Hope In the Form Of a Bear

by rising-balloons

"It pains me to see the polite unfamiliarity in his eyes, how I've become so different he doesn't recognize me anymore. He was so achingly familiar, and I broke down in front of him, crying. Because of how he didn't see Annabeth Chase anymore, just a cancerous, one-legged stranger named Anna." (Oneshot.)

Title: Hope In the Form Of A Bear

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Author: 17headlines

Words: 8,300

Summary: Gaea was defeated. Annabeth and Percy moved to New Rome together. Annabeth is diagnosed with osteosarcoma, bone cancer, a year into college. When she decides to keep it a secret, she also pushes away all of her loved ones for fear of hurting them. What will happen next- will her friends find out? Will she die of this disease?

Disclaimer: I am not a middle-aged man who goes by Rick Riordan. I only own the plot.

I sigh as I look out the window. New Rome awaits, early morning sun giving the hard corners soft shadows to combat the hardness. It's beautiful like this, when the streets are still empty and the lights in houses are still dark.

I can't sleep. Who cares if it's dawn. The throbbing in my leg won't let me rest for more than a few seconds. It reminds me a little of Arachne's cavern, lying there with my foot in the makeshift splint. It's been so long…

It's two years later. Gaea was defeated, everything went back to normal. Percy and I came to New Rome to start college last year. I still miss everyone at camp like crazy. Piper and I still Iris-message every few days. It's been wonderful, finally being back in school, no monsters to kill or prophecies to participate in. In a way, it's been a rush. Just a different kind of rush.

A few months ago, my leg started to hurt. A pulsating, throbbing beat that matched the tones of my heart. It had been faint at first, so faint I'd assumed it to be a non-coloring bruise from my workout. But it has strengthened, becoming this pounding bass drum in my bone. I've stopped working out as much, because it hurts to run and fight like I used to. Sometimes, I wonder if Percy's noticed…

But knowing him, he hasn't noticed my constant wincing and slightly slower walking. He's just too much of a Seaweed Brain sometimes. But it's not his fault; I've been hiding this limp, feigning my regular attitude so he doesn't worry. He has enough stress with college.

I dress in whitewashed jeans and a blue tee, getting comfortable as I begin to read an old book, waiting for when I have to leave for school.

Percy calls out to me, "Annabeth, do you wanna head over to the gym?" It's after school, so of course he wants to procrastinate. Ah, well, I'll indulge in his distraction.

"Sure," I yell back. It would be weird if I'd said anything else.

I speedwalk to my room, changing into exercise shorts and my old orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. I tie my curly blonde hair into a high ponytail, a few rebellious strands coming free immediately. Why do I even try? I leave my room as soon as my shoes are laced up loosely and head over to the gym, warming up my arm muscles as I walk. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this stupid leg problem from him today. Although, it's worse than usual…

When I walk into the gym, Percy's waiting, grinning where he stands. His eyes, sea-green as always, challenge me silently. I nod and take a lightweight sword from the rack- I've never liked heavyweight weapons that much. Percy has Riptide in his grasp, and we go into our favorite training room, the large one with mirrors on all sides. It's helpful, being able to see yourself from every angle.

We shuffle into our stances immediately. We circle each other, searching for the chink in each other's armor. I find one in him immediately- he's too focused on my upper body. I smile at him. Time to put these loosely tied shoes to good use.

As soon as my grin reaches an obvious point, Percy charges without a word, hoping to catch me off-guard. I thought he knew me better than that, but maybe not. We exchange some parries and draw back, moving back into our protective stances.

As I examine him again, I find that I can still exploit this attention issue. I charge this time, a few yells coming from my mouth, and we duel for a few strenuous minutes where Percy almost beats me before I dart from the fight, leaving Percy with no target. Surprised, he stumbles backwards a little too slowly. I feel the pain in my leg beginning to build up into a tsunami, and ignore it. This is my chance.

I shove my left foot out into a flying kick, shoe flying off and hitting Percy in the ribs. He gives a little groan and charges as I'm off balance, and shifting my weight to make up for the missing platform on my right foot.

He catches me this time, and I'm forced to slide under him to escape from the wall. In the mirror, I can see him watching me. It give him another grin and bend over just as he spins around and runs at me. He trips over me, and I take the opportunity to flip him. He groans again, louder, but is on his feet again almost immediately. I run at him, feeling myself limp a little as I go. The pain rears up, but as always, I pay it no attention. It's never been a huge problem before.

I kick out with my right foot this time, sneaker nailing him in the head. I feel something crack inside me and drop to the ground, my landing off. Something's wrong. My right leg's building tsunami has struck, and waves of pain roll over me. It's never been this bad. I feel a tear roll down my cheek and I'm surprised. I never cry.

Percy, meanwhile, is still running. He has to swerve to avoid me, and even then almost barrels over me. He skids to a stop and jogs to me. "Annabeth, are you okay?" His face becomes even more concerned when he sees that I am crying. Now he knows something's up. His eyes go wide, and I look down his line of sight. My right leg is crooked at an odd angle, twisted.

I'm racked with pain, and I cry out. Percy's eyes are filled with fear now, and he runs from the room. I shudder and begin to sob. It's like fire has raced through my right leg, and I'm being forced to pick out the remaining hot embers with a pair of dull tweezers. Percy comes back in, and he has a medic with him. He picks me up, and the medic whips out her cell and calls an ambulance. That's one of the nice things about living here; phones aren't deadly. They still might be like a monster flare, but you have the legion guarding you.

A wailing truck comes to the building almost immediately, and Percy carries me to it, laying me down on the cot they provide for me. They lift it into the truck, and the doors snap shut almost immediately. A medic inside takes my pulse, checks my temperature, and checks my blood sugar as another begins working on my lower leg. I can hear Percy outside, yelling to be let in. I want to yell with him, but I can't. The automobile speeds through the crowds of New Rome, and when I look out the window, I can see Percy running beside it. Drops of sweat glisten on his forehead, and his eyes are frantic now.

I wish the noise- the scream of the truck, the words of the medics, the beeps of the machines, the hustle and bustle of the city- would just stop. I begin to nod off, welcoming the blackness, when a nurse shakes my shoulder. "Stay awake, okay? Even if it hurts."

I nod, tired, and follow her instructions obediently. Everything around me seems fuzzy, blurry, like a badly taken photo. I'm forced to fight harder to keep seeing, feeling, comprehending as the minutes tick by. Eventually, I'm too exhausted and I close my eyes, savoring the feeling of nothingness.

I feel a tugging sensation on my right side- up high, maybe my arm. I open my eyes, attempting to focus them. I almost immediately regret it, as fluorescent lights illuminate sterile white surfaces. I want to sink back into unconsciousness, but it's too late, I'm awake.

I move my head, trying to see what the tugging sensation is. It turns out to be an IV, hooked up to my upper arm.

Where am I? I think sluggishly, before it all comes flooding back. The gym. Our duel. The loose shoelaces. The tsunami. Percy running beside the ambulance.

A searing pain, less searing than before, is in my right lower leg. I sigh at the reduced pain. It feels so much better.

A doctor- white coat and stethoscope peeking from his pocket making it obvious- entered the room. Of course. This was a hospital; the doctor, the IV, the sterile surfaces, the lights.

"Nice to see you're awake, Annabeth," he says, sitting down next to me. He has short brown hair, gentle dark blue eyes, and a wide smile that's revealing itself now. He's younger than I might have expected- still in his early thirties. "How are you feeling?"

I sigh. "Everything hurts," I say truthfully.

"Well, that's not very surprising. Annabeth, may I ask you some questions? You can say this is a bad time."

"Fire away."

"How were you feeling before the accident?" he asks, whipping out a clipboard and ballpoint pen. I almost laugh at how Bond-istic it is.

"Not super great. My leg was hurting. But that's normal." The words come from my mouth before I can stop them.

"Normal?"

I curse silently. "It's been hurting for a while now."

"How long?"

"A few months." I figure, well, here's a doctor, maybe he can make the pain stop and Percy will never know.

His face grows concerned, but he says nothing, instead scribbling something on his clipboard. After a few moments of this, I decide to get some of my own questions answered. "What's wrong with me?"
He adopts a thoughtful expression. "Well, your leg is broken."

"Obviously." I snort a little. He gives me a raised eyebrow, but the expression is ruined with his grin. "Anything else?"

"Well, your leg… please tell me what happened."

So I fill him in- the fight, the kick, the bad drop.

"I see." He writes something else on his clipboard before giving me another smile, this one distant. "Thank you for your time, Annabeth. I'll tell the nurses to give you some more painkiller; obviously, this isn't enough." He exits, door closing behind him, leaving me alone.

Eventually, I once again drift off.

I wake up again, this time taking less for me to become fully aware and I am less sluggish. But the pain is the same. A nurse is in here, and when she sees I'm awake, she immediately darts from the room. Soon after, the same young doctor walks in. I realize I never asked for his name, and he never told me.

"Annabeth," he greets me. For a second, I wonder how he knows my name, then I remember Percy probably told everyone here. "It's good to see you awake."

Apparently, he doesn't change his greetings much. "Hi."

He sits on the same blue stool as before and takes out his clipboard. He's examining it when I ask him, "How long have I been out?"

"Since you were last awake? About thirty-six hours. Since you've arrived, about three days."

"Three days?"

"Yes."

"But… I thought my leg was only broken."

"It is broken." He sighs, and in that moment he seems to become ten years older than he is. He takes on a tired old look, and it only prods my curiosity even more.

"Well, why three days?"

He sighs again. I'm already getting tired of him sighing. "We had to do some work on your leg, so we drugged you and got to work. When you woke up-"

"You asked me some questions," I fill in.

"Yes. Some of your answers gave our staff some questions, so we put you under again and investigated. Do you want the short explanation or the long one?"

"Umm…"

"Well, we took some X-rays, some other pictures, and Annabeth-" he hesitates here. A wary feeling settles in the pit of my stomach, along with something else. I think it's dread.

"Do you know what osteosarcoma is?"

I vaguely remember the term. "Something bad."

"It's a type of-"

"Cancer." The information comes back to me. Some article I read a long time ago. "But what does this have to do with- oh."

"Yes. You have Stage Two osteosarcoma."

No. No. No no no no no. Cancer happens to other people. Not me. Not Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, survivor of two wars. Not me. Godly blood is supposed to protect you from these kinds of things.

A sob comes from someone. It's me. I've been doing a lot of that lately. But I can't help it. A pair of warm arms wrap around me, and it's the young doctor. I welcome his embrace and have a good cry. Finally, I draw away and ask, "Am I dying?"

"Not anytime soon, if we can help it. The good news for you is that osteosarcoma is almost always curable in teens like you. Or, well, young people. I've phoned your father and he agrees that our hospital in New Rome isn't going to treat you. You'll be moving back with him to get your treatment."

"When?"

"As soon as we can discharge you with a clear conscience."

"Oh." I sink back into my array of hospital pillows, suddenly feeling very, very tired. An arrangement of bright colors across the room catch my eye, and I make them out to be cards, flowers. "What are those?"

"Gifts from well-wishers. I believe your friend Percy told me to give this to you." He gives me a light pink bear with a heart on it and I smile, but it quickly fades from my face. "Would you like to sleep now?" he asks me.

"Yes," I mumble, clutching my bear and closing my eyes. The doctor smiles at me as he flicks the lights off on his way out.

I wake again, this time holding a bear and with messy curls everywhere. The accident comes running back, and so does the doctor's news.

Oh my gods, I have osteosarcoma.

I almost start to cry again but stop myself. I need to figure this out. Percy's bear looks at me innocently, and a pang hits me. What will I say to him?

Nothing. I can't hurt him like this. If I die… I suck in a breath. Doctor said this was a highly curable cancer. But Percy can't know. I'll just have to tell him my dad wants me to spend some time with him, or I have to do some extensive rehab for this stupid break, and not come back for a long time, either until I'm completely cured or I'm gone. He'll be heartbroken, but that's better than this. I just need to take a step out of his life.

The door opens, and for once it isn't the Doctor or a nurse. It's my dad, and he rushes in and hugs me. "Annabeth," he breathes into my tangled hair.

"I'm okay, Dad. I'm okay," I tell him. I repeat that, over and over. "I'm okay." I almost begin to believe it. It's nice, forgetting.

"You're coming home with me." He draws back, and I see sadness in his eyes. Does he think I'm already dying? "I know," I reply. "I know." Repeating things just makes them so much easier to understand. Especially right now.

"You'll have to tell your friends goodbye." He looks at me a bit sternly, and I almost laugh. Sternness is not a feature that he oftens displays, or looks good when he displays it.

"I know." We fall silent. Eventually, I ask, "When am I leaving?" I already feel pretty good physically, but who knows how long that's going to last.

"Tomorrow," he responds. I brighten a little at that. Even though I haven't been here conscious long, I haven't had the time of my life here. "Tomorrow, you're coming straight to my house. We already moved your stuff there."

My old room. I can imagine it right now. What will it be like, living in that room again? That house?

"Now," he tells me, "your friends want to see you. Percy hasn't left the waiting room since you both arrived."

I nod, and he leaves. A few seconds after the door swings shut, another figure comes in, almost running. His black hair is tousled and his eyes are still frantic with worry. For me.

"Annabeth!" he cries, and he comes over, hugging me tightly. Then we kiss, a long, passionate one. I savor the moment, the forgetting of the mess I call my life.

After who-knows-how-long, we breathe again. He sits on the edge of my bed and holds my hand, and for a while, neither of us talk. Eventually, I break the silence. "I missed you, Seaweed Brain."

"You too, Wise Girl," and a smile touches his lips. "I thought you might be dead."

I almost scoff, but catch myself. "You think a broken leg can kill Annabeth Chase? Hah!" Then my grin dampens, and I realize it is beginning to bring me down. "Well, maybe a little…"

"What?"

"Percy," I begin, "it was pretty bad. I have to do some rehab kinda far away."

"But… how do you break a leg that badly that easily?" He's confused, and I don't blame him.

"No one can figure that out. But I have to move back in with my dad for a while." I hate lying outright to him like this.

"You're leaving?"

"I have to, Percy." I give a soft, sad little half-smile. "I don't want to leave you."

"All this waiting… and you're leaving. How long?" He looks heartbroken.

"I don't know," I say. And it's true. I have no idea how long this battle will last.

"We'll Iris-message, right?" he asks, desperate for some kind of consolation.

"Of course we will. And hopefully, it won't take long."

"Hopefully."

After him, Reyna, Jason, Frank and Hazel come visiting. I break the news to them (not the cancer news, though), and they're all upset as well. But Hazel's always been too good at judging feelings. She was the last one in.

"Annabeth, why do you keep talking like you're going away to die?" she asks me. "You're not. This is just rehab." My face must be pretty revealing, because after that she asks me, "Annabeth… what's really wrong?"

"Nothing," I tell her, but my voice catches. I find myself crying again, and Hazel comforts me. "Hazel… I might not come back."

"Why? This is just rehab." The last sentence comes out more of a question than a statement.

"I have cancer." I sob and bury myself in her hesitant arms, and she's stunned. "No, you don't, she says back.

"I do. Osteosarcoma. Second stage," I reply from inside her embrace. The news slowly dawns on her, and she starts to tremble a little. "But you're leaving…"

"For treatment. This dang leg is sending me away."

Hazel starts to cry softly. I have to comfort her this time, but with tear stains still evident on my cheeks. I feel a little weird confiding my personal health with a fifteen-year-old girl, but she's Hazel Levesque. She's too good. When she finally stops, when both of us are done for the moment, she asks me, "Annabeth, you're going to win, right?"

"What?"

"The… thing." She gestures towards the cancerous area. I feel my expression harden. "Of course I will. This stupid mortal disease is not going to get the better of me." Hazel brightens a little at that, and I put on a brave face, truly believing I can win.

I moved from the hospital to my dad's house- I still can't call it my house- the next day. I had to stay in a wheelchair because of the leg, and I can honestly say I hated the stupid thing. I even named it. I called her Edna. It was part of my 'mental therapy'. I wasn't sure I believed that, but I enjoyed yelling at her anyway. I still call Hazel almost every day. I've slowly been weaning Percy and me off of contact- I've denied almost all physical meetings and a whole lotta phone calls. Thank the gods, he hasn't caught me during chemo yet.

Chemo is something I truly despise. I've developed a hatred of the smell of rubbing alcohol and saline, even though they help me. They clean my port (where the stuff goes in) with the alcohol, even, which is good for me, but my mind associates it with pain. So I dislike it. After a while, my chest heats up and I flush red all over by the next day. I get puffy, too, on that day after the drugs. I get heated indigestion, nausea, hungry, twitchy, exhaustion, and memory loss before the week is done, all from the chemo. After about five days, the symptoms begin to go away. Then two weeks later, we're back in the hospital for another round. I do radiation, too, but that's not as bad.

I avoid mirrors these days. I can't stand to see myself like this- bald(oh yes, my hair's gone), withering, slightly sunken eyes, slightly hunched shoulders. I try to sit as much as possible these days. This cancer-consumed girl is a far cry from the Annabeth Chase that helped kill giants and defeat Titans. The doctors think I'm going to need another surgery soon.

Yes, surgery. I had a surgery as soon as my leg had healed from being broken. They took the tumor out from my right tibula. Some other infected tissue, too. They still do chemo on me, though; to fully cure me. But the other surgery they're talking about here could be an amputation. I'd lose my right leg below the knee. I've been fighting against this vehemently. But my doctors are getting more insistent. It's been eight months since I came here, about a year since I first got sick without telling anyone, and they're getting even more certain that this is the solution for me.

"Hey, honey," my dad says, walking into my old bedroom, where I sit on the faded window-seat, gazing out the window. It's nice just to sit there and think, although I mostly just think about cancer. Or my friends, back home; wondering how they're doing, remembering the good times we had. "Your friend Hazel is calling."

I thank him and take the phone from his hand. I put it up to my ear and ask, "Hello?"

"Annabeth!" Hazel's voice filters through the speaker. "How are you?"

"I'm okay for now." Hazel always knows what to say, somehow. Not to make promises, avoid talking about death, but acknowledge the cancer is real instead of skirting around the subject.

"Listen. Percy's been rather upset."

"Why?" I ask guiltily, knowing perfectly well why.

"He wants to know what's happened to you, and why you're avoiding him."

Hazel brings up this topic almost every call.

"You know why. I can't hurt him, Hazel. I might need to get an amputation, even, and that's no guarantee."

Hazel is silent for a long while. "How soon is the operation?" she finally asks.

"Soon. A week or two."

"I'm coming up there."

"What?"

"You heard me. I'm coming up to help out at your place. And you need support, not to avoid your friends right now."

I groan a little. There's no convincing her otherwise. "Fine. When are you coming?"

"In about five, six days."

"Sure." I'll just have to tell Dad, then.

We chat some more before Hazel has to hang up. I call my dad back in, and he agrees to let Hazel stay with us.

Hazel comes about a week later. She integrates herself into my old house quickly and easily. I hadn't seen her in person for too long; she's about an inch taller now, he hair curlier, her skin clearer, her eyes softer yet fiercer at the same time. She's beautiful and strong.

She hugs me. "Annabeth, I'll be here, okay? I'll wait for you," she says. We're in the waiting room in the hospital, and she's holding my hand tightly. I smile at her. The operation is today. A doctor leads me away, one I'm familiar with; Dr. Larsson, the man who's already operated on me once before.

He lays me down on a table. IVs are immediately hooked to my arm by attending nurses, and a few numbing shots are administered. Dr. Larsson gives me the anesthesia, and I silently give my right leg a good-bye before spiraling down into the inky, forced blackness, where I have a long, dreamless sleep.

I wander in and out of consciousness for a long time. I see Hazel, my dad, and Percy gripping my hand tightly, telling me everything is alright, although I'm not sure who's a dream and who isn't. I faintly see a bloodstained lump attached to my waist sometimes, but it's too foggy to make out. I see Dr. Larsson, nurses, orderlies bustling around a small, bald girl in a hospital leg that's missing her right leg below the knee.

After what seems like forever, my eyes allow themselves to open and see the world around me. I feel a sharp pain below my knee, about a foot below it, and raise myself up on my elbows to investigate. But that part of my leg… isn't there. There's nothing to clutch in pain, nothing to run on, nothing to look at- just bedsheets and bandages and a stump.

A nurse walks in and sees me awake. She almost sprints back out, and a few moments later, she comes back in, accompanied by Dr. Larsson. He asks me how I'm feeling, and I reply, "My shin hurts."

"Ah. Phantom pain. Your brain will think that your amputated limb is still there occasionally and in great pain, and send alarms to the nerves down there. Don't worry, it's completely normal." One of the reasons I like Dr. Larsson so much is because he gets straight to the point; no dodging things, no keeping information from me.

"Oh. Okay," I reply. I slump back into the ever-familiar hospital pillows. Dr. Larsson inspects my stump for a bit.

"Do you feel ready to see anyone?" he asks quietly. "They're outside waiting for you."

I really don't want to, but I owe it to them. "Sure," I say.

He nods and walks out of my room. I look again at the place where my shin and foot should be. The cancer is gone. It's not in me anymore. Just a few more rounds of chemo, and this can all be over.

I could see Percy again.

Gods, it's been so long. Our last call was weeks, maybe two months, ago. I haven't allowed myself the thought of seeing him again in person. Maybe, just maybe…

But what would he think of me? I've been avoiding him for a long time. He must hate me now. And I can't blame him.

As I'm musing over this, Hazel and my father run in. Dad hugs me, Hazel fusses over me, and I just go with them. I'm too in pain to do anything else. I use one of my coping methods, where I pretend to exit my body and watch everything from a third-person perspective. There's this small, withered person in a hospital bed, with dozens of IVs hooked up to her. A blonde man is gripping her hand tightly and telling her things, random things, seemingly trying to keep her mind off the missing section of leg in her body. A darker-skinned, curly-haired teenager is fussing around the small, pale, bald girl like she's a delicate, volatile bomb. I watch this tiredly and go back to my Percy thoughts.

I want him to have a healthy girl, not this bedridden hospital girl. He doesn't deserve me. I've lied to him so many times, for so long, being together again… I don't know what to do. Maybe I'll just go with whatever happens. Funny, I never would have thought that before. Before, I always had a plan.

Maybe I'm just not that girl anymore.

Over the next three weeks, I begin to recover. I move from bed to wheelchair to crutches. I'm soon getting around again. Weird how losing a limb makes you lighter. I'm still kind of getting used to my new legless living when my regular doctor, Dr. Richards, gives me the news.

"You're going to leave this hospital."

"What?" I ask, startled.

"Your father and I have discussed it. We've decided that it would be healthier for you to begin moving back to your old home. You'd move back to your old town with your friend Hazel and stay with her. We've also discussed your treatment, and your hometown hospital seems fit to finish your treatment, just wrap things up."

"Back… to New Rome?"

"Yes. A healthier outlook always helps, Annabeth, and we think we need to get to that now. Hazel has already agreed to help you with everything you might need."

Gods. They want me to go back to New Rome and live with Hazel. Oh my gods.

I'm going home.

"A-are you sure this is the best idea?"

"Yes. This is non-negotiable."

I sigh. I have too many stubborn people in my life. "When?" Might as well accept it now.

"Next week."

Over the next few days, my stuff is shipped to Hazel's apartment. My clothes, my books, the bear Percy brought me all those months ago when I broke my leg. Soon, my room looks uninhabited, like it did when I first arrived, when I left it at age seven. My dad agreed to drive us down there in his car. Not a very long drive- only about two hours.

We pull up about a few meters from the entrance. I give my dad a kiss and a hug and a promise to write before leaving and crossing the border. I also thank him for helping me. His response to that was, "Always," along with a few tears.

I crutch my way into the city slowly, taking in all the sights I've missed. A skirt, a pink one Hazel picked out, bobs around my stump, making me feel light and breezy. The old cobblestone buildings, the beautiful buildings, the life living here. It's wonderful being here again after so long.

We arrive at Hazel's apartment (which luckily has an elevator) without too much trouble, which basically means we didn't see anyone we knew. Or, thank the gods, that knew us. Her place is vibrant and well taken care of, thanks to Frank's help while she was gone. I wonder how the guy's doing…

Hazel helps me into a kitchen chair and gives me an apple. We sit awkwardly for a few moments, the only thing interrupting our silence the crunching of my apple. Finally, I say, "Hazel, go see Frank already. I know you want to visit him."

Her face brightens, then turns guilty. "Are you sure? I don't want to leave you here alone…"

I wave her off. "No, I'll be fine. I have my crutches, and I'll call you if something happens."

"If you insist," she replies, only half-reluctant. She rises from the table and almost dashes out the door. I laugh at how obviously she wants to see him again. I'm a little sad I'm going to miss this reunion.

Another week goes by. I have my first round of chemo at the New Roman hospital, and I can't say it's any better than it was back at my dad's. I successfully avoid Percy, Reyna, Jason, and Frank the entire time. I almost got caught by Frank once, actually, but Hazel saved it.

"Um… ah… she's the girl I went to go see. Frank, meet… Anna," she stammers.

I nod, and Frank shakes my small hand with his ever-large one. "Nice to meet you, Anna," he says kindly. "You're very brave."

"Me?" I can't help but squeak out.

"Yeah. You're so strong and beautiful…" he trails off. I haven't been called beautiful for a long time. I feel tears well up in my eyes, and I hug him.

"So, yes, Anna, this is Frank, my boyfriend," she says. So now, I'm Anna, Hazel's friend who has cancer and is on crutches because her leg was amputated. I met Reyna and Jason that way, too; as a stranger. It pains me to see the polite unfamiliarity in their eyes, how I've become so different that they don't recognize me anymore. But I'm welcomed into their friendship easily, and it helps. Soon, they see me as a friend instead of a stranger. I even met Percy this way. He was so achingly familiar, and I broke down in front of him, crying. Not like Frank, when he called me beautiful, but because of how he didn't see Annabeth Chase anymore, just a cancerous, one-legged stranger named Anna.

One day, I muster up the courage to go to my old apartment, where I lived when I was in college here. A fine layer of dust has been draped over everything. I touch the photo of Percy and myself, healthy, right after the Titan War. We're smiling and laughing, totally unaware of someone taking our picture. Our eyes sparkle brightly. I miss that life.

The door behind me opens a creak. It's Percy. I freeze.

"Anna?" he asks. "What are you doing here?"

"I- um-" I swallow and force my heart to stop racing. "Hazel told me about this girl Annabeth, and I was curious-"

His face softens. "Oh. Okay," he says. I feel a pang when I see what he's holding- a bouquet of sunny yellow daisies. He plops them in a bowls and fills it with water. "Did Hazel tell you anything else about her?" he asks me.

"No." She doesn't have to.

"Then maybe I should. A year ago, she broke her leg. She had to move back in with her dad to do some rehab." His back is turned. I can't see his face. He runs a hand through his hair, effectively tousling it.

"We talked. But she started pushing me away. She refused to talk to me or see me. She hasn't come back. I don't know where she is or how she's doing. It's killing me." His voice chokes a little on the last word. I struggle to keep my emotions down.

"But I keep hoping she'll come back to me." He turns around, and he's doing his best not to cry. I bite my lip slightly. "All I want is for her to come back. I don't care what happened to her as long as she's not dead. She's trying to protect me, but it's just making things worse for me." His voice softens. "If only I could see her again."

"What was she like?" I ask softly. It surprises me. Him, too.

"She was strong and smart and stubborn and beautiful. She's a daughter of Athena, you know, so I always called her Wise Girl. And, you know, my dad's Poseidon, so she called me Seaweed Brain. Who's your godly parent, by the way?"

I'm caught off guard, and my mind races for an answer. I need a god whose kids don't have any powers-

"Aphrodite," I reply, beating myself up inside. But it's believable.

"Oh. I have a friend who's your half-sister. She's Greek, her name is Piper-"

I get up onto my crutches and cast a look around the room before saying, "Do you miss Annabeth?" Quietly.

"Of course," he says without hesitation. "I just want to see her again."

"I get it," I whisper. "I've felt that way too." And with that, I hobble away.

That night, Hazel and I are having dinner together.

"Annabeth, I think you need to tell everyone who you are."

I freeze. "What? Why?"

"This can't go on forever. When your hair starts to grow back, all that jazz- you'll look like your old self again. They aren't stupid, Annabeth. They can and will put the pieces together and figure it out."

I sigh, because she's right. "When?"

"I'm giving you five days, then I'm doing it myself."

"I'll do it if you help me."

"Okay. Five days, Annabeth." I nod, and we go back to our dinner, thoughts racing through both of our minds.

Annabeth is coming back.

Hazel spreads the word to the others that Annabeth is coming back, and she's going to meet everyone in the cafe on the corner of Hazel's apartment building. What we didn't realize is that I had chemo two days before this meeting, so I was flushed, nauseous, ravenously hungry, and hiccuping. Hazel and the doctors forced me to keep to the wheelchair.

I'm nervous, nervous, nervous.

Hazel gives me a tentative smile. "Ready?"

I nod, unable to speak. I'm wearing my old Camp Half-Blood shirt, which is too big for me now. I have exercise shorts on, and my stump is bare. I have a purple baseball cap on, and I'm gripping the hand rests of the chair tightly. Percy's pink bear, the one he gave to me in the hospital, sits quietly in my lap.

Hazel begins to push me. I eat a rice cake slowly as we go, trying to consume the least amount possible. It makes the nausea a little easier to handle. We make our way down the street, and I see Jason walk into the cafe. He waves at us before stepping inside, and my stomach churns.

Finally, we reach the building and get inside. Jason and Frank are already at a table, and they wave us over. They give me an encouraging smile and a pat on the back, despite their obvious excitement. Luckily for them, they don't have long to wait.

Reyna walks in. Percy comes in a few minutes later. We all make idle conversation for the next few minutes before Percy interrupts. "Where is she? She's not a late person."

Which is true. I'm not late, either.

Hazel bites her lip. I look at the floor. Finally, Hazel utters, "Welcome back, Annabeth."

The others look around confusedly. Reyna is the first to catch on, and her eyes widen. "Oh, the gods, Annabeth…" Her mouth opens and closes. I've never seen Reyna this shocked before.

"Where? Where is she?" Percy looks around nervously.

Jason follows Reyna's line of gaze to me. "Annabeth?" he chokes out. "That's you?"

I tremble, trying not to cry, but a wave of nausea comes on and I can't help it. I'm clutching the stuffing out of my poor bear. Hazel soothes me, saying, "Shh, shh, it's okay..." I cry some more. Gods, it hurts… Everything, the nausea, the shock, the unspoken words.

Frank watches this, perturbed. He whispers a question in Jason's ear, and Jason jerks his head towards the crying cancerous mess that is me. A hand flies to his mouth, and his eyes are a mix of shock, confusion.

Finally, I calm down. The only one left unaware is Percy. He keeps asking, "What? I don't see her," over and over. Finally, Hazel meets his gaze and whispers into my ear, "Tell him now."

"Percy," I choke out. Another wave of nausea rolls over me, and I fall into Hazel, who catches me and has to calm me down again. "I...I-" I straighten up a little. "I'm back."

His mouth drops open. "Anna? You're Annabeth?"

I nod as Hazel gives me another rice cake. I stuff it into my mouth, super hungry again. "Hazel…" I say. "Do you have any more Tylenol? Or ambrosia?"

Hazel scolds, "You aren't allowed any, Annabeth. But let me get the Tylenol." She digs around in my medical backpack I carry with me everywhere, and measures out some medicine. I gulp it down greedily.

I look back to Percy. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "I didn't want to- to- to hurt you." The words almost get lost in the din of the restaurant, but everyone hears them.

"Hurt me." Percy's eyes are filled with pain. "No, just-" He sees my bear in my hands. "You still have it?"

"Yes."

A smile almost touches his lips. "What did you name it? You never told me."

"I didn't." Why are we talking about this?

"Well." Percy takes a deep breath. "Let me hug you, Wise Girl."

He stands up, and Hazel wheels me over to him. He hugs me tightly, but gently. I melt into the hug, starting to cry again. The nausea is back, Percy's back, everything can be all right.

"Shhhh." He rubs my back, and I bury myself into him. "I missed you," I murmur into his warm chest.

"I missed you too," he says. Then, when I've stop trembling with pain and relief, he pulls back. "Now explain everything."

"Okay." This time, it's me taking a deep breath. "I have osteosarcoma. I have for a year now."

"But… you've only been gone ten months," Jason interjects, counting on his fingers.

"I might have hid it before that," I say sheepishly. The others purse their lips, but say nothing.

"The doctor found out I have Stage Two osteosarcoma mid left tibula. He sent me back to my dad's so I could get adequate treatment there. I started to break away from all of you, so if I died- which was almost a possibility around five months ago- you wouldn't have to deal with it. Except for Hazel."

"Why Hazel?" Percy asks. The rest nod agreement.

"Because she figured it out." Hazel nods across from me, and passes me an aspirin and a glass of water. I gulp it down. "She came to San Fransisco for the amputation."

"The what?"

I gesture with my head down towards the floor. My friends all look down and remember "Anna's" injury. "They eventually had to just get rid of it. Then Dr. Richards insisted I 'integrate myself into society', and come live with Hazel. I've been here for about two weeks," I finish.

"Wait- so you are healthy now?" Reyna asks, concerned. I shrug in reply. "Somewhat. Maybe Hazel would better answer that question." We all cast our attention towards Hazel.

She shrugs too. "Well, she just had chemo like yesterday, so she's not doing too great as of now. But she only has a few rounds and an X-ray left, and then she's done."

"What about the… thing?" Frank asks.

I scrunch up my face. "My leg? A prosthesis."

Hazel wheels me back over to my original seat. I'd normally do it myself, but today… just no. I clench my teeth together, trying not to vomit in public. Another wave of nausea has struck. Hazel wraps her arms around me, and I lean my head on her shoulder. Gods, over the past few months I've gotten pretty dependent on her.

"So…" I munch on another rice cake. "What've you guys been up to?"

Reyna sighs and buries her head in her hands. "I have a defective centurion I've got to take care of."

Jason nods sympathetically, beginning to get over his shock. He rubs her back, and she moans. She must be buried up to her elbows in praetor work right now.

"I'm setting up another shrine," Jason replies. "For… Harmonia this time."

"I'm taking care of everything else while Reyna gets the centurion," Frank mumbles.

Percy's eyes meet mine. "School."

I've done some schoolwork while I've been gone. A lot, actually. When I can't lose myself in exercise, I keep my brain busy.

Percy looks to Hazel. "Can we leave the restaurant for a few minutes?" he asks her. I grin a little. He's asking her permission for this? Ah, well.

Hazel grins, too, and gives him my medicine backpack- filled with Tylenols, aspirins, painkillers, rice cakes, you name it- which he hangs on the bars of my chair. He carefully wheels me out of the cafe into the streets of New Rome, where we can finally have a peaceful moment together.

We push and roll along silently for a few moments before Percy brings me into a building I recognize. It's my old apartment building.

He wheels me inside the dusty room. I pick up that old photograph with our sparkling eyes and wide smiles, touching it fondly. Percy positions me to face the bed, and he sits down on it.

"So," he says, his eyes never leaving mine. "I missed you, Annabeth."

"I missed you so much," I respond. "It hurt me so bad to move away from you."

He takes my dry, small, pale hands and outlines the veins with his thumb. "I'm just glad you're back," he whispers, so softly I almost missed it. I remove my hands from his gently, then hug him tightly, so tightly it hurts. He lifts me from the chair, never letting go, and lays me on the bed, beginning to kiss me. I kiss him back, and we press into each other hard, wanting to be as close as possible. When we run out of breath, we back away a little, just lying in each other's presence. I ignore the sharp, jabbing waves of nausea, swallowing them hard. I don't ever want to let this boy go again.

Over the next two months, my chemo finishes and the doctors pronounce me cancer-free. Hazel throws a surprise party. It's the best party I've ever been to.

During that time, I get my first artificial leg and foot. I have a cosmetic one and a piece-of-metal one. I walk again, and Hazel cries at seeing me. The pale, bald, small, skinny, right shinless girl walk again. It is beautiful.

I visit Camp Half-Blood towards the end of summer. I have to explain everything to them, too. But they're understanding. I even get to referee a game of Capture the Flag, which is actually pretty fun. I get to run all over the forest, invincible to any team.

My hair starts to grow back, in little blonde tufts. My skin starts to fill back in, and with the help of workouts, I start to regain some of my lost muscle. I move out of Hazel's apartment and back into my own, and I sometimes still miss the companionship of a roommate. But I clear away the dust and put my things into place.

It's been wonderful, living actively again. Sometimes I wonder how a demigod can possibly get cancer, or why me in particular. If I'll relapse. But those thoughts get rarer and rarer as cancer becomes a part of my past, not my present or my future. I've realized that cancer told me to live life while I have it. So I take the lesson seriously.

I still have a huge bond with Hazel. Percy, we're still together and closer than ever.

I look across my bed from where I'm tying my sneaker to where Percy's pink bear sits, watching me curiously. You might wonder if I ever named that loyal old bear that I wept over, ached over, slept with every night. clutching tight as I dreamed. I did.

I named him Hope.