A/N

Thank you guys so much for the feedback! It really means a lot. And yes, I will be continuing this story, I just got really sidetracked with some school issues that popped up. But enough excuses, hopefully the next update will be a lot faster. Also, this chapter is a little more lighthearted than the first, it just kind of ended up that way, but I promise the next one will be just as filled with angst as the first. Thanks for reading, and feel free leave any comments or feedback, everything is helpful. :)

Percy crossed the deck in four quick strides, effortlessly sliding under the railing, letting his legs dangle off the side of the ship. Piper followed suit and they sat together in a comfortable silence. She didn't push him for answers, she knew he would share when he was ready. Instead she looked out at the ocean, marveling at how something could be so beautiful yet so dangerous at the same time. The sea was a lot like Percy, she realized, and not just because he was a son of Poseidon. The surface of the water looked as smooth as a pane of glass, but underneath the water churned, full of turmoil. She would never have believed it until that night, but Percy was the same way— full of pain and suffering that he refused to show on the outside.

"I never thanked you, you know?" Piper looked up with a start. The full moon reflected off the surface of the water, illuminating Percy's angular features. The wind sang through the salty sea air, gently ruffling through his raven hair. "At the Nymphaeum, I mean. I was so relieved to be alive, that I forgot to thank you for saving my life." He forced a laugh, but the sound held no mirth. "Isn't that terrible?" His words were bitter and full of disgust.

"Percy it's fine, it's not a big deal." She was tempted to use her charmspeak to relieve some of his stress, but resisted the urge. She wanted him to trust her, to talk to her, and spelling him would not bode well for her chances.

Percy shook his head stubbornly. "But it is. You and Jason almost died, and that was my fault. I went down there first, gave you guys the all clear. It was my fault," he repeated, his voice full of conviction.

Piper clenched her fists when he said that. "Percy it wasn't your fault. I promise." She held out her pinky finger, and Percy accepted, almost grinning. "But why are you so worried about it anyway? Does it... does it have something to do with... you know, what he showed you?"

He being Phobos of course. Piper felt guilty about asking so many questions, especially when Percy was so obviously barely holding himself together. It was as if she were laying siege on a fortress; she kept drawing closer and closer to the inside, but she had to watch her every move, as to not trip an alarm. These were dangerous grounds, and she had to tread carefully.

But apparently she had missed a step. Percy practically exploded, jumping to his feet, and scaring her half out of her wits. "I'm fine Piper!" He snapped, yelling so loudly that she would be surprised if he didn't wake up the entire ship. "I don't need help, and I especially don't need you and your pity!" The water beneath them churned wildly, nearly pitching her over the side of the boat. Hades, he was mad. Percy never, never acted like this. She quickly got to her feet, gripping the railing like it was a life-preserver. Which it kind of was. If she went into the water, the only person who could possibly get her out was Percy, and she had no idea whether or not he would at this point.

"Percy…" She tried to speak, but her words, usually so clear and coherent, were lost in her throat. "Percy, you need to calm down." She couldn't let Percy destroy the ship, not when they were facing such a deadline. Leo would kill her. Piper placed her hand on his shoulder, but he threw it off, and she collided into the railing. Riptide was out in the blink of an eye, three feet of deadly Celestial Bronze poised directly at her neck. It was barely half a second before Percy seemed to realize what he was doing, but it felt like eternity.

"Gods. Gods! What… Piper… I'm… I'm… " The pressure on her neck was gone as quickly as it had come, as Percy backed away from her desperately, a horrified look on his face. He took one last look at her, still crumpled against the railing, before disappearing around the corner of the deck, out of her line of vision. She cursed under her breath, and swiftly grabbed the railing, hauling herself to her feet, trying to ignore the throbbing of her forehead from where she had collided with the railing.

She found Percy leaned up against the wall of the cabin. He was gently fingering his blade, running his fingers up and down it's razor sharp edge, not even wincing when it drew blood. "Percy!" Something about the way he was staring at Riptide scared her. He looked up at her, startled, before hurling Anaklusmos away into the waves.

"I'm so sorry Piper, I didn't mean to, I…"

"I know, its not a big deal, Percy."

"But… "

"Percy… "

"I… "

"Percy… "

"It… "

"Percy!"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I deserved that didn't I?"

Piper smiled slightly at that; maybe the Percy she knew wasn't completely gone after all. "Yes you did." She gestured towards his bleeding hands. "What in Hades were you doing?" she demanded.

Percy put his head in his hands. "I don't.. I didn't… I wasn't thinking."

This was killing him, she realized. He obviously wasn't accustomed to sharing things like this. She wondered with a start if even Annabeth knew anything about what had been going on, then was immediately hit with a stab of guilt. What was she doing asking Percy such personal questions when she barely knew the guy? What could he possibly be so ashamed of that he wouldn't even talk to his girlfriend about it?

The Nymphaeum. Being buried alive. Claustrophobia. The pieces of the puzzle all came together suddenly, forming a picture clear as day. The answer had been staring her in the face the entire time, how had she not noticed it before?

"Percy," she started off hesitantly, not wanting to scare him off. "Are... are you afraid of suffocating? Is that it?" His wince told her she had guessed correctly.

"Pretty pathetic, isn't it? A son of Poseidon afraid of drowning."

"Not at all." Piper took his hand in her own, and laced her fingers through his, giving his hand a little squeeze in what she hoped came across as a comforting, and-not-at-all-romantic type of gesture. She loved Percy the same she way she loved Leo. As a friend, practically a little brother. But Percy was nearly two years older than she was, Piper reminded herself. If anything, he should have been a big brother to her.

He looks up at her suddenly, doing a double take when he sees her face. "You're bleeding." She raises a hand to her forehead, and sure enough, it comes away covered in blood.

"Son of Hephaestus." She didn't need this right now, head wounds were nasty. They hurt like Hades, and seemed to take an eternity to heal. The ghost of a smile touched Percy's lips.

"Did you just use Leo as a cuss word? What did he ever do to you?"

Piper grinned back at him. "Nothing yet," she replied honestly. "That I know of," she amended. You never knew with Leo.

"Well come on then, lets get you to the infirmary." Percy pushed himself to his feet, and stood waiting, impatiently tapping his foot. "Anytime this century please, I have a schedule to keep."

Piper stuck out her tongue. "At four in the morning? Sure you do."

Percy's face paled considerably, growing serious once again, and she cursed herself for ruining his good mood. "It's four a.m.? Gosh Piper, I'm sorry. You're going to be exhausted tomorrow."

She raised an eyebrow. "And you won't be? Because, no offense or anything, but you look like crap."

Percy raised a hand to his chest, in mock indignation. "That hurts Pipes, it really hurts." She barely registering the fact that he had called her Pipes. It felt natural somehow, as if they had been friends forever. "But seriously, come on. Jason will kill me if I let you bleed to death. You wouldn't want that on your conscience would you?"

Piper rolled her eyes, and pushed herself to her feet, stumbling as she was hit with a wave of dizziness. "Whoa there." Percy's hand shot out and caught her before she could hit the ground. "You alright?" She nodded wordlessly, gritting her teeth to keep from crying out. Her head felt like it was about to explode.

"Fine. Just a… small headache."

Percy nodded. "Uh huh, and Leo's the Queen of England." Piper would have snorted at the image that came to mind, but her head didn't feel like it was about to split open. "Don't worry, I got you Beauty Queen." Before Piper could question what he was doing, or protest the nickname, he had already scooped her up and thrown her over his shoulder like a bag of flour.

"Percy! Put me down!" She slapped her hands against his back, pouting like a little kid, but Percy was undeterred, and she thanked the gods that she was wearing pajama pants and not a skirt. Like she would ever be caught dead in a skirt. Eventually, she just gave up and hung limp, allowing Percy to tote her down the stairs and through the many twists and turns that led to the infirmary.

When they arrived, he unceremoniously dumped her onto the cot closest to the door, the one labeled 'Jason,' surrounded by a bunch of smiley faces with x-ed out was Leo's idea of a joke. During their trip, Jason and Percy had spent so much time passed out in the infirmary, that he had designated a cot for each of them, complete with a name tag, as well as a running tally of the number of times that each had "done something stupid to land them there." They were currently tied, with 19 each, something that both loathed. Boys. Piper shook her head, wincing as she did so.

Percy plopped down beside her, smiling as he handed her a glass of nectar which she drained, her headache immediately subsiding. "Frowning upon the ignorance of the male sex?" The question took her aback. He always had the most uncanny ability to know exactly what others were thinking.

"No," she lied, defensively. He gave her a look, and her resolve crumbled. How Annabeth won any arguments with the guy, she would never know. "Okay, yes. I… How did you know?"

Percy grinned. "I didn't know, I noticed." Piper rolled her eyes.

"You've been watching waytoo much T.V."

He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, somebody had to take over Coach Hedge's old job."

She frowned, raising an eyebrow. "Sitting in front of the T.V. for hours at a time isn't a job, Percy."

"It is too!" he protested, "and no one does it better than me and Jas…" He trailed off suddenly, realizing exactly what he had just said. Piper groaned. She was going to have to have a talk with Jason. And Annabeth.

"No." Percy's eyes widened in mock horror. "Tell Annabeth. You wouldn't." How did he do that?it was like he was reading her mind. She decided to just go with it.

"Oh wouldn't I?" She folded her arms, trying her best not to smile. "It's a dangerous game you're playing, Mr. Jackson."

"Please!" overdramatized Percy, "I'll do anything!" He grabbed her arm and shook her, immediately stopping when she flinched away, worry flooding his face. Before she could protest, he had already pushed up her sleeve, revealing a nasty set of bruises covering the skin. Percy was staring at her like she had grown a second head.

"What the heck happened Piper?" he demanded, his voice raised in surprise. The joyous feeling in the room immediately dissipating.

Phobos, she recalled, Phobos had grabbed her in Percy's nightmare. "In your nightmare, he…"

Percy didn't even let her finish. "Phobos?" he asked, incredulously, surpass quickly turning to anger. "Phobos did this?! I'm going to kill that son of a…. he promised…" Percy trailed off abruptly, realizing exactly what he had just said.

"Percy?" questioned Piper, panicking slightly, "what do you mean 'he promised?'" Now she was panicking. "Have you talked to him before? What did you promise him?"

He winced slightly at her onslaught of questions. "He… he promised he wouldn't hurt you— any of you— if he could… if I'd let him…"

"You let him do that to you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "You let him do that to you! What in Hades were you thinking, Percy!"

Percy flinched violently, suddenly looking like a little kid again. "I was thinking that I couldn't let him hurt any of you," he whispered, and it was obvious that he meant it. Before she knew what she was going, Piper had wrapped her arms around him, his head buried in her shoulder, body shaking with silent sobs.

"It's okay to cry, you know," she soothed, rubbing her hand in tiny circles on his back. "Pain is meant to be felt, Percy. It's not healthy to keep it bottled up inside like this."

"Didn't… want… to bother…" His voice was muffled by her shoulder, but it was obvious enough what he was getting at.

"Perce, you may be one of the most impulsive, reckless, stubborn, headstrong people I know…"

"Geez, thanks Pipes," he interrupted, voice laden with sarcasm.

She smacked him playfully. "Shut up, Kelp Head, I wasn't finished yet."

Percy sat up at the nickname, face flushed red from crying. He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. "You've been talking to Thalia haven't you?"

"Anyway," Piper continued, completely unfazed. "There's still nothing that you could possibly say that would ever, ever, bother me, do you understand that?" He gave a slow, almost undetectable half-nod, and Piper felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest. Finally, he got it. He understood that he wasn't alone, and that he never would be. "And promise me Percy, that if you ever need anything, and I mean anything, that you'll ask someone for help. Not everything has to fall on your shoulders. I know that Annabeth will always be there for you, and you really should talk to her about this, but if there's ever something that you just can't bring yourself to talk about, come to me. My door is always open, Percy, and I know everyone else feels the same way."

Percy stared at her for a moment, digesting her speech. "I promise." No sooner were the words out his mouth, then the night erupted into screams.

A/N

I couldn't help but put a small Sherlock reference in this chapter, it just fit so well :)