ꜱᴘɪᴅᴇʀ ʙɪᴛᴇꜱ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀᴄᴀʙᴇᴛʜ/ꜱᴏʟᴀɴɢᴇʟᴏ ᴘʀᴏᴊᴇᴄᴛ

xxxɪx ᴡɪʟʟ | ᴀɴɴᴀʙᴇᴛʜ ᴛʀɪᴘꜱ ᴏɴ ᴅʀᴜɢꜱ

"Don't we have any refrigerator sangria?" Annabeth asks about the thirtieth time.

"No." Will's seriously starting to wish they had some though. He considers drinking one of the White Claws out of the mini-fridge, but that would be a little mean to dangle it right in front of his intoxicated best friend. And besides, everyone knows mango is the worst flavor. He only drinks that when he's already drunk.

He doesn't want to see the damage on Annabeth. Yeah, he's dealt with battle wounds. Hell, he's dealt with battle wounds on Annabeth before- but this isn't the same. At the hospital, Will isn't obligated to ask people how they got their wounds. Most of the time he can guess, but he's never suspected anything like this before.

But he's a doctor, sort of, and it's his responsibility to take care of his patient.

The words she whispered still ring in his ear: "He kicked me."

Will shudders. What if she doesn't remember in the morning, and he has to tell her what could have happened?

"He kicked me twice."

He's not going to be able to recount this without either getting irrationally angry or breaking down in tears.

"Mm..." Annabeth moans a tiny bit in her sleep. She's been in and out this whole night. It's scary.

Might as well get this over with while she can't see his reaction.

Slowly, he slides her shirt up.

"Oh my gods," Will whispers.

Her stomach is red, presumably from where she'd been kicked, and two bruises are beginning to form. That's going to hurt like a bitch tomorrow.

It's a miracle she has enhanced demigod healing, or else they'd be in an ambulance on the way to the nearest hospital right now.

Will tucks Annabeth's shirt back in its place and smooths his hand over her messy hair. It's a good thing he sent Nico away for this part.

"Who would do such a thing?" Will wonders aloud. A tear escapes from his eye. He knows Annabeth can fend for her own. Everybody knows that. But she's still half-human. She's still a woman.

And clearly, she's not immune to creepy guys.

Will can't take it anymore. He pulls Annabeth close against his chest. "I'm so sorry," he whispers. "I'm so, so sorry. I should've been there."

Annabeth hiccups. "Ow..."

"Shit, I'm sorry." Will lays her back down.

Annabeth reaches for her face. Her lip is so swollen, she probably won't even be able to drink the water Nico's getting.

"Yeah, I should probably get those out. Sorry. They looked cool while they lasted," Will says.

"Please..." Annabeth's voice is becoming weaker.

"I have to or they'll get worse. We can try to save them, and if not, we'll get them done by someone who actually knows what they're doing. I promise," he says.

He applies some champagne-scented Bath & Body Works hand sanitizer and then gets to work.

"Aaahhh," Annabeth says as he removes the first stud.

"Yeah, I know," says Will. "Oh, damn."

"Tastes weird."

"I bet." Oh, gross. There's pus. Lots of pus.