Unexpectedly Expecting (Previously Known As Unexpected)

26 - Percy

Turns out, trying to support a pregnant woman while she's in labor and trying to walk up a hill (an extremely small one, might I add!) is a lot harder than it sounds.

Just over a gentle slope in the snow, there was a road. It took what felt like forever to find it, and, thank the gods, there was actually people driving on it. We came across an empty school bus (wow, things were just working out in our favor, weren't they?) and asked them where we were. Turns out, we were only about 8 miles from camp.

We asked for a ride and they gladly obliged. I set Annabeth down in a seat and slid next to her. "You doing okay?" I asked.

"It hurts," she said.

"I know, I know. It's gonna be okay, okay? We're gonna get you to camp."

"And then what? No one there can deliver a child. Or two, at that."

"I can," Will spoke up from the seat behind us.

"Oh no you don't," Nico said. "Last time you delivered a baby you were traumatized for a week."

"I got over it. And they need help. And if I can't do it, maybe Chiron can, I don't know. And we have lots of other doctors that could figure it out, I'm sure."

Annabeth groaned. "Stop! Stop stop stop! Stop arguing! You're making it worse!"

I grabbed her hand and she squeezed mine, breathing through her contraction. "They're getting closer together," she warned us.

"We're almost to camp," I assured her. We're about to be parents.

The thought was exciting and horrifying at the same time. I was about to be a dad. And I wasn't even married yet. I had a part time job and hadn't even finished school yet. How was I supposed to raise two children?

I could see Thalia's tree in the distance and hope filled my chest. We were gonna make it, hopefully in time.

2 minutes later, Annabeth was breathing like she'd just run a marathon and we pulled up in front of camp. No way she could walk right now, so I did my best job at carrying her. Chiron and a few other campers raced down the hill to greet us. "Where have you been?" Chiron asked. "We've been worried sick!"

"No time for explanations," Will said. "I need to get Annabeth to the infirmary now or she's gonna end up giving birth on the side of a hill."

Annabeth cried out in pain. "Just stop talking and get this over with!"

Chiron knelt to the ground. "You three, get on. I'll take you up there."

"Can you carry all three of us?" I asked.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled.

"Okay, okay. Gods."

We loaded onto Chiron's back, which was something he never let anybody do, and carried us up to the infirmary as if we weighed nothing at all.

I rushed Annabeth inside, Will leading us to the back of the building where they kept the private rooms. I changed Annabeth into some sort of smock / gown thing and laid her down. Will called his sister Sabrina to the infirmary to help.

Doctors ran around doing their own things while I stayed by Annabeth, wiping her forehead with a towel.

"You don't need to do that," she told me. "It's just gonna come back."

"I want to make you as comfortable as possible," I told her.

"Trust me the only thing that's making me comfortable right now is holding your hand. Everything else is kind of out of your reach." She groaned again and squeezed again. "God, are we almost there yet?"

Will shook his head. "You still got a few minutes."

Annabeth made a noise of pain and frustration and slammed her head back against the pillow.

"Percy," Will said.

"Yeah?" I responded.

"Lean Annabeth forward a little bit. I need you to sit behind her and let her lean on you."

I helped Annabeth sit up, which she didn't seem to like considering how she screamed in protest, but I got her up and sat behind her, my back against the wall. "What's this supposed to do?"

"Well, since we don't exactly have the right accommodations for this... situation, you sitting there will help her get into a good position so that nothing goes wrong."

"Like what?"

"Well, they could get stuck if in the wrong position, and it could also cut off their breathing and-" he cut himself off. "Better not to think about it."

Annabeth let out a cry of frustration. Will looked up at me expectantly.

"I think it's time. Are you ready?"