Thanks for all of the awesome reviews I got from my readers! And all of those favorite stories? Oh, gods, my email account is crazy! But in a good way Lets get it started!

~GoGreen52

Witness Protection

Chapter 4

ANNABETH POV

I'm happy to say that I didn't really break down after Percy left. Instead, I explained what happened to Grover and Nico, and then fell asleep. The pain killers took a lot out of me.

(Dream)

I was walking in an alley in the middle of the night. It was a full moon.

A Street light was flickering on and off, officially bugging me. I mean, seriously. Why would a street light be flickering on and off? Oh yeah… it's a dream. Forgot. Sorry.

I was walking farther, and I saw a shadow. I tried to go see what it was, but I wasn't in control of my own actions. I tried again, and ended up with the same result.

All of the sudden, a figure popped out of nowhere, and grabbed me, throwing me into a black Sedan. "Stop!" my avatar said. Yeah I'm calling myself an avatar. Have a problem with that?

"Stupid little girl. You will never defeat us!" a man's voice said, right beside me.

I turned to my attacker; it was the face that I dreaded most of all. Luke. But Luke wasn't himself. He was different somehow, but I can't just put my finger on it… he looked… eviler, and well, actually older.

"LUKE!" I screamed. He just laughed evilly, and I fell in to the darkness of my dreams.

When I woke up I saw Nico next to me listening to an IPod. The music was loud, so I heard the tune… Linken Park.

I smiled and my eyes closed again, I was listening to the music. Nico got up from his chair and I opened my eyes. He started dancing! Badly, too. He started doing the disco, and he was jumping all around doing the air-guitar.

I held back a giggle, knowing that when I did, it would all stop. All of the sudden, someone walked in.

PERCY POV

I was on the car ride back to the hospital to apologize to Annabeth. I decided to call Grover to see how they were doing in the hospital at night. Alone.

"Hey Grove!" I said once he picked up the phone.

"P-Percy!" He yelled into the phone. The blast of his voice was too loud for my ears to take, so I treated the phone like it was on speaker.

"What's going on there, Grover?" I asked hesitantly. I honestly didn't want to know if it was bad.

"Just drinking pop." He yelled. I laughed. Of course. Without the boss there, they would just fool around.

"Let me guess… You're caffeine high?" I said, laughing. Grover obviously didn't understand the sarcasm.

"Yup!" He popped the 'p' like he does when he's caffeine high. Otherwise, he thinks it's not polite. Wait… I didn't hear Nico in the back ground.

"Where's Nico, Grove?" I asked, hinting that this was serious. If someone snuck past them and to Annabeth, this situation would be a lot worse.

"He's with Annabeth, who now is asleep." He said with trouble. I think that his cheeks were sore.

"Okay. I don't want you having any more caffeine tonight. Got it?"

"Does chocolate count?" he asked. I could tell he was waiting extra quiet. He actually cared about what I said… that's a first!

"No. Chocolate does not count Grover." I said firmly.

"DARNET!" He yelled extra loud.

"I'll be there by morning!" I yelled into the phone before shutting it off. he didn't even have time to reply. Heh.

~next morning~

I walked into the hospital, preparing to see Grover passed out on the floor. And when I walked in… he was. A doctor was looking at him like he was weird, and I walked next to her.

"Was he too much trouble?" I asked, still looking at passed out Grover.

"No. He passed out right when he had his twenty first mountain dew." She said, looking at Grover herself, "By the way… who are you?"

"I'm this thing's friend, Percy Jackson. I'm here for Annabeth Chase." I looked at her now. She looked like she was eco- friendly. Honestly I don't know how I can tell…

She held out a hand. "I'm Juniper Busch." I met her half way and shook it.

"Do you mind taking him to a chair? I have to go see my friend, Annabeth." I asked. She looked at Grover, then at me.

"Not a big problem."

I walked down to Annabeth's room still on the first floor. This hospital has three floors. So you could guess that this place it pretty huge for a hospital.

Before I walked in a looked at the chart on the door. Patient last checked by: Juniper Busch

I smiled. Juniper could go for Grover. It does make sense. They both literally radiate ECO-FRIENDLY! I smiled and walked in her room. And what I saw… well shocked me.

Annabeth had wide eyes, staring at Nico, who was now doing the electric air guitar on a chair. I looked at Annabeth and she quickly looked away. Playing that game now, huh?

"Nico. What are you doing?" I asked, and I started laughing when I saw his face of shock that he had when he saw I was there.

"How long have you seen me?" He asked, trying to contain his composure.

"Not nearly as long as Annabeth here." I said, motioning to the woman that acts like a little kid who doesn't get what they want. So, in other words, she is really stubborn.

He looked at Annabeth and flushed. "I thought you were still sleeping…" he went off who knows where.

I laughed and sat in the chair that he wasn't standing. Which happened to be by Annabeth's bed. "I guess I should leave you two…" He ran off before either of us could deny anything.

Annabeth and I looked at each other and quickly looked away. I kept my eyes glued to my hands. I really didn't want to have eye contact with her right now. "So…" I started, not really knowing where to take this.

"Yeah…" Annabeth looked a little flustered. I smiled at the effect I had on her. And she knows that I know it.

"I guess I should start with saying sorry. I mean, it was really uncalled for when I got mad at you. I mean… with all the stress I had lately, I wasn't so surprised I snapped." I looked at her eyes now. And I saw something that I wasn't expecting… amusement.

"You think that you can just blame it all on stress while I have everything in the world to be stressed about… you have a perfect little life compared to me." She was smiling now. So stubborn.

"Okay, your right. I have no excuse. It just happened. Get over it, and stop being a little kid. Right now we could be dealing with your life or even death. Suck it up." I stood up. She couldn't treat me like this. I freaking saved her life!

She looked away and said nothing. I saw a stray tear fall down her cheek. But when I saw that, I didn't feel happy, or anything positive for me like that… But what I did feel was guilt.

"Look. Why don't we get you out of here, and get on with this thing, right? I mean, the faster we get out of New York City, the better it is. Let's go." I held out my hand. She took it, and I got her, her cloths and she changed in the women's bathroom.

But after awhile she didn't come out. I ran to find Juniper to help me out. When I found her at the reception desk, I was out of breath. "Annabeth- bathroom –help –won't come out."

"Show me." Juniper grabbed my forearm and dragged me to the bathroom closest to Annabeth's room. Smart lady.

When we got there, Juniper walked in the bathroom, and I knew she would take care of it, Juniper is like that. I mean, she is a doctor here. I walked around the hallway, looking for Grover and Nico. Then I thought the cafeteria. Of course. Two full grown men, all the money in the world, they would defiantly be going for food.

I went the cafeteria, and found them both with trays full of food, gobbling down whatever they could get down their throughts. Obviously people are watching. So I decided to do something about it. I walked to the slushy bar, and took two slushies. Then I walked over to their table, sneaking up on them and dumped them on their heads. People around us clapped.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Nico yelled at me. I just shrugged.

"You two were taking other's food." I said with no emotion. They looked at me weird and Grover licked his shirt.

He smiled. "Strawberry… Grover likey." Nico and I just looked at him and burst out laughing. What a sight, huh? Three grown men, laughing their heads off, two of the three covered in pink slushy, and one of those two, licking his shirt. What a sight.

ANNABETH POV

I was in the bathroom looking at myself in the mirror. I was ugly.

Scars all over, bruises, and even slash marks still there. This was Luke's entire fault. But in my dream, Luke was being controlled. I knew the real Luke. The one that wasn't abusive.

He even used to make me hot chocolate when I came home from work. Where was that Luke? The one that was actually nice, and caring.

I looked at myself again. I was in a tank and my underwear. Bruises all over, Luke called them his markings. Markings that marked me as his. I heard someone coming in, and it had to be a doctor that someone got, since you needed keys to get in here when it was locked. Percy probably asked.

I couldn't move. Instead I felt tears coming from my eyes, dropping to the floor. Drip, Drip, Drip. Oh, the pain of endless suffering. I wish that I could explain to Percy that I wasn't trying to be stubborn; it was just the person Luke created.

When the doctor saw me, she gasped. "Oh my goodness."

I looked at her, with pain evident in my eyes. She walked to me and gave me a hug. Okay, something I wasn't expecting for a change. "I'm so ugly." I mumbled into her shirt.

She pulled back and gave me a quick look-over. "I think that you are one beautiful woman, who is very independent." She told me, looking me in the eyes, as if she was proving it. Yet she was. I couldn't see any doubt in her eyes.

"You were my doctor before, right?" I asked. It was harder to remember last night. I was basically high on anger and meds.

"Yeah, my name is Juniper. I really don't like being called doctor Busch." She told me, putting an arm around my shoulders. "When I look at you I see someone who had a sad past, yet who is ready for a good future."

I smiled. Luke never had called me beautiful. It now makes me feel like I can do way better than him.

I put on my clothes and walked out that bathroom door, a changed woman.

I feel sad, yet a bit happy for Annabeth. She had a hard past, and now she is defiantly ready for a good future. If only she knew what was going to happen… MWAHAHAHAHA! You have to read the rest of the story to find out!

~GoGreen52