Hello my lovely readers! Here is part 2 of my 12 days of Updates! I worked really hard on this one (its like twenty pages, which is saying something because ya'll know how often I write Solangelo XD) So please, enjoy.

Just a Healer

"What did you do this time?" Will sighed as door to the infirmary banged open and Nico Di Angelo shuffled in carrying Cecil Markowitz awkwardly on his shoulder.

"Nothing!" the son of Hermes wailed, "I didn't do anything this time!"

Will stood up from his chair to help Nico place Cecil on a bed. The boy couldn't even stand on his own. It was like Cecil's legs couldn't support his weight anymore. Nico must have carried him all the way up the hill, which was astonishing considering Nico's blatant dislike of physical contact.

"What happened?" Will asked.

Cecil was quick to respond with a hefty "Nothing," but surprisingly Nico beat him to the punch. "Cecil thought it would be a great idea to ask Lou Ellen out on a date in the middle of my mythological monsters class."

"It was a joke!" Cecil cried, "I don't know why she got all upset!"

"She turned his legs into jelly." Nico concluded, "Do you have something to reverse-- what happened to your desk?"

Will glanced over at the mess he'd made just prior to their entrance. His desk which was normally flooded with paper reports, medical studies, supply lists galore, was empty. All of his papers were on the floor, the pencils and pens and highlighters lettered the ground. The glass from the trinkets and vials that decorated his work station was swept into piles he had been cleaning up.

"Spring cleaning?" Will mumbled and walked over to his cabinet of magical medicines. His fingers ran over the jars and vials of neat labels as he tried to find the one he was looking for.

Cecil let a sympathetic laugh, "She wrote again?"

Will paused his fingers hovering over the cure for the Hecate cabin's famous Pigballs. It was barely a second, but both the other boys noticed. Cecil nodded with an "ahhh," of understanding.

"Who?" Nico asked. Will imagined he looked confused. He could feel the other boy's dark eyes on him, watching, curious.

Will clenched his jaw, picking out a vial. When he turned around he forced a smile, "Was it a spell or a potion?"

"Spell."

Will nodded and turned back around hunting through his cabinet. He kept his eyes on the various labels and cures, but he wasn't seeing anything other than the letter torn to shreds strewn across the floor.

Cecil grabbed Nico's sleeve and motioned him closer. "Will's mother." he said in a low voice. Will pretended not to hear him.

"Why-?" Nico asked.

"Will's mother was a singer. She was really good from what I heard, but she was basically unknown. Then Apollo comes down and they have a night, and boom Will is born. But because Apollo's a god he had to leave, and suddenly you have a twenty one year old singer with a baby, a knowledge of the gods, and no idea what to do.

"His mom developed a hatred for Apollo. Her career plummeted, but she didn't want to lose Will. She raised him to hate his own dad. Can you imagine? Chiron approached her once letting her know that keeping Will with her could have him attract monsters and get people hurt, but she refused to let him go. She wanted him to have nothing to do with our world.

"So of course the monsters started coming for the nine year old with the knowledge of the Greek gods, and Will's mother is a stubborn little hydra. I'm not sure what was the last straw, but one day Will found a satyr and came to camp without his mom's permission." Cecil voice lowered even more, to the point where the rotating click of the lazy infirmary fan was almost louder than him. "A couple days after he arrived and got claimed, his mother sent a letter telling him that camp tainted him and he shouldn't bother ever returning home."

Will hadn't even realized he was crying. He didn't feel sad, in fact all he felt was anger. But for some reason his eyes were blurry with tears that seemed to come from nowhere. He brushed them off quickly, before either of them could notice.

It had been years ago. It wasn't even with thinking about anymore.

Will grabbed the concoction he'd been looking for, accidentally knocking it against another glass bottle. The loud sound broke the silence, and caused even Nico to finch. Will wouldn't meet the son of Hades eyes.

He grabbed a clean cup from a stack that he kept ready at a moment's notice, by the cabinet, and poured in a measured amount. "Here," Will shoved the glass at Cecil, "It should resolidify your bones."

"Should?" Cecil asked, looking pale.

Will shrugged, "It could also turn your hair to stone, or make you completely weightless." Will placed the rest of his medicine on the shelf again.

Cecil looked at the magenta potion, and laughed weakly, "You know on second thought, legs are overrated anyway!"

"Bottoms up, Markowitz!" Nico pushed the bottom of the glass up surprising Cecil. The son of Hermes let out some strangled noise and choked down the drink.

"It tastes like grapefruit!" Cecil coughed miserably, "I hate grapefruit."

Will allowed a small smile on his face. "When you can stand, I suggest you go apologize to Lou Ellen. And do it nicely. I don't have enough of that cure if you get cursed again before next week."

Cecil groaned and laid back on the cot, "But I don't even know what I did!"

Will ignored him. He went back to the mess by his desk, shuffling some more of the papers in a neater pile. His hands were shaking as he moved, but he tried not to notice it. He didn't even notice when Nico knelt beside him. Will flinched when their hands met picking up the same paper.

"Are you okay?" Nico asked. Will forced a smile, but he couldn't bring himself to look at Nico directly. He was sure if he did, the son of Hades would know immediately that he wasn't okay. He didn't want....he didn't want that pity.

"I'm fine," Will said, "Why wouldn't I be?" He shuffled his detailed supplies lists and placed the newest one on top.

"You threw all your stuff off your desk." Nico pointed out.

"Don't you have a class to teach?"

"You're changing the topic."

"I already told you I'm perfectly--"

"Will look at me."

Will swallowed hard. He could feel the back of his throat closing up and his eyes stinging with his effort not to cry. Of course this would happen. He just wanted to be alone. He wanted to break something, pencils, glass, his desk... He didn't need Nico or anyone hovering about asking him if he was alright because he wasn't.

He wasn't okay.

He remember that letter his mother sent him. The one telling him he wasn't welcome back to his own house because of something he couldn't control. He never wanted anyone to get hurt. He didn't ask to be a demigod and he certainly never asked to hunted down by monsters big enough to kill his friends.

And what could he have done to stop them? He couldn't fight them. He was barely any good with a bow and arrow, he nearly skewered himself with a sword. Will wasn't fast enough for a dagger, or skillful enough for a spear. He could only stand there when his friends were in trouble and watch from the sidelines.

He was just a healer.

"What did she say?" Nico asked, picking at a torn bit of paper. The ink was smeared in the shape of a circle drawing downwards. The paper itself was still wet enough for Nico to guess it was a tear stain.

"She...." Will cursed the waver in his voice. He was not going to cry in front of Nico Di Angelo, one of the most powerful demigods in history. "She wants me to come home. Says she found out something important and that it's imperative I come talk to her face-to-face."

The bitterness in his voice surprised even Will himself. He snatched the paper from Nico's hand unintentionally rough and crumpled it into a ball. "Jokes on her," Will grabbed another jar off the shelf: a flame in a bottle, that Lou Ellen had given him for Christmas last year. He threw the scrap and a couple others in the jar and watched them burn, "This is my home."

If she wanted to talk to him, she could make the trip here herself. Then maybe Will might grace her with presence. After all she had done, wasn't that fair of him? She hadn't so much as sent a birthday card to him in seven years. She thought that with one letter to him he would come running home like time hadn't changed?

As if.

Everything had changed. He was sixteen now, head healer at camp. He had delivered a baby, for gods sake!

Nico put a hand on Will's shoulder, and he realised he'd been glaring at the flame long enough for his eyes to be carrying those black dots. "Will, you should go talk to her."

Will was so shocked he almost dropped the jar. "What! I thought maybe you of all people might understand!"

Nico's eyes suddenly got cold, "Why? Because I'm the son of Hades, and should be use to being kicked out of places?"

Will felt a tumor of anger in his stomach, "No! Because you're my friend! Whatever! Forget it!" Will shoved the jar of flames back on his reserved shelf, "If you aren't injured, then get out of my infirmary!"

Nico didn't move. Will was sure he was being irrational, but to tartarus with that. He gave Nico a shove, not heavy or anything but it pushed him toward the door. "Will I--"

"Get out!"

Cecil made some sound from his cot where he was effectively sitting up. He flexed his foot showing that Will's concoction had done its job. "Will, relax, he was just--"

Will turned away, "I've got things to do, so just...go!"

Nico and Cecil shared a look. "All I was saying was that I know what it's like to loose someone you love, especially if your last actions and words to them were bitter."

"Get out," Will yelled.

And they did.

Will stood by his desk shaking so bad he couldn't see straight. He slammed his fist on the wooden top and let out a choked sob. "She didn't want me back!" He told himself, "She never wanted me...she didn't..." His knees gave out and he fell to the floor.

"I don't want to go...back," Will lied through his tears.

****

Nico only turned around when Cecil yanked his jacket collar and caused him to pour his orange juice all over himself.

"What?" Nico snapped at the son of Hermes.

Cecil bit the inside of his cheek, "He's not at breakfast." He nodded over at the Apollo table which was booming with laughter and the sounds of music parodies. Though they seemed to be missing a certain head counselor.

"So?" Nico said, ready to turn back around.

"He wasn't at dinner last night either." Cecil said. His brown eyes didn't hold the bit of mischief they normally did. In fact the son of Hermes actually looked concerned. His freckles seemed more prominent this morning.

A sudden body flung themselves on the bench next to Nico startling both boys.

"Morning Lou Ellen," Cecil said.

Lou Ellen ignored him.

"Where's Will?" She asked Nico. She made an effort not to even glance in Cecil's direction. Her dark hair was layered with white blond that reflected the sun of the early morning.

To be honest Nico was starting to get worried about Will, despite him playing it off. It was obvious that the Son of Apollo needed someone, but he didn't want anyone. How was he suppose to help Will if Will didn't want his help? It made his head hurt and his chest ache for some reason beyond his comprehension.

He wanted to be there for his... friend.

"He got a letter from his mom," Cecil answered, after Nico shrugged.

Lou Ellen must have been on the "in" with Will's non existent home life. Her face seemed to pale, at the prospect, and she broke her silent treatment with Cecil that she'd been on since he tried to apologize. "What! Why didn't you guys tell me? We have to go find him! Make sure he's okay! You idiots!" She grabbed both their arms and yanked them up.

"Found him!" Cecil said before he was even most of the way out of his chair. He pointed towards the head table where Chiron usually sat Dionysus had been dining alone all morning but Nico hadn't thought much about it. The old Centaur trainer was now walking up with a hand on the missing son of Apollo's shoulder. He seemed to be giving some wise old advice to Will, who nodded, but didn't look happy.

In fact Nico would have bet his sword that Will had not slept at all last night. He looked miserable. His hair wasn't brushed and he was wearing a jacket over his shirt, with a bag over his shoulder.

Chiron gave Will a pat and sent him off in their direction.

Will approached slowly, looking uncomfortable. No one other than the three of them seemed to notice he had appeared at all. Nico tried to sit calmly, but he wanted to apologize. He had been poking in business that wasn't his and he really didn't want Will to be mad at him. Even if he tried to play it off, it still made him nervous.

Will didn't sit when he got over to them. He looked anxious, and rocked on his feet. His blue eyes seemed duller than normal.

Cecil broke the tension first. "Morning!" He said, over the roar of his cabin mates laughing at some old prank. "What's up, Will?"

Will took a deep breath, "I'm sorry." He said almost before he had finished breathing, "For yesterday. That was kinda uncalled for. I was just really upset and I didn't mean to take it out on you two. I know you were only trying to he--"

"Whoa whoa," Nico said, "Slow down, Will. You shouldn't even be apologizing. I'm sorry for butting into your business."

If possible that made Will look even more distressed than before. "But--"

"Dude chill." Cecil suggested. He slipped over the bench and sat next to Nico, carrying a piece of french toast with him, "It's cool. We're all cool, right?" He offered his food up like a peace offering between the four of them.

Something flashed in Lou Ellen's eyes and she pursed her lips.

Will sat opposite of the three of them accepting the food. "Look, I thought about what you said, Nico. And you're right. I could die, or Mom could die, and I...." He took a deep breath, "I talked to Chiron. He said I could go visit her. He said I should take someone with me though."

Nico raised an eyebrow. He took a sip of his orange juice, trying not to let his hopes get up. Surely Will would think his presence was the least inviting of them all.

"I figured if the three of you guys want to come... well at least one of you should be able to keep me from running back here." Will stared at the table, picking at the wood polish, "If you guys don't want to I understand."

Cecil patted the table, "Oh Hades, we're scheduled for pegasi training today. I am definitely coming with!"

"Same!" Lou Ellen said almost just as fast. She shot Cecil another dark look as if she didn't like the fact that they would be hanging out together for at least the rest of the day.

Will turned to Nico, looking, almost pleading, for him to say something. Nico shrugged, "Sure." He said. Will looked like he just lifted the weight of the world off his back.

"Thank you, guys." He breathed, "Just...thank you. Meet me by Thalia's pine in ten minutes. Argus is dropping us by the bus station."

****

The bus ride was torture. Will sat next to Lou Ellen, closest to the aisle. The daughter of Hecate was chewing very strong cherry bubblegum. Will was holding his pack like it was his child. Every bump made him feel like he was going to throw up the quick breakfast he had eaten. Across the aisle Nico was leaning against the window snoring softly, but enough for Will's nerves to ease a little. Cecil was reading some comic book volume. Will guessed he was mostly just scanning the pictures rather than reading it, but who knows?

Will had more than once debated just going back to camp. But every time got the urge, the sickness in his stomach rumbled, or the even attempted to get up before the bus stopped, Lou Ellen placed a hand on his arm.

"How much longer?" She asked, after a few stops. She was flipping through a spell book, reading the ancient greek with a practiced eye. She nodded every so often as if she was understanding something for the first time.

"A couple stops," Will admitted with a tight voice.

Had he really only ever lived an hour away? All this time, and they hadn't talked in seven years?

"So you lived in an apartment?" Cecil asked, "Were you on the top floor?"

Will clutched his bag, "No the third. And thank the gods for that. The elevator was always out, so we had to carry groceries up the three flights of stairs every week. Even though I was eight it was still painful." He winced at the memory picking at the ace bandage wrapped around his palm to his wrist.

"Lucky!" Cecil whined, "Every week in the school year I have to bike groceries home from the store! It sucks because it's almost so flipping cold outside!"

Will managed a small smile.

Would his mom be happy to see him? Would she even let him in the apartment? She hadn't asked him to come back just so she could reissue the same words that had been scarred in the back of his mind since he was nine right?

Lou Ellen put a hand on his shoulder, which was great because he hadn't realised he'd tried to jump out again. "Don't worry!" She said, in a positive tone, "We're here for you Will!"

Will wished that made him feel as reassured as it should have.

He glanced around checking for any monsters that could have possibly smelt out a couple demigods. He didn't see any, so he assumed that Lou Ellen's smell of the mist was blocking out their scents. He prayed to his father that it would stay that way. The last thing he needed was a repeat of a monster attack right as he got to his mother's doorstep.

"Let's get off here." Will said finally, "I don't want to ride this bus any longer." His breathing was shorter now, and it was hard to calm himself. Lou Ellen and Cecil shared a moment of agreement and the former seemed to forget she was mad at him for yesterday's antics. Cecil closed his book and shook Nico awake.

"Come on, we can walk from here." Cecil patted Will on the shoulder, "Sunny D will lead us!"

"That nickname is sooo old Cecil!" Will complained, getting up as the bus offical stopped to let passengers off.

"Never!" the son of Hermes laughed and allowed Will to get off before him. Nico frowned as they stepped off into the still crowded area of New York.

"For some reason I thought your mom lived in Austin, Texas." He said, eyeing passersby on their phones.

Will wrapped and unwrapped his ace bandage. "She did. For a while. When I was six we moved here. There was better work."

Nico was about to say something, his dark eyes meeting Will's in a familiar aura of distant loneliness. Suddenly he seemed on edge, "Did you feel that?" He asked looking at the ground.

"Feel what?" Cecil asked stretching his hands over his head.

Nico couched to the ground, ignoring that strange glances he was getting from people walking by. Will watched him warily. He wasn't out of camp much, but even he knew that when a powerful demigod like Nico acted like this, trouble was bound to be following.

Nico placed a hand on the chipped concrete, and waited as if hearing something no one else did.

"Is this going to turn into some horror movie?" Cecil asked, trying to lighten the mood, "Nico don't do whatever the voices are telling you to!"

"Would it kill you to be quiet one in a while?"

Lou Ellen snorted, "With him, probably."

Will felt a familiar comfort in his friends bickering. It was so normal that for a second Will forgot why they were even out on a quest. It came back to him too quickly though.

Cecil opened his mouth to whine some response, when the bomb went off.

Nico's head snapped up, his eyes wide with surprise. Lou Ellen and Cecil jumped reaching for their weapons. Neither were fast enough, as the backlash force carried a storm of debris all the way to them. The tremor in the ground was enough to knock Will into a girl nearby.

It was silent for a whole second, before the screams started. People started moving in every direction, voices loud, and demanding. Will was knocked from person to person, accidental pushing and punching leaving him with bruises up his arms. He lost sight of his friends and only by sheer force of his own will did he keep his grip on his bag.

The bomb hadn't been anywhere near them. In fact the explosion had occurred a couple streets down. Will slammed himself into the the wall of a nearby building, trying to be as thin as possible to avoid panicking mortals. All he could feel was icy fear in his veins. His blue eyes trained on the rising smoke cloud.

He couldn't breathe.

This wasn't right. That wasn't.....it couldn't...

But Will knew with a sickening feeling in his denial that the bomb had torn apart his mother's apartment building.

Sirens rang in the air but Will couldn't hear them. It wasn't fair. This couldn't be happening. He ripped himself away from the wall driving himself forward with the power of desperation.

They were going to talk. They were going to see each other face to face. Will was....Will was going to talk out whatever this problem was.

Somewhere in the chaotic mess his name was yelled but Will couldn't make himself stop. He shoved and pushed his way towards the column of ash. He ran home as fast as he could.

Maybe she hadn't been in there. Will clung to the thought. Maybe she'd been picking up groceries or working this morning. Maybe she was okay, battered and bruised, but maybe she was rushing towards her apartment just like he was.

He could remember her blond hair, swaying gently in the breeze, snipped right at the perfect angle to frame her face. Her intelligent blue eyes that seemed to be sad, always lit up when she saw Will. She use to hug him close and talk to him about genuine little things that even now he could remember.

"You want to be a doctor, Will?" she had asked once, as they listened to the radio one night, "What are you going to heal?"

"All the people with broken hearts!"

Will could still hear her laughter, however sad, however quiet it was. He could hear it like she was standing right next to him.

Police were already on the scene, and ambulances were pulling up when Will shuddered to a stop. The air was thick with smoke and unsettled debris. The bomb had been placed so carefully that the building had taken out it's neighbors too. Over head a news helicopter beat to rhythm just slower than Will's erratic heartbeat.

"Mom..." Will choked out, "Please don't..." he bit into his knuckles breaking through his ace bandage. He stumbled to the side feeling sick. His knees wobbled and he gave in, crashing to the ground into front of the ruins of his old apartment.

"Please..." he whispered, desperately, praying to any and every god he knew, "I'll do anything. Just please... don't cut her string." tears were streaming down his face, and he couldn't even move to get rid of them.

The fates wouldn't do this would they? They weren't this evil.

"WILL LOOK OUT!"

Something shoved into him heaving his numb body to the side. His head slammed the asphalt but only enough to rattle his fragmented brain. A body flipped over his and he crashed into it.

"Shit!" Cecil yelled, in too much pain to even use a Greek curse. Will stared at him, uncomprehending at first. Cecil right arm and right cheek were road burned from tackling both of them, but all his focus was on left shoulder and thigh.

Something was growing from it. His orange camp shirt retreated at the bright color, the spot tainting everything. It was scarlet.

Blood.

"Scutum!" A feminine figure shouted from above them. Lou Ellen recited some Latin spell of protection from an invisible enemy. Will couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. Her locked eyes on Cecil who seemed more concerned with his own bleeding. The joking son of Hermes didn't even have a ghost of a smile on his face.

Lavender broke from Lou Ellen's fingertips forming a wall in front of her. She was shaking with the effort, and somewhere beneath his shock Will realized that she had never performed this spell before.

"Go!" she shouted, but Will didn't understand. "Get them and go!"

Nico appeared shouting something back at her, but it made less sense. Cecil tried to move and jolted himself into a scream. His woke body quaked and his eyes rolled back into unconsciousness.

Something crashed into Lou Ellen's shield cracking it like glass. Another hit this time closer to the daughter of Hecate. The sharp line barely existed for a second before another small thing shattered her protection. Lou Ellen screamed and stumbled over, but Nico caught her before she hit the ground.

The last thing Will remembered was Nico looking up at something, someone, yelling in a rage. Then the familiar sound of an arrow whistled past them all, and Will fell to unknown darkness.

****

Will was surprised he even woke up. For a second there he thought....

The son of Apollo blinked his eyes open. The world was a blurry mess, and the more he tried to make sense of it the harder it was to think. Will let his eyes close again, relishing in the darkness. For some reason it made him feel...safe?

It was warm. In fact he could feel the chill of wherever he was seeping through his skin. He breathed in deep. The air smelled like sterilizer, a familiar smell for a healer who lived in his infirmary. The only nice thing about this darkness behind his eyes was it reminded him of Nico.

Will's eyes shot open and he forced himself upright.

"Nico!"

His mom. Cecil and Lou Ellen. The bomb.

Something forced him back down but, Will struggled against it. Nico his face full of rage and Lou Ellen laying in his arms, so limp, so pale. Cecil with blood drenching his clothes, a scream full of pain. Will had just stood there! He hadn't even tried to help!

"Kid calm down!" An unfamiliar voice shouted, "Calm it down!"

Will pushed himself up again, but he couldn't overpower whatever force was holding him down. After all it wasn't like he was superhuman. He was just a healer.

A healer who hadn't even moved to help his friends.

Will let out a whimper, settling himself back on the bed. His head pounded like he'd gone one on one with the entire Ares cabin. He didn't doubt that Clarisse would've enjoyed that; she still barred that grudge over the chariot from the summer against Kronos.

"Easy now, kid." The voice said. It was cool and collected, much like someone who wasn't really use to kids. Or maybe he was. Will didn't know.

The man wore casual clothes: faded jeans, a dark purple turtleneck, and a throw over jacket. He wasn't wearing shades, but Will could see a pair sticking out from his pocket. The man's hair was short and spiky, and his eyes betrayed a look of someone who had seen stuff beyond the ever mundane mortal. On his back he wore a black unassuming duffle bag.

"Who?" Will asked, but quickly discarded the question, "Where are my friends?" If this guy was a monster than Will wouldn't have woken up. All that mattered beyond that was what had happened after the bomb.

"My name is Cooper." The man said slowly as if Will wouldn't understand otherwise. "Are you okay?"

"Where are my friends?" Will ignored him, "They're okay right? Please I have to see them--" Will struggled to get up again but Cooper held him down.

"You need to relax." The ma told him sternly, "You hit your head really good. You needed like nine stitches kid." Cooper straightened up, "Your friends are okay."

Will let out a shuddered breath that ruptured through his entire body. He could feel it in his toes. They were okay. Alive even.

"So, care to explain why there was a sniper after you and your friends?"

Will choked on air. "Excuse me?"

This had to be the Mist, right? Mortals often saw things like gunmen and poodles when Demigod stuff happened. Will had seen it time and time again. Mortals could come up with anything to not see the truth. Except...

Cooper held up a bad. It was labeled as medical evidence, but Will's eyes trained on the two silver stubs resting in the bag. He felt his heartbeat quicken to the pace of the heart rate monitor beside him.

"These were pulled from your friend with the sandy blond hair." Cooper said, but Will barely heard him, "He's lucky he was moving fast enough. They both would have killed you on the spot. Luckily the bullets missed hitting anything important."

"...Killed me?" Will whispered. It seemed like such a stupid thing. He'd seen death before. Jeez his best friend was the son of the god of death! But still it shook him to his core. Meeting Nico's father like that was not ideal.

"Yes," Cooper said, "Do you have any idea why?"

Will could think of millions of reasons why beings from greek mythology would want to kill them. He could sit there listing them until Christmas and still not be done. As a demigod he was a magnet for monsters, and with all four of them in such a crowded place the odds of there not being a monster attack were about the same as of the Stolls not pranking the Demeter cabin tomorrow.

But these were real bullets. From a real gun. From a real person who really wanted to kill them.

To kill him.

Will shook his head not trusting himself to speak, further than that. Cooper looked like he was about to say something else but a knock came at the door. Cooper's hand went towards the duffle bag on his back, which Will noticed as odd. This guy had to be police of some sort. What police officer kept his gun in his backpack?

Cooper opened the door as if expecting an attack. Hushed voices met him instead. Will couldn't make out the words but he could tell it was a doctor. The son of Apollo nervously twisted his sheets. He spent a lot of time in an infirmary, but never as the one being healed. For the first time he noticed that the ace bandage on his wrist was gone. Will stared at it while Cooper talked to the mystery on the other side of the door.

When Cooper finally closed the door again, Will looked up at him, "They took them off?"

Cooper looked confused so he elaborated, "They took off my ace bandages." He held up his hand. The spot where he'd worn the fabric bandage was slightly discolored, but not enough that anyone would really notice.

"Yes," Cooper told him, "They didn't see any damages, so they took them off for you."

Will rubbed his hand, feverently. It felt so...so wrong. Of course there weren't any injury. There hadn't been for a long time. He wore them the way Nico had worn his aviator jacket. He wanted them back, he needed them back.

Cooper looked at him hard, "Are you doing okay?" The man must have noticed Will's heart rate jump again. He cursed the machine in Latin.

"My mom's apartment got blown up, one of my best friends was shot twice, I was apparently the initial target, and I don't know what going on." Will ticked them off his fingers as he spoke, "I'm nowhere near "okay"."

Cooper nodded sympathetically. "Look kid, I want to help you. You seem to have some very bad people after you. Ever heard of Hydra?"

"The greek monster?" Will asked, miserably.

There was a twitch in Cooper's mouth, "Yes, but they are also a group that has been actively trying to take over the world since World War Two. They did some pretty terrible things, but Shield has been there to stop it."

Will pretended he knew what Shield was. He guessed it was some form of defense team.

"What would they want with me?" He asked instead.

Cooper looked thoughtful, "That's what I'm here to find out. What's your name? And why were you down that street?"

Will explained it to him in the simplest form. "My name is Will. My mom sent me to a boarding school a couple years ago, and promptly forgot I existed. Yesterday, though, she mailed me a letter and asked me to come home today to talk. My friends came with me." It was mostly truths, but it still tasted sour on Will's tongue.

Cooper looked at him as if he could tell Will wasn't explaining the whole truth. Will glanced at the heart rate monitor willing his beat to stay at a constant pace. He wished Lou Ellen was with him. She knew how to work the Mist better than anyone he knew, and she could definitely have gotten Cooper to say what had happened and where his friends were and even get him to buy them some ice cream for consolidation after today. Will rubbed his wrists again, nervously.

"Why are you doing that?" Cooper asked, his eyes flicking to Will's wrists.

Will made a conscious effort to place his arms apart. Nervous ticks aside, Will made himself focus. "Where are my friends?"

Cooper pursed his lips, as if debating telling him that information, "Safe."

Will hated the sound of that word. Safe was not a mortal hospital. Safe was by his side at Camp where he could see that they were alright and joking. Then Will remembered that the last time they had been by his side Cecil had gotten shot twice.

"I want to see them," Will pushed a little, "Please, let me see them."

Cooper uncrossed his arms, "Give me the whole truth and we'll see."

Will froze a little. He tried to keep his legs from shaking. Cooper seemed suddenly a lot less like a cop. Will's brain struggled to put everything together, but it told him one thing: he'd already said too much. More than he should have ever dared to a mortal. If mortals even guessed at Demigods existence it could spell disaster unlike anything before. What if someone had seen Lou Ellen's magic at work? What if they saw Nico's sword?

If Cooper wasn't a monster or a cop, Will had the uncanny feeling he was something way worse.

"You seem like a good kid Will. A really good one." Cooper said as kindly as his slightly apathetic tone would allow, "I know about some of the stuff you are going through right now." (Will snorted.) "Believe me, I've had my fair share of gun men after me. You have two choices right now, and I know it's a big decision. But you have to choose. Are you going to let me help you or not?"

"Well when you put it like that." Will muttered rubbing his wrist, the phantom pains were already coming back to him.

Cooper looked at him earnestly waiting.

"I..I don't know." Will told him. "I really don't. Mom...she just..." Will felt himself choking up. It was ridiculous. The woman hadn't wanted to be part of his life in seven years. Why did she suddenly deserve his regret? His tears? He was not going to cry in front of Cooper either. There was no way. "She just wanted to tell me something...She didn't say in the letter. Please I don't know why."

"Do you have the letter? Maybe she hid a message inside it?"

Will shook his head miserably, "I ripped it up and burned it. I wasn't even going to come! But Nico thought I should."

Cooper took a step back watch Will for another sign that he was lying. "Nico's the one with the black hair, right? And the scars on his arms?"

Will nodded looking down at his hands. His wrists were rubbed red, making his phantom scars stand out ever so slightly.

"Come on." Cooper said suddenly, "Let's go."

Will blinked, "Huh?"

Cooper nodded towards the door and Will go the message. He nearly tumbled out of the bed in his hurry.The cords to the Heart Rate monitor yanked, but Will hastily removed them with a practiced hand. Not that he often got to use a heart rate monitor or anything. There was a brief flash of pain and then that stupid beeping sound came to a halt. Cooper watched him intensely, but Will couldn't care less.

All that mattered was making sure his friends were really alright.

The Hospital seemed to be one heavy lock down. There were armed police figures on every hallway. They wore black uniforms which was starkly different from the white and blue walls and the doctor's lab coats. Will kept his eyes ahead, searching for any of his friends. Considering that the halls were empty other than police and doctors, they shouldn't have been hard to find.

In fact Will heard them before he saw them.

"What do you mean we can't see them?" Nico's voice echoed through the hall. "We're the closest thing to family that they have!"

Will winced and pick up his pace.

"Sir please calm down. We have strict orders that no one is allowed--"

"Will!" Lou Ellen cried when she saw him walk in. She had him in a hug before he could respond. "You're an idiot! A bloody idiot! Are you okay? Where are you hurt?"

To put it in the nicest way possible the daughter of Hecate looked as if she had aged ten years since he'd last seen her. Her hair was more white blond than usual, her eyes held deep bags and the stress of life seemed to have crushed her calm spirit. Will stumbled along makeshift answers for her.

Cooper had told him he had gotten nine stitches in his head, but Will didn't feel any of it. He felt fine. Horribly so. It seemed cruel to him that he was already feeling normal when Lou Ellen appeared to have not slept in days.

Nico came over fast. For a second Will thought maybe he would hug him too, but then some strange look flashed in his eyes and he just shoved his hands in his pockets. His coat was gone probably stashed somewhere. His eyes were dark from worry (a fact that made Will feel guilty), and his hair was ruffled like he too had avoided the realm of Hypnos. His sword was on his hip, but no one gave it a second glance. Will guessed that the Mist had made it look like some decorative chain or something. Other than the two of them, and a doctor who nodded at Cooper and dismiss himself, the third floor waiting room was empty.

"Where's Cecil?" Will managed. His friends both looked solemn.

Lou Ellen twisted her sweatshirt cuffs, "Still out. He got out of surgery a couple hours ago, but they won't let us see him." Her voice was hard, as if she was doing everything not to show how she really felt.

"He's healthy." Nico added, but he was distracted by looking at Cooper, "You're that guy."

"What?" Will asked.

"He's the guy who save you, and us. With a bow and arrow." Nico cocked his head to the side, "Thanks...I guess." It sounded rather hostel for someone who was grateful, but Cooper didn't seem to mind. Lou Ellen gave Will anther squeeze.

"I'm just glad you're okay." She said, "I was really worried for a moment...when they said you hadn't woken up..."

Will itched wrist with guilt in his gut. "Sorry, I didn't mean...I didn't--"

Nico turned to look at him, "Did you hire a guy to shoot at you?" He asked.

Will was taken back, "No?"

"Then you have no reason to be apologizing. Don't be an idiot, Solace. None of this is your fault."

Will made a face and was about to respond at how exactly it still was totally his fault but Cooper coughed and drew the attention back to himself.

"Solace?" The older man asked looking similarly like someone who had eaten some of Cecil's home cooking. Cecil was always a horrible cook.

"My last name." Will provided, "I..forgot to mention that."

"Will Solace. The only son of Naomi Solace?"

Will skirted slightly closer to his friends. "How do you know my mom?"

Will imagined that this Cooper guy did not often look this pale. In fact, judging from his earlier conversations, Will imagined that he didn't often even find himself at a loss for words or without some witty comeback. His serious facade left little room for anyone to imagine him with a look of blatant panic.

"Shit," He said, "Come on, we're going."

"What--" Will said, but Cooper had grabbed his arm and was beginning to pull him away. Nico was fast though and got in front of him.

"Where are you taking him?" the son of Hades demanded.

"Somewhere safe." Cooper said, "Move kid."

Lou Ellen grabbed Will's other arm, "Not without us!" She insisted tugging him back like a game of tug of war. "We are the only family he has now! You can't take him!"

"I can and I'm going to. He's going somewhere where whoever is after him will never find him and then I'm going to hunt those bastards down and send them straight to Hell myself." Cooper got a dark look in his eyes, "No one goes after my family and gets away with it."

Will froze. "Family?" He repeated. "What the Hades do you mean?"

"My name isn't really Cooper." He admitted, "It's Clint. Barton. My step sister's name was Naomi. I've made a lot of enemies doing what I do, and if they dared come after you because of that, I'll make it the last thing they ever do."

"Splendid." Will choked.

"I don't care who you are!" Nico said, "You aren't taking Will to some undisclosed location. You haven't been in his life in the past sixteen years. What suddenly gives you the right to take him from those of us who have been with him?"

Cooper-- err, Clint-- seemed to be running out of patience. "You can't come, kid. I can protect one, any more and I'm not sure--"

"Bullshit," Lou Ellen growled from Will's side, "We aren't leaving him! He's one of us!"

"We aren't asking you to protect us. We can do it just fine ourselves." Nico added dangerous. His hand was rest coolly on the top of his sword as if he was debating taking it out and reaping Clint's soul. Will felt like he was being torn in two.

He didn't want to leave his friends, his godsdamn family. The fact that they were basically willing to fight for him made his chest hurt. He didn't want anyone to get hurt. He never wanted anyone to get hurt.

His dad was the god of freaking healing. So why did it seem that around every corner someone was about to get hurt. His mom was gone, Cecil was shot, Lou Ellen was drained and it showed in her grip.

Will just wanted everyone to be okay and safe and maybe even happy. If that meant going with Clint, then he was willing to do it. After all it had been him that the snipers had been going after. Not Nico or Lou Ellen. Maybe they couldn't see it that way, but Will was also the son of the god of truth.

"Guys," He whispered, "It's okay."

"Shut up, Solace." Nico snarled, "You're in no position to be saying anything is okay! I'm coming with you. I don't care where, I'll be there by your side."

Emotions flicked in Clint's face so fast Will wasn't sure what they were. Then with a muttered curse, he relented, "Fine, you can come." Clint pushed past the son of Hades, dragging Will with him. Even so the Son of Apollo caught a glimpse of a triumphant smirk on the other boys face.

"What about me?" Lou Ellen asked, following them to the elevator. "I want to--"

Nico shot her a thoughtful look. "Stay with Cecil." He commanded as the elevator opened. The three males stepped in leaving Lou Ellen looking a mix of misery and anger. Nico pressed the ground floor button, "Maybe you can tell him exactly how you feel and save the rest of us from your annoying bickering later."

"CECIL CAN SUCK MY DIC--!" The doors closed before she could finish.

Despite the circumstances Will couldn't help but crack a smile at that. Nico easily towards to Clint, eyes ready for any fight, "So..." He asked, "where are we going?"

Clint looked at the two of them, "Ever been to a farm, boys?"