Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus. I don't own anything written by Rick Riordan.

Author's Note: Please review. I really want to know what you all think of my writing. Constructive criticism will be especially appreciated. That sort of is the point of my writing on FanFiction. Anyways, thanks to everyone that's been encouraging me. Here's the chapter of the week. Also, the A/N at the end is a somewhat important - to me at least - so I'd appreciate it if you read it.

I have a poll on my profile I would like you to vote on - it's about what story I should write after I finish either one of my current stories.

Chapter 29

Ares POV

Ares jolted awake, hand going to the small knife he always kept under his pillow. He looked around his room. Everything seemed to be in place. What had woken him up? Unsure, the war god poured himself a glass of nectar from the jug on his bedside table, hoping the godly drink would clear the drowsy haze that numbed his mind. Just as he had raised the glass to his lips and was about to take a sip, he heard it.

A piercing scream rang through the air, heavy with pain and fear.

It didn't take the war god long to recognize the origins of the scream. Jumping out of bed, Ares slammed his glass down on the bedside table. He ran out of his room, only pausing to grab his sword. The black-haired god quickly made his way down the hall and paused outside Percy's room.

Ares quietly opened the door so as not to alert any intruders. Another scream ripped through the air, causing the war god to abandon stealth and hit the light switch with one hand, while brandishing his sword with the other.

Ares's eyes flitted around before finally resting on a curled up figure that occupied the only bed in the sparsely decorated room. The war god heaved a sigh of relief and lowered his sword. Nobody was attacking. Percy was safe.

The relief was quickly swept away by worry when another heart wrenching scream escaped the Olympian goddess's mouth. Ares sat down on the bed, uncertain of how to help.

Percy was curled in a fetal position, drenched in sweat. Her clothes were stuck to her clammy skin and her hair was wild and tangled.

Another scream erupted from her mouth and she curled up into a tighter ball.

"To Hades with it," muttered Ares. He shook the goddess gently, calling her name, telling her that she was just dreaming and that she needed to wake up.

Ares growled helplessly as another scream rent the air. These nightmares were obviously the reason Percy hadn't been sleeping well. He needed to wake her up - he couldn't just sit by while his friend suffered from nightmares and the resultant insomnia. He looked away from Percy's shuddering body for a moment, a jug catching his eye. Of course! Water would almost certainly force the daughter of Poseidon awake. He darted for the jug and unceremoniously poured half its contents on Percy's face.

Immediately, the goddess shot up, eyes opening, before closing again as she buried her face in her hands and began to sob. Sitting on the bed again, Ares pulled the trembling immortal close to him, holding her tightly despite her attempts to get away.

"You're safe, now," he murmured. "You were just dreaming."

Percy stopped fighting Ares and leaned into his chest, still crying.

Ares just held her as she began to calm down and take deep breaths.

"Thank you," whispered Percy hoarsely.

"It was nothing," said Ares, still holding her. "Ares you okay?"

"I- I don't know," replied Percy brokenly.

Ares bit his lip in concern. He'd been expecting the raven-haired goddess to lie and say she was fine. That she didn't need any help. For her to admit that she was hurting...

"Do you want to tell me what your nightmare was about?" asked the war god.

"Th- they were all dying, Ares. And Kronos was torturing them. They were b- blaming me for their d- deaths and-" Percy broke off, gasping.

"Who was?" Ares asked gently. "Who was blaming you?"

"Everyone who died in the Titan War. Beckendorf. Silena. Zoƫ. Michael. Lee-"

Ares cut her off. "I may not have known those heroes personally, but I do know they would never blame you, Percy. Their deaths weren't your fault."

Percy nodded mutely. "Will I ever get better?" she asked suddenly, voice shaky. "I mean, since going through Tartarus, I-I haven't been myself, and..."

"You're going to be fine," reassured Ares. "Very few people have ever fallen into Tartarus, let alone survive the journey through it. It's not something you can just bounce back from. But you will, eventually. You're strong, Percy. This isn't going to beat you. It's not going to break you." The war god wasn't really sure what he was saying, but what was coming out of his mouth seemed to help Percy. That was all he could ask for.

The Olympian goddess sighed and leaned her temple against Ares's shoulder. "Thank you," she murmured tiredly.

"You're my friend, Percy. If you ever need something - anything - you just have to ask," said Ares, resting his chin on her head.

The two gods remained in that position for a while, surrounded by a peaceful silence.

Finally, Ares stirred. "You need to get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."

Percy moved off of Ares, allowing him to get up. "Good night."

Ares switched the lights off. "Good night."

Just as the war god left the room, Percy called, "Ares?"

The black haired god turned around, concerned. "Yeah?" He turned the lights back on.

"I- Can you stay here, tonight?" asked the petite goddess, face open and vulnerable.

Ares bit his lip. He hated seeing the normally strong goddess so weak and helpless. "Of course."

"Thank you," whispered Percy.

"Hey, there's no need to thank me," said Ares. Unbidden, words sprang to his lips, "If you like, I can stay with you every night until you stop having nightmares." The war god blinked. He wasn't sure why he had offered that, but he meant it. At that moment, he was willing to do anything to help the broken goddess.

"Really?" asked Percy, voice hitching in surprise.

Ares nodded. "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it."

"I- I would like that." Percy bit her lip.

The war god smiled gently and switched the lights off again and blinking to adjust his eyes to the darkness. He moved back to the bed lay down on his back. Percy lay next to him, head on his chest. Ares wrapped his arms around the goddess, rubbing his hand along her spine until she finally relaxed.

Ares rested his hand on her head, occasionally combing his fingers through her hair. He waited for her breathing to even out before succumbing to sleep, himself.

A/N: I know, I know. This was a short chapter, again. I would have made it longer, but then the impact of Percy's nightmare and Ares comforting her would have been lost... Besides, I never said all my chapters would suddenly start becoming 2k words. I think the next chapter will come close, though.

The important information: Last chapter, I said Fire to the Rain had been completed. I sort of lied about that. I've decided to add another chapter to it. One of my reviewers mentioned they would like to see Artemis punish Anthony and since that pertains more to Anthony than the storyline of The Sea's Recovery, I decided to put it in there. I will also be putting up a fifth chapter in Fire to the Rain after the next chapter as it will be based on some information that is revealed in it.

More important information: I published my first one-shot! It's the one that I promised the winner of the title competition for Fire to the Rain - hoOPJO. It's called Fire's Shadow and you can find it on my profile page. It's a Valdangelo story with fem!Nico.

Even more important information: I have a poll on my profile I would like you to vote on - it's about what story I should write after I finish either one of my current stories.