[A/N] Hey guys! Looks like I was able to update before Christmas after all! Anyway, I don't own Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan does and hope you guys enjoy this chapter and please review! Merry Christmas!

Chapter 4

Annabeth's stormy grey eyes watched her patient carefully. A raven haired teenage boy with beautifully glazed sea-green eyes was staring out of the window. Since his eyes were glazed, it was obvious that he was not focusing on anything. Like Chiron said, Annabeth doubted he even knew she had entered the room.

She took a few cautious steps forward, never taking her eyes off of him. "Percy?" she let out, her voice merely a whisper. The introvert paid her no heed. Annabeth frowned. Did he not hear her? Or was he ignoring her and pretending he had not. She repeated his name as her voice rose a few notches higher. Still no reply. Guess what Chiron said was true, she thought.

Annabeth sat down on the visitor's chair and took her time examining the boy. Even though his eyes were sunken and his cheeks were hollow, he still looked remarkably handsome. If he were healthier, dare Annabeth say he was more handsome than her ex-boyfriend, Luke?

Five minutes passed and there was still no sign of any response coming from Percy. Letting out a sigh, Annabeth took out the files that Chiron had given her.

…Annabeth's P.O.V…

Patient Information

Name: Percy
Patient number: 7D
Birthday: August 18, 1995
Description: Black hair and green eyes
Extent of powers: Unknown
Illness: Unknown. So far, subject has coughed out blood on several occasions as well as crying out in pain at random.
Overall behaviour: Grey
Behaviour: Refuses to accept human interaction after undergoing treatment. So far, has only been seen nodding at Grover (patient 7B)'s words and has a calming effect on patient 7B. Has been known to disappear on occasion. Also takes a shine to all things water-related.
Family members: Not advisable to be contacted

Notes for carer: Notify doctors immediately if patient displays odd behaviour not mentioned above or coughs out blood or cries in pain. Also make sure he is present for doctor's visits at 11am and 4.30pm and that he is not under intense heat where he is prone to collapse.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up. So basically, he's sixteen years old, birthday is on August 18th. Extent of powers unknown? So they just locked me in with a guy who potentially has the power to be the text Hilter? Illness is unknown. Must be a new thing for them to not have cracked it considering how far along medicine is these days.

Hmm… gray? I made a mental note to check up on that later. And it seems that he likes Grover and keeps him in check. Should let Juniper know if Grover gets too much for her to handle. But the thing that puzzled me the most was that his family was not advisable to be contacted. What kind of family did he have if they were not even willing to be contacted if Percy was even on the brink of death? So the instructions on how to take care of him was clear but the way Percy did not seem to care about anything. Was it possible that the reason was the lack of people to care for him?

I tore my focus from the file and all the thoughts swirling around my head like a mini-tornado to look back up at the introvert. That would have been one of the most normal things to happen to me today. The only problem?

He was nowhere to be seen. The door was wide open and the sheets were tossed to the floor. It did not take a genius to put two and two together.

My eyes widened in disbelief. He was just here a mere minute ago! Chiron's words echoed in my head like one of those annoyingly catchy songs that you can't seem to forget no matter how hard you tried. He minds his own business and goes about his life as normal but you have to be vigilant around him. He has easily snuck away from some of his other nurses when he wants to.

How great. My first day and my second mistake in under half an hour. Whoop-dee-doo. The fates just love me so much, don't they? Groaning inwardly, I burst out of the room and ran through the halls.

On my way, I could hear Katie and Rachel screaming something like, "Get your stinkin' hands off of our purses!" and "Hey! Give me back my cand- woah. Back off of the lamp!" I could not tell which scream belonged to which girl, but what I could tell was that both girls were piping mad. Crashing noises from Nico's room had ceased and were replaced of two people of the opposite gender screaming their lungs off with something similar coming from Grover's room.

I sighed. At this rate, we really had our work cut out for us. I was so absorbed in my own thoughts that I nearly crashed into the glass door. Hurriedly, I tried to skid to a stop but I was going too fast. Luckily, I had just enough time to slap the button that opened the door.

My lack of preparation caused me to swerve drastically to avoid a wall and fall onto the lift floor just as they closed and started to move downwards. Thus, the only occupant of the lift banged her poor head on the bar, giving her a splitting headache. As the lift doors opened, Angela the receptionist did nothing to conceal her shock at seeing me sprawled out in all directions on the lift floor.

Regaining my bearings, we stared at each other before I broke away, looking down at my dishevelled figure. I hastily stood up and gave her a stiff nod before walking out of the lift doors and into the lobby with as much dignity I could recover.

Angela gave me one last weird look before stepping into the lift and punching the number twelve. As the lift doors closed, I let out a sigh and slumped on the chair that I had previously sat on and closed my eyes. How had everything gone so, so wrong in such a short time?

Just then, I heard a shuffling noise the lift doors opened once more and the blistering heat of the afternoon sun flowed in through the doors. Growling, I opened an eye and caught a glimpse of familiar black hair as it's owner strode out of the lobby. I closed my eyes and resumed my brooding.

That hair. It was so much like Percy's. As that last thought sank in, my eyes snapped open and I shot up and out of my seat. I swivelled my head at the closing doors. Could that have been the person I have been looking for?

In another context, that would have sounded so weird. But now is not the time to be thinking the way Thalia does. Percy was prone to collapse under intense heat and that could be fatal in his condition.

…Third person P.O.V…

Dashing out of the lobby doors, Annabeth felt the heat of the sun's rays beating down on her and a slight sheen of sweat already starting to form on her cheeks. She looked around for any signs of people passing through. Much to her chagrin, everything was intact. There was no soil so she could not depend on footprints. The green grass was fully intact and not flattened so he could not have passed through there. As much underweight as he was, Percy would still definitely have made crushed a few blades of grass. Scanning the area around her once more, she caught sight of a trail of stones that looked moist. Possibly with sweat from walking on them bare-footed!

Feeling a sense of triumph, Annabeth followed the trail, occasionally stopping to look behind her if she had accidentally missed something that might give her a clue as to where her missing charge was.

After a short while, the trail came to an end, only to stop at the edge of a pond. Annabeth gasped at the breath-taking scene before her. It was like a picture out of a fairy tale. The pond itself was not very big; only having a mere three-metre radius, but it was the things around it that made it exceptional. Also, the water was a glittering green, which was strange considering most ponds had murky brown contents instead.

The grass around it glittered with a little lasting morning dew and was littered with simple but a wide array of flowers. Roses, daisies, tulips. Those were just some of the types. There was also a tall willow tree with it's leaves grazing the water's surface. To top it all off, there was a handsome boy sleeping under the shade of the tree, his head lolling to one side. He looked so peaceful that Annabeth almost did not want to bring him back up. Almost.

With much reluctance, Annabeth strode over towards him and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Immediately, the boy opened an eye lazily. As soon as he saw her, surprise glimmered in his eye but was gone as fast as it had come. He let out a small grunt and pulled himself upwards, swaying on his feet as the effects of staying out so long started to get to him.

Annabeth then rushed over towards him and helped steady him as he let her guide him back to his room.

…Percy's P.O.V…

Well, this is new. Never before has a nurse been able to find my hiding place. She's an interesting one. Maybe I'll ask Chiron to let her be my nurse and see where this goes.

But, you know, it's scary. No one has even come close to finding me when I don't want to be found. Maybe, just maybe, she will be the one. The one that I will fully trust. One that won't betray me. Gods know I haven't had one of those in a long while. If I ever did. Heck, even my mother abandoned me in this crap hell of a place. My father left us when I was seven so I guess I have trust issues. Yes, I fully admit it.

But even so, who am I to kid myself? The dozens of nurses that have passed through here have all failed. Except for her. She was the one that came and the one I entrusted all my secrets to. And she betrayed me as well in the end.

So how will I know that this one won't do the same?

END OF CHAPTER