A/N: So I know I've been horrible about replying to reviews lately, but it's NOT because I don't want to – I've just been really busy and doing my best to get the next chapter up so as not to disappoint all my lovely reviewers and readers. And also, one of my reviewers pointed out that if Nico is 17, Percy should be 21. I am aware of that, but I preferred to keep Percy a teenager without making Nico too young, so I played with his age. So thank you very much, I am doing my best to incorporate all your suggestions, and hope you like my latest offering!

Chapter 10

An hour later, Nico discovered that he and Carter made an excellent team. They didn't even need to speak to each other – they moved in sync and with perfect timing without even trying to. She looked like a goddess fighting, he thought, slender and flexible and goddamn beautiful and dangerous and…okay, brain, shut up. He shook hair from his eyes and lunged. A hellhound howled and splattered him with yellowish dust as it vaporized. Across the stream, Carter and the naiads were hammering at the attackers with water. She controlled it with her own body – she would move her arms and hands and waist and the water would flow where she wanted it to. It was a beautiful process, he observed, watching the water cast rainbows on the ground as it sparkled. Panting, he scanned the area – campers were entangling with monsters all around them, but for a moment he was free.

Actually, scratch that. A group of empousi had encircled Carter, drawing her away from the other naiads. She couldn't fight all of them, six on one was too many, especially for a girl who lacked experience. There was no way for him to reach her in time on foot; he would have to shadow-travel. Moments later, he appeared by her side and blocked a strike from an empousa with curly red hair and honey eyes. He had evaporated two and was facing off with a third when Carter staggered against his back. She'd lost her balance, and her attacker was swooping down to bite her –

Nico grabbed the girl and shadow-traveled them both a few feet away, right into the creek. They both went under the water, but she could still breathe. He, unfortunately, could not. Her weight was above him, pinning him down along with the disorientation he felt, and although he could see the blurred outlines of the empousi being vaporized by a surge of water, he had a more pressing problem. He pounded weakly on the girl's back, trying to get her to understand that he was suffocating. Moments later, she seized his sodden shirt and dragged him out onto dry land. Pounding on his shirt, she got him to cough up the water he had swallowed.

"I'm okay," he rasped, pushing himself up and drawing his sword again. "They need you over there." Seeing her open her mouth, he pushed her in the direction she was needed in. "I'm serious, I'm fine, GO!" She ran off, brandishing her sword, while he admired the view.

As he was shaking droplets of water from his hair, Nico noticed a sudden movement to his left. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw…oh, holy Hades, no.

Leo Valdez ran up, his face slightly blackened with soot. "Carter!" he yelled, ignoring Nico completely. "DUDE,CARTER, I NEED YOU!"

The girl in question ignored him, focusing on trying to save one of the naiads, who had engaged some sort of flying monster. Nico snarled at him, and Leo backed up slightly. "I MEAN I NEED YOUR HELP!" he shouted at her over the noise of the battle and rushing water.

Flipping her dark hair out of her face, Carter nodded at him. Sending one last barrage of water at a group of hydras, drowning them in a sphere of the cool liquid, she ran over.

"What's going on?" she asked breathlessly. Leo's heart contracted slightly at her voice. Gods, she was so beautiful, even when her shirt was torn at the hem and there was blood on it.

"Fire at the strawberry fields," Leo answered, licking his suddenly dry lips. "We can't put it out, and Percy and Annabeth are too busy to help, so I thought that if Death Boy here can hold down the fort on his own for a while, you could come and help."

"I'll come," she decided. "Nico, I'll be back soon, alright? Good luck!"

Leo grabbed her hand and pulled her away before Nico could respond. Death Boy? Honestly. That moronic second-rate blacksmith probably considered himself lucky if he had even half an intelligent thought a week, Nico thought angrily to himself. His thoughts would have gotten even ruder, but a group of clattering skeletons confronted him, distracting him.

A few hours later, Nico was beginning to get seriously annoyed by everything – the never-ending fight, Carter's continued absence, and the fact that LEO had been the one to take her from him. He was flowing from one movement to the other, stabbing and lunging and slicing, and he could see that the invading force was quickly growing weaker – but not quickly enough. He was irritated, yes, but he could handle it. Moments later, he felt a pang and whirled around to see one of his wolves being killed by an empousa. His temporary grief grew into anger, and then full-blown fury, and a furious son of Hades is nearly as scary as his father. He summoned waves of zombie warriors from the ground, called upon hellhounds and other unsavory Underworld creatures to serve him, and within moments had a pounding headache but no enemies left. Campers were staring at him in fear and awe, but he sent his miniature army towards the other monsters still in camp and strode away, hiding the weakness in his frame.

Lily, meanwhile, was not faring quite as well. She and Leo were currently pinned underneath a huge hydra – nothing like the small ones she and the naiads had drowned earlier. Her sword was lying a few feet away, and Leo was too exhausted to do more than moan. There was a nasty cut on one temple which he had gotten by saving her from a hellhound – it had come at her from behind and he had shoved her out of the way, getting slashed across the forehead before she had dispatched it. The hydra snarled down at her, and she snarled right back, wishing she was strong enough to summon the waters again.

Before it could attack her, there was a loud howl, unearthly enough to raise the hairs on the back of her neck. Suddenly a swarm of skeletal warriors attacked the hydra, shooting at it with outdated guns or stabbing it with knives. She staggered to her feet, dragging Leo away with her. They weren't too far into the fields, but she couldn't see monsters anywhere – only campers.

"Carter!" Annabeth ran up to her. She seemed unharmed except for a small graze on her left arm. "Oh gods, you're bleeding. Let me help –"

"I'm fine,"Carter said, searching the campers milling around for Nico. "Leo needs help. Is it over?"

"Yes, I think Nico lost his temper and summoned a few more cronies than he meant to, but it was really helpful for us. I just hope he's okay – the last time he tried to summon more than he could, he nearly died. Percy says his powers drain him a lot." Annabeth swung Leo over her shoulder, glad he was so skinny. "I'll take this guy to Will – he'll be okay. Go find Nico." She winked and ran off, leaving Carter to marvel at how she managed to run while carrying a son of Hephaestus on one shoulder.

She returned to the woods, but encountered no one. The area around the stream where she and Nico had been fighting was nearly deserted. A few naiads were sitting on the rocks in human form. They smiled, waved, and slipped back into the water, vanishing from view.

Catching a look at her reflection in the creek, Carter sighed. A cut on her face had bled all over her cheek. Her right arm was pretty badly bruised and in one spot above her elbow she had another gash. The worst one was on her stomach, though, right above her hip. A hellhound had clawed at her and torn through her shirt with its claws, leaving her with a painful wound. Maybe she should have emulated Nico's example and worn armor.

"Nico?" she called, moving between the trees quietly. A twig snapped behind her, and she turned to see Percy standing before her.

He stepped forward and hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay," he whispered.

"I'm glad you're safe too," she breathed into his shirt. It smelled like Annabeth's favorite perfume, making her smile.

"Have you seen Nico?" he asked. "We've been looking, but I don't know where he is. I don't know if he's okay or not – that was a lot of minions he summoned."

"Did you check his cabin?" she asked suddenly. When Percy shook his head, she pulled away from him. "I bet that's where he is! I'll go see." And she practically ran off, making Percy laugh to himself. She had it bad.

Nico was in his cabin. He didn't feel ready to face the others – they'd just step away from him and avert their eyes again. They feared him, and he knew it. Most of the time they tried to act normal around him – when he wasn't summoning skeletons or getting a dark, angry look in his eyes that was reminiscent of his father, he was pretty much a normal teenager. But now, they remembered who he was – an outcast. That had never really changed.

He tossed his armor onto one of the beds, pulling off his shirt to assess the damage. Mostly he was okay, because the armor had protected him, but he had a dark purple bruise on his chest, a scratch on his neck, and an arrow wound in his shoulder. Mumbling a few curses in Ancient Greek but glad he'd gotten off reasonably well, he rummaged around behind his bed in the little cabinet he kept extra food in, looking for some ambrosia and nectar. He hadn't felt this weak in years, he thought ruefully.

A knock at the door roused him from his thoughts, and he went to open it. Carter was standing outside, and he saw her cheeks redden when she realized he didn't have a shirt on. Her reactions were hilarious, in his opinion: first she blushed and lowered her eyes, and then she started sneaking looks at his body through her eyelashes, as if he couldn't seen that. He was about to make a comment about her checking him out when he remembered how she had run off with Leo. A green monster reared its head inside his chest, and his jealousy managed to override everything else.

"You need something?" he asked curtly, wishing he could slap himself the moment the sounds left his throat.

She flinched involuntarily, and the blood left her cheeks. "Nothing. It's – I'll see you around." But as she stepped back, he noticed the blood on her face, arm, and shirt, and a roaring in his ears blocked out everything else.

Grabbing her unhurt arm, he hauled her into the cabin, kicked the door closed, and sat her down gently on one of the beds. "Stay still for a moment," he muttered, and resumed searching through his food collection. He tossed her a square of ambrosia and took another for himself, bringing the bag with him as he sat facing her.

"So why are you really here?" he asked, more gently.

She focused on the food in her fingers. "Percy and I couldn't find you," she replied. "I thought you might be in here. He said you'd probably be pretty weak, since you don't usually summon so many and I wanted to…I wanted to see how you were."

"So where's Valdez then?"

Her expression took on a look of concern, and he felt jealousy dig its sharp claws into his chest. "He was hurt," she said softly. "He saved me from a hellhound and he's got this huge gash on his head. Annabeth took him – she says he'll be okay."

Nico stood abruptly. "You should go see if he's alright," he said. Taking her elbow in his hand, he walked her to the door, ignoring her hurt and confusion, which she was trying to hide. "He'll be in the Big House." And he closed the door, sinking to the floor after he did so, gripping his hair in his hands and trying to even out his breathing.

He knew he was definitely being quite rude, but he had lost control when he saw the concern she felt for Valdez. And he realized that in a way, Leo was better for her than he was. Leo was accepted – he was a powerful son of Hephaestus, he was funny, he was intelligent and talented. Whereas Nico was an outcast – he terrified nearly everyone he met. He finally understood how his father had felt, and why he had kidnapped Persephone instead of just getting down on one knee. He rubbed his eyes when the door opened again, and he groaned.

"What, you don't want to see me?" Percy joked, stepping in. "Put on a shirt, man, Carter may appreciate that view, but I've got better over here." He took a better look at his friend's face and raised his eyebrows. "Hey, you okay, Nico? What happened?"

"Nothing," Nico mumbled, pulling on a black button-down shirt and leaving the top couple buttons open.

"Sure. Really, what happened? Did she say something stupid?"

"No, she just worried about Valdez, so I told her she should go see him." Nico turned away, pouring some water into the hollow of his hand and rubbing the blood off his neck.

Percy sighed. He wasn't a son of Aphrodite, but he wasn't stupid – it was pretty obvious Nico was jealous. "Nico…"

The other boy fell back on his bed, yawning. His eyes were closing despite his best efforts – it was obvious he was exhausted. Feeling no need to hide his weakness from Percy, who had known he would be adversely affected, he closed his eyes.

"With great power comes great need to take a nap," he whispered, seeing his friend smile through his lashes. "Wake me up later."

"Your powers drain you too much," Percy responded. "I'll send Carter in to look in on you." Chuckling at the desperate but feeble attempt Nico made to protest before passing out, Percy left his friend fast asleep and left the cabin.

Carter smiled unconvincingly at Leo, appreciating his attempts to cheer her up but wishing he wouldn't keep barging in on her thoughts about a certain young man. She had seen the flash of jealousy and anger in Nico's eyes, but he had kicked her out before she had been able to really explain herself. Great, she thought, nowheprobablythinksIhaveacrushonLeo.But then she remembered seeing Drew kissing Nico, and although Aphrodite had assured her than he had had no part in that Carter, wished that Nico would have at least mentioned it to her.

"Earth to Carter," Leo called, waving a calloused hand in front of her face. "Anyone home?"

"Yeah – what did you say?"

"I just wanted to say thanks…for coming to help when I asked you to," he said. He leaned forward, his face more serious than she had ever seen it. "We were in pretty bad shape till you came, and, well, yeah." His dark eyes found hers as his face drew closer. Before she understood what was happening, he had one hand behind her head and was kissing her.

Bang! The door slammed against the wall and Percy strode in, his eyes blazing.

"Get away from my sister NOW!" he yelled, and Leo jumped away from her as if burned. Percy turned to Carter , taking in her scared and sad expression. She was avoiding Leo's gaze, her cheeks pale.

"Hey, Percy, look man, I didn't –" Leo broke off when Percy grabbed him and slammed him against the wall.

"Don't even think about doing it again, understand?" Percy hissed. He was worried about Nico – if Nico heard about this before Carter or Percy got a chance to talk to him, he would take it as a clear rejection.

Leo's eyes searched for Carter's, trying to gauge her feelings. She looked at him sadly, and shook her head, blinking away tears as his disappointment showed clearly in his face. "Damn," he sighed. "I never get the girls I want, do I?" He slumped against the wall as Percy let him go, dragging his sister out of the room after him.

"Percy, where are we going?" Carter asked, running to keep up with her brother as he took long strides away from the Big House. "I didn't do it on purpose, Percy, I didn't even know he was going to try and –"

"I know," Percy said curtly, "But I saw Drew spying through the keyhole, which is how I came in. If she went and told Nico, in the event that she got into his cabin, then, well, it'll be a disaster. Come on." And he broke into a run, crossing the lawns to Cabin Thirteen.

As they drew closer, they recognized Drew at the porch, seizing the doorknob in one hand. The moment she touched the door, she was thrown backwards, and landed in a sprawling heap on the ground. Percy jumped over her, not even checking to see if she was okay, and Carter skirted past her, following Percy. They both entered quickly.

Nico was still asleep. A thin trickle of blood was still seeping from the wound on his neck, trailing down his chest and into his shirt. Carter bit her lip as she studied his sleeping form – he appeared to be so peaceful and still, unlike how he normally was. She felt hands on her shoulders, and suddenly Percy forced her down onto the mattress beside Nico.

"Stay here," he whispered. "He'll be glad to find you when he wakes up." As he reached the door, he turned back in time to see Carter smoothing Nico's hair away from his forehead. Smirking, he left.

Looking around, Carter saw a small bloodstained cloth lying on the table near Nico's bunk. He must have used it to wipe away the blood, she realized, and gingerly picked it up. Gently, trying not to hurt or wake him, she dabbed at his neck, cleaning the blood away. Her hair tickled his face and throat, and he opened his eyes to find her leaning over him, unaware that he was awake. She rubbed a little too hard, and he let out an involuntary gasp of pain, signaling to her that he was awake. She sat back abruptly, blushing and depositing the cloth where she had found it.

Pushing himself up on his elbows, he yawned and looked at her. "What's up?"

Something was wrong – he could tell by the way she lowered her eyes uncomfortably and sighed before speaking. "Nico, I went to see Leo, and…he kissed me."

His dark eyes, so full of pain and sadness on almost any day, narrowed. "Well, it was pretty obvious you two were going to become a couple. Congratulations," he said coldly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused. She and Leo, a couple? Oh no. "Nico, you don't understand, Leo and I, we –"

"So now you two are a 'we,' huh?" he snapped. "I'm not blind, I could see the way he mooned after you. But tell me, did you just enjoy the attention, or do you really like that idiot?"

"He isn't an idiot," she said indignantly, "And I do not enjoy attention. And it's not really any of your business anyway –"

"Of course it is!" he exploded. "You barge in here and tell me you kissed Leo, and then you expect me to –"

"I didn't expect you to do anything!" she shouted, standing up so suddenly she nearly lost her balance. "And at least I told you about it! I saw you and Drew making out behind the armory that day, you know." She stomped to the door, and yanked it open. "Oh, and Leo and I aren't a couple," she snapped. "I told him I didn't want to date him. But at least he's an honest guy, unlike you." Slamming the door, she fled before he could see the tears falling from her eyes.

But then, she wasn't giving Nico enough credit. He was perceptive enough to hear the quiver in her voice long before the first tear even formed, and he had felt so incredibly guilty when she attacked him with her last few comments – that she had seen him with Drew, and that she had turned Leo down. She had rejected Valdez, but had felt the need to confess to him that they had kissed. And in return for her honesty, what had he done? Yelled at her, misunderstood her, hurt her, and then yelled some more.

"I'm an idiot," he groaned, leaning against the bunk bed.

"Yes, you are," a softly amused voice said. Bianca's ghost shimmered against the wall as she watched her brother. "But you can still fix it, you know."

"How, Bianca?" he muttered. "She probably doesn't want to see my face again, especially after she turned Valdez down for me and I treated her so badly."

She laughed. "And how do you know she turned Leo down for you, little brother? Maybe she just doesn't like either of you."

A flash of his old arrogance lent a smile to his face. "She definitely likes me," he said. "She can't hide it too well. But it's…complicated for her, that much is obvious."

"Well, you can't really hide anything from anyone either, you know? Even Father has noticed that you like her, and really, Nico, he's not too pleased. So you'd better get a move on before he decides to interfere. Just tell her how you feel, little brother, and apologize and explain about Drew. It's hurting her more than you know.

And also, just remember that love is never easy for us, Nico. Children of Hades, we are bonded strongly to each other, yes, but because of the way others see and treat us, we find it hard to give ourselves to others. Just don't be afraid of her. She will never intentionally hurt you. And if she realizes how much you care, she will treasure your heart when you finally give it to her. I wish you luck," she said softly. "I love you, brother." She reached her hand out towards him and disappeared.

"I love you too," he murmured, staring at the place where she had vanished. Time to look for that elusive daughter of Poseidon.

A/N: Pleease review! I hope you liked it, and even if you didn't, please tell me what I can do better!