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Will prided himself on being a pretty talented medic. He rarely lost patients, and he rarely found patients he couldn't heal. He kept his infirmary ( Chiron’s infirmary. Whatever) in tip-top shape—everything was pristine and clean, everything was in order, everything was efficient and moved as it was supposed to. It was a well oiled machine. The infirmary ran smoothly.
But that didn’t mean he never made mistakes.
A big part of those mistakes was forgetting that even though he’s friends with these people outside the infirmary, inside , they were patients. Nothing more, nothing less. Will easily forgets that he’s supposed to approach everyone cautiously. He knows he’s supposed to minimize risk.
There had been a slight mauling earlier in the week. Three campers lost in the woods who were attacked by a stray hellhound. No one died, no one was in critical condition—everything was relatively stable. Still, Will remained on high alert. He monitored their pain meds, he checked their stitches, he changed their bandages frequently.
There was one camper who was worse off than the other two—he’d been reactive, and clearly bad with pain. Everything sent him lashing out. It had taken both Kayla and Austin restraining him, for Will to be able to apply his stitches. He’d treat to bite at Kayla’s hand when she checked his temperature, and he’d grabbed at Austin’s cornrows when he’d gotten too close (and had promptly gotten smacked across the face).
“Okay!” Will said, scanned the papers on his clipboard. His copy of the incident report, the patient’s file, and the procedure list. He thumbed one of the beads on his leather necklace.
Mistake one: Will left his camp necklace on. It was a comfort item for him, but he knew infirmary protocol states there needs to be no jewelry of any kind. It’s a safety precaution, and yet…
The patient—a rather young boy named Sawyer—was sitting up in his bed. The stitched up wounds on his arm were an angry shade of red. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail, the blankets in his cot knotted around his legs.
Mistake two: Will didn’t note his tense posture. His eye was twitching, his arms shaking. There was a looming sort of uncomfortableness in the air, a seething tension Will wished he’d picked up on.
“We’re just gonna run over your vitals, okay?” Will asked. He placed the clipboard on the nightstand, pushing aside a box of cartoon themed band aids. “I just wanna check a few things up.”
Sawyer didn’t respond.
Will made quick work of it, another thing he prided himself on. He marked down Sawyer’s blood pressure, his heart rate, his breathing. Will gave his wounds a once over—no sign of infection, they were only irritated from scratching—and rebandaged them. He gave Sawyer a dose of nectar.
“So!” Will flipped the page on his clipboard. “How’ve the injuries been treatin’ ya? Feelin’ better, feelin’ worse?”
“Worse,” Sawyer said. His voice was taught and fragile, like fabric stretched much too thin.
“Ah, a’rite…” Will said, scribbling down Potential increase. “That’s okay, we can deal with that, no problem! Any sorta change in the injuries? Bruisin’, burnin’, that sorta stuff?”
“Burns.”
Will wrote that down as well.
“M’kay, I think I’ll be increasin’ your nectar doses by a quarter. It don’t sound like much, but I promise it is.” He pointed his pen at Sawyer, leaning back on one foot. “If the jump is too much and leaves you all feverish, let me know, we can move you right back down.”
Sawyer made a low, grunting-growling sound in the back of his throat. His eye was twitching, and he’d dug his fingers in his blankets so hard his knuckles went white. Will made a few more notes on his clipboard: Patient seems tense. Potentially aggressive. Does not seem violent. Not responding well to nectar.
And Will made his final, biggest mistake: He turned his back.
He turned around to put his clipboard down. There were a few more things he wanted to check out—signs of mental distress from a traumatic attack, mostly—but he didn’t get the chance. He heard the shift behind him. He heard the blankets rustle.
His leather necklace tightened around his throat. He gasped, his eyes going wide.
This wasn’t the first time he’d been attacked by a patient—of course it wasn’t—but it was the first time he’d been strangled. Strangled. God. There was a procedure. What was the procedure?
Will dug his fingers under his necklace. He tugged it away from his neck. The kid yanked it harder. The leather bit into his skin. His vision blurred.
There was a frightening moment where Will couldn’t get his fingers between his necklace and his throat again. The edges of his eyes blackened.
Fuck the procedure.
Will elbowed the kid in the face, yanking at the knot in his necklace. The leather came untied. The beads clattered to the ground. That didn’t matter. Sawyer lunged again. Cold, tiny hands clasped Will’s neck.
Will wasn’t good at hand to hand, but he was a helluva bigger than this kid, and he wasn’t hurt. He grabbed the kid's uninjured arm.
“Absolutely not,” Will said. His throat was tight. Sawyer’s eyes were wild. Terrified. His nose was bleeding. Will shoved him back into his bed. “ Sit .”
Will didn’t let go of the kid’s arm. The kid frantically glanced around the room, his hands trembling.
“My siblings and I are tryna help you,” Will said. His voice was rough, threatening to give out on him. “We can’t do that, if you try to hurt us.”
He let go of the kids arm, picking up his clipboard and backing away. He left his necklace discarded on the ground. Better to leave it be, than risk another attack.
He left the private room, flipping the sign on the outside to the Do Not Disturb side.
He’d need to write an incident report to Chiron, then he’d need to warn Kayla, Austin, and Nico not to enter that room on their own unless they were adequately prepared. He’d need to figure out how to treat that patient without getting harmed further, he’d need to get his necklace back, and he’d need to not make any more careless oversights.
Will rubbed his neck. The line across his throat was tender and painful to the touch. No doubt it’d leave a nasty bruise.
As if he finally caught up with himself, Will coughed and gagged, bracing one hand on the wall. He clutched his clipboard to his chest.
“ Fuck— ” he groaned. His head was spinning. He grabbed blindly at the wall, stabilizing himself on the doorknob.
“Yo, Willie,” Kayla called. “Whatcha doing?”
Will glanced up. His vision doubled for a second.
Kayla was in her scrubs, blood spattered across one side. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun. She wasn’t wearing to-code shoes (flip-flops technically weren’t allowed) but Will wasn’t either, so he didn’t call her on it. She was jogging over, but quickly slowed. A worried expression crossed her face.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just…oh Jesus—” Will straightened, shaking out his shoulders. “Do not go in there.”
“Why n—” Kayla stopped herself. She touched her neck, dragging her finger across her throat. Her eyes went wide. “Aw, dude , what the hell…”
“He’s just worked up,” Will said. “No fault of his. I—I need to write a report and I need—” he put a hand on his forehead. “Fuck…I’m dizzy.”
“You need to sit down, that’s what…” Kayla put her hand on his shoulder. “I can check on the other two, you go sit in the Big House. Write up your report there.” She tapped the pager on her waistband. “Shit…um—let me know if you’re having trouble breathing? Chiron’s teaching a class, but I can probably drag him back here.”
“Don’t blame the kid,” Will coughed. His voice was starting to go completely. “He’s just…he’s just scared. I left my necklace on. S’my fault.”
“Save it for the report,” Kayla said. She patted Will’s arm. “Go on. We won’t count this as your break time.”
Will grabbed an incident report file from the office, and borderline collapsed in one of the Big House couches. His legs gave out on him completely. His eyesight was definitely going fuzzy.
It hadn’t been that long, Will thought, rubbing one of his eyes. Barely a couple seconds.
But his head was spinning. The file warped and twisted in front of him. He put it on the ping pong table, leaning his head back. His stomach churned.Swallowing thickly, he closed his eyes. Bile rose in the back of his throat. The mark across his neck felt feverishly warm.
“Hey, ah…” A familiar voice said. “Kayla told me I should…be looking for you in here?”
Will sat up, and his body took that moment to betray him. He gagged, doubling over and vomiting on the hardwood floor.
“Oh my gods—” Will could hear Nico stumble over, his cane clunking. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, yeah…” Will grunted. He gripped the arm of the couch with a trembling hand. HIs knuckles were white. “Just, um—yeah, no yeah, I’m fine.”
“This does not…look fine, ” Nico seemed to appear next to Will. He leaned down. His eyes went wide. “Oh, woah.”
“What do you mean, woah ?” Will looked up at him.
Nico very carefully took Will’s face, turning his head back and forth. He ran his fingers over Will’s neck, his eyebrows pinched. His hands were cold—they always were—and Will leaned into them. Nico muttered something under his breath. Their faces got very close together.
“You were suffocated?” Nico asked. He cupped the back of Will’s head, inspecting the bruise on his neck.
“Yeah…?” Will tried to force himself to think straight. “How’d you—”
Nico tapped a white scar across his windpipe. “I was too. Not all that recently, I mean. But I was too.”
“Oh, you—um…you were…?” Will blinked. He put one of his hands up, reaching weakly towards Nico’s face. “Didja ever get that checked out?”
“No, there was a war going on, it was the least of my concerns,” Nico said. He pushed Will’s hand away. “We are not talking about me right now. You are not going to deflect this.”
Will grunted. Nico was getting too good at reading him.
The taste of copper filled his mouth. He gagged, and Nico quickly moved aside, pulling his hands back. Will vomited again.
Gently, Nico tugged him to his feet.
“I’ll come back and clean that…later,” Nico said. His voice was soft. “Come on.”
Will staggered dangerously, but righted himself. He grabbed the incident report file off the ping pong table. Nico took his free hand, lacing their fingers.
"How’d you guess?" Will asked, coughing into his arm.
"Guess?" Nico repeated. "Oh…your eyes. They are all red."
“Oh, fuck…” Will cracked his back. “He barely got me for a couple seconds, I’m…I’m surprised I’m reactin’ this bad.”
“I have no idea why, either,” Nico said with a soft laugh. “You’re the medic, not me.”
Nico led Will to the Hades cabin, making mindless conversation the whole time. Will tried to swallow against more rising bile, but his throat felt impossibly tight. Nothing would go down. The minute they were back in the cabin, he staggered to the bathroom, vomiting again.
“Ugh…” he wiped his mouth. His lips felt swollen. “Gross.”
“What happened?” Nico asked. He was leaning in the bathroom door frame, his brow creased. Absentmindedly, he traced the scar on his throat.
“Buncha dumb mistakes,” Will shrugged. “One of the kids was freaked. I turned my back and he yanked my necklace real hard. It’s no one’s fault but my own.”
Nico frowned. He looked like he wanted to say something, but shook his head.
“Can’t you heal yourself?”
Will gagged again. “Fuck…no, sorry. I’m—” he took a deep breath, his hand on his forehead. “I’m super dizzy. Gimme a moment…”
Nico got to his knees, laying his hand between Will’s shoulder blades.
“I’ve had patients lash out but…this is new,” Will admitted. His hand slid down to his throat. He massaged the tender, burning mark across his neck.
“And I thought I was being difficult,” Nico said with a soft laugh. He ran his thumb back and forth across Will’s back.
“Oh, gods, not at all.” Will leaned into his hand. “You were one of the easier ones.”
“Dammit. I tried to be annoying.”
Will snorted. “You were a saint, darlin’. A bit bitchy, but a saint.”
“ No… ” Nico laughed, dropping his head on Will’s arm. His hand slid to the small of Will’s back. “My reputation is ruined.”
Will shivered. “Oh no…e’ryone knows you’re a sweetheart. What a shame.”
Nico cuddled up against Will’s side, letting out a soft sigh. Will wanted to hug him back, but he barely had the energy to keep his head up. Instead, he let his head drop on top of Nico’s. His vision was swimming.
Nico flushed the toilet, shutting the lid and kissing Will’s temple.
“I left my necklace,” Will said softly. He swallowed hard.
“Want me to grab it?” Nico asked. “Are you going to throw up again?”
“No, and—” Will coughed. “Fuck…maybe?”
After a couple minutes of Will trying to swallow spit, Nico rubbing his back and muttering encouragements in Italian, they both decided nothing else was coming up. Nico helped Will to his feet, though his own knees buckled a little. The two of them shared a laugh.
The incident report file had been crumpled a little, but Will sat on his bed, flattening the paper against the lid of an empty tupperware Nico had found in his closet. Nico settled beside him, resting his chin on Will’s shoulder, his arms around Will’s stomach. Will’s vision was still swimming, but the nausea faded with each passing second.
He’d done plenty of incident reports before. It was barely five minutes before it was filled and complete.
Date of Report: 1/9/2011
[PERSON INVOLVED—]
Full Name: William A. Solace. Address: 3141 Long Island Sound, Halfblood Hill.
Identification: OTHER. Specified: Camp Halfblood Directory File.
Phone: N/A. Email: N/A
[INCIDENT—]
Date of Incident: 1/9/2011. Time: Apprx. 9:00 AM.
Location: 3141 Long Island Sound, Halfblood Hill.
Description of the Incident: Intentional assault of a medical professional.
[INJURIES—]
Were there any Injuries: Yes.
If “Yes”, Describe the Injuries: Attempted strangulation resulting in minor asphyxiation.
[WITNESSES—]
Were there any Witnesses: No.
If “Yes”, File Witness’ Full Name: N/A
“I always feel so dumb writin’ these about myself…” Will said under his breath. He brushed eraser shavings off the paper. “Usually I’m writin’ about my patients. Sometimes satyrs.”
“What does that mean?” Nico pointed to one of the longer words .
“Asphyxiation,” Will did his level best to annunciate. “Fancy word for chokin’, basically.”
With a snort, Nico kissed Will’s neck. The bruise burnt to the touch—it took everything in Will not to scream.
“Want me to bring this to Chiron?” Nico asked, touching the edge of the report.
“I can do it.” Will tried to get to his feet, but Nico pulled him back down by the shoulders. He kissed the back of Will’s neck again—this time against his spine, thankfully the one place the necklace hadn’t cut into.
“You rest,” Nico said. He got to his feet shakily, taking the report. “I’ll bring this in, and get you some nectar.”
“I don’t…know how well I can swallow, right now,” Will admitted.
“Not for inside. For the—” Nico tapped his own throat. “That cut does not look pleasant.”
“Y’know, it really ain’t.”
“I’ll be right back,” Nico said with a wink and a grin Will knew all too well. Before he could stop him, Nico stepped backward, disappearing into the shadows cast by his bed. All that was left was the lingering imprint of his own shadow—but that disappeared just as quickly.
Will had given him the all-clear for shadow-travel (in moderation) and Nico had been abusing the privilege ever since. He’d jump at any chance he could get to shadow-travel around camp. Nico claimed it was just a lot easier than walking across dirt and rocks with his cane, but Will had a feeling he also enjoyed confusing newer campers.
Within seconds, Nico stepped back out of the shadow. He was still grinning, holding a small bottle in one hand, twirling a beaded necklace around his finger.
Will’s stomach dropped.
“Nico, I told you not to—”
“Ah, no, I know!” Nico shushed him. “But he didn’t see me, and he didn’t try to hurt me. So it’s fine!”
Will frowned. “Did Chiron get the report?”
“Uh…Mr. D did?” Nico shrugged. He hopped on the bed. “He said he would file it. He probably won’t.”
“Ten drachma says he just hands it off to me to file tomorrow.”
“Fifteen says he gives it to Austin first.”
“ Austin!? ”
Nico laughed. “Here, necklace.”
He brushed some of Will’s hair out of the way, carefully pulling the necklace around his throat. But the second the leather brushed his neck Will jolted. Blind panic flooded his senses.
“No—” Will tugged the leather strap by one of the beads. “No, I don’t want—”
“Hm?” Nico took the necklace back.
Will touched his bruise. It felt as though hot water had seeped into his esophagus, sloshing around. Nico’s expression darkened a little. He wrapped the necklace in a little ball, placing it on Will’s nightstand.
He took the little bottle from his pocket.
“I am not a professional, so…good luck?” He warned. “If I mess this up, you’re not allowed to be mad at me.”
“Nico, applyin’ nectar really ain’t complicated.”
“Healing is not my skill set. It is…the exact opposite of my skill set.”
Nico tipped Will’s head back further. Will stared at the ceiling, listening to Nico fumble with the cork of the bottle. Without warning, warm nectar splashed against his throat. Usually, nectar is pretty calming, but now—
“Fuckin’ shit, Nico,” Will grunted. “Gentle!”
“I’m trying !” Nico carefully massaged the nectar against Will’s neck. His hands were freezing.
Once the initial shock wore off, Nico was actually pretty good at what he was doing. He didn’t leave a single spot of the bruise without nectar. His touch was impossibly light, barely ghosting over Will’s skin. He did have Will hold onto the bottle of nectar, which was slightly unprofessional, but Will let it slide.
“I haven’t been on the receiving end of healin’ in years ,” Will muttered. He could feel the cut stitching itself up slowly. The tightness in his throat lessened.
“Shush, focusing,” was all Nico said. He cupped the back of Will’s neck, carefully massaging nectar into the worse parts of the cut.
“I think I’m all set.” Will gently moved Nico’s hand away, straightening himself out. “Thanks, darlin’.”
“But—”
“Blessing of Apollo.” Will kissed Nico’s cheek. “I fix up real quick.”
“Lay down, at least?” Nico asked. He took Will’s hands.
Will pulled Nico closer. “Only if you lay with me.”
Nico flushed. He put his arms around Will’s waist again, dropping his head on his chest. Normally, when they layed like this, Nico would tuck his head under Will’s chin. He seemed to carefully avoid touching Will’s throat.
“Tell me if you can’t breathe, yeah?” Nico asked, his voice a barely audible murmur.
“Yeah, yeah.” Will kissed the top of his head.
Will snapped awake at the sound of the cabin doors opening. He didn’t usually fall asleep with his hearing aids in, and he didn't usually wake up to noises.
“Now, I could have sworn my rules said you could live together if there remained one of you per bed,” someone said.
Will scrambled up. Nico was still fast asleep, curled in on himself slightly.
Chiron was shaking his head, a fond smile on his face. “You two are going to be the death of me, at this rate.”
He was in full centaur form, taking up a big chunk of the cabin. He was tall enough that Will guessed he had to duck through the doorway to get in.
“Austin gave me your most recent report,” Chiron said.
“Ah, fuck me.”
Chiron raised an eyebrow. “Watch your language, William.”
“Sorry—” Will waved his hands, his face getting hot. “I just—I owe Nico money now.”
Chiron’s confused expression only deepend. “Will, I believe we need to have a conversation about the contents of your report. Wouldn’t you agree?”
It was Will’s turn to look confused. “Did I do it wrong?”
“Of course not,” Chiron said. He gestured for Will to get up. “Walk with me, won’t you?”
Will untangled himself from Nico, brushing some of his hair out of his eyes. Nico scrunched his face, mumbling something in his sleep.
He followed Chiron out of the Hades cabin, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Whenever Chiron wanted to ‘discuss’ something, it usually meant trouble. They walked past the other cabins. Miranda Gardiner was shoveling the thin layer of snow on the path in front of her cabin. She waved as they walked by.
“Will,” Chiron started. “This is the fifth incident report you’ve written in the past two months.”
“Two and a half a month? Dude, that ain’t bad for… here .” Will gestured vaguely towards the climbing wall. “I coulda sworn I did more, though.”
“You did,” Chiron said. “But there have been five about yourself . Do you understand why that’s concerning?”
“Uh…no?”
“In the past year, Kayla and Austin only filed four self-based incident reports, between the two of them.” Chiron’s tail flicked. “Your reports alone in the past year have been double that. Do you know why that is?”
Will stayed silent.
“Because when Kayla and Austin come across a difficult, potentially dangerous patient, they come and get me .” Chiron led Will through the frosted over strawberry patch. “Why don’t you?”
Will kept his eyes firmly fixed on the ground in front of him.
“ Will . Why don’t you?”
“Neither of them can heal,” Will said finally. “I can. If they get hurt, they’ll need my help. But I can fix myself if I get injured.”
“And tell me, how has your track record been with that?” Chiron asked.
Will shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Exactly.” Chiron clasped his hands. “I revoked your status as head of the infirmary for a reason. You’re not proving yourself any less immature than you were all those months ago.”
“Respectfully, sir,” Will said. “If someone is dyin’, I won’t have the time to run and grab you.”
“And was Sawyer dying?” Chiron asked. “Was Sherman dying? Was Holly? Did you absolutely need to stay by their sides, despite the dangers? Or would it have been wiser to find someone older, who could help you?”
Will touched the bruise along his throat.
“Will, I cannot in my right mind condone this recklessness.” Chiron turned to look at Will. “You’re barely a teenager.”
“In demigod years I’m basically geriatric.”
Chiron frowned, the worry lines around his eyes deepened. “Will, think of your siblings.”
Will rubbed the bruise harder. His eyes stung.
“How would they feel, burning a shroud for three brothers in four years?” Chiron asked. “Strangulation is barely a step before homicide, Will.”
Instinctively, Will grabbed for his necklace.
Right. Back at the cabin.
He remembered his last near death experience—the way Kayla threw herself at him, the way Austin sobbed his throat raw. He remembered Lee’s funeral. He remembered Austin shrieking and screaming, clinging to Will’s arm. He remembered poor Kayla, barely old enough to understand what was happening.
“You’re an incredibly talented, incredibly thoughtful kid,” Chiron said. He placed a warm hand on Will’s arm. “But you’re still quite young. I implore you, if you believe a patient to be dangerous, come and get me.”
“B-But what if—”
“Yes, if they’re dying, we can make an exception.” Chiron smiled. He squeezed Will’s shoulder. “The rules at this camp are in place to keep campers safe. And you—” he got down on his horse-knees, so he was eye-level with Will. “Are still a camper. You may work here, but it is still my job to keep you safe.”
Will stared up at Chiron for a moment. Hot tears burnt the back of his eyes.
“Sorry,” he choked out.
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Chiron said. “I just need you to care about your own well-being a bit more.”
“I can try?” Will scrubbed his eyes with his wrist. “Sorry.”
Chiron chuckled. “You head back to the Hades cabin. I’ll…pardon the bed rule for one night.”
Will slipped into the Hades cabin. Nico was sitting up in his bed, his hair a mess, his shirt rumpled. His eyes were half-lidded and bleary. He muttered something in a horrible medley of Greek and Italian.
“I’m back, baby, I’m back,” Will said. He took his sneakers off, slipping back into bed beside Nico. “I was just talkin’ with Chiron.”
Nico brought his hands up. It looked as if he wanted to hold Will’s face, but lost the energy halfway through. He slumped against Will’s shoulder. Will sighed softly, wrapping Nico up in a gentle hug.
“We need to getcha on a proper schedule, Sleepy,” he said, kissing Nico’s temple. “It’s barely midday.”
Despite that, Will laid the two of them down against the bed. Nico was already snoring. He curled up against Will’s chest.
Will touched the bruise on his throat. The nectar and Blessing of Apollo were already beginning to work their magic (literally). It no longer burnt, the swelling having died down.
With a low breath, Will buried his face in Nico’s hair.
Will was a pretty good medic.
He just needed to stop making mistakes.