sweatpants that Percy had given her. They were unbelievably soft, and Annabeth got a warm feeling throughout her whole body. She looked at herself in the mirror. She... liked it. She smiled at herself before pulling on the t-shirt, as well as the socks.

Then she grabbed the hairdryer that had been left on the sink. She figured it would be fine to use, as long as she didn't break it and put it back. She did the best to dry her hair as she could before walking out of the bathroom, her hair now a little frizzy and loose.

She walked down the hall back to Percy and found him in the kitchen. "Hey," she sighed. He turned to face her. Suddenly, he was grinning from ear to ear. Annabeth laughed. "Do I really look that bad?" she joked.

Percy laughed. "No, no! You look... great," he almost whispered. They locked eyes for a few moments, and Annabeth could feel herself getting pulled into his gaze, but she didn't look away. She didn't want to.

But knowing she should, she broke away from his stare. Percy couldn't fall for her; he had a bright future ahead of him, and her life was a train wreck at the moment. She wasn't going to let him throw his opportunities away on her. It wasn't fair to him, despite the fact that Annabeth might have been developing a crush on him. But it didn't matter.

She cleared her throat. "What are you making?" she asked, nodding to the bowl with seemingly flour inside and the mess around it.

"Oh, my mom makes these incredible blue cookies—have I mentioned this to you before?" He looked over at her; she had made her way next to him at the counter.

"Possibly," she said, smiling.

"But she makes these cookies, and I begged her to teach me how to make them, and she finally did. I mean, mine still aren't as good as hers, but they're not bad." Annabeth watched his eyes light up as he talked. She could tell he was really passionate about these cookies, which, she had to admit, she found quite adorable.

"That's cool. What can I do to help?" Annabeth asked.

"Could you fill that measuring cup with 2/3 cup of water please?" He nodded to the glass as he mixed something else into the flour. Annabeth walked to the sink and filled up the cup. "And you can pour that right in," Percy said. She carefully poured it in, leaning in front of Percy. She could feel his gaze on her, and she hoped he couldn't see her cheeks redden.

"Alright, just a few other things and then we bake." They went on, following Percy's directions before they got to his favorite part; the food coloring.

"Wow, I'm excited," Annabeth said, smiling. It was a little funny how much they had hyped up this blue food dye.

"You should be, because this is the best part." He smiled at her. "Okay, I'll put in two drops and then you put in two. Sound good?"

"Sounds great." Percy put in his two, making a small 'bloop' sound for each, which made Annabeth laugh. She then did her two, and they got to mixing. The color immediately spread and it was pretty cool.

"Now we pour in our chocolate chips," Percy said as he dumped in half the bag.

"Percy!" Annabeth stopped him, laughing. "That is so much, oh my god."

"What?" He shrugged. "I enjoy chocolately deliciousness in my cookies, is that such a crime?"

"Well if you're trying to give us diabetes," she teased, shaking her head at him. Then they both broke out in grins. Percy mixed in his chocolate chips. Then, he took a bit of the dough between his fingers and ate it.

"Wow, really?" Annabeth joked.

"What? It's so good you have to try it. Trust me, there'll be enough to put in the oven I promise," he reassured her. His smile coaxed her in.

"You are such a bad influence." She ate a bit of the dough. "Okay wow," she said, still chewing the chocolate chips. She swallowed. "That is good."

"Right?" Percy agreed. They each took a bite more, laughing. "Okay, lets get these babies in the oven. They rolled their cookie dough balls and put them on a baking tray. Once that was done, they popped them in the oven.

Then all they had to do was wait.

~*~

Saturday, October 13th
10:15 pm - Percy's living room

"Okay, you have beat me in nearly every game that we've played," Percy threw down all his property cards; they were playing Monopoly.

Annabeth laughed. "Well, it's not my fault that you're shitty at board games." She shrugged.

Percy gasped in fake offense. "How dare you insult me like this!" He shouted. Annabeth started laughing more at the display he began to put on. The crackle of thunder and lightning in the background made everything better. Yes, it had been four hours, and the storm had only gotten worse. Percy and Annabeth had already played Shoots and Ladders, Pictionary, The Game of Life, Operation and Trouble. They had even tried cards for a little while. There was still one game they hadn't played though; possibly Annabeth's favorite board game of all time.

Scrabble.

"Okay fine. Can we play scrabble?" she asked.

"Just so you can kick my ass again? That's just-"

"Pleeeeease!" Annabeth begged. "That is my favorite game and it's like a pregnancy craving. I need to play scrabble because if I don't, then my head will explode because I just have all of this knowledge that I need to get out—"

"Okay, we both know damn well that is not how it works," Percy cut her off and she started laughing. "But you really wanna play that bad?"

"Oh my god, yes," she said immediately. She looked at Percy with big eyes and pouty lip—it worked before.

He rolled his eyes. "Ugh, fine!" He relented, sighing. "But I have one rule."

"What?"

"Made up words only." Percy smirked at her.

"Wha—" Annabeth was about to protest, but she stopped herself. She could do that, and maybe it would be more fun. "Fine. You're on."

"Oh yeah? Bring it, Chase."

"I am so gonna beat you."

~*~

They had been playing for about 20 minutes, and they laughed for every single one of those minutes. The words that Percy was making up were so unbelievably ridiculous that Annabeth couldn't hold it in. She was really, full on, bust-a-gut laughing. There were practically tears in her eyes. At one point, she had accidentally snorted, which only made them both laugh harder.

"Okay, wait," Percy said, out of breath. "I got one."

"Oh no," Annabeth muttered. Both of their faces her bright red.

"I will turn your 'hogfer'," yes that was a word Annabeth made up. It was an adjective that was used to describe someone with bad hygiene. Don't ask her why, it just was. "Into 'fadsbeg.'"

"What is that?!" Annabeth guffawed. Percy started laughing harder.

"It means—" he could barely breathe. "It means to run around random places giving strangers random things. Like, 'Oh look, he's fadsbegging!'" He could barely get the words out because they both found it just incredibly hilarious.

"What?" Annabeth slammed her hand on the table, she was laughing so hard. "'Fadsbegging?' What even..." she trailed off, her laughter getting in the way of her words.

"I don't know." Percy shrugged. He practically was crying because of how funny they found it. They were both laughing so hard it took them a good fifteen minutes to calm down.

"Oh dear lord," Annabeth sighed. They stared at each other for a little while, both of their cheeks red from laughing. Annabeth found it hard not to smile. She really was just happy in being his company. She felt safe and like she could let her guard down. It was like he helped her take her mind off of all of the stress she was feeling.

"I think that we've expanded our vocabulary quite a considerable amount tonight, wouldn't you agree, Miss Chase?" Percy asked, speaking in that fancy way he did when he called her 'Miss Chase.' She had to admit; that made her feel warm inside.

"I would agree, Mr. Jackson." She mimicked him, both of them laughing. "I'm gonna go grab something from my bag, I'll be right back." Annabeth stood up and walked down the hall to Percy's room. She shuffled through a few pockets before she found her chapstick. She walked over to the mirror hanging next to his closet.

She stared at her reflection, her eyes wandering down to her belly. It wasn't big yet, of course, but it still felt... bigger. She turned and looked at herself from the side. She pulled up her shirt and slightly pushed the hem of the sweatpants down, sizing up her tummy.

It was odd. She was used to going through a lot of training for volleyball and... to be crass, having abs. She realized that after this pregnancy, her body would never be the same as it was now. She felt herself tearing up.

"Annabeth?" Percy knocked on the door and peaked his head in. He noticed her at the mirror. She stood there, her shirt still up, not really caring. "You alright?"

"Yeah..." she kept examining herself, but it only made her sadder. A tear ran down her cheek.

"What's wrong?" He quickly walked to her side, concerned.

"I mean..." she faltered. "My body is never gonna be the same. A-and I just..." her voice broke.

"Hey, hey, hey," Percy said gently. He caught her attention, locking her eyes on his. "I can't tell you that you're wrong, because quite frankly, I really don't know. But what I do know is that everything is going to turn out alright. Remember when you realized how incredible the entire principle of pregnancy is?" They both turned and looked in the mirror.

Annabeth sniffed and wiped her tears. "Yeah," She found that Percy was cheering her up.

"Focus on that. And Annabeth, I don't want to put myself where I don't belong, but... you're gorgeous," he sighed, gazing at the mirror. He seemed to be in a trance, just totally focused on her. She got a warm tingly feeling in her fingers. Her heart ran a relay race in her chest. Her cheeks flushed bright red. She didn't really know what to say.

"Sorry," Percy said quickly. "I-I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or—"

"No, no, I promise you didn't," Annabeth reassured him. She needed to remember that she couldn't be with Percy. "I appreciate that, Percy."

"I mean, I just don't want you to be upset," Percy said, giving her a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah. I'm not anymore, I promise," she chuckled. Percy grinned at her through the mirror. They stared for a little while, and Annabeth just let herself get sucked into his eyes. Suddenly, her conscience kicked in, and she reluctantly pulled her eyes away.

"You wanna, watch a movie?" Percy asked, breaking the silence.

"Uh, yeah sure." She nodded. They turned away from the mirror and Percy followed Annabeth back to the living room.

~*~

Sunday, October 14th
12:15 am - Percy's bedroom

"Percy I'm not going to take your bed and make you sleep on the couch—"

"Annabeth I am not about to let you sleep on the couch, there's no way—"

"Well I can't just take your bed—"

"Yes you can—"

"No I can't, Percy!" Annabeth looked him in the eyes. In case you couldn't already tell, they were arguing over sleeping arrangements. "Look, how about we both just take the bed. I stay on this side, you stay on that side."

"Are you sure you're comfortable with that?" Percy asked. "I mean, I don't want you to feel—"

"Percy." She stopped him. They stood on opposite sides of the bed. Annabeth crawled across to him, putting her hands on his shoulders. "I am fine. We share the bed."

"Okay." He nodded. Annabeth crawled back across the bed and they walked out of the room. She went into the bathroom.

"You wouldn't happen to have an extra toothbrush, would you?"

"Let me check." Percy carefully stepped around Annabeth and knelt down, searching under the sink. She heard a lot of rummaging before he came back up. "Found one." It was wrapped in plastic, like how you would get it from the dentist's office.

She smiled. "Thank you." They both stood at the sink, Percy putting toothpaste on his brush. He then handed it to Annabeth, and she did the same. They began brushing, watching each other in the mirror. Somehow, they ended up laughing.

Annabeth smiled, her grin foamy white. Percy laughed and accidentally spit on the mirror. Annabeth began laughing harder. She nearly doubled over, slapping the sink counter. She spit out the toothpaste.

She laughed out loud. "Percy, ew!" Her shoulders shook; at this point she was guffawing.

He spit in the sink. "It was an accident!"

They cleaned their bushes and wiped their faces, still laughing. Then Percy cleaned the mirror. Then they went back to the bedroom. It was late, and after all the fun they'd had, Annabeth was tired.

Percy turned off all the lights. "You want this open or closed?"

"Closed is fine." She wanted Percy to know she trusted him. After Luke, she understood that he was being cautious and careful of her feelings. She really, deeply appreciated that. But she needed him to know that she felt safe with him.

He closed the door and then the light. He walked to the bed, bumping into multiple things on the way. Then, he laid down and sighed. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Percy."

~*~

Sunday, October 14th
3:10 am - Percy's bedroom

Annabeth had been sleeping soundly until she felt Percy stir next to her. She was a light sleeper, so she heard his moaning immediately.

He began to squirm, mumbling things like, "please," and "stop." Her heart dropped at what he could be dreaming of. Things abruptly got more intense. He began crying out, begging to nothing. He thrashed back and forth.

"Percy!" She shook him as best she could, trying to wake him. Her heart ached and she started to panic. "Percy! It's just a dream!" He finally woke up, tears staining his face. "It's just a dream," she said, "it's just a dream."

Percy shot up, breathing heavily. "I-"

"You're okay," Annabeth reassured him. She had never seen such fear in his eyes. "You're okay, I promise. I'm right here," she whispered.

He trembled. Annabeth pulled him into her chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. She pulled him closer, wanting nothing more than for him to feel safe. She had always been caring, but now it was like her true motherly instincts were kicking in. She rubbed his back until he stopped shaking.

She sighed when his breathing regulated and he fell back to sleep. She was exhausted herself, but she was just glad Percy was okay.

She drifted off, the feel of Percy's heartbeat against her side. She slowly closed her eyes, and let sleep take over.

•••