Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

This fic would not have existed without the encouragement of Stereden, who has also done a podfic of it, which can be found in its AO3 crosspost /works/57201739 or on my tumblr tsarisfanfiction!

Pollux grabbed several cartons of juice out of the bar and caught up with Lee before he could leave the room.

"You look dehydrated," he said, which was possibly the nicest way anyone had commented on his appearance so far. "Make sure you drink." He put an arm around Lee's shoulders. "And… I'm glad you're alive," he said. His voice was a little choked up, and Lee gripped him back.

"I'm sorry about Castor," he said, quietly, and Pollux's eyes filled with tears.

"It's awful," he admitted. "It still is. I don't think it ever won't be. But that doesn't mean I wish it was him instead. Well…"

Lee gave him a sad smile, feeling the small prickle of a lie, even if the look on Pollux's face said he regretted it. "I don't blame you," he said, and Pollux nodded, tears starting to fall. "Get some rest, Pollux."

The son of Dionysus pulled away and disappeared into another part of the hotel, following where Katie had gone, the daughter of Demeter not hanging around to talk to Lee. He wasn't sure where she stood, but she hadn't been openly hostile towards him and he was fine with neutrality. Over in the corner, by the bar, the Stolls were muttering together and sending Lee looks that plainly stated that they didn't trust him.

Expecting it didn't make it hurt any less.

Percy and Annabeth disappeared off together. She still looked bad, when Lee looked at her, and desperately needed the rest before the evening's fighting kicked off again.

"We can't trust that Kronos won't try something during the day," Clarisse said, as she pulled him out of the room, before anyone else could approach him, although Drew and Jake both looked like they had things they wanted to stay. The two of them had gravitated together, drawn together by an unexpected solidarity. Lee didn't envy Drew having to tell her siblings about Silena.

"I know," he agreed, almost dropping some of the juice boxes as he moved. Joy quickly relieved him of some of them, and he shot her a grateful smile.

"I'll keep watch," the daughter of Ares said. "Unlike everyone else, I'm fresh. Chris and I will take first watch while everyone recovers."

"The Hunt has that covered," Thalia said, appearing behind them. Since joining the Hunt, she seemed to have gained several new abilities, like the one to appear and disappear at will. "We can keep going a while yet before we have to rest." She gave a sharp grin. "Perks of a goddess' blessing. If you stay up all day now, you'll be tired tonight, Clarisse, and that's when we'll need you. Especially if Silena messes with your cabin and they get here late and already tired."

There was no suggestion that the Ares cabin wouldn't make it, no matter what Silena tried, and Lee appreciated the faith. So did Clarisse, from the nod she gave the daughter of Zeus.

"I'll take a watch now," she said. "I won't sleep just yet so I'll make myself useful until midday."

Joy tugged Lee away from the two girls as they started to negotiate watches and other unfortunate necessities during the daylight.

"You. Need. Sleep," she insisted, each sign a sharp movement that left no doubt that it was an order, and not a request.

"So do you," Lee replied. She gave him an unimpressed look, and pushed him down the corridor a little faster, until they re-entered the lounge with the exhausted injured. Almost everyone in there was asleep, even Robyn had caved, although she was still in a chair, leaning forwards against Nathan's couch with her arms crossed into a pillow.

Lee started moving towards her, intending on moving her so she slept in a better position, but Joy firmly redirected him over to another couch, near where most of the cabin had turned into a large pile of sleeping bodies.

Chris wandered over from where he'd been doing something next to Kayla and Michael – Kayla was fast asleep on the floor and hugging her bow with one arm while the other reached out towards Michael. Michael didn't seem like he'd stirred at all, yet. The older demigod had a wrapped square in his hand, and as Joy forced Lee to sit on the couch, his feet and ankles admittedly delighted at no longer having to bear his weight for a while, he started to unwrap it.

It was, of course, ambrosia. Lee hadn't seen the food in a year but he still recognised the wrapping, as well as the food itself.

"I've got him," Chris told Joy. "Get some rest yourself. I won't let him get up."

She gave him a considering look, before nodding and making her way over to the next couch. Despite the sun still rising higher into the sky, she was out almost as soon as she sat down.

Chris pulled out some still-wrapped bandages from a pocket, as well as a batch of antiseptic wipes. "I think Travis and Connor completely cleared out any pharmacy in walking distance," he commented, and Lee winced slightly. Hopefully the Stolls had left the prescription meds alone, and mortals wouldn't need the rest of the supplies in the immediate short term.

Still, it was useful, having so many first aid supplies on hand. He had no doubt that they'd brought as much as they could carry from camp, too, but camp wasn't outfitted for war, just Capture the Flag and the occasional nasty accident.

"Will and Robyn have been letting me shadow them in the infirmary," Chris continued, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Are you okay with letting me patch you up? I can't sing a hymn and call it a day but I can clean and wrap."

He looked earnest, and a little pleading. Lee sighed. "You don't owe me anything," he said. "Really, Chris-"

"This isn't because of that," Chris interrupted, but there was a twinge of a lie and the older teen winced as he remembered that Lee could tell those things. "Okay, it is, a bit. I just… I was a bit lost, afterwards. I didn't really want to fight, anymore, and I couldn't thank you for what you did for me. I didn't think I'd ever get the chance. So I thought I'd try and pay it forwards. There's enough pain in this world, and I don't want to add to it anymore, but I thought I could… try to help, instead. And you know what? It's so much more rewarding. If… if I survive this war, and we win, I've been accepted onto a nursing course in Arizona in the fall."

He looked so happy, talking about it, and Lee was glad.

"That's amazing," he said, and he meant it. "You're amazing, Chris."

The older boy shrugged a little. "I wouldn't say that," he said, "but I'm enjoying it. Will and Robyn have been amazing about it."

Lee laughed a little. "They were glad for an extra pair of hands to put to work," he said. "There's always something that needs doing in the infirmary."

Chris chuckled in return. "I figured that out," he admitted, "but I'm still grateful they let me. So – can I patch you up?"

"I wasn't going to say no in the first place," Lee admitted, letting his head fall back onto the back of the couch. "Even with the sun up, I'm still running on empty right now."

"Judging by the state Michael's in, I'm guessing you drained everything you got from the sun into him the moment you got it," Chris commented lightly, handing him the ambrosia. "I see you've got things to drink, but eat this, too. You'll be able to judge the dose better than me."

Lee cautiously broke off a single square. He didn't need much, and also feared trying to eat too much, too soon. He was nowhere near his limit, having not had any in over a year, but even so – it was going to be a lot to his system. Newer campers didn't have as much of a tolerance, it was built up with age and exposure. Lee didn't know if the tolerance could drop again, and didn't intend on finding out the hard way.

Ambrosia also tasted like home sickness to him. If it wasn't for the godly food, he wouldn't remember what his mom's homemade cottage pie tasted like, anymore. He didn't remember the original texture, but he still remembered the taste.

As the taste slid down his throat, he felt Chris' hands lightly cradle one of his feet, lifting it from the soft rug of the hotel floor. The hiss that the older demigod let out wasn't encouraging.

"You need shoes," he muttered, ripping open a wipe packet and gently dabbing at the sole of Lee's foot.

It stung. Chris' hand gently holding his foot in place was the only thing that stopped the reflexive flinch away, and Lee stared determinedly at the ceiling, hissing through his teeth as the antiseptic did its job. He hadn't realised his feet had got that bad, but he supposed it had been gradual enough that he hadn't really noticed it.

He'd also had other things to worry about, since escaping Kronos.

It felt like forever before Chris was done with the antiseptic wipes, unwrapping a roll of bandages and wrapping Lee's foot entirely with the fabric strips, neatly enough that Lee could certainly believe he'd been practicing in the infirmary under the tuition of Cabin Seven healers.

Then it was the turn of the other foot, and that wasn't any better.

The cleaning and bandages also extended up and over his ankles, although for the welts Chris switched to a cream rather than wipes, which was cool enough to tickle and marginally less painful. Marginally.

Lee's wrists were next, with the welts cleaned, slathered in cream, and then wrapped as well. The bandages were snug, but they were soft and he could still move his wrists freely enough. He still wasn't restrained.

Once he was done, Chris sat back on his haunches and eyed him. "Anything else?" he asked. Lee shook his head slowly.

"They didn't hurt me," he said, although Chris raised a pointed eyebrow at that.

"You look plenty hurt to me," he said. "Putting aside the obvious, you're definitely malnourished and dehydrated, too." He picked up a juice carton and also the bottle of water, holding both of them out. "I don't care which one, but drink a little more."

Lee took the water. He knew the juice had more nutrients in it, but water was just easier to drink. Chris helped him, taking the weight of the full bottle but letting Lee have full control over how much and how quickly he drank it, and Lee appreciated all of it – both the help and the freedom.

"Now you need to rest," Chris instructed. "Are you okay to lay down?"

Lee hadn't had a chance to lay down in far too long. He was a little worried that if he did, he'd never get up again. It also sounded a little terrifying; he trusted Chris, and his siblings, but there was part of him that struggled to completely let down his guard, after a year being surrounded by people that didn't like him, who didn't let him keep a solid sleep schedule.

He shook his head. "No," he said, and Chris nodded, accepting the answer without pressing. Instead, he pulled himself to his feet before turning and sitting down next to Lee on the couch.

"This okay?" he asked, and maybe if Lee hadn't had Tris, sometimes, it wouldn't have been, but he wasn't completely unused to friendly company.

"Yeah," he said. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Chris said. "I can't promise I'll stay here the whole time – before tonight, I am finding you some shoes, because I know you won't stay off your feet even though you should – but I'll stay here for a little bit."

"I don't think I'll sleep," Lee warned him – he hadn't reached sheer exhaustion yet, somehow, and with the sun streaming in through the windows he was getting more energy rather than less – and Chris sighed.

"Try," he said. "If you can't, you can still stay there and rest. It'll be better than nothing."

He was right, of course. Lee knew that. He tilted his head back again, staring up at the ceiling, and the overly-fancy chandelier hanging in the middle of it. The sunlight glinted off of it in short streaks of rainbow colour which danced across the ceiling.

It was comfortable, in a way Lee hadn't been for so long. He felt Chris' arm sling itself across the back of the couch, not close enough to touch him, but close enough for him to be aware of the older boy's presence. It felt safe, in a strange way.

Chris wasn't holding him, wasn't touching him, but it reminded Lee of Tris curling up inside his arms, only this time Lee wasn't the one doing the metaphorical holding. Knowing that someone he trusted was there, though…

Maybe he understood why Tris had slept so easily in the cavern, now.

It still wasn't enough for Lee to completely fall asleep, but after a few minutes he felt his eyes start to droop and didn't fight it.

He was still aware enough to notice when Clarisse came in later, even if it was hazy. She didn't try to get his attention, although Chris slipped off of the couch without a word, so there was probably some silent communication between the two.

The sun was high in the sky, an hour or two past midday, when his periodic dozing was disturbed and he opened his eyes.

Chris winced apologetically, clearly not intending to disturb him, but waved some socks and shoes around before setting them down on the floor next to Lee. He couldn't see any labels on them, but they still looked suspiciously new.

There was no way Chris had paid for them, but Lee would let that slide, because he recognised a gift born from good intentions when he saw one.

"Thanks," he murmured.

"Put them on when you're ready to get up," Chris said, gently stopping him from bending down to put them on straight away. "They might be a little big, but I didn't want them putting too much pressure on your feet."

It was pretty obvious that Chris wasn't going to let Lee put them on just yet, so he flopped back against the back of the couch again, still not quite used to being able to sit on something soft. The longer he sat, the more his body started to ache at him, as though it wasn't quite sure what it was supposed to be doing when it wasn't resting on a solid and unforgiving surface.

"Has anything happened today?" he asked, and Chris shook his head.

"Nothing so far. The Hunters have been scouting and Kronos is definitely preparing for another assault tonight, but so far all has been quiet. We're going to start transferring the injured to Olympus in another hour or so, once your siblings wake up."

Lee glanced over at where they were scattered in groups across the room. Despite the sun in the sky, none of them seemed to have stirred yet. He could see Tris bundled up with Elias and Austin, and smiled slightly, glad to see his brother managing to get some proper sleep. He needed it.

"Think you can rest until then?" Chris asked, and it was clearly closer to an order than an idle request. "Or do you want me to grab you some food?"

Lee wasn't actually sure he could stomach anything. He shook his head, and Chris' face fell slightly. A juice box was retrieved from the pile on the floor and held out to him.

"If you're not going to eat, at least try to drink something that isn't water," he said. "You need nutrients."

He wasn't wrong. Lee accepted the box, fumbling with the stupid plastic wrapper trapping the straw before Chris gently took it back and tore it open, puncturing the top of the carton for him as well. The juice was sweet, much sweeter than water, and Lee sipped it carefully.

"Shouldn't you be resting, too?" he asked between sips, remembering what Clarisse and Thalia had been debating. Chris shrugged.

"I'll snatch something once we've got the injured moved," he said. "Someone needs to keep an eye on the infirmary patients, and I'm still fresher than your siblings. Once they wake up, I'll find a corner somewhere to nap."

There was no trace of lie in his words, so Lee didn't press the issue. "How is everyone?" he asked instead, and Chris winced.

"Still no movement from Nathan or Michael," he admitted. "I've given both of them a little bit more nectar, but I don't know how much they've had already and I don't want to risk too much. I also changed Nathan's bandages – the wounds aren't really bleeding anymore, but they'd bled a little onto the first set. Annabeth's resting next door; she got stabbed by a poisoned dagger, and Will neutralised the poison but that took pretty much all he had."

That didn't surprise Lee – extracting poison was difficult. It wasn't something Lee had ever been good at – he could still remember Percy and a pit scorpion sting, and feeling completely helpless as nothing he did worked – but of course Will could do it. They hadn't hit the limit of his little brother's healing abilities yet, and Lee had a horrifying thought that either they were going to hit Will's limit during the war, or they wouldn't.

He wasn't sure which one would be worse. Will would hate himself if he couldn't save people, but if he could save everyone… he was going to be exploited badly for the rest of his time at camp, despite anyone's best efforts to stop it.

There were a few other serious injuries, too, scattered across the cabins, and Chris gave him the brief rundown on those, too, occasionally interrupting himself to remind Lee to keep sipping his juice.

"We'll move them all soon," he reassured Lee once he was done with the rundown. "I'll let you know when, so if you can try to sleep again…"

Lee grimaced. "I won't succeed," he warned, and Chris gave him a twisted, sad smile.

"I don't expect you to," he admitted. "But I hope you will, anyway."

And really, what could Lee say to that?

Thanks for reading!
Tsari