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Chapter Twelve

“Who died?” Leo asked; he heard someone crying. “Ugh.” Leo groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, and began to sit up, but a hand quickly and gently pushed him back down.

“No one died,” Calypso’s voice replied, “but you almost did.”

“Did I?” Leo looked confused for a second before he threw Calypso a smirk. “Sorry?” Calypso batted him on the shoulder and nervously tucked her hair behind her ears.

“Hush, Leo, I’m being serious. Zylon got you really good, your arm could have been cut off,” Calypso spoke.

Leo heard Calypso sniffle and thought, Her nose is so cute when it scrunches up like that.

“I thought you were going to fall,” Calypso continued, “and I was scared you were going to die, Leo. Don’t ever do that to me again, you hear? Never again.” Calypso burst into tears, and Leo sat up and hugged her, visibly wincing in pain.

“Shhh, Calypso, it’s okay. Unfortunately for the world, flaming Valdez is still flamin’ on.” Leo half smiled and Calypso giggled. “Yet fortunately for me, I still get to get to hear your laugh.”

“Oh, Leo. Are you sure you’re okay? Because I don’t remember you being so sweet.” Calypso giggled again, and Leo scoffed in mock outrage.

“Me? Sweet? Excuse me? This is Leo we’re talking about. I’m not sweet! I’m sour! I’m cold either; i’m hotter that the sun!”

“And your head is still the same size as the galaxy,” smiled Calypso, shaking her head. “Now lie still, so I can finish healing you.”

For the next hour or so, Leo was content to gaze at and simply watch Calypso as she worked on him. Every so often he winced but hid the movement from Calypso’s concerned eyes. He didn’t want her worrying any more than she already was.

Whenever Calypso’s back was facing him, Leo’s face contorted in agony and he screamed silent curses in any language he knew at the cave’s ceiling. A sword-wound in the shoulder hurt like Hades. As soon as Calypso began to face him again, Leo put on a brave face and pretended he was fine.

When Calypso finally finished, she said, “A day of rest, and then you can move around, but carefully!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Leo said, adding a mock salute at the end. Calypso put an ice pack on Leo’s forehead that one of her invisible servants fetched for them.

“I feel like a nurse,” Calypso laughed.

“I think you’re more of a doctor,” Leo said.

“Nurse,” Calypso said.

“Doctor,” Leo argued.

“Nurse!” Calypso replied.

“Doctor!” Leo said stubbornly. He leaned forward and motioned for Calypso to lean down, because he knew she would have his head if he sat up even a fraction of an inch more. “I can do this all day,” Leo breathed into Calypso’s ear.

“Nurse,” Calypso said, then added, “So can I.”

“Alright, then,” Leo sighed. He was struck with an idea. “Nurse, could you please get me the doctor, I have a special request for her.”

Calypso raised her eyebrows.

“Ah! There you are!” Leo continued, pretending that Calypso was now the doctor. “Doctor, can you please make a hurt boy feel better by cuddling with him?”

“Only if his parents sign a form,” Calypso teased back. She had a good enough knowledge of the outside world now to joke with him. Leo had told her about all kinds of things when he first arrived back on Ogygia.

Leo tugged on Calypso’s wrist and she obediently lied down on the bed next to him. Leo wrapped his good arm around her and fell asleep to the soothing beat of her heart.

When Leo woke up the spot next to him was empty. Calypso was gone. Leo immediately sat up, thinking Zylon was back, but sighed in relief when he found her walking toward him with two bowls of oatmeal in her hands.

Calypso sat on the edge of the bed and Leo thought, I feel so bad; I stole her bed.

Leo’s knee bounced up and down as they ate, and finally Calypso said with a laugh, “Once we finish eating, we can start building a raft.”

Leo’s knee stopped mid-bounce. “A raft?” Leo asked.

“Yes,” Calypso replied. “Don’t you want to see your friends?”

“Well, yeah,” Leo said, “but we don’t have to leave yet.”

“I want to,” Calypso said. “I’ve thought a lot about what you said before you left, and I decided I’m going to try leaving with you.”

“That’s great!” Leo said. He hugged her and kissed her lips lightly.

“So finish your oatmeal so we can get to work!” Calypso said sternly.

Leo felt a major sense of déjà vu when he said, “Yes ma’am,” and mock saluted when he finished speaking.

Leo shoveled the rest of his food into his mouth, glad that he had remembered to sacrifice to the gods before he began. As soon as he was done, he wiped his mouth and took a pack of nails out of his tool belt.

“Ready to start?” he asked Calypso.

She gave him a determined nod in reply.

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After Calypso returned with the boards he instructed her to find, he told a little bit about each tool they would be using, so she could know what tool to grab when he gave her work to do.

She listened intently, and Leo felt happy that someone actually cared about the stuff that he did—besides his siblings in Cabin Nine. He knew that Jason, Piper, Annabeth, Percy, Frank, and Hazel cared about him, but they just didn’t seem to really pay attention to him when he spoke about what he knew how to do.

After a five-minute tutorial, Leo and Calypso set to work. Leo had Calypso working on the easy part: the base of the raft, where they stood or sat on. Leo himself worked on the sail, the rudder, and the motor. Being Leo Valdez, he wouldn’t settle for a simple platform of wood pieced together with rope; no, he had to go above and beyond.

They made good progress that day. Calypso almost completely finished the platform of the raft, and Leo finished both the sail and the rudder. Leo began helping Calypso finish up the platform, but then stopped. Pain tore through his senses for a second, then ended as suddenly as it came.

“What’s wrong?” Calypso asked, worry evident in her voice.

“I—I don’t know,” Leo replied, flustered. “Let’s keep going, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Calypso said hesitantly.

They worked for another hour with no interruptions.

As they were finishing up the platform of the raft, Leo suddenly collapsed. His back hit the sand roughly, and Calypso immediately bent down to help him up. Calypso put her arms under his and began lifting him up, but the effort was futile, for as soon as Leo stood on his own again, he fell right back down.

“Leo!” Calypso shrieked. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“I’m not sure,” Leo said. Leo was starting to worry with Calypso. Then, Leo said something that shocked them both.

“Is it normal to not feel your legs?” 

Written by Volleyballstar11 and Twrex10

Edited by Volleyballstar11 and AgelessQuest