Annabeth’s POV
Ugh. I don’t feel good this morning. I had already barfed what….5 times now? My stomach was aching really bad. I was back in bed now. Percy was seriously starting to panic. He kept pacing and tugged on his hair. It was cute when he worried about me.
“It’s just a bug Percy!” I insisted for like the tenth time. I got an awful cramp and curled into a ball.
“Do you think you caught it in Athens?”
“I don’t know Seaweed Brain!” I felt so angry. I also felt sad. I never had hormones like this before. I felt sick to my stomach and I wanted to stay in bed all day
Okay now I’m really sick of being sick. I’ve barfed 15 times. Percy is walking me to the doctor’s office. I finally let him take me after begging me to go about 10 times at least.
“You still okay?” Percy rubbed my shoulder being the good husband he always worried about me. I felt way better now. I could walk by myself but Percy was on edge like he was ready to catch me if I fell. He opened the door for me and I walked in. Cally, the receptionist was waiting for me.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No. But can I be checked out for a bug?”
“A PARASITE?!?!?!” She gasped.
“NO! Gods no! Just I’ve been sick all day. So sickness not a literal bug.” Jeez! I muttered under my breath. Going to the doctor’s is a little over rated.
“Let me page Dr. Margaret.” She kept looking at me funny. “Write your names here please.” She handed me a clip board with a bunch of scribbled names on it. I wrote happily, “Annabeth Jackson.” It felt good to share a last name with the best person in the world. “She will be with you momentarily.” She looked down at her clipboard. I ushered Percy to the chairs in the waiting room. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders,
“You still okay?”
“Of course it’s just a weird bug.” I shrugged. I had tropical illnesses before. I went to Bora Bora with my dad on one of his favorite planes for the day and caught a really bad illness that gave me hives and turned my face bright red. It wasn’t fun. Not one bit. I leaned my head on Percy’s shoulder. The receptionist glared at me,
“Don’t barf. We got the carpets done yesterday!” She groaned. Apparently people got sick in the waiting room often? Whatever.
“Hello. Are you Annabeth Jackson?” A woman wearing square glasses looked at me. Her hair was pulled back in a bun. It had a few gray strands of hair but she still looked young. She had 2 pencils stuck in her hair. She wore a white lab coat with a name tag labeled, “Doctor Margaret” in red lettering.
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“Good. Can you come with me to room 3B please?” She held out her hand for me and I took it gratefully. I was just standing up when Percy grabbed my hand and tried to pull me back down,
“Can’t I come?”
“No Seaweed Brain. You have to stay out here.”
“Yes. Please, I promise that she’s in perfectly capable hands.” Dr. Margaret smiled at him. Percy stood up and kissed me.
“Come back to me okay?” Dr. Margaret tugged on my shirt sleeve. I walked down the hallway next to her. She looked back at me,
“Recently married?” I blushed,
“Yes. Literally only 5 weeks ago. We went to Athens.”
“Nice.” I noticed that a diamond glittered on her right hand, “I went to the Bahamas. Mosquitoes everywhere. The beaches were nice though.” She rambled doing her job to butter a patient up so that conversation was easier. She turned and opened a door labeled 3B. She ushered me inside and it was just like any other doctor’s office. There was a table with a sheet of paper on it where patients have to sit and the whole room smelled like disinfectant. Margaret pumped a container of hand sanitizer and rubbed the substance in between her hands.
“Can you please remove your shoes for me?” I slid off my sneakers and sat down at the table.
“Can you tell me your symptoms?” She pulled out a clipboard from inside her labcoat.
“Um...I’ve been barfing all day and I get really bad cramps.” The doctor scribbled down notes with one of the pencils from her hair. She wrote really fast it really started to scare me. I looked down at my hands.
“Where have the cramps been occurring?”
“Um. Near my abdomen and my stomach. It makes me feel awful.”
“What did you eat today and yesterday?”
“Oh um.. Percy well...he attempted to make pasta but it was more of a blob.” I laughed.
“And today?”
“Um..just saltine crackers and pop.” I hadn’t grown the nerve to try eating anything else. I just felt that I would throw it up again.
“Hmmm….” She scratched the back of her neck and frowned at her notes, “Have you had any dizziness and/or cold sweats?”
“Percy told me I had a really hard time sleeping last night but it hasn’t been as noticeable today.”
“Hmmmmmmmmmm…..” She drawled. Her eyebrows were scrunched together tightly. “You see Annabeth, the only difference between your symptoms and the common cold are the fact that you have had cramps. I think that I’ll give you so cold medication but before you leave can I take an ultrasound just to be safe? It’s really up to you sweetie.”
Sweetie? Woah there sister! No calling me sweetie! I would have told her that I had murdered plenty of monsters and was not capable of being a sweetie anymore, but I thought that would be impolite.
“Um...sure?” Dr. Margaret smiled at me like I had made her day.
“Okay then. I’m going to go get the supplies but do you mind sliding your shirt up just a smidge? It would help me get a better picture.” I pulled up my shirt exposing my midriff and she closed the door behind her.
I couldn’t take it anymore. My back pocket kept buzzing and making weird noises because obviously Percy wouldn’t stop texting me. I picked up my pager and looked at my messages.
Percy:
Hi!
Is everything alright in there?
I miss you.
I love you.
Hello?
Are you okay?
Did you get sick again?
What did the doctor say?
Why aren’t you answering me?
Did you turn your pager off?
Please talk to me
The ladies out here are weird
I’m so bored right now
Come on! A check up doesn’t take this long
Annabeth Jackson PLEASE ANSWER!!!!!!!!
#dying of boredom *_*
#kinda dead :/
TEXT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! D:
Me:
Stop freaking out Seaweed Brain.
Percy:
Love you! And I’m not freaking out, I’m just worried.
Me:
Whatever. I’m fine. They are going to be doing an ultrasound to check for and irritation around my abdomen. Then they’ll send me home with you with some pain drugs. I’ll be fine.
Percy:
AN ULTRASOUND?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Me:
It’s no big deal Seaweed Brain. They just have to make sure there isn’t any inflammation. #JEEZ
Percy:
._. okay then. When can I come in? These old ladies are freaking me out.
Me:
Soon I hope. Dr. is getting supplies
Percy:
Okay. Love you always! :)
He can be so overprotective sometimes. The door creaked open and Dr. Margaret peered in. She walked in with a computer thingy on wheels. There was a young nurse that followed her. No more than 12 years old.
“This is my daughter Sarah. Sarah-Annabeth, Annabeth-Sarah.” Sarah had blonde hair tied back tight in a high ponytail. She had emerald eyes that shimmered when she looked at me. She was kind of what I always picture my kids looking. She carried a chrome plate that was filled with a grayish slimy substance and a weird stick thingy.
“Nice to meet you.” She smiled at me. She took the weird stick thing and plugged it into the computer. The computer was plugged in to the outlet in the wall. When everything was attached to the right things the computer glowed and buzzed. Margaret pulled up a stool and turned the computer towards her.
“Okay this will be pretty cold.” The doctor stuck the stick thingy into the goop and pressed it against my stomach. It was so cold. I had goosebumps everywhere. The shivers traveled down my spine and made me clench my toes.
“Gods that’s cold!” I clenched my teeth.
“Trust me I know.” Dr. Margaret sympathized. She rubbed the goo around. That didn’t exactly help with the fact that I’m freezing. I crossed my arms across my chest. She flipped a button on the computer and she tilted the screen towards her. She rubbed her right hand around my stomach with the weird stick thingy while she watched the screen. She clicked something. She stared at one spot on the computer screen for at least 5 minutes. I started to get really anxious. I was worried that there really was something wrong with me. I tried to look at what she was looking at. She motioned to her daughter and her daughter nodded solemnly. A knot blocked my throat.
“Is it cancer or something?!” I couldn’t take it anymore I broke the silence.
“Oh no dear.” She didn’t say anything else. She pulled out her pager and I peered over her shoulder and saw that she was sending a message to the receptionist
Send in Mr. Jackson.
She typed. I had a problem swallowing. Definitely bad news. I felt a stone was resting on my chest. I could barely breath.
“Yes?!” Percy broke through the door breathing heavily, had he run here? What a Seaweed Brain. He hurried over to me and laced his long fingers through mine. He squeezed them lightly. He pecked my forehead which made me blush.
“There is something you two need to see.” Little Sarah stood behind us anticipating. I felt like biting my nails. Definitely bad news. The doctor turned the computer screen towards us. It was a black and white blob. I had no clue what it was. I knew Percy had the same reaction has I had but he still gasped like he knew what the blob was. There was one thing that I did know was that the black and white blob was shifting slowly.
“Would you like to see in 2D or 3D?” Percy shrugged.
“I like 3D movies so sure. 3D please.” The doctor turned another switch and the screen changed different colors. She turned the screen back at me and I gasped. Percy teetered,
“Get Mr. Jackson a chair!” Sarah pulled a chair up just as Percy collapsed. Tears streamed freely down my face without end because on the screen was my baby.
Oh. My. Gods. I only just realized that I’m crying. The doctor’s left for me, I wanted to cry by myself. I was gaping at the figure on the screen. The hands were not really developed but it was definitely a body. A body no larger than my index finger. Morning sickness. That was what that was. I was sick because I’m…..I’m…..
“Percy?” I looked at him. As soon as he had been able to stand up he had begun pacing. He was pulling on his hair. he was muttering to himself. I kept crying. I couldn’t stop. Percy paced faster and faster and looked back at the screen to make sure it was real. It. All of the sudden he burst out of the the room and slammed the door behind him.
“Percy!!” I yelled. He didn’t come back. I couldn’t leave. I pulled out my pager and texted him but a few moments later I saw that the chair by my bed was vibrating. Percy left his pager here. Did he want kids? What if he didn’t? What would he do then? I refused to think about it. The doctor opened the door. She said a lot more but the main thing that went through my mind was that my husband had abandoned me.