time to have the talk ((eliza)) [qr]

[Charlie-Mack Jolly]

Charlie clutched her bag to her chest. In her bag was an egg she had found a day ago in the woods, she had found it in her picnic basket. She didn't know whether it had rolled in there or if someone had put it in there. She was keeping a close eye on it because she didn't want anyone to steal it. Someone had already gotten ahold her jams she had been working on and she didn't want the same thing to happen to the egg. She was protective of it and didn't want it to be stolen. Charlie would go see if Issac would help her out and put an anti theft spell on it.

She peeked into the Library and thankfully there was no one else in there but she could hear someone, maybe it was just Eliza and maybe Connor. At least she hoped that it was like that. Charlie pondered about how to best ask her questions, she had a whole list running through her head right about now. She probably would kill her flat out. She really didn't want to tell anyone but she had to know, she just had to know. Of course there was no way of really knowing, but she had been stressed, mostly thinking flat out about worrying over her plants and her spices that she was currently working on in her cabin. "Hey Eliza, you here?" Charlie asked tenatively.

[Eliza Moores]

Eliza tilted her head up to look out of the window to her office, the library was quieter than usual, probably thanks to the fresh new spring weather, even she had to admit it was much nicer outside in the sunshine than laying around in the musty, dim-lit library. A sigh came over her as she leaned her head back and lightly patted her forehead with a cool rag. She was burning up and definitely feeling ill, thanks to some recent incidents her mind was even more in a race to find out what has happening with her right then. Eliza knew she needed to relax, so what better way than to have a nice chat with her sister, Charlie-Mack. She had asked Eliza about having a little chat a bit ago and now was probably the perfect time.

A soft smile came over Eliza's face as she heard her sister's voice, "In my office! Come on in!" Eliza leaned forward in her chair, the soft leather chair making a soft creaking noise as she stood up to open the dark wood door.

As she saw Charlie a brighter smile came on her face, "Welcome into my private oasis."

[Charlie-Mack Jolly]

Charlie was kind of relieved to hear the sound of her sister's voice coming from the back office. Her heart was pounding and she really was a bit stressed. Not that Eliza had shown any particular hostility, but Charlie was nervous to speak exactly what was on her mind right about now. It was going a million different directions at once, thinking about Archer, the questions she had, zephs' reaction to Eliza's news..... there was just too much to think about. Charlie took a deep and clensing breath, trying to calm her nerves. Just breathe, she told herself, trying to keep from having a panic attack.


Charlie peeked into Eliza's office before sitting down. She blinked, trying to adjust her eyes, they still hadn't adjusted to the dim light of the library. "So how's Connor getting along?" Charlie's eyes wandered, trying to focus on the questions she had. Charlie took another deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. "How did you know you were pregnant with Connor?" Charlie mentally berated herself. That wasn't something you just came out and said to your half sister with out an explinantion. "I mean... sorry... just kindda freaked out at the moment. are you feeling any better?" Charlie tried to regain a bit of confidance as she continued to spazz out.

[Eliza Moores]

Before Charlie entered the room, a slight wave of nausea hit Eliza but she calmed it quickly with a quick hard candy popped into her mouth, as her sister sat down and asked questions, the sugary treat clicked on Eliza's teeth as she spoke.

"Conor is just fine and dandy, just as active and rambunctious as ever."

Eliza cocked her left eyebrow slightly at her sister's quick question about Conor leading to another about how Eliza herself knew she was pregnant. A flick of her finger and her desk lamps' light bulb flipped on, making the room a bit brighter. Eliza leaned back in her chair and absent mindedly ran her fingers over her stomach, "Do I need an explanation just yet for that question, no. But I will ask after I give my answer. And for now I am fine."

Sighing softly, Eliza rested her head against the top of her chair and tried to correlate her thoughts into something that would make sense, "Well for starters the whole no visit from Aunt Flow gave me an inkling, then it was the weird heavy boob feeling, and as you may have noticed I don't carry melons up top normally so that feeling was definitely new." Eliza paused for a moment and mentally talked herself out of touching her own breast, they were kinda feeling heavier as of lately but that was nothing.

Going back to her talk, "Well, it was about after three months of no visits that I really started to question things, I had gotten nauseous here and there, some throwing up but I put that to eating my favorite greasy foods; anyways, when I started to notice my pants not fitting anymore, that's when I realized what was going on officially."

Another soft sigh as she yawned a bit, "Just a tip, regular pee sticks do not work for demigods super well, they tend to get mixed results. Basically I had to wait it out, I took care of myself, no drinking, which by the way is really hard for me, and that's when my hormones and craziness kinda took over... I was a bitch to everyone and very quickfire tempered. I was freaked and scared, I wound up having to go back to my mom who was luckily there to help me through it all."

A smile came over Eliza's lips from the memory of her mother, her fingers still running around her stomach in thought, "Then when I did give birth, the drugs didn't work and it was beyond painful, but in the aftermath of blood, sweat, and tears, I had the most beautiful blue eyes that I have always loved looking up at me."

Eliza shook her head and came back too, her brow furrowed, "Oh, sorry, kinda went from how I knew to my entire pregnancy and birth story. Basically, it was no period, heavy boobs, weird cramping, nausea, and extreme tiredness. Plus unexplained weight gain after a few months."

She smiled softly, leaning forward and putting her hand on Charlie's knee, "So you gonna tell me why you are asking about my pregnancy, I have a guess but I would much rather hear it from you. If my guess is right, I am a little disappointed because it is a hard road, but at the same time I understand and I was there and here for you now."

[Charlie-Mack Jolly]

“Good, I’m glad Connor is getting along great.” Charlie nodded her head in a distracted manner. She was glad that her nephew was getting along really well. She loved the kid; he was adorable and really cute. Charlie listened to Eliza’s story. With each thing she named, Charlie made a mental note on her checklist of things that she knew was wrong. But in all honesty, she just chalked up to the stress as being the reason why her period had been noticeably absent. But after the scenario had gone through her mind, the thought of picking up an alien parasite was looking less and less plausible and more like she was pregnant. The thought rang in her head, reverberating from crevice to crevice as she listened to the last bit of Eliza’s story. “So regular pee sticks don’t work? I’m guessing there’s no way to be a hundred percent positive right now then….” Charlie shuddered as she tried to shake the thought from her mind. But with each and every word that Eliza spoke, it was like another rock had been added to the pile that was already in that proverbial backpack on her shoulders.


Charlie bit her lip, trying to figure out how to say what was on her mind. But it seemed that Eliza already knew. Or at least had a good guess about what was going on. “Well…” Charlie started before bringing her eyes up to meet Eliza’s. “I think I might be pregnant with Archer’s baby. Or at least now I’m sure of it at any rate.” She let out a heavy sigh. Things didn’t seem to be going right, or particularly how she wanted them to go. Charlie started to cry. “Oh gods… Eliza what am I going to do? At least you had your mom and I don’t think dad will be too thrilled…. He won’t turn Archer into a dolphin would he?” Charlie felt so alone right now and it probably didn’t help she was freaking out in Eliza’s office. “I am so scared.” Charlie admitted, sniffing and then hiccupping. “great just great, and now I look like some kind of overly emotional train wreck!” Charlie felt the need to slam her head into the door, but it just didn’t seem like a good idea and it was also never a good idea to take one’s anger out on inanimate objects.


Charlie sniffed, but she was able to stop crying. “I guess the real question is what do I do now?” Charlie drew in a sharp breath, trying to calm herself down. “What’s going to be the next step?”

[Eliza Moores]

Eliza smiled softly, keeping the true fear and worry off of her face as her sister spoke, she had a good idea of just how Charlie was feeling right then, she had been there herself right at her age. A long sigh came over Eliza as she spoke, "I am pretty sure at this point that you are probably right at a hundred percent, but there is a minor fear part of you hoping for a ninety-eight or nine."

Eliza stood up and paced for a moment, herself lost in thought, "How long has it been since your last time of the month?" That would give their timeline for everything that needed to be done; she turned back to her sister and looked her up and down. She couldn't have been very far along, probably towards the end of her first or right in the beginning of her second trimester, Charlie wasn't really showing, although the longer Eliza looked the easier she could see the small little bump growing.

Another sigh and she sat down, "Charlie, you are my sister and I love you. I am assuming that after having this baby you will want to keep it, they are rather adorable and easy to attach to, so I am going to help you get through this pregnancy, and trust me this is the easy part, you just gotta be a human heated water bed for the little bugger." Eliza smiled, she was hoping to relax both of them with a little humor, but even she was a little worried about the new responsibility Charlie was going to get herself into the minute the baby popped out.

"And after the little parasite becomes a little cherub of thank god its out, we can go from there, I am here for you no matter what, I have been there and did it mostly on my own for years, its not easy but it really is worth it. I know you will do just fine, especially with all the support and amenities the camp can offer you."

[Charlie-Mack Jolly]

Charlie tried her hardest to compose herself. It was hard to do but she took in slow, deep breaths. She learned about trying to keep one’s emotions in check. She didn’t think being all wound up would help with the particular problem that was here before her. Charlie unconsciously put a hand on her stomach, not really thinking about what was now growing inside her. She was thinking about this big responsibility that was going on right now in her stomach. “Eliza…. Honestly I’m hoping I will wake up and this will be a horrible dream.” Charlie shook her head; she knew that it wouldn’t be that simple. This was real and it was now. The fear of someone else’s life in her hands, it was a scary thought. She was going to have someone that depended on her for everything and to take care of all of its needs.

She tried hard to think about when she and Archer had their fling. It had been so long ago that she wasn’t even sure. She tried counting on her fingers, but it really didn’t help. “Last period was the week of Thanksgiving.” Charlie was pretty sure about that. She wondered how long she had been pregnant without realizing it. The strenuous training and all the heavy lifting she had been doing moving pots and planters around. The sickness, the sudden feeling like her pants didn’t fit and the fact her boobs hurt around the clock, it should have been a dead giveaway. Charlie had just been worrying about too many things at once to realize it. “I just feel so stupid right now. I can’t…I just can’t thank you enough for the help. I’m just so scared.” Charlie’s face fell and she wasn’t sure what to think at this particular moment. Her hand lingered once more over her stomach. “This really is real isn’t it?” Charlie asked with a worry look on her face.

Charlie gave a small laugh at Eliza’s joke. At least the joke and the laughter made her feel a bit better, being a water bed didn’t sound so bad for now. It could be worse. Charlie could be out there on the streets without anyone to help her. If she was mortal, she probably would be on the street and giving the baby up for adoption. But right now, she was safe, she had a place to stay, she had her sister and everyone here at camp, her friends. “I hope the Apollo kids can help too.” Charlie mumbled, thinking about how painful this was going to be.

[Eliza Moores]

Eliza wrapped her arms around Charlie and patted her back, "It isn't a dream, if it was it would be a very lame one, and you're gonna be just fine, its not gonna be easy, but its gonna be an adventure..." She chuckled a bit, standing up and walking over to a calender, counting out forty weeks from Thanksgiving...

Sighing a bit as she realized they had about nineteen weeks left, depending on how quick the baby decided to come along. Looking back at Charlie Eliza put on a soft smile, "Mkays, so you are right in the middle of your pregnancy, so there is no big fears of losing the baby now, so that is awesome. Also at this point you get to have all the fun shopping and decorating."

Eliza paced back and forth thinking, "I'm gonna have you moved into an apartment, its not that early for you and its better for you and the baby to not have our siblings constantly there. Plus you will get the chance to do your nesting and not have anyone complain about it." Her fingers tapping away at her stomach as she rested her hand there, "We will have to get an approval for you to go shopping in the city, I won't be able to go but I think one of your adult friends will be just fine in going along with you," Eliza couldn't help but feel maternal when it came to Charlie, was she a little disappointed still, yes, but there was no changing that fact.

Pausing realizing that Charlie was still freaking a bit, bending down she looked up at her, "Now, now, it is scary, but you are not going to have to deal with a single thing alone that you don't want to, at least not at first, I want you to learn all you can and at the same time feel safe. This is real, but you can handle it."

Eliza patted her sister's knee and stood up, smiling, "And of course everyone in the clinic, including the Apollo kids, will be there to help you, you are not getting abandoned or shunned because of a baby in your stomach."

[Charlie-Mack Jolly]

Charlie watched Eliza stand up and speak as she watched her walk over to a calendar. She probably was checking out how long she had left. Charlie wasn’t even sure how to calculate how long she had. There was a good bit of uncertainty left in her mind. No matter what sort of way Eliza has put it, Charlie still felt somewhat horrible. Archer was nowhere to be found and it sort of felt like she had been abandoned. But even then Charlie felt like Archer really cared about her. “I don’t know if I can do this Eliza. I’m not strong. I’m not a fighter. I don’t even know if I’m wanted.” Charlie felt like she could really talk to her and let her know what she was feeling. “I don’t know if I can be a mom. What if something happens and I can’t protect the baby? There’s so much that can go wrong and I don’t know what to do in case something has gone wrong.” Charlie clenched her nails into the palm of her hand, it was a sharp pain but it at least distracted her from the raging tempest going on in her head.


Decorating? The though sat numbly in her mind as she blinked, trying to piece her train wreck of a brain together. “I don’t even know if it’s going to be a girl or a boy. How can we tell?” Charlie asked, not really thinking about what was coming out of her mouth. Of course there were probably Hecate kids that could make a potion or the Apollo kids with their infinite knowledge of the medical field, there was probably a way of figuring it out. “Nesting? What’s nesting?” Charlie frowned, trying to use her context clues, trying to figure out what the word meant. She never had a mom, so she couldn’t ask questions so Eliza was the next best thing. Now Charlie would have to make a list to figure out what she would need and what she might be able to get, but who would go with her? Charlie wasn’t sure of who would go with her. Charlie knew she wasn’t a fighter and wasn’t one for using weapons or anything like that. She had her spear but wasn’t sure of how to use it any more. “Outside the camp? I haven’t been outside the camp since I was brought here.” The thought of outside the camp was scary. It had been almost seven years since she had last seen the outside of camp.


“I hope I can do this, but it feels good to know you’re going to be there, because being alone is what I don’t want to feel right now.” Charlie said to her knees. “It’s just a lot to think about you know?”

[Eliza Moores]

Eliza sighed and shook her head, "You have gotten into this and there is no getting out, you gotta find a way to be strong for you and your baby. Its hard and you can do it. Do not question it and do not doubt it. Now the rest of the stuff, you will learn as you go, you have others here who have been in your position and are willing to stick it out and help."

Eliza was speaking of herself, but also Lorelei, she and her best friend tended to have moments where their lives overlapped, apparently this was just another one of those times.

"You can find out the gender from the Apollo kids or a Psyche girl; they can read exactly whats happening inside you. Now the nesting is when you start creating a space for you and your baby to enjoy, its when you make everything comfortable to your views. You need to do it so your nerves become much more settled."

Looking through her books, Eliza grabbed a book written in the fifties about pregnancy in demigods, it was dated but had lots of the basics in it. She walked over and set the book on her sister's lap. "This should help with all the stuff you need, but yeah, you will be just fine in the city, just keep your powers under your hat which isn't too difficult for us."

"The rest will come naturally, you are kind and big-hearted, you are going to be a wonderful mother."