Hey guys, so for the one review I have gotten so far: I am not sure what you mean by "What's up with this story?" This is a Percico or Nicery fic and I have been working on it for a while so I would love to answer your question but I can't. I hope that the next few entries do that for you.

Now I know that I have been gone so here is your bonus chapter! I have 16 chapters written out for this so far and I'm still not sure how long it will be but as soon as I know you will know. Also I have been thinking about doing another story and introducing everyone to a character I have in my own book so let me know what you think in the reviews about doing that and fusing my book with Percy Jason so you guys can see what my characters are like.

Chapter 10: Home

Jason and Piper got to the hospital second only to Hazel, not including the people who had brought Nico and Percy in. Nico was sitting in a chair with Thalia glaring down at him like any moment a bolt of lightning would shoot from here electric blue eyes and vaporize him.

"Thalia!" Jason ran towards her and threw his arms around his sister. She barely offered up a chuckle as she hugged him back. "When you said to meet you at the hospital I thought you were hurt!"

She laughed at that and pulled away from him to look at his face. As always she was amazed at how mature he had gotten, she would never grace him with the same sight. "I am fine," and then her face darkened as she thought of one of her best friends just a sheet pull away from her, laying in bed unconscious as medics tried to save him. "Percy," she whispered and then glared back at Nico, "Percy is hurt… I don't know if…" her glare at Nico started to fade as her wall began to crumble and Nico started to panic. Since they had gotten there Thalia hadn't told him anything. But he knew that Percy was in trouble. "He was so pale," at that a sob escaped her and she crumbled to her side against Annabeth.

Annabeth gripped Thalia as tightly as she could and moved her toward a chair beside Nico. She instantly lashed out at the boy and moved back towards Annabeth, gripping her shoulders to keep from doing anything stupid.

"What is going on here?" Piper asked, confused as she looked between Thalia and Nico, but Jason had no idea what to tell her. He was still in shock about what she said about Percy… What had happened?

"We found Percy in the forest," Annabeth had turned emotionless when she spoke, a new talent that she had been cursed with from Tartarus. "Five inches long, two inches deep. It doesn't look good," gods she was starting to sound like a robot, "two pints gone when we got to him."

As he tried to grasp what Annabeth was saying, and trying to make sense of it, Jason turned to Nico. "So why is my sister mad at you?"

"Percy was sobbing his name before he passed out." Annabeth supplied to make up for Nico's silence.

"And how does that make this all his fault?" Jason crossed his arms over his broad chest and looked at the group before him like a teacher of preschoolers.

The shame of knowing, from what Annabeth had stated, that it was in fact his fault was eating away at Nico. He didn't even know he had spoken until the rest of them were looking at him. Thalia glared towards him, and he winced as he thought that a bolt of lightning wouldn't feel too great right now, but it would feel better than this hallowed out shell feeling. "Tell me why one of my best, no," Thalia corrected herself, "one of my only friends was sobbing your name in the middle of the forests in a pool of his own blood."

An image started to form in Nico's mind and he just couldn't take it. He stood up abruptly and yanked back the curtain to Percy's bed, where a number of medics were running around trying to frantically help Percy by giving him more blood. "We were in a fight," he said helplessly to the group behind him before looking at one of the medics and stating in complete seriousness; "You don't know his blood type but I am O-, just give him what he needs." The medic eyed Nico cautiously, just like everyone else who looked at him, but Nico just rolled his eyes and handed him the small medical card that Will had made for him. So I will know it's you when you wind up dead on the streets. The words rang in his ears when he remembered all the desperate attempts to keep him at camp and the one that finally did. Nico wasn't even sure why he still had the stupid card, but he was thankful for it.

Without even a vocal confirmation the team set about hooking Nico up to get Percy some blood, and fast. Thankfully Nico didn't have many cuts on his forearms, he had tried to stick to areas he could cover, but even if they did notice any of them there was a more pressing matter at hand. One of the medics drew the curtain closed to block off the rest of the group, and Nico could hear Thalia throwing a fit but he didn't care. Percy was curled into a ball on the bed beside him, and he could see the crude stitches they had given him while the ambrosia took effect. It was a shame that the food of the gods couldn't replenish you blood supply.

He sat back and let the dull haze of minor blood loss pull him under as they took what they needed. They could have drained him dry and Nico wouldn't have cared. All he wanted was for Percy to look happy and healthy again. Why did Tartarus have to affect them the way it had? Hadn't they suffered enough?

If Bianca have stayed in the Underworld then she could have helped him get through that hell. But he couldn't blame her for wanting another chance. Everyone wanted a second chance. Even Nico had thought about taking water from the Lethe to try anew, but he knew that neither Bianca nor Hazel would approve, and he had a responsibility to look out for Hazel since he brought her back.

Time went by like water in a river, Nico hadn't paid attention to it but one of the medics grasped his shoulder and told him that Percy was going to be fine. Once again Nico had stuck around to hear that the sea prince would be okay, that he had nothing to worry about. He looked over to Percy and, sure enough, some color had returned to his skin and his breathing had evened out. It wasn't as though he looked one hundred percent, but his looked a little less like death. Nico leaned forward after they took the needle out of his arm, he could see the questioning looks that they gave him but he knew that they wouldn't ask him anything as he pulled down his shirt sleeve.

Percy's hair slipped through his fingers and he wondered just when he had let himself start touching Percy… Was his love for Percy growing even more than he had thought possible? The thought scared him, falling harder… But he loved the fall, loved this boy, and was determined to find a way to make this up to him.

"Nico," Percy whispered into his pillow, and just like Annabeth had said once before, the boy was drooling in his sleep. "I- I can't stand to see you go…"

The words made him freeze and Nico pulled his hand away from Percy's head to look at the other boy in shock.

That was when the others were let back and they prepared to move Percy from the emergency area to a recovery room where they would have more privacy. Thalia had some eyeliner running down one cheek, and she gripped Percy's hand, the one on the good arm, and sniffled as she looked at him. "You are in so much dam trouble when you wake up," she laughed but there was more relief than joy in it as she looked at her best friend. Thalia knew, had known, yet still dreaded the fact that she was going to live to see all of her friends die. She would outlive everyone in that room including her brother, and she would kill before she let any of them go before old age claimed them. When she had joined the hunters they had given her a family, a life outside of the prophecies. But the power had made some girls jealous, and no matter how convincing she was she may have gained their respect but she would never have actual friends there. Only sisters.

Annabeth dutifully checked all of Percy's vitals and his IV, never letting a single emotion pass her face as she did so. She would never cry again as far as any of them could tell…

Jason was clenching his fists at his side, anger building up in him and making the air fill with static. "Why is everyone so damaged now?" his voice was harsh but low. "I can't even look at Piper without filling with fear, Percy can't eat and now he is hurting himself, Annabeth wont even look at her best friend… Damn it all!" he snapped and punched the nearest wall before turning to Nico, "how is it you're the only one of us that has moved past it?!"

Once his mind caught up with his actions Jason bit down on his fist and tried to keep any tears from spilling as he looked at Nico. Choking back a sob he backed up and tried to say he was sorry before running down the hall.

"Guess who was able to break into the vending machines," one of the Stoll brothers peaked around the corner just after Jason fled the scene. His wiggling eyebrows stopped once he saw Percy; "so that's what happened to him…"

Break

Halfway through what used to be the city Jason fell to his knees and gave up running. Running was something that Nico was good at, not Jason. He punched the ground as hard as he could, pulling back to see his fist coated in blood with chips of glass lodged into the flesh. That was when Reyna came up behind him, not moving to kneel down and comfort him or trying anything that most people would do, she just stared at him from behind until she decided that he should know she was there.

"You have a life to live Roman," she stepped closer to him when he turned to face her, "best to live it while it is here." And then, before she would allow herself to do something stupid, she strode away. Leaving the torn up son of Jupiter stare at her retreating form.

Why was it that pointing out the obvious made him feel better?

He looked out at the city, what was left and what was being built, and for the first time in weeks he realized that he was home. The people needed him. And he needed to fix this place so it would be there for him, for him to lead this city.

Break

Connor glared at Travis from where he was sitting. "You just had to open your mouth first and eyes second, didn't you?" he growled under his breath just to get a death glare from Clarisse.

After Travis's insensitivity towards Percy, he and Conner had both been put in timeout by Piper. Clarisse had been wrangled into babysitting them and was less than pleased with the situation, having only managed to calm down by confiscating their stolen goodies. She was munching through a bag of chocolate chip cookies when she decided to lecture them; "If you would take in your surroundings once in a while some of the things you do could be seen as nice," with a quick wipe of her mouth she continued, "I mean I know that Thalia would be having a hay day chowing down on these sweets right now. She is an emotional eater, but you had to go and look like idiots so I had to come watch you."

"You could let us give the food to them still, but you ate most of it." Travis pointed out.

"And you ate all the good chocolaty stuff first," Conner admitted, unable to help himself.

Clarisse glared at both of them; "Yea well it's the least the little charm speaker can give me after calling me down here," she finished off the bag of chips and tossed the crumpled up bag into the trash can, bouncing it on the side.

"We really didn't mean to be rude," Travis grumbled as he looked at the floor. Even for them the time didn't feel happy or like there were jokes to be played.

It felt, questioning. Why would Percy, of all people, have tried to kill himself? Sure it probably hadn't been on purpose. The doctor said that the blade was wicked sharp and Percy probably wasn't expecting how easy it would go through his flesh… But why had he been putting it to his arm in the first place?

The door to the room they had moved Percy into opened. All three of them looked just to see Hazel and Frank rushing through it before it closed, they had been so focused that the Stolls doubted they were even noticed. A while later they could hear Hazel crying.

When Leo showed up they were definitely noticed. The ADHD riddled boy was pacing outside the room for so long that Conner thought he was going to wear a path in the tile, but no one was about to say anything about it.

Leo saw the Stolls sitting outside the room when he had come up. He was fighting internally about whether or not to go into the small room. It didn't seem appealing, a cramped space with someone laying on a bed, but he knew that it was something friends and family did. He thought about Calypso, who had seemed flustered at the idea of seeing Percy again but had promised to be there as soon as she could to look him over. Will may be a good healer, but Calypso had a few years on him. Plus, being immortal had some perks, like magical perks. Leo knew that she would be able to do more for Percy than he ever could.

"Wanna sit out here?" Travis called out to him. They hadn't spoken much since Leo got back, but they had become okay friends before the war so Leo nodded and sat by Conner. The only real physical difference between the two was that Conner had a small scar on his eyebrow that made the hairs split ever so slightly. But it was enough for Leo to notice. He also noticed that Conner seemed to be the more levelheaded of the two, but that didn't count for much.

"Have you seen Percy?" Leo asked shyly and Travis nodded his head. "Was he doing… Okay?"

There was an odd silence but finally Travis just shook his head. "He looked pretty broken…"

It felt like more needed to be said but no one wanted to say anything. When Conner went to continue the conversation Clarisse knew that it would only hurt more. "You two are in timeout," she looked at them both sternly, "no more talking or time starts over."

All of them shared weak smiles until Leo spotted Calypso running down the hall with her hair in a windswept mess and dirt covering her hands. Leo loved that whenever she was in a mood she would switch from helping him with his machines to plunging her hands into the dirt. He needed her to connect him to the organic, and he knew that she would never let a little mess stand in her way from helping anything. She still had smudges of soot on her cheek from cleaning up the areas where the city had decided to start gardening and farming, but he knew she didn't care. The dark smudge set off her worried hazel eyes and he quickly moved toward her without thinking about it.

"Is he in there?" she asked frantically, her bare feet cold on the hard tiles beneath. "Why aren't you with him?"

But there was no need to answer that, she knew him so she just gave him a soft smile before kissing his cheek. Without another word she opened the door to see her old love.

Break

Hazel had thought for sure that it was going to be Nico who was lying in the hospital bed, and it hurt her to think she was slightly relieved and happy when she saw him sitting up in his own chair. Then she saw Percy and instantly a tear fell from her cheek; both for her friend and for her brother. She knew that it must be painful for Nico to see Percy like that, it wasn't hard to see that he still loved Percy, but for some reason she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. It had been her to tell Percy to go after Nico this time, and she had threatened him because she was sure that Nico was going to get hurt.

Apparently the opposite had been true.

"Now maybe you know how he has felt all these years," she wanted to comfort her brother but the words were out before she could stop them. For so long it had been her taking Nico's side, comforting Nico, fearing for Nico, and now she had sent someone to be hurt by Nico. Her eyes were filled to the brim with tears and the tension in the room rose as everyone looked at Nico, his eyes a broken pit of black staring into her pained golden orbs.

Frank was the one to put a hand on her shoulder and give her the look that told her she had gone too far. Everyone may have been thinking what she said, but just looking at Nico was enough to tell anyone that it was crossing a line. Nico was just as broken as Percy, and he had already been screamed at by Jason so he was even more on edge. Hazel felt a sob rip through her throat and watched Nico get up from his chair.

She expected him to be angry, to glare at her or give her his disappointed look that was far worse, then she knew he would run away. Knowing that it was coming she shut her eyes. As much as disappointing him hurt her it was nothing compared to him slipping into the shadows to leave. After he had been captured by the giants in the war she had sworn to herself that she would never watch him travel away from her again. If she did there would be nothing to stop her from reaching out and grabbing his arm so he would have to take her with him…

But Nico didn't leave. Instead he wrapped his arms around Hazel. He held her tightly and let her cry into his shoulder as Bianca had done for him so many times. The dampness of her tears made him feel something in a way that he knew he wanted to cut away the memory with a blade. That thought made him clench his teeth and glance over at Percy, the damn idiot was still recovering and wouldn't wake up for a few hours, but Nico wanted to slap him and ask what he thought he was doing. Hazel clutched to his shirt and cried more, Frank rubbing her back to try and calm her.

"You can't make me watch you go," Hazel forced the words out, knowing that if he left after doing something like this that she would never fully heal from the wound he would open.

Stilling for a moment Nico wondered if he really would be hurting people if he left now… There was no doubting that he had made friends here, his sister even had put up with it all before, but what did having friends mean? Did he finally have a home now? He had always thought that a home was a place where he would be accepted by everyone, and he knew that New Rome didn't accept him fully, but maybe it was being loved but a handful that really made him want to stay…

The door opened at that moment. Not a dramatic loud opening, but it opened and everyone was drawn to see who had shown up next. A girl with cinnamon hair and dirt under her nails, black bottom feet from running out in the soot barefoot and wearing an old sundress stood in the doorway. She caught sight of Percy on the bed and made a beeline for him.

Like Annabeth she checked his vital, but there was no connection cut look in her eyes as she did so, the hazel color was filled with something akin to heartache and love as they flitted back to his face with everything she did. Finally she looked at everyone in the room, "he will be waking up soon. I think we should leave him with who he wants to see."

I hope you guys enjoyed this entry! Let me know what you thing in a review :) Also keep an eye out, I am going to be writing a one chapter story on what happened between Piper and Jason so you guys can tell me if they should stay together or is too much has happened. That should be up within the week so not super long. I am out on break.

Let me know what you thought by leaving a review and I will respond in the next entry!

Love you guys! -Megara aka TheLastHeroesDaughter