Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while. I've been a little busy. But, here's another chapter. As always, thanks for the reviews, all rights go to Rick Riordan, and hope you enjoy the story. :)

Percy

He had no sense of time as he creaked his eyes open. He didn't know if an hour, a day or heck, he wouldn't be surprised if a year had passed. His eyes fluttered, trying to protect himself from the light while also trying to get a glimpse of his bearings. He didn't try to get up at all. He was home. That thought alone sent waves of warmth through him and he almost smiled. For the first time in so long, he was home.

His peaceful awakening was suddenly plagued by fear. Annabeth. The war. The Argo II. Annabeth. He opened his eyes more and turned his head. Will was asleep on the chair next to him. His golden locks hung over his knuckles which were balancing his head. His chest rose and fell with deep breaths. Percy figured he didn't have a chance to be left alone after his whole "run away" incident. Considering how little he was able to move now, he was shocked he managed to get that far.

"Will." His voice was husky, full of grime. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Will." Will jerked up and looked around wildly, eyes finally falling on Percy. His face showed pure shock. He walked two steps closer to his bed and knelt.

"Hey Percy, are you okay?" Will looked like he was talking to a ghost. Percy couldn't blame him.

"Annabeth. The others. Do you- do you know anything." He strained his neck.

"I- no. No. Communication has been down for a while. Are you-" He placed a concerned hand on Percy's shoulder as if wanting him to relax, but not wanting to be forceful. Percy felt a bit more panic creep in. No one knew if they were okay. They could be hurt or dead.

"What do you mean you don't know. Will they have to be okay. I left them alone but they have to be okay." His voice was nearing hysteria. He pushed him self up to a sitting position and felt his ribs scream. He gasped in surprise and pain and felt his face go pale. He fell back down onto the bed.

"It's okay Percy. They're fine. Annabeth is smart. They'll be fine. Here, drink this." Will forced a cup to his lips.

"But-" the liquid went down his throat. Immediately he felt woozy. He should be angry at Will, but instead he grinned and laughed, a weight lifting off his shoulders.

"Oh you're bad." He sunk into the pillows. Will grinned back.

"You'll be fine Percy. Good night. You need your rest." But Percy didn't hear the last sentence. He was already getting his much needed sleep.

The next time he woke up, his pain was more intense than it had been. A groan escaped his mouth despite Percy trying to stop it. His head was pounding behind his eyes. He reached up and touched a bandaged hand to his bandaged head.

"Whoa slow down Percy." A familiar voice. Rachael. "If you do crap like this, Will isn't going to let me back in here." She gently moved his hand back. Percy opened his eyes to he and grinned. Despite the pain aching, he couldn't help feeling another wave of relief and joy at seeing another friend.

"Mm fine." He mumbled, pushing himself up in bed. He did it slowly and carefully this time. Cautious of his ribs.

"Percy I don't think you should be-"

"I don't want to go back to sleep." He cut her off.

"Well I-" She looked nervous, kept glancing towards the door.

"I wanna go to my cabin." He stated. The thought just popped in his head. He wanted to lay in his bed and see all the statues Tyson made him so long ago dangle from the ceiling. He wanted to smell the sea breeze and fall asleep to the trickling sound of the broken fountain.

"Um, I'm not sure that's the best idea." Rachael helped support him.

"Well, I'm gonna go." He tried to swing his legs out of bed causing a yelp from Rachael. She helped him stand. He started limping/walking towards the door. She had no choice but to help him get there. His foot throbbed.

"You are going to get me in so much trouble." She muttered.

"Good." He looked at her and grinned. She gave a small smile and her eyes filled with tears.

"It's nice to have you back, Percy." She said in a low voice, then she changed the subject.

"You never could follow the rules, could you?" He laughed. They were out on the lawn now. There was something different about seeing Camp Half-Blood now. Knowing it was the real thing and he was really safe, a lump formed in his throat. He let out a small puff of air and blinked the tears out of his eyes.

"Good to be back?" She was smiling at him.

"You have no idea." He laughed quietly. They made their way to the cabin door. It was night and no one was out. Percy was the dim outlines of people standing guard at the boarder at the top of the hill. He couldn't tell if they saw him or not. Rachael helped push open the door and Percy was met with the sound of familiar snoring. Hundreds of nights asleep next to him, hearing the same thing. Percy gave a tearful smile.

"Do you want me to wake him up?" Rachael whispered. Percy stared at the dark blob under a mountain of blankets. His messy hair poked out from under his cocoon. Percy just simply nodded. He wanted to see his brother. Rachael lowered him onto his bunk. His own bunk. He smiled and ran his hand along the dusty covers. He laughed silently as he thought that the Poseidon cabin didn't win cabin inspection. Not that they ever did.

"Tyson. Tyson. Percy's awake. He's here." Rachael shook him. No movement. Rachael and Percy shared a look and a stifled laugh before she kept doing it. Tyson groaned and rolled over. Percy could see his one great eye glinting in the moonlight.

"Whatdidyousay?" He murmured.

"Percy is right there." Tyson jerked up and started at him. His eye filled with tears and his face split into a huge toothy grin.

"BROTHER!" He leaped from his bunk and tackled Percy onto his. Percy clenched his jaw really hard stopping him from yelling out, but he was beyond happy. He tried to hug Tyson back, but Rachael pulled him off.

"Be gentle Tyson. You remember what Will said about the cracked ribs and all." She swatted his shoulder.

"Sorry Brother." He looked ashamed.

"No no it's fine. I'm fine." Percy said as he pushed himself off the bed. He waved away Rachael's help and went to hug Tyson again. Tyson gave by far the most gentle hug Percy had ever received. He gave a small smile into Tyson's massive shoulder. Just standing for that long though made Percy feel dizzy. He started blinking spots out of his eyes. He felt himself slouch slightly in Tyson's arms. Rachael noticed.

"Alright Percy, I think it's time for you to get to bed." Rachael helped him back into his bunk. Percy didn't protest. The covers were so soft. He fell asleep again.

When he woke up for the third time, Chiron was watching him with his eyes, seeing thousands of years. Percy, not wanting to waste any time of his consciousness now, pushed up to a sitting position. His ribs didn't hurt as badly this time. A little sore, but nothing he couldn't tolerate. It was a miracle what nectar and ambrosia could accomplish. He also noticed a cup near his bed side table, droplets surrounding it. It appeared they had been dumping water on him. No wonder he felt so good.

"Hey Chiron." Such a casual greeting. You would of thought it was the middle of the summer and Percy had just happened to run into him while going to a lesson. Chiron tilted his head and then smiled a natural and sincere smile.

"My dear boy. How are you?" Percy felt his smile fading. How was he? Such a loaded question. Physically, he was feeling much better. But anytime he though about how he was, the image of Claire standing there, detonator in hand, sobbing. He saw the building blowing up around him. He felt himself crawling while his mind slipped into the quietness of death. He felt his hands starting to shake.

He shoved his hands under the covers and put a smile back onto his face. It felt fake, stretched his face too tightly. It was as if he'd forgotten how to smile.

"Feeling better now. Especially with the water." He nodded towards the cup on the table.

"Yes." He picked up the cup and held it, not looking at it. Just something for his hands to hold. Percy could relate. "Grover's idea."

Percy laughed. "Of course. Speaking of, where is he?"

"Getting some much needed sleep." Percy nodded, and looked at the covers. His hands, still shaking under them where indistinguishable from outside. Chiron didn't know. He suddenly wanted to be left alone.

"I know Will said he didn't, but do you know anything about Annabeth and the others?" He looked Chiron in the eye.

"I'm sorry, but I don't. Iris has gone into hiding. She isn't accepting calls from anyone."

"What about Fleecy?" He asked.

"Who?" It was a great accomplishment when Percy knew someone Chiron didn't. He briefly explained his quest with Hazel and Frank. Chiron just shook his head.

"I doubt she will accept calls either." Percy just nodded. He expected as much.

"Percy, of all my years here at camp, I must say you are one of the first students to have surprised me as much as you have." He gave a kind smile. Percy returned it, not really sure what to say. Chiron studied him for a minute and then started moving his wheelchair towards the door.

"I'll leave you alone with your thoughts." It was almost as if he knew. And then Chiron left. As soon as the door clicked shut, Percy took his hands out from under the covers. His bandaged hand shook slightly, definitely noticeable. His long thin fingers trembled, almost vibrating in a way. Percy tried to force his hands to stop, but he couldn't. He cursed under his breath and then plopped back down onto his covers.

On the back of his eyelids were memories of the past few weeks. He saw Annabeth, slipping, being pulled into Tartarus, his own hand reaching out, fingers inches from each other. He saw the arai standing around him, Annabeth, believing he had abandoned her. Bob and Dameson, saving them from Tartarus, being killed in the process. Annabeth, begging him to stay, hearing his own voice refuse. The Collector taunting him, Claire standing in the enemy army, the explosions, his brush with death.

He let out a strangled breath. He had trusted Claire and she had tried to kill him twice. He had believed every lie out of her mouth. Maybe if he had more time he could have helped her. Her sobs still echoed through his mind. It was his fault. His hands were uncontrollable now, worse than ever. He panicked, looking around the room. His eyes fell on Annabeth's backpack, the one he had rescued from the Collector.

He inched painfully over and grabbed one of the straps, pulling it up. Inside was her dagger and Daedalus's computer. He opened the computer, praying it still worked. He fell at least three stories with this on his back, it had to be broken, right? But, when he flipped open the screen, it popped on like usual. It was a picture of him and Annabeth. Travis and Conner had tried to pull a prank on them that day. Where someone would throw flour over people and take their picture. He and Annabeth thought it was funny and demanded to see the picture. It instantly became one of their favorites.

Annabeth's head was tilted back in a laugh. The flour covered her face and dusted her hair. The sun caught her back and outlined her in light. Percy was also covered, laughing at Annabeth. They were so happy. The same picture was framed in Percy's room at his mom's house. He smiled at the picture and closed the laptop. He would leave soon and find Annabeth again. They would win the war and live a life together. They had to.