Okay I have no idea where all this motivation is coming from but I'm not jinxing this so get ready for some chapters. This is the full story and I hate this title, so ignore it please thank you but enjoy :)

Thursday, January 3rd
3:45 pm - Annabeth's dining room
22 weeks and 1 day (just over 5 months)

"So," Percy said, sitting down across from Annabeth and handing her hot chocolate. "Any ideas for the nursery?"

She thanked him for the warm drink and took a sip before placing it on the table. "I've actually thought a lot about it, I've been through probably a million phases—"

"Oh, I've seen the notebook," Percy laughed. Annabeth had a notebook where she wrote down everything about her pregnancy. She kept a calendar, wrote down research, planned special events like the gender reveal, and a name reveal. Of course, only the former of those things had happened yet, but she was excited. And of course, the plans for the nursery. They were turning the guest room into the baby's room, and they needed to start.

"Yeah," she agreed, nodding. "But nothing really gripped me, until now." She smiled widely at Percy.

"Hold on—I wanna guess," he stopped her. He put his hands together, pretending to think. "Flowers," he joked. Annabeth laughed. "Wait no—Disney Princesses!" he teased. "That's so it! I just know!" he exclaimed, making her laugh harder.

"No," she chuckled, Percy laughing as well. "I was thinking..." she left him in suspense for a minute. "Dinosaurs."

Percy's mouth spread into a grin. "That's perfect!"

"I know right!" Annabeth laughed. She was so excited. She sipped her hot chocolate. It was just her and Percy—it was the day before he had to go back to school, and he wanted to spend it with her. Thalia and Jason would have come, but their father had taken them to Bora Bora on the last few days of break. She missed them, but it was nice to have some alone time with her boyfriend. Her dad was away on business again, so they had the whole house to themselves.

The only reason her father allowed it was because he knew that Annabeth would never get up to anything with Percy—she didn't want to have sex, and it would just be weird now that she was pregnant. Not that she didn't think about it—it was a little hard not to when your boyfriend looks like a Greek god, and—. She needed to stop thinking like that. Her hormones just got worse and worse as the days went by.

But for now, they sat at the dining room table and drank hot chocolate while they both caught up on some school work. Percy had needed a little help with statistics, and Annabeth had offered to show him.

It was nice, just sitting with him. It made her think about what it would be like if this were their house, and they were together—no. That wasn't going to happen. Annabeth would not jeopardize Percy's future just because she liked his support. She really liked his support... but it didn't matter.

"You okay?" Percy asked.

"Yeah," Annabeth said, nodding; she must have been gazing off. "Sorry,"

"No it's alright," he said, nodding.

~*~

Thursday, January 3rd
6:05 pm - Annabeth's living room

"I'm hungry," Annabeth sighed.

"Me too," Percy agreed.

"You're always hungry,"

"Okay, yes but you're also hungry at this moment, and I thought it would be fitting to agree, Miss Chase," he explained.

Annabeth laughed. "Ooh," she said suddenly, looking over at Percy. They were sprawled on the couch; she was laying between his legs with her head on his stomach. They had been lounging, watching shitty Netflix movies and laughing at the characters for the past few hours, but they were taking a break. "You know what I'm craving really bad right now?"

"Oh god," he said with facetious fear.

She laughed again. "McDonald's," she whispered.

"Ah shit," Percy said, grinning. "I guess were getting McDonald's then." He shrugged. They got up, Annabeth giggling like a child. Food really became the greatest thing in her life since this pregnancy started—it was already up there, but now it was just better than everything else. The food she craved, of course. And that was a quite a lot. There were a few times when Percy had gotten Annabeth cookies or a milkshake at 3 a.m., and she really might have been falling in love with this boy.

Woah.

Wait a second.

She just meant that she was grateful that he did that for her. She didn't actually love him... did she?

No. No, she didn't. It's just her crazy emotions. She shook her head to try and get rid of the thoughts.

"You alright?" Percy asked.

"Yeah," she said, coming back to reality. "Yeah, sorry."

"Don't go blank on me now, Wise Girl," he teased.

She chuckled. "Yeah, no, I'm alright. Sorry,"

"It's okay." He grinned at her. They got on their coats—it had been a bitterly cold winter, although there hadn't been very much snow in the beginning. Recently it started to pick up, and all of a sudden it was a Winter Wonderland.

They walked outside, Annabeth locking the door behind them. Percy helped her down the steps—she had almost slipped a few days ago, which could have been really bad. Luckily, she was alright, and they had put down salt, but the stairs were still icy.

They walked down the path and got in Percy's car. He turned the key and they cranked up the heat. Annabeth shivered and Percy started the short drive to McDonald's. They got on the drive-thru line and finally pulled up to order.

"Hello!"

"Hi, how can I help you?"

"If you could be so kind as to give me a cheese burger with no tomatoes and a few extra pickles?" He glanced over at Annabeth, checking to see if he got it right. She nodded, trying not to laugh at the way he spoke. She couldn't help her grin; he knew exactly what she wanted and she didn't even have to say anything.

He continued the order with that ridiculous accent—regular cheese burger for himself, two large fries, two orders of chocolate chip cookies, and a large Coke for them to share. Annabeth tried to eat like this as least often as possible, and she was happy to say that she really didn't do it very much. That was why she had been alright with pigging-out with Percy like this. It was kind of funny, she thought.

"Thank you kindly, good sir," Percy said, taking the bag of food from the employee. And that was another thing—Percy always ordered over-enthusiastically or, like this time, with a stupid accent, and it made Annabeth laugh every single time.

"That smells so good," she muttered, stealing a French fry from the bag. Percy pulled out from the McDonald's and began driving in the opposite direction of the house. "Where are we going?"

"There's something I wanna show you," he said, glancing over at her with a smile. She looked at him skeptically as a joke. Annabeth actually loved when they went on these little adventures. It was always something really cool and it was so much fun, and it was never far from home. Percy showed her all of these incredible things she had never even noticed and it was all already in front of her. He just showed her the right way to look at it. She found that he put that spin on a lot of things in her life.

They drove for a short while before Percy pulled over on the side of a hill. When Annabeth looked out, she could see the rooftops of all the houses below them, covered in snow. The view was beautiful, but in its very own, subtle way.

"This is so pretty," Annabeth said, smiling. She looked over at Percy, and he just nodded, staring at her. She blushed.

"I thought it was the perfect place to have a little date. Even if it's not a fancy dinner—"

"What do you mean? This is gourmet food, right here," she said, pulling her fries out of the bag.

Percy laughed. "I just wanted to show you, that I'll always have a good time with you. It doesn't matter where we are, what we're doing, what we're eating," they chuckled, "As long as I'm with you, I'm happy."

Annabeth smiled at him. "Me too," she said. "Happy 3 months, Seaweed Brain."

"Happy 3 months, Wise Girl." Then they kissed, slow and passionate, before it deepened. But Annabeth could only hold her breath for so long. They slowly pulled away. "And I promise—I'm taking you out for a real dinner this weekend." They chuckled and shared another quick kiss.

"Oh my god, I'm starving," she laughed and they dug in. Annabeth usually would be insecure when she was eating in front of other people—she had a pet peeve about the way people ate, and she was very careful about proper etiquette. But with Percy, she was comfortable and she didn't really care. Pregnancy was also a good excuse.

It was a few minutes after they finished eating and Percy looked over at Annabeth. "Hey," he started.

"Hey," she replied.

"I know that this personal, and you don't have to tell me, if you don't want, but I was just curious... what happened to your mom?" he asked sheepishly.

Annabeth found that a lot of people were scared to ask about things like that. They were difficult to talk about, and it wasn't easy dealing with people in grief. But she didn't really mind talking about her mother anymore—she had come to terms with it, and she knew that her mother was in a better place, and that she would always be watching over her. And she figured, Percy should probably know, just because he talked about his past.

"It's fine, you don't have to be scared or anything," she reassured him, chuckling. "It was cancer—lung cancer. I was 13 when she died, um, and it's kind of a long story, if you don't mind me talking for a while," she said.

"I could listen to you talk forever," Percy mumbled, seemingly before he could stop himself. He turned bright red and Annabeth laughed.

"Okay." She nodded.

~*~

Woodrow Hospital, 2014

"No, no!" Annabeth screamed. Her sobs rang through the corridor. She watched with tears in her eyes as her mother was wheeled away. She didn't want them to take her. Her father grabbed her, holding her back. She fought and fought before she realized he wasn't letting go. She turned and buried her face in her father's chest. She grabbed his shirt in fistfuls, not knowing what to do with her anger.

A white hot ball sat in her throat and it felt like she was trying to swallow a quarter. Tears ran down her face and soaked her father's shirt. Neither of them cared. It didn't matter. All that mattered now was her mother.

Annabeth knew she was dying and there was nothing she could do about it.

That was what she hated most.

*

Annabeth and her father sat in the waiting room for days. Her grandmother came by and told Annabeth to let her drive her home and shower and change. She said no. There was no way in hell she was leaving that hospital. Not until she got word on her mother.

Her mind began to wander. She was starting to think what would have happened if her mother never went back into the fire. If she had never ran back inside to save her grandmother. She probably wouldn't have been dying on a hospital bed. But Annabeth's grandmother wouldn't be here. But her mother would be fine... Annabeth closed her eyes and tried to shut out those thoughts. How could she think like that?

The doctors hadn't said anything in the time they waited. At least, nothing to Annabeth. Every time they talked to her father, she listened carefully. They only said things about her being in critical condition. They said they were doing everything they could. But she didn't care about that. She wanted a definitive statement on her mother. Not this beating-around-the-bush nonsense.

It was four days later when they finally got word on her. The doctor came to them and Annabeth stood up as well this time, a look on her face to tell them both that she wasn't going to sit down. The doctor's mouth was pressed into a thin line and her face was grim. Annabeth knew what was coming.

"We've just gotten her to stabilize, but we don't how long it will last. You can see her now."

Annabeth felt a small sense of relief. Her mother wasn't gone, not just yet. She could see her.

No one said anything as the doctor led them to her mother's room. They walked in and Annabeth's heart dropped. Her mother looked as pale and thin as a sheet of paper. It was odd; she looked so delicate and frail, but her mother was anything but that. She was strong and forward and courageous. Annabeth had never seen her mother look so... weak. She didn't like it.

She carefully approached her, standing with her father at the side of the bed. Her eyes were closed, tubes running through and from every system and machine hooked up with millions of wires.

Annabeth had always been comfortable around her mother. Now, her tongue was lead and her throat was filled with sand. She felt like a stranger. She didn't know what to say, and even if she did, she didn't think she'd be able to get the words out. Her father stood behind her, silent as well. A single tear ran down his cheek as Annabeth looked back at him. She turned and look to her mother.

Annabeth wanted to say something, but she just couldn't. She wanted to tell her mother how much she loved her, and she wanted to grab her and hold her tight, but she hesitated. She knew all of those things were ways of saying one thing. One thing that she wasn't ready to say.

She carefully and slowly reached for her mother's hand. Her fingers felt so bony and frail in Annabeth's. She carefully held their palms together. Suddenly, Annabeth felt her mother squeeze her hand. She gently squeezed back. Tears began flowing from her eyes, snd she tried to hold them in.

Suddenly, the rise and fall of her mother's chest began to slow. The steady pace of the beeping quickened.

"What's happening?" was all Annabeth could seem to say. Doctors and nurses suddenly rushed to her and Annabeth was pulled away by her father. Her mother's hand slipped out of hers, going limp.

"No, no, no," Annabeth sobbed. "No, no, no!" She turned and hugged her father.

Her mother's heart stopped.

All Annabeth could hear was he ringing of the monitor throughout her head. Nothing else.

Suddenly everything went numb. The doctor kept speaking, and nurses ran back and forth, but it was like Annabeth was drifting under water, her voice muffled and unclear. It didn't matter. She knew what she needed to know. Annabeth's vision tunneled and it felt like she couldn't breathe, like all the air was being sucked from her lungs.

*

She didn't register anything else until later that night. They had gone home and ate dinner, and Annabeth took a shower. She felt nothing. The food didn't have taste. The hot shower water, the steam, none of it seemed to be happening. She laid in her bed that night, staring at the ceiling. In her head she knew she was exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. She didn't physically feel tired. She couldn't keep her eyes closed, and she couldn't settle.

Her father came into her room that night, just standing at the door. Neither of them said anything as he laid down next to Annabeth and she made room for him. She curled into his chest, and they just laid there, awake.

She had just gone numb.

*

Annabeth had shut everyone out, and closed herself away. All because she was hurting. She didn't know how her father ever forgave her for that because he was feeling the grief as much as she was. She could only imagine how that broke him.

*

After the funeral, Annabeth finally snapped. She completely wrecked her room. She ripped clothes out of her closet and drawers. She pulled the sheets off her bed and pushed her mattress on the floor. She threw her shoes around and tore the posters off her walls.

When she was finally done, she looked at herself in the mirror, out of breath. She didn't recognize the face that looked back. She looked around her room. All she could think was, what had she done?

She crumpled to the floor and for the first time since her mother died, she sobbed. She suddenly wasn't numb anymore, but instead felt pain with such intensity, she could barely handle it. It was as if flood gates had opened and all of the anger, pain, grief, and sadness that she was supposed to be feeling before, washed over her.

Her father came upstairs and just sat with her. He let her cry.

*

Annabeth didn't go back into her room at all for the next two days. Neither did her father. Neither one of them touched a single thing in that room. Her father didn't because he knew that she needed it. She needed to be able to put everything back.

And she did. She reorganized everything in her room, she cleaned out her closet and her desk, she changed her sheets. It was the one thing she felt like she could control. And her father knew she needed that.

She cleaned that entire house, top to bottom, and then did it again. She reorganized every closet, shelf, cubby. She did everything except for her mother's room. Her father didn't even sleep in their bed; he slept in Annabeth's with her. They both needed that though.

Annabeth couldn't bring herself to go through her mother's things until she was sixteen. And even then, she didn't give anything away. It wasn't until just after her seventeenth birthday that she really went through things. She gave away some clothes and shoes, but she kept the important things.

She kept some work skirts and blouses. They all smelled like her mother. She kept the nude stilettos she used to wobble around the house in when she was little. She kept most of her mother's jewelry, but sold a few other things; she knew her mom would have wanted her to, it was the wise decision. Her favorite blue sundress was never on the table for giving away. And she kept her mother's wedding dress.

*

On the last day of cleaning things thoroughly, Annabeth found a box. She opened it up, and saw four things; the book Goodnight Moon, her mother's favorite book, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, a Walkman, and a smaller box.

Annabeth picked up the Walkman, putting on the headphones and pressing play. It was her mother's voice, reading Goodnight Moon. It was Annabeth's favorite book when she was little, and the only one she would want to listen to. She started crying. She then picked up her mother's favorite book, and began flipping through the pages.

She found post it notes every few pages. Everyone started with the same thing; Dear Annabeth. In her neat cursive handwriting, her mother explained why the highlighted quote was her favorite, or something she found interesting, or a little joke. Annabeth chuckled through her tears as she read a few.

Finally, she picked up the smaller box. Inside was the watch. The watch her mother would wear every single day. The watch that her father gave her as a gift for getting into Yale. Inside the lid she had written, I'll love you long after the end of time.

Annabeth began sobbing. She missed her mother everyday but she smiled at the small pieces of her that she still had. She carried the box to her room, placing it on the high shelf in her closet, where she also kept her wedding dress.

She was grateful to have her mother's things. Even if it hurt just a little bit, it reminded her that her mother would never be forgotten, and that she really would love them forever.

~*~

Thursday, January 3rd
7:50 pm - Percy's car

"God," Annabeth sniffled, chuckling. "Sorry." She had started crying when she was telling Percy about what had happened to her mother.

"No, no don't apologize. Your mother was an incredible person," he complimented.

Annabeth nodded. "She was, thank you. Sometimes I get scared because... I feel like I'll never live up to that. She was such an amazing mom, and what if I'm not that? What if I'm not that for my baby?" A few more tears streaked Annabeth's cheeks.

"Hey," Percy said gently, taking her face in his hands and wiping her tears with his thumb. "Annabeth. Oh my god," he chuckled. "How do I explain this to you?" he asked himself. He was whispering now—they were close enough. "You are the most incredible person that I know. And I know I say that a lot," he chuckled. "But I need to remind you. I need you to know that you're so strong, and caring, and brilliant, and beautiful. I've never known anyone like you, and I mean that in the sense that I've never known someone who understands so well. Who's wise beyond your years but so... present. And so breathtakingly amazing," he whispered. He stared deep into her eyes, and Annabeth was still crying, but now it was because of how perfect the person in front of her was.

"You're going to be an incredible mother. There's no doubt about that," Percy said, shaking his head. He kissed her and they pulled away, Annabeth giving him a teary-eyed smile.

"How did I get so lucky to have you? You're part of the few reasons I've had to keep going, Percy. Thank you," she said.

"The luck is all mine, Miss Chase." They laughed. They sat in silence for a minute, just enjoying each other.

"We should get back," Annabeth said. "It's a school night." She smirked at him.

"Ugh, damn school," Percy groaned.

She laughed.

•••