Little note: I am not a doctor and I don't even play one on TV. That also extends to veterinarians. So please don't get too picky with me.

I do not own Percy Jackson or The Seven Year Hitch

It was August, so that meant I should probably be getting my school stuff organized before I actually had to start school, but instead I was thinking about Annabeth. Big surprise right? She had been such a big part of my life, and now that she's gone, I can't help but feel empty. Even if I didn't love her the way I do, I would be content to just be friends and keep our friendship alive. But even that wasn't going to happen. She chose Luke, and if that made her happy, then I would have to be happy.

I looked down at Zeus who was curled up on his doggy bed looking green. I shouldn't be surprised that he looked so down, Annabeth was his entire life too, and now that she was gone neither of us would be happy.

I got down on the floor beside Zeus and started to rub his ears. "I know buddy. I miss her too. Maybe we can invite her to come and play sometime?"

Zeus didn't even acknowledge that I was there. He just took a heavy shuddering breath and panted shallowly.

"Well, what do two bachelors, such as ourselves, do on a fine day like today?" I noticed that his eyelids were drooping like he was tired and his breathing became more and more shallow.

"Zeus? Buddy you okay?"

I thought he was going to give me a bark of confirmation, but instead he started to wheeze, his breathing becoming irregular.

"Oh my God, what do I do?!" I ran to the phone and couldn't remember the vet's number, so I called 911. They instructed me to the nearest vet hospital and I hung up. I ran back to Zeus whose breathing was coming back to normal but was still very shallow. I picked him up to the best of my ability and as quickly as possible got him in the front seat of the car.

"It's going to be okay buddy. You're going to be fine."

I drove like a maniac to the vet hospital. I carried him in and sat him down on the table and demanded that he be treated immediately. I guess I didn't need that order because as soon as the doctor heard his breathing he ordered he put on an IV and taken to an operating room STAT. I watched them take Zeus back to the back and the doctor start to clean his hands and glove up. The last thing I saw before the doors close was Zeus' chocolate eyes staring at me, telling me it was going to be okay.

I was at the house getting ready for the wedding rehearsal when I hear my phone ringing on the table. I look at the caller ID and see that it's Percy. I hesitate to answer it, I was still raw from what had gone on between us over the summer and didn't know if I was healed enough for a confrontation today of all days. I contemplated too long because the phone stopped ringing.

I set the phone down and started to walk back to the bathroom only to hear my phone ring again. It was Percy again, trying to get ahold of me. Determined to answer the phone, I raised it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Annabeth! Thank goodness I got you. I'm at the uptown veterinary hospital. Zeus is going into surgery. I don't know what's wrong with him."

Percy sounded panicky. He never panics. He's always the more calm one out of the two of us. He always said I did enough worrying for the both of us. "Perce? Be calm okay? I'm coming down there."

And with that, I grabbed my purse and booked it to the car. Even though Percy and I had some rough patches between us, our dog needed us. And we could put aside our problems to be there for him.

Annabeth and I stood together as the doctor emerged from the back looking for us. She must not have realized it, but I did, because she instinctively grabbed my wrist for comfort and support for what the doctor had to tell us.

"Mr and Mrs. Jackson?"

I didn't have the time to explain our rocky history so I just nodded while Annabeth stared straight at the doctor.

"Well, I'm glad to say that your dog will be fine. He's going to have to stay here overnight to make sure he doesn't rip out any stitches, but he should be good to go tomorrow."

Hearing those words, Annabeth let go of my wrist and let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you so much doctor. May I ask what was wrong with him?"

"Certainly Mrs. Jackson," the doctor answered. And I didn't bother correcting him, neither did Annabeth. "Your dog has heartworm. Now lucky we were able to treat him for it, because you caught it early. Just from now on take precautionary measures before taking him outside and into the woods, like flea and tick medication and keep his shots up to date. You've got a fighter of a dog back there. Any other dog wouldn't have been showing signs this early, but you're very lucky."

The doctor shook our hands and left. It was that time that I finally got to deflate. I had been so worked up about this whole thing. It was a good thing Annabeth was here to keep me grounded. She always did that. It was like when she was around I could always focus better, see more clearly.

Annabeth looked at the watch on her wrist and silently cursed. She looked at me with those grey eyes that I have been captivated by since I first saw her.

"Um, Percy, I have to go. But, will you keep me updated on how Zeus is doing?"

I nodded my head. I tried my hardest to remember what she would be doing today that was more important that waiting for Zeus to wake up from the surgery. Then I remembered, the wedding rehearsal was today.

"Yeah sure, no problem Annabeth." I looked at the door that Zeus was staying in to avoid looking at the stormy eyes in front of me.

"Thank you Percy, this means the world to me."

I nodded my head and tried to not let my watery eyes show. The love of my life was standing right beside me, and I had to let her go.

"No problem Annabeth. You go to the rehearsal, I'll stay here and wait for Zeus to wake up. He needs to see a familiar face."

Annabeth nodded and started to head for the doors. Before she reached them though she looked back and me and gave me a small smile. As much as I hated to admit it, that smile gave me the smallest semblance of hope. Hope that one day, we would be friends again. Hope that she wouldn't be gone from my life forever. Because I would rather have Annabeth be my friend, than nothing at all.