obsidian black ● jason grace

touch

 "Dr. Asclepius," Daria sang. "Are you here?"

Piper shot her a look like: are you out of your mind? But Daria liked Asclepius, or, liked what Clara had told her about him. Usually, whenever someone was seriously injured at Camp, the god would pull through. Though that was an understatement of Clara's talents, she was very good at her job.

The door flew open. The man inside had a kindly smile, crinkles around his eyes, short salt-and-pepper hair and a well-trimmed beard. He wore a white lab coat over a business suit and a stethoscope around his neck – your stereotypical doctor outfit, except for one thing: Asclepius held a polished black staff with a live green python coiled around it.

"Who are you?" The Doctor frowned.

"Daria Jackson," she stuck out her hand for him to shake as her friends cautiously let her take the lead. "I'm a friend of your daughter. Oh, and this is Jason, Piper, and Leo."

Asclepius frowned. "My daughter....?"

"Clara Abdalah," Daria said gently, as she always did when she thought of the girl. "From Camp Jupiter."

Asclepius lit up. "Of course! One of my most talented. Please, come in."

Daria turned around, raising her eyebrows arrogantly at her friends as she walked backwards into the room. Jason rolled his eyes. He was still favoring his left side.

Daria wasn't stupid. She had fought by her boyfriend's side for 15 years, and he never fought with his left arm. Frankly, Daria wasn't sure he knew how to. So when he switched his swordhand and struggled to keep them in the air for more than a couple of minutes, she knew something was up.

She hoped, since Asclepius was a doctor, he would help her boyfriend. Heaven knew that if she tried to confront him about it he would brush her off again.

"So." Asclepius leaned back. "I can't tell you how nice it is to actually talk with patients. The last

few thousand years later, the paperwork has gotten out of control. Rush, rush, rush. Fill in forms. Deal with red tape. Not to mention the giant alabaster guardian who kills everyone in the waiting room. It takes all the fun out of medicine!"

"Yeah," Leo said. "Hygeia is kind of a downer."

Asclepius grinned. He was attractive, even by godly standards. "My real daughter Hygeia isn't like that, I assure you. She's quite nice. At any rate, you did well reprogramming the statue. You have a surgeon's hands."

Jason shuddered. "Leo with a scalpel? Don't encourage him."

The doctor god chuckled. "Now, what seems to be the trouble?" He sat forward and peered at

Piper. "You seem fine, my dear. Broken arm when you were six. Fell off a horse?"

Piper's jaw dropped open. "How did you-?"

"Vegetarian diet," he continued. "Fine. Just make sure you're getting your protein. And try to sleep more."

"Kinda on a quest," Piper muttered.

"You!" He turned to Leo, then frowned. "Hmm. Physically normal...but I could prescribe something for the things that keep you up at night."

Daria didn't want to pry, but the way the doctor said that left an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. Leo bit his lip. "Me? My brain's fine. Works like a freshly tuned monkey."

"Literally," Jason muttered, returning Leo's sarcastic look.

Asclepius rummaged around and tossed Leo a bottle that looked very similar to the one in Daria's bathroom shelves, except not. "Here, this should help."