Percy knew he was in trouble when Chiron invited him for a walk out in the strawberry fields. Chiron was always happy to talk with campers, but he rarely went out of his way to initiate – usually, that meant that something was wrong. Percy tried to remember if he'd gotten into any fights recently, but he couldn't think of anything. Everyone had been too busy holding each other together to pick petty fights.

Eventually he gave up, and leaned down to sneak strawberries off the vines when Chiron wasn't looking. Chiron saw him anyway, he could tell by the amusement in the centaur's eyes, but as long as he didn't call Percy out on it, Percy figured it was fine.

"Are you gonna tell me what I did at some point?" Percy ventured, when he couldn't stand the silence anymore. Chiron faltered visibly, hooved feet shuffling, before he continued as if nothing was wrong.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Percy," Chiron said, oddly gentle. "I apologize, I'm trying to decide how to approach the subject. I'm told my sense of tact is rather lacking."

Percy snickered and didn't disagree. "You can just say it. I promise I won't tell anyone."

Chiron's smile turned slightly pained, and then faded altogether. Percy leaned down and snuck another strawberry, and despite Percy's words, Chiron continued plodding along in silence for another minute or two.

"A little bird told me," Chiron said at last, "that you are considering taking permanent action against yourself." Percy squinted at him, and Chiron clarified quietly, "That you are considering suicide."

"Oh," Percy said. "Oh. Shit, Thalia told you that?"

"She was quite frightened," Chiron said, glancing back at him with serious, thousand-year-old eyes. Percy flushed.

"Oh," he said again, clasping his hands behind his back. "Sorry, I wouldn't have told her if I'd known she'd get upset. I assumed she'd get it, you know? She's a Big Three kid too." Chiron didn't reply right away, and Percy grew more flustered. "I mean- I cause a lot of problems just by existing, I figure it would be easier on everyone if I... didn't." He kicked the dirt, embarrassed. "Anyway, I haven't decided anything. I've just been thinking about it."

Silently, he cursed Thalia for bothering Chiron about this. It wasn't like Percy was suicidally depressed or something; he liked his life and he loved his friends. He just also knew damn well that he was more trouble than he was worth.

"As much as I dearly desire to convince you myself that you are far too loved to leave us in such a manner," Chiron said, drawing Percy's gaze back up to him, "I'm well aware that I am not precisely the right person to do so. Percy, you know these are not the thoughts of a healthy mind."

"Oh, gods, you want me to go to therapy," Percy realized, cheeks hot with embarrassment. Chiron gave him a small smile, apologetic but not bashful.

"Twelve weeks," Chiron said. "I know of a facility upstate that is run by a daughter of Dionysus. St. Joan's, after Joan of Arc. It specializes in adolescents that were raised by abusive families." Percy stared at him. "That tidbit was from Grover."

Percy's chest twisted. "All I said was that I was thinking about it!" he protested. "It's not a big deal!"

"Over the centuries I've found that such issues are like mice," Chiron said gently. "If you see one, it is more likely that you have close to a dozen. You have weathered a truly remarkable amount of hardship, Percy. I was considering suggesting therapy even before Thalia came to me."

"Three months?" Percy said plaintively. That seemed a little extreme. Even if he'd thought about therapy, he'd never considered it would be more than a visit to a stupid office once a week. But Chiron looked dead serious. "In a facility?"

"There are not many therapists equipped to work with demigod children," Chiron explained. "Most of the ones I know of are employed there. More to the point, I think the reprieve will do you good. You will be safe from monsters, and there will be no expectations placed upon you save your own recovery. After the pressure of the last few years, I imagine it will be a welcome break."

Percy bit his tongue against another protest. Chiron wasn't wrong, he conceded to himself, because frankly the last year in particular had been one of the worst of Percy's short life. Counting down to the fulfillment of the Great Prophecy had been nothing short of torture, and with the war added on top of it, even Percy could admit it had sucked. A break would be... good. Probably.

It was still humiliating. No one else was being sent to a gods-damned mental institution, and they'd all been strung thin by the pressure of the coming war. Annabeth had been at the point of ripping her hair out some days.

"I guess," Percy said reluctantly. "You really think I have to do this?"

"No," Chiron admitted. He looked painfully sincere, and very old, and very tired. "Not if you are truly set against it. You've proven yourself resilient, and it is likely that you would pull through on your own. But I would prefer it if, when I told you that your friends love you, you believed me."

There was a thick lump in Percy's throat suddenly, and after another moment of hesitation, he nodded.

"Alright," he said. "I guess I can give it a try."

"You told Thalia what?" Annabeth yelped, uncharacteristically high-pitched with panic. Percy winced.

"It wasn't supposed to be a big deal," he said defensively, wrapping his arms around his front as if to hide himself. "It's not like that, dammit!"

Annabeth turned to look at Grover, whose face was scrunched up with worry and discomfort. "He's embarrassed," Grover said plaintively. "Percy, why are you embarrassed about this?"

"I didn't mean to have to explain this to anyone," Percy snapped, and then sat down in the sand and tried to compose himself. It wasn't his friends' fault this was happening. Except Thalia's. Annabeth and Grover sat down with him, and Percy scooped up some sand and let it run through his fingers as he tried to articulate it. "It's not- I'm not thinking about it because I'm unhappy, okay? I'm really happy, I love it at camp and I love Mom and school is, I don't know, tolerable. I hate that we lost so many people fighting off Kronos, I miss them, but I'm not trying to join them or anything."

He'd never seen Annabeth look so uncertain before. He didn't like it.

"Then why would you suggest that?" Annabeth asked. She sounded vulnerable. Percy didn't like that either; it made his stomach twist. He cupped his hands and stared down.

"I dunno, I just cause a lot of problems," Percy said at last, frowning at the sand. "I've been thinking about it since Mt. St. Helens, honestly, but if I'd died before I turned sixteen, then the prophecy would've passed to Nico, which is kind of unfair." He shrugged. "But the prophecy's fulfilled now. Nico's safe."

"You do not cause problems," Annabeth snapped fiercely. Percy rolled his eyes.

"Half a million people had to evacuate because I was dumb enough to summon water in an active volcano," he said tersely. "Five thousand got sick. That's a lot of fucking problems all by itself."

"That was one time," Annabeth tried, looking frightened enough for Percy's stomach to twist again.

"It's not gonna be just one time," Percy said scornfully, scowling down at his hands. He clenched his fists. "I'm getting stronger and my power is already really hard to control sometimes. Even the gods know it. Did you know they're still talking about whether or not to kill me? Zeus and Athena think I'm too powerful. Dad has to keep threatening war just to make them back off."

Dionysus had gone out of his way to mention it, just the day before Thalia had visited. It made Percy kind of sick that he'd felt the need to.

"That's not your fault, Percy," Grover said, looking genuinely anxious. "Zeus is paranoid. You know that. He just doesn't like that Poseidon has a kid at all."

"Yeah, and a hell of a lot of consolation that's going to be if he calls Dad's bluff," Percy said flatly. "It's not as if I do anything right anyway. I'm dumb as a rock, I screw up every plan I try to follow, I can't keep promises, I'm an asshole and I'm such a living goddamn beacon for monsters that it's a hazard to everyone around me." He tossed the handful of sand in disgust. "It just... seems like I'm a lot more trouble than I'm worth."

Now Percy was just working himself up, and Annabeth and Grover were looking more upset by the second. That was the opposite of what he'd wanted. He scowled, rolled his shoulders, and tried to shake it off.

"I don't want to die," he said at last, wanting to make that clear. "I just think it would be easier for a lot of people if I wasn't around."

"Man, Perce," Grover said weakly, "you're really taking altruism to a whole new level here."

Percy tried to smile, but was too frustrated and embarrassed to really manage it. "Sorry. I got a little off-topic into self-pity territory, huh?"

"I think that's exactly on topic, actually," Annabeth snapped, only now she sounded almost like she was going to cry. She swallowed hard, and her voice was a little steadier as she continued, "If I'd known you hated yourself so much, I would've dragged you to St. Joan's myself."

"I don't hate myself," Percy said defensively. "I just know that I'm really, really hard to handle."

Annabeth looked at Grover again. Grover crossed his arms and huffed.

"I can read his emotions and sometimes share his dreams, not his thoughts," Grover said. "And he's not lying. He's not miserable, or he wasn't until we started having this conversation. He's always been prone to guilt, but I figured that was because of-" Grover stopped short, and then slapped himself in the face. "I'm so dumb."

"Uh, no, because I actively try not to worry you," Percy said, feeling strange and overwhelmed. "What?"

"I figured you felt guilty so often because you grew up with your jerk stepfather," Grover said, still covering his face with one hand, looking frustrated. "Which, yeah, because abuse causes lifelong self-esteem issues."

"Ew," Percy muttered. "Three years and I still don't have his stupid stink off me."

Annabeth let out an odd, wet laugh. "Grover and I will visit you there. You're going to go stir-crazy in about five minutes, but it'll be worth it if it works."

Percy had his doubts, because he was pretty sure no amount of therapy could cure the fact that he was nothing but trouble. But he smiled at her. "Thanks."

"I'll get Chiron to talk to your mom," Annabeth added, a little more seriously. "You shouldn't have to explain this to her."

Percy groaned, covering his face. "Oh, gods. Mom was not supposed to know about this. She's going to be so upset." Consternation crossed Annabeth's face, and he added irritably, "Don't say it!"

"It's the mental illness, Annabeth," Grover interrupted, when it looked like Annabeth was going to press anyway. "You know, the reason why he's going to a professional therapist instead of just talking to us about it?"

"Oh, alright," Annabeth muttered mulishly.

"It's supposed to be for three months," Percy added, pointedly changing the subject back to the actual issue. "So I guess I won't be able to be back here for a while. Ugh, I'm going to miss a lot of school."

"...Yeah," Annabeth agreed, pulling her knees up. "You didn't even really have to tell us. You could've just said you were going home, and we'd've believed you."

Percy flushed, dropping his gaze from hers. "Sorry. I didn't want to lie."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, leaned over, and kissed him on the cheek. "What I mean, Seaweed Brain, is thanks. It's better that we know what's going on in that sandy little head of yours."

Grover nodded in agreement. "Like, what if we made things worse on accident? That would suck."

Percy softened. He was ridiculously lucky to have friends like them.

"You wouldn't," he said.

A few days later, Letitia Osborne, daughter of Dionysus, was leading him briskly around the campus. Percy couldn't help but notice it was structured in a way that reminded him strongly of Camp Half-Blood.

"You'll know the clearsighted staff members by the omega patch on their breast pockets," Letitia explained to him. She was a tall woman, rounder than most demigods, with springy, natural hair pulled into a floofy ponytail. She didn't smile much, but her voice was kind. "And one of our current patients is clearsighted as well, Alfie Davidson. Red hair, green eyes, nose like a Hermes kid – you should consider introducing yourself."

"How do you find them all?" Percy asked, curious despite himself.

"Same way I found you," Letitia said matter-of-factly. "People who know about the Greek world sent them our way. We actually get more clearsighted mortals than demigods – they're a bit more common, and a lot more likely to ask for help."

"But not everyone here is clearsighted or a demigod?" Percy asked hesitantly. Letitia shook her head.

"Not that common," she said dryly. "No – this is the only facility really equipped to deal with demigods and clearsighted folk, but if that was all we did, we'd hardly ever have patients, and it would be such a waste. There's six patients here besides you and Alfie, all of them regular mortals. Don't worry. You'll like them too."

Letitia kept leading him around. There was a varied food garden instead of strawberry fields, two motel-style buildings set facing each other with a dozen rooms each, and one big recreational area with a generic sports field, a covered blacktop zone, and what looked like a greenhouse-style arts-and-crafts room. And, of course, the main building, which had all of the office stuff, the phones, school computers, and the therapy rooms.

"There's individual and group therapy," Letitia continued, "because a little bit of both is beneficial. They're in group right now, if you're ready to introduce yourself?" She nodded down the hall, where Percy could just make out the sounds of voices.

"Uh, is that everything?" Percy asked, eying the door apprehensively. He wasn't looking forward to meeting the people that actually needed help from a place like this; he was taking up space and time meant for them, after all.

"Yep," Letitia said, popping the 'p.' Percy sighed.

"Alright, I guess," he said quietly. "Thanks for showing me around and stuff."

"Hey." He looked over, and found Letitia with a faintly sympathetic look on her face. "It's gonna be okay. Most of the people that need help don't realize they need it. You'll fit in better than you think."

"Alright," he repeated, scuffing the floor with his shoe.

Letitia snorted, and then waved him forward, leading him toward the room where the others were apparently having group therapy. Percy didn't even know what you were supposed to do in group therapy.

Letitia knocked on the door, waited for a second while the voices fell silent, and then opened it, sticking the upper half of her body inside. "Who's ready to meet the new kid?"

A surprisingly enthusiastic chorus came back, and Letitia smiled, leaned back, and gestured for Percy to go inside. Flushed and confused, Percy went.

"Hi," he said uncomfortably, giving the room a sweeping glance. He was relieved to see the atmosphere was already looser than he'd expected; they weren't in a circle of chairs like an AA meeting or anything. It looked like a play room, with bean bags scattered around, some stuffed animals, and a whole lot of fidget toys.

The only adult in the room, presumably the therapist, smiled at him. "Hello, Percy. Come pick a spot and sit down. Don't worry about interrupting – we made today a light day, since we knew you were coming."

Percy relaxed a little, picked a corner between a bookshelf and the back wall, and sat down, loosely facing the therapist and the door. He drew his legs close and rocked restlessly, looking around again. Letitia closed the door quietly and disappeared, apparently satisfied.

"I'm Cassia Watts," the therapist said cheerfully. She didn't have an omega patch on her pocket. "I'll lead group therapy most days, which means we'll be focusing on giving and receiving support from your peers, learning from each other's perspectives, and building up each other's self-esteem. Can you introduce yourself, please? Tell us however much or little you like."

"Um." Percy crossed his ankles and considered. The other kids looked varying levels or tired or curious, some paying attention and some not. "I'm Percy, I have ADHD and dyslexia, and I've gotten expelled from every school I've ever gone to. I'm here because I was thinking about killing myself but my friends think it's a bad idea."

Someone stifled a giggle, and he looked over to see one of the girls looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh, I just – but my friends think it's a bad idea is a really, really funny way of putting it."

Percy smiled briefly. "And I like making people laugh," he added, in the same cadence he'd used for his introduction, and the girl grinned at him.

"Amna, can you start us off, please?" Cassia asked kindly. "You don't have to share as much as he did, remember, but please at least say your name."

"I'm Amna and I, um, Ihaveaneatingdisorder," the girl said, smile turning a little strained. She dropped her gaze from his, and then next person took over before Percy could think of something to say.

"I'm Kieran," the boy next to her said flatly, leaning back on the wall. "I hate going places and that's unhealthy or something." He looked sullen about it.

"Alfie," the redheaded boy said, meeting Percy's gaze for a fleeting moment before looking away again.

"Elliot," another boy added, without even looking up from his toes.

"Rose," a girl tacked on, arms crossed and tucked in a corner.

"My name is Leilani and yes, I'm trans," another girl put in, legs crossed and hands buried in her lap. Her voice was rough, still low despite her best efforts. "I spend most of my time here in the garden because I like plants."

"You like sneaking food off the vines," Kieran said. Leilani smiled a little.

"That too."

"And I'm Jet," the last boy said, sprawled belly-down over a beanbag. "I have anger issues, try not to take it personally."

Percy tilted his head and considered him. He didn't look aggressive, but he was big enough to pass as an Ares kid. That was rarely a problem with actual Ares kids, but Jet was just a mortal.

"Do you have a concern, Percy?" Cassia asked. "It's okay to voice it. Making sure everyone leaves this room okay is my job."

Percy shrugged, embarrassed. "Uh, big guys yelling kinda freak me out," he said. "And I fight back when I'm scared."

Jet shot him half a grin. "Noted. Let me guess, stay six feet away if I'm gonna get loud?"

"Huh," Percy said thoughtfully, picturing it. "Yeah, that works."

"We just had a graduate that panicked around angry people," Cassia explained. "Jet knows how to check himself, for the most part, though please keep in mind that everyone has bad days."

"You don't look the type," Rose said bluntly, meeting Percy's eyes.

"Yeah, I know," Percy said, unabashed. He was intimidating these days, with a strong build and lithe muscles from years of fighting monsters. "But everyone's a kid at some point."

Rose raised her eyebrows and gave him a nod, apparently satisfied.

"You all know the routine by now," Cassia said, in the tone of adults shifting gears. "It's time for 'two truths and a lie,' and remember not to make it too easy for those that have played with you before!"

Most of the other kids perked up, a few sly smiles appearing, and Percy straightened up with a small grin of his own. Cassia beamed at them, and then looked at Percy.

"Percy, do you know how to play?" she asked. Percy nodded. "Then would you mind going first, please?"

"Sure," Percy said, and leaned back against the wall, mulling it over for a moment. "Damn, I already gave away some of the fun ones... I'm a counselor at a summer camp, I'm a bastard child, and my mom's never been married."

"It's gotta be the counselor one," Leilani said immediately. "The other two go together and they can't both be lies."

"No way," Alfie argued, sitting forward with his hands clasped around his shoes. "He wouldn't've said both of them if one of them wasn't a lie. His mom must've gotten married later."

"I think it's the bastard child one," Jet threw out. "He could be adopted."

"Oh, shit, yeah," Alfie said. "I change my mind, I'm with Jet."

Percy let them argue back and forth for a few more minutes, feeling lighter than he had all summer, and didn't cut in until Cassia did.

"Percy?" Cassia prompted, eyes sparkling with amusement.

"My mom's been married twice," Percy announced, earning a few quiet curses. He snickered. "Neither of those guys is my father though, which I think makes me a double bastard."

They passed the rest of the session like that, and no matter what else he thought of the situation, Percy had a good time. Leilani's favorite vegetable was snap peas and she'd never been on a plane, but her deadname wasn't Luke. Kieran hated the beach (Percy tried not to feel offended) and once napped in a courthouse, but didn't have a Twitter. Amna was prone to dizzy spells and liked to dance, but had never fallen down stairs. And so on.

Percy figured the next session would be a lot heavier and a lot less fun, but at least this one had been a bit of a break. By the time it broke up for dinner, he was as comfortable with them as he had been after a day or two with the Hermes cabin.

After dinner, he called his mom.

"It's alright, Percy," Sally said to him, easy and soothing as she always went out of her way to be. In this case, it just made Percy feel guiltier. "Chiron explained. I'm just glad you're getting help."

"...Yeah," Percy said softly, crossing one ankle over the other and staring down at them. "I'm still not convinced he's not making a hurricane out of a spring shower, but it's nice of him to be cautious, I guess."

The curse of Achilles would make it easy, he didn't say. He'd tested; he could reach the small of his back without any trouble.

"How do you like it so far?" Sally asked, forging bravely on as if he was at a new school. Percy smiled a little.

"It's alright," he said. "There's seven other kids here. One of them's even clearsighted. I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him yet, he's kind of shy. We played two truths and a lie and that was pretty fun." He hesitated, and then, a little quieter as his discomfort swelled, "I, uh. Haven't met the therapist yet. Letitia says that'll happen tomorrow."

"Tell me how it goes," Sally said gently. "I won't be able to visit until the end of the week, but I'd love it if you called as often as you can."

"I will," Percy promised instantly. He tapped his feet on the floor. "The place is set up like Camp Half-Blood, and there's an art building that looks kind of fun..."

He told her about the place for a while longer, filling the time and trying to soothe both of them past the elephant in the room. Sally listened attentively and asked about the other patients and the staff, and the only sign of stress was that she reminded him that she loved him half a dozen times before she passed the phone to Paul.

"Hey, sport," Paul said, more audibly awkward than Sally had been. Accordingly, Percy snorted.

"Who are you, Gatsby?"

Paul chuckled. "No, no, just a very awkward stepfather. How are you feeling, Percy? Chiron mentioned that you were reluctant to go."

Percy winced. "You're really going right for it, huh? I don't know, I feel kinda like I missed something that explains how I got here. I mean... it made sense to me, w-what I told Thalia, but then everyone started freaking out. So I guess I'm being stupid again."

"Not stupid," Paul said firmly. "You're a lot of things, but you are in no way stupid, Percy. You're living a highly complicated and extremely stressful life, and it's not your fault that it's having an effect on you." His voice softened, letting Percy's suddenly racing heart slow. "Even if you're not sure yet, I promise you're doing the right thing."

A laugh caught in Percy's throat, which was suddenly tight again, and he blinked mist out of his eyes. "I'm really glad Mom met you," he said, the only reply he could think of to Paul's passion.

"...I'm very glad to have met both of you too, Percy."