"Where is this healer?"

Hestia looked around them, examining the flat countryside. "Last time I checked, he wasn't too far from here. We should head out now: I don't know how long Mark's condition will stay stable." She walked briskly towards the family, who were examining Mark's newfound health with a mixture of wonder and confusion. Hestia went into a whispered conversation with Annie, speaking kindly and softly.

Percy looked back at his companions, baffled by this turn of events. Annabeth was thinking heavily, staring off into the distance as she contemplated the situation. Grover was looking at the family with pity, his brow furrowed.

"What do you think?" Percy asked Annabeth.

Annabeth shook her head. "Too many distractions." She sighed. "I guess the only thing we can do is bring Mark to this healer. Hopefully it won't take too long, and we'll be back on the road soon."

It took a while to get everyone back onto the stagecoach, but eventually they were back on their way. Mark was laying in his father's lap on the top of the carriage, swathed in blankets as he moaned piteously, still in obvious pain. Hestia had taken the seat next to Percy, pointing out the path to take towards the healer.

Hestia was gazing calmly at the passing countryside, idly swinging her legs as she sat. "I can sense Athena's presence on you," she said suddenly. Her voice was as neutral as always. "Why is that, Percy?"

Percy was so startled by the sudden conversation and Hestia's question that he nearly ran the stagecoach off of the road. "W-what?"

Hestia slowly cast her gaze onto Percy. "Athena did something to both you and Mark. Obviously, you haven't caught the Great Plague. So, what did she do?"

"Ah…" Percy stammered. He thought he had a good idea of what Athena had done, but he didn't want to explain it all to Hestia.

"I can only assume it has something to do with your conversation with your father," Hestia continued calmly. "Those two were always at each other's throats." She shook her head sadly. "It's a shame. After that whole affair with Athens, they never truly resolved their differences." She fixed Percy with a piercing gaze. "What did you talk about with Poseidon?"

Percy glanced at her, trying to pay attention to the road ahead. "It's…a long story."

"We've a ways to go before our destination," Hestia rebutted. "And I have all of the time in the world."

Percy sighed, defeated. "Alright." He recounted his talk with Poseidon, specifically about his father's instructions for him. As he spoke, Hestia nodded along silently, still swinging her legs as she listened. "And I guess Athena heard about what he said to me, and cursed Mark to make an example."

Hestia was silent for a moment. "You poor boy," she said sadly. "All of this weight, to fall on your shoulders." She looked at the road ahead of them. "You have a tough decision: betray your friends, or betray your family. I would not wish that choice upon anyone. But that does make Athena's actions more…understandable. She would do much to let the colonies succeed, if only out of pride."

"So, what should I do?"

Hestia looked at him sadly. "That is for you to decide, and you alone. I cannot help you in this regard, Percy Jackson." She pointed to the left fork in the road. "Take that turn."

After another two hours, Percy stopped the carriage in front of a large building in the middle of a small town. The building was austere-looking, with white walls and large pillars holding up the upper levels. Its many windows loomed above the comparatively smaller buildings on either side it.

"This is the place?" Percy asked.

Hestia nodded. "Yes. Now, we should bring in Mark quickly: I doubt the ride was very good for his condition."

Percy hopped off of the carriage and began to tie the stagecoach to a post that was placed in the front of the building. The few passersby that were on the street gave odd looks to the decorated city carriage on their road, especially when Thomas walked out with a dying child in his arms.

Mark's condition had indeed gotten worse, and the work Hestia had done to heal the child was all but undone, as the lumps on his neck grew in size and more dots ran down his arms. Seeing the boy's illness, the people on the street gave them a wide berth, wary of catching the Plague. Many made the sign of the Cross as they passed, muttering a prayer to keep themselves healthy.

As Percy stepped towards the front door of the building, he noticed a picture of a stick with a single snake entwined around it carved into the wall. It was very similar to the emblem that had been on the cyclops toll keeper's paperwork, a fact which caused Percy to become increasingly wary of this place.

Annabeth stepped next to Percy, examining the building shrewdly. "It's a hospital," she said, mildly surprised. "I've only ever heard of hospitals in major cities like London. Certainly not in a small town like this."

"That's because, officially, there is no hospital here," Hestia said, craning her neck to look at the hospital. "All the mortals see is an empty plot of land that's suspiciously been unoccupied for two hundred years."

Stepping onto the street, Thomas looked around him worriedly, holding Mark in his arms. "Where is this physician of yours?" he asked anxiously. "I don't see anything here."

Percy raised an eyebrow, impressed that someone could hide a building as large as this one.

Hestia approached Thomas, smiling. "I'm so very sorry, but I'm afraid we're going to have to bring Mark in by ourselves. You'll have to wait here."

Thomas narrowed his eyes, bringing his son closer to his chest. Annie gasped, grabbing her son's arm. "What are you talking about? I can't leave Mark alone: he needs me. It could take weeks for him to recover."

"Or he could die tonight," Hestia said tersely. "As I said, I'm very sorry, but if Mark is going to receive the proper treatment, he'll have to come with us. Alone."

Thomas eyed Hestia for a few moments, struggling to figure out what to do. With a sigh, he reached over and placed Mark in Hestia's arms. "I don't understand what this is all about, but…" He closed his eyes tightly and gave out a long breath. "I trust you. You better bring him back safe and sound."

Hestia nodded solemnly. "You have my word." She looked very strange carrying Mark in her arms, considering that he was almost as tall as she was, but she held him with no apparent difficulty. Hestia turned around and started walking towards the entrance of the hospital. "Come along, children."

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover followed Hestia as she walked. Percy glanced behind him and saw Thomas and Annie holding each other, watching in fear as their child was led away.

"Who is this healer?" Percy asked as they walked.

"Asclepius," Hestia responded, not breaking stride. "The god of medicine." She reached up and rapped on the front door smartly, impressively holding Mark with one hand. After a few seconds, the door swung open, revealing a handsome young man in a dark coat.

"Welcome to the asclepeion," he said with a slight French accent. His eyes fell on Mark. "Oh, you have a patient. Please, come in." He backed out of the door, letting them enter.

They walked into the building, Hestia leading. As Percy stepped onto the premises, he was immediately hit with the smell of lye, so powerful that his eyes began to water. Next to him, Grover covered his nose with his hand, retching slightly at the strength of the smell.

"I know the smell can take some getting used to at first," the man said. "It's unfortunate, but that's the price we have to pay for cleanliness. I promise, it becomes bearable eventually."

Once Percy's eyes had cleared, he looked around them. They appeared to be in the foyer of a hospital, with long hallways in both directions lined with beds. Nurses walked down the halls, carrying plates of food and administering medicine to the patients. The beds were separated by white curtains, so Percy couldn't see the patients.

The man turned around and examined them, smirking slightly. "And what do we have here? A goddess, two demigods, a satyr, and a dying mortal. Quite the cast of characters."

"Are you Asclepius?" Annabeth asked.

The man put a hand to his chest, chuckling. "No, but I'm flattered you would think so. My name is William." He gave a refined bow. "I merely assist Sir Asclepius with his work." He smiled at Annabeth slyly. "But the real question, my dear, is who are you?" He kneeled slightly and took Annabeth's hand, giving it a genteel kiss. "It is not often I see such beauty in this place of death."

Annabeth's eyes widened at the man's actions. She let her hand stay in the air for a while, her face bright red. "Ah…" She giggled nervously.

Hestia cleared her throat loudly to get their attention, lifting Mark slightly. "It is a…pleasure to meet you, Mister William, but I'm afraid this boy needs immediate medical attention. Can you please bring us to Asclepius?"

William nodded, seemingly unaware of the tension his advances had caused. "Of course, Lady Hestia. If you'll follow me right this way." He turned smartly on his heels and began to walk down the left hall, not looking back to see if they were actually following.

Percy furrowed his brow as he walked, unnerved by William's attitude towards Annabeth. The man must have no sense of propriety, coming on to her like that so soon after meeting her. He eyed the man's back suspiciously, immediately distrusting him.

As they walked down the hall, Percy could see into the beds of the patients as he passed. He saw a number of patients with cholera, their skin bluish and wrinkled. One man was wrapped in bandages, his arm and the lower part of his leg missing.

Most of the patients, however, were not like anything Percy had ever seen before. He saw a centaur in a specially-made bed, his coughs sounding like the bray of a horse. A small dryad was holding onto a withering rose, watching sadly as a petal fell to the dirt in the pot. A satyr walked by them on crutches, nodding respectfully at Grover as he passed.

Percy stepped forward and felt something moving underneath his foot. He immediately jumped back, watching in fear as a large snake hissed angrily and slithered under a patient's bed.

"There's a snake!" he said, worried that one of the patients was about to be killed.

William raised his hand, not looking back. "That's just Jack. Don't worry, he's not venomous. He helps with the patients."

Now that he looked, Percy saw a number of snakes moving around the sick bay, navigating through bed posts and nurses. A cyclops was petting a small green snake's head soothingly as he sat up in bed.

Percy followed the rest of the group through the hall until they came to a large oak door with a bronze label nailed to it. Without preamble, William opened the door and stepped inside, motioning for them to follow him.

The room appeared to be a laboratory of some description, with large glass vials and jars sitting on shelves on the walls and a huge bookshelf filled with thick volumes. Sharp-looking surgery tools were hung on the wall, with small lettering underneath them to describe their name and function. A large window in the back lit the room brightly, showing a large courtyard below. The smell of lye was fainter in here, though it was still overpowering.

As they walked in, a tall man who was standing in front of a complicated series of tubes and distilleries motioned for them to wait. He carefully lifted a steaming pot of some liquid and poured it into the tubes, watching intently as the fluid swirled around and entered a number of vials and chambers. Eventually, he pulled out a small vial from the end of the network, bringing it up to the light to examine it.

"Oh, William, you're here; good! I think I've done it!" he said, his voice muffled. He turned around quickly, holding the vial out in front of him. The man was wearing a heavy black coat, and on his face was a dark mask that resembled a large beak sticking out of his head. He straightened as he realized that he had visitors. The man examined them through the thick goggles on his mask. "Hello!"

"Asclepius." Hestia stepped forward, smiling warmly.

Asclepius took off his mask, revealing a kindly-looking man with streaks of white hair. "Hestia! How good to see you!" He put the mask on the table and picked up a polished black cane with his free hand. As he walked, he lifted the strange vial, showing it to Hestia. "Look at this! I've created a superior form of inoculation!" He pointed to the vial as if it was supposed to do something. "If I use the cowpox virus instead, the risks disappear! This could save millions!" As he approached, William walked towards Asclepius' apparatus and started to clean it up, blowing out flames and clearing used flasks.

"That's amazing!" Hestia said, grinning. "But I'm afraid we didn't come here for inoculations." She glanced at Mark in her arms.

Asclepius gasped as if he hadn't noticed the boy before. "Oh, my." He very delicately placed the vial onto a wooden rack on a table. He pulled back the blankets, examining Mark's condition. "This isn't normal Plague," he said, frowning.

"No, it isn't," Hestia said, shaking her head. "He was cursed. By Athena."

Asclepius' eyes widened, and his lips curved slightly upwards. "A challenge." He took Mark from Hestia, holding the child precariously under one arm. "William! Prepare the operating table!" William looked up from pouring the contents of a flask into a bucket. "Oh, have you met William?"

"We have," Percy said dryly.

Asclepius motioned for William to come forward, seemingly oblivious to Percy's tone. Percy eyed how he was carrying Mark warily, afraid that the physician was going to drop the child. "This is William, my trusty assistant! Oh, we've been through quite a lot together, haven't we?"

William stepped forward, looking at Annabeth with a smile. "I have already had the pleasure of meeting this fair maiden and her companions. Though I have not caught your name, my sweet."

"A-annabeth," Annabeth replied, looking surprised at herself for saying this. Percy looked at her, eyes wide.

"Annabeth." William breathed in heavily. "A beautiful name."

Asclepius slapped William on the arm disparagingly. "Now, stop that!" He smiled at Annabeth apologetically. "Please excuse him, miss. I'm afraid my assistant is a shameless flirt, but he's ultimately harmless. You needn't feel unsafe here."

"N-n…" Annabeth started, but she trailed off quickly.

Asclepius made a shooing motion to William with his cane. "Now, go set up the operating table! We have a child to save!" With a last look at Annabeth, William turned around and headed towards a side door in the laboratory.

Asclepius spun around, almost knocking Mark's head on the corner of a table. "Spike! Where are you?"

"Move." Percy stiffened as he felt a snake slither across his foot, moving towards Asclepius. The voice seemed to have come from the snake, much to Percy's surprise.

"There you are!" Asclepius reached down and pulled the snake from the floor, placing it onto his cane. He pointed a finger at the snake admonishingly. "And where have you been?"

"There was a mouse in the leprosy ward," Spike responded in a low, raspy voice. "I had to…convince Jack to give it to me."

"Now, what have I told you about fighting with the ward snakes?"

"Don't lose?"

Asclepius thought for a second. "Really? Wh—no! Don't fight them!" He sighed, looking back to the four of them. "Don't worry, the child is in safe hands. I'll bring him out as soon as he's well again." He moved towards the side door that William had gone through. "You can wait in here, if you like: this may take a while." With a final wave, he stepped into the operating theater, slamming the door behind him.

Percy let out a long breath once Asclepius had left. "Why don't I feel confident about this?"

Hestia smiled unsurely. "Asclepius is…eccentric, but he knows how to do his job. Believe me, we couldn't have brought Mark to a better place."

"Sure." Percy sat down on one of Asclepius' chairs, nearly falling through the seat. "Gah!" The chair was so old that it could barely support his weight, and he quickly jumped back up. "What is this place?" he muttered. He brushed wooden slivers from his pants.

On the other side of the room, Annabeth was idly playing with her hair, looking through the window to the courtyard below.

Percy approached her cautiously. "Are you alright?"

Annabeth jumped, surprised. "What? Oh, yes, I'm fine."

"It's just…I don't like how that guy spoke to you."

"Who, William? You heard Asclepius, he's harmless."

"He's French," Percy argued back.

"Why do you care?" Annabeth asked. "It's not your problem."

Percy scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. "I know it's not, but it's just…" He took a deep breath. "It's just that you're my friend, and I feel…responsible for you."

Annabeth looked at him strangely. "Well, you're not. I can handle myself, thank you."

"I know you can-"

"So why do you feel that you need to step into my business?"

"You said that we needed to trust each other, and we can only do that if we talk to each other."

"Oh, so now we're talking about our feelings? Because we're best friends?"

Percy blinked. "You don't…think we're friends?"

Annabeth glared at him. "I'm here for a quest, Percy. I'm not risking my life to make friends."

Percy nodded slowly. "O-of course. That's…perfectly reasonable." He tried to keep the hurt out of his voice.

Annabeth turned back towards the window, ignoring him. He moved to stand next to Grover, who was poking Asclepius' machine experimentally.

"Grover?" Percy said awkwardly. "We're…friends, right?"

"What? Yes, of course. Why, is something wrong?"

"No, I was just…checking." After ensuring the chair's integrity, Percy sat down and waited for the surgery to be over.