Chapter 9-

Thalia had slept in that day, not wanting to wake up. She was really not looking forward to the call that came from Percy, which she assumed would be him, telling her that Nico was dead; that they had taken him off of the ventilator. That's why when she did find out that day, she didn't really believe it. Only when she stepped into the hospital room, seeing Percy help Nico eat, did she truly admit it.

He was alive.

Thalia ran the short distance to his bed and engulfed him in a bone crushing hug, not pulling back until she noticed that she was crying from relief. Percy was smiling at her, but when she looked back at Nico, he looked at her in confusion. And then he asked the question she had been dreading.

"Who are you?"

"You…don't know me?" Thalia asked, inflating at his memory lose.

"I know your voice…you have blue eyes." Nico muttered, gazing at her quizzing.

"Nico, this is Thalia Grace, our cousin." Percy explained, talking to Nico as if he was a toddler. "You guys used to talk all the time."

"Thalia…" Nico said to himself. "She's my cousin, and so are you, Percy."

"That's right." Percy congratulated. "And can you remember your doctor's name?"

"Apollo, 2,000 attack power…" he murmured, as if not really meaning to say anything.

"What did you say?" Percy perked up, his face hopeful; the food in his hands was left forgotten.

"I-I don't know." Nico shook his head. "I didn't say anything."

Percy's face fell. "Yeah, you didn't say anything…"

Thalia sat down in another chair and watched as Percy continued to help Nico eat, not really talking, but enjoying his time with Nico. Just like Thalia, he still couldn't believe it. After six months of waiting, thinking that his cousin was going to be dead; and then, in the spur of the moment, his cousin surviving. If he was religious, he would have given thanks for hours, but he wasn't, so he didn't. He did, however, find himself praying countless times through those six months. He still didn't know how to feel about this.

Apollo came in, Nico's chart in his hand. When he saw him sitting up, and looking healthy, his mouth split into a grin.

"Nico, good to see you well and awake." he greeted. "It's time to take you to your CT."

"You still haven't explained anything to me." Nico replied quietly. "What am I doing here? And you guys never answered me about Bianca. I want to know what's going on."

Thalia breathed in sharply at the mention of Bianca, but otherwise didn't answer. Percy looked at Apollo for permission, and when Apollo nodded, he began to tell Nico.

"Nico, first of all, we aren't sure why you have no memory. But that's what the CT is going to be for." Percy started. "We were never really sure why you passed out to begin with, though. They think it's from your…schizophrenia."

"Schizophrenia?" Nico mused, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards.

Percy winced. This was the side of Nico that he hated, and refused to be around. And now, after everything that happened…

"We're getting him medicine for it." Apollo whispered in his ear. "It should be ready by tomorrow."

Percy nodded at him, then turned back to Nico to finish the story.

"You did something bad before…do you remember what it was?" Percy asked, not wanting to say it.

Nico scrunched up his eyebrows, his smile dropping. His voice was quiet, but calm. "It's about Bianca, isn't it?'

Percy nodded sadly. "Yeah, it is….Look, Nico, why don't we talk about this tomorrow?"

"No, I don't want to talk about it tomorrow!" Nico raised his voice, struggling against the restraints. "Bianca…what's wrong with her? What did I do!? Just tell me!"

Percy didn't realize Nico's heart was going too fast until the nurses were in there and Apollo was right beside him, taking the paddles from a nearby nurse. And then, the most dreadful noise Percy had ever heard:

The flat line.

"Clear!" Apollo put the paddles on Nico's chest, and once again, Percy watched helplessly as they tried to save his cousin. This seemed to be happening too much, but he wasn't the doctor, and he couldn't do anything about it. It made him sick to think like that, but it was true.

They resuscitated Nico, but it seemed like it took longer each time. Apollo had his stethoscope to Nico's chest, listening to his heartbeat, but had a concerned look on his face. After six months of visiting this hospital, almost daily, Percy knew something else was wrong. Nico shouldn't have been coding that much.

"Nico, you keep giving us quite a scare." Apollo said, looking down at the boy. "You can't keep getting excited like that. You need to rest, you just woke up."

Nico, now to exhausted to speak, only nodded. Percy saw how he fought to keep his eyes open, how he did his best to fight off the inevitable foundation of sleep. Yet, as he was pushed out of the room, he fell back into his subconscious. Percy knew he could do nothing but wait, and, as he soon learned, pray.

Line Breakkkkkk

The night was the worst.

The CT scan showed that everything was fine, and Apollo said that either he would regain his memory over time, or it would be lost forever. No in between. This upset Percy, but he knew he shouldn't be complaining. His cousin was alive, and that was enough.

However, Percy soon learned that schizophrenia was more terrifying than he thought.

Percy had elected to stay the night with Nico, since he had been panicking from no memories. So, he made a bed on the couch, and fell asleep at around ten. When he woke up at midnight to Nico's voice, he thought Nico had been talking to him. He was wrong.

"He didn't do anything to me." Nico said quietly, but angrily, staring off at the door, which was closed. "He helped me."

"Nico, who are you talking to?" Percy asked, dread filling his stomach. He received no answered.

"No! I said no!" Nico started to fight against his bonds.

Percy held down Nico's wrists, trying to keep him calm, and pressed the call button, alerting Apollo. Nico, however, seemed unaware of this, instead screaming at somebody that wasn't there. When Percy looked at his expression, all he saw was fear.

By the time Apollo came in, Nico had gotten so worked up that he had tears free falling from his eyes and his IV was about to come out of his arm. Immediately, Apollo rushed in, and for some reason, this broke Nico's delusion. While Apollo worked on getting his IV stable, Nico slammed his head against the bed and squeezed his eyes shut, shaking furiously. Percy tried to talk soothingly to him, but it didn't seem to work.

"I'm giving him benzodiazepines. It'll calm him down." Apollo explained, using a shot to put the medication through Nico's IV. Immediately he relaxed, and soon enough, fell back asleep.

"What was that?" Percy asked, breathless, sitting down in the nearby chair.

"Schizophrenia."