Chapter Thirty

When someone's life is on the line we tend to panic. We tend to realize just how short life is, just how delicate it is. We grieve badly, even if we aren't the one who is hurt. And we all tend to deal with grief differently. That was what the friends of Annabeth Christine Chase were discovering rather quickly as she lay unconscious in the hospital bed for what was her third week because we never see it coming. How are we to know that one's day could be their last? It's quite simple. We don't know. We can never predict tragedy. It is an impossible feat to do. We like to believe that our lives will go by happy, with no problems. We will be the ones who break the mold of tragedy.

But the sad truth is that every man, every woman, every child, no matter how hard they try, no matter how nice they appear to be, will always walk through a storm. Sometimes we cannot see what storm they are fighting through, what bullets they are wounded from. Not all scars are as visible as others. And tragedy seems to affect us in ways that we don't want it to. We begin to feel hopeless. And it's while we are hopeless that we also fight to find ways to be hopeful. Perhaps it is an oxymoron, perhaps it's just life, but while we are hopeless it is at that time we are the most hopeful, because it is when the lights are darkest, when the times are the hardest, while the storms pound the worst against us, that we crave hope.

All of these truths were discovered in one way or another by Annabeth's friends.

Thalia dealt with the harsh blow by going to the gym and repeatedly hitting things, she ran harder and faster than she had before, pushing herself to the limits was the only way to deal with her best friend being in the hospital. Hazel worked harder and harder at school, trying to make up for Annabeth and where she wasn't, she took notes on everything so that Annabeth would know what they were doing when she woke up… if she woke up. Piper, having gotten assigned to help with a criminal court case at her local law firm that she had been assigned to for her school, worked hard, staying up day and night to try and win the case, for some reason she wanted to bring justice, after all it wasn't just that Annabeth was in the hospital. Annabeth was a girl who did no wrong, why do the righteous suffer? So if Annabeth could not have justice, she would bring justice somehow. Silena was in Spain for a modeling gig when she got the news and instantly cried, she always had had a tender heart, more so than others. She flew home on the next flight possible and had volunteered to take the night shifts when others were too tired to stay at Annabeth's side because there was always someone at the hospital day in and day out. Nico, even though he would prefer no one to know, was also grieving. He had grown to enjoy Annabeth's company and had been furious at Percy when they had broken up, he spent more time than usual moping around.

And Percy? Well Percy put his heart and his soul into his composing, into his music. Music is when we can wear our emotions on our sleeves and that was what Percy did. We all cope in different ways and for him it was through his music, where his second love was, the first was in a hospital bed.

We all handle grief in different ways. We all rage in different ways. Man is not a machine, every human in existence has felt pain. But it is how we deal with pain that matters, not how we feel it, it is how we walk through the fires not what burns us, it is how we manage to steer our ships, not what type of storm it is.

o.O.o

Percy slowly found himself dozing off into sleep, his head occasionally slipping from where it was resting on the palm of his hand to drop down into empty air. He was sitting in the small hospital room, taking his turn. Then again he had automatically decided to be there every day, all day if he could. He found that talking to Annabeth even if she couldn't hear was nice. Nice in a way that he couldn't explain. He couldn't tell her just how sorry he was.

Just as he was drifting off again the door flew open and in strolled someone Percy would have liked to never see in his life again.

It was Luke Castellan.

Percy remembered him now. He had been the older boy who had picked on Percy when he was younger, who had teased him relentlessly no matter what he did. Luke was the reason he had gotten so mad at himself, the reason that he hated himself. He didn't know the power of human speech, the power of being able to tear a person down with only a few well placed words.

The whole phrase: sticks and stones may break my bones but words could never hurt me? Bullshit as far as Percy knew. Complete and utter bullshit. He could handle a few well placed punches, hell he could handle a few stones but words… words had the most power.

Just looking at the tall, blonde haired man made Percy cringe inwardly, remembering the long hours he had spent in the trashcans of his middle school. People thought that whole thing with the trashcans was made up? That no one got shoved into them? Hah. Percy had become quite acquainted with the ins and outs of the trashcans. That was back before he had gone through puberty and had looked like a mouse.

Percy instantly wanted to cower but then he remembered something. Hell he was Percy Jackson, he was a billionaire with two Grammies in his back pocket and platinum albums. He didn't need to cower in front of Luke, who was probably working the droll days at a company as was evident by his slacks and button down shirt and tie. Maybe the meek did inherit the earth and all that junk. If anyone was to say back in Highschool and middle school who the most successful person would be, it would probably be Luke and Percy would be nowhere near the top of the list, after all Percy in highschool was a drug addict and a boy who cut himself.

Percy couldn't help but snort a little, look at the cards life had dealt to them now.

"What happened?" Luke asked, folding his arms and glaring at Percy. "Why the hell are you here I thought that you two had broken up. Annabeth finally wised up and realized that she could do far better than you," Luke said, spitting his words.

Percy snorted. "Meaning you?" He said, sizing Luke up. If it came to a fight, which Percy had a slight feeling it might, knowing Luke's tendency to lean towards beating someone up instead of reasoning it out like a civilized person. Then again Percy had the same sort of habit. "As far as I was concerned you cheated on her."

"As did you Jackson, only the whole entire world saw that screw up," Luke said. "I'm going to ask again, what the hell happened here?"

"Car crash if you couldn't tell. I'd think you would have been here as soon as possible as you claim to be her 'best friend'," Percy said, making quotation marks around the words best friend. "But it's been three weeks and you're just now showing up. Some friend you are."

Quicker than Percy would have suspected him to be able to move, Luke had him pinned against the wall. "Shut up Jackson, you know nothing," he growled. "I care more about Annabeth than you do. Someone who cares about her doesn't cheat on her."

"Then obviously we're in the same boat or does the name Tracey not mean anything to you?" Percy quipped back. He remembered that day, it had been all over the school when Luke had kissed Tracey behind the school. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had made Goode's newspaper, the Gazette. But it didn't, probably because Luke threatened the editor or something.

"I told you to shut up Jackson," Luke said again, his blue eyes blazing. Percy gripped Luke's wrists and pushed them away from him, dodging out of the way of his stormy gaze.

"Yeah but you see the problem is a lot of people have told me to shut up but I never listen to them," Percy said shrugging.

"I want you to get out of here," Luke said, his voice calm and cool.

Percy snorted. "Say what? You want me to get out of here? For your information Castellan, I've been here since day one. I think I have more right to be here than you do."

"And you're probably the one who put her in here," Luke said. Percy glared at Luke.

"Get out of here Castellan, you don't belong in here," Percy said.

"The same could be said about you."

"I'm giving you one warning Luke, you stay out of here," Percy said. Luke smirked at Percy.

"Nothing's going to stop me Jackson. You may think that you can get away with anything since you're all so famous and high and mighty but let me tell you Jackson, you can't tell me what to do. You're a pathetic little boy trying to act like a grownup but you're never going to be one. You're too pathetic. You couldn't even keep a girl safe."

Percy felt something raging in the pit of his stomach. Rage and anger do funny things to you. They seem to twist your mind and screw with your vision. They seem to mess with your common sense. He couldn't stop himself from winding back and letting his fist fly.

Straight into Luke's perfect face.

The next thing he knew was that Luke was on the floor clutching his jaw, moaning in pain, his knuckles were bleeding from impact and two nurses ran into the room. "Is everything okay?" They asked as they looked between Percy and Luke. They were used to seeing strange things happen in hospital rooms but this was by far the strangest. Percy Jackson, the musical genius was standing with bloodied knuckles, a handsome man was on the floor grabbing his jaw and a girl was unconscious… still.

"Is everything okay?" One of the nurses asked hesitantly, wringing her hands together.

Percy grinned. "Everything is fine, if you wouldn't mind being a dear and escorting Mr. Castellan out of the hospital that would be grand." The nurses nodded nervously as they helped Luke stand who was busy trying to see if his jaw would actually work. He glared at Percy who saluted him.

"See you around Scar Face," Percy said as they headed out of the hospital room. Percy turned to look at Annabeth's sleeping form. "Damn that felt good," he grinned. "I should have done that a long, long time ago."

o.O.o

Percy was at Annabeth's apartment doing his normal rounds, getting her mail, checking to make sure that no one had broken in which was common in the area of town that she was living in. He picked up the mail that lay in a stack on the floor and shuffled through it. Bills, bills and more bills. Percy couldn't help but cringe when he looked at the significant amount of bills Annabeth had. He'd have to do something about that.

It was about the fifth envelope when he saw something peculiar. It was a large envelope marked URGENT! Percy flipped it over and saw the address was from London and addressed to a Ms. Annabeth Chase from a Mr. Odysseus Ulysses. Percy tucked the other mail under his arm and then worked on opening the envelope marked: URGENT! After all if it was really urgent then he should look at it right away. Annabeth would understand.

Wouldn't she?

Percy pulled out the letter and read it:

Ms. Annabeth Chase,

I realize that you must be busy with your life as I read in the paper a few months ago that you had received a scholarship award to NYU, congratulations on that by the way my dear. But I must remind you that your manuscript for the Letter Writer is due in three days. I have given you plenty of weeks notice as you have probably noticed from the many emails I have addressed to you, I can only hope you have received them and have been working on the manuscript vigorously. I must remind you that it is vital that you email me your new manuscript before the end of the week, I have many different works of fiction that are waiting to be published and I cannot stop time for anyone, even for you my dear. So I hope that this letter reaches you quickly. I am anxiously awaiting your final manuscript and I am sure it will be splendid as I have given you many weeks extra timing. Remember that you are an amazing writing Annabeth and I cannot wait for the rest of the world to read your writing.

Sincerely,

Odysseus Ulysses
CEO of Olympian Press

Percy looked at the letter. Annabeth was getting her book published! That was incredible! It was the moment she had been waiting for since she started writing. He grinned broadly and then suddenly stopped.

Annabeth was getting her book published.

And the manuscript was due in three days.

Less than seventy-two hours.

And right now she was in the hospital, unconscious. That was not helpful in any way, shape, or form. Percy cursed and then pulled out his extra set of keys that Janus had given him to get into Annabeth's apartment. He pushed the key into the doorknob and unlocked it before heading in.

Her room was exactly the way that she had left it the day before she was hit, he couldn't bear to change it at all or clean it up. He searched around the different drawers and desk spaces for her laptop and finally found it under a stack of papers and books. He gingerly took the old laptop out of the stack and booted it up, sitting down in the chair so that he could read it better. Percy found Annabeth's manuscript along with all of the editing marks from the editor on the coffee table next to a stack of DVDs.

He logged onto Annabeth's laptop, thanking whatever God was out there that she hadn't changed the password from the last time she had told him it. All around her desktop were sticky notes with different phrases written on it.

W4W: Life is just one big storm swirling around us all, so take a second to step into the eye of the hurricane. Don't be afraid of being broken, don't give up on dreams, instead let the storm hit you full force and bring you to your knees.

Every time Percy read something Annabeth had written he was captivated by it, she had a way of words, a way of speech, and a way that could bring people to their knees. Words could do that to a person, change them in a way they never expected to be changed.

He found the file titled: The Letter Writer and opened it up. It was 150,000 words of pure genius. Percy scrolled through the pages until he found where Annabeth had last ended.

Percy cracked his knuckles, a bad habit of his and then began to work.

If she could do it with his songs, then sure as hell he would help her finish her book.

o.O.o

The Letter Writer by Annabeth Chase

Edited by Percy Jackson

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Hannah asked as she looked nervously at the large crowd of kids in the gym, all dancing to pop music which made her head hurt. It was so loud that she wanted to go and hide in a corner but Birch gripped her hand tightly.

"Of course I do. I want to spend my last Prom with my girlfriend," he said, kissing her cheek. Hannah felt her cheeks turning slightly red. She still couldn't believe her luck with Birch.

Life was funny. She never, ever would have tried to talk with Birch, she never would have even tried to go near birch, he was a rebel, an outcast, a bad influence as her parents would call him. She had a boyfriend, she had no need to go near Birch Waters.

But then cancer came around.

Most people thought that caner was a curse and Hannah wasn't going to argue with them at all but in some messed up, screwed over sort of way it was also a blessing. A blessing in disguise as her grandmother might have called it.

Cancer had brought Birch to her.

"Let's do this then," Hannah said, taking a deep breath and biting her lip. Birch smirked at her, he always found it adorable the way Hannah bit her lip when she was nervous.

"Wait, let me fix your scarf," Birch said, reaching over and tightening the knot which held Hannah's white scarf around her bare head. He kissed her forehead. "There now you look like a Princess."

Hannah made a face. "I prefer not to look like a princess," She said, crossing her arms.

"What about an Amazon Princess?" birch asked.

"Better," she said, shrugging. "Okay let's go." She nervously fidgeted with her Champaign colored skirt which swirled around her legs. Birch grinned and pushed open the doors to the gym.

Inside everyone stopped and stared for a moment and Hannah had to resist the urge to bury her head in Birch's shoulder. Gods this was so annoying. She wasn't preparing for everyone to turn and look at her, sure she hadn't been to school in a long time but was it really necessary for everyone to stop and look at her like she was some sort of freak? She was pretty sure that she was less a freak than half of the kids at her school. Take the popular girls for instance, the ones who wore too much makeup that it made them look like monsters and picked on everyone else like they were the goddesses of the school. Or the boys who picked on the nerdy kids who stood out with their braces and glasses. Those were the real monsters of the Highschool.

"Ignore them," Birch whispered as he led Hannah onto the dance floor. Hannah let out a smile, what would she do without Birch? Birch and his tattoos and his arrogant smile that hid his pain, Birch and his leather jackets and his motorcycle.

"Hannah!" Izzy said as she came running up to Hannah and hugged her thin form. "Where have you been girl?" Hannah couldn't help but want to roll her eyes. She couldn't believe that at one point in time she had thought that Izzy was smart.

"I've been at the hospital," Hannah said. Birch wrapped his arm around Hannah's waist and glared at the black haired girl in front of him. The one who hadn't come to visit Hannah once while she was in the hospital and yet she claimed to be her best friend.

"What happened to your hair?" Izzy asked. "IT used to be so pretty!"

Birch rolled his eyes. Did this chick think that Hannah had purposely cut all of her hair off? "I had to go through Chemo Izzy," Hannah said politely. Birch had no idea how she managed to be so civilized. If it was him he would rip that girl's head off.

But then again Hannah had always been the better person out of the two of them.

"Oh I'm so sorry," Izzy said. Hannah gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Thanks Izzy," Hannah said.

"Why are you here with Birch?" Izzy asked, eyeing Birch as if he was what had been left out with Thursday's trash. Birch help Hannah even closer to him. She patted his arm to try and calm him down.

"He's my boyfriend Izzy," Hannah said calmly. Birch watched as Izzy's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in surprise.

"When did this happen?" Izzy asked.

"A while ago," Hannah said dismissively. "If you had visited me then maybe you would have known." Birch grinned, there was the snarky comment he was waiting for from his girl. "Now if you'll excuse us, I would like to go and enjoy my last prom."

Birch took that as a cue to steer Hannah away from Izzy who stood there, her mouth wide open in her skimpy black dress. Birch put his hands on Hannah's waist as she draped her arms around Birch's shoulders, lacing them behind his neck.

"Hannah!" Birch watched as Hannah stiffened and let out a silent groan. Jake, her once boyfriend, was walking up to them, Tanya Jacobs, his date to Prom evidently was following him closing, latched completely onto his arm as if she was some sort of disease. "Gods it's amazing to see you again."

"Can't say the same about you," Hannah said stiffly as she glared at Jake. Birch had to stifle his laugh.

"Is that a tattoo on your back?" Jake asked, his voice sounding shocked. Birch stood smugly at Hannah side, his fingers absentmindedly tracing the words which he had memorized on her back shoulder:

"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night; Rage, Rage against the dying of the light."

"Yep, do you like it?" Hannah said, her voice almost like sugar as she spoke, giving Jake one of her falsely sweet smiles. "I think that it's quite beautiful if you ask me."

"Sure Hannah, whatever you say," Jake said rolling his eyes.

"Too bad you don't know why it's there, I wonder why that is? Oh yeah I remember, because you're a douchèbag," Hannah said with a grin. "A downright bastard and anyone who can't see that is blind." Jake stared at her as if she had gone insane.

"Excuse me," Jake said, turning around and dragging Tanya with him away from the duo.

Birch broke out laughing.

"Gods above Hannah Aspen I love you," Birch said, promptly kissing her on the lips. Hannah melted into his kiss just as she did all of the times before.

"That's good, I quite love myself as well," Hannah said laughing. "Now if you'll excuse me, these shoes are killing my feet." She took her heels off and tossed them to one side. "Perfect," she said. "How anyone could survive in them I have no idea."

"It's a worthless skill," Birch said.

"Then is it really a skill?" Hannah countered.

"Touché," Birch said.

That night was magic. Those who say that magic doesn't exist in the world anymore are lying or trying to sell you something. Magic is just as strong as it has been in years before. Without magic there would be no love because LOVE is magic.

T4H: Love is the simplest and yet the most complex of all emotions, it does not ask for permission to invade your heart, but rather it comes in the night and seeps into your subconscious. Love is not simply the "I Love Yous" or the hugs or even the kisses that two lovers might share. Love is being there for someone on both their worst days as well as their best. It's telling someone your deepest fears and giving them a part of yourself that belongs to no one else. And it's trusting them to know not to break you, not to destroy you.Love is trust, love is random acts of kindness, love is understanding, but most of all, above all, love is a magic that only exists in the purest forms.

Near the end of the dance, when the balloons had been let down, when girls had taken their hair out of their feats of architecture on top of their heads, when the boys had begun to play silly dares, Hannah and Birch stood in the middle of the chaos that usually occurred after dances.

"This was fun," Hannah said.

"Yeah, never thought that I could have fun at a dance if I wasn't spiking the punch," Birch admitted. Hannah laughed.

"I… I don't think I've had this fun with anyone else," she admitted. Her chest was hurting slightly but it didn't stop her, nothing could stop her, she was ten feet off the ground. "Excuse me… I've got to use the bathroom," she said, putting a hand to her heart for a moment.

"Are you okay?" Birch asked, concerned. Hannah nodded slowly.

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine, don't worry, I've just got to use the bathroom," she said, shrugging. "I'll be right back. If I'm not out in ten minutes then you can start freaking out," she joked. Birch nodded hesitantly but let her go.

In the bathroom Hannah clutched the side of the sink, looking at her sallow skin color in the mirror, her eyes rimmed in dark circles. She flinched, gods she looked hideous. She tried to take a few deep breaths, there was no way she was going to ruin this night for birch.

But the breathing got harder. Which was probably a problem.

And when you have trouble breathing, you naturally panic. Hannah began to see spots. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" She cursed, clutching the side of the sink so tight that her knuckles turned white. "Why is it always me?" She asked as her head began to swim. She tried to fight the feeling of wanting to collapse in a heap on the floor, she tried to stop her steady swooning.

But it was no use.

Hannah collapsed onto the floor of St. Francis's girl's bathroom in a heap, her head hitting the cold tiles.

End Excerpt

Annabeth woke up with a splitting headache.

As a girl she had been used to headaches as she had been pushed against countertops and the floor far too many times to count by her stepmother but this headache was different. It was like she had been asleep for a long time, she felt like she was forgetting something, like her stepmother had forgotten to wake her up for school and she had overslept which was a nightmare she would frequently have.

She let out a soft moan at the bright lights and moved a hand to cover her eyes. Did she forget to turn off the lights last night before she went to bed? She was known to do that often when she was up late working on her book.

Her book!

She had nearly forgotten! She had to finish it before the deadline happened or else she wouldn't get it published and she did not want that to happen.

Something stung her hand as she moved it to cover her eyes. Annabeth looked at her hand curiously to see a needle stuck in her wrist, taped against her skin. Where was she? She turned her head slightly to the right and saw a lot of machines, beeping and whirling beside her bed. She shook her head and tried to pinch herself to wake herself up from this dream… maybe not dream but nightmare. What the heck had happened?

The door opened and a young, pretty woman entered the room and gave Annabeth a brilliant smile. "Oh thank God you're up," she said. "We were beginning to wonder if you would ever wake up."

Well that was certainly just what you needed to hear wasn't it? Annabeth thought sarcastically to herself.

"What… what happened?" Annabeth asked her voice croaking. It sounded as if she hadn't spoken in a long time, too long. It hurt to talk.

"Shh, you just rest," the lady said. "My name's Tessa, I'm you're nurse here." She went up to one of the machines near Annabeth and typed a few things into it. Annabeth studied Tessa, just as she always did when she met a new person. It was a habit, she tried to figure out who they were, what their weaknesses were, their strengths, you could tell a lot by looking at one person.

Tessa was young but her hair was grey which was peculiar, suggesting that she had dyed it or had an illness which caused it to be grey, her eyes were soft and a pretty brown color. She had a ring on her ring finger on her left hand which signified that she was married but probably only recently.

Annabeth let out a sigh of relief, it was good to know that her mind was still working. If that had stopped working she didn't know what she would do.

"I'll let your friends know that you're awake, I'm sure they'll all be thrilled, they've been waiting for you to wake up," Tessa said, as she checked a few things on a clipboard.

"Wake up?" Annabeth asked hesitantly. "What do you mean by that?"

Tessa gave her a sympathetic smile. "You've been in a coma for the past four weeks," Tessa said. "You were hit by a car. Do you remember any of it?"

Annabeth's brow furrowed as she tried to think back to the last time she had formed a coherent thought before waking up. "I was with Percy… and we were yelling… and I think I needed milk… and oh gods… I got hit… I got hit," she said again, her grey eyes widening.

Tessa nodded. "Yes you were hit four weeks ago but your vital signs were good so we were predicting you'd wake up. But you're lucky, the doctors didn't know if you'd remember anything due to trauma to the skull. There must be someone out there who's watching over you." Tessa smiled at her. "I'll go call your friends and let them know that they can come in. There's one boy who will be extremely happy to see you alright."

Annabeth leaned back into her pillows, thinking. She had been in a car accident? How did that happen to her? How did that happen to anyone? She let out a small moan. Four weeks. Her manuscript was due a long time ago. Screw it all.

"Annabeth?"

Annabeth looked up to see two green eyes, the color of the sea, standing in the doorway. For some reason she couldn't help but smile. No, no bad Annabeth, bad Annabeth, you're supposed to be mad at him still she thought to herself. But for some reason she just couldn't be mad. It was as if it was impossible.

"Percy," Annabeth said, her voice croaking slightly. Percy let out a sigh of relief and Annabeth could swear that she had never seen him look so happy.

He came over to her bed and pulled up a chair next to her. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Like hell," she said.

Percy let out a small laugh. "That's to be expected."

"Yeah… getting hit by a car does that to you," Annabeth said, smirking a little. She noticed Percy flinch and she wondered what was up with that.

"I'm sorry," he said slowly.

"It's not your fault, as far as I know, you weren't the one driving the car."

"But I was the reason you were in the street in the first place," Percy insisted. Annabeth rolled her eyes, gods he could be so stupid at times.

"Honestly Seaweed Brain, you can be so dumb at times. I went into the street out of my own choice, you didn't force me to. Yes you being a royal, first class asshole didn't help at all but it wasn't your fault."

Percy gave a slight smile. "I'm glad to hear you talking, even if you're cussing at me."

"Someone's got to," Annabeth shrugged and then winced. Damn it, it hurt to shrug. Her shoulder was killing her.

"Thalia's been doing a pretty good job at it," Percy admitted. "And careful, your shoulder was dislocated," he said.

"Anything else I need to know before I try and move a body part that shouldn't be moved?" Annabeth asked slowly. Percy leaned back in his chair and thought for a minute. "You have a shattered wrist, broken ribs and a fractured leg," Percy said. "And a concussion but that's not too bad as you've been asleep for a while so it's healed mostly."

"Great," Annabeth said. "Good to know." She looked down at her wrist for the first time and realized that her left wrist was wrapped tightly in a splint. Brilliant. "That would also explain why I feel like an elephant is sitting on my chest."

"No… no elephant, just broken ribs though I don't know what would be worse."

"Probably the elephant," Annabeth said. Percy nodded. "I bet this is what Hannah felt like," she muttered to herself. At least she had some experience now with severe chest pain… not that she was going to get to use it as she had missed the deadline by weeks.

"Oh… speaking of Hannah Aspen, Odysseus absolutely loved the Letter Writer," Percy said. Annabeth looked up surprised at Percy.

"What did you say?" She said.

"Odysseus Ulysses, the guy who runs Olympian Press absolutely adored the Letter Writer. It's going to hit stores in two months," Percy said proudly.

"But… but I never finished editing it and working on it, how did he get it?" Annabeth looked at Percy's smirking face. "Oh gods Percy you didn't," she said.

"It was very helpful that you didn't change your password, Annabeth11 is a very good password," Percy joked. If she would have been able to, Annabeth would have done one of two things. She would have either hit herself on the head or she would have kissed Percy senseless. Right now she was leaning towards choice two for some odd reason.

"You edited my manuscript for me?" She asked. "But Percy… you're terrible at grammar, no offense of course."

"None taken, but honestly there are brilliant websites online for that sort of thing. And I figured, you helped me finish my album so I might as well help you finish your manuscript. It was the least that I could do."

"Percy… I don't know whether to hit you or kiss you," Annabeth said.

"I'd be hoping more towards kissing me," Percy grinned.

"You know… I'm still mad at you," Annabeth said quietly. "A girl doesn't forget about getting cheated on."

"I know… I know and I'm still mad at myself. But if I could take that night back I would in a heartbeat Annabeth, I promise you I would. I was stupid and drunk and Annabeth Chase you are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I must sound like an absolute sap but it's true. I don't think… I don't think I could live without you," he said slowly. "And I know that you'll probably not forgive me as you have absolutely no reason to but I love you Annabeth Chase. And I will do everything in my power to try and fix what I've done. Even if we were just friends again… I just don't think I could go another day knowing that you hated me."

Annabeth looked at Percy with her grey eyes as if trying to determine if he was lying or telling the truth. And something inside of her told her to forgive and forget. Well not forget… but forgive. Looking at Percy, she realized that he was the same as he always had been, the same old Seaweed Brain, the same boy who had read her letters, the same boy who liked blue food and to go swimming. The same boy whom she had loved.

"It's going to take time, you know that right. I'm not the kind of girl that's going to go flying back into your arms just because you pull the puppy dog face," Annabeth said.

Percy smiled. "I'm glad that you're not that type of girl."

"Annabeth!" Annabeth looked up to see Thalia barge into the room, Piper, Hazel, Silena and all of their boyfriends at her heels, Nico and Leo, the two boys who were forever alone trailing behind them. "Oh gods Annie I'm so glad you're better," Thalia said. "I would have killed this asshole over here if you had died," she said, pointing at Percy.

"Geez Thals, lay off the guy, it's not as if he hasn't been through enough, they both look like they've been to Tarturus and back," Leo said and then he grinned at Annabeth. "Nice to see you up Sleeping Beauty."

"Thanks Leo," Annabeth said.

"We're planning on having a big Welcome Home party!" Silena gushed. "I'm planning it even as we speak."

"Technically she's already home," Piper pointed out. "Maybe it'd be more like a Welcome Back from a Coma party," Piper said. Silena rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad you're up Annabeth," Hazel said, looking uncomfortable in this crowd of people but not as uncomfortable as her boyfriend, Frank, who looked like if he could he would turn into a bird and fly out of there. He stood awkwardly to one side as if he was afraid that if he moved he would knock over a vase or something.

"I'm glad I'm up too," Annabeth said.

Anything beat being in a coma for sure.

o.O.o

A Week Later

Percy woke up to screaming. He quickly jerked up in his bed and then ran out of his room and down the hallway to the guest room. Annabeth lay on the bed, screaming loudly as she tossed and turned in her bed. Percy hurried to her side and gently shook her good shoulder.

"Annabeth, Annabeth wake up," he said softly. "Wake up Wise Girl, it's just a dream," he whispered into her ear. She wouldn't wake up and kept screaming and crying, her voice filled with terror. "Come on Annabeth, it's okay I'm here," he said, running his hand over her cheek. Her grey eyes flashed open and she stared at Percy for a moment as if she couldn't tell who he was. And then she let out a sigh of relief.

"Percy," she said softly.

"That's my name," he whispered back to her. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Earlier that day Annabeth had been released from the hospital. There had been a big dispute among the friends over who she would go home with as she was in no condition to take care of herself. Her wrist had virtually healed but was still taped up, her leg was in a splint, her ribs were wrapped in gauze and tape. She was using a wheelchair to get around for another week until her wrist was strong enough to use crutches. In the end Percy had convinced them all that he would be the best bet as he had an elevator which entered right into his apartment and there was plenty of space for her wheelchair to get around. Thalia had initially thrown a big fit about Annabeth staying with Percy but Annabeth had done her part and told Thalia that Percy and her were now "friends". Friends would be fine for now with Percy but he was positive he wanted more than just friendship.

That night Nico had flown out to a meeting in L.A. which Percy was supposed to attend but he had ditched to spend time with Annabeth. They had watched a movie and Percy had ordered them pizza from Riki's as well as milkshakes which were dyed blue of course. Later he had helped Annabeth get into bed and then watched her fall asleep. No he was not a creepy stalker… or vampire if you were comparing him to that lame book series… but he just wanted to make sure that she was safe.

"I keep seeing myself get hit… is that normal?" Annabeth asked, her voice shaking. "Every time I close my damn eyes I see the car coming straight towards me and I'm powerless to stop it. And the thing is, I know it's coming and all I can do is just stand there and watch it hit me."

Percy took her hand. "It's okay, you're safe, we're way too high off the ground, a car couldn't crash into here much less hit you."

"Somehow it still isn't very comforting," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. "That doesn't stop the car from hitting me every time I close my eyes."

"Then don't close your eyes," Percy joked. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"I take back everything I said about you being a psychologist," Annabeth said.

"Want me to sing for you?" Percy said. "Isn't that what parents do when their kids can't sleep?"

"Percy you're not my parent," Annabeth said rolling her eyes. "I don't have one." Percy was about to tell her that she actually did have a mom and her mom was actually her employer but he thought better of it. Athena would have to tell her when the time was ready… Percy would make damn well sure of it.

"Well… I'm going to head back to bed," Percy said slowly, standing up. Annabeth stopped him and grabbed his arm. Her touch caused him to almost freeze for a moment. He turned to look at Annabeth as she lay underneath the pile of pillows and blankets. "Yeah?" He asked.

"Will you… stay with me tonight?" She asked hesitantly. "I mean you can sleep on the bed and…" She froze. "Gods that sounds so weird and awkward."

Percy laughed. "It's okay," he said. "Only if you're fine with it," he said. Annabeth nodded slowly.

"I… I want you to," she said. Percy had to resist grinning as he climbed into bed next to Annabeth, he instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist and softly drew her closer to him. "Tell me if I hurt you," he whispered in her ear. He could feel Annabeth shiver as he did so.

Percy lay there late into the night, holding onto Annabeth. She had fallen asleep almost instantly and she had nuzzled her head against his bare chest. He smiled softly as she let out a soft sound and smiled into his chest. Maybe things were looking up. Maybe things were on the road to getting better.

The T4H and the W4W were donated by Just Me! Thanks so much! I do appreciate all the W4Ws that you give me.