Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.

Sorry that there is quite a bit of filler in this chapter. I have so much going on in my head that I am having a hard time setting everything up that is to come. I have revised the next 3 chapters 4 times already! Anywho, read, review and enjoy!

Chapter 5

Percy motioned for Annabeth to hurry and before he could stop her Alexa was marching back out into the crosswalk. She stopped in the middle and grabbed Annabeth's hand and started dragging her back to the group. She was telling her something but Percy couldn't make it out.

Percy heard the roar of an engine and he looked up to see a black Charger headed right in their direction. Thalia saw it too and the pair jumped into action before thinking about anything else.

Thalia got to Alexa and yanked her hard from Annabeth's grasp and threw her behind her just as the car whizzed by them. Percy and Annabeth were not as lucky.

Percy had just managed to grab Annabeth's left hand and was trying desperately to pull her so that she wouldn't take the full force of the car straight on. He managed to pull her hard enough in an arch that the car only hit her leg, but between the force of Percy's pull and the car, she hit the ground hard taking Percy with her. There was nothing to cushion the blow as she literally went from standing to being on her back in a matter of seconds.

The car rushed past them and everywhere people were screaming. Percy heard what sounded like little girls crying and he got up quickly, which was a mistake. Hitting the ground caused a little more damage than he thought and he turned to find Thalia.

"Thalia! Thalia," He screamed. His eyes scanned the crowd and she hollered something back at him. He wasn't sure what she said.

Percy clumsily made his way to Annabeth and was almost afraid to look. He knelt down next to her, calling her name. Her eyes were glazed over and he knew she was about to pass out. "Thalia, HELP ME!"

Thalia came running over with Alexa close on her heels. "I called 911. There is a truck on the way." Her voice wavered and she leaned over her best friend.

Alexa made her way to the top of Annabeth's head and looked into her glassy gray eyes. "I'm sorry Annabeth. I didn't mean to be mean to you!" The child was suddenly crying and Thalia tried to pull her away to no avail.

Percy was leaning close to Annabeth's head now, whispering to her that she would be just fine.

"P . . . p . . . Percy! She's bleeding!" Alexa was a snot faced mess at this point. She couldn't control the emotions racing through her.

It was at that point that Annabeth closed her eyes and her breathing slowed. Percy was trying not to panic. He was praying that it was nothing more than a concussion and that once the ambulance got there she would be just fine but the hit to the ground was hard and he was worried.

"Thalia, if there's nothing wrong with her take her back to the coach and make her play that game. She doesn't need to be here for all of this," he barked at his cousin.

Thalia just stared at him blankly.

"THALIA," He screamed at her. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head, "Yes, sorry."

"Make sure she's okay. Do what I say, please." He was pleading with her as he nodded toward Alexa.

Thalia quickly got up and scooped up her baby cousin and disappeared into the crowd with her.

Percy put his attention back on Annabeth and a short haired woman who was now positioned at Annabeth's head. He watched as she gently lifted her head and placed what looked like a wadded up T-shirt under her.

"You aren't supposed to move them," was all that Percy could mumble.

"It's okay. I'm a nurse. I didn't move her much. We just need something to help slow the bleeding.

Percy just nodded at her. He never realized he had scooped up Annabeth's hand and was massaging her knuckles with his thumb.

Percy opened an eye to see who was coming in the room now. He wasn't in the mood to be questioned by anyone so he had been pretending to be asleep to avoid any such conversations. He closed his eye and pushed back in the chair. It was just Annabeth's nurse and he felt himself relax.

"Hello there. Nice to see your eyes!" He heard the nurse say. His eyes flew open and he turned to see Annabeth trying to sit up a little bit. Her usually creamy, tan skin was suddenly very green and Percy had no time to get up and comfort her.

Thankfully the nurse was quick and had a trash can ready and under her just as the violent retching began.

Percy tried desperately to ignore the sound as it made him want to retch himself. He carefully placed himself next to Annabeth and held what he could of her hair back for her. He wasn't sure what he should say to her.

When she was finally done, she leaned back into the bed and winced as tears pushed their way out of her closed eyes. Percy held her hand as he did before, massaging her knuckles with his thumb.

Annabeth sniffled and whispered, "That was the absolute worst ending for a date ever Jackson."

Percy couldn't help himself and he laughed for the first time in four days. He carefully leaned over her and placed his head on her chest. "You scared the hell out of me Chase. Don't ever do that to me again!"

Annabeth sighed and said, "At this point, I can't make any promises. You seem to be dangerous to my health."

"The perks of dating Percy Jackson," he said while flashing her smile.

Annabeth smiled down at him and then the smile faded. "You're hurt." She said quietly.

His right arm was in a sling, allowing his dislocated and now relocated shoulder a chance to rest and heal. "I'm fine," he whispered to her. "Just a dislocated shoulder. No biggie." Percy lifted his arm and wiggled it around a little and lost his smile only for a moment as he winced in pain.

"You're a terrible liar Percy," she replied back, closing her eyes to shield herself from the harsh light the nurse turned on. "What about Alexa? Did Thalia get her out of the way in time?" Annabeth's voice was full of worry.

"She's fine. She may need therapy for the rest of her life but Thalia got her out of the way just in time. I'm just sorry I wasn't able to do the same for you," Percy said as he picked up her hand and started rubbing on her knuckles again.

"So do we know who was in the car?"

Just as Percy was about to answer there was a knock on the door and Annabeth's doctor entered the room. "Miss Chase, I am glad to see you awake finally. Mr. Jackson, I am going to ask you to wait here, I need to run her down for an MRI. While the throwing up after a head injury is sometimes common, I want to double check there is no more swelling."

Percy nodded and pulled Annabeth's hand to his lips and gently kissed it. "I'll be here when you get back."

Three days later Annabeth was back in her apartment. While thankful to get back home and out of the hospital, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to be there alone anymore.

"How's the knee?"

"Throbbing a little bit from the walk from the bedroom to here. Can you toss me that pillow Thal?"

Thalia chunked the pillow at her friend lightly and went to the door to let Percy in who was knocking on the door franticly. "You would think he had something important to tell us at the rate he's beating the door down!" She quickly opened the door and looked at her cousin loaded down with bags and a drink carrier.

"Don't just look at me Thal! Help!"

Thalia laughed and grabbed a couple of bags from Percy and then stopped him. "Look, she's obsessed with who was driving the car and beyond convinced that it was Luke's handiwork. I don't doubt that it was, especially seeing as how she got about twenty phone calls today from a blocked number and it's a creepy mouth breather," Thalia spilled out quickly.

Percy sighed, "She didn't tell me about the calls."

"Me either. I happened to pick up her phone when she was napping earlier. I wasn't sure if it was work or not so I answered it expecting to take a message for her."

"Let her bring it up. I don't want to stress her out more than what she needs right now. Let's go before she gets suspicious of us."

Percy quietly walked into the living room and noticed Annabeth stretched out on the sofa, several pillows under her left knee. She appeared to be sleeping but her eyes popped open the instant he set the bags of food down.

He loved how her gray eyes lit up whenever he was with her but today there was something different in her eyes, he just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Percy sat down on the little space of sofa next to her and leaned over to give her a kiss on the forehead. "Hungry?"

"Very," She replied with a yawn.

The group ate silently, and when finished Annabeth yawned again. "I hate these drugs, I can't stay awake and yet the pain doesn't go away," she groaned into Percy's shoulder.

"And with that, I think I am going to call it a night. Have fun with babysitting duty Percy," Thalia said jokingly.

"Thanks Thals, and remind me when you are in need to ditch you too," Annabeth said as she stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Night Thals. See you tomorrow," Percy said yawning now.

Thalia grabbed her things and headed toward the door. "Night guys," she called as she walked out and shut the door behind her.

"Thank God! I never thought she was going to leave," Percy exclaimed.

Annabeth smiled and leaned back into Percy's chest. She closed her eyes and whispered, "You totally aren't getting lucky tonight Jackson!"

"At the risk of sounding cheesy, I am. I have you here still despite being hit by a car, a busted spleen, broken wrist, and a massive concussion. I am with you tonight and that makes me lucky."

"You're such a sap," Annabeth said as she looked up at Percy. "But you're my sap." She carefully pulled his head down toward her with her good arm and lightly kissed him on the cheek.

There was a surge of energy that rushed through her body and suddenly she wanted more. She let her fingers wander up the back of his neck and then entwined her fingers in his hair. Something she had been wanting to do for quite some time.

Percy closed his eyes and had to breathe deep and slowly. She was getting to him and he was not about to go down that road with her in pain.

Annabeth pulled him closer again, this time resting her forehead on his and she started to get lost in his sea green eyes. She couldn't resist the urge any longer and she pressed her lips against his. She could feel his shock but it was only for a moment as he returned the kiss. Somewhere in the pit of her stomach she felt things she couldn't even begin to describe. It was wonderful and frightening all at the same time.

The moment was spoiled though by her ringing phone. Neither one wanted to pull away but by the fourth ring she gave up and pulled away from him slowly. She grabbed her phone and looked at the caller ID and had to resist throwing up her dinner.

"Hello Luke," She said coldly.

"Awe, what's the matter sweet cheeks. Not happy to hear from me?"

"Actually . . . ," she started but her cut her off before she could finish her thought.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing? That little belated birthday gift didn't go quite as I expected but hey it's the thought that counts right?"

"What the hell are you talking about," she questioned. She then quickly pulled her phone away from her ear and put it on speaker.

"Don't play dumb with me Annabeth! You disrespected me out in public and for that you have to pay," He yelled at her.

Percy could feel her tense in his lap and he started to rub her back to hopefully help calm her down. In reality he was calming himself down. He didn't want Luke to know he was listening and it was taking all he had to not yell at him.

"And what do I have to do to get you off my back," her voice was shaking slightly as she asked him, truly afraid of what his answer was going to be.

"Marry me."

Annabeth couldn't help it, but a fit of giggles escaped her mouth before she could stop them. "You're insane. I am never going to marry you Luke and you know that," she spat back at him.

"Then I guess you will have to take your punishment like a big girl."

"And what if I take this to the cops?"

"A. Annie, you wouldn't dare. B. I have the cops in my back pocket. All I have to do is flash a little money and your complaint goes away. So what are you going to do now?"

Annabeth was in shock. She really didn't believe Percy when he said that Luke had previously paid off the police force but hearing it from Luke's own mouth confirmed her worst fears.

"So what's it going to be Annie?"

"Fuck you Luke," Annabeth screamed at him, "and it's Annabeth!"

She quickly hung up the phone and chunked it across the room and turned her head into Percy's shoulder and started to cry.

Percy hugged her close and tried to calm her but nothing was working. 'It's going to be a long night,' he thought as he allowed Annabeth to continue crying.