Percabeth's Child: Children of Olympus Book #1

Chapter Twenty Five: I Crash a Party

When they finally arrived back home, Percy knocked on the door. She looked at him strangely. They never knocked; it was their own house.

All of Annabeth's curiousity was explained when the door burst open to a crowd of people yelling, "Surprise!"

***

Everyone was there: all of her friends (including Rachel and Nico), her half-siblings from the Athena cabin, her dad and stepfamily, Percy's parents and his cyclops half-brother Tyson, some other adults that Annabeth guessed were the rest of the seven's parents, Alice (the daughter of Hecate that had saved her from Eirene's power while she was still mortal), the now-mortal Eirene herself, even the nymph Denalia that had been their tour guide to Olympus all those months ago when Annabeth and Percy had gone to Olympus looking for Eirene.

Percy explained that it was a party for all for all of the demigods-turned-gods with an emphasis on her since it doubled as a baby shower, and that Chiron had made a special allowance to let their mortal parents in.

They insisted that Annabeth open her presents first, and there were a lot of them. It seemed almost every guest had brought something, but her favorites were probably a cute baby dress with peace signs on it from Piper and a blue cradle with a seascape painted on it that Percy had made with a little help from Leo.

She was enjoying the presents and party so much that she almost forgot about how she was feeling.

Until the contractions started.

At first she passed them off as nothing. She knew that there were contractions that women sometimes got that didn't mean anything, and she was only about five months pregnant.

Still, her stomach showed otherwise, so she kept her attention on her body as she tried to pretend like nothing was wrong.

She admired her new presents, talked with her parents and Percy's, and tried to enjoy the party as much as she could, but her mind wouldn't leave the contractions.

Especially as they started to become closer and more painful.

Eventually they were so bad that she had to stand and breath through them, and it was getting hard keeping it to herself.

She quickly excused herself and rushed to the bathroom with a particularly bad one, and stood there panting when it was over. She splashed water on herself, trying to decide what to do. Should she tell someone? Percy? A doctor?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a trickle; her water had broken.

"Crap," she closed her eyes, starting to panic.

She changed quickly, grabbing her hospital bag while she was at it.

"Percy," she whispered urgently after she finally found her husband in the crowded room.

"Hmm?" he asked but his eyes widened when he saw her panicked expression. She motioned him into the empty hall and he followed quickly, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

"Percy, I... I think I'm going into labor," Annabeth admitted, biting her lip.

Percy reacted just as she expected. "What? But... you'r only... five months... it shouldn't be... time yet?"

"I know, Percy, but my water broke," Annabeth explained, trying to stay calm.

"Oh... right. Yeah, we better get to the hospital."

"Yeah, that'd probably be good."

"Um, can you walk or..." Percy trailed off.