Oh dear lord. It's been so long since I've been on this account! I re-read my old stories and I nearly cried. I can promise this one will be better than the one I just deleted! And I'm sorry if Nico and Will are a little OOC.

Nico knew he screwed up. He didn't know if it was the fact that his knees gave out, or that he couldn't move his legs, or that he was coughing up blood, but he knew he screwed up. His vision was dim and fuzzy. He saw little black and white dots. He didn't even know where he was, for crying out loud. All he had wanted to do was shadow-travel back to Camp Half-Blood. He probably should have listened to the voice in his head (which sounded a lot like Will's) and stayed where he was until someone came to get him.

His head was pounding and he felt himself slipping in and out of consciousness. He overexerted himself and didn't know how far he was from camp, or if anyone was even around. He could have been in Virginia or Canada. He didn't trust himself to open his eyes, as that would probably make him pass out or his head hurt really badly.

He was on his side. He felt sharp twigs and soft leaves pressing against his side. He knew he was in a forest- he hoped it was close to Camp Half-Blood. Exhaustion and fatigue soon set in and he had to struggle to stay awake. Finally, he just gave up. He passed out.

A few hours later, a small family was walking down the trail that Nico was passed out on. the family was camping in the forest for a few days. The son that ran ahead was the first one to notice.

"DADDY! DADDY! THERE'S A MAN ON THE TRAIL!" His shrill voice pierced the peaceful silence in the forest. His father looked at his mother and jogged to his son. His eyes widened as he saw Nico.

Nico's face was way too red to be healthy. He looked back at his wife, then picked up the unconscious teen. "Sweetheart, take the kids to the tent. I'll take him to a hospital." He nodded at the trembling, sweaty boy in his arms. His wife nodded and grabbed the children's hands.

"Come along."

"But mommy..." Ben, the son, began to whine.

"No, pumpkin." The mother picked him up and carried him back to the tent.

Her husband carried Nico and ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the nearest medical facility. He stayed by the boys' side until the doctors made sure he was fine. They hooked him up to an IV, then took a few CAT scans and x-rays. They found some internal bleeding- around the lungs. They decided to stick a tube in his chest to drain some of the fluid so they could have a better look at what was wrong.

"It seems as if a blood vessel burst. That will heal, in time, on its own. He'll just need to take it easy for a few-" The doctor was cut off by the door slamming open. Both the man and the doctor looked at said door.

There was a boy that looked around 17 standing there. He had blonde hair, tanned skin (with a splash of freckles across his face) and light blue eyes. He looked worried.

"Do you have a patient by the name of Nico di Angelo? He's about 5'5, he's pale with black hair and he looks like he really needs to get out more." He was tapping his fingers against his thigh nervously.

"Yes, we do. Who might you be?"

"His emergency contact. May I please see him?" The doctor realized that had to be Willim Solace.

"He's not really up for visitors right now."

"I really need to see him." He looked so sad and a little hopeful.

"...You have ten minutes." The doctor opened the door and let the boy through. He had a little sympathy.

The boy ran into the room and stopped right beside the bed. He flicked Nico's ear. "Wake up, death breath."

"Don't call me that." Nico opened one eye and looked at his assailant. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you not remember that you put me down as your emergency contact?" It dawned on Nico that Will had done it when he either wasn't conscious or when he wasn't paying attention.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Nico groaned in exasperation.

"Nope." He lowered his voice. "Now, what did you do?"

"What do you mean?" Nico hoped that, by playing dumb, he could get out of a scolding. Unlikely, but it was worth a shot.

"What did you do to get put in a place like this? Did you try to shadow-travel?" Nico's guilty silence answered for him. "...you did. Even though I said not to."

"...I was really far away. If I had taken a plane or a train, I wouldn't have gotten to Camp Half-Blood fast. Another thing- monsters. Do you not remember who my father is?"

"Couldn't you have used an Iris-message to contact someone in camp to come get you?"

"Who knows how long that could've taken! I could have been dead by then."

"You could have died from this. I'm just worried about you..." Will brushed aside Nico's bangs and kissed his forehead. "Anyway, I'll get you out of here so we can go to camp before a monster finds you." He unhooked everything from Nico and snapped his fingers. The Mist made it seem as if Nico was never there.

He walked out and into the late evening light. The sun that shone on Will's face made his freckles more noticeable- and the bags under Nico's eyes seem darker.

"Have you been sleeping at all?" Will asked. Nico shrugged.

"Not very well. I can't fall asleep, and when I do, I have nightmares."

"About... what?"

"...when I was in..." He let the sentence trail off. Will got what he meant.

"Oh... do you think you would sleep better if someone was there?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Nico's cheeks were dusted a light shade of pink. He didn't let his mind wander to all of the things they could do while Will was in his cabin.

"Let's try it." Will carried him into camp and took him to the medical tent. "But, for now... drink this." He handed Nico a cup of nectar.

Nico sipped it slowly. He savoured the taste of cannoli- something that his mother made for him and Bianca. He had told Hazel about it and she had tried to make some for him on his birthday, but... she's not meant to cook.

He felt his eyes water and he blinked. He didn't want anyone to see him as weak. He didn't really think that they would blame him, but he didn't want to take that chance. He finished the glass and put it to the side.

"You should eat and go on to bed." Will took the glass and kissed Nico's forehead. Nico nodded and went to the mess hall. He did the usual routine, ate the bare minimum to keep him alive and then went to his cabin. He undressed and got under the covers. He felt like he could pass out, but his brain kept him awake.

He heard the door creak open and he looked towards it. It was just Will. He sighed and closed his eyes. He felt the bed dip beside him and a warmth press against his side.

"Can I cuddle with you?" Nico shrugged.

"Sure. What harm could it do?"

Will wrapped his arms around Nico and pulled him close. "Good night."

"Good night." And, before he knew it, Nico had fallen asleep.

What do you think? Should I make another chapter or keep it as one?