Wow I am so sorry that I'm a complete mess. Thank you guys so much for your endless support, even when it takes me a month to update 💀💀 you already know I love y'all.

Sunday, October 14th
10:05 am - Percy's bedroom

Percy took a deep breath in, blinking his eyes as they adjusted. Sunlight streamed through his window. His arms were wrapped around Annabeth and his head was in her chest. As far as he could tell, she was till sleeping. He carefully moved to glance up at her.

She looked so peaceful, so beautiful. Percy watched her for a few moments. He liked her like this. Well, he liked her all the time, especially when she was laughing and smiling. But now, she was just so... stress free. He was happy to see her that way.

He carefully laid his head back on her chest, enjoying her warmth. Of course, Percy knew that they were just friends, but he liked laying with her. He was a little nervous with about how she would react when he complemented her. He didn't really mean to even do it; sometimes he just couldn't help it.

But now, here they were. He remembered last night. It was one of the nightmares he used to get, from Gabe. He hadn't had one in a long time, but every once and a while they resurfaced. It was usually pretty hard for him to calm down, but when Annabeth hugged him, he just immediately felt safe.

Suddenly, Annabeth stirred. She opened her eyes and Percy picked up his head. She breathed in through her nose, stretched her shoulders slightly, and closed her eyes again.

"Morning, Sunshine," Percy said, his voice thick with sleep. He sat up as she stretched her arms.

"Hm," Annabeth hummed. She crinkled her nose which was possibly the cutest thing Percy had ever seen. "What time is it?"

"Um," Percy searched for his phone and checked the time. "Like ten."

"That's not so bad," she mumbled. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. Percy flopped back into his pillows. "Come on, we should get up." She placed a hand on his shoulder, and his skin felt tingly. Then she stood up from the bed and walked to the window. "Looks like the storm passed. It's gorgeous out."

Percy groaned. Then he rolled out of his bed and stood behind Annabeth. He resisted the urge to hug her.

"How about, after we brush our teeth, we make some breakfast?" She turned to face him, giving a small smile.

"Sounds good."

~*~

Sunday, October 14th
1:35 pm - Annabeth's house

"You ready to go?" Percy asked as Annabeth came down the stairs. He had driven her home so she could shower and get a fresh pair of clothes. Percy realized she hadn't brought down his clothes. Subconsciously, he smiled. Now, she wore skinny jeans and a big sweater, her golden curls pulled back into a ponytail. Her face looked clean and glowy; she had no makeup on. Pregnancy really does make you glow, he thought. She looked beautiful.

"Yep," she said. "I think that Alfred still might be at the park," she started, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. "I say we pay him one last visit."

"I say we do," Percy agreed. The walked to the car, Annabeth locking the door behind them. They got in and Percy began the drive to the park.

~*~

Sunday, October 14th
2:15 - The local park

Percy had parked across the park from the pond so he and Annabeth could walk and talk all the way there.

"I'm just saying, I think it would have saved them a lot of trouble," Annabeth said, shrugging. They smiled at each other. "Look who it is," she said.

Percy followed Annabeth's gaze, to find Alfred on the receiving end. At least he thought it was Alfred—he was a little embarrassed to admit he couldn't differentiate Alfred from other ducks. He was almost surprised that Annabeth could, but then again, it was Annabeth.

"Hello, mister." The duck quacked. He waddled over to us.

"I still think it's pretty... interesting that you're friends with a duck," Percy admitted.

"Mallard," she corrected. "And I think it's nice, though."

"No, I didn't mean it was bad or anything. Just... interesting. But in a good way." He tripped over his words, suddenly struggling to put them together. Annabeth smirked over at him, one hand in her pocket. "I mean, can you really understand him?"

"Of course not. But, oddly enough, it's almost like a dog. I think he can understand me. Or at least he's hearing the noises I make, and takes that as a sign to make noise back. Either way, people look at me like I'm crazy," she chuckled, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well, just for the record, I don't think it's crazy."

"Thank you." She paused for a moment. "Is that the correct response?" They laughed.

"I'll take it." Percy smiled at her.

"How've you been, Alfred?" Annabeth asked him. He quacked a few times back. Percy almost laughed. He found it just slightly adorable the way Annabeth cared for this duck—sorry, mallard.

"I wish I had something for you." She spread her empty hands. If Percy had had something either, he'd give it up, but like Annabeth, Percy had nothing for the little guy. He stuck his hands in his pockets, pulling out nothing but his car keys.

Before he realized what was happening, Alfred flew and snatched Percy's keys from his hands. He landed down on the grass behind them and began waddling away. Percy and Annabeth immediately ran after him.

"Alfred!" Annabeth called frustratedly. They chased him around the park, trying to grab him or the keys—whichever they could. Percy could feel the stares of other people at the park, but he didn't really care. He really needed his keys.

After about ten minutes of chasing this damn duck through the park, Percy finally was able to sneak up behind him, Annabeth right over his shoulder. Ever so carefully, he reached around and snatched his keys from his beak.

Alfred began squawking. Annabeth started scolding him. "Alfred, you cannot just take people's keys!" He quacked. "I don't care if you wanted them! They are not yours." He quacked a few more times. "Anyways. We should probably head to Riptide. But we wanted to wish you safe travels."

He quacked, and Percy could've swore that the mallard had just said thank you. He then turned and began waddling away. They watched him walk off before going their own direction, towards Cafe Riptide.

"Well. That certainly wasn't on the agenda," Annabeth sighed.

"Is 'chasing a duck through a park because he took your keys' ever really on the agenda?" Percy asked.

"Mallard," she corrected. "And I guess you're right."

"Thanks for your help, by the way. I don't think I'd have these right now if you hadn't talked him down," Percy only half-joked. He smiled over at her.

She chuckled. "Well, that's what friends are for—friends who chase a mallard together stay together, right?"

"That's definitely what the saying is. Or, at least, what it should be," Percy agreed. They laughed.

When they finally reached the cafe, Percy walked them inside. Conveniently enough, the table where they had had their first real conversation was open. Percy quickly grabbed it, pulling the chair out for Annabeth.

"Thank you." She smiled, sitting down.

"I'll order. What would you like, Miss Chase?" he asked.

She chuckled. He found that she liked when he called her 'Miss Chase.' He kind of liked it too. "Um," Annabeth thought for a minute. "Can I get a small honey-lemon tea with a turkey and cheese toasted croissant?"

"Coming right up." He walked to the counter. Noticing a newspaper in a rack to his right, he grabbed it. He used to do the jumble in the back with his mom when he was younger. He had a feeling Annabeth would like it.

He grabbed their food and drinks—and the newspaper—and brought it back to their table, taking a seat. Annabeth had pulled out her laptop and seemed to be typing something. She pushed it aside a bit so Percy could see her. He handed her her croissant and tea. Then she noticed the newspaper.

"What's that for?" She sipped her tea.

"When I was little, my mom and I used to go to this diner almost every Sunday morning and we'd do the jumble," he flipped through the pages, "which is right here." He ripped it out. He showed it to her, and she seemed to realize what it was. "It actually kind of helped me a lot with my dyslexia."

"Oh my grandpa used to make me do those with him. He said it would keep me sharp. He was right, and I ended up liking it a lot, surprisingly." The sarcasm was evident in her voice. Percy smiled.

"So, the first one," Percy started. They both peered over the paper, leaning in closer. "T, E, F, A R," he rattled off the letters.

"I got it," Annabeth said immediately.

"My brain didn't even process the letters, jeez." Annabeth chuckled at him. Her smile was so infectious, he couldn't help his grin. They sat in silence while Percy deciphered the word. "I got it," he said, finally.

"'After,'" she said.

"Alright, Wise Girl." Wise Girl? What is that? he wanted to slap himself in the face. He was sure that he had just made a complete fool of himself.

"Its not my fault you're a Seaweed Brain," she said without skipping a beat. She didn't seem to mind the weird nickname. He smiled in relief at the slight blush across her cheeks. He probably mirrored her, though—he kind of liked Seaweed Brain.

They did the rest of the jumble, Annabeth getting all but one of the words before Percy. Once they completed the whole thing, they set the paper aside and Annabeth went back to her laptop.

"I really need to purge my inbox, so it looks like we have plans. And then maybe you can help me with an assignment that I have." She explained all of this while typing away, the gentle sound of her fingers on the keys.

"Okay," Percy agreed, taking a sip of his hot cocoa. Suddenly Annabeth's eyebrows furrowed and her fingers stopped moving.

"What happened?" Percy asked.

She swallowed. "I have an email from Luke."

It was Percy's turn to freeze.

Annabeth started reading, and Percy watched her intently as her face changed. Of course he was curious, but he wasn't going to ask to read it. He wasn't trying to overstep.

Annabeth seemed to be at a loss for words. Her lips were parted, like she wanted to say something, but her voice was failing her, and the words wouldn't come out. After a good while of her staring at the screen, she turned it to Percy without saying anything.

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: I'm sorry
————————————————————————
Annie,

Hi. I know that you probably hate me and I know that Thalia definitely does. But I also know that I deserve it. I left you in an hopeless place, and that was not right at all. The truth is, I was scared. Not nearly as scared as you must be, and I can't even imagine what you're going through right now. But I'm sorry I'm not there to help you through it, like I should be. And I'm not trying to make excuses, because I don't deserve to be given any leeway for what I did, and you shouldn't give it to me—I know you won't. Or at least, Thalia won't let you. I hope you know that I miss you guys everyday. It's weird not being able to talk to you and have you by my side. But it's my fault that I'm alone. I know. I just want you to know that I still love you. I never really stopped loving you. I don't know what you decided to do with the baby, but if you keep it, I hope you'll let me meet it one day. But honestly I don't even deserve for you to email me back, let alone be apart of our child's life. The bottom line is, I'm so, incredibly sorry, and I love and miss you. I'd love it if you would email me back, but I get it if you don't. I'll love you regardless.

                               -Luke
————————————————————————

(P.O.V. SWITCH)

Annabeth felt a hot bubble of anger in her chest. Suddenly everything that she had felt the day Luke left was resurfacing. She wanted to cry; and she did. A few tears slipped down her cheeks. Everything around her seemed to blur and she felt fuzzy in the head.

She was speechless.

Her mind was running a mile a minute and the thoughts and words seemed to get jumbled up, leaving her unable to form coherent sentences. She finally shut her eyes tight in an attempt to refocus. When she opened them, she was met with Percy's green irises. They seemed to calm the storm in her head. It was like she had been spinning, her dizziness swallowing up her senses and perception. But his eyes settled her; brought her back down to earth.

"Take a deep breath," Percy said. He placed his hand on hers from across the table. She did as he told her. He waited a few minutes for her to calm down.

"So... what do you think?" he asked, a little scared.

"...I don't know," she admitted. She blinked a few times. It was kind of like she had been hit between the eyes. "I mean, what he did was horrible. But... I don't think I'm mad anymore. I just decided that it was waste of my time."

"Well that's good,"

"But at the same time, at least he knows he's wrong. And I know Luke; it's not always easy for him to admit that. I just..." Annabeth sighed. "I don't know." She shrugged helplessly.

Percy seemed to be struggling for words. He would go to say something before stopping himself. "Annabeth, you know that I would do anything to help you, but I really have no place in this, and I don't want to intrude. And I was thinking... if you're ready," he paused, and Annabeth could feel his hands getting sweaty, "maybe it's time to tell the others."

She halted. Her first thought was, NO WAY IS HE INSANE?!?!?!  But then she realized he might be right; Thalia would be too angry to give her any real solid advice. But she knew one of the most level headed people on earth; Silena Beauregard. The only problem; Silena didn't know. Annabeth also figured she'd have to explain to her friends why she'd be gone eventually, for they would be bringing her all of her homework.

She sighed. "Maybe you're right."

Percy's sympathetic and sheepish expression didn't really change.

"It's time to tell the others."

•••