Oh my god, I could fill this chapter with another 3,500 words apologizing to you all for how long this took but I'm just gonna let you read it considering I've made you wait long enough. Thank you all for your love and support I hope you enjoy this chapter ! ❤️❤️
Also I know this is kinda boring I wish that I had included more games but I really j didn't know how to so I'm sorry, but I do have a lot of fun stuff coming up ;)

Wednesday, November 28th
1:30 pm - Dr. Wilkins' office
17 weeks

"Hi." Dr. Wilkins walked into the room, pulling on her latex gloves.

"Hello," Annabeth and Will greeted her back. Thalia couldn't make it to this appointment, but Will had offered to go—he wanted to see the baby. Annabeth was glad to have his company, actually. She didn't really like going to these appointments alone.

"This is a new face," she said, getting the machine ready for an ultrasound.

"Yes, this is my close friend, Will," Annabeth introduced, and Will said hello.

"Well, its nice to meet you, Will," she said. "Have you ever seen an ultrasound before?"

"Actually, I have. I'm looking to go into medicine, and I run a club at school where we do all this kind of stuff," he explained.

"Oh well, good for you." Dr. Wilkins rubbed the warm gel on Annabeth's stomach, looking at the monitor. "Okay, so how are we doing Annabeth?"

"Pretty well, my sickness has finally started to slow down a little bit, so that's a relief," she explained.

"That's good—your sickness and sensitivity to smell should start to die down as you enter the second trimester. You're officially 17 weeks in, or almost 4 months. Your baby is about the size of a pear, and in about a week or two, you might start to feel hiccups. And that's just a little pulsing sensation, its nothing to worry about," Dr. Wilkins continued to explain her progress as she moved the transducer around her belly. "Actually..." she paused, looking more closely at the screen. "Would you like to know the gender?"

"Y-you know?" Annabeth asked. She knew it was a stupid question, but it was all her mouth could seem to say.

"Yep," Dr. Wilkins chuckled.

Annabeth smiled over at Will, who gave a tiny encouraging nod. "I'd love to know," she said, sniffling. She was about to know if she was having a boy or a girl. It was a little hard to believe.

~*~

Saturday, December 8th
2:15 pm - Annabeth's living room
18 weeks and 3 days

"Okay, everything is in place?" Annabeth asked Will.

"Everything is ready to go. Just relax, this is going to be so much fun," he reassured, smiling at her.

It was finally the day of the gender reveal party for the baby. Annabeth had asked Will to help her get everything ready because he was the only other person who knew the gender of the baby. She was planning on surprising everyone else: her dad, Thalia, Percy. Her fingers buzzed with excitement.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Annabeth went to open the door, greeting the friendly faces on the other side.

Silena, Beckendorf, Katie, Grover, and Juniper all said smiled at her. "Hi!"

"Hey!" Annabeth hugged everyone and took their jackets.

"Your house looks adorable," Katie said, smiling. The whole house—inside and out—was decorated for Christmas. Annabeth and her dad had found one day when they were both home to do it—it was a family tradition.

Silena came up to Annabeth while they all walked to the kitchen. "You look incredible," she complimented.

"Thank you." Annabeth smiled. She was happy to know that the white, floral lace dress she had decided to wear was a good choice.

"You okay? How's everything going?" she asked, placing her hand on Annabeth's arm.

"I'm okay, things are good for the most part." She nodded. Then she turned to the other guests. "Make yourselves comfortable, help yourselves to drinks and snacks. The fun stuff will start once we have everyone here," she announced.

Annabeth went to get the door.

"Quit it!" Jason snarked, swatting at his sister.

"Just—let me—" Thalia protested, trying to reach Jason's hair.

"You're gonna mess it up!" Jason insisted. Thalia put her hands down as Jason's smoothed his hair over. That was when they realized the door was open, and Annabeth was standing there, trying not to laugh.

"Hey," she chuckled.

"Hi," Thalia said, smiling at her best friend. They hugged before Annabeth let them inside.

"Hey, Annie," Jason said, giving her a short hug as well. They then walked inside, meeting with the others in the kitchen.

Just then, there was a knock on the glass door. Percy's smiling face came through as she opened the door. They hugged hello, and even though he was cold from the weather, being in his arms made her feel warm. They separated and Percy hung his coat. Then Sally and Paul greeted Annabeth, Sally giving her a very mama-bear hug.

"You look great," Percy complimented her. Sally and Paul had walked into the kitchen—she had warned them they'd be the only adults there, as well as her dad of course, but they said they wouldn't miss it for the world.

"Thank you." Annabeth blushed. They stood there for a second, and just staring at Percy made it hard for her not to kiss him.

"Can I kiss you?" Percy asked.

Annabeth laughed. "Mhm." Then his lips were on hers, and his hands were around her waist, and her hands were in his hair, and—this boy was really getting to her. Despite how good it felt to just melt into him, Annabeth realized they should probably not kiss so much in front of everyone—she was never one for PDA. Reluctantly, she pulled away.

"Everyone is in the kitchen, go talk," Annabeth said, her hands on Percy's arms around her waist.

"But what if I just want to stay with you?" His voice was almost a whine, and it made Annabeth's heart do a flip, but she pushed him away.

"I'll be in in a second," she promised, smiling at him.

"Okay," Percy gave in. "One more kiss,"

"Go!" she laughed and he went. Then she turned at the sound of the door opening. "Dad!" she practically squealed. She wasn't entirely sure how today would go, but her father was like her rock—it was really good to have him there with her.

"Hi, Pumpkin," he laughed. They gave each other a good sqeeze before separating. "How ya doing?" he asked.

"I'm actually really excited." She couldn't help her grin.

Her father smiled at her. "Good. I can't believe today's the day." He shook his head to himself. "I can't believe it," he sighed.

"I know," she agreed. It was hard to think how fast this pregnancy was going.

"Your mother would be incredibly proud of you, you know that?" he said.

Annabeth nodded, smiling at her father. She was too happy to cry, and she knew her mother wouldn't want her to on such a special day. She was watching over Annabeth, giving her this silent strength. They walked into the kitchen together, and her father greeted the guests that were already there.

Soon enough, everyone had arrived—Rachel, Connor, Travis, Drew, and Nico came shortly after Annabeth's father. Now everyone was snacking, talking, and seemingly enjoying themselves. It was a good feeling, seeing everyone she cared about all in one place, happy.

"Hey guys," Annabeth announced, getting everyone's attention. "I'm really glad that all of you could be here, and not just today but for this entire thing. Your support is everything to me, its hard to put into words how much I appreciate it. I don't want to ramble, but I just want you to know that I'm so grateful to be able to share this with you guys," she finsihed, smiling. Percy wrapped his arms around her from where he was standing behind her. "Oh, also..." she trailed off, chuckling. "It's pretty obvious now but Percy and I are dating," she said, laughing and biting her lip. Her smile was so huge her face almost hurt.

Percy chuckled from behind her. "You know, because we kept it so secret," he joked. Everyone laughed.

"Well, its about time!" Drew exclaimed. "I mean, the second I saw you two, I thought 'match made in heaven' because... who didn't?" Everyone agreed.

"Well, we're happy for you guys," Nico spoke up. Coming from him, it was quite surprising, for a number of reasons. Nico wasn't one to speak up, especially on the account of relationships, or, you know, happiness.

"We appreciate that," Percy said.

"Yes we do," Annabeth added.

"Aw, look at you two," Sally cooed. "Paul, get my phone I need a picture," she insisted. Paul handed her her phone.

"Mom," Percy complained, but his smile didn't waiver.

"Just listen to your mother," Annabeth gently scolded him, and they laughed. They posed and Annabeth's already wide smile might have become just a little bigger.

"Okay!" Annabeth got back to what she was saying. "I have some stuff planned before the actual reveal. Firstly, everyone's gonna write down their names and whether they think its a boy or girl and then put it in this magical box," she gestured to a regular cardboard box—she and Will had just decorated it.

"This may sound greedy, but..." Connor spoke up. "What do we get if we guess correctly?"

Annabeth looked to Will, who shrugged. They actally hadn't thought to give a prize—it didn't really make much sense to her. "Bragging rights," she decided slowly.

"Oh okay," Connor said. He smiled, seemingly content with that answer.

"And then in another magical box," she gestured to another regular, cardboard box, "you can put name suggestions if you want," she finished explaining. Everyone seemed pretty happy and generally excited to be there, but Annabeth felt like the whole thing was so... adult. Then again, she thought she'd be having this party years later. "I'm just now realizing how kinda lame that all sounded," she said, chuckling awkwardly.

"What?" Beckendorf said. "How is that lame? I am so excited for this party!" Everyone else cheered.

"Let's kick it off with these super stylish sunglasses," Silena announced, getting a pair of pink sunglasses that said 'girl.' They were kind of a joke, so Annabeth couldn't help her laugh when everyone rushed to grab a pair of which they thought she was having. Now everyone was wearing sunglasses, and seeing them there, her heart felt full. Even Sally, Paul, and her dad were wearing glasses. Sally and Frederick both thought it would be a boy while Paul was wearing pink glasses.

"Look! Even Nico's wearing 'em!" Will shouted and everyone laughed. Nico blushed and shook his head. That really made Annabeth smile.

"Okay, I wanna write my guess," Travis said, going over to the box. He grabbed a slip of paper and everyone else followed, writing their guesses and dropping them in.

"Oh my god, I just thought of the perfect name!" Drew exclaimed, rushing to the other box. Annabeth laughed. She walked up to where Percy was writing down a name. She stood behind him, looking over his shoulder as he wrote.

"What'cha writing?" she asked.

"It's a surprise," he said, folding the paper and putting it in the box.

"Fine then," Annabeth said with facetious disinterest. "Keep your secrets." Percy laughed.

~*~

Saturday, December 8th
4:30 pm - Annabeth's living room
18 weeks and 3 days

"Okay!" Annabeth announced. "It's time for the moment you've all been waiting for." She was beaming with excitement. Everything they had been doing was going perfectly—everyone was having fun playing games, talking, enjoying the food. It was hard not to be this happy after the stress she was feeling before.

Everyone gathered around excitedly. "We have stuffed this big black balloon with either blue or pink confetti," Will said, grabbing the balloon and handing it to Annabeth. She took her place on the tarp they put down in the middle of the living room—just to make cleaning up easier. "And Annabeth is gonna pop it!" he exclaimed.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so excited!" Katie squealed.

"I call godmother!" Drew called.

Silena scoffed. "Yeah right, like anyone would trust you with a child," she retorted, but there was no malice behind it. Annabeth chuckled.

"Come on now," Jason stepped up. "We all know I'm gonna be the godmother," he joked, making everyone laugh.

"Okay," Percy announced. "Count down?"

"3, 2, 1!" Everyone shouted and Annabeth popped the balloon.

Blue confetti floated to the floor.

Everyone cheered. Percy ran up to Annabeth, the biggest grin on his face, and he kissed her. She pressed into him and cupped his cheek. They separated as everyone else engulfed her in a hug.

"Congratulations, Pumpkin." Her father smiled down at her, hugging her and kissing the top of her head.

"Thanks dad," she sniffled.

"Mom would be so proud of you."

"I love you." Annabeth felt tears forming in her eyes. Everything had been so perfect, it was like she had her mom to thank. Annabeth had realized a while ago that her mother gave her some of the most important things in life; courage, compassion, and love. Her father gave her just as much. She had truly incredible parents.

Once everyone settled down, Travis spoke up. "Okay, but... I called it!"

"Oh that's right!" Annabeth remembered everyone's guesses from the beginning of the party. She grabbed the box. Pulling off the top, she set it aside. "Let's see who gets..."

"Bragging rights," Will reminded her.

"Yes! That." She pulled out the first piece of paper, everyone chuckling. "Drew said girl," Annabeth started, before going through the rest of the slips. Everyone was quiet, eager to hear who thought what. "Thalia said boy..."

"I just knew," she mumbled, loud enough for everyone to hear. A few snickered.

"Silena said boy..."

"Nico said boy..."

"Juniper said girl..."

"Jason said girl..."

"Beckendorf said girl..."

"Connor said boy..."

"I did call it," he said, making Annabeth laugh.

"Paul said girl..."

"Rachel said boy..."

"Grover said boy..." Rachel high-fived the brown haired boy, chuckling.

"Travis said boy..."

"Katie said girl..."

"I'm coming to steal your bestie," Travis joked, shooting a wink at Annabeth making both her and Katie laugh. She noticed how his gaze lingered as she smiled. Annabeth smirked.

"My dad said boy..."

"Sally said boy..."

"That's not fair, she has a sixth sense for that," Connor pointed out. He walked up to Percy, grabbing his cheeks and showing him to everyone. "I mean look at this stud." He grinned as everyone laughed, Annabeth smiling at Percy.

"Not my fault," Sally protested, putting up her hands in defense. Percy and Annabeth laughed.

"And finally, Percy said girl," Annabeth finished. "Well, that was longer and little more boring than I anticipated, but," Annabeth started. Everyone laughed and started their protests.

"Okay it's time for my favorite part of any party," Will announced. "Cake!"

Everyone made their way to the kitchen, Annabeth leading the group. With Percy and her father's help, they got out the cake. It was half blue and half pink with the writing, Girl or Boy? on top. They had to go simple, for their budget wasn't huge, but it was still a beautiful cake.

They began cutting slices, revealing the blue cake inside. Everyone started taking slices until everyone had cake in their hands.

"So..." Annabeth prompted, walking up to Percy. He was leaning against the counter, digging into the cake. "What made you pick girl?" she asked, a smile on her lips.

"I don't know..." he shrugged. "I mean, I always just imagined having a little girl of my own." He spoke absentmindedly, but Annabeth smiled knowing that was when he spoke most things he was too scared to say out loud. He suddenly looked up, seemingly realizing what he had just said. "I mean, not that I think this baby is mine, I-I don't think that- I just thought because we're in a relationship now, or we're not-uh, I didn't mean that the baby—"

"Percy," Annabeth decided to take pity on him and cut him off. "Its okay," she laughed. A slight look of relief came over his face, the bright redness in his cheeks subsiding slightly. She kissed him softly. When they pulled away, she took her position next to him as he placed his arm across her shoulders.

Annabeth sighed in content, watching all of her friends as they laughed and enjoyed their cake. She tried to ignore the conversation she and Percy almost started having. She really hoped that he didn't think he was going to raise this baby with her. Not to be misconstrued; Annabeth would be incredibly lucky to raise this baby with someone as incredible as him, and to be quite honest, she wished he could. But that was selfish—his future was more important than what she wanted. She would never be able to live with herself if she knew she was the reason Percy couldn't reach his full potential through school and a steady career. After all, education was one of the most important things in the world to Annabeth, thanks to her mother. She decided to push it out of her mind. They would cross that bridge when they got to it. For now, she decided to enjoy the moment.

"Jason's being an ass again," Thalia said, walking up to Annabeth and Percy.

"I swear, you two are always at each other's throats. Even on such a special day as this," Annabeth joked.

Thalia laughed. "This was really incredible. I don't like getting all sappy and shit, but my best friend is badass. And I'm really proud of you, Annie."

"Thanks, Thals," Annabeth said, hugging her best friend. They pulled away.

"Well," Thalia said, glancing out at everyone. "I have to go embarrass Jason some more but, I'll be back," she said, winking and shooting finger guns. Annabeth and Percy laughed as she walked off.

Will walked up to her. "You did it," he said, smiling at her.

"We did it," she corrected, grinning back.

Nico walked up to the three of them, surprisingly looking not so miserable. "This was really cool Annabeth," he complimented. That was a lot coming from him, so she smiled. "I know I'm kind of..."

"Bright? Like a ray of sunshine? Basically the color yellow?" Will asked sarcastically. Percy and Annabeth snickered. She knew that Will had a crush on the black haired boy. They were such opposites she realized that they kept a balance.

"Shut it, Solace," Nico remarked, glaring at Will who just smiled. "Not really the type for this... but if you need anything, I got your back," he said.

Annabeth was truly touched. She almost forgot to respond, she was so shocked. "Thank you, Nico. I really appreciate that." He gave her a small smile before walking off.

"I'm gonna go talk to him; he seems to be in a good mood," Will joked before walking after him.

"That was so sweet," Annabeth said.

"It certainly was," Percy agreed.

"Hey Percy!" Grover came up to them. "Annabeth, this cake is awesome," he complimented, taking a bite of the cake.

She chuckled. "I'm glad you like it."

"This was awesome, you did a great job."

"Aw, thank you, Grover," Annabeth said, grinning. "I can't even tell you how reassuring that is," she sighed, chuckling.

"Well, I'm happy for you." He smiled that slightly crooked, very endearing grin.

"Thanks," she said. With one last smile, Grover turned and walked off. "Ugh," she sighed, leaning her head on Percy's shoulder. "I'm so glad this wasn't a disaster."

Percy chuckled. "How could it be? I'm a very firm believer in the principle that nearly everything you do will turn out perfect, Miss Chase."

Annabeth smiled, his words making her feel fuzzy inside. "You're really cute, you know that?"

He grinned down at her. "You're way cuter." Then he kissed her. And just like the first time, butterflies danced throughout her stomach, their wings tickling her spine. He just made her feel so incredible, it was hard to describe.

"Annabeth." Sally walked up to her, a smile on her face. "Congratulations." Sally pulled her into a quick hug.

"Oh, thank you. I really appreciate you coming," she said. She truly did.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world. I hope you know that if you ever need anything, I am here. Just call me whenever," she offered.

"Thank you so much, I... I can't tell you how much I appreciate that," Annabeth said. Having Sally truly was a blessing. She was kind of like the guide to this whole pregnancy thing that Annabeth needed, not having her mom. She felt really lucky to have her.

"Of course, I know how scary this all can be."

"Yes," Annabeth agreed, nodding. She and Sally chuckled.

"I know you're going to be a great mother. Don't ever doubt that," Sally said, putting a hand under Annabeth's chin. With one last knowing smile, she walked off.

"I love your mom," she said to Percy.

"Yeah me too."

Looking at all of her friends, smiling and having fun, it just made her feel warm inside. It made her feel like she was... home. She knew this, as crazy as it was, was exactly where she was supposed to be. For as much as she never thought this was where she'd be, it was perfectly right.

And that was more than enough for her.

•••