XXXIII

NICO

Nico sat atop of stacked big boxes as he tilted his head back and swigged the water out of his tumbler. The summer heat was sweltering. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead down to his temple. His long-abandoned white long sleeve was tied around his waist and now the blank tank top he was wearing was damp with sweat.

He put down his tumbler and looked around his new apartment in Manhattan. Everything was still in chaos since all of his things from Queens had just arrived earlier that morning. After a long pleading, debating and persuading his sister, Hazel had finally agreed to lease an apartment in Manhattan.

"I just don't understand, you seem eager to live in Manhattan. You're alright before with driving back and forth to NYU from Queens and you said before that you'll get a part-time here in Queens. Now I was surprised that you applied in Manhattan." He remembered Hazel telling him.

"Well, a lot of things have changed and you know that I don't like to drive for the time being," Nico said and shrugged. "So it's economical, you can live there too. You know with the upcoming exhibit and all, it's convenient. Or if you have any business in Manhattan, you can always stay there."

"It's just that, you've been away for so long and I was so happy that you decided to live with me here in New York and now you're going away again," Hazel said.

"I'm sorry, it's just that. .. ." Nico couldn't tell so he tried to come up with another reason. "... It's just that, I found an opportunity in Manhattan easily, you know my part-time in Triumvirate Laboratories. They're a pretty big industry."

"Valdez Biotech Corp here in Queens is a big industry too. I said I will refer you there because I know some higher up there."

"There's nothing we can do about that, I already got accepted it's not like I can back out. . . Please, Hazel."

Hazel sighed. "Well, what else I can do, besides it's not always that Nico di Angelo was seriously pleading for something. . ."

In the end, Hazel had agreed.

The thing that Nico couldn't tell Hazel was since he had woken up from a long sleep, he had felt like his life was no longer in Queens.

Nico jumped down from the box and put his earphones on. There were still a lot of things to do. He played Gold by Sleeping with Sirens on his playlist and blasted it off. It was going to be a busy day for Nico di Angelo.

He was opening one of the boxes when he received a call.

"Hello?" He answered through his earphones

"Nico!" He recognized the voice. It was from Tate, Hazel's secretary.

Nico froze. He didn't like the tone of Tate's voice "Hey, is there something wrong?"

"Nico. Hazel collapsed and she was rushed here in the hospital." Tate said.

With that, Nico was rushing down the hall of his apartment building as he wore his white sleeves over his blank tank top. He immediately pushed the elevator button. When he was on the street he hailed a cab going to Jupiter Half-blood Hospital.

Nico reached JHH. He paid the cab driver in a large bill and didn't bother to get the change in a haste to get inside. He stepped into the lobby of JHH. All of a sudden, his chest started to tighten as if it was being squeezed.

He gasped clutching his chest. He couldn't breathe. He staggered backward, overwhelmed by the sensation. "W-what the. . . "

For a moment, Nico felt like everything around him seemed to spin and blur. He shut his eyes tight and he saw something.

A guy in black was in the revolving door, pushing the door and walking in circles.

Nico's eyes snapped open. His heartbeat calmed down but not his breathing, ragged and heavy. Slowly, he turned around. There, the revolving door, the same door in his vision.

"W-what was that." He whispered shakily. "Who. . ."

Then he remembered his sister. Nico shook his head. Not now.

He ran to the reception counter, unable to notice two doctors talking, a woman and a man. Nico was also oblivious that the woman was staring at him with wide-eyes.

"Excuse me," Nico said breathlessly. He swallowed. "Where is the emergency room?"

"Just go straight in that corner and then right."

Nico turned his head to the side. The one who answered was a woman who had short ginger hair with green highlights and who seemed to be a doctor. His eyes briefly wandered to her badge.

Knowles, Kayla M.D

She seemed familiar to him, though.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks." Nico said and left.

Nico was thinking where he had first seen that woman as he made his way to the ER. Then Nico remembered, the café, she was with the other blond guy who had interrupted his date. The date that had turned into a disaster after that interruption. Then not from afar, he saw Tate. Seeing her, Nico's worry and panic came back.

"Tate!" Nico called and ran towards her.

"How's my sister? Is she okay?" He held Tate's arm with a frantic look on his face.

That's when he realized that Tate was talking to someone. He turned.

And much to his surprise, it was the blond-who-interrupted-his-date and the one that had briefly crossed his mind seconds ago. He looked at him from head to foot.

Oh.

He was a doctor.

"We have to wait for lab results first but don't worry, she's not in a critical condition." The blond doctor said.

Nico and Tate sighed in relief. He also briefly wondered if the blond doctor still remembered him. The doctor looked like he didn't. His face was too impassive to see some recognition in it.

"Dr. Solace!" a nurse ran towards the blond doctor.

Solace huh. Nico thought absentmindedly.

"Patient Levesque is-" The nurse froze when she saw Nico.

"Is what?" Dr. Solace nudged the nurse.

The nurse slowly turned her head to the doctor as if in a trance. "-awake, doc"

"Good." Dr. Solace said.

"Can we see her now?" Nico asked.

"Later. I need to examine her again. I'll just call you." Dr. Solace said and went into the ER.

Nico noticed the nurse left standing there and staring at him.

"Um, is there something wrong?" Nico asked slowly.

"Nurse Lou! Aren't you coming?" Dr. Solace called.

"Y-yeah, coming doc." The nurse ran towards the doctor.

"Weird," Nico said.

"Maybe she's into you?" Tate said, smiling a little bit.

"Weirder." Nico shook his head. "And no way."

Nico faced Tate. "Now, tell me what happened to Hazel? I thought you were in Queens!"

"Well, we lied a little about that." Tate bit her lip.

Nico narrowed his eyes on her. And so Tate told him the story while they were waiting for the doctor to call them again. They sat on the four-seater steel chair.

A moment later, Dr. Solace came back with Nurse Lou.

"You can go and see her now. I'll come back with the lab results. Nurse Lou will accompany you to Miss Levesque's bed." With that Dr. Solace was gone.

"Uh, come with me." Nurse Lou said.

Hazel gave them a small smile when they had reached the bed. The upper part of the bed was slightly reclined up, so she was in an almost sitting position.

"Hey." Hazel greeted.

"Hey my butt," Nico retorted. "I almost had a heart attack when I learned that you were rushed here. I told you not to overwork yourself, didn't I?"

"Sorry." Hazel seemed to shrink in her place.

"And aren't you sorry too that you lied to me?" Nico raised an eyebrow.

Hazel sighed. "Guilty and sorry again." Then she glared weakly at her secretary. Her secretary raised her hand in a peace sign.

"Maybe I should leave you two a bit," Tate said and turned on her heel.

Nico held her hand, the one without IV needle. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a jelly but I'll live." Hazel smiled again at her brother, her golden eyes were shining.

"The doctor said that we have to wait for your lab results," Nico informed her. He sat at the edge of the bed without pulling his hand away from his sister.

"Doc Will? He seemed nice." Hazel noted.

"His name is Will?" Nico couldn't help but ask.

Hazel nodded. "Yeah, he introduced himself earlier."

So, it's Will Solace. Nico thought. It's a nice name.

Hazel cleared her throat. "And just so you know, his whole name is William Solace. I saw his badge... "

Nico stared at her sister.

"Hazel," Nico said.

"What?"

"I know that look. Stop it."

"What look?"

"He-seemed-nice-so-maybe-my-brother-is-into-him look."

"Are you? He's cute." Hazel was trying to hide her smile but failing.

Nico groaned. "Hazel. You can't expect me to like every single guy out there."

This time Hazel couldn't help but laugh softly but then immediately winced holding her head. "Ow. .. "

Nico immediately noticed it. "Now we should really stop because you have to rest"

Hazel shifted in her position. "You know, it's weird but it felt like I've seen him somewhere before . ."

"Really?" Nico asked surprisingly.

Hazel shook her head. "I'm not quite sure, it's just a feeling."

After a moment, Will Solace came back holding a medical chart. Tate was trailing behind.

"So, Miss Levesque." Will opened the medical chart. "According to your lab results: Blood tests, Electrolytes, Blood urea, Nitrogen, and Glucose are all in neutral level but the hemoglobin count is a little bit elevated, and your Urinalysis is quite concentrated."

"So my sister is dehydrated?" Nico asked.

Will raised an eyebrow at him, surprised. "You seemed to know something about this."

"I minor in Biochemistry or so I've been told," Nico mumbled the last part and looked away. A little bit embarrassed by the attention that the blond doctor was giving him.

Will closed the chart. "Anyway, Mild Dehydration in your case Miss Levesque and also over fatigue. So I recommend drinking plenty of water. Gatorade is good too. You also need plenty of rest. The only medication I will prescribe drinking is Advil for your fever. You don't need to stay overnight since it was just mild dehydration. Just come back here if your condition didn't improve."

Will moved closer to the IV and adjusted the IV drip. "You can be discharged after you empty the IV bag-" He looked at his wristwatch while clipping the medical chart under his armpit. "-And that will be in an hour and a half so you can sleep for a little while." He smiled at Hazel. Nico noticed the dimple that appeared on his cheek. "That will be all, Miss Levesque." Then Will nodded at Nico and left.

You can't fall for it, just because he has a cute smile and cute dimples. Nico chided himself. And just because-

Blond hair

Blue eyes

Nico internally groaned. And you can't factor in your crazy obsession here!

"I will settle the bill and buy some Gatorade and Advil," Tate said and left also.

Hazel nudged him with her arm. "Doc seemed impressed on you, Neeks."

"Don't add fuel to the fire, Hazel" Nico muttered inaudibly.

oo00oo

"Come on, Doc Knowles, please help me with this one. You're an expert in general medicine." Dr. Lee Fletcher begged as the two went to the lobby of Jupiter Half-Blood Hospital. "If you want, you can be a researcher too, we can collaborate."

"I told you. I don't want to. I'm not the only doctor here you can ask for that." Kayla rolled her eyes on Dr. Fletcher. "Besides, I'm going to start my dissertation too. I was just waiting for something. . ." They both stopped in front of the reception counter.

"Waiting for what?" Lee Fletcher asked.

But Kayla ignored him and instead spoke to the lady at the reception. "Excuse me. I received a call down here, that there's a letter addressed to me."

"Ah, yes doc," The lady answered politely. "Just wait a second." She rummaged on the stack of letters on her desk.

Then a guy came into the reception. Kayla froze in her spot when she had recognized the guy. Her mouth hung open.

It was Nico di Angelo.

"Excuse me," Nico said to the lady behind the counter. "Where is the emergency room?"

"Just go straight in that corner and then right." Kayla was the one who had answered since the lady was still busy trying to find her letter.

Nico looked at her. "Uh, yeah. Thanks." He left as fast as he had come.

"He seemed to be really in a hurry. Hopefully whoever he was going to visit isn't dying." Lee Fletcher commented looking back at Nico.

"I wonder who." Kayla paused. "Wait, maybe he's here for Will? Does he remember everything now?"

"He knows Doc Solace?" Lee butted in.

Kayla frowned at him. Then she spoke slowly when she had realized something. "You. Don't you recognize that guy?"

Lee shook his head. "This was the first time I've seen him."

Kayla gaped. "This wasn't the first time you've seen him! You know that guy! He's always here before, his name is Nico di Angelo."

Lee stared at Kayla. "How could I know that guy when this was the first time I've learned his name. And swear, never seen that Nico dude until now. What was he doing here before anyway? Did he work part-time?"

"Say doc, did you know if Will dated someone again after you two broke up?" Kayla asked.

"I'm not aware, did he?" Lee said.

"Solangelo? Does that word seem familiar to you?" Kayla asked again.

"And what was that, this time? A new brand or something?" Lee said frustratingly.

"Dr. Knowles, here's your letter." The lady at the counter said

Lee Fletcher snatched the letter and looked at it. "Awesome. Is this what you've been waiting for? An invitation to a prestigious clinical research forum? How did you even get invited? It's hard to get an invitation here."

Kayla was still staring at Lee, trying to figure out what was going on. He seemed genuinely clueless about Nico. So, did Lee Fletcher have forgotten about Nico di Angelo? Was that even possible?