I do not own Percy Jackson nor Heroes of Olympus, they belong to Rick Riordan.

Chapter Twenty-Two -Liam

Carlos had a third degree burn on his back, nearly covering his entire back. He was unconscious yet his face was twisted with pain. Pieces of the snake thing were lying around him.

"O-Ow… Definitely felt that one…" He turned to see Alyx getting up, holding Riptide in its pen form, rubbing her arm. Thankfully, the explosion didn't seem to harm her. Her clothes were ripped on the knees and elbows, but she looked unharmed. She spotted them and gasped, running over.

"What happened?" She asked, kneeling down, her face twisting with horror.

"H-He was closest to the explosion…" He said, holding his side.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, grabbing his wrist. She pulled his wrist away and lifted his shirt, revealing a dark bruise with some blisters around it.

"I'm fine." He said. "We need to attend to him."

It took them a few minutes to figure out how to carry him without touching his back, but they finally figured it out and hauled him to the hotel.

"He's pretty light for a guy." He commented as she slid in the key. She gave a laugh and opened the door.

"Yeah, but he's got meat on him." They walked in. She guided him to the bed the way she wanted him to, and gently pulled Carlos off before laying him down on his stomach. He let out a moan of pain, his face twisting with pain. He pulled off his jacket and winced a bit before pulling off his boots. She grabbed into thin air and pulled out her backpack.

"Oh, that's where it went." He said. She nodded, her face serious as she dug through it. She pulled out the first aid kit, putting the pack aside and heading over. She set the box down and pulled off her jacket and gloves. She headed into the bathroom, coming back out with a couple of towels.

"Lift him gently." She told him. He nodded and did what she asked, making Carlos give a whimper. She slid the towels under before opening the kit and pulling out gloves and scissors. She slipped on the gloves before cutting off the rest of his shirt to pull it off. Apparently when he hit the ground, he also scraped up his knees and elbows pretty bad. Darkening bruises were everywhere. She stared for a moment, before reaching in her pack again and pulling out a couple of viles of nectar. They were shaped like potion bottles, small and filled with shiny gold liquid. She set them down then bent over to Carlos's face, gently kissing his forehead before standing up straight, taking a breath.

"Keep him still." He nodded once again, gently holding his thigh and shoulder. She took one bottle and uncorked it, the sweet smell of his mom's friend's brownies wafting through his nose. She took a breath before slowly pouring it on the burn.

He let out a heart wrenching scream.

The spot healed but she stopped as soon as he did scream. His eyes snapped open, his blue orbs pale in color.

"N-No!" He cried, gripping the pillow tightly.

"Carlos, you have a bad burn on your back." She soothed, stroking his hair gently. "I have to treat it-"

"I-I don't care! It hurts!" He sobbed as tears filled his eyes. She pulled off her gloves and stroked his face, murmuring soft things that he couldn't quite hear. He hiccupped.

"N-No nectar… P-Peel off the dead skin, apply the ointment my mom gave you and w-wrap it up…" He whispered. She bit her lip, looking at the small healed part before nodding. She grabbed another pair of gloves and slipped them on, staring at the skin before extending her hand and mumbling something in Greek. Carlos relaxed, his eyes shutting, tears slipping down his face in the process.

"What did you do?"

"I… I think I put him under a sleeping spell?" She shrugged. He didn't push any further. She dug in the kit and pulled out tweezers.

It took an hour. She peeled off all of the dead skin, which made him really nauseous because some scabs and parts bled horribly, pus leaked and the area was red and pulsing.

Good news is that he only grunted and whimpered through it all. He guessed maybe with the sleeping spell it came with a pain reliever.

"Help me get him into the bath." She said, pulling off her gloves and throwing them. He nodded. They lifted him and carried him into the bathroom, carefully stripping him and filling the tub with water. He held Carlos while she searched for something in the kit, frowning at his body. His wounds were a bit worse than they had thought. His knees, elbows and forearms had deep scrapes. The bruises made him whimper in his induced sleep if they touched them accidentally. His cheek had a horrible scrape and bruise.

Alyx came in, holding a small bottle like a nectar bottle, but filled with green leaves that looked like catnip. She opened it and shook it, the leaves landing on the water and turning it a soft shade of greenish blue.

"Put him in." She said. "Gently." He nodded, standing and slowly lowering him in. Carlos grunted, gritting his teeth and gripping his shirt sleeve tightly. Alyx pulled off her pants and socks, grabbing a wash cloth and sitting on the edge, washing his legs. He grabbed a new one and started on his arms, then went on his hair.

It took them a few minutes to wash his entire body, and they used a muscle relaxant cream (he had no idea where she got that from) on his body, put cooling lotion, and then rubbed on a healing cream on the scrapes on his arms and face and stuff. She went out and grabbed the kit before coming back in, taking out a white tube with Greek lettering on it and large cotton swabs. He held him on his lap while she gently rolled on green cream, soft pants coming from Carlos in the process, making him uncomfortable. She rolled the swab over his naval and he let out a moan.

"Umm…" He blushed. "This seems very weird…" Alyx nodded.

"His back is one of his sensitive parts, that's why he hurts so much." She finished with the cream, capping the tube and throwing the swabs away. She pulled out gauze patches and laid them on, grabbing adhesive tape.

"Hold it." He held the end where she wanted and watched her wrap him up carefully. After she did that, she moved on to his scraps, laying patch bandages on. Then she pulled out his backpack from thin air (still trying to figure out how she does that) and pulled out some clothes. She slid them on and then dried his hair before combing it. He stood and carried him into the bedroom, laying him down and Alyx pulling the covers over him.

"He's so…" He tried to find a word without sounding like a pervert. "Um…"

"Cute?"

"Yeah." She nodded and put her hands on her hips.

"Let me see that wound." He held up his hands.

"It's okay, really." She glared, her eyes a cutting steel. "Okay, okay…" He lifted his shoulder and she laid her fingers against his wound making him hiss a bit. She frowned, grabbed a vial of nectar and handed it to him.

"Here." She said. "Drink it." He nodded and opened it taking a small swig. The area immediately healed. She poked his abs.

"Not bad." She said, smirking. "I'm going to take a shower."

He fiddled around with his bow while she took a shower, glancing at Carlos every now and then. They laid him on his side, his arm tucked under the pillow, his face calm and relaxed. He was glad after all he'd been through.

"He's been protected his whole life." He turned his head to see her wringing out her hair, her eyes on Carlos.

"Yeah?"

"He was protected by the soap and a magical barrier around his house." She went back into the bathroom, coming back and grabbing a pair of socks, sitting down on the bed.

"Are his parents veterans like my mom?" She nodded.

"They came from Camp Half-Blood, but they haven't been in nearly…" She pulled on her socks, thinking. "Twenty three years?"

"Wow." He mumbled, putting his bow away.

"Night, Liam." She gave a smile that made his heart flutter. "Thanks for helping me today."

"No problem."

He came out of the bathroom, seeing Alyx holding Carlos close to her chest, stroking his hair as she murmured quietly. Carlos's arms were wrapped around her neck, his face hidden in her collarbone. He smiled and crawled into bed, shutting off the light.

He hoped they would be safe for the rest of the way.

To Be Continued...