"Percy..."

"We'll talk about it later, Thalia." Percy gritted out. They were on the bus, heading to the place they left Nico, where Nico was bleeding and possibly dying.

"What are we going to do?" Thalia prodded for a game plan, one Percy didn't have, because his brain was somewhere else, somewhere he couldn't imagine. He was still scattered to the winds, everything had come so fast: reliving Jason's death, Thalia's betrayal (which he's still sorting into his brain. He kept forgetting, until he looked over at her, all large angles and unashamed, and he was furious, and it took a second before he remembered why he's mad at her, but then he knew he loves her and he'll forgive her, in a bit.), and then Nico, who's in trouble and a while away from them yet.

Percy blew out a puff of breath, like a smoker would do, out the corner of his mouth. After a moment of frozen, indecisiveness, he tapped the woman next to him and asked to borrow her phone.

A shaking hand pressed the buttons.

9. 1. 1.

"Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?"

"My...cousin. He called me, he's hurt." Percy went on to give the address, while Thalia watched him nervously and the woman whose phone he had borrowed opened and closed her mouth, gaping.

Percy didn't stay on the line, didn't answer any more questions. He didn't want to hear the woman ask about what had happened, didn't want to hear when someone got close. He was dimly aware that he was worried they wouldn't get there in time, or if they did, they wouldn't know how to help.

Because this was a magical affliction, not a normal one. This was his fault, for making Nico drink that, for bringing Nico into this at all. For that matter, nearly every bad thing that had ever happened to Nico was a result of him.

From the first moment Percy had walked into (or busted into the school of) Nico's life, he'd fucked him up. He left Annabeth, avoided Thalia's plan for no good reason other than that it was Thalia's plan, and nearly gotten the very kids he was supposed to be helping hurt, meaning his own failure had to be cleaned up by the others. Annabeth had been kidnapped, Bianca had been introduced to the Hunters and decided to leave Nico, which was kind of mean on her part but Percy honestly thought she had done the right thing, which kind of made him question his own morals, because he thought it was a perfectly viable reaction to finding out you were a half-blood: leave you brother with people who'll take care of him, and live your own life.

Bianca had died, and it turned out the camp was hardly the best place for Nico to be left, because no one had protected him, and Percy had failed him (again.).

Nico had spent his years being thrown about by gods and demigods, never really wanted or accepted anywhere. Much less than that had turned other demigods to Luke's side, but not Nico. If anything, the worse Nico ever got was ambivalent, like he didn't care who won, and even that didn't last. This was the kid who would have turned over the closest thing he had to a friend for a lottery-tickets chance at his father's affection, and then changed his mind and busted Percy out, knowing the hell (literally, hell) they'd be put through should they be caught. This was the kid who spent years—years!—of time that a normal teenager would have spent hanging out at McDonald's, with a group of friends, a sibling, a girlfriend, not buying McDonald's in an attempt to summon his sister's spirit. This was the kid who traveled through Tartarus, alone, trying to find the other side of the Doors of Death.

This was the kid who slept with a knife in each hand's reach, who turned on white noise in every room, who screamed in his sleep every few nights, who still threw himself in the crossfire of more damage for Percy's sake, on Percy's whim.

Now he was bleeding, hurting, and Percy went and broke one of the unspoken rules of demigod life, by calling an ambulance.

With an ambulance, often came the police.

Demigods don't call the police.

The police are human—highly trained, very skilled, but human—and they didn't deserve to get pulled into a mess that wasn't theirs.

Percy handed the woman back her phone and pointedly looked away after saying a curt "Thanks."

"Percy." Thalia repeated, appealing, as if they had a choice, as if there was something else they could have done.

The only options were a) ambrosia, b) ambulance, or c) wait and see whether he's going to die before they get there or, worse, right when they do, so the two of them could be haunted by another death of a loved one in their presence.

"We didn't have a choice." Percy muttered.

"I know." Percy looked over at her. She met his eyes defiantly. "I was going to say thank you. I don't want to see him hurting, either."

Percy ducked his head and pinched the skin on his ribcage, because he was a selfish son-of-a-bitch, except his mother was incredible and didn't deserve that, and he'd thought the worst of Thalia, who'd been the more sensible out of the two of them for a long time. The pain hurt, duh, but it kept him present and not freaking out.

Percy didn't want this pressure, didn't want this fear. He wanted it to be done, wanted Nico tucked away in a little box (or maybe a house in Hades) where he'd be safe, and happy, and Percy would never have to sit on a bus and avoid people's eyes and pinch the skin of his ribcage below a missing arm to keep from doing something drastic, like screaming.

"Thalia." Percy shook his head to clear it. It didn't work. Percy looped an arm around her shoulders, drawing her close, and she locked up, again, not wanting him to touch her, being all 'tough-Hunter-of-Artmemis-who-needs-no-man'. Then she suddenly softened, leaning into him, and it occurred to Percy that he wasn't comforting her, she was comforting him, patting the back of his neck, and he breathed in, ragged.

For a while, at least two stops of the bus, one of which the lady with the phone left on, they half-hugged. Percy wasn't sure about Thalia, who seemed as rigid and fierce as she possibly could have, considering, but he was finding it easier to breath.

That was until their bus stopped, and they ran, full-tilt, towards the empty building they'd left the son of Hades in. Percy wondered if Jeeves had managed to get out of the way, or if they'd have to explain that, too.

When they slowed to a gasping, pain-in-his-side stop outside the building, Percy saw flashing lights and lots of bustling people, and he ducked out of the way, behind a dumpster, and doubled over.

Oh. Percy thought, as he distantly heard Thalia's footsteps and her voice asking what was wrong. He couldn't do anything more than shake his head at her, falling to his knees, and then his arm. He couldn't think.

His mind was blank, empty, shot, and all he could feel was the hoarse movement of his own chest, his lungs expanding in a vain attempt to get air to his brain, which seemed to be rejecting it.

It was like it was saying 'if Luke's not breathing and Jason's not breathing, and now Nico's not breathing, we're not going to breath either'.

Percy moved to claw at his chest, to bargain with his unruly organs, but he only had one arm now and it was supposed to be supporting him, which he forgot until his face was roughly introduced to the coarse concrete ground.

"Ow." He moaned.

"Percy!" Thalia was trying to talk to him, sounded like she wanted to be loud, to scream it in his ear until he responded.

"Yeah." Percy whispered it into the gritty ground after a moment, unable to speak louder.

"Percy!" She hissed again, obviously trying to avoid the attention of any of the emergency people a few dozen yards away.

"Yeah!" Percy repeated it, turning his head and inhaling enough air to push himself up to a kneeling position.

"Oh, thank gods." She was all over him, brushing fingers along his forehead, his arm, the back of his skull. Percy closed his eyes and couldn't get the strength to batter her hands away. His limbs felt noodle-y, weak, even though he knew the problem wasn't with his body but his mind, and his heart.

"What happened?" She said softly. She was on her knees, too.

"I think," Percy coughed and licked his lips, trying to moisten his dry mouth. "I think it was a panic attack, or something like it."

"Well," Percy couldn't see her, but he could tell her tone of voice was taken-aback, "are you okay, now?"

"No." Percy said honestly. He wasn't sure whether it was a conscious decision, or if it was a by-product of his still feeling light-headed, but he didn't want to lie to her.

He slowly keyed into the feeling of her slowly brushing his hair away from his face, of the burn on his cheek and nose. He must have scraped it on the ground in his little face-plant.

"That's fine." She insisted. Her fingers hesitated on his forehead, she seemed startled, like she came to a conclusion.

"Something wrong?" Percy croaked.

"No, Percy." She smiled at him crookedly. "Not a thing."

"I need to see Nico."

"Let's head to the hospital, then."

Percy raised an eyebrow and accepted Thalia's hand up.

"The ambulance already left. I didn't hear any screams, so I'm guessing Jeeves got clear." Percy looked at her, shocked. When had that happened?

"You were," Thalia motioned towards his recently-vacated section of concrete, "kind of out of it, for a few minutes."

"How long?" Percy was aghast.

"About five."

"Five? Seriously?"

"Yes. Let's go see Nico."

As it happened, they were waylaid on their path to the hospital. Just as the two of them were about to duck onto the street, a bony hand clasped onto Percy's bad shoulder.

Before Percy had fully understood the scenario, he had his sword drawn and slashing, cutting straight through the wrist of whoever grabbed him.

The skeletal hand hit the ground with a rattling noise, Percy's harsh breathing filling the rest, as Percy raised his hand to the inevitable sight of Jeeves watching him coldly, one wrist dangling.

"Sorry." Percy breathed, quickly sheathing Riptide with his teeth and picking up the hand. He held it out towards the butler.

Jeeves reached out his other hand out and took it, snapping it back on without problem.

"Yes." Jeeves responded, passing the two demigods quickly and walking ahead of them in the rough direction of the hospital. "I imagine you are."

Percy swallowed, roughly, because he really should have been expecting this. He knew that Jeeves had saved Nico's life once, and that Jeeves was pretty protective of his young master.

"I'm sorry." Percy hoped the butler wouldn't kill him, slowly, which seemed likely as the skeleton turned around and glared at him.

"Yes." Jeeves' teeth clacked as he spoke.

"I didn't know he was going to get hurt."

"I'm sure not."

"Really!" Thalia insisted, while Percy made little, aborted slashing motions, trying to get her to stop. There was no point in them both being slaughtered, if that's the mood the dead guy was in.

"How do you imagine this was not Sir Jackson's fault?" Jeeves countered.

Thalia's mouth fell open indignantly. "It may be yours, for all we know!

Percy could see how she may think that, from her point of view. She had never met Jeeves before, and when the two of them had left Nico had only (if only was a word that could be used here) been unconscious, not bleeding out of his nose and mouth and doubled over. Jeeves looked creepy enough, it was hardly a stretch of the imagination to think that he may have hurt Nico, if one didn't know him.

"I would never." Jeeves drew himself up to all of his impressive height, and Percy was pretty sure he was even throwing in a little bit of space between vertebrae for that much more. "I have done nothing but help Sir Di Angelo since I have entered his custody."

"Oh? And how long has that been, then?" Thalia snapped at the implied 'unlike you two' in Jeeves' voice.

"Since I removed him from the Archeron after his attempted suicide." Jeeves said it coldly, and Percy's gut froze with the sheer ice in the other man's voice. Every word was laden with the suggestion of guilt.

Thalia squawked, like she was about to retort, but Percy grabbed her arm and shook his head.

"Just don't."

"But he's—"

"He's worried." Percy said, lowly, because that had to be the only reason he could think of that the butler was lashing out, and Percy couldn't blame him. If he'd been strong enough to build up any fury, and anybody else to be mad at, he would have. But he wasn't, and he didn't.

They wouldn't let him in. They wouldn't let any of them in, as it happened.

"I'm terribly sorry." The nurse offered her measly apologies as she steered them back to the lobby, both teenagers resisting, the butler marching steadfast. Percy had no idea what the mortals saw when they looked at Jeeves, but he was assuming it was something non-terrifying, as no one had gone running yet. "But only immediate family members are allowed."

Percy, like he said on the phone, told the hospital he was a cousin, and Thalia used that as well. Jeeves was their father. Apparently not even cousins were close enough to get into the back room where Nico was being held captive (or being treated, whatever).

"Please?" Thalia tried looking cute and worried, but the nurse didn't budge, not that Percy blamed her. Thalia was far to scary looking to ever be taken for cute.

"We'll give you an update when we have more information." The nurse, whose name was Margo, insisted.

According to Margo, Nico had a drug overdose, which was apparently what the mortals saw. Jeeves suggested, as they three of them flipped through magazines chronicling the lives of celebrities Percy didn't know, that Nico had a negative reaction to something in the potion, which only got worse as he got scared and his heart rate spiked.

"How're we going to explain a drug overdose?" Percy ran a hand over his jaw, scratching at stubble. He hadn't realized his beard was growing in slightly, still patchy, because he was too preoccupied with more recent and troubling circumstances.

Both sets of eyes swiveled to him.

"Drugs." Percy prompted, shifting in his seat. "Illegal? Much less in the body of an underage boy?"

Light dawned in Thalia's eyes, but Jeeves looked uninterested.

"The same way we will explain the fact that Nico Di Angelo is over seventy years old." Jeeves turned a page.

"Oh?" Percy hadn't even thought of that, or how they were going to pay for a hospital trip. "And how's that?"

"We do nothing, and say nothing." Jeeves nodded, like it was settled, and that seemed like an appropriate course of action to Percy.

It was a couple hours later before Margo was back, informing them that Nico was still unconscious and would likely be for a while, if they would like to return home, the hospital would call if anything changed.

Numbly, Percy wondered what phone number they would put down.

That's when he realized it didn't matter, because he wasn't going to be around.

He wasn't going to be here when Nico woke up, because that was the best get-well-soon gift Percy could give him: safety. Away from the bad luck charm that was Perseus Jackson.

That settled, Percy nodded at the nurse and thanked her, ignoring the curious look of Thalia's.

"I've, ah, got to use the restroom." Percy stammered, and headed for the nearest hallway.

It was easy, laughably so, to slip out of the bathroom and down the back hallway, to try a couple doors until he found the one with Nico in it.

There, he stared at the dark-haired guy, watching the rise and fall of his chest, and couldn't help the snugness in his own, constricting.

"See you, Nico." Percy whispered into the room, quiet save the beeps of various machines narrating the health of the son of the god of the underworld.

Percy stopped in the doorway before he left, conflicted, before backtracking into the room. Carefully, Percy dug through his own bag, searching for something he knew Nico had stashed in there.

Triumphantly he pulled out a small, quarter-sized pebble, smooth and cold.

Percy sat it on the table and tapped it, like he'd seen Nico do before, when Nico would slip into his room and into his bed, to keep the nightmares of silence away.

A soft, repetitive humming filled the room, so Percy smiled wryly and tucked the stone into Nico's fist, curling his fingers around it so the nurses wouldn't take it.

Nico would know, when he woke up, that Percy hadn't abandoned him, hadn't not wanted him.

He'd only been trying to help.

Percy left the room quickly, and followed his instincts to the back. Outside a door, over a fence, and he was left on his own, walking in a direction that was roughly east.

.

.

.

A/N:

Before you ask, yes this was short by about 600 words. I'm still working off a borrowed pad, with a keyboard that's horrifically small. I think I'm being punished for something, I just haven't figured out what yet.

Next update should be in three days, to compensate.

As will always be the case, I love reviews. and I love you.

Tobi.