𝑹𝒆𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 [𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]

35- Just A Little

Percy looked at Gabriel, who was holding a sword, his face twisted into a ugly grin. Annabeth went limp in Percy's arms, and his hands shook with fear and rage. He slowly let his girlfriend down, and glared at the ex king. First this man killed his mother, and now Gabriel just stabbed the person Percy cared about most in the whole world. The amount of the rage in the seventeen year old was too much to be contained.

Percy gave a battle cry, and lunged at Gabriel. He tackled the taller man to the ground, and Gabe looked at him with true fear in his eyes. Percy kept his knee on Gabriel's chest, and swung a right hook. There was solid crack, and Gabe's nose broke, splattering Percy's face and his clothes with blood. Percy punched him again, and blood went into his eyes when he broke Gabriel's jaw. Instead of wiping it away, Percy used his quick thinking and busted Gabe open with another punch, and the ex king howled in pain.

"You killed my mother." Percy said, lifting Gabriel's head and smashing it against the tile, he could feel a pool of blood forming.

"You stabbed the love of my life." He said, repeating his previous action. Percy though Gabe was injured, he took the opportunity to wipe his eyes, and once his vision cleared, he noticed Gabriel was laying unconscious, and his eyes were wide the pool of blood was far bigger than Percy had thought, since Annabeth's hair was already drenched. Not in Gabe's blood, but her own.

Annabeth. Percy thought, he had been so blindsided by anger he forgot. He rushed to her side, and immediately grabbed her wrist, checking for a pulse.

"Percy. I'm alive." She weakly whispered. "And in a great deal of pain."

Percy choked back a sob, and was trying hard not to cry. He wasn't sure what he could do, he didn't want to pull the the blade out, it could easily cause internal bleeding and kill her.

"Annabeth..." he choked up. She looked up at him and saw his tender green eyes laced with worry, tears silently leaking. She gave him a smile that was taking the last of her strength.

"Are you crying?" She asked, and Percy laughed slightly, staring intently into her beautiful eyes.

"Just a little." He admitted. Annabeth chuckled weakly.

"Percy," she said with a grunt of pain. "I'm probably going to die."

"Don't say that." Percy begged and Annabeth shook her head.

"I'm not going to lie to you." She said, her small smile still on her lips. "Percy, look at me." She requested.

Percy took a deep breath and met his girlfriend's eyes. Annabeth's lips parted, and her voice escaped as a low rasp.

"When I came here. I felt this force pulling at me, and at first-" a bloody cough interrupted her. Percy choked back another sob, and failed, releasing an ugly and painful sound. "At first I didn't know what it was. But now, looking into your eyes, I realise that it was love. My love for you." She said, gurgling out more blood.

"Annabeth, I-" Percy tried, and broke down crying, hugging her close. "I love you too." He whispered after a while.

"That's good to hear." She responded truthfully, and Percy placed a kiss to her head. "Hey, Seaweed Brain? Mind if I confess something." She whispered, and her voice was growing more fragile and weaker every time she spoke.

"Not at all."

"I don't really want to die." She said, and Percy bit the inside of his cheek, trying his best not to break down.

"You won't." He promised, and Annabeth looked up at him, meeting his eyes one last time.

"Don't lie to me, Percy." She muttered with a light smile, and shut her eyes. Percy's heart dropped, and he panicked.

"Annabeth, open your eyes." He said, and she didn't comply, her body seemed to go cold in his hands.

"Annabeth! Annabeth!" He yelled, and she remained still. A team of medics came racing into the room as they finally heard Percy's screams, and Percy saw Will leading them.

"Step aside, Percy." He said, and Percy reluctantly compiled. Will took a pulse, and his expression fell.

"Time of death. 4.56 A.M." he announced out loud.

"NO NO NO!" Percy yelled. "You have to try something. You can't say she's, she's not-" he struggled for words, choking on his sobs. Will bit his lip, deep in thought. Piper was also there, leaning against a corner and sobbing quietly into the palm of her hand. Leo was looking like he'd just been in a coma for years.

"There is something." Will said, and Percy looked at him with bloodshot eyes.

"What?" Percy demanded, and his voice fragile and vulnerable, like that of a terrified child.

"I can't. The sword pierced her heart, it's not beating. It's not possible. " Will dismissed the idea. Percy looked at him, his eyes pleading.

"Please, Will." He asked, his eyes leaking tears, and his voice lost and croaky. "I can't lose her."

Will cracked, he was a sucker for two kids in love. He took a deep breath, and looked at his step sister, Kayla. "I need a heart rate monitor, basic surgical equipment, an incubator, and a defibrillator." Will demanded, set on the task.

"Will, she's dead. And has been for over minute, you really think-"

"Yes I can." He interrupted Kayla. "Just do what I asked."

It was an agonising three minutes until Will was brought the equipment he needed. Piper was on her knees now, and no longer crying, just sitting there, wearing a pained expression, which made sense, her best friend had just been pronounced dead.

Will cut open Annabeth's blouse, and cut a hole in the side of her rib cage, next to where the sword was. Percy couldn't cry anymore, there was something in his chest, something that vaguely resembled hope. Percy turned away from the sight, he couldn't bare to see Annabeth being cut open. Will reached and pinched an artery, he looked over at Percy.

"I need you to pull it." He said, and Percy's mouth fell open.

"Percy," Piper looked over, her eyes pelading with him. He sighed, and wiped his eyes. He grabbed the handle of the sword, as Gabe was being carried away.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth." He whispered, and yanked out the sword. There were two muffled thuds, and Will smiled a bit. The muffled thuds followed two others, and Percy understood what it meant, Annabeth's heart had started beating again.

"Suture." Will said, as Kayla clumped the artery. Will stuck the needle and sewed up the hole in Annabeth's heart as the nurses hooked her up to a heart rate monitor, which showed a heart beat, but the rate was very slow, barely ten beats per minute, and was only going slower, meaning her heart was sinking. The next thing Percy knew (which took hours) was that Annabeth was fixed on the outside, her new stitches forming V from the middle of her chest and ending at her left shoulder. Her heart rate sunk, and bit too far. There was solid beep, Piper screamed, and Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand.

"Don't leave me." He whispered underneath his breath, and Will attached her mouth and nose to an incubator, which was mimicking the human breathing pattern, thus causing Annabeth's lungs to rise and fall with it. She was breathing artificially, but her heart rate was still negligibly low. Will shocked her once, and then twice, when he repeated the action for a third time, Annabeth sprang upward into a momentary siting position, and as she descended back down Percy saw glimpse of grey.

Toot toot. Toot toot. Toot toot. Was heard around the room and there was an outcry of cheers, Piper threw her arms around Will, and Percy leaned back against a desk in the corner, staring into Annabeth's slightly open eyes, and under the incubation mask, she smiled.