This story is the first in a contest that I'm starting. Anyone that has written a story on FF can join, but your writing will be checked by all other contest members to make sure it's up to par (i.e., correct grammar, punctuation, paragraphs) so that the quality of stories is good. I have read very few poorly written Jeyna stories, so I think most everyone should be okay. Either review this story or PM me to join. Rules are posted in A/N at the bottom of this story.

This story is a continuation of my other Jeyna story, For Better, For Worse.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO

Aftermath

Reyna sat unmoving by his bedside, gripping one of his hands tightly between both of hers. She stared at him, her eyes traveling from his blond hair to his perfect nose to the cute little scar on his upper lip. Gods, she thinks to herself. Cute little scar? What am I? A Venus girl? She would have chuckled at the thought were her boyfriend of less than forty-eight hours not lying unconscious on a cot in front of her.

Jason's eyes remained closed as they had for the past several hours, but the steady rise and fall of his chest was as comforting to her as anything could have been. There had been a few heart wrenching moments immediately after his fight with Krios where she had thought he would never breathe another breath, never again open those big blue eyes, never get the chance to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her again. So hearing his soft snoring meant more to Reyna than anything.

She glanced over at the clock, her eyes needing a moment to adjust to the bright, glowing digits that read 3:12 A.M. She could feel her eyelids growing heavy. Reyna wanted nothing more than to curl up beside him and fall asleep, but she figured his numerous broken ribs would not appreciate that very much. She sighed softly, leaning her head down to the side of his cot using her arms as a pillow, never letting go of his hand.

xx

Jason's eyes fluttered open, the light that was trickling in from the lone window in the room causing them to itch and burn as he desperately blinked and squinted, trying to get his eyes adjusted. When his vision finally cleared, he could not help but smile as he saw Reyna. He tried to move his hand from hers gently to avoid waking her, but the simple movement caused him to hiss in pain. Reyna's eyes snapped open, instantly alert, her hand already on the hilt of her dagger before she realized that it was the son of Jupiter, not a monster or Titan, that had wakened her.

Her facial expression didn't change, but Jason could see her eyes light up like they did when she smiled. "You're awake," she said softly. A faint smile finally made its way to her mouth, and he noticed the giant bust in her lower lip. It looked like someone had punched her in the face, which, considering they had just fought in the biggest battle of their lives, was a good possibility.

He tried to sit up, but his bones, muscles, and everything else in his body exploded with pain in protest. "Ow," he groaned, leaning back against the pillow. After he collected himself for a moment, he looked up at her. "Yeah," he agreed. "But I'd much rather be sleeping."

"That bad, huh?" she asked. Reyna rose from her seat, and sat down on the cot beside him. She started to reach for his hand, then she stopped, not wanting to hurt him anymore than slaying Krios already had.

Jason tried reassure him with a laugh, but even that hurt. "Yeah. Who knew shooting lightning at a Titan would cause an explosion that big?"

Reyna did not look amused. She shot him an irritated look before she sighed. "If you tell anyone what I'm about to say, Grace, I will deny it and make sure you wish Krios did kill you." Jason just smiled at the threat. "But I was so worried about you. When I saw that explosion," she had to stop speaking for a moment to collect herself, but she managed to keep her voice steady. "Gods, Jason, I didn't think I would ever see you again, and that scared me more than any Titan or monster ever could."

"And you think I didn't feel the same way?" Jason asked. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, ignoring the pain that shot through every bone and muscle he was forced to move. After he had kissed the top of her hand, he mumbled, "I was worried about you, too." He pressed his lips to her hand again. "I would have never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you."

She shook her head vigorously. "It wouldn't have been your fault."

"I'm the one that convinced you to come to camp, Reyna. If it wasn't for me, you would have gone to Seattle with your sister and been completely out of danger," he said.

Reyna jerked her hand away. "I'm a daughter of Bellona. I don't need to be completely out of danger."

"I know," he agreed, nodding his head. "But I love you, and I want to keep you safe. Is that so wrong?"

She glared at him, but it was a playful kind of glare, not her usual back-away-before-I-stab-you glare. "Chivalry is so outdated, Grace," she said with a smile.

He smiled back at her. "I really want to kiss you right now, but even trying to sit up feels like bomb is going off inside my abdomen. So could you..." he trailed off, looking from her eyes to her lips and back again.

She laughed, and it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard.

Then this time she kissed him.

So that was short and rather suckish, but I needed a story to start 'A' off with and this was the only one in my Documents that would work. Please review!

Here's the rules for the contest:

-We'll go through the alphabet choosing each other's words as we go. I just did 'A', so the first person to PM me or review saying they'd like to compete will get their 'B' word from me. Then when they post their story, they will give the 'C' word to the next person on the list.

-There will be a limited number of people to compete. I want to ensure that every author get to post at least three stories, so maybe 8? If you and another author want to work together in the contest, that's perfectly fine. Just make sure to let me know!

-All of the one-shots entered must be Jeyna. Jasper or Leyna may be included, but only as a drama-angst starter. Non of the stories can end with Jason picking Piper over Reyna, or Reyna (for whatever deluded reason, they've never met!) dating Leo.

-To join the contest, you must PM me before the next person posts 'B'. After that, the contest is no longer open.

-You must review every story in the contest if you are part of the contest. It's common courtesy, people.

-Stories must be one-shots over 500 words.

-You have 5 days from the day you get your word to post your story.

-Stories can be future, past, present, or AU as long as all characters used as kept in character.

-After we get to Z, I'll post a poll on my profile with all 26 stories on it. Everyone can vote for their favorite, and the author who wrote that story wins!