Chapter 3! Improvising the chapter breaks as I go... Feedback is encouraged.

TW: Minor mention of blood and violence; if these themes upset you do not read.

All rights to Rick Riordan, I only own the plot

"What was that?"

"Why is the camp van leaving?"

"Who's going somewhere at one in the morning?" Campers ask rapidly as they flood out of their cabins to see what all the commotion is.

"Annabeth?" Jason asks as he sees Annabeth start silently sobbing.

"Annabeth?" He suddenly realizes, "What happened to Percy?"

"Jason…" She cries as he envelopes her in a hug. "They didn't even tell me! They didn't tell me they were taking him to the hospital! I didn't know! I deserved to know! I love him and he could die!"

"Hey, what's going on?" Piper asks as she runs over with Leo, Hazel, Frank, and Nico.

"Oh no, it was Percy wasn't it?" Leo asks. Annabeth nods and starts to explain.

"Xavier stabbed him and they're taking him to the hospital…"

"Let's go inside somewhere and maybe go talk or something." Frank suggests. Jason leads them all to the Zeus cabin and they all take seats on the bed or the floor.

"Hey, hey, Percy, can you tell us what hurts?" One of the various doctors ask.

"My… arm and… my side. Aagh!" Percy groans through staggered breaths.

"Okay, severe lacerations and bleeding to the upper right arm and right underarm down the right hip. We need to get him to the OR! Let's go!" Another doctor commands. All the hospital personnel take Percy and leave Will and Austin to make some calls.

"I'm gonna go call Percy's mom." Will states as he walks toward a pay phone near the entrance. As he's walking away, Austin sits in one of the uncomfortable chairs and starts praying to Apollo or any god who will listen to help Percy.

After paying and dialing the number, Will waits for Sally Jackson to answer.

"Hello? Who is this?" She asks, gingerly.

"Sally, this is Will solace from camp. I think we might've met before but I'm one of Percy's friends and one of our doctors at camp."

"Oh no." Her breath catches as he states who he is.

" , I'm really sorry but Percy's been severely injured and we need you to come to the hospital on the edge of the Long Island Sound."

"I'm on my way!" She sniffles as she hangs up the phone. She gets there with Paul after about 10 minutes and not long after, Apollo shows up in his handsome teenage form.

"What happened?! You should've called me earlier!" He whispers as he scolds the campers. "I am so sorry ." He takes a seat next to Will and glares at him in worry.

"Xavier stabbed him. and Mr.D are interrogating him now." Will is careful to use their civilian names.

Apollo is still looking for answers. "We didn't know. Percy didn't tell us and he hid it. Annabeth found out but she just helped him hide it. And of course Xavier didn't tell us either."

Suddenly, breaking news pops up on the waiting room TV. It shows footage, from two days ago, of a young boy, about 15 or 16, messy black hair, tanned skin, and a very muscular appearance. You can't see his face, but if you looked hard enough, you could just make out the image of Percy Jackson. He was standing in front of a little girl with a hand behind him to protect her and a hand in front of him to keep distance. In front of him is a boy, dark brown hair, medium build, tanned skin, about 13 or 14, pointing a knife or a dagger at Percy.

The video plays and they all watch in horror as the boy lunges forward and as Percy's protecting the girl, he catches the dagger in his side. Xavier's face is now visible and his weapon comes away bloodied.

Percy is on the ground but quickly recovers one he sees Xavier going after the girl. The knife drives into his shoulder once they start tumbling to the ground.

The girl's mom had showed up and she ran from the alley. The son of Hermes finally noticed the crowd gathering at the entrance and he started making his way back to the truck, but only after making Percy's side gash longer.

The last thing they see is the boy looking back before waving his hand behind him, a water pipe bursting, and Percy making his escape.

"Percy?! Was that Percy?!" Paul asks, knowing the answer. "That was Percy right?!"

"Oh my gods." Austin gasps.

"Hey!" Apollo exclaims. Sally breaks down in tears and this goes on for a while before Paul and Apollo calm her down.

"Excuse me, are you the family of Perseus Jackson?" A doctor comes up to them. Sally and Paul nod and he continues. "I'm afraid I have some questions. Has Percy ever had any breaks in his arm? We couldn't find anything in his medical records."

"No… why?" Sally asks.

"We did an x-ray of his arm and we found two unhealed breaks. And the second question is, how long has he had a torn ACL? It's not anywhere in his medical charts."

"What?!" Paul, Sally, Apollo, Will, and Austin all yell in surprise.

"Oh, you didn't know… his left ACL is 75% torn and it hasn't been treated at all by the looks of it. To fix his arm and his knee, we need consent."

"Ok, I give you consent. Just fix him please." Sally states.

He walks back into some unknown hallway and Sally relaxes in Paul's arms. Will and Austin get comfortable in their chairs and Apollo leaves to inform Chiron of the situation.

They all fall asleep for a little while before the surgeon comes back out, but this time with someone else. They tap Paul on the shoulder and he jerks awake which causes Sally to jolt awake and Will and Austin to follow.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" He jumps back. Sally looks up at him and notices Apollo next to him.

"Apo-" The god moves his hand in a cutting motion in front of his neck, signifying that she should stop. "I mean, who is he?" She asks. The doctor steps in and gives an explanation.

"We found some scars and bruises that could be evidence of physical abuse. In the state of New York, the law requires us to CPS if we suspect any sign of abuse."

"So, he's a social service worker? I can assure you that I am not abusing my son." Sally firmly states.

"I'm sure, but he has to make sure now that Percy's out of surgery. After he clears you, you can see your son." He assures, then walks away.

"Apollo, please just clear me so I can go see Percy. I have to see my son." She tries to push past him but he stops her.

"Sally, I know you want to see him but I need to make sure he's okay first. I need to tell him what's going on and inform Chiron." She stops fighting him and he kisses her on the cheek as he turns to leave.

Once he gets to Percy's room, he knocks on the door then walks in to see him groaning in pain. "Hey, Perce."