Chapter Text
Three months later…..
"You spoil him," Juniper pointed out with a smile as she carefully placed another apple pie on the table to cool.
"He deserves to be spoiled," Annabeth said, easily returning the older woman's smile as she looked over the pies she'd made to surprise her husband.
For the past four months, Percy had been working day and night and ensuring that they'd be equipped for the coming winter. They'd known that winters in New York could be especially harsh, so he was making sure that they were well prepared. When he wasn't working on business deals, reforms, charities, and essentially being an heir to the Jackson empire, he was chopping wood, building a shed, leading beach clean ups, fixing the barn behind their wing for their horses, checking the roof, windows, and fireplaces to make sure that they were properly secured, building shelves in the root cellar to make sure that they had plenty of space for their food. He insisted on doing it himself instead of tasking his servants in the palace. He knew that they had to prepare for winter too. He was making sure that she and the baby had everything they were going to need.
He was working himself into exhaustion. Every time she pointed that out, he smiled and gave her a kiss as he told her that she was well worth it. He promised her that things would slow down in the winter and he would rest then, but she knew that he was lying. He already had a list of a hundred other things to keep him busy during the winter.
"He's going to be upset when he finds out that you were working while so heavily pregnant," Juniper said as she pulled another pie out of the oven.
"He's not going to be upset," Annabeth said, knowing that was true.
Percy wouldn't be upset when he found out that she hadn't stayed in bed like the doctor had ordered; he would be worried sick, which was why she also made him some apple pastries so that he would be too busy eating to fuss over her. He was such a hypocrite, she thought as she loaded a small tray with the pastries with the hopes that they would be enough to soften him up enough to take her for a walk.
It was okay for him to work himself to death, but it wasn't okay for her to do anything more strenuous than to turn over in bed. She appreciated that he was concerned for her, really she did, but if she had to stay in that bed for one more day, she was pretty sure that she was going to scream. She needed to move around, to work, to go for walks, anything that would take her mind off her huge stomach, the cramps that had started yesterday and wouldn't leave her alone, and the fact that she was bored out of her mind.
Taking a deep breath and praying that the walk would help ease her cramps, she picked up the tray and, unfortunately for her, waddled to the doors. It took her longer than she would have liked, but she eventually made it to the door and, with Juniper's help, managed to step outside. Murmuring her thanks to the older woman, Annabeth started the long process of walking to the barn where her husband was.
It really was a beautiful day. The weather had cooled considerably over the past couple of weeks, making it the perfect weather for enjoying the outdoors. She hoped to be able to enjoy it before the baby came along with the snow that was sure to keep them trapped inside for most of the winter.
A few steps later, she was forced to stop as a cramp tore through her back and stomach, proving her point that lying around for the past month had done her absolutely no good. She needed fresh air, sunshine, and a bit of exercise. Once the cramp had dulled down enough for her to move, she took a deep breath and continued towards the barn, but she didn't make it five steps before another cramp tore through her back and stomach, robbing her of the ability to breathe.
"Annabeth?" a familiar voice said, drawing her attention to the very handsome man walking towards her, appearing surprised and pleased to see her. "Is that really you?" Luke asked, placing his satchel on a bench by the rose bushes as he walked past it on his way to her.
She opened her mouth to answer him, but a choked sob escaped her as she lost her grip on the tray. She bit back a cry as she cradled her arms around her stomach and leaned forward, praying that she wasn't about to lose the baby. It was too early for its arrival.
"Annabeth?" Luke asked, sounding worried as he rushed over to her and wrapped his arms around her as best as he could, but she was rather large now, making the job nearly impossible. "What's wrong?"
She didn't get a chance to answer him before she felt a rush of liquid pour down her legs. It was quickly followed by another one of those vicious cramps that left her barely able to breathe. She reached up and grabbed onto Luke' arms as cramp after cramp tore through her body until all she could do was scream the one thing that she knew would make it all better.
"Percy!"
* * *
"It's beautiful, my Lord,"Mr. Brunner said in a reverent whisper as he ran his fingertips over the intricate design of the bassinet. "You wouldn't sell it to an old Baron, would you?"
Percy chuckled as he placed the sheet back over the bassinet to keep it protected. "Thank you, but it's not for sale."
Mr. Brunner smiled. "Fair enough. For your child?"
"Yes," Percy said proudly as his gaze shifted to the other covered furniture that he'd built for their baby.
"The baby will be here soon enough," Mr. Brunner said with a chuckle as he moved to kneel in front of the chest that Percy made.
"Not soon enough," Percy said, leaning back to give the man some space to look over the chest.
Only a month more to go before he was holding their baby in his arms, their miracle child, and he couldn't wait. There were no words to describe how he felt about this child. They were getting a second chance to be parents to this child, and he wasn't going to waste it. He was going to-.
"Percy !"
-have a heart attack, he realized as Annabeth's blood-curdling scream reached his ears. Before he realized what he was doing, he was running out the door, barely aware of Mr. Brunner following him or demanding to know what was wrong. The only thing that he cared about at that moment was getting to Annabeth and killing whoever was hurting her.
When he ran out of the barn and into the yard, terror shot through him as he watched a man hover over Annabeth as she curled up on her side as she screamed his name over and over until he found himself running towards her and tackling the bastard.
"What the hell did you do to my wife?" he demanded as he shoved the smaller man to the ground and raised his fist, ready to kill him with his bare hands when recognition hit hard. "Luke? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Besides getting my ass kicked and having your wife scare the living hell out of me?" Luke demanded as he shoved Percy away and got to his feet. "I came to talk to you."
Annabeth's screams brought his attention back to where it belonged. As happy as he was to see his cousin again and that he was talking to him again, Luke was going to have to wait.
"Anna?" Percy asked as he crawled over to where his wife lay, curled up into a ball and panting. "What's wrong?"
Instead of answering him, she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.
"Is it the baby?" he asked, praying that the answer was no. It was too soon for the baby. They had another month before the baby was supposed to be born.
Reluctantly, she nodded as a sob escaped her.
Please don't let us lose the baby. He prayed as he carefully picked her up and carried her into the house because he didn't think that either one would survive the loss this time.
* * *
"He's coming too," he vaguely heard Luke say.
"Huh?" was his only response as he struggled to figure out how he ended up lying face down on his bedroom floor.
"I did tell him not to come in here," Luke said, sounding amused as he helped roll Percy over onto his back.
"This is why men don't belong in the labor room," Juniper said, sounding put out as she tossed a wet cloth at him. It hit him in the face before falling off and landing on the floor, leaving Percy even more confused.
"What happened?" he asked numbly as he struggled to sit up, but a wave of dizziness had him lying right back down.
His answer was the beautiful cry of a baby. Actually, it sounded more like-
"Twins," Luke said with a huge grin as he helped Percy sit up.
"Twins?" Percy repeated, not understanding what Luke was saying.
"Twin boys," Luke said, chuckling as he reached down and dragged Percy to his feet.
"That's why your wife was so huge."
"I was not huge!" Annabeth said, not sounding very mad at all as she drew his attention towards the bed where she was curled up onto her side, smiling down at two wiggling but healthy-looking babies.
"W-what happened?" he asked, struggling to remember what the hell happened.
"What do you remember?" Luke asked, dragging him over to the bed where his family was waiting for him and helping him carefully lie down next to the most beautiful babies that he'd ever seen.
"Not much," he admitted, trying to shake his head clear.
"Well, after you carried Annabeth in here and sent for the doctor, your formidable maid Juniper kicked us both out. While we waited for the doctor, you and I had a long-overdue discussion where you apologized profusely for being a selfish bastard and begged my forgiveness," Luke said, sounding amused and drawing Percy's glare.
With a roll of his eyes and a few muttered words, Luke carefully sat down at the end of the bed and reached over so that the baby nearest him could grab onto his finger. "Fine. I apologized for being a bastard and not saying goodbye to you."
"That's all?" Percy asked with a frown as he reached down and softly caressed his son's head.
"Well, you did apologize for everything," Luke said, sending him a smile. "I'm sorry for not realizing that you were in love with her, Percy. Your parents are sorry as well. They should be here in a few weeks after their engagements to tell you themselves. I should have realized that something was going on."
"There's nothing to apologize for," Percy said, giving him a reassuring smile before he returned his attention to the baby who was pulling his finger to his mouth.
"Oh, yes, there is!" Juniper said, stepping up the side of the bed to smile down at the babies. "You gave the doctor and me heart failure when you came running in here like that!"
"I ran in here?" Percy asked, wracking his brain, trying to remember, but it was all a bit fuzzy.
Luke chuckled. "As soon as Annabeth started screaming, you broke free, ran into the room, caught one look at your wife giving birth, and promptly passed out."
"I don't remember any of that."
"And I doubt that any of us will ever forget," Luke said with a wink that had Annabeth laughing softly as she leaned down and pressed a kiss against the squirming baby's foot that kept lightly kicking at her.
He looked at Annabeth, noting the exhaustion and pure joy in her eyes as she looked down at their boys. She looked so damn beautiful, and he couldn't help losing his heart to her all over again.
"Twins, Annabeth," he said, gently pulling his hand away from his son so that he could push a damp black curl behind Annabeth's ear.
"Twins," she repeated with a pleased smile.
He leaned in, careful of the baby now trying to grab onto his shirt, and brushed a kiss against his beautiful wife's lips. "I love you, A," he said, using the name that she hated to tease another smile out of her.
"And I love you, Pissy Percy."
***
"Did you bring it?" Percy demanded as soon as the coach door opened.
Luke chuckled as he stepped out, his eyes dancing with amusement as he held up a dark grey rock. "You mean this rock that you so kindly asked for? The one that I had to travel to Yonkers for in the middle of the night and search the park for six hours in the freezing rain because it was a matter of life and death?" he asked dryly as he tossed the rock to Percy.
"Thank God," Percy sighed, catching the rock and barely sparing his cousin a glance as he headed for his wing.
"What? No, thank you, Luke? I missed you, Luke?" Luke asked, veering off to go greet Annabeth and the children, who were playing by the garden.
"Keep Annabeth busy for an hour or two," was all he said as he pulled the door closed behind him, praying that he didn't accidentally break this one as well.
* * *
Annabeth released a sigh as she leaned against the tree and watched as Luke played with her babies. He was such an incredible uncle-like figure to them and, from what she'd heard from the rest of the family, a wonderful father as well.
He was so kind and sweet, she thought, laughing when the twins tackled him to the ground so that they could show him how to give a proper bear hug. Her lips twitched with amusement when Luke pretended to turn into a bear and chased the twins, all while cradling her youngest giggling son carefully in his arms. Her smile turned watery as she looked down at the folded parchment in her hands.
Luke had surprised her and helped turn her dreams into a reality, even though she already did it with her husband. They could expand her projects even more now.
About a year ago, he'd been looking through the estate's old ledgers and had come across her plans. Not sure what to make of them at first, he'd questioned Clarisse and Chris, who were only too happy to finally tell him what they thought about Daisy burning through the fortune that was meant to help the poor.
Shocked, he'd taken another look at her plans. Then he took a look at his wife's outrageous spending and what he saw had him finally putting his foot down and limiting her spending to a modest monthly allowance. As a result, Daisy was no longer speaking to him, but he didn't seem to care. Annabeth suspected that when Daisy discovered that Luke had taken half of her inheritance and created a charity with it, that Daisy would probably never speak to him again. Then again, that would probably make Luke the happiest man alive.
She wished that he'd reconsider and move to the wing. Annabeth and Percy had plenty of room to spare anyway. She knew that he would love it here. He probably would have made the move years ago if it hadn't been for Daisy. Her cousin refused to even consider it, never mind visit; Annabeth had heard that it was out of pride and jealousy, which meant that Luke visited once a year just to get a break from her. Next year Luke was bringing his girls along with their parents for a visit whether Daisy liked it or not. Annabeth suspected that she probably wouldn't like it.
"It's good to see him," the deep voice that she adored said as a strong arm was carefully wrapped around her waist, and she was pulled back against the man that she loved more than anything.
"It is," she murmured her agreement as she turned herself in his arms so that she could wrap her arms around his shoulders, "but it's even better to see you."
"Missed me?" he teased as he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers.
"Terribly," she said, smiling against his lips. "When I came back from feeding the baby, you were already gone."
"I'm sorry, A. I had some work that I needed to finish so that I could spend tonight focusing on you," he said, kissing her again.
"I have you for the whole night?"
"The whole night," he promised as he leaned in to kiss her.
"What about Luke?" she asked, feeling bad that he'd traveled all the way from
Rhode Island to visit and they were abandoning him on his first night.
"He can entertain himself for one night," he said, brushing his lips against hers one last time before he stepped away.
"This is for you," Percy said as he held out a small, beautifully carved box.
She didn't have to ask him to know that he'd made the box himself. It was absolutely beautiful. If he was just an ordinary man, he could probably have a very lucrative business if he focused on making furniture and trinkets, but that would mean spending long hours away from her and the children, and she knew that he didn't want that. Instead, he settled for making the things that he loved in his spare time and focused on his other duties as a businessman. He was very good at what he did and was highly revered.
"Happy anniversary, wise girl," he said as she opened the box and saw…
A necklace made out of stones?
Whatever it was, it was beautiful, and she loved it because he made it for her. With a smile, she leaned up to kiss him, but he stepped back with a smile and focused his attention on the necklace.
"This white bead is from the old barn where you covered me in honey and feathers," he said, drawing her attention back to the necklace. "This bead," he said, pointing out a grey stone bead next, "is from the tree where I cut your hair off. This bead is from…"
He went on explaining where every stone had come from, pausing every now and then to smile, laugh, or to reminisce about tales from their childhood. She listened as he went through each bead, growing more amazed by the minute. When he pointed out the bead from the orangery, she felt her bottom lip tremble. As he finished with the stone that he'd picked up outside their bedroom window on the night that she'd given birth to their third child, Tyson, she found herself falling in love with her husband all over again.
"I love it," she said an understatement. It was the most beautiful, thoughtful gift that anyone had ever given her. It also made her realize just how much she meant to him.
"I'm glad," he said, leaning in to kiss her, only this time she didn't let him go.
"It's my turn to give you your anniversary gift, Jackson."
* * *
He was dying.
There was no other explanation for it. His limbs weakly trembled as he dragged himself across the room. He couldn't think of a time when he'd been so thirsty or hungry in his life. Several times over the last twenty-four hours, he considered yelling for help, but he was beyond help. He knew that.
The cause of his destruction stirred behind him. He picked up the pitcher of water and chugged the lukewarm liquid. It did nothing to quench his thirst or ease his empty stomach.
"I think I'm dying," he mumbled.
A weak laugh came from the bed. "I know I am," Annabeth said. "We have to stop…we have to…I need food…and water….the baby, Percy,…. think of the baby," she implored weakly.
He took a deep breath. The baby needed food. His baby. He couldn't help grinning. His wife was making him a father again, hopefully giving him a little girl to spoil this time. He hugged the pitcher to his chest and brought it over to her.
"Here. Drink this, and I'll get dressed and have Juniper send some food up." He frowned as he looked at the door. "I wonder why they haven't checked on us by now."
"Probably because we scared them away," she said as she took the pitcher from him. She almost dropped it. Her arms were so weak, but she couldn't drink lying back this way. She got up on her knees with incredible difficulty. The only thing that mattered was the water. She didn't care about being ladylike or anything else. She drank greedily, not caring about the water that spilled down her chin and down her chest and stomach. She was so thirsty. When she had her fill, she placed the now empty pitcher on the bed. Her eyes met Percy's intense gaze, and she knew that things were about to take a turn for the worse.
"Oh, no," she whimpered.
Percy stared at the water dripping down his wife's breasts. He licked his lips. Every part of him save one was protesting the sight. He followed her frightened eyes downward. He was more than ready to go again. It felt like he hadn't had her in years instead of minutes.
Annabeth threw a pillow at him so she could scramble off the bed, desperate to make an escape. It was like that piece of his anatomy was in charge. He crawled after her. She didn't bother with a nightgown or a wrap as she ran to the door and started pounding on it.
"Juniper!"
"Oh, thank the Lord!" came Juniper's worried voice from behind the door. "We were afraid you'd both perished."
She looked back to see her husband trying to escape from the tangled sheets his foot got caught on. "We will if you don't help."
"Juniper, listen, I haven't much time. Can you arrange for a large tray of food and drink to be delivered," she looked over her shoulder to discover that Percy was close to getting free, "and water for a bath as well. Please!"
"Certainly," Juniper said, sounding amused.
"Percy?" Luke suddenly said as he joined Juniper in the hall.
A soft growl behind her was the only answer. Annabeth slowly turned around, plastering her back against the door. Luke knocked on the door. "Percy? Come down with me to the tavern. I'm bored. Percy?"
"I'm busy," Percy answered in what sounded mostly like a snarl.
Luke’s answer was a pained sigh. "Come on, you've done your duty. Let's go."
A loud whimper escaped Annabeth as he pounced on her. He was handsome, sweet, wicked, and all hers. No matter how tired or weak she was at the moment, he still had this strange effect on her body even after all this time, and in that moment, she wanted him more than anything.
"Percy?" Luke asked, sounding, unsure.
Percy couldn't answer at the moment. He was busy licking the water from Annabeth's skin. She was pinned tightly against the wall, her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her legs around his waist.
In one quick move, he was sheathed inside her. He wrapped his arms around her, protecting her from the door as he thrust inside her. The door groaned its protests as its hinges and frame were put to the test. If the position hurt Annabeth, she wasn't saying.
Just the opposite, in fact.
She demanded him to move harder and faster. At that moment, Percy didn't care that his cousin and Juniper were standing outside the door or that he was on the verge of starvation. He only cared about her about Annabeth. He slammed into her, once, twice, three times, and then she began screaming his name and doing her best to milk him dry.
"Lucky bastard," he thought he heard his cousin mutter, but he didn't really care as he lost himself in the woman that he loved.
"Happy anniversary, my love," Annabeth said minutes later as she pushed him to the floor to give him his gift all over again, making him wonder if he should call another truce before they ended up killing each other.
But then he thought, no. We’re staying together. You’re not getting away from me.
Not so soon. Never again.
Fin.