The Next Years of Our Lives 5

=== Annabeth's P.O.V. ===
 * I. Was. Pregnant. With. Sextuplets. Sextuplets. Sextuplets. Sextuplets! I could

not believe it. But the proof was there. And I made my decision. I knew this pregnancy would be dangerous and amazing. But I couldn't tell Percy. Not yet. I was shattered. Six babies! How did that happen?! I knew how worried I had been with one baby, and this being the second pregnancy, I still knew that it wouldn't be any easier. It would for sure be harder, a lot harder. The risks. The pain. The prematurity. I knew my facts and the chances of survival and health and safe for both the babies and myself, were not good. But Athena had said it would turn out well, right? Well, maybe not the best for ourselves. Or maybe we won't see it as the best thing.


 * I was crying. I couldn't stop the tears. I couldn't. I put my hand on my belly and

suddenly understood the red shirt Athena had given me earlier. What I had thought would be too big, it would nearly be too small when I was at the end of my pregnancy.


 * I was sobbing now. Chiron came in and saw the results of the ultrasound. He

patted my shoulder and said, "This, child will be an alright situation. I'm sure that all is well." And he left. I didn't know what he was talking about, but I dried my tears and left the Big House. I felt the strange but strong urge to go to the ocean. I supposed that it was because I had six half-Percy babies inside of me, but I just knew that I needed to go to the oceanside. I had to. If I didn't, I would start to cry again. So I went to the ocean.


 * After a while of staring at the gray waves crash against the shore against the dusk sky, I got hungry. I mean, really hungry. I was

starving. My stomach was rumbling constantly, so I went to go get some pickles. I snuck into the kitchen, the harpies attending to a small bonfire created by me, and I grabbed three extra-large jars of crunchy dill and went back to the ocean, where Alesha was there, sitting on the sand. She turned towards me. "Hey. What's up?" she asked me.


 * "Not much." I lied, but my voice quivered. If I couldn't lie about this to Alesha, then I wasn't sure that I could even look at Percy

without starting to sob.


 * Alesha knew something was wrong. She always knew. "Okay Annabeth." she said, pretending to play along, but giving me a look

that said she knew that a lot more than "not much" was going on with me. She eyed the pickles. "I thought you didn't like pickles." I ignored her, sitting down carefully. "And since when do you rest your hand on your stomach?" I quickly took my hand off the small bump, not even realizing it was there in the first place. "C'mon, Annabeth. What's up?"


 * I told her, breaking down in tears. When I had no more tears left to cry, I summed it up. "I can't tell Percy. Not yet. Not until it is

absolutely essential for him to know. Don't look at me like that! I know it will be hard, I'm not stupid, I'm the daughter of Athena for crying out loud! But I can keep him in the dark, away from stress and worry for a while. He'll know something is up, but he will be less worried if he doesn't know." She actually agreed on this. She left me to my three empty jars that smelled like pickles.

Percy's P.O.V.

 * I knew something was wrong with Annabeth. She came into the cabin at 8:00. "Oh, I am so tired." She complained. I noticed she

was avoiding eye contact. "Aw, man, I think I'll go to bed now." She rubbed her back and I offered a back rub.


 * "Annabeth, sweetheart, do you want a back rub?"


 * "Oh, sure! That would be wonderful. Thank you so much Percy. You are truly the best thing that ever happened to me."


 * I started rubbing her back. About three minutes into it, Annabeth slumped against me and I realized that she was asleep. I

carefully adjusted her to a vertical position on our bed and pulled the covers over her.


 * I walked over to Nicole and admired the sleeping baby's blonde hair. Same as her mother. I looked at Annabeth. I worried about her.

I wondered what she wasn't telling me. I could tell something was up.


 * At about 10:00 I went to bed. At half-past midnight, I fell asleep, being woken once during the night by a crying Nicole, Annabeth not even twitching with the sudden sound.


 * I woke up at 9:00 in the morning to Annabeth kneeling over a trash can, holding her stomach and throwing up. I went to hold her hair

but she was done by the time I got over to her. She stood and I noticed that her pajama shirt no longer covered all her stomach. She saw me looking and tugged it down quickly. "Good morning." She said brightly. She made eye contact once, but looked away just as fast. I hugged her and she had to pull away, once again overcome by nausea.

Annabeth's P.O.V.

 * About two months after I found out about my pregnancy, and was three months pregnant, I no longer fit my clothes. I tried on the red

shirt. I was relieved to see that it was still too big. But none of my clothes even fit a little. Only the sleeves. I bought clothes from the Camp Half-Blood store. I had to get extra, extra large. Alesha looked at me every once in a while with a look that told me that I would have to tell Percy soon. I knew that. I went to bed earlier every night, and every night he watched me with more concern than before.


 * When I was four months pregnant, I told him. One night, as I was almost asleep I sat up in bed and looked at my huge stomach. It

was the size it had been when I was nine months pregnant with Nicole. I knew it, and Percy knew it. I put my hands on my stomach and felt a few more than a few kicks. "Percy", I said, my voice breaking, tears cascading by the gallon down my cheeks. "Percy, come here." He came at once and kissed me. "Yes?" He said, his eyes burning with worry and concern.


 * "I know you know something's up. And.......and.........I'm pregnant. Again." I told him. He smiled, said it was "great" and he

commented on how wonderful it was that our family was growing and we would have two kids now instead of one. "No, no, you don't know." Now he looked confused. "I......I'm pregnant with......with......sextuplets. Six babies. We'll have seven kids." He gaped at me with astonished eyes.


 * "You....are.......pregnant....with......with.......with........." he gulped. "six babies." He composed himself and smiled, he beamed. He

kissed me with a passion. I was relieved.


 * "You're not mad?"


 * "Of course not! A nervous wreck, maybe, but mad? No. You're bring life into this world! We created life! That's something to be

ecstatic, no?" I agreed. And I fell asleep with peace at mind.