I know! But I really wanted to give you guys a present on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and I didn't have time to write anything new! This is a little outtake from Three Times, the next chapter of which will be your present tomorrow. As long as you don't mind waiting an absurdly long time for the next one.

"I keep forgetting you spent the last seventy years in a casino," Percy muttered.

"Shut up, Jackson. Call, raise or fold." Nico took a sip of unicorn draught. "Bianca never actually let me play, but I liked to watch. It's a very useful skill to know when someone's lying to you." He glared at Percy pointedly. Percy groaned and sunk down into his seat.

"Shut up, di Angelo."

"I quite agree with that statement," Annabeth said. "Percy calls. I will raise you . . ." She considered. "One jar of tropical coconut scent Medea's Sunscreen SPF 50."

"I fold," Frank muttered.

"I call," Piper grinned.

Reyna looked over at her suspiciously. "I hope for your sake you aren't doing anything unethical in order to avoid losing your 'magical no-smear makeup' kit."

Piper batted her eyes innocently. "Would I do that?"

"Yes," everybody chorused.

"True." Piper smirked. "The makeup is Drew's. I merely . . . acquired it."

Everybody laughed except for Will, who was lounging in one of the empty beds, scowling at the ceiling as he twirled a surgical scalpel between his long fingers.

"What's up with him?" Jason asked with a nod towards Will.

"He's just sulking because I kicked his ass at Mythomagic earlier." Nico greedily eyed the pair of life sized, solid imperial gold skulls Reyna had put down earlier. He was thinking of sticking them on his door and enchanting them to talk and keep out the riffraff.

It had all started with the Mythomagic. Hazel had brought Frank when she came to visit Nico in the infirmary, and Frank had brought a pack of cards.

It had all gone downhill from there.

Hazel ended up getting very into the game, and Frank soon found himself in the middle of a passionate discussion about whether or not Hestia counted as a major god, and therefore deserved the 300 power-up points when put together with her sacred animal. Frank, desperate to not have world war three start over a Mythomagic game, pounced on Will while he took a water break and forced him to join.

When Jason and Piper came to see how Nico was doing, Will was curled into a dejected ball in the corner and Nico was gleefully collecting his cards.

Then Percy and Annabeth came, and Annabeth had smoked them all.

"This is stupid," Percy had muttered grumpily. "The only people who know how to play Mythomagic are Nico, Frank and apparently Annabeth. We should play something we all know."

Piper grinned a little evilly and pulled a pack of regular looking cards seemingly out of thin air. "You guys ever played poker?"

And that is how Reyna found them after a long day of camp negotiations; (which she had handled All. By. Herself.) crowded around Nico's bed and arguing whether a smoothie that turned you into a guinea pig was worth the same as a fiery bronze dodge ball.

She was immediately dealt in.

Now, Reyna was observing everyone over her cards. (She had an excellent hand; three of a kind, and tens at that.)

Percy was trying to be sneaky and look at Annabeth's cards. She smacked him in the nose. Frank and Hazel were already out of the game. Hazel sat on the bed next to Nico and Frank held her hand sweetly as they spoke in quiet voices. On the end of the bed Piper sat cross legged while Jason had drawn up a chair. Piper smiled down at him sweetly and leaned forward to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose. A few choppy braids slipped off her shoulder and tickled Jason's face. Reyna raised an eyebrow when she saw Piper take a peek at his cards while he was distracted.

And Nico . . .

"I raise one Stygian ice whistle," Nico announced. There was a chorus of groans.

Reyna sighed. Nico was fine. Faded in the afternoon light, but mostly relaxed in the company of his friends.

And speaking of friends . . .

"Who is that?" she asked Nico quietly.

"Hm?" Nico glanced at the boy in the corner and then looked away quickly. "Oh, that's just Will. He's head counselor for the Apollo cabin, and he's the senior healer here."

"Oh really? And I suppose his healing duties include lying around like a sack of potatoes? You, boy-" she snapped her fingers imperiously. "Come here. Yes, you, idiot," she added in exasperation when the boy – Will – looked around and pointed at himself in confusion as if to say, Who, me?

Will slouched over to them, his hands fiddling nervously with a small surgical knife. Reyna looked him over critically.

"Bad posture. Clearly not a fighter. Reprehensible fashion choices. You're a son of Apollo, correct?"

"Uh, yes?" The poor boy looked completely bemused as to why he was being picked apart by a praetor of Rome. Reyna clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "That's not much of a recommendation at the moment, I'm afraid."

"He saved my life," Nico said mildly. "I call."

"What's wrong with my clothes?" Will asked, looking down at his mint green nurse's outfit and hiking boots. A red silk scarf was wrapped around his head like a bandage.

"Indeed?" Reyna frowned. "I suppose he has good lines. Someone who is a healer most likely received the better aspects of Apollo's nature. Tell me, boy, how are you financially? Are you capable of supporting a family? What are your views on mortal politics?"

"Reyna, please stop bullying my doctor," Nico said in a bored voice. "It's your turn. Call, raise or fold."

"I call. Sit down, boy. Next to me."

Will fell into the seat next to her, looking apprehensive.

"Deal him in," Reyna said. Nico did so without looking at him.

"You do know how to play poker, don't you boy?" Reyna asked.

Will set his jaw.

As it turned out, he did know.

Very, very well.

Percy and Jason folded almost immediately. Annabeth and Piper went a few more rounds, and then gave each other mysterious looks and promptly gave in. They kept trying to catch Reyna's eye, but she didn't understand what they wanted.

Meanwhile, Will and Nico were still in, and the game was getting heated. The small pile of magical treasures was spilling off the table, and neither of them were backing down.

Across the table, Piper was winking at her so hard it looked like she had acquired a painful eye twitch. Annabeth was just staring at her steadily, her gaze burning into Reyna's retinas.

Looking around, Reyna saw none of the boys had noticed anything odd. Looking back at the two girls, she made a questioning face at them. Piper jerked her head towards the boys, who were completely absorbed in the game. Annabeth just gave her a significant look.

Reyna glared at them suspiciously. But then something must have clicked because she suddenly folded, despite her excellent cards.

So only Will and Nico were left to battle out the game. They didn't notice the sun going down, or everybody getting tired or bored and leaving, or even when it got to be dinner time.

"Hah! I will your magic flute and raise you six pomegranate seeds!"

"Bring it on Death boy!"

I hate this ending. I will no doubt come back and add more later, but right now I need to go to bed so Santa can come!