disclaimer: none of the characters are mine... unfortunately haha

enjoy, beautiful humans!

...two weeks later...

"You, Percy Jackson, are an actual idiot."

Percy raised his head from his arms to see an exasperated Annabeth leaning against his desk.

First days back at school were the worst.

"What'd I do this time?" he mumbled sleepily.

"What didn't you do?" she rolled her eyes.

"Do you have coffee?" he changed the subject, smiling up at her innocently.

She reached behind her, pulling two coffees from her desk. "You're lucky I'm nice, Seaweed Brain."

Percy guffawed. Sure you are. But who was he to turn down perfectly good coffee? He grabbed the cup from Annabeth's hand, opening the top to blow some of the steam out. "You, Wise girl, are an actual godsend."

She huffed out a laugh, sitting in the desk in front of him and twisting around. Her eyes caught his, her storms turning a shade darker as her eyebrows furrowed. "When's the appointment?"

Percy sighed wearily, rubbing his hands over his face. "Tonight."

Annabeth's hand reached out to touch his elbow, giving him a small, sad smile. "I'm sure she'll be just fine."

Annabeth had become his rock and, dare he say it- best friend, over the last two weeks. And he never thought he'd live to see the day when he said that. Between their copious amounts of midnight swimming lessons (as Annabeth still refused to put her head under the water) and random paperwork meetups (Bacchus was still a bastard), she had slowly needled her way into his life and into his thoughts.

Not that she wasn't there already.

A couple days ago he had told her about his mum. He hadn't meant to, and he absolutely hadn't been going there, but…

Percy laid his head back on his arms. He felt like he was drowning; a new experience for him. He felt like no matter how much air he took in, he couldn't get enough for his heart to make the next beat. Walking home to his mother, growing thinner, weaker, every day had tipped the scales and had him constantly on edge. The pale, weary boy in the mirror was a stranger now. In a moment of weakness, after Annabeth had been wondering why he didn't just quit his job if Bacchus was such a twat, he let out that he needed the money. For the medication. That he didn't have enough yet for the major surgery that they had wanted to undertake months ago now and he could only pray to the gods above every day that he wasn't too late, that he would get the money in time. That the operation would still work. That the cancer hadn't progressed. That the most beautiful human on the planet wouldn't wither away and die from the inside out as the tumour slowly ate away at her brain.

No.

He didn't want to think about it.

And yet you do.

Percy slammed his head against the desk a few times before he felt the tell-tale tug of fingers in his hair, drawing his face back up to reality.

"Don't brain yourself, Perce. You need every brain cell you can get." Annabeth offered a lighter smile, attempting to bring his mood up a little. "Plus, your coffee's getting cold."

He mumbled a thank you, bringing the cup to his lips and letting the slightly bitter liquid clear his mind of everything. A few moments of weightless bliss. That's all he asked for.

"Did you want me to come with you? I can bring the twins," Annabeth offered, trying to meet his lowered gaze.

Annabeth's little brothers, Bobby and Matthew, or the twins as she dubbed them, were fireballs of energy that had taken an immense liking to Sally's blue cookies over the last week and a half. Percy had met them at first by accident when they had followed their big sister down the road to the pool and hid behind some bushes to play 'spy kids' or something along those lines. As soon as they had seen a strange boy walk to their sister, they had pounced.

Percy still had the bruises.

Chuckling slightly at the memory, he shot Annabeth a smile. "I reckon mum's starting to like them more than she likes me."

Annabeth grimaced a little. "Yeah, well… our mum's…" she trailed off, her eye's clouding over slightly.

She did that sometimes, Percy had noticed; zoned out when her family was brought up. He didn't push. Even when she looked close to having a panic attack at the edge of the pool; at the sight of the water. At the sensation of Sally's motherly hugs (Sally had no-nonsense insisted that she meet the young lady that had Percy staring off into space like a puppy). Little things that set her off that made no sense to Percy. He couldn't figure her out, and she wasn't willing to give anything away.

But Percy didn't mind.

At least now you have someone to talk to.

Gods, he was a loner.

"I'd love it if you could come, sweetheart," he said softly, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Great," she breathed. "I'll… I'll be there."

Something in Percy's chest tugged painfully at the reassuring smile she directed his way.

Ignore ignore ignore.

He didn't have time for… mushy feelings. They made him sick. And dizzy.

She turned back around to face the board as the teacher entered the room, already lecturing about last term's and studying hard for finals and everything that Percy wished he didn't have to do.

He sighed, staring with dead eyes facing forward.

Xxx

Percy hated hospitals.

The smell of antiseptic seeped through his nose, joining the symphony of beeps and deep voices of clears and bustling feet, squeaking sneakers and hushed whispers, sobbing cries, and pitiful whimpers.

Hate was too weak of a word.

He dragged his feet to the front desk, trailing behind his mother. She had donned a bright, colourful dress that morning, the only one she owned. Percy knew that she was trying to look healthier for his benefit. To stop his worrying. Needless to say, it hadn't worked.

Sally glanced over her shoulder at her son, and Percy immediately straightened his back and shot her a grin, covering his hollow insides. He would be strong for her. He would be strong for her.

Stepping up behind her, he hugged her around the shoulders, listening as she rattled off her details to the nurse behind the desk. The nurse typed something into the computer before looking back up at them and directing them down the hall. Percy gave his mother a comforting squeeze before grabbing her hand and leading her gently to where the nurse had instructed.

Not that he needed instructions.

He had been here far too often for his liking.

Turn left up the dead white hall, make a right down another dead white hall, pass the yellow door and the blue window, take another right and…

Percy stopped in front of the doctor's office. 15B, the door taunted him. He sighed, squeezing Sally's hand once more before raising his hand to knock.

The door swung open, revealing a short man in a doctor's coat, a stethoscope dangling from around his neck. He smiled warmly, ushering them in. Percy numbly sat in a leather vinyl chair next to his mother, eyes latching onto all the odd and useless details of the small space.

Painting by a three year old, elephant statue from Thailand, map of the human anatomy, random fake skeleton in the corner, soap dispenser, sink, paper towel, manuals, books, more books, computer, files…

One of those files, he knew, belonged to his mother. A file relating all the way back to when he had first gotten that phone call that froze the blood in his veins.

I'm sorry, son, the doctor had informed. But we've picked up some bad news in Sally Jackson's blood test… she'll need to come in for further testing…

Percy pinched his arm, drawing in a deep breath to dispel the words floating through his head.

Brain tumour, not yet terminal…

But how long can not terminal last for with only the basic medication he could afford?

Percy made the conscious effort to swallow, his fingers digging into the vinyl. His knuckles were white.

"…just going to run some tests like normal," the doctor was speaking to Sally. "Make sure there haven't been any drastic changes."

Sally nodded her head, smiling in that gentle, easy way of hers that made Percy's heart shrivel up and die because he simply could not live without it. She gripped his hand as though reading his thoughts, placing a small kiss on his forehead, ruffling his messy hair.

"I'll be right back, okay?" she whispered. "Love you."

Percy nodded, smiling warmly at her to give her confidence. "I'll be waiting, mum," he assured. "Love you, too."

She got up and followed the doctor out to a sectioned off area, pulling the curtain across. Percy rose to his feet, pacing the room a few times before heading towards the door and leaning his weight against it to open it. He stepped into the hall, falling back against the wall opposite and sliding to the ground. His head was pounding, his teeth gnawing into his bottom lip as he mentally tried to estimate just how much even this short doctor's visit would set him back financially.

Too much, was the inevitable answer.

Every extra dollar spent on check-ups was one less dollar going towards the ultimate goal: the operation to remove the tumour. But he would rather he went a week without food than missed one of her check-ups. The doctor's constant eye on her was the only thing keeping him sane and he knew he was dangling from a very taut thread.

He leant his head down on his raised knees, lacing his hands behind his head. He wished the world would just slow down and stop for once. Wished he could stare at his mother's lively face forever. Wished he didn't have to see the pain in her brow when she was facing another migraine. Wished he could wrap her up and protect her from everything this world could throw at them because that's what she had always, always done for him.

The light squeak of footsteps against the floor caught his attention, and he lifted his head enough to see a pair of green converse next to two smaller pairs of worn out running shoes. He felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth and his shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Hey, Wise Girl," he whispered, looking up at her princess curls and storms that looked more like a mourning hurricane than a dangerous cyclone at the present moment.

"Percy!" a voice called just as a small body ploughed into his lap. Percy laughed, ruffling the sandy hair of Bobby.

"Hey, mate," he chuckled. "How's it going?"

"Annabeth's being mean," he pouted, crossing his arms adorably.

"Yes, she is a real meanie, isn't she?" Percy joked.

Bobby nodded his head in all seriousness. "She won't play Minecraft with me."

Percy raised a hand to his chest in mock horror. "How dare she?" He snuck a glance up at Annabeth, who was glaring fondly at her little brother.

"Oh, shut up, Bobby. It's not like I was making your dinner or anything."

Percy laughed, resting his head on the wall behind him. This kid… "Who's not being thankful?" Percy poked the little boys' stomach with every word, making him scream and wriggle mercilessly.

"Stop!" Bobby breathed, his shoulders bouncing up and down in suppressed giggles. "Stop! Okay, okay! I'm sorry Anna. Thanks for making foooood." His last word was accentuated by a squeal as Percy jabbed him jokingly.

"You shoulda let him starve, Annie. And given me all the food," another voice piped up.

"Matthew!" Annabeth scolded, chuckling lightly.

Matthew shrugged his shoulders innocently. Definitely the more cunning of the two, Matthew stood glued to Annabeth's side, one hand locked in her arm. Percy shook his head, grinning. Suck up. Though he didn't blame the kid. If he knew she wouldn't deck him if tried, he would probably always stand that close to her, too.

"How's life, Matty, my man?" he asked, giving the kid a high five.

Matthew shrugged noncommittedly. "It's life, bro."

Percy nodded solemnly, trying to hold back the grin twisting his lips.

He had taken an instant liking to the kids over a week ago when they had tackled him to the ground with battle cries of get off my sister, mister!

Annabeth sat down in front of him, dislodging Matthew from her arm, who promptly dragged Bobby up and away from Percy before the two dashed down the hall in a flurry of shouts and flashes of blonde hair.

"Let's hope they don't harass too many nurses," she sighed.

Percy smiled gently, looking over at her. "I'm sure they'd appreciate the entertainment."

Annabeth met his eyes, shifting one of her shoes so it touched his. Percy gulped, trying to contain the blush that threatened to blossom up his neck.

Stupid.

"Are we right for swimming tonight?" she asked quietly. "I want to try putting my head under."

Percy's eyes shot to her. Despite the weeks of nightly lessons, Annabeth had so far refused to even bubble and breathe in the water.

"You think you're up to it?" he asked, making sure he wasn't pushing her too fast. It'd take an idiot not to realise that Annabeth's fear of the water went much deeper than just not knowing how to swim.

She nodded determinedly, "Yes. I think so." Her eyes were steel and hard, covering the anxiety that often swarmed in their depths. Percy knew it, could recognise it. After all, he saw it in the mirror every day.

"Okay, sweetheart," he gave her a boyish grin. "Let's do it."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, Annabeth's eyes scanning the halls, making notes in that beautiful mind of hers that never slowed. Percy thought having a brain like that must have been exhausting, not to say maddening. He half wanted to shift a little closer to her; to smell her lemon scented shampoo (a fact he only knew from seeing it in her bag at the pool); wanted to slide up to her like any other goddamn eighteen year old boy would do when they saw a pretty girl.

But Annabeth wasn't just some pretty girl, and he wasn't exactly an ordinary eighteen year old boy.

Gods, she would castrate him if she even knew half of what he was thinking most of the time. Poetry had never really been his thing, but with the way she had his mind whirling, he thought he could have written a whole damn book.

You're pathetic, Kelp Head.

No mushy feelings. There were more important things to deal with. He laid his head back against the wall, closing his eyes and waiting for the doctor to call him back in.

Xxx

"I'm sorry Percy, but she's gotten worse. We might be forced to operate."

Percy's ears rung like he was underwater.

No no no no no.

"I can't," he choked. "I can't afford it yet."

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up into warm brown eyes. "We'll help any way we can. The medication she's already on might just be enough to stop it spreading further, but… it might be best to start preparing for the worst."

Percy slapped the doctor's hand away. "I'll get the money," he seethed.

"Percy," the doctor sighed sadly. "It's a very delicate procedure. We can't wait much longer."

Percy felt like slamming his fist into every concrete wall that had ever existed. It wasn't enough. He didn't have enough. He wasn't good enough.

"I'll think of something," he mumbled, shouldering past the doctor and out into the hall. He blinked back the stinging in his eyes, smiling weakly at his mother who was sitting in a chair, the twins on her lap.

"Aunt Sally, are you gonna make some more of those cookies?" Bobby was asking, his brown eyes gleaming mischievously.

Sally laughed, bopping him on the nose, "Only if you help, little mister."

Percy turned slightly away, swallowing hard. He had to tell her. He had to tell her the medication wasn't enough. That he had let her down. That he couldn't help her. That he had tried.

He couldn't…

You have to tell her.

A small tug on his wrist pulled him from his head. Annabeth stood in front of him, an understanding smile curving her lips and crinkling her forehead. "It'll be okay," she whispered.

"I have to tell her," a tear slipped down his cheek and he angrily slashed it away, staring at his scuffed converse.

He didn't tell her.