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Annabeth POV
I feel the wind whipping against my ponytail, blowing the little wisps of stray hair out of my eyes. The giant airship has come to a complete stop and the ladder is unfurled. I can't keep still, why can't I just jump down? It'd be a lot faster other than my inevitably broken legs. From the deck of the ship I spot him, walking down the path towards us. The faceless crowd splits apart, his purple cloak billows in the breeze as he strides forward unhindered.
Time skips forward and I'm right in front of him. He's still staring up at the floating ship. I need to feel him, need to breathe him in and never let go. Should I punch him first or hug him? Not quite sure yet. I want to call out his name, but my lips are numb. He finally looks down at me, his face carefully curious.
A blank stare meets my eyes. I freeze. Frozen on the balls of my feet as I'm about to fly into his arms.
He smiles that insufferable lazy grin of his, kindness sparkling in his eyes. He reaches out a hand towards mine.
"Hey, I'm Percy! Nice ship you got there."
0-0-0-0-0
I slowly gain awareness of a few things. First, I can't seem to catch my breath and everything is too hot. Or cold? I don't know. Second, someone is hugging me and murmuring in my ear. Like turning the dial on a radio, words slowly start making sense.
"I'm here Annabeth, it's okay. Just let it all out it's fine, I'm right here." Percy breathes.
My mind replays the dream over and over in triple speed. Stripped of his memories, unaware of the people he was ripped apart from. Losing the one person who knows me the most. All my anxiety shown in high definition.
I realize that I've latched onto Percy like a homeless koala. I burrow my face deeper in the crook of his neck, focusing on slowing my breathing.
"You back with me Annabeth?" Percy sounds relieved, keeping his voice deep and calming.
I nod. "You forgot about me." I croaked, muffled by his shirt. "We landed in New Rome and you didn't remember me."
I feel him squeeze me tighter for a second before pushing me back gently to look me in the eyes. He wipes his thumb across my check, wiping away the tears that I hadn't noticed.
"I would never forget you." He says solemnly. "And I didn't. At least not completely, even though Hera tried her best. I guess you've weaseled your way into my brain forever." He smirks then lets me bury my face in his shirt again. I think I got snot everywhere, oops.
"Did I ever tell you when Jason and I first got kidnapped into Hera's weird foreign exchange student program and I was at the wolf house?" His chest rumbles as he talks. "I was super confused all the time and I couldn't remember anything about before I woke up there. But I knew that somewhere there was someone looking for me. Someone important. Every time I travelled or ran away somewhere, there was a part of my brain that was worried that the person wouldn't be able to find me. It was super weird and confusing and it kept me up at night, but it was nice to know that I had cared for someone and that someone was out there looking for me. The pieces fell into place really quickly after I started to get my memories back. You were the first and only thing I could think about for a long time." He squeezes me tight again.
"Hera can suck it." I mumble.
Percy chuckles. "Yeah, she can suck on her vlakas cows for all I care."
We end up laying back down, Percy's arms wrapped around me as my back presses against his chest. In the quiet room my mind starts drifting back to my dream… seeing that blank expression, a purple cloak demanding respect from the crowd…
"Ya know," Percy's voice breaks the silence. "Fun fact I do actually have a pretty good memory… when I actually pay attention to things."
"Oh?" I hum, amused. This should be good.
"Yeah! I remember this one time when I was like, nine or whatever and my mom told me to 'always look both ways when crossing the street.' And I've remembered it ever since."
I groan.
"And I remember that you like Double Stuf Oreos, and you don't like to be interrupted, and that your brother Matthew lost his first baby tooth before Bobby did."
"Mmhmm, go on."
"And your favorite bug is a dragonfly, you tried calligraphy in middle school because you liked the fancy pens but only used them to draw little stick figures, oh and you definitely cried watching Up even though you said you didn't. But I mean, who wouldn't cry its Pixar, so it's understandable. Also, that one time you…"
I feel myself blush in the dark as I let his ramblings wash over me. Hearing him list all the little things makes me feel warm inside. I listen to Percy casually disproving my fears and casting my anxiety away. How could a person abandon the one who knows them inside and out? Especially a person who apparently remembers the exact number of grapes I helped him fit in his mouth.
0-0-0-0-0
Dr. Wright POV
It's Tuesday morning and I am having a session with Annabeth and Percy. Oh, and it's taco day, which is always a delight.
The two young adults have brought their flashcards, and it's apparent that they have worked diligently on their assignment. Annabeth holds her small stack in a firm grasp. Percy is currently shuffling his around like a deck of cards, looking like he is about to book it to Vegas to start a new career.
"So, I hope this little exercise helped you both take a step to start processing events at your own pace." I take a sip of my coffee. "Again, the purpose of the flashcards is to help you organize your thoughts on how you have impacted the people around you, both for the worse or the better. Remember, most of the time things happen because of external factors and circumstances that you and the other person happened to be part of at the same time. It's ok to take responsibility for the things you wrote down but it's important to understand that it's practically impossible to blame the fault of something on a singular individual. Relationships take two after all."
I see Annabeth take a meaningful glance at Percy, catching his eye for a brief moment.
At the same moment, there is a timid knock at my door.
"Hi Dr. Wright, it's Miranda with those files you asked for." A muffled voice calls through the door.
"Ah yes, come in Miranda," I answer, "Thank you, I can take those from you real quick."
Miranda is our new intern who started this week. A little shy and awkward but she has some real potential for a pediatric career! She opens the door, reaching out with the files in hand when she abruptly stops and stares at my two patients, a strange look in her expression.
Immediately Percy groans dramatically, rolling his eyes. "Awww come on! Really?"
Ok that's a bit rude of him.
Miranda makes a quick movement, and then the next few minutes are a bit… in a blur? Like that one time I accidently got double expresso and chugged it down because I was in a rush and thought it was decaf. All I know is that Percy and Annabeth had bolted up out of their seats, Miranda had a sudden nosebleed or something and had left my office. My two patients were slowly settling down in their seats again, looking around with sharp eyes and guarded body language. Percy was twiddling with a pen.
"Ok, that just happened." Annabeth spoke up. Her eyes looked more alive and she seemed full of energy all of a sudden. "Please, let's just continue."
"Um, you guys ok?" I stammer, still not sure why my head feels a bit cloudy.
"Yeah it's all good." Percy answers. "I think that lady had to go… or, uh… something."
"Ok then, I'll check on her later, don't worry." I shake my head to collect my thoughts, pushing my coffee further away on my desk. "Let's see… where were we?"
Later on that day, I found out no one had seen Miranda since she left my office and that she had apparently quit her internship.
