2011 - Nine Months has been nominated for the 2011  !!!
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(Rated PG-13 for Suggestive Themes, Pregnancy, and Implied S*x) April Wilson is in trouble. Sixteen. Pregnant. Single. Unemployed. Broke. Yes, broke. As in, she's having a baby and she's got no money. On top of it all, she's a daughter of Artemis and the father is a son of Apollo. --Sparrowsong 17:13, November 23, 2009 (UTC)
Chapter One[]
I heard about teen pregnancy all the time. On the news, on talk shows, in magazines, and even lectures from my health teacher about abstinence.
I never thought it would happen to me, though. Not me, not the one and only daughter of Artemis. Artemis, the one goddess who swore she would never have an affair of any kind with a mortal. And she broke her promise.
Well, obviously she did, because otherwise I wouldn't be alive. I know what you're thinking. "But...but Artemis made that promise, didn't she? And what about the hunters and stuff?" That's true, but one day she was walking down the street and she saw a really good-looking blonde guy with big brown eyes...Artemis just could not help herself. Thus, I was born.
Yeah, yeah, I shouldn't exist. Just like those Big Three children. But I do.
I had a...a one-night stand with a friend from Camp Half-Blood. His name was Stefan Griffin. He was a son of Apollo, which technically made him my cousin, but I didn't really care. Hey, if you think I'm messed up, look at Zeus. He married his little sister (Hera), then cheated on her with his other sister (Demeter) and had a kid with her (Persephone), then he had a kid with that daughter! And let's not forget that girl he seduced by turning into a cow...
You see, it wasn't exactly a one-night stand. We dated for a little while after the actual "stand," but Stefan left when he found out I was pregnant.
Yes, I'm sixteen years old and I'm pregnant. I have six months to be a normal teenager.
We aren't even sure what happened to Stefan, sadly. When I told him about my pregnancy, his eyes went wide, he dropped his bow and arrow, and then he just kind of turned around and ran away. Most likely he either:
a. Was eaten by monsters.
b. Joined the Titans.
c. Is out there somewhere, living a relatively normal life while I'm stuck in Camp Half-Blood.
It was July, and I was a little over three months pregnant. But I was going to get an ultrasound this afternoon.
You see, I started to show a little too much a little too quickly. I looked seven months pregnant, not three. When I was just a couple weeks pregnant, you could tell right away. It was embarrassing.
I didn't like it. It was bad enough that everyone at camp knew me as "That Artemis Chick" instead of "April," but now I was "That Pregnant Eleventh-Grader?"
I waved goodbye to my few friends, walked down the hill, and got into the taxi.
The driver was a bored-looking Asian man. He had glasses, messy dark hair, and acne.
"Where to?" he sighed.
I gave him the address.
"That'll be thirty dollars," he said.
I handed him the money.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Finally, I got to the clinic. I just sat there in the waiting room, shaking with excitement.
After ages, they called my name. I went in with the nurse.
I lied down and the doctor put goopy blue gel on my stomach.
I sure wish Stefan was here, I thought.
When they put the scanner on my stomach, it was unforgettable! The moment I first saw the baby, my baby, the joy was unbelievable. I wanted to cry!
I saw something move on the screen.
"The baby jumped!" I exclaimed. "Wait, there's a...that's not another baby, is it?"
The doctor looked at the screen.
"Congratulations, April," she told me. "You're having triplets."
That was when I fainted.
Chapter Two[]
I finally opened my eyes.
"Hey, are you okay?" the doctor asked.
Tired, I nodded.
"I'm having how many babies?" I asked.
"Triplets," she answered.
The idea was...wow. I didn't know how to describe it. It was bad enough that I was having one of Stefan's babies. Because not only would our parents be astounded and (to say the least) upset - my conservative dad would probably kick me out - that also meant I couldn't join the hunters like my mom wanted me to. Not that I really cared, though - the hunters hadn't really...existed...since my mom broke her promise. But three babies?!
"Th-thanks," I stammered after a long, uncomfortable silence.
I finally left the clinic and went back to camp.
"How'd it go?" my best friend, Virginia, excitedly asked.
"Triplets," was all I said.
Her mouth dropped.
"You're joking, right?"
I shook my head.
"Two girls and one boy," I told her.
"Wow...I don't know what to say...congratulations, I guess."
Virginia's eyes were wide, as I'm sure mine were too. I just knew she was about to tell all her Aphrodite cabinmates about my triplets.
What, exactly, was I supposed to name my babies? What would they look like, anyway? I sure didn't want them to look like Stefan.
Later, while we were eating dinner, Virginia and I had a little conversation about baby names.
"I like Natalie for a girl," I whispered. "And for a boy, maybe Elijah or Ethan. What do you think?"
"Not bad," she replied. "My favorite is Natalie, and maybe her middle name could be Renee or Autumn or something. Nice, huh?"
I nodded.
"I think Molly is good, too."
She wrinkled her nose.
"Molly? No way! Molly Wilson sounds way too plain. You're not naming your little girl Molly."
"Okay then," I said. You did not say "no" to Virginia Lawson.
At eleven o'clock at night, I lay on my bed in the dark.
What will my parents do? I wondered. There's no way they won't notice, not when I've gained at least twenty-five pounds in such a short time.
I shuddered at the thought of what would happen when I came home and my dad noticed my enormous baby bump. It was so large...I looked like a giant, fat whale.
"Why, Stefan?" I breathed, tears in my eyes. "Why?"
Chapter Three[]
I woke up early-ish in the morning. Luckily, I was a morning person. Somewhat ironic, when you consider...y'know, my mom and all...
Suddenly, my cell rang. I looked at the caller ID, which read "Home."
"Hey, Dad," I said as casually as possible.
"April!" he exclaimed. "Good to hear your voice! How are you?"
I shrugged.
"Fine," I answered.
"How are you liking Camp Half-Blood?" he asked. "Are the kids nice? Are you making friends?"
"Yeah," I replied, only half telling the truth.
"That's good to hear," Dad said. "Why the silence, April? I miss you. You never call me, you never e-mail me."
I thought about the reason I never talked to my father anymore. We weren't that close or anything, but I didn't loathe him. I felt guilty about not calling him over being pregnant.
Before I could stop myself, I started crying.
"April?!" he cried. "What's wrong?! Is this over a boy or something?"
"Mm-hmm."
There was a long pause.
"April, you know I don't want you to date until you're eighteen. Did you get dumped or something?"
"Sort of," I blubbered.
There was a very long pause.
"Are you pregnant?!" Dad demanded.
"Yes," I admitted. "That's why the father left. He doesn't want them. I'm so sorry, Dad. It's all my fault. I won't blame you if you hate me from now on."
There was the longest pause I have ever heard. It was only about five minutes, but it felt like five years.
"That's it," my dad announced. "I'm disowning you."
Chapter Four[]
I absolutely could not believe my ears. I couldn't think of any words to describe my feelings.
"What?" I gasped. "You're...you're kicking me out?!"
"You're not my daughter anymore. Who are you? I don't know you."
I hung up and ran off crying. I didn't even know or care where I was going.
I deleted my old home and Barry Wilson's cell from my contacts. After all, he wasn't my dad anymore. He even said that.
After maybe five or ten minutes, I just collapsed on the forest floor and cried until it was so hard to breathe I felt like I was going to puke. My eyes got heavy and everything went black.
I felt someone shaking me.
"Hey!" a boy's voice yelled. "April! You okay?"
Surprised, I opened my eyes. Someone actually knew my name?
It was a boy about my age, with long-ish blonde hair and wide blue eyes. He looked exhausted.
"April," he panted. "Everyone's been lookin' for you for hours. They found your stuff out in the middle of camp."
Now that he mentioned it, my bag and phone were indeed missing. I must have dropped them while I was running.
"We thought you'd been killed by monsters or something," he panted. "That dark-haired girl, Virginia, is way worried about you. She's crying."
Still dazed, I sat up and managed to get a better look at the boy's face. I noticed that he looked a lot like Stefan. He had the same hair, a similar eye color, and sort of similar features. He was about as tall as Stefan, too.
"Who are you?" I asked.
He snickered.
"That's all you can think of to say?" he quipped. "Not 'Sorry for being so stupid and getting lost?' Not 'Sorry for wandering off?' You know, you could have been killed."
I crossed my arms. I could tell from his snarky, sarcastic sense of humor (as well as his creepy blue eyes) that he was from the Hermes cabin.
"I guess I'm more daring then I look," I smirked. I was just as sarcastic as this guy, and not bad at smart-sounding comebacks, either.
"I guess you are. I'm Nick."
"Hi, Nick."
I tried to get up, but fell back down and landed on my bottom. No doubt my cheeks were turning scarlet. Yet another reason I was so lucky - I was clumsy, and I blushed way too easily.
Nick grinned and helped me up.
Chapter Five[]
We went back to camp. I gasped when I saw my mom talking to Chiron.
"How dare you let her get lost!" she asserted, her face red. "Is this what you call supervision?! She could be eaten by monst--April?"
She ran over to Nick and I, looking angry but relieved.
My mom looks like me, only with silver eyes and a lot shorter (but, of course, she was way older than me). I always felt funny about her always being in the form of a twelve-year-old. It was weird calling her my mom when she looked like she was my younger sister.
"Hey, Mom," I nervously said.
Mom shot Chiron a death glare, which I presumed was for letting me run off.
"April!" she cried. "Honestly, April, what on Earth?! Are you sixteen or six?"
I shivered a little. Mom wasn't someone whose bad side you wanted to get on.
"I found her passed out in the woods," Nick explained.
Mom's face softened.
"Oh. So you didn't wander off?"
"Not really," I lied.
She looked a little agnostic, but she nodded. (A/N: "Agnostic" means doubtful or unconvinced.)
Then she saw my giant stomach and her eyes practically bulged out of her sockets.
"No..." she gasped. "You're...you can't be pregnant..."
I nodded.
"I'm sorry, Mom," I apologized without meeting her eyes. I felt mine fill with tears, but there was no way I'd cry. Not in front of everyone. Not ever. Only weak, emotional girly girls cried.
"Do you know what this means? You're not a virgin anymore, so you can't join the Hunters!"
My blood boiled, but I tried to stay calm and nod.
"Sorry," I repeated.
"Who's the father?" she asked, saying "father" like it was a swear word.
"I don't think you know him. His name is Stefan," I explained, blushing at the realization that I was talking about my pregnancy and the father of my babies in front of everybody.
Her face turned sheet-white. Then she grabbed me by the back of my shirt and dragged me off.
We came to a place where this blonde guy was. He looked so much like Stefan I almost jumped.
"Hi, Artemis!" he cried. "Long time no see! Hi, April! You've sure grown a lot. Last time I saw you, you were still in diapers!"
"Your son got my daughter pregnant," Mom growled.
Apollo looked like he was going to pee himself.
"What?" he gasped. "Are you serious?!"
Mom nodded.
"I'm going to kill him," she muttered.
"Mom, please!" I pleaded. "It's not Apollo's fault, it's mine and Stefan's! I'm the one who shouldn't have had a one-night stand!"
She just stared at me.
"I honestly can't believe you."
I tried to ignore that comment.
"Yes, I got myself knocked up at sixteen," I sighed. "But look, I already said sorry. You're my mom. You can't hate me forever. Do you expect me to be perfect or something?!"
"Well, I didn't expect you to do get yourself, as you say, 'knocked up!' I really didn't expect this of you. I thought you were different from other girls, April. But I was wrong. You're as boy-crazy as any other sixteen-year-old girl."
That just did it.
"Fine!" I snapped, not really caring that I was yelling at an immortal who could kill me in three seconds. "If you can't accept me for who I am, that's your fault! I don't want anything to do with you!"
I kneed her in the guts and ran away. I tried my best not to let those tears fall.
I ran to my cabin, lay down on my bed, and cried for the umpteenth time lately. My pregnancy must have been screwing up my emotions.
Chapter Six[]
I was out in the woods, enjoying the fresh air (I loved the great outdoors) when Nick decided to show up.
"Hey, April," he began. "Where are you from?"
Surprised, I looked up.
"Oh, I live in Seattle. At least, I used to live in Seattle. You?"
"I'm from Seattle, too. Why don't you live there anymore?"
I looked away.
"My family kicked me out because I'm pregnant," I sighed. "I don't really have anywhere to go. I can't move in with the dad, either. You know Stefan, that guy that ran away? He's the dad, and he left because he didn't want me or my kids."
"Sorry to hear that," Nick said, sitting down next to me. "Soo, does that mean you're single?"
Without answering him, I ran away and sat under a different tree.
"Sorry!" he yelled, chasing after me. "I shouldn't have said that. I am such an idiot."
"Got that right," I sneered. "Nick, could you please just leave me alone?"
He didn't do that. Instead, he did the last thing I would have expected him to do.
He hugged me.
I didn't know Nick that well, but when he hugged me, I got this feeling inside. Like how I would feel if my dad came over and hugged me and said "I'm sorry, I love you, I forgive you" right now, only different. It reminded me of what Stefan and I had felt for each other.
He wiped away my tears and stared into my eyes. He had piercing blue eyes, a lot like Stefan's, but different somehow.
"April," he whispered. "I wouldn't hurt you. I wouldn't leave you like he did."
I gasped a bit. Feeling my cheeks get hot, I quickly covered my face and ran off.
Nick's pretty cute, I thought. I quickly pushed that thought out of my head, because it would bring more thoughts of Stefan.
Virginia came up to me, smiling. She had naturally red hair, but she was one of those people that constantly dyed their hair. I never knew what color it was going to be. The other day, it was dyed black with pink highlights, and now it was platinum blonde.
"Hey, Virginia. You look really different as a blonde."
She giggled, twirling a strand of her hair.
"You like it?" she smiled.
"Yeah, it looks pretty okay on you," I admitted.
"I have a feeling somebody's got a crush..." she quipped.
"No, I don't!" I asserted, narrowing my eyes.
"But you look like you're thinking about something," Virginia teased. "And you're blushing."
"So? I blush for lots of reasons."
"I'm a daughter of Aphrodite, April. I know a woman in love when I see one. Now spill the beans. Who is it?"
I did not love Nick. He was good-looking, and I was starting to warm up to him, but I wasn't in love with him. No way, not me.
"Okay, okay, I'll admit it," I sighed. "I kinda like Nick."
"From the Hermes cabin?" she asked.
I nodded.
"He seems nice, I guess. And he sorta has the most gorgeous eyes ever." There was no lying to Virginia about having feelings for someone.
"I do?"
I whipped around. Oh, crap. Nick was right there, and he'd heard everything. So had some other campers, who were now giggling like hyenas.
I did the only thing I ever did when I was in an embarrassing situation - cover my face and run away. Virginia did the same.
"Sorry, April!"
"It's fine, Virginia. Can...can I ask you a favor?"
"Anything for my BFF," she nodded.
"Okay," I began. "You know how my dad kicked me out? Well, I can't exactly move in with Stefan, I don't think I could bare being a year-round camper, and I wouldn't join the Hunters for the world, so...could I stay with you, please? Just for a little while, until I can get myself a decent job?"
Virginia smiled.
"Of course you can stay at my place. I know you'd do the same for me."
I hugged her hard.
"Virginia!" I squealed. "You're officially the nicest girl I've ever met. There is no way I can thank you enough!"
So, as soon as summer was over, I'd drop out of school (probably) and live in Virginia's basement until I could get a job and my own place, which I would hopefully be able to do by the time the triplets were born. I had about six months before that happened, and it would be pretty hard to support three newborns without a job.
While we were sacrificing some of our dinner to the gods, Nick came up to me again. He had that smirk on his face.
"Hey, what's your name?" he asked.
I raised an eyebrow at him.
"April," I answered. "You already knew that."
"Oh, really?" he said, pretending to be all surprised. "I thought it was Aphrodite."
I snickered. Then I tried not to laugh and failed miserably.
"Sorry," I giggled. "Corny pick-up lines always make me laugh."
"You look like my third wife," he tried again. (A/N: LOL, you can so tell that I'm getting these off some pick-up line list on Google.)
This one was easy. I knew what I was supposed to say, and I couldn't say Nick wasn't good-looking, so I decided to flirt back.
"Oh, how many times have you been married?" I asked, tucking my hair behind my ear.
"Twice," he replied.
I laughed out loud.
"You must be tired, because you've been running through my head all day."
I like Nick, but do I love him? I wondered.
Chapter Seven[]
It was ten o'clock in the morning, and we were playing capture the flag. Suddenly, I had a little..."funny coming out of my tummy."
I quickly covered my mouth and ran for a trash can. I crouched over it and puked my guts out. Like, seriously - I half-expected to have my intestines come out. That was how much I was puking.
I drank some water to wash the disgusting puke taste out.
"Are you okay?" a guy's voice asked.
I whipped around to see Nick with his hand on my shoulder. Apparently, he'd had his hand on my shoulder the entire time. My cheeks immediately got hot, and I was glad everybody else was far away enough that they wouldn't see what was going on.
"What are you doing in here?!" I cried.
"Calm down, April. You didn't look so good, so I came to make sure you were okay. And well, you were clearly not feeling great. Morning sickness, right?"
"Uh...yeah," I answered, trying to cover my cheeks.
"How many months along are you, April?" asked Nick. "Do you know when it's due?"
"I'm three months," I answered, surprised. "They're due on January 15, I think."
"They?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Triplets," I said, hiding my face behind my long reddish-brown hair.
Nick looked quite surprised.
"Oh..." he said. "Wow, April, I didn't think your situation was this bad. I'm really sorry."
"Yeah," I blurted. "First my boyfriend knocks me up. Then he dumps me after he finds out. Then my dad finds out, kicks me out, and now I'm gonna have to live in my friend's basement until I can get myself a decent job. And then I'm gonna have to deal with triplets all by myself. Yeah..."
Nick just stared at me. Then he did something incredibly unexpected.
He kissed me.
My eyes got huge and my cheeks got even hotter, if that was possible.
Well, it was official. We liked each other.
"I love you, April Wilson," he muttered.
I let him feel my baby bump, too.
"Hey, one of the babies kicked!" I exclaimed.
"I felt it, too."
A few evenings later, everyone was eating supper. Nick and I, however, decided to sneak off.
"I feel like I'm getting away with something," he smirked while leading me into Cabin Eleven.
"Me too," I giggled.
We just sat there and chatted for a while. Then he tried another of those pick-up lines of his on me.
"Can you give me directions to your heart, April?" he quipped.
I laughed out loud.
"I think I must be a raindrop, because I'm falling for you," he muttered, scooting over right next to me. "Are you an alien? Because you just abducted my heart."
"Ok, Nick, I have to ask," I began. "Do you seriously like me, or is this some kind of joke?"
"No," he replied. "I love you, April."
We started cuddling and kissing. Then the kissing became making out on Nick's bed.
"I was right, you do sorta have the most gorgeous eyes ever," I flirted. "Do you happen to be a parking ticket?"
"No, why?"
"Because you've got 'fine' written all over you."
We giggled and resumed making out. That was when the door flew open and the lights all came on.
Standing in the doorway was this rather amused-looking blonde guy. He appeared to be in his twenties, and he looked a lot like Nick.
"Ahh!" Nick screamed. "D-Dad! W-w-what are you doing here?!"
Oh, crap. That was Nick's dad? Hermes, as in? I thought it was his older brother or something. My cheeks got hotter than ever.
"Well," Hermes explained. "We keep Camp Half-Blood under surveillance. And Artemis thought you and your girlfriend were going too far, so she made me come and tell you to stop."
"He is not my boyfriend!" I yelled.
"She is not my girlfriend!" Nick yelled at exactly the same time.
"So, you think my son has the most gorgeous eyes ever?" Hermes chuckled. "Oh no, Nick, has she really abducted your heart? We are gonna have to steal it back from her, aren't we?"
I wasn't the only one blushing.
"Bye, Nick. Bye, April," Hermes smirked. Then he ran off.
(A/N: Awk-ward!)
Chapter Eight[]
(A/N: Sorry for the wait. I had this chapter typed up, but my computer froze and I lost it. Here's the rewrite.)
Everyone was playing capture the flag. I was now five months pregnant and couldn't play with them because my morning sickness was so bad. So I just sat on a bench and watched.
"Hey, April," Nick said while he sat down next to me. He wasn't crazy about capture the flag. "How's it goin'?"
"Well," I answered. "Other than killer morning sickness, insane cravings at completely random times, being the fattest girl here--"
"You're not fat!" he interrupted. "You're just pregnant!"
"...and peeing myself all the time, I'm pretty alright. You?"
He could not stop laughing.
"You...pee...your...pants when you're...pregnant?!"
"Well, duh," I replied. "I've got three kids sitting on top of my bladder. Of course I'm gonna have a few 'accidents' once in a while."
I thought Nick was going to fall off the bench.
That was when one of the triplets spontaneously decided to kick me in the bladder. You can probably guess what happened after that.
Bad fetus! I thought. Don't you kick Mommy in the bladder like that! I'm going to have to have you in my body for four more months, you know. And then I'll have to push you three out of my crotch while screaming in agony at the top of my friggin' lungs! How would YOU like to be in my shoes', huh?!
Nick waited outside for me while I changed into a different pair of pants.
After that, I was just about to take his hand when I froze.
"I have to have cottage cheese," I gasped.
"Uhh...what?"
"Nick, get me some cottage cheese. Right now."
"Cravings, much?" he muttered while going to the fridge. I quite literally stuffed my face.
This is weird, I thought. I don't even like cottage cheese. I guess they eat more like Stefan than me.
I cursed under my breath at the mere thought of his name. This was all due to him and his dumb sp*rm cell. Well, it was partly my egg cell's fault, too.
"So, April," Nick casually began. "I really like you and I'd love to get to know you some more. Would you like to sneak out with me tonight, sometime around midnight?"
I nearly choked from the surprise of Nick asking me out. But I nodded.
I fixed my hair, put on some makeup, and changed into a nice top and jeans. You would never believe how hard it was to find maternity clothes that didn't make you look like a hippopotamus.
I added some light purple eyeshadow, to accent my eyes. Yeah, yeah, I know - nothing too exciting about dumb old brown eyes. But I liked my eyes. They set me apart from Artemis. Don't get me wrong, it would be cool to have silver eyes, but my brown eyes were what stopped me from getting confused for my mother. Whatever.
Nick and I honestly didn't do too horribly much. We walked around and talked.
Of course, I let him feel my baby bump as well. He seemed to like doing that.
"Hey, April, you wanna steal that motorcycle?" he asked.
"What?! But I'm..."
"Oh, it'll be fine. My mom rode a motorcycle when she was pregnant with me, and I turned out okay."
Nick took the motorcycle for a joyride while I sat in the back seat and clung to his waist. We then dumped it out by some building.
Well, we were already downtown in the middle of the night. How much more dangerous could it get?
Nick and I sat down at a picnic table and, for the first time ever, made out in public.
Well, it was official. We were boyfriend and girlfriend.
Chapter Nine[]
THREE MONTHS LATER...
I was a little over eight months pregnant. The third and final trimester before the birth. Yeah, pretty...exciting.
It was December. Camp was done (except for the year-round campers), and I'd moved in with Nick. Thankfully, I didn't have to stay with Virginia anymore. She was my best friend, but she could be so obnoxious. I couldn't imagine living with her for that long.
Nick and I were on his cliched dream date. Y'know, the fancy restaurant kind of date? He insisted on taking me to this Italian place. Man, he was just nuts about Italian food. I didn't think it was too unbearable, either.
I ordered penne with garlic, meatballs, and pork on the side, which happened to be what I was craving at the time. In the middle trimester, it was cottage cheese that I always craved. Now, in the third trimester, it was pork, pizza, and banana yogurt. Sometimes more than one (or even all) at once. You'd never guess how good yogurt pizza tasted.
After we paid, Nick suddenly took my hand and stood up.
He gulped. I couldn't help but notice how nervous he seemed, which wasn't common for him.
"I love you, honey," he began. "And I don't want you to be broke and single your whole life. I want the kids to grow up with two parents. So..."
He crouched down and took out a box. He opened it, revealing a diamond ring.
"April Wilson, will you marry me?" he asked.
I nearly cried. But they would have been tears of joy.
"Yes, yes, yes!" I screamed. "I will marry you, Nick Larson!"
The people at the other tables seemed to think it was touching and cute and all that. Yeah.
"Wait...can two sixteen-year-olds even get married?" I wondered aloud after I was done freaking out.
"In Vegas, they can," Nick responded. "With a parent's permission. Which reminds me. We can't exactly ask your parents..."
I nodded and cringed.
"...and my mom's nice and all, but she'd never say yes, so we need to go to Olympus. So we can ask my dad."
Nick printed out some fake IDs so we could fly to New York without an adult. Of course, we let Ms. Larson know. She didn't seem to mind too much. I was sure my huge, ridiculously pregnant tummy would fall right off.
Nick went up to Hermes and took a deep breath. I was too nervous to speak.
"Hey, Dad," he was finally able to say. "Can I...can I marry my girlfriend? Please?"
Hermes stared for a minute. Then he finally spoke up.
The answer was "yes." We were really getting married.
Artemis shot Nick a dirty look. I didn't even acknowledge her presence.
We squealed, thanked Hermes, and went back to our hotel. The day after that, we flew home and announced our engagement to all our friends. They were thrilled for us, including my future mother-in-law.
"Thanks, Ms. Larson."
"Oh, April, please just call me Beth."
"Alright then. Thanks, Beth."
Weeks later, we went to Vegas. And we got married.
Both of Nick's parents attended. Mine didn't; they were completely out of my lives. Virginia and her father were there, though. She was the bridesmaid.
"You're getting married!" she squealed.
"Yes, Virginia," I sighed. "I've been engaged for three weeks. And you still make this huge fuss about it."
She gave me a big hug. Did I mention daughters of Aphrodite made great best friends?
And then we were married, just like that. I'd never forget it.
The day we got back from our honeymoon, Virginia was over for coffee and something extremely weird happened. I heard a popping noise, and then...
"Okay," I said, looking down. "Either I just peed my pants, or..."
"Or what?!" Nick cried.
Then the contractions started.
"HOLY F**KING SH*T!" I screeched. Whoever said natural birth was beautiful needed to be beaten mercilessly with a heavy object.
Chapter Ten[]
WARNING: This chapter involves a birth scene. It is not very graphic, but some people may find it disturbing. This scene is no worse than the birth scene in Juno, though I still wouldn't reccommend it for children.
"Hang in there, Mrs. Larson!" the doctor exclaimed.
My husband held one of my hands, while Virginia held the other.
"April, April, shh," Nick attempted to assure me. "It's gonna be alright. Just keep pushing!"
"You can do this!" Virginia encouraged. "I know it hurts, but my cousin's really small and wimpy, and she had quadruplets and she's fine. If she can handle four babies, you could probably handle six, let alone three!"
There were no words. I was screaming profanity at the top of my lungs. I didn't think they would ever come out.
"You'll be fine, just try and relax," the doctor said. What the hell?! Clearly, she'd never given birth. "I'll tell you when to push, okay?"
I bit my lip and managed an "Mm-hmm." But then I started crying again.
"Now! Push now!" the doctor exclaimed.
I pushed. For a second, there was a sensation like pooping out a football (I know, gross, but I didn't really care). And then...there it was. My first baby to ever be born.
"April, it's a girl!" Virginia squealed while the nurse handed my daughter to her. "And she looks just like you!"
I managed to get a glance at her. She was crying, squirming, and covered in blood. She had blue eyes and a cute little fuzz of auburn hair.
I looked at my baby and smiled a little. But then the other two babies came.
I'd rather not go into all the bloody, gruesome details. Let's just say that it hurt like crazy and I didn't want to ever have a baby again.
Nick and I were finally allowed to see our children. Two girls and a boy, just like the ultrasound predicted.
Holly's peach fuzz was blonde and she had brown eyes, just like me. Ethan had the same eyes, but with my reddish hair. Then there was Natalie, the first-born, her light auburn curls and hazel-blue eyes.
Holly weighed in at 7.7 lbs, Ethan was 7.9, and Natalie was the smallest at 7.1. But all of them were healthy and all of them were the perfect size.
Nick gently picked up Ethan and stared in wonder. When I looked at them, I did not see a stepfather and stepson. Instead, I saw a lovely scene that could melt the iciest of hearts. A father holding his son for the first time.
True, my triplets' biological father was someone else. A selfish, reckless player who wanted absolutely nothing to do with me or my babies.
But it didn't matter. Their real father was Nick. And Nick loved them.
The End
Nine Months Soundtrack[]
- So What - P!nk. (April, when Stefan leaves her.)
- Papa Don't Preach - Madonna. (April telling her parents that she's pregnant.)
- Runaway - Bon Jovi. (April, when her father disowns her.)
- Seven Nation Army - White Stripes. (An entire army couldn't convince April to have an abortion.)
- Imaginary - Evanescence. (April just wants to escape her Tartarus of a life.)
- Love Story - Taylor Swift. (When April meets Nick.)
- I'll Stand By You - Glee Cast. (April and Nick.)
- The Diary of Jane - Breaking Benjamin. (Stefan/April/Nick.)
- Fallin' For You - Colbie Caillat. (April and Nick's first kiss.)
- I Hate Everything About You - Three Days Grace. (April and Stefan.)
- I Feel Fine - Beatles. (April and Nick.)
- When I Said I Do - Clint Black. (Nick proposing to April.)
- You're My Better Half - Keith Urban. (April and Nick's wedding.)
- Baby Mama - Fantasia Barrino. (April and her kids.)