"You don't have to keep worrying about me," Jason began as he looked up at Thalia. She rolled her eyes and opened his container of ice cream for him. Jason felt a little embarrassed at being babied, but it was also sweet. "Since you're helping me, um, well, I need the ice moved."

"The ice?" Thalia repeated. She looked down, and understanding dawned in her eyes. "I'm not touching your dick."

"I didn't ask you to," Jason shot back as his face heated up. Thalia rolled her eyes and lifted the blanket. She took the ice off of his crotch. On his right, Piper was watching him intently. She seemed miffed, but he wasn't sure if it was at him or not.

"How are you feeling?" Piper asked gently. She met Jason's eyes, and concern filtered her features. Jason felt terrible as he studied her nose.

"I'm sorry you got involved," Jason began. Piper gently ran a hand through his hair.

"It's not your fault," Piper promised.

"It is," Thalia chimed in. "You should have told us that Lycaon was threatening you. We would have helped you, Jason. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Jason looked down, shame evident in his eyes. Piper continued to gently run a hand through his hair, massaging his scalp. She kissed his chin, being careful not to touch him anywhere sensitive. Jason spoke, "I just didn't want anyone to get hurt."

"You got hurt instead. Do you know how stupid that was?" Thalia berated. She sighed and looked down. "I'm supposed to protect you, Jason. I can't do that if you don't let me."

"I know," Jason mumbled. Thalia handed him the tub of ice cream and a spoon. Jason quietly ate it.

"Reyna should have told someone," Piper grumbled under her breath. Jason moved his gaze to the side. "I should have yelled at her more."

"Why did you yell at her?" Jason asked.

"Because she knew and didn't tell anyone!" Piper retorted. The anger came flooding back to her face.

"I told her not to," Jason began. Thalia groaned, and Piper fixed him with a hard look. "I told you that I didn't want anyone to get involved. And, Reyna defended me. She probably pissed Lycaon off, and I don't want him coming after her."

"It's a little late for that," a new voice chimed in. Jason turned his head to look at Zoë. He hadn't spoken to his sister's partner much. Whenever she was around, she was always quiet and seemed to be observing them. Jason noticed the dried blood on her arms.

Thalia seemed to notice it as well, and her eyes widened. Jason felt his heart drop. Did Lycaon attack the bar? Did he attack Zoë? Or was it something much worse?

"What happened?" Thalia asked. Zoë walked into the room and sat down in the other empty chair. She sighed softly.

"Lycaon attacked the newest member of your bar. He used Nico to lure her out," Zoë explained.

"Nico?" Jason interrupted. He stared in confusion, trying to piece the information together. "I thought Nico had left the city."

"I told you he didn't," Piper said. "But, he joined Lycaon's gang?"

"Unwillingly," Zoë answered. She studied them. "Nico told us the story. Lycaon and his gang used his grief over B...Bianca to fuel his anger at everyone in the bar."

Zoë seemed to take a moment to compose herself. It was the most rattled Jason had ever seen her. Thalia looked away with guilt pouring onto her features. Zoë cleared her throat and continued, "They've been using the boy as their... toy, among other things, and he finally hit his breaking point when they wanted him to help convince Jason to join their gang. Or to kill Jason if he refused."

"Nico called the police to stop Lycaon from killing Jason. Lycaon threatened to hurt him more if he didn't draw Reyna in, but Nico seems to have chosen his side when he tried to help Reyna. I do not think he will go back to the gang," Zoë explained.

"He can stay with me," Jason immediately offered. Thalia gently hit his arm.

"Chiron will offer him a place to stay," Thalia said. She shook her head. "If he'll stay with Chiron. He hates us."

"Using him as a toy," Piper repeated to herself under her breath. The implication made Jason sick to his stomach, and he looked down. He swallowed painfully. Why didn't they try harder to find Nico and get him away from Lycaon?

"Chiron has already offered for him to stay, and Nico accepted it. He looked scared and lost," Zoë explained. She closed her eyes. "That Leo boy took Reyna to the hospital. I fear he will be coming to visit you soon."

A smile came to Jason's face at the thought of his best friend. The smile widened as Leo walked in. Leo grinned back at him and spoke, "Jason! How's the dick doing, buddy?"

"It's better," Jason answered with a blush.

"Oh thank God. I was about to offer one of my balls," Leo joked. Thalia smirked, and Zoë rolled her eyes. "I would give one to you if yours had been busted."

"I appreciate it, Leo. How is Reyna?" Jason questioned. Leo shrugged and walked into the room. He laid on the free bed.

"They're stitching her up right now, and I didn't want to be there when they lifted her shirt. Privacy and all that," Leo admitted with a shrug. "The cuts near her eyes aren't terrible, but it will leave a scar. The scar on her lip got reopened, and it looks really bad. Like, I almost threw up."

Jason noticed that Piper remained silent upon hearing about Reyna. He focused back on Leo, "Is she in pain?"

"Dude, you got your balls literally busted. Why are you so worried about other people?" Leo demanded. Jason didn't answer. He hated that everyone was now getting dragged into his business with Lycaon. Especially Reyna. That scar reopening on her lip was going to be painful, but it also had to bring back terrible memories of whatever caused it in the first place.

"He's just that great of a guy. Why can't you be more like him?" Thalia teased.

"Why can't you be more like him?" Zoë countered. Thalia glanced at her in shock.

"She can joke!" Leo almost shouted. Zoë rolled her eyes at Leo's words, but a small smirk came to her face as she saw that Thalia still looked shocked. "I told you guys she wasn't a robot."

"I'm a cyborg," Zoë corrected. It was Leo's turn to look shocked. His gaze moved to Zoë, and his eyes widened.

"You're a cyborg. That's so cool!" Leo praised. A small chuckle left Zoë, and Thalia shook her head amused. Jason gave his friend a sympathetic look. "Wait. You're not? Wait?! That means you just told two jokes in a row! I didn't know you had it in you."

Zoë hummed softly and remained silent. She glanced at her watch and stood. Zoë looked at Jason and spoke, "I hope you feel better, Jason. If you need anything, let me know."

"I will. Thanks for stopping by to check on me," Jason said. Zoë nodded curtly and then looked at Thalia.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Take time off to help Jason. I will," Thalia said with a wave of her hand.

"Good. I will help the police question Lycaon's associates. This should be enough to get him arrested. Hopefully," Zoë said. She waved a farewell and left the room. Thalia settled back in her chair and played on her phone. Piper was still next to Jason and watching him in concern.

"I just wish Reyna didn't get involved in this too," Jason mumbled. "It's my fault she was attacked by Lycaon."

"It's her fault for not telling anyone," Piper muttered. She shook her head and still held spiteful anger in her eyes.

"I told her not to," Jason began. Piper turned her gaze on him and narrowed her eyes.

"That doesn't matter, Jason. You are a guy, so of course your pride is going to get in the way. Reyna should have some compassion to tell other people," Piper reprimanded.

"Too much pride?" Jason asked as he felt his temper starting to slip a bit. "I don't have too much pride! I just don't want to see my friends be hurt because of my actions."

"Enough," Thalia interrupted as she lowered her phone. She looked at all of them. "We could spend all day pointing fingers at each and wondering why no one spoke up. The only thing that matters is that it happened. We have witnesses to two separate acts of assault, so we should be able to put Lycaon behind bars."

"Doubt it," Jason muttered. The resources of the city were already spread pretty thin, and it seemed like Lycaon paid off the police a pretty decent amount to turn the other cheek. Jason wasn't sure if the bastard would be put behind bars or allowed to walk away.

Jason laid his head back and stared at the ceiling. He would be in the hospital for a few days, but thankfully, the pain medicine he had been given numbed most of the pain. A knock at the door caused him to turn his head.

"You look a lot better," Leo commented as he stood. Jason just studied Reyna and felt that guilt amassing again. There were two bandages on Reyna's face. One that rested above her right eye, and the other covered the bottom right side of her mouth. He could see the claw mark on the side of her shirt.

"I'm sorry you got involved in this," Jason said softly. To his right, he could see Piper wasn't looking at Reyna, but if she was, she would definitely be glaring.

Reyna walked towards Jason's bed and looked down at him. Her mouth barely moved as she spoke, "Sorry you got hurt."

"It's okay," Jason said. He smiled. "It's not your fault, really. I'm sorry that you got dragged into this."

Reyna shrugged. Leo stood and gently bumped Jason's shoulder. He said, "I'll take Reyna home. You try to get some rest. And also rest your most precious asset."

"Thanks," Jason said with another blush. He watched Leo lead Reyna out of the room. Piper settled back in her seat and scooted it closer to Jason. Thalia had been watching Reyna the whole time, but she slowly went back to her phone.

"There is one bright side to all of this," Piper began. She still sounded tilted, and there was a scowl etched onto her face. She looked like she was trying to dissipate her anger.

"What's that?" Jason asked softly. Piper kissed his lips gently, and a small smile tugged her lips.

"You can help me with my homework."