"Is it just me,» Kayla whispered, leaning over the table, «or are those cracks in the floor tiles getting wider?"

Will had to admit, he was happy someone else had commented on that. Until that moment, he had been almost certain it was just his imagination.

"They showed up the day before yesterday," he whispered back, making sure the conversation stayed within the trio of the Cabin 7 table. "But then, they were only hairline cracks."

Austin stretched to look over at the Hades table over Will's shoulder. It took quite a lot of stretching, and Will pushed him back down before anyone else would notice.

"In that case, yeah, they are wider. I could probably fit a violin bow at the base of the largest."

Dammit. He bent over his plate, hoping his hair would fall over his face so no one else would see him staring. Nico di Angelo, the one and only resident of the table in question, was playing with his food, pushing it around the plate with his fork. His gaze seemed unfocused, but he was frowning and his mouth was a thin and strick line. From where his feet met the floor, a spiderweb of cracks were spreading through the floor. The longest was about the length of Will's arm, and he doubted anyone else but the children of Apollo would have noticed.

Because, to be honest, the three of them did pay a lot more attention to Nico than anyone else. Ever since Will had forced Nico to stay in the infirmary for three whole days after the war, both he and his siblings had made it their personal assignment to pay attention to his health and make sure he settled at camp.

Okay, perhaps it was Will who had made it their personal assignment.

Rather, it had become Will's personal assignment.

He was just glad Kayla and Austin had accepted it, and stepped in as his side-kicks. They had even encouraged him when he had suggested they'd talk to Chiron about giving Nico a timetable where he would always attend camp activities with at least one of the children of Apollo. Preferably with Will. You know, for medical reasons.

"He's probably brooding again," Will said. "Getting into a spiraling line of thought. Again."

"Hm." Kayla tapped her finger against the table. "It doesn't seem to be a problem when he sits with us at breakfast. The floor over here is fine. Right?" She lifted the table cloth so she could take a look at the floor. "Yep," she confirmed to herself.

Will kept his eyes on Nico, who still hadn't eaten anything. Dammit. All that work Will had put into feeding this boy would go to waste if he didn't eat his dinner. He would have to force-feed him snacks from the camp store later.

He might or might not have stored up on European chocolate for emergencies like these. Nico related emergencies, specifically, as anyone else would have found the chocolate too bitter. The Stoll brother's were quite pleased. They had no regrets charging Will an undecent price for the shipment.

Austin nudged his shoulder, and Will turned his attention back to their own table.

"We could, you know, just ask him to eat here," Austin suggested. Kayla snorted.

"We can't. It's against the rules. Free seating is at breakfast only."

"Well," Austin smirked, "So is walking around outside after eleven, but we gave Cecil that doctor's note so the harpies wouldn't eat him when he is sleep walking."

"What are you saying?" Will asked.

Austin did his best to sound overly innocent. "I am saying, a doctor's note can bend the rules quite a bit. And I think, as medics, we ought to make sure the campers do not suffer from isolation, as we all know how much that can affect your physical and mental state." From his inside pocket, he pulled out a small notepad and a pen. He flipped through pages of unfinished lyrics and music notes until he found a blank page, which he ripped out and handed to Will.

"I think mister di Angelo could use a perscription, doctor Solace."

Will grinned and scribbled a couple of sentences on the piece of paper. For once, he wasn't even bothered that his hand writing being barely readable. Meanwhile, Kayla waved at Nico to get his attention. It took all three of them staring intently at the Hades table and waving franatically for Nico to look up from his unfinished plate with a questioning look.

"What?" he mouthed.

Will tried to signal that he should come over. Nico frowned, but threw his leg over the bench. When he didn't pick up his plate, they all shook their heads, and he froze, halfway up. Kayla gestured at her own food, Will pointed at Nico's, and Austin, bless him, did his best to mimic holding a plate of food. Apparently, they weren't the best mimes, because Nico just looked even more confused than before. It took several long seconds of awkward gesturing before he slowly picked up his plate and glass and walked over.

"Um, hi? What is... up?" he asked wearily.

Austin moved around the table to sit next to Kayla and Will scooted over.

"Sit," Will said.

"What, but..."

"Sit, di Angelo," Kayla commanded, and Nico abruptly sat down.

"Guys, this is nice and all, but I do not think-"

Apparently, their very casual gesturing hadn't gone unnoticed. Chiron had come up to their table with his arms crossed. Will was suddenly very aware of how quiet the pavillion had become.

"I could not help but notice your friendly invitation for Mr. di Angelo to join your table. Mr. Solace, as head councelor, I am sure you are familiar with the rules about dinner seating."

Even though he could feel his cheeks burning, Will picked up the note from earlier and waved it.

"He has a doctor's note, sir."

Chiron closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. "Mr. Solace."

Austin chimed in. "Chiron, as camp healers, we would like to remind you that loneliness might lead to mood disorders, that in turn can lead to outbursts of magical energy."

Chiron still had not opened his eyes. "Mr. Lake, I-"

"And," Kayla added, "Nico is a son of Hades. I am sure you would not want, say, skeletons, to show up in the middle of dinner, just because he is forced to sit alone at his table?"

Finally, Chiron looked up, and it seemed to be taking the last bit of his energy to say "I do not believe there is a serious possibility-"

In the corner of his eye, Will noticed Nico do a small flick of his wrist. At the Hades table, the fractures in the floor widened with a noise that echoed through the unnusually silent dining pavillion. The campers tensed and stared wide eyed at Chiron, who didn't even flinch. Instead, he sighed and he had a look that Will had only seen in the faces of parents and teachers. The "I am so done now and can someone please give me a cup of coffee or preferably a shot of something stronger"-look.

"Fine," he said. "Nico may eat with you from now on." And with a flip of his tail, he turned and walked back to his own table, where a steaming cup of coffee was already waiting.

The four of them let out a syncronized breath, and the tension in the pavillion faded and was replaced with the usual chatter. Austin and Kayla high-fived and Will grinned at Nico.

"Guess we've officially adopted you, Neeks."

Nico shrugged and spidded his food with his fork. "Sure," he said before taking a bite, but his voice was light and Will could see the corners of his mouth twitch as he chewed. Even better, as Nico shifted in his seat, their knees touched, and he didn't seem to bother breaking the contact. It did something to Will's intestines that he was sure could not be medically safe. At least, he should have Kayla listen to his premature ventricular contractions, just in case.

Oh, who was he kidding. Not his diary, that was for sure.

Note to self, burn the diary.

As Austin and Kayla began a heated discussion about who was the best drummer of the decade, Will slid the ripped out notepage over to Nico.

"Here, your doctor's note."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Seriously?"

"Think of it as a get-out-of-jail-free-card. Use it wisely."

With a huff, Nico took the note and squinted as he did his best to decipher Will's handwriting. After a few long moments, his cheeks reddened. With a small cough, he folded the note neatly and stuffed it in the pockets of his jeans. Will's heart skipped yet another beat when Nico's foot touched his.. Seriously, this was taking its toll on his ventricular system, and based on the burning sensation from his knee down, his nervous system wasn't all there either. Not to mention his hormone levels.

"Okay," Nico whispered, so low that only Will could hear it. "Guess that is fine by me."

That evening, after the campfire, Nico took out the note Will had given him. He unfolded it and placed it on a shelf next to his bed, where he was sure he would see it in the morning and remember to put it back into his pocket. After all, it could come in handy. He read it to himself one last time before he turned off the lights.

Because of medical reasons, Nico di Angelo must stay within close proximity to head healer Will Solace at all times. Otherwise, doctor Solace might just die of a broken heart.

XOXO Will Solace