Ah, feels good being a writer.

All your comments are so hilarious to me xD It's awesome!

Anyway, time to find out...the truth of Leo's condition!

I own nothing you recognize as canon.


XLII

SAMMY LEO

Sammy Leo held Espie closely. At the moment, she was asleep, her head on his shoulder while she sat on his lap. She had, once again, cried herself to sleep.

They were currently sitting in Leo's room in the New Athens Hospital. Tulio was visiting, too, but had gone to the bathroom.

It had been a month since the Atlas incident. Thankfully, after the group had gotten into the sewers, Atlas couldn't do anymore and was, once again, stuck with holding up the sky.

When the tunnel collapsed, however, Leo had been crushed, sending him into a coma. A very deep coma. There had been a few scares where the son of Hephaestus had almost been lost, but Will Solace and the other Apollo doctors got to him every time.

Leo may have looked like he was sleeping, but his health was deteriorating quickly. He looked pale now—maybe not Nico di Angelo pale, but still pretty pasty—and his chest barely moved when he breathed.

Espie couldn't handle her father looking so frail and weak. If she thought about what had happened too much, she'd hysterically cry and want to punch something in anger. Usually, Tulio or Sammy would be there for her, though it sometimes could only be Tulio when she caught fire.

Tulio had done his best healing Leo. He really had. He'd healed his father's broken arm and gashed head. But comas were not something he could reverse. Plus, there was one other thing he couldn't heal…even if he tried his hardest…

The door opened. Calypso strolled inside, little Zac in her arms and Aria trailing behind. Both of the younger Valdez children had a leather necklace with a small bead on it around their necks, as did Sammy's brother Gus. The bead for this year was a purple bead with various animals painted on the side. It had something to do with Gus, but that was another story. (A/N: One that I'm starting to write now, don't worry)

"How is she?" Calypso asked.

Sammy stroked Espie's back. "She was doing fine until she began thinking of how much Leo would be scolding us right now. Then, she broke down."

"Scolding you?"

He shrugged. "For being so close. Leo had a talk with me before I asked Espie out and said that he'd be having an 'over-protective-dad-cleaning-his-rifle' talk with whoever became Espie's boyfriend."

Calypso rolled her eyes. "You can hardly blame him. Espie is his baby girl, no matter what anyone says. And, even though he won't say it out loud, she is his favorite child."

Zac pouted. "I'm not the favorite?"

Calypso chuckled and rubbed her nose against his. "You're still the cutest."

He beamed at that. Aria rolled her eyes, but stayed silent.

Calypso walked over to comatose Leo. She settled Zac down onto the bed and bent down to kiss her husband on the forehead.

She stroked his curls, which now draped over his shoulder. "My hero," she said with pain in her voice. "Oh, Leo. Please wake up. My love…we all miss you."

She put her head on his shoulder and began to sob. "Please," she cried. "I love you…I don't want to lose you, Leo…"

Sammy Leo watched on in sadness. His Pluto-legacy senses may not have been up to standard like his mother's or uncle Nico's, but he could still see that Leo's spirit wasn't there. Nico had examined him and told Sammy in private that Leo had already made the trip to the Underworld, but for some reason a bit of him remained here. Comatose patients were very fragile and walked on that thin line between life and death. Should the patient die, they end up completely in the Underworld, inside the place they were destined to be, skipping the lines and judges completely. It happened sometimes, and Hades usually ignored the sudden spirits.

"But how do the near-death patients come back?" He'd asked his uncle.

Nico shook his head. "Usually, they don't. Those are the ones that stay in a coma for years and never wake up."

"Some have."

"Then they had more of their spirit up here. Leo's nearly gone now. I know you sense it, too. Either we wait for the remainder of his spirit to leave on its own, or we pull the plug and force him to leave."

It was hard to accept, but Sammy knew it was true. Eventually Leo would be gone completely, and he wouldn't see the son of Hephaestus again until he died.

He blinked away tears and looked at Calypso again, who was still leaning over Leo, crying on his shoulder.

I should tell them, he thought. They need to know he's not coming back…He's…

A wave of pure emotion hit him. Determination. Vigor. Life. Sammy nearly toppled over in his chair.

What was that? Did Tulio just share something with me telepathically?

Suddenly, Tulio burst into the room. He was panting hard, his eyes wide. "I just felt something," he huffed.

"Yeah, thanks for sharing it with me," Sammy grumbled. "You didn't have to do that. It hurt."

Tulio tilted his head. "I can't share my emotion-reading abilities. It's my curse to bear."

"Then how did I feel it?"

Espie lifted her head and rubbed her eyes. "Who's screaming?"

Sammy Leo blinked at her. "I wasn't screaming, Espie. But I'll lower my volume, if that woke you."

"No." Espie sat up and held her head. "Someone else is screaming. So loud. I can't make out what they're saying, but they're so loud, it hurts my head!"

Aria was clutching her head, too. "Mom," she groaned. "Tell them to stop shouting! It hurts!"

Calypso lifted herself off of Leo and blinked at the scene. "No one is shouting," she said.

She got up to crouch beside her younger daughter. "Sweetie, no one is shouting."

"I can definitely hear it," Espie whined.

Another wave of determination hit Sammy Leo. He began to pant, it was so powerful. "Stop that, Tulio," he complained.

"I'm not sharing!" Tulio shook his head. "What are you feeling?"

"Determination? Vigor? Something like that?"

"Originally, I felt anger, but now I've got confusion. Mostly from the girls."

Sammy narrowed his eyes. Wait, he thought. If that's not emotion…then what else could I be feeling?

He glanced over to see if Zac was having a reaction. The four-year-old was now sitting on Leo's chest, looking at his father with wide eyes.

"Oh, Zac," Sammy said. "You shouldn't sit there! Your father might not be able to breathe—!"

"Papi," Zac said gleefully. "Hi!"

Then, everyone stopped. Both girls panted and turned their heads. Calypso's mouth was open. Tulio looked like he was barely able to stand.

Sammy watched as a large, calloused hand slowly reached up and stroked Zac's curls. He sat in silence as he heard a rough, raspy voice whisper, "Zac…hey, buddy…"

All at once, the entire room surrounded Leo's bed, Sammy included.

Leo Valdez had woken up! He was smiling at everyone, his eyes clouded with exhaustion. "Hey, guys," he rasped. "What'd I miss…?"

Calypso rushed forward and kissed him on the lips. When they broke, she cried, "Leo! My gods, Leo!"

Leo's hand began to stroke her hair, abandoning Zac's. "Mi sol," he whispered. "You're okay…"

Calypso laughed. "Of course I'm okay," she said softly.

"Papi," Espie whimpered.

Leo's tired eyes locked onto his eldest child. He grinned. "Espie…"

Esperanza collapsed and rubbed into his neck. "I missed you so much," she cried. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

Leo's other hand—his originally broken one—reached up and entwined its fingers into her curls. "Baby," he cooed. "I'm here…"

Tulio and Aria joined their sister in silence. Leo smiled, whispering, "Mijo, mija…" over and over again.

Sammy Leo stayed back. He now knew what he had felt earlier—Leo's spirit. His spirit had somehow clawed its way back here. On its own! And the screaming the girls heard must also have been him. He must have been shouting as he forced his way back.

That man sure is powerful, he noted to himself. Comes back from the dead to be with his future wife, then forces his spirit back into his comatose body so he can be with his family. He's gotta be the strongest demigod alive.

But then he looked at the man again, and realized Leo wouldn't be the same. Now there was something permanently wrong with him, something Tulio couldn't heal.

"Um," he stammered. "Not to burst anyone's bubble, but now that he's awake…maybe we should tell him?"

Leo looked at the legacy of Mars with brighter eyes. He was fully awake now. "Tell me what?"

The Valdez family exchanged a worried glance.

Leo narrowed his eyes. "What?"

Tulio spoke up. "Well, Papi," he began. "When the tunnel collapsed, it sent you into a coma. It did some serious damage to your body, too. Most of it—like your broken arm and bashed-in head—I could heal. The rest, though…It's out of my power…"

Leo looked at his family, worry in his eyes. "What is it?"

Then his gaze wandered to his body. His hands released his children and wife, and he started patting his chest (around Zac). Then they snaked underneath the blankets.

His eyes widened in shock.

He knows, Sammy thought, hanging his head.


A/N: And you thought this chapter would end up happy? Psh, think again!

I'm so naughty...

Any guesses as to what's wrong with Leo?