It had been a bad day. There are days where getting out of bed seems impossible. Others where you get up the day is wonderful and then a fist comes out of nowhere and you realize that this is another day where you will have to peel yourself from the floor or else be trampled on again. Those are the days I hate. And rightfully so.

Today was surprisingly one of those days.

It began somewhere in the morning. The realization that the weekend had ended yesterday. Meaning that my boyfriend would wake up without me, again. I hadn't seen him for a couple weeks. Then the coffee machine broke and by the Gods Will had to spray me on my last clean outfit.

So that's how I wound up sitting in traffic, late for work, with dirty cloths, while being sleep deprived. And so here I am rocking out to country/rock music (or whatever plays on this station) when a wild Karpos jumps over my car. I am tired and retired from this but my brain goes straight to what if some one is hurt. And to be honest not having a monster attack me in a year is not quiet retired.

I make what is probably and illegal parking spot and jump out of my car. I forgot how much it hurts to sprint. My lungs are burning, the air scraping against the sides. I have to hurry Karpos are stupid fast. I should know.

I just over the curbing that keeps the car in on the road and make it to a kid who is backed up against the wall. Just as the Karpos makes it to the kid. I slash the Karpos into less than perfect ribbons. I never got stopped the habit of bringing the knife with me.

I bend over huffing, out of breath. The kid still has his eye smashed shut. Back pressed against the wall. Heavy breathing. I go over to him and lightly hold his shoulder unsure if he would want to be touched. He jerks away before realizing that I am not the monster that was chasing to him. He looks up at me still in shock.

I wait for his breathing to even out before asking "Where is your Saytr?"

"Saytr?" He asks confused.

"Yes a person with goat legs."

"I ain't seen no person with goat legs." It makes me realize how young he is. Now that I am up close I realize two things. That he is probably he. And that he is about 10.

I sigh realizing that with no Saytr there is no way that he will survive until camp. I can save everyone half the trouble and drive him there. That would been missing my volunteer shift. But that would also mean I would miss having to see Jacob. He's sneering face leers out of my imagination. I shake my head at the joy it brings at missing my shift.

"Are you okay?" I say realizing that should have been my first thing I asked.

He just nods his head looking at his hands.

I get on my phone and call what would be my boss. "Hey Diana! I'm really sorry. I can't make it in to volunteer today. I can do two extra shifts next week."

Diana is from the south like me. She has more of an accent than me though. I like to think I do a better job covering it up. "Sweetheart, you already do so much I am sure I can find someone else. Thank you for calling. I hate it when people just don't show up. If you ever get out of med school and get a job, make sure to always call ahead." Her nice scolding voice always makes me a little homesick. "Bye sweetie! Mwah!" and the call ends. She always treats me as her son which is nice because as much as I love my actual mom, I don't see her that often.

I stand up and motion for the kid to do the same. As we walk back to my car, I make small take mostly just chattering on about none sense trying to keep the feeling of helplessness and sadness out of my demeanor. "So, what is your name?"

"Alex." He says without making eye contact.

"What are your pronouns?"

"He/Him?" His voice has a little question to it, like he isn't sure himself.

I don't press it. He will find someone at Camp to help him with these things. At least someone better than little old me. With the gods the way they are camp is a pretty open space.

"Where are you from?"

"Here."

"How old are you?"

"Twelve."

He looks younger than that.

We make it make it back to the car where a driver is honking loudly at us. I get in the driver seat and look at Alex. He looks torn.

"Are you coming?

"I don't know."

"Why?" I ask in a soft voice, tired and really trying to give grace to this boy who does not deserve my frustration.

"Well, you saved me from the monster. But how do I know you are not a monster? For all I know you could be taking me to an evil lair to make stew and eat me. You have told be nothing."

It hits me. I literally just started walking to my car telling this small child what I was doing. What was I doing?

I explain in takes a second and I keep looking around for a monster, scanning the area for anything that would make us more obvious than a car haphazardly parked in a busy road. Once he seems more convinced that I was not going to kill him we drive off. Well, more like slowly trying not to have other drivers smash into us.

We finally get onto the highway. I have a migraine coming on. Alex just stares at the hills passing by. The car is silent except for Lana del Ray singing.

"Diet Mountain Dew, baby, New York City
Never was there ever a girl so pretty
Do you think we'll be in love forever?
Do you think we'll be in love?"

That is my only excuse for not seeing the lumbering cyclops heading our way. The car gets a good smash to the side. Everything freezes. The car at a 70-degree tilt. Glass flying in midair. My ears popping. The indent in my side of the car. In the driver's side. Right where I am sitting. Blackness.

I think I was out for five seconds at most. Then my ears ring. I look back to see Alex out. I register that the cyclops was not one of Poseidon's (obvious because it isn't working down below, and he doesn't have any manners) and that he had a club that he threw at my door. Explaining why I wasn't dead. He was about, if we were extremely lucky, a minute away.

I quickly climb over to the passenger side get out. Open the door for Alex lift him in my arms and start running. It's funny not realizing that your head is spinning and that you want to vomit. Or that the club hit the door hard enough that metal fractured inside, puncturing my side, leading to a deathly amount of blood escaping this sack of a body. It's even crazier that adrenaline is able to erase most of the pain and get you running as fast as you can to a hill with a pine tree, A pine tree hill that is still at least 1,000 feet away. But what probably hits me the hardest is that other than getting Alex to the camp I didn't really care if I lived or died.

I didn't even think about Nico.

I blacked out just before the Cyclops over ran us. Just barely not making it to the bottom of the hill. My last coherent thought was "Ha you really aren't even good enough to do the bare minimum."

I wake up in a cabin that I know so well. Really, I don't wake up. I mostly drift in and out of the seeing the ceiling. My brain is strangely quiet. No sounds penetrate the deep cocoon my conscience is wrapped.

I start to slowly feel things. Some holds my hand. Tears wet the side of my shirt. Someone smooths the hair form my face. And then I inhale deeply and am there. I start coughing slightly as my side stretches too far and I feel pain shoot up my side. My mouth is dry. My bones are tired.

I turn my head to the side to see Nico sitting there. His eyes wide, like he is trying not to hope but hoping, nevertheless. I weakly smile. Tears roll down my face. "Was it you that made my shirt damp?" I say in a raspy voice, missing his face.

He just smiles and shakes his head like only I could do that. He gently leans down and hugs me trying to avoid my bandage. I finally see someone behind him. Its Alex.

"Hey buddy. How are you? Any injuries?"

Nico snorts in my shoulder. He whispers in my ear "Seriously Solace? You are asking him as you lie in bed with an injury that should have killed you? Let alone prevented you from running with the weight of a boy in your arms."

Alex looks relieved and a little awkward. "I'm fine." he says rubbing the shoulders.

"Your little friend and I here had a little chat."

I try to look at Nico but can't.

"I accidentally yelled at him. When you fell Alex was awake. Apparently, he had been talking to you about putting him down because he had seen the blood at your side. Did you hear him?" I shake my head. He sighs. "Either way, and he pulled a Percy Jackson and soundly beat the Cyclops. He tried to carry you but mostly ended up dragging you up the hill where the patrol found him. I had been going to meet up with them because I had accidentally missed meeting up with them. I came up on them just as they met up with you and when I saw you I when full asshole-mode. I screamed at him. Then had one of them go get Kayla. I was shaking super badly." Nico let out a little grim laugh. "Then he just screamed back in my face. I think it was a lot for both of us."

I looked back at Alex and then my vision started to fade. "I'm losing focus. I'll see you in a little. Tell Kayla-" and then I was gone. Fainting is a weird experience. I have only experienced it a couples but every time I was in shock. It's like you're in a dream. You seem to be there for hours and then you wake up and only 5 seconds have passed. It's very disorienting. I spent a long time in my little realm.

I woke up a couple times and drifted through the sounds. I finally woke up for real this time. It was in the middle of the night, and I was tired (ironic) of sleeping (if that's what you even call it) and so I diagnosed myself. It turns out that Kayla read my symptoms wrong. Which is a very easy thing to do with a patient passed out and unable to tell you what they think is wrong. It was not a fatal blow which explains why I could walk. It might scar but it wasn't going to leave any lasting effects.

It took forever to get out of the infirmary. It that time Nico had to call Diana and explain although hedging around important details my accident. Alex was claimed as an Ares kid. Which surprised me. I got out maybe 2 weeks after my accident. I am the son of Apollo after all.

I walked straight to Nico's cabin. I just went and dozed in his bed.

I woke up to someone shaking me. When my eyes cracked open I saw Nico's face. He smiled a slow, almost sad smile.

"We should talk shouldn't we."

I stretched and sat up. "Yeah."

"Who is Jacob? I heard you whispering about him."

I averted my gaze. "He is from work."

"Are you okay?"

A couple tears slipped down my face and he sat down and hugged me. "No." I said and it felt like a big accomplishment.

"Do you want to continue or wait a little?"

I need it out. Mostly because I felt that Nico could help me. "He's from work or I really shouldn't keep calling it work. It's a volunteer opportunity that if I play my cards right could get me a job after I finish school. But its not a internship." I pause trying to figure out the story. "Jacob is someone who works there. I think he is a type of surgeon. Either way kind of important to the workplace." A little sob escapes me. Nico hugs me even fiercer. "He just makes little comments. That eventually lead to full blow institutions about the LGBTQ community. He doesn't even really know stuff. I would snap back at him about where he got this information and he would just be like 'oh my friend is lesbian' like that explains that. Also what right does he have to basically gloat about that? Anyways I've been out for so long and I just kind of walked in and Diana, my boss-ish, knew about it and didn't really give a crap. But I think he got freaked out by it and well death threats started showing up on my desk. They basically said that because I'm an intern and because I am also Bi that they wouldn't care. And kind of gave me a lot of shit because of it."

I could sense Nico getting angry at Jacob. He was holding me tighter and shaking a little.

"I think I started not caring about my safety. I little part of me was hoping something would happen and I wouldn't have to be here anymore and the other half of me was fighting for me to me safe and okay." I broke into tears realizing how far I had let myself go.

Nico just sat there with me letting myself just feel. After a long while I quieted and the sensation that comes after a good cry crept in.

"Do you want to talk to someone about this?"

"It probably would be good?"

"I am not going to make you do anything, but I think it would be nice."

I just nodded my head, tired. "Can I consider this tomorrow?"

"Take as much time as you need just remember that I will always be here for you."

We ended up watching Star Wars for the rest of the night.

When I woke up, there was a couple sun globes shining light in the room. Funnily it made me feel better. I always forget that winter is worse for Apollo. Less sun, less fun. Seasonal depression is probably the best.

Nico comes in little flurries of snow following him before he shuts the door. He is on the call with someone, so I stay quiet, leaving out the morning greetings. "Thanks Diana. I really appreciate the effort going into this." He is quiet for a moment. "Ill tell him. Bye now."

"Was that the Diana from my work?"

"Yep. The workplace is putting on a little search. And by little, I mean Diana is going full beast mode. She doesn't want that representing her place. She told me to tell you that she misses you and hopes you will come back but understands if you don't want to."

"Diana is amazing."

"I like her. She seems like a good advocate and sounds like she would definitely take you in when you are done with school. Maybe a little before then depending on what residency program you pick."

I just stand and kiss him. He is just…..wonderful. So wonderful. How could someone just be so amazing?

I went back to work. Jacob had been fired and tighter precautions were taken. Diana is just amazing at making me feel welcome but also not suffocatingly so. That's not to say that everything was fixed. People had heard and now I got glares and stares in the hallway. An occasional odd comment. Why did people resort to trying to make people feel like trash when they didn't understand. But they didn't stick to my skin as much.

Things aren't magically better but Nico will move in a couple months from now and I am excited.