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Percy and Sally tucked in for their annual movie night. Sometimes Percy looks back on the times when he was a little shit to his Mom and thinks about how things could have been a lot worse if he hadn't enjoyed Camp Half-Blood. He knew that was Sally's last option.
That guilt he feels when he thought about how much she was dealing with on her own, and how much he was contributing to the stress. But Percy had come a long way and was determined to make things fully right with Sally. Even though she has said on multiple occasions that it was completely unnecessary.
Which leads us to movie night! Every Thursday night.
The beginning of School of Rock filled the living room as Sally threw popcorn into Percy's mouth. Jack Black had only just started Rock Got No Reason when Sally's phone started ringing.
The two had decided on a no-phone rule, which was going smoothly until it resulted in a missed call from Grover, who was stranded in a rainstorm an hour out of the city. So from then on, Sally's phone was always on.
She reached for the phone; 'Frederick Chase' displayed across the screen as she pressed pause on the TV. "Hey! Zach was shredding on the guitar! How dare you cut him off!" "Hi Fred, how are you?" She smiled into the phone, taking a swig of her tea. He groaned, getting ready to throw the one hundredth piece of popcorn thrown that night.
But when his gaze reached his mother, her sudden serious expression stopped him in his tracks. "Well, is she alright, Frederick?" Frederick, as in Annabeth's dad?
Sally sat up, looking around the room for something. Percy mirrored her, waiting for some explanation and confirmation. There's only one major 'she' in Frederick's life. One 'she' that he dedicated his life to. "Mom? Mom is that Annabeth's Dad?" Percy pushed, eyes wide. His heart had started to pick up pace a little, especially with his mother being so silent.
"Alright, Frederick, we won't be long. Everything is going to be okay." Sally got up, threw her blanket off, and rushed towards where she kept the car keys. Percy watched her, waiting for a response to his question. "Mom! Is Annabeth ok?" Sally grabbed the keys and coat. "Annabeth is uh-" She rushed out. "She's what, Mom?" He stood, striding towards her, standing directly in front of her.
Sally sighed, giving Percy a stern look he had not seen in a long while. "Percy, you need to stay calm." His eyebrows furrowed as he grabbed the keys from her hand. "If Annabeth is in trouble, you better tell me right now, Mom." Sally placed her hand over his that grasped the key as if it were some sort of lifeline.
"Annabeth's in the hospital, Percy," Sally said clearly.
The keys crashed to the ground, echoing in Percy's head as he tried to make sense of what Sally was saying. Annabeth was in the hospital? But Annabeth was just with him last night. They were cuddling on her sofa watching Jaws. There's no way she was in the hospital.
"Hospital?" Percy quickly scooped the keys up from the floor, grabbed the closest pair of his shoes, and tugged them on. "Why the fuck is Annabeth in the hospital?"
Before Sally could reprimand him for his language, he was flinging open the front door, Sally following suit.
The drive to the hospital was filled with panic-laced rambling from Percy and calm reassurance from Sally. "I'm sure she's fine, Percy. Annabeth's the strongest girl we know." Percy sighed, nodding, running his hands through his curls for the millionth time. "Strongest Woman." Sally looked over at him and gave him a tight-lipped smile.
The bright lights of the hospital acted like what Percy prayed was a beacon of hope. His parking skills left a lot to be desired, but Sally decided he could be forgiven in this instance.
The doors opened as the two approached, as if they knew the pair were not here to mess around. They beelined for the front desk, being met by a soft, tired smile from a nurse who had clearly been working for many hours. "Anything I can help you with?" she asked.
Percy placed his arms on the desk. "Annabeth Chase?" She looked at the two, nodding as she looked down at her computer. "Percy Jackson, I assume?" He furrowed his eyebrows, looking up at his mom, who looked equally confused. "Yeah? How did you know that?"
She looked back up at the boy and wrote something on a piece of paper. "I was told you might storm in here. Floor 3, room 2C." He took the note, not giving the lady another glance as he stormed to the staircase. Sally gave the nurse a smile. "Thank you. Sorry if he was rude; she's my son's girlfriend. Not that he knows I know." The nurse raised an eyebrow, grateful for the thin slice of gossip.
Meanwhile, Percy was storming up the stairs until he reached floor 3. The buzzing sound in the air made him wince as he approached 2C. He pushed the doors open and immediately began scanning the room as if he were searching a crime scene. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for.
Annabeth lay in the furthest hospital bed from the door. From where Percy stood, he could already see bandages covering her waist and one of her arms. He practically flew to her, now noticing that she was awake. "Baby! Oh my god what happened? Are you okay?" Percy scoffed, putting his hands on his head. "What am I saying? Of course you're not okay, you're lying in a fucking hospital bed."
Annabeth sighed, looking up at her boyfriend as he tried to put the pieces together in his brain about what could have happened. "Did someone do something to you? Did something happen when you left mine last night? I should have driven you. Why didn't I drive you?!" "Percy." She sighed, sitting up straighter in her bed.
"I'm a terrible boyfriend. This is all my fault." He suddenly heard a soft giggle come from the bed. Instead of seeing the betrayed eyes of his girlfriend, he was faced with the smile that never fails to bring him to his knees.
He knelt beside her bed, taking one of her hands in both of his, placing a kiss that he hoped had some sort of healing power. "What happened, Baby?" Annabeth melted in her bed. How could she not, when she was staring into the prettiest blue eyes that were filled to the brim with concern?
Annabeth reached out her hand, placing her palm against his cheek. "I just had an accident helping my dad on the roof." Percy's eyes shot up. "Why the hell were you on the roof?" Annabeth gave him another smile. "I was just helping with some weeds that were growing up there. I slipped on one of the vines and landed on the deck." Percy was reacting to the news as if he had physically experienced it himself.
"So what's happened to you?" He looked at the bandages as if they had personally offended him, which they had. How could something ever happen to her perfect body? Annabeth looked at her bandages. "I've got a broken arm and some deep scrapes that have been stitched on my waist." "Stitches?!" She braced him with her hands. "They're not that deep! The woman said it could have been a lot worse."
Percy sighed, deciding to take Annabeth at her word. He gave her one more look over before leaning forward, placing a kiss against her lips that eased her pain more than any of the medicine ever could. She smiled against his lips, returning her hand to his cheek.
"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but I've got Jell-O." The two pulled apart, locking eyes with Frederick Chase, who stood beside Sally, who herself was carrying Jell-O.
The two looked back at each other, eyes wide with panic as Percy launched himself to his feet. "Uh, Mr Chase, Mom! I was just comforting Annabeth. Your daughter, my very good friend." Percy rushed out, trying to flash the two with his most innocent smile. Annabeth immediately prepared for the worst. Here it comes, the Dad speech about boyfriends, where he threatens Percy's manhood if he ever even considers hurting his daughter. She knew it was coming; she just wasn't ready for it to be in a hospital while he was holding Jell-O.
"I already know, Annabeth." That stopped Percy in his tracks. Annabeth looked at her boyfriend with the same wide-eyed, jaw-dropped expression. Words came to her throat, all jumbled and incorrect, much the same as Percy.
"And," Sally started, "I know too." If it was even possible, Percy's eyebrows lifted so far up his head that they were almost touching the sky.
Percy began to scramble for words to plead his case. Explain why they had kept it a secret. Especially considering Fredericks' public disdain for any boy who even dared to go near his daughter. But as he looked over at the man, he didn't look half as enraged as he thought he would. In fact, he looked more at peace. As if his admittance had lifted something off his shoulders.
"And what about you?" He aimed his question at his mother. Sally smiled softly. "The day I spring-cleaned the whole house, about 3 months ago. I overheard you two on the phone." Percy let out a breath, placing his head in his hands. Annabeth giggled, rubbing his back. "You're not mad?" Annabeth looked towards her father, getting a soft shake of his head in return.
"No, I'm not mad. I'm not happy with you keeping this from me; neither is Sally, but I can't say we weren't surprised." Frederick put a comforting hand on Annabeth's shoulder. She smiled in return, looking towards Percy, who was already staring at her with pink cheeks.
The rest of the visit consisted of Percy and Annabeth explaining their situation to their respective parents, and Sally practically forcing Percy out the door when visiting hours were over. He placed a sweet kiss against her lips, sinking into it slightly before Frederick cleared his throat.
"Son, I know I said I supported you, but please don't kiss my daughter right in front of me." He grumbled, earning a laugh from Sally and Annabeth. "Right, yes. Sorry Sir. I'll call you later, Wise Girl." They waved goodbye, making their way towards the exit.
Sally gave a small wave to the night nurse as Percy smiled to apologise for his earlier behaviour.
As the two reached the car, Sally turned to Percy with a sly smile. "You think I wouldn't figure out that my own son was hiding something this huge from me?" Percy looked at his mother, giving her a tight-lipped smile. "I guess I was an idiot."
Sally began driving home with the smirk still on her face. "Keeping the shirt for Grover's new girlfriend, my ass." She heard Percy laugh. "Oh also, Annabeth isn't allowed in your room home alone anymore."
Percy groaned. "God dammit."