A/N: I'd like to thank my betas: AlEmily360, SapphireTrafficker, tigerlilycorinne, AshenMoon42, Lesbian101, Shiuanc2, and LadyHW.

TW for attempted suicide. If this triggers you, stop reading at "Piper had apparently called her four times in the last ten minutes" and go to the end notes for a brief summary.

"I feel like we always end up watching movies when we hang out," Annabeth remarked as she drew the blanket over her.

"Movies are good," Piper said, "Especially Pride and Prejudice." Annabeth nodded as Piper continued. "It's like... the perfect comfort movie. And you kinda seem like you need some comfort." She looked over at Annabeth then, with a soft expression on her face.

Annabeth sighed. "You're not wrong."

On the screen, Keira Knightley smiled at Mr. Wickham's advances.

"I hate that guy," Annabeth said, frowning.

Piper hadn't stopped looking at her, but at Annabeth's statement, she turned back to the screen. "Don't we all," she said, turning back to Annabeth. "So, why exactly do you need comforting?"

Annabeth shrugged. "General melancholy. Y'know, the usual." When Piper didn't say anything, Annabeth put her hand on Piper's knee and smiled reassuringly. "But this is really helping." Piper smiled back and turned to the movie again.

Before coming to Piper's, Annabeth had decided not to tell Piper what was troubling her. It wasn't like Piper didn't already know, but at this point, even Annabeth was tired of hearing herself talk about Percy and her timer situation. After her talk with Nico, she realized what she should have known from the start—she was the only one who could help herself. She had been leaning on her friends too much, expecting them to solve her problems and tell her the answers. But Annabeth had always been independent and self-reliant. She could figure this out herself.

And maybe her issues, and her constant talking about them, made Piper feel like she couldn't tell her anything. Maybe Annabeth took up all the air in the room with her own problems, leaving no room for Piper's. If Annabeth would shut up about herself for two seconds, maybe Piper would tell her about Jason.

After the movie, they went for a walk in the brisk spring air. They talked about this and that—classes, midterms, and the weather. Annabeth revelled in hearing about the intricacies of Piper's life, but yearned to know the deeper details. She realized for months now, when it came to Piper, their conversations barely scratched the surface.

"—and Jason was just telling me about how Leo hasn't shown up to their shared PS gen ed since the beginning of the semester—" Piper was saying when Annabeth cut her off.

"Wait, you said Leo hasn't been going to class? Any of his classes?"

"Well, I don't know about any of his other classes, but he hasn't gone to his class with Jason or his class with Frank."

"Frank?"

"Yeah, Frank Zhang, Hazel's boyfriend? He's in my Research Methods lab. You know him."

"I do…" Annabeth said, her mind running faster than she could keep up.

"We're all really worried. I mean, Hazel is nearly going crazy."

"Has anyone checked in with him?" Annabeth asked. Piper gave her an odd look.

"I didn't know you were really close."

"We're not, I'm just… concerned." It was a familiar pattern that had Annabeth worried. She recognized it from the months before Thalia had tried to remove her own timer. She didn't know Leo well enough to know why he would try to do something like that, after all, for most of the time she had known him he had seemed so cheerful. But there was always something there, behind the facade.

"We've tried texting and calling him. He responded to Jason a few days ago, said he was fine, but obviously we don't believe that. We tried contacting the university counseling center, but they said they couldn't do anything unless we made an appointment."

"That's… has anyone gone to his apartment?"

"Yeah, uh, Hazel went over there about a week ago, but Leo told her he had the flu," Piper said.

Annabeth wished there was something she could do, but like Piper had said, they weren't very close. Sure, she had hung out with him a few times, but they never really connected on a closer level and she wasn't really sure her help would be welcomed if he had turned away even Hazel.

"I'm going to head over there soon though," Piper said.

Annabeth nodded. "That's probably a good idea."

:::

Leo was still on her mind when she got a call from Percy. She swiped at the button to accept the call and held the phone to her ear, surprised.

"Did you know a group of jellyfish is called a smack?" Percy's voice came through the speaker.

"Hello to you too," Annabeth said, rolling over on her bed and sitting up against the wall.

"Well did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Did you know that?" Percy sounded happy, and his joy was contagious. Annabeth let out a laugh.

"Actually, I think I did know that. Sorry to disappoint."

"Oh, Wise Girl, you can never disappoint," Percy said. Annabeth ignored the shock of guilt that ran through her.

"So, why'd you decide to call?" she asked.

"Just wanted to hear your voice," Percy crooned. Annabeth snorted. "But, uh, I dunno. I feel like we don't see each other as much as we used to."

"You saw me yesterday." Annabeth laughed.

"But still…" The tone in Percy's voice shifted. A flood of warmth filled Annabeth's chest. Percy missed her. Fuck.

"It's kind of late. And I have a 9 am tomorrow," Annabeth said, already knowing that if Percy asked to see her, she would say yes.

"You could blow it off?" he suggested.

Annabeth smiled and sighed. After a moment she said, "Who cares about Applied Spatial Geometry?" She could hear Percy's muted 'yes!' when he presumably pulled the phone away from his face.

"I'll pick you up in 15?" Percy asked.

"How about 30?" Annabeth said, raking her fingers through her ratty hair.

"See you in 30," Percy said and hung up. Annabeth put her phone down and took a deep breath, willing her smile to go down. She cursed Percy for coming into her life and making it so much more complicated.

Thirty minutes later, Percy was calling her phone again as Annabeth shoved her feet into her shoes and ran down the stairs to meet him outside. She saw him, turned away from her, with his ear pressed against his phone.

She tapped his shoulder and he jumped. "Hey Seaweed Brain."

Percy wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to kiss her. Annabeth closed her eyes and met his lips with her own, wrapping her arms around his neck. She couldn't help smiling into the kiss.

Percy obviously noticed. Pulling away he asked, "What's got you so happy?"

You. Annabeth's mind unhelpfully supplied. Instead, she just shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just… trying to get my shit together."

"Care to elaborate?" Percy asked, giving her a quizzical look.

"Nope," she responded, popping the "p". "So, where are we going?"

"Um… I haven't really thought about it. Aquarium? I'm in the mood for the ocean, but I don't want to drive that far," Percy said, already beginning to walk in the direction of his parked car.

"Sounds good. We haven't been there together in a while," Annabeth said, following him. He dug his keys out of his pocket and opened the car, getting in and pushing the passenger seat door open for Annabeth.

"It'll be like our first date." He grunted, sitting back up and starting the car as she climbed in.

Annabeth thought back to the last time they had gone to the aquarium. It had been way back in October, when they were first starting to get along. "I don't think that was a date."

Percy twisted around in his seat, looking out the rear window as he started backing out of the spot. "Um—" He paused, concentrating. Turning back to pull the car back onto the road, he glanced at her, grinning. "I specifically remember it being a date."

Annabeth scowled good-naturedly. "And I specifically remember already being involved with someone else. And hating you."

Percy mock-gasped, affronted hand on his chest and eyes on the road. She rolled her eyes, but a laugh came bubbling out of her. "You hated me! Why would you hate me?"

"Please, that's old news," Annabeth told him, rolling her eyes.

"It still surprises me," Percy said.

"Why, because you're so likable?" Annabeth mocked.

He grabbed her hand across the center console. "Because you stopped."

"Stopped…?" Hating him? "Of course I did. You're…" Everything. But Annabeth didn't say that. Instead, she settled on "Amazing."

Percy gave her a lopsided grin and squeezed her hand. "I think you're pretty amazing too, Wise Girl." Annabeth blushed, but gripped his hand tighter. He maneuvered them into the aquarium parking lot, where there were very few cars.

"Um, Percy?" Annabeth said, noticing the distinct lack of cars. "Are you sure it's open?"

He gave her a mischievous smile in lieu of a reply.

"Percy, we aren't breaking into this aquarium are we?" Annabeth asked nervously. She didn't want to spend any part of the few months she had left in a jail cell.

"Don't worry, it's fine," he said, which was not very reassuring.

They got out of the car and Percy locked it with a beep. They walked up to the front doors of the aquarium, where Annabeth could see the interior was dark. They stopped outside and Percy typed out a text before putting his phone in his back pocket. Annabeth rubbed her arms. It was a little colder than she had anticipated and she hadn't brought the right jacket. Before she knew it, Percy was holding her close, wrapping his arms around her body.

"Better?" he asked quietly, voice husky.

Annabeth nodded, burying her head in his shoulder. Being so close to him… even though she had been here a million times, it still felt like a novelty. She could have this forever if she wanted. She could be warm like this forever.

Percy nudged her and she turned to see some of the lights on inside. A tall man with thick glasses was unlocking the doors and beckoning Percy in. He had on a nametag, pinned to his blue employee shirt.

"Hey, thanks Cy, means a lot," Percy said, leading Annabeth inside.

"No problem," the man grunted. "Just don't cause any trouble. See you on Monday."

As the man walked away, Annabeth shot Percy a look.

"He's actually really nice," he explained. "Just a little rough around the edges. He's my new boss, I'm, uh, starting a new internship here." Percy rubbed his neck awkwardly.

"Percy!" Annabeth punched his arm lightly. "That's so exciting! Why didn't you tell me?"

Percy shrugged. "I was going to. Just… slipped my mind."

"Well, tell me all about it," Annabeth said. She slipped her hand into Percy's and they began walking to the nearby coral reef exhibit.

Percy told her about his internship and their conversation continued to flow as they walked through the different exhibits. Being in the empty aquarium so late at night felt forbidden and intimate, and she couldn't help admiring Percy's profile as he stared at the marine life in the tanks. When his eyes met hers, her heart skipped a beat and she looked away, pretending she wasn't just watching how the soft blue light painted his strong features and black hair in a captivating picture.

The last time she had been here with him, she never would have imagined herself here again, like this. She remembered she had been just as captivated by him then as she was now. It had been the first time they had opened up to each other, and the first time she had admitted, to him and to herself, that what she felt towards him wasn't all negative.

Percy was holding out a bag of sweets to her. "Here, all sour, just how you like it. Fiend"

"Thank you." She took it from him and pulled out a long, blue, sour ribbon. "Fiend, huh?" she said, placing it into her mouth. "You don't like sour, you don't like cinnamon—I'm not sure your tastes can be trusted."

Percy rolled his eyes, taking out his own bag. "Says the girl who likes pickles."

"Case in point," she said. "Pickles are delicious."

"Hey, wait, wait, wait," Percy said, stopping by a set of low tanks. "Stingrays."

He bent over the open top of the tank, his fingers skimming the water. Annabeth leaned over with him, staring at the dark water. She tugged at his sleeve, pulling his hand away from the pool. "I don't think you're supposed to touch that."

Percy ignored her, dipping his other hand into the water. "It's a touch pool—that's kind of the whole point."

Annabeth looked behind her at the darkened room, almost worried that they'd be caught in the abandoned aquarium. "Not right now!" she hissed lowly, but Percy just laughed. And then he splashed her.

Affronted, Annabeth could only freeze for a second before dipping her hand in and splashing the entire front of his shirt with cold water. Percy laughed in surprise while Annabeth froze again, eyes searching the black water for signs of movement.

"You splashed me!" Percy said, as if he hadn't been the one to splash her first.

Annabeth wasn't listening. "Oh my god, the stingrays."

Percy was still laughing when he said, "Annabeth, it's fine. They don't stay here overnight. They're moved to special tanks."

Annabeth smacked his shoulder with a wet hand. "You could have told me! You're so—you're so—"

Percy raised an eyebrow, smiling expectantly. "I'm so…?"

Annabeth couldn't answer because the only word coming to her head as he smiled down at her was 'wonderful,' which was not the emotion she wanted to convey and if said, would immediately make her drop dead with mortification, timer be damned. So instead, she turned abruptly and made her way into the next room.

In large and small tanks in the walls, different types of jellyfish bobbed gently in the water. Annabeth stopped by the largest tank, where pink and orange sea nettles drifted through the water, their long tentacles floating along behind them. Percy came to stand beside her.

"It's a smack," he said, pointing into the tank. She hummed in agreement and let silence fall between them.

"Sorry for splashing you," Percy said, breaking the quiet.

"No you're not."

"I'm not." Annabeth could hear the smile in his voice. "Plus, you splashed me back."

"It was a defensive maneuver."

Percy snorted. "Battle strategy?"

Annabeth smiled lightly. "Yes." She felt Percy's heat before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. The smell of coffee and something uniquely Percy overtook her and she relaxed.

"And before, was that a tactical retreat?"

"Mmhm," Annabeth said, mind drifting as she watched the hypnotic display in front of her and got lost in the feeling of Percy's arms and heat and body surrounding her. He pulled her close, holding her tightly as he rested his face in her hair like he was afraid he'd be made to let go. But she was content to stay where she was.

They moved to another tank that appeared to be empty until Percy pressed the button next to it. All at once, a hundred tiny bodies lit up, flickering with bioluminescence like stars. Percy pressed a finger to the glass, tracing patterns between them until the light came back on and they disappeared.

"I love the ocean," he murmured, not to anyone in particular. "There's so much we don't know about it."

Annabeth hummed, pulling him by his hand into the next room. Above them, a swirl of silver fish glinted in the dark light, swimming in a perpetual circle above their heads. Percy's gaze turned upwards as he slowly spun around, but Annabeth's eyes remained fixed on him.

He must have been here a hundred times, but the look of wonder on his face was still the same. It was the way he looked at the stars and the way he looked at her, with such awe, appreciation, and hope. He saw everything that could be and, perhaps was, and he loved it. Where Annabeth just found anxiety, he found possibilities, and that's what made him so beautiful.

He looked back to her, eyes shining in the dark room. He held out his hand and she took it. "Next?"

Annabeth nodded and he led her to the next room. A large floor-to-ceiling tank cast watery green light over the large room. Inside, long strands of kelp swayed in the water slowly as schools of fish and small leopard sharks swam between them. Percy strode right up to the tank, but Annabeth hung back, watching his dark silhouette.

His head was tilted up and he swayed lightly on his heels, matching the artificial current. Annabeth watched the slanted shape of his back, the strong lines of his arms as he reached towards a passing garibaldi, and the shadows of his face, his lips, his jaw.

He turned around to look back at her and Annabeth wondered just how long she had been in love with him. She tried to pinpoint a time, but it had been coming on so gradually that it must have been there all along. She was in love with him.

He held out his hand to her and she went to him, like she would always go to him. His hand was warm in hers and she clung to it, to the press of his palm against hers. She was in love with him and it was the most wonderful, devastating thing she could imagine.

And his eyes found hers and he smiled, pointing out a fish that apparently shared her likeness, and it took everything within herself from blurting it out right then.

But Percy was the one with the hope and the possibilities, and Annabeth was the one with the fear. If she told him the truth about how she felt (the truth—what a simple, impossible thing), the only thing worse than him not loving her back was him telling her that he did.

The guilt would consume her, more than it already was. She could get through this if she told herself it was one-sided. That she loved him more than he loved her. That way, the only heart she'd be breaking would be her own.

So Annabeth kept her mouth shut, smiling and laughing and letting herself enjoy the feeling of being in love and trying not to think about the consequences.

:::

"You look happy."

Annabeth paused before nodding, becoming aware of the smile that had seldom left her face since she had gone to the aquarium with Percy that night. "Yeah, I guess I am."

A pixelated Thalia grinned up at her from the computer screen. Behind her, a messy hotel room gave way to the view of the Brooklyn skyline through the window. Thalia had gone with Luke to New York to attend more anti-timer protests. Like most things about Thalia, Annabeth felt conflicted.

"That's good! I'm glad you're happy," Thalia said. "When I get back to town, we should all go out. I haven't got a chance to intimidate Percy yet."

Annabeth laughed lightly as Thalia gave her an imitation. "That sounds really nice," she said.

"I wish you'd come back to New York," Thalia said. Her voice got fainter as she leaned back in her chair. "It could be like old times."

"Maybe when the semester's over," Annabeth said.

"Mmm, then we'll have, what? A month?" Thalia said, a raw edge to her voice.

Annabeth pressed her palms against her thighs off-screen. "Two. The semester ends in April."

"Two months," Thalia said. She waved a hand in the air flippantly. "What a gift."

Annabeth tried not to grit her teeth at the sarcasm in Thalia's voice. It was hard to ignore the ways in which they had stopped fitting together, the ways in which Thalia sometimes grated on her nerves and her on Thalia's. "It's not like I can help it," she said.

Thalia looked down at her lap and then rubbed her face. When she looked up, her black eyeliner was smeared around her eyes. "I know, I don't mean—it's not you I'm mad at."

"I know."

"It's just unfair."

"I know."

Thalia sighed. "I know you know. I'm just getting back into… all of this. I can't believe I missed five years of your life. And then in a few months…"

"Do you regret it?" Annabeth asked. Thalia was silent and so still that Annabeth thought her screen must have frozen. "Thalia?"

"I—" she started. From the laptop speaker, Annabeth could hear a door open. Thalia's face cleared and transformed into a smile. She was looking past her screen when she said, "Hey, you're back early."

Then a muffled voice from the other side of Thalia's laptop screen said, "Who're you talking to, Thal?"

And then Luke was moving his face into frame and Annabeth's stomach dropped. After several days, the smile finally left her face.

"Hey Annie," he said, grinning. Even through a screen, seeing Luke made her stomach churn with nerves and her chest hurt. The feeling crawled up her throat, strangling her and rendering her mute.

He just smiled smugly at her as if he knew the effect he had on her. "What are you girls talking about?" he asked, this time directed at Thalia. His face changed when he looked at her, softening into something that had once been familiar.

Thalia glanced at Annabeth, hesitating before saying, "Oh, just Annabeth's boyfriend." Annabeth smiled uncomfortably.

Luke's eyes turned steely. "Percy, right?" His voice had a sharpness to it that it had not had a second ago. Thalia didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, that's right. We, uh, actually have plans really soon, so I should probably get ready," Annabeth lied through her teeth.

"Of course," Luke said. "Have a nice time."

"Oh, you didn't tell me about—" Thalia started to say, but the rest of the sentence was cut off when Luke closed the laptop. Annabeth looked at herself reflected on the dark screen as the call disconnected.

She looked tired and… small. The dark circles under her eyes were darker than she imagined, and the expression on her face communicated just how powerless Luke made her feel. And with Thalia's silence in the face of Annabeth's question… she felt lost too.

She hated feeling this way. There was a sick, lurching feeling in her stomach, as if she was spinning and the world was going blurry around her, and she was losing control of the places her feet landed.

She missed having control. She'd had a plan once. She had written a list—things I want to do before I die. Things like visiting the Parthenon, volunteering at a homeless shelter, learning to drive, taking a road trip. And then the list had been edited. And rewritten. And amended. And the new plan had been to finish school, and that would be enough.

And then Luke and Thalia and Silena and Percy happened. It wasn't enough anymore, but it was all she had left, all she had power over. She had wasted so much time being content without realizing she was really being complacent.

Annabeth couldn't dissolve the thick knot of anxiety that had found a home in her stomach, so she settled for the next best thing. She got out her agenda (mostly blank—she had only written a few sporadic entries since October) and opened up the syllabi for all of her classes. The room was silent but for her pencil scratching at her paper as she wrote down every assignment due in the next two weeks. And then she wrote everything due for the rest of the semester for good measure.

It took several rings of her phone for her to notice that someone was calling. By the time she tore her eyes away from her laptop (now completely entrenched in her Roman Antiquity paper), the call had ended. She checked her phone, stretching her back and noticing for the first time the change of the light outside. It seemed like it was early evening now, the light turning golden and throwing yellow squares of light on her wall.

She frowned. Piper had apparently called her four times in the last ten minutes. Her screen lit up again with Piper's contact photo. Annabeth hurried to accept the call. "Piper?"

A sob came through the phone speaker. "Annabeth—"

Annabeth quickly sat down and grabbed her phone. "Piper, what's wrong? Are you okay?" All she could hear was heavy breathing and crying. She mentally combed over Piper's life, the details she had collected in the words both said and unsaid between them. "Where are you right now? I'm coming over."

"No—Annabeth." Piper's voice cracked. "It's Leo."

Annabeth's stomach dropped. Oh god.

"There was—there were pills on the floor and he—" Piper stopped, breathing heavily as she tried to force the words through her tears.

Annabeth was already out the door. "Piper, what happened?" she asked as she flew down the stairs, too impatient to wait for the elevator. "Where are you?"

"The hospital, Mercy—"

"I'm coming over. Is Leo okay?" Annabeth put her headphones in so she could keep talking to Piper as she called for a ride. The wind whipped her hair into her face as she left the dorm building and stepped towards the road. Panic coursed through her veins as she desperately refreshed the rideshare app, hoping that ten minutes would magically become five.

"He's, he's past the doors—they won't let me see him—oh god—why didn't I—" Piper was saying, voice muffled and barely legible over the phone.

"Piper, no, it's not you, he was struggling through a lot," Annabeth tried to reassure her, although she was having similar thoughts herself. She should have known. She saw the signs, she knew it was a hard time for him. She couldn't imagine what Piper was going through; she was much closer to Leo.

"I know!" Piper cried. "That's why I should have done something!"

Annabeth got into the car as it pulled up. The driver turned around to look at her. "Mercy hospital, right?" Annabeth nodded.

"Piper, you couldn't have known he would do this," Annabeth said. "You can't blame yourself."

The car drove down the street. It wasn't going fast enough. Annabeth dug her fingers into the seat, grateful that the driver wasn't trying to make conversation. They drove towards the city slowly, seemingly getting caught in every red light along the way. Annabeth tried to comfort Piper, but everything she said felt canned and copied. Like she was speaking words borrowed from other people's mouths.

Then, so softly that Annabeth could barely hear it, Piper said, "Annabeth, am I a bad friend?"

Annabeth couldn't speak for a minute as her heart split in two and lodged itself in her throat. She felt her eyes prickle as she cleared her throat. Up the street she could see the pull in for the emergency room. "Piper, I'll be right there. Just stay on the line."

:::

Annabeth pushed through the revolving hospital doors and into the waiting room. Instantly she was hit by the unfortunately familiar smell of hospital—the impersonal scent of antiseptic. The waiting room was bland, painted and decorated in beige tones, and mostly empty. She frantically looked around and found a quietly crying Piper, along with a blank Hazel and Frank trying to console her.

Annabeth walked over to Piper and sat beside her. Piper sniffled as she tried to stop crying. Annabeth pulled her into her arms and Piper pressed her wet face against Annabeth's shoulder.

"You're not a bad friend," Annabeth said softly. "You're amazing, Piper. You're amazing."

Piper hiccupped and leaned back. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were rimmed with a painful red. She grabbed a tissue out of a nearby tissue box and wiped her nose. Quietly she whispered "I found him. I mean, I only saw the sleeping pills and the empty bottle and—and—"

Annabeth rubbed her back. "Shhh, it's okay. Leo's here, he's going to be okay."

"I called 911. It's not enough, but I—I couldn't even look at him, I couldn't even—what's wrong with me?" Piper said, staring down at the linoleum floors.

"It's okay, Piper. You did the right thing," Annabeth said. "You did the right thing."

Annabeth and Piper stayed like that for a while, Annabeth rubbing Piper's back and running her hands through her hair as she comforted her, until the uncomfortable hospital chairs hurt her back. When Piper got up to use the bathroom, Annabeth got up to get her some shitty waiting room coffee and a pack of Skittles from the vending machine. Piper still hadn't come back when Annabeth found her way to where they were sitting, so she went to check on Hazel and Frank.

"Hey guys," Annabeth said, sitting in the chair next to Hazel. Frank nodded at her and gave her a grimace that was most likely supposed to be a smile. Hazel just stared at the ground, not giving any evidence that she noticed Annabeth's presence. "I just want you to know—I'm, um, I'm here if you need me," she said. "Now and later. Ever. If you ever need me." Hazel kept staring at the ground, but she moved her hands over Annabeth's resting it on the chair armrest. She squeezed Annabeth's fingers in her own and Frank gave her a grateful smile. They sat in silence for another minute until Annabeth got up when she saw Piper exit the bathroom.

Piper had obviously splashed water on her face, and she had stopped crying. When they sat down together, Annabeth offered her the coffee and Skittles, which Piper took. Silently, she leaned her head against Annabeth's shoulder.

As they waited, the sun sank fully below the horizon, turning the night an inky black. Outside of the hospital, streetlights bathed the roads in a sickly yellow. Annabeth got up to get her own shitty hospital coffee, hoping the caffeine was worth her disgust. When a doctor finally came through the swinging doors and gestured to them, Annabeth had to shake Piper awake.

The four of them gathered around the doctor anxiously as she explained the situation.

"He's awake now," she said. "We're going to transfer him to a psychiatric hospital for seventy-two hours. Depending on how he does there, we might increase the amount of time. We thought it might be good for him to see some of his friends, so you can go in one at a time to visit, but not too long. Afterwards, you should all go home and get some sleep."

Annabeth let out a sigh of relief, and she felt Piper do the same beside her.

"So, who wants to go in first?" The doctor asked. Piper took a step forward, but then looked back at Hazel and Frank.

Hazel spoke for the first time since Annabeth had arrived at the hospital. "Go ahead."

The doctor led Piper through the doors. Annabeth, Frank and Hazel went back to their seats. Annabeth gave Hazel and Frank some space, unsure if her presence would be helpful or not.

About twenty minutes later, when Piper came back out, she had a brave smile on her face that dissolved once the doctor led Hazel out of the waiting room. She collapsed into the seat next to Annabeth, the vinyl seat crackling underneath her.

"How was it?" Annabeth asked.

"Better than I expected," Piper said, and didn't elaborate. Annabeth didn't want to push, so she let that sit in the air as they waited.

Hazel came back out and Frank went in. Hazel came over and wordlessly squeezed Piper's hand until Frank came out after about ten minutes. They waved as they left, back to their apartments for the night. Annabeth wondered when she and Piper should leave when she heard the doctor address her.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Annabeth blinked in confusion for a second before looking down at Piper. Piper nodded. "He'd like that," she said. "I'll be okay."

So Annabeth got up and followed the doctor. Her stomach crawled with anxiety. She felt uncertain—should she really be here? Would Leo really want to see her right now? Sure, they were friends, but just barely. Annabeth didn't feel like she deserved to be here to see him in this moment of vulnerability.

But before she could change her mind, before she could turn around and tell the doctor "no, he doesn't want to see me, I'm not supposed to be here", she was being led through the door of a hospital room and a curtain was being pulled back and—

"Hey, Annabeth."

A/N: Tw summary: Annabeth gets a call from Piper telling her that Leo is at the hospital for an attempted suicide. Annabeth goes to the hospital to support her friends and sees Piper, Hazel, and Frank there. Each person visits Leo individually as Annabeth waits in the waiting room until it is Annabeth's turn to see Leo. When she arrives, he greets her. {End Chapter}