Will's eyes struggled open when he heard his mother's voice. For the first time, he didn't care if it was a dream or not. He felt better, with more energy, and had been longing to see her. His mom had been all he wanted lately.
Her words filled him with peace, her low voice singing a soft lullaby to him that he used to have sung to him every night as a child. It gave him the strength to open his eyes, wanting more of that comfort.
The first thing that he noticed was the light. It was bright, almost too bright. A soft groan escaped his lips as he closed his eyes again, but he could still see the light through his closed eyelids.
"Will?" the singing stopped. "Will, baby, can you hear me?"
He groaned again before speaking, his throat feeling like he had been in the desert for years. "Mom? Is that you?"
She laughed in relief, causing Will to smile at the old memories. "Yeah, it's me. Everything's okay now, Will. The war is over and you're back home."
Will's smile dropped, the sudden remembrance that this wasn't real bringing him back to reality.
"Will, you okay?" he felt her lips against his forehead. "Can you open your eyes? Please?"
"Momma," he croaked, cracking his eyes open. "Save me. Please save me. Get me out of here."
"We saved you." her head appeared above him, blocking out the extensive light. She looked more real than dreams usually were. Every detail was there, including the newly formed worry lines on her face. "You're home, Will. Everything's okay now. You're in the city and the war is over. No more war."
"No more war..." Will repeated, staring up into her face. "No more war...home..."
She nodded. "Yep. You and Annabeth are home. Do you want to see her? She's here, Will. Her and that boy have been waiting for you to wake up."
Will licked his lips, gagging slightly at the taste of blood. "What happened? How...how did I end up here?"
Usually, his dreams would fade by now. But his mother was there as real as ever, her soft blue eyes looking down at him with so much concern he could never imagine it. "Mom, what happened? Is Annabeth okay? Where, where is she? Who got me out?"
"Shh," she fixed the wool blankets that covered him, bringing them up to his cold neck. "One question at a time. Don't get yourself too worked up. That boy carried you here, to the hospital. As soon as he found you he brought you to me."
"What boy?" Will asked, his heart starting to beat faster. No matter how disappointed he was in him, all he could think about was Nico di Angelo.
"I don't know his name,..." his mother admitted. "How about you talk to Annabeth? Want me to bring her here?"
Once Will nodded the best he could his mother disappeared from his sight, causing the light to reappear as torturingly brilliant as before. He closed his eyes against it but didn't let himself fall into the droopiness of sleep, wanting to see Annabeth. How long had it been? Too long.
"Will?" the softness of his old friend's words settled over him like nothing he had experienced before. "How are you feeling?" Her blonde curls fell on his face as she leaned over him, her smile tired and forced.
"Annabeth," Will breathed out. "I have to be dreaming..."
She giggled, a sound he hadn't heard in quite some time. "You're not dreaming. We're back home, Will. And guess who's here." She gave him a wink, smirking. "Nico."
Will's forming smile froze before dropping, his eyes falling downwards before closing altogether.
"Will?"
"I don't want him here," Will felt his lip starting to tremble. "I don't want him here, Annabeth. Look what he did to me. I can't...I can't..."
"Annabeth, I think you should step out." his mom's soft hand grabbed his rough one, her other petting his hair. "Calm down, Will. Deep breaths, okay? Don't think about it. Think about me."
"Is he okay?" Annabeth asked, her voice laced with worry. "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting that reaction."
"He just needs rest." his mother answered, sitting on the bed next to him. Will leaned towards her instinctively, his hands shaking still. Nico...Nico had given him to that man...Nico...why...
"Okay," Annabeth mumbled. "I'll stop by later, Will. Get better." He could hear her walk off and then a door closing, leaving the room in blissful silence again.
After ten minutes, Will broke it reluctantly. "Mom?"
She kissed his forehead. "Yeah? What can I do for you?"
"Can you turn the light off?" he asked. "I'm so tired,..."
"Of course." he felt her get up and then a second later the light wasn't visible through his eyelids anymore, leaving him in comfortable darkness once again.