Chapter 3: With the Rising Sun

Summary: Annabeth and Will bump into Percy as he literally stumbles into camp. Will notices something is off about him. They convince Percy to go in for a check-up.

Will

Will stood outside his cabin, chatting with his siblings. They'd just come back from grabbing breakfast at the mess hall. Some were holding guitars or flutes. Others, bows and arrows. Will donned his orange t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He'd just finished talking to Kayla when someone called his name.

"Will!"

He turned around to see Annabeth come running from the Poseidon Cabin. He immediately noticed something red smeared across her hands and her orange t-shirt.

"Annabeth. Are you ok?" He said, assessing her for any injuries.

"I'm fine. It's Percy. I went to his cabin, and he wasn't there. There were blood-stained clothes in his bathroom. Is he in the infirmary?"

"No. Kayla just came back from her night shift. She hasn't seen him."

That's when Will spotted someone behind the Zeus cabin. The huddled figure wore a dark blue hoodie over its head and stumbled over to the Poseidon cabin. It swayed and hit the wall of the Zeus cabin. A bleary Jason peeked out from his cabin window. "Percy?"

He steadied himself at the sound of his name.

Annabeth turned around, not having seen his movements a moment before. "Percy? Where were you?"

"Hey, Wise Girl." He slowly made his way to the cabin, giving her a peck on the cheek, but ignoring her question.

"Are you alright Percy? We were getting worried," Will asked.

"Yeah, just out for a walk."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows, "This early?"

He shrugged, "I needed some air." Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, the poor boy hadn't slept all night.

"What happened to your hand?"

"Oh," he looked down, seemingly not having felt the jagged cut on his palm. "I tripped," he said shortly.

Will, being the son of the god of truth, immediately detected the lie. It was one of the lesser-known gifts of the children of Apollo. Some of his siblings shared the ability, but they didn't like to advertise it to the other campers for fear of making them uncomfortable. Sometimes it was best to let people keep their secrets. But in this case, Will sensed there was more going on with Percy than he let on.

"I went into your cabin this morning. There were bloody clothes in the bathroom."

"That's what I get for training with Nico," Percy joked.

Will glanced at Annabeth's shirt. The small stain of blood looked relatively fresh. Besides, he'd been with Nico yesterday, and they hadn't seen Percy. Clearly there was something he didn't want them to know. Maybe he'll be more likely to open up if I talk to him alone.

"Percy, why don't you come down to the infirmary? I'm headed there now for my shift, and you've been overdue for a checkup anyway."

This was true. Percy had been putting off his checkup for weeks. Unlike other demigods, Will knew Percy healed in the water, but sometimes he didn't notice anything was wrong and needed to be reminded to spend more time in the lake. After everything Percy, Annabeth, and Nico had been through, Will had taken it upon himself to try his best to help them out when he saw they needed it.

"Yeah, I know Will. But I should probably get some rest first."

Will couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the more time he spent near Percy the more convinced he became that he needed healing. He wasn't usually wrong about these things.

"It shouldn't take long, and you can rest on one of the beds," he insisted.

"Rest? On those old things?"

"They remodeled."

"That's right! We did," said Annabeth, proudly. "You should go with him, Percy. You've looked tired lately. I'd feel better knowing Will has seen you."

Percy sighed, but gave her a soft smile. Will could tell they cared deeply about each other. How could they not? After all they'd been through.

"Fine. Let's go."

Annabeth went back to her cabin while Percy and Will walked to the Big House.

Led by the Athena cabin and their blueprints, Hephaestus' children recently remodeled the Big House with materials provided by the gods and the Hermes kids. They'd built private rooms in the infirmary, each with their own bathroom, and added another floor between the infirmary and Chiron's office. Yet, the attic was still the attic. How they'd managed that, Will had no idea. The second floor was divided into two parts. One had medical machines, supplies, and a lab. While the other had a small kitchen and a lounge area. Will had personally vouched for more mortal medical equipment.

The Demeter cabin teamed up with the satyrs and the dryads to decorate the exterior. They added flower boxes outside the new second floor, third floor, and attic windows and hung drooping planters around the deck. Since the Apollo and Hebe campers spent the most time there (including late nights in the infirmary) they'd added a string of lights all around the deck. From the outside it looked more like a place to throw a summer deck party than a place to treat injured demigods.

Thankfully, they'd kept the sky blue paint and white trim. Annabeth had refused any more changes, saying they would lose the "soul" of Camp. Will welcomed many of the improvements, but he was glad something stayed the same. Familiar.

As they walked, Percy seemed to cradle his arm. And it wasn't the one with the cut on his palm. Will would be sure to examine it when they got to the infirmary.

When they arrived at the Big House, Will held the door open for Percy to enter. A few Apollo and Hebe campers were cleaning and stocking shelves. They greeted Will and Percy as they entered.

On the left side was the emergency section. It had two windows with a small bed underneath each one. Between them, a sink. Against the wall there were some cabinets. Floor to ceiling curtains surrounded the area, but were currently open since no demigods occupied the beds.

On the right was a small seating area beneath the stairs and a desk. A large, bright, yellow smiley face sun decorated the wall behind the desk.

Down the middle was a hallway with two doors on either side. Will led Percy to one of the exam rooms.

"Take a seat. I'll be back in a few minutes."

He went upstairs to change into his scrubs, and grab some medical supplies and a tuning fork. All the Apollo kids used tuning forks in the infirmary. Their father had enchanted them to work like keys: Each tuning fork rang at a different frequency when struck, corresponding to a musical note. And each room unlocked with a different note. Percy was in room B, so that was the tuning fork Will needed. It was times like these when he appreciated having an ear for music, even if he wasn't a great musician like some of his siblings.