Disclaimer:: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus or its characters. They are the property of Rick Riorden, and are not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.
"What happened to him?" The doctor's voice came out soft and breathless, and he wasn't surprised. "Who did this?" The young boy lying in the hospital bed in front of him was unconscious; thick, dark eye lashes peaked out from under a mop of messy black hair and rested across pale skin. With a slightly trembling hand the young doctor reached for the chart hanging on the end of the bed. Nico di Angelo, he was older then he looked but still young at 21, a young man instead of a boy. One cracked rib, a black eye and a split lip. His knuckles were split open from where he obviously fought back and he had a nasty scratch on his check from what could have been a ring. He had taken a beating and it made the doctor's chest ache. The records said he sustained blunt force trauma to the head knocking him out cold.
"Got into a fight in an ally. Not sure who started it." The young nurse overseeing the boy answered, the doctor remembered her name to be Kayla.
The doctor let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "But I bet we can tell who finished it."
"You know how people always say, 'you should see the other guy'?"
"Yes?"
"Well, Doc, you should see the other guy." The nurse gestured to a bed a few feet away. After a final glance at the pale young man he made his way to the other bed. This man was older and much larger, surprisingly in much worse shape. His jaw would have to be wired shut and for the smaller kid's broken rib this man had three of his own. He had a matching black eye and a wound that would need stitches underneath it.
"Dr. Fletcher? The little guy, he did this?"
Doctor Fletcher looked up and smirked, "I take it this is the first time you've seen him come in here?"
"Does it happen often?"
"Oh yea. Kid gets into a lot of fights, he may be small but he be fierce. Just don't let him here you call him kid. He hates it, and really, he's not as young as he looks." With a small smile got back to his patient. "Nico's in here at least twice a month."
"Doctor?" Kayla called, "He's waking up." With a nod the doctor returned to his own patient.
"Good morning Sunshine." Nico glared at the doctor. "How you feeling?" The doctor waited a beat before deciding the boy wasn't going to respond. "Okay so you have a cracked rib I'll need to wrap and your hands look pretty banged up, but other than that there's not much for me to do here."
"Get on with it." His voice was low and harsh with a hint of an Italian accent. The young man winced as he tried to pull himself into a sitting position.
"Hey, now, take it easy Sunshine." The doctor rushed forward to help the smaller man sit up. The young man stiffened at his touch, but the doctor couldn't tell if it was out of fear or pain.
"Don't call me that." The young man's voice was soft and harsh at the same time, eyes glued to his knees and he struggled to breath.
"I know it hurts, but once I wrap it up it shouldn't feel so bad." The boy nodded, obviously trying to hide the pain. "Do you need help taking your shirt off?" The boy stiffened again, but didn't respond. "Nico?"
The young man's head snapped up, dark brown orbs boring into the doctor's eyes with surprise.
"Your name's on your chart." The Doctor chuckled when the man closed his eyes and nodded, as if to say 'of course, duh', a light blush crept across his shallow cheeks. "Nico, I need to wrap your ribs, and I can't do that with your shirt on. Can you take it off?" With his eyes glued down and his knuckles turning white from where he gripped the sheets the younger man shook his head. "That's okay if it hurts too much, can I help you?" A small reluctant nod was his only response. Taking hold of a pair of scissors the doctor carefully cut the young man's shirt away. The doctor noticed Nico's face fully flush as he turned his head away from the doctor. He tried not to smile at the younger man's reaction, but he had to admit it was adorable.
When he finished wrapping his ribs, the doctor moved on to clean the cuts on the boy's hands.
"Want to tell me what happened?" The younger man gave no indication he heard, eyes now glued to where the doctor was grasping Nico's hands in his own as he cleaned them. "The other boy is in pretty rough shape."
Nico shrugged, "He started it. Not my fault he couldn't back it up."
"According to your files you've been in here quite a few times recently."
"So?" The young man sneered.
"Just an observation." The doctor finished cleaning his knuckles and dabbed some ointment on them. "There you go." The younger boy pulled his hands back into his lap.
"Thanks." He mumbled to his lap. The doctor looked down at the young man before him. He could see scars on his body and nearly healed bruises. His body was very thin, even thou there was a hinting of muscles underneath. He had dark bags under his eyes.
"Who's your doctor?"
"What?"
"Your general practitioner? It's not in your files."
"I don't have one." The doctor ripped a piece of paper from his pad and scribbled a number and address on it.
"I work at this clinic on Tuesday and Thursdays, call and make an appointment with me."
"Why?"
"Your blood pressure and your temperature are very low. You look to be underweight and maybe even a bit malnourished. If you were a minor I'd probably be calling Child Protective Services, but as it stands you're in charge of taking care of yourself and I don't think you're doing it. I would like you to come in for a physical."
"I'm fine."
"NICO!" A new voice broke through their conversation as a group come rushing towards them. "What the hell did you get into this time?" A tall, athletic blonde with striking blue eyes came rushing towards them. A tall slim man with messy black hair a stunning sea- green eyes trailed behind him. Nico flinched when his name was shouted and rolled his eyes as the blonde reached him. The new comer through his arms around the smaller boy and pulled him into a tight hug.
"Fuck, Jason, watch my ribs!"
"Shit, sorry Neeks." Jason pulled back and gave the smaller boy an apologetic smile, but he kept one arm around him rubbing his back gently. Nico visibly relaxed at the intimate touch.
"Don't call me that." He scolded halfheartedly, leaning his head against Jason's shoulder.
"Hey, Nico. How are you feeling?" The green eyed boy asked quietly, hands stuffed stiffly in the pockets of his loose jeans.
"I'm fine, Percy." Nico grumbled.
"So what's the damage Doc?" Jason asked.
The young doctor glanced at Nico, silently asking permission. The small Italian nodded gently. "Well, he has one cracked rib on the left side, so he'll have to keep it wrapped up tight and take it easy. Keep those knuckles clean maybe wrap them before going to bed with some ointment." The doctor hesitated; he wanted to mention his idea for a physical but wasn't sure if Nico would like that. Doctor sighed, Nico and Jason were obviously very close, the blonde boy was clearly worried. "And hopefully we'll have more information after he comes by to see me next week."
"Next week?" Jason glanced back from Nico to the doctor and back, "Why does he have to see you next week?" Nico glared at the doctor, who gave him what he hoped was an apologetic smile. One that said, ' I'm doing this for your own good'.
"Nico has low blood pressure and is severely under weight. I'm recommending he come into my clinic next week so we can give him a check up and see if there are any underlying factors." The young doctor took the paper from Nico's hand and passed it to the blonde boy.
Nico scowled, "What happened to doctor patient confidentiality?"
"You gave the nod." The Doctor said softly. "Look, Nico, I'm sorry but I am very worried about your health and it looks like your boyfriend is too..."
Before the doctor could finish his sentence the green eyed boy, Percy, burst into hysterical laughter. Nico pulled away from Jason, eyes wide and face burning red. Jason had a small, half smile on his face, as if it was a joke he heard so many time before.
"He's not my boyfriend." Nico spat out between clenched teeth, eyes glued to his lap once again.
The young doctor felt his own face flush, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed..."
"Nah, don't even worry about it Doc. Happens all the time. Really, we're just best buds. Right, Neeks?" Jason thou his arm around Nico's shoulders and pulled him gently to his side.
Nico allowed himself to be pulled close and kept a scowl on his face, "Don't call me that." He grumbled.
"Alright, well, umm... I'll go get those discharge paper and you boys can be on your way." The young doctor managed to stutter out.
Jason reached his hand out with a big smile on his face, "Thanks so much for looking after him, Doctor...?"
"Solace. Will Solace."