Why Us? [Percy Jackson]

Part 12

A/N

Chapter 12 is finally here! Yay! 

Sorry about the long wait guys, but thanks for all the votes and reads; over 600! Wow! 

Hope you all enjoy the chapter. Read on...

CHAPTER 12

Annabeth P.O.V

Annabeth slowly stroked her fingers through Percy's hair, to calm herself down more so than Percy. Percy was unconscious and had been for the majority of the last 48 hours. During the few minutes that he had been conscious, he had been distant and incoherent, before falling back into restless sleep. His face was pale and clammy and it just made the dark smudges under his eyes even more prominent. His head was wrapped up tightly in thick bandages and his hair was flattened down on his forehead with sweat.

It had been 48 hours since it was announced that Percy was no more than a mortal and since then, Percy's condition had done nothing but deteriorate.

The door to Percy's room clicked open and Annabeth turned around to see Apollo enter, holding a steaming cup of coffee.

"You know, it does nothing for me,"

Annabeth frowned at him, "What?"

"The coffee," Apollo gestured to his cup, "Does nothing for me, or any of the gods, for that matter. I just like the taste,"

Annabeth turned back to Percy and continued to pull his hair back with her hands. Apollo sighed and plunked himself down in the chair opposite,

"I'm sorry Annabeth," He tried to look at her, but she averted her eyes. "There was nothing more I could do, or can do, you know that-"

"Yes I do know that," Annabeth whipped her head back, her voice thick in her throat, "But that doesn't mean that I'm okay with it!"

Apollo looked down at his hands, picking the non-existent dirt out from beneath his nails. There was an awkward silence for a little while whilst Apollo continued to sip his coffee and Annabeth continued to play with Percy's dark locks. It was routine for her now. When ever she got nervous of anxious or upset, she would run her fingers through Percy's soft curls, and it would calm her down, let her relax.

"How are your ribs?"

Annabeth glanced over at Apollo, wrapping an arm around her torso,

"They're alright. Just a bit sore really."

Apollo got up and walked around to her side of the bed before kneeling down in front of her and placing a gently hand on her rib. Annabeth winced at the slight pressure and Apollo quickly withdrew his hand.

"Just a bit of bruising. It should go away within a few weeks," He flicked his eyes up to meet hers, "I could mend them, you know. If you want."

She gave him a soft smile before shaking her head, "No. They're my distraction from...," she gestured to the room around her, "This."

That's a pretty painful distraction,"

She shrugged, "It's the only one I've got."

Apollo frowned, "What about your family,"

Annabeth looked at him with sad eyes, "They left a few days ago. Work stuff," she added when Apollo's frown deepened, "because apparently work is more important than all this."

"Don't think like that. I'm sure that's not what they think,"

"Yeah, well, you don't know my family..."

Apollo stood up and walked back around to his side of the hospital bed, "You're right, I don't."

Apollo grabbed his coffee and turned to leave the room when Annabeth stopped him,

"Lord Apollo?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think Percy will get through this?"

Apollo P.O.V

Apollo turned back to the young girl sitting in the plastic hospital chair looking so lost and dejected and young.

And that's when it truly hit him that these people, these ex- soldiers that had much more strength and resilience inside of them than all the gods combined were just children.

Children.

The gods had sent children off to a war that they themselves had cowered away from. It was so wrong and it suddenly disgusted Apollo so much.

He wanted to reassure her so much and to tell her that all would be okay in the end and that she and her boyfriend would be frolicking in a sunflower field under a cloudless sky any day now.

But that wasn't the truth, now was it?

And, really, Apollo thought, these kids, at least, deserved the truth.

"I don't know, Annabeth."

Apollo watched as she nodded her head sadly in defeat, before turning back to stroking Percy's hair.

She didn't deserve to be put through this madness. Nobody did. And Percy especially didn't deserve to be so close to Thanatos' doorstep. After everything he had done for them, he didn't deserve to die like this. He didn't deserve to die at all!

Apollo reached once more for the door handle, when he heard a gasp come from Annabeth. He turned back around and saw her holding a hand just above Percy's lips before turning to Apollo, a frantic look in her young eyes,

"He's not breathing!"

And just like that Percy flatlined.