Will doesn't remember falling asleep here. He rubs the sleep from his eyes before stretching his arms over his head, yawning.

It takes a minute for his eyes to adjust, but he finally recognizes his surroundings. The dark walls, the dark stain of the wooden desk. It's much darker than his cabin.

The strong but comforting scent of petrichor fills the air, and Will can hear a gentle purring coming from the other bed.

"You're being quite loud, you know that, Nero?" A voice comes from the darkness near the desk, and Will squints, and he can just barely make out the form of Nico sitting at the desk, spinning a pencil in his fingers.

"It's not a big deal." Will says, and Nico turns, though Will can barely see him with how dark the cabin is.

"You're awake." He says, standing up and coming over to the bed, which Will suddenly realizes is Nico's bed, not Hazel's. That's why the familiar smell of the ground after rain was so strong. "Are you feeling any better?"

Will shakes his head. He's been nothing but jumpy and on edge since Kayla had come back from the supply run in tatters, her life force barely hanging on. "Do you have an update on Kayls?" Nico laughs softly, brushing a wayward curl out of Will's face.

"Will, it's been 4 hours. All you did was take a nap because you were so stressed out. Nothing has happened during that time. I promise. Anteros would have come over here himself, and I would have woken you up." Nico says, looking at Will. Will shrinks a little bit into himself, the black blanket still pulled over his knees. He nods, looking down at his hands.

"Sorry, I know I've been real stressed out over these past few days. You don't have to keep hovering or nothin'." Will says quietly, picking at a loose thread on Nico's blanket.

Nico sits down next to him, and he reaches for Will's hand, lithe fingers swallowed by Will's larger ones. Will focuses his gaze on the ring that always sits on Nico's finger. Breathe. In. Out. Good.

"I'm going to keep hovering." Nico says gently, and Will looks up at his boyfriend. Nico's dark eyes search his, and his mouth quirks just a bit. "For once, you can stand to be taken care of just a bit, yeah?" Will nods, but something doesn't feel right.

Anxiety sits on top of his skin, curling around his wrists like a vice grip. It's like a low hum, constant and distracting. He flexes his fingers, willing the hum to go away. Nico looks at him curiously. Will bites on the inside of his cheek, not sure how to explain how he is feeling. How could Nico understand this? Understand the fear, the tug that he feels to keep his siblings out of danger. The emotion that claws at his throat as soon as one of them steps out of his line of sight.

"I think that Kayla and Austin are… Well, you know that I have an… issue with control." Will admits quietly, and Nico nods, but he doesn't speak. "I think it is the worst when it comes to Kayla and Austin, specifically. 'Cause of Manhattan. We were the only ones after the battle, and we watched everyone' leave and…" Will takes a deep shuddering breath, and Nico squeezes his hand. "Seein' Kayla lying there, her golden armor cracked… it reminded me of not being able to save Aria." Will's voice cracks at the mention of his older sister, and Nico sighs.

"You miss her a lot, don't you?" Nico says, and Will nods. "I know how that feels." Nico gives him a small smile. "But I do have something to confess to you, and it is just a tiny bit embarrassing." Nico admits, and Will can see the slight blush appearing on his boyfriend's cheeks even in the darkness of the cabin.

"Yeah? What is it, Neeks?" He asks, and Nico lets out an embarrassed huff.

"I… talked to your siblings before we started dating." Nico admits, and Will looks at him, tilting his head to the side. He doesn't understand.

"Like… Anteros? I already knew that." Nico sighs exasperatedly, twisting the ring around his finger.

"No, Will." He says, running a hand through his hair. Will watches the motion, watches the movement of Nico's lithe fingers. What was he saying again? "To Aria. And Daniel."

What.

"Whatcha mean?" Will asks, blinking slowly. Nico shifts nervously, and Will frowns a bit.

"I got… really anxious once I realized that I like you. With… well you know." Will nods. He does understand. "So I might have… summoned the ghosts of Aria and Daniel to talk to them. Before we talked in the clearing."

Will blinks once, twice, three times. "You… summoned the ghosts of my siblings." Nico nods, chewing on the inside of his lip.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to someone about… you. And you spoke so highly of them… I didn't want to talk to Anteros or anyone that would have made fun of me, so…"

"So you summoned ghosts." Will says, and Nico huffs.

"You're mad." He says, and Will shakes his head.

"Not mad, just processing the information. It's a lot to take in that you spoke to my dead siblings, and that you said it so casually." Nico flushes a bit red, and he makes to stand up, but Will reaches out, grabbing his wrist. "How… was it? How were they?" He asks quietly, and Nico sits back down, pulling his legs up so he's facing Will.

"I can see why you care for them so much." Nico admits, his dark eyes lingering on Will's face. "Daniel reminded me so much of you, calm and gentle." Will snorts just a bit.

"I ain't calm or gentle." He says, and Nico shrugs his shoulders.

"Yes you are. And you can't even argue with me about it, I won't listen. Anyway, Aria was very funny and bright. Like you said before, I really could see it. They worried about you a lot. Asked me to… take care of you." Will feels the back of his neck burning up just a little bit, and he knows there's a scarlet flush starting to creep up his face.

"And it ain't mess you up or anything? You felt fine?" Nico frowns at Will, and Will just stares at him.

"Stop playing doctor for two seconds. I never get tired from summoning ghosts. It doesn't affect me like shadow traveling does." Nico says, his eyebrows furrowed just a little bit. Will can't help but reach out to press the tip of finger to Nico's forehead gently.

"Stop frowning, you'll get wrinkles." Nico stares at him, squinting a bit.

"Is that a dig at my age?" He says in a flat tone, and Will dissolves into giggles, which makes Nico chuckle as well.

Will feels lighter than he has in days.

Will doesn't have the gift of prophecy, but something feels wrong from the moment he wakes up. It's like there's something in the air, something hanging over the camp.

It must just be his anxiety. He's been having a harder time dealing with it since Kayla's injury, but seeing her every day in the infirmary has been helping a lot. Being able to feel her pulse strong under his fingers, feeling her vitals and how strong she's getting.

He sighs, fiddling with one of the bandages on his wrist that he keeps to help him have something to do with his hands.

"You're stressing me out, Will." Kayla complains, crossing her arms over her chest from her place in her infirmary bed. "If I could see auras like Dior, you'd be covered in that anxious yellow. What's got you in such a bind?"

Will shrugs his shoulders, fiddling with the ace bandage again. "I don't know. I just feel like something is comin'." Kayla eyes him, the blue of her irises flashing.

"Did you have a dream?" She asks, and Will shakes his head.

"You know I don't get dreams, and even then, no one is getting dreams. Apollo's still AWOL. If anyone was gettin' dreams, it would be—"

"Me! And I haven't gotten any either." Sohee pipes up, her black braided ponytail swinging over her shoulder as she bounces into the infirmary. She pulls on a light blue scrub shirt over her camp shirt and comes over to Will's side.

Will presses a kiss to the top of her head. "Have a good lesson with Austin, sunbaby?" Sohee nods, grinning up at him, her dark brown eyes glimmering.

"Yeah! I got to practice my piano and it was really fun! We learned Disney songs today." Will laughs softly, pinching her cheek gently. She bats his hand away, complaining loudly.

Before he can retaliate, all hell breaks loose.

"Incoming!" He hears a loud voice yell, and he freezes for just a second. Again? He shakes his head, pushing the feeling down down down. You're better than this, Will. You're head healer, senior counselor.

"Bring them in!" He shouts, and forces himself to turn off the emotions. He can't afford this at the moment. He can't focus on what he's feeling. Nothing matters but what he is about to see.

His knees nearly buckle when he sees the two girls they bring in.

"What happened?" He asks, starting to examine the auburn haired girl first, pushing his emotions farther, farther, farther. Into Tartarus where they belong.

"Dracaenae. Came out of nowhere when they were trying to get over the border." Sherman says, wiping his face off with a towel. "She got the worst of it, but the other one is pretty fucked up too." Will shoots him a look, but he just shrugs. "This one passed over as I got her over the border. She's lost a lot of blood."

"Yeah, I can see that." Will mutters, and he presses his fingers against her wrist. His heart clenches. Oh, oh no. No, no, no, no, no. "Shit." He says, and Sherman looks at him in alarm. "Sherman, go get Anteros."

Sherman whistles, backing away. "Must be that bad. I'll be right back." Will hesitates, and then calls out.

"Wait, what's her name!" He yells, and Sherman turns, a small frown on his face.

"Think it's Rosie. Couldn't really tell through the sobbing and killing of monsters. I'll go get your brother."

"C'mon, Rosie, stay with me." Will mutters, and he starts to hum the familiar hymn to his father under his breath, his fingers glowing a warm golden color both from the anxiety coursing through his veins, but also the healing powers.

Nothing is working. She's fading too fast.

"Work, damnit." He hisses, willing his powers to work harder, faster, stronger. Her pulse weakens, blood pooling under her on the bed. Motherfucker. "You cannot die on me!"

He pulls a bit of her shirt away from her body, and his vision goes black around the edges.

Claws raking down Daniel's front. The sound of his laughter ringing in Will's ears. The sad look in his brown eyes. The bloodstains covering Will's hands, his armor, his shirt, his skin. The feeling of Daniel's pulse dying under Will's touch.

Just like…

"Rosie! Stay with me!" Will says, and he can hear the squeak in his voice, the way it hitches. He pours more of his healing power in, muttering under his breath, practically begging his father to listen and help him. "Please, please, please Apollo, Dad. Just this once. Let me save just one." He says, and he can feel the tears building in his eyes.

Fate is cruel.

Rosie opens her eyes just for a second, and her deep violet eyes lock on him, holding for just a moment. Before he can even breathe, even ask her if she can hear him, her eyes close, and her hand goes limp.

"No. No, no, no, no, Rosie!" Will says, searching desperately through her vitals, feeling them go black one by one.

She's gone before he can even process that nothing worked.

"Fuck!" He rips his hand away, running a hand through his hair. Sohee stares at him with wide eyes, the yellow of her headband sticking out against her dark hair.

"Will?" She says gently. "Can you… can you help me over here? I can't calm her down, you're much better at this than I am…" Her dark eyes shake just a bit, the same golden sun reflected in hers as in Will's, and he sighs.

You can't fall apart right now, Will. Push that shit down.

Youkillledheryoukilledheryoukilledheryoukill—

"Hey there lil' one." Will says, trying to not let the waver in his voice show too much. Hold it together, Will. She needs you. Fucking calm down. You've handled worse. "Can I take your hand so I can heal you up?"

The younger camper laying in the other bed whimpers, her big brown eyes flickering around the infirmary. She can't be older than eight. Will remembers how he felt when he came to camp, how scared he was after the attack.

"You know, Will can glow like Rapunzel when he heals you." He hears a soft voice and he turns to see Sohee standing behind him, holding a tray full of bloodied bandages. Her dark eyes look so much older. She gives him a small smile, her eyes turning back to the camper. "He has a special healing power like Rapunzel, and you'll feel real calm, and it's so warm. I promise. He's my big brother and he helps me so much."

"It won't hurt anymore?" The young girl whispers, and Sohee's smile brightens.

"It'll take some time, but Will is the best big brother ever. He's really good." She says. "He's helped me so many times, and even if he doesn't like his voice, he helps me sleep really well at night when I have nightmares or when I hurt myself." She pushes a piece of dark hair that has fallen from its ponytail out of her face. "Plus, he can calm you down too. It's warm like sunshine."

"Sunshine." The young girl echoes, and Sohee nods. "Okay. Like Rapunzel?" Will gives Sohee a look, and his younger sister just grins at him. He sighs, looking back at the young girl in the infirmary bed.

"I can even sing her song if you want me to." Will says, and he sees a bit of sparkle come back into her eyes.

"Okay, I'm ready." She says quietly, and she tries to sit up a little bit, but she whimpers in pain.

"Don't move too much. I don't know where all your injuries are." Will says, gently laying a hand on her shoulder. "Okay, I'll get started now, yeah?" The young girl nods. "What's your name, darlin'? I feel bad I never asked. It was… a bit crazy here earlier."

"Anastasia." She says softly, and Will smiles warmly, brushing a piece of light brown hair out of her eyes.

"Okay, Anastasia. Just stay still, okay?" She nods just a bit, and Will closes his eyes, breathing in deeply.

Don't fail me now, Dad.

"Flower, gleam and glow

Let your powers shine

Make the clock reverse

Bring back what once was mine

Heal what has been hurt

Change the fates' design

Save what has been lost

Bring back what once was mine

What once was mine"

Will can feel the healing powers radiating through his fingers, and even though his eyes are closed, he knows his entire body is glowing. He can feel just how bad her injuries are. There's something dark in his chest rearing its head, dark and ugly and scared. Push it down. Conceal it away. You cannot focus on that now. It's not the normal darkness curled in his stomach. This is fear. This is pain.

Images flicker across his mind. Aaron. Daniel. The blood pouring down the side of Lee's head. Aria coughing and splattering blood across his face. His hands start to shake.

No. Shove it down.

He opens his eyes, and Anastasia is looking at him with wide eyes.

"You really are like Rapunzel." She says in awe, and Will can't help but smile.

"You feelin' better?" Anastasia nods, and Will can see a bit of color coming back into her face. "Okay, I'm gonna hand you off to Anteros for a while, that alright?" She nods again, and Will takes his leave.

He has to get out. Get anywhere else.

Something's wrong. Nico hasn't felt that feeling in… months. His ears are ringing. They don't just do that.

On top of that, he can't find Will anywhere.

"Kayla." He says, shaking the shoulder of Will's younger sister. She's still stuck in the infirmary, healing from her wounds. If anyone knows where Will is, it's probably her.

"Wha'?" She slurs, one eye opening. Once she realizes it's him, she sits up a bit, wincing in slight pain. Nico's ears have stopped ringing, but something is very wrong.

"Where's Will?" She rubs her eyes, and Nico can't help but feel a bit impatient. "I haven't seen him in a while, and my ears are ringing, and—"

"Is this a medical emergency?" She asks, yawning. Nico blinks. Oh.

"No, they uh— my ears only ring when someone dies, and it's kind of freaking me out. That I can't find Will." He narrows his eyes as Kayla's eyes light up in recognition.

"Oh, that. Yeah, a camper died earlier. Well, I'm not sure if you could call them a camper since they just got here and hadn't even been claimed or anything–"

"Back up, back up, someone died? On Will's watch?" Kayla nods. Nico feels his heart start to beat harder in his chest. "And he's not here." Realization dawns in her eyes.

"Oh shit." She whispers, and Nico whirls, looking around the infirmary. The familiar sound of Will humming to whatever music is filling the infirmary doesn't come. Where the fuck is he?

"I'm going to find him. You stay—" He turns back to Kayla, who is staring at him, her arms crossed over her chest, an eyebrow raised.

"The fuck else am I gonna do? Walk around? No thanks, Tero would flay me. I don't even think I can walk right yet, I'm still too weak." She says, and Nico winces inwardly. Right. Of course.

"I'll go find him. I promise." Before he can run away, Kayla grabs his wrist, and he turns back to her. "What?" He asks, and Kayla stares up at him, her blue eyes pained.

"Be gentle with him." She says softly. "I don't think… I don't think this will be pretty."

Nico hesitates. He's sure of that too. He nods, and Kayla releases his wrist.

Now where the hell could Will be?

Will is nowhere to be seen. Nico feels like he's searched everywhere.

Well.

Almost everywhere.

Nico stares at the door to his own cabin. Surely not… Will's only been there once or twice, there's no way—

Suddenly, his eyes widen. Crying. He can hear crying. Nico takes a deep breath and opens the door, slipping in and closing it behind him.

The sight in front of him breaks his heart more than Nico thought was ever possible.

Nero meows at him in distress, skeletal paws skittering across the floor back and forth near the figure kneeling on the floor in front of the altar to his dad.

Blood coats the scrub shirt on Will's body, but Nico can barely see it the way Will is hunched over in front of the altar.

"What did I do? How can I fix this? What can I do? I'm a failure. A failure of a healer. I couldn't save her. I couldn't save him. No one. Slipped through my fingers. Dead. All dead. It's all my fault."

Will's voice is unlike any way that Nico has ever heard it before. It sounds like he's been screaming, hoarse from crying.

"I failed you, I failed my dad, I failed her, I failed, I failed I failed I FAILED!" Will hits his fist against the stone of the altar, and Nico feels a jolt back to awareness.

Will's anxiety is making his skin light up, the usual greenish glow of the altar overtaken by the warm golden emitting from Will.

Nico takes a step forward, but he hesitates. Is he even going to be able to help Will?

"I'm not worthy of these gifts. I can't even keep my own siblings safe, what kind of healer only kills the ones he tries to save?" Nico steps forward again, and he kneels down next to Will. Gods above, he's never done this before. How is he supposed to help?

"Will." He says softly, reaching out for Will's shoulder. His boyfriend looks up, and Nico feels a pang in his chest. He's never seen Will like this before, and it scares him.

Will's eyes are red rimmed, tears still streaming down his cheeks. He looks tired. So so so tired. Even under his golden glow, Nico can see how waxy his skin looks. Overextended.

"I always fail, Nico. I failed Rosie, I always fail. I'm not good enough, I'm never good enough!" Nico shakes his head, and he reaches out to press his fingers to Will's cheek, the way that Will has done for him so many times in affection, or just out of wanting to touch him. He hopes that he can give Will even one ounce of the help that Will has given to him.

"You're not a failure." Nico starts to say, but Will shakes his head, tears still streaming down his cheeks.

"They all die, all I do is kill, I'm a failed healer, a failed brother, a failed counselor—"

"Will, let's get up, how long have you been here? Were you praying to my father?" Nico asks softly, and Will just shrugs his shoulders, looking over at the altar that he had been kneeling in front of, blood staining the wooden floor in front of it.

"My father won't listen to me. He never has. I thought since she died…" Nico sighs, and he stands, tugging on Will's hands. "No, no, I have to be sure she made it safely, it's the least I can do because I killed her."

"You didn't kill her, Will." Nico says gently but firmly. Will just looks up at him, still kneeling on the floor of Nico's cabin. "She died, but it wasn't your fault." He squats down in front of Will again, and his boyfriend tracks his movement. "Come here. Get up off the floor. My father will take good care of her, I promise."

"You promise?" Will echoes, and Nico nods. Will reluctantly lets Nico pull him up, and follows his lead to Nico's bed, stumbling slightly like a newborn deer finding its legs.

Nico sits Will down on his bed, and he turns to his dresser, rummaging around in one of the drawers. Will is quiet, and Nico looks over at him. Will is just staring at his hands, the blood covering him.

"I have some bigger clothes, you're going to take a shower here. Get that blood off of you. Then you change into these. Okay?" Will nods, but Nico can tell that he barely hears him.

It reminds him of the time Will was attacked during Capture the Flag. The way he just locked up in his own head. Nico places a stack of larger clothes on the bed next to Will and he stands in front of Will.

"Nico, I—"

"You don't need to explain, tesoro." Nico says softly, leaning down a bit to press a kiss to the top of Will's head, one of the only places on his boyfriend's body not splattered with demigod blood. "Go take a shower. I'll be here when you finish. I just need to go tell Kayla I found you."

"Kayla?" The name seems to get through to him a little bit, and Will's eyes clear a bit. Nico brushes a piece of hair behind Will's ear, watching his face.

"She's okay, resting up. I just saw her earlier when I was looking for you, so I need to tell her that you're okay. Go take a shower, I promise that I will be right back."

"Promise?" Will says, and Nico nods, searching the blue and gold eyes staring up at him.

"I really promise."

—-

There's a knock on the door, and Nico looks up.

"Come in." He says, a bit loud, but not too much. The door creaks open, and Austin pokes his head in. "Hey, Austin. Anteros send you?" Nico asks, and Austin nods, stepping further into the cabin.

"Brought some fruit and stuff for Will." Nico looks down at Will, at the golden hair spilling across his pillow. The rise and fall of his boyfriend's chest in deep sleep. "How is he doing?"

"He's exhausted." Nico says softly, reaching over to run his fingers through the messy curls. "He overextended himself, and probably had a lot of flashbacks."

"I don't doubt that. The girl that died, Rosie?" Nico nods. "Yeah, she got killed by the same kind of monster that killed Daniel." Austin says, setting a paper bag down on Nico's desk. "He's way stronger than he looks, but…"

"He worries about everyone else before himself." Nico says, but there's no venom in his voice. It's quite possibly one of his favorite things about Will, the way he is so in tune with what others want and how they feel.

Empathy.

Will is one of the most empathetic people that Nico has ever met.

"Hey, he put all his dirty clothes from earlier in a bag, I'm not sure where he threw it though." Nico frowns, looking around his cabin. Austin hums, picking up a medium sized plastic bag and shaking it.

"Got it. How long has he been out?" Nico looks down at Will again before shrugging his shoulders.

"Dunno, maybe an hour or two? Hasn't been long, really." He says, and Austin nods.

"Let him sleep then. Think you'll drag him out for dinner?" Nico shakes his head. He's not really hungry anyway, and he'd feel bad waking up Will. "Thanks for taking care of him, Nico. I know it's a lot but—"

"It's not a big deal. I care for him, you know that. I…" Nico frowns, looking down at his hands. "I want him to be happy, so." Austin smiles, propping the bag on his hip.

"You do make him happy, Nico. Really. Never seen him like this, honestly. Plus, there's not really anyone here at camp that would understand him like you do. Everything on his shoulders. You're good for him. You're good for each other."

Nico can't help the flush that takes over his cheeks, and the knowing smile from Austin isn't helping.

"I gotta get back to the infirmary to help out Sohee and Anteros. Kayla's getting bossy too, it's a mess. You'll make sure that he gets back to Seven?" Austin asks, motioning to Will's still body. Nico bites down on the inside of his cheek.

"If not, he can just stay here. I'll sleep in Hazel's bed." Nico says, and Austin just grins at him.

"Whatever you say, Nico. See ya later!" Austin turns, leaving the cabin, leaving Nico to stew in the embarrassment of the son of Apollo's teasing.

Will's siblings really are something, aren't they?

"Was that Austin?" A soft but raspy voice draws him out of his thoughts. Nico looks down at Will, and his boyfriend stirs slightly.

"Yeah, but don't worry about it. He just took your dirty clothes and brought some food for when you feel hungry. You don't have to get up right now. Go back to sleep, sunshine." Will just hums, burrowing back into Nico's side, his breathing evening out not long after.

Nico sighs.

This is gonna be a long night.