NPOV

I'm not the type of person to spend a lot of time in the infirmary. Being around the patients makes me nervous—and besides, sometimes I can sense souls here. Usually it doesn't bother me much when I see a ghost or sense that they're nearby, but in the camp infirmary, it's different. It could be someone I know. It could be a friend.

However, while Percy is injured, all of that changes. He's always been there to try to help me when I screw things up, so now I'm trying my best to make sure I'm a good friend to him, too. Besides, even though Percy is officially stable—not healed, but stable nonetheless—Will seems uncharacteristically unsettled by Percy's injuries. I want to try to be supportive to Will, too.

Austin has to help a few other campers who are staying in the infirmary. I shadow Will once Percy is no longer undergoing any other intense procedures. Occasionally, Will gives me easy tasks to help with, like washing dishes or helping him carry boxes of supplies. I've been in the supply closet so many times over the past twenty-four hours that I'm pretty sure I've got it memorized by now.

I get back from the supply closet with the antibacterial that Will requested, and he administers and labels dosages, which some of the younger Apollo cabin members will deliver to patients later. As he's finishing the final delivery, there's a pained groan from Percy's room.

Will, focused on ensuring he doesn't mess up the label for an important medication, doesn't acknowledge Percy's pain except to tell me, "Nico, could you grab some ambrosia? I think Percy's medication is wearing off already."

He's feigning a casual demeanor, but I don't notice the tension in between his shoulder blades or the way his jaw locks every time Percy groans. I can't figure out what's so strange about Percy's case that's making Will act differently than usual?

I nodded and quickly left back down the hall to follow his order. I made it around the corner when I came face-to-face with a group of campers I didn't know very well. I was pretty sure one or two of them had been around the infirmary often—probably children of Apollo. Some of the others might have been Hermes or Ares cabin residents, but I couldn't be sure. There were about seven or eight of them total, and their large group was blocking my way down the hall.

"Uh, excuse me," I said, trying to slip past them.

One of the infirmary regulars shoots me a withering glare and blocks my path. "What are you doing in the infirmary, di Angelo? This isn't a place for you."

I put my hands in the air in an attempt to look innocent, and I can't help but remember Will doing the same thing the first time we met. I wonder if I look as ridiculous right now as he did that night. "I'm just here to help Will and get some ambrosia for Per—"

Another infirmary worker interrupts me and takes a step closer to me. "Why would he want your help? You're the son of the king of the dead. You really shouldn't be in a place full of sick and injured people. I've seen you around camp when you're angry—entire trees wilt around you sometimes."

"You don't belong in the infirmary," another girl agrees. "You need to leave before you kill someone, for gods' sake."

I steel my nerves and refuse to back down, not when Will is waiting on me. "Look, Will's gonna kill me if I take too long to get this so I am going to have to ask you to move."

"Why? So you can—?"

I roll my eyes and looked around. There's an unoccupied patient room close behind me. The lights are off. I slip inside despite the campers' protests and let the shadows wash me away.

I hover in the darkness for a moment before it starts moving me to the other side, the light. I stumble into the storage room, which is getting more familiar with every supply trip. I find the ambrosia quickly and break off a square before jogging back through the infirmary, around the very confused campers who had tried to stop me in the hallway, and into Percy's room where Will is waiting.

Will is sitting on a chair, frowning at Percy.

I hold out the ambrosia to him. "I'm really sorry it took me so long, a bunch of campers wouldn't get out of my way, so I had to shadow travel—"

"It's alright. I think Percy's still okay." He shakes his head like he's trying to clear it and then feeds Percy the square. "Are you okay though? I know shadow traveling takes a lot of energy, and the past few days haven't exactly been relaxing..."

"Yeah, I'm okay. It was just a small jump. Nothing I can't handle."

This was another thing I was learning about my soulmate—he never fails to check on you. Even when nothing is obviously wrong, he'll ask if everything is okay. It's like his brain runs on a constant loop of making sure everyone around him is alright. I wonder if that's a side effect of being near-constantly on call for the infirmary—he works with the worst cases here, so if he fails to notice that something is wrong, that mistake could be deadly.

He nods and then stands up. "Good. Now, Percy needs some rest, so let's let him sleep. C'mon."

"Okay. Goodnight Percy," I say, even though I know Percy is already sleeping too deeply to hear it.

Will hesitates for a brief moment at the door before quietly closing it behind us and slumping against it, exhausted.

"We did it," he said, a small smile on his face. But there's something there in his expression—a lingering worry.

I also can't help but notice he said 'we.'

A/N:

I'm starting to feel that there is a very strong "Always trust your gut!" theme in this story. 

As always, let me know what you think--feedback means everything to authors :)

Yours,

Sunny