Too Late

Chapter 5

~ Nico ~

He'd had six blissful weeks, six weeks of uninterrupted silence, well almost silence. And then, BAM! They were all back, cabin seven was full once more and he and Will were surrounded.

For the first time, he was having fun at camp. He felt happy or accepted. Having someone to rely on made all the difference, especially if that someone was Will.

Nico studied Will's face as he slept, his dirty blonde hair was a half tangled mess around his face, his chest rose and fell at a steady rhythm. Nico smiled, a feat that was no longer uncommon. He draped a blanket over Will the best he could and lay another one by his feet, then he gently kissed Will on the forehead and left.

One step out the door was all it took. One step. As soon as his foot touched the earth a hands covered his eyes and a voice said, "Guess who!"

"I have no clue." He said dryly.

The hands fell away and Charlie stood beside him, "Spoiler, it's me."

He resisted the urge to grin, "Never would have guessed."

She stopped walking, all humor gone from her face, "Can we talk?"

He shrugged, "I guess."

"Good, I was going to force you if you said no."

He raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yes." Not a hint of uncertainty.

"I'd like to see you try."

She almost smiled, "I would too, but we don't have time."

Nico knit his eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

* * *

They stood in the doorway, gazing at the twins. "She fell asleep." Charlie commented, nodding towards Abigail, whose head rested on her sister's thigh. The two girls looked so peaceful, the scene could have been almost sweet, except for the fact that Nico knew what they had both been through.

The two of them stood in silence for a few minutes, watching the two daughters of Demeter. Nico spoke first, "She followed me to the underworld, when I went to look for Bianca."

Charlie nodded, "I know, she told me."

Nico sighed, "It was wrong of her to do."

"Agreed. But can you really blame her? She did it out of love. Plus... you were there for the same reason."

Nico stared at the floor. He didn't want to hear that, he'd risked so much for love. But what had love ever done for him? Will. The one bright spot in this sad world he called a life. But with Will Solace, it was a life worth living.

Charlie studied him, "You did it out of love too, you wanted to bring her back."

He nodded slowly, "I know... It's just..."

"It's different." Charlie guessed, "She got what she wanted, and you found Hazel."

He nodded again. He loved Hazel, he really did. The daughter of Pluto was incredible and kind, but she wasn't Bianca. No one would ever be Bianca.

Charlie looked at the wounded girl, "Nico, I... I don't know how much time she has."

He studied Charlotte, even from half a room away he could sense how close she was to death. "She won't have long." He agreed.

She looked like she was trying to hold back tears, "I... I can't let her die."

He was tempted to ask, why not?' But he knew the answer. "I'll help. Iknow what it feels like. I don't want it to happen to her, not twice."

"Thanks." A small smile. That's all she could manage. But it was enough to let him know that he'd done the right thing.

* * *

He stood next to Charlie as they stared down at Charlotte. She looked so calm, so sure of herself. He on the other hand, had no clue what he was doing.

She gave him a tight smile, "I need you to try and convince her soul to stay."

"And, how do I do that?"

"I don't know, like step in front of her while she walks down the path to the underworld or something."

"That's not how it works Charlie."

She sighed, "Just try, I don't know what I'm doing either."

"Gee, thanks."

"She's asleep, right? Can't you like control dreams?"

"I mean sort of... Not really." He knelt beside Charlotte, she knelt by his side. He watched as Charlie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Charlotte." She said, her voice barely a whisper, "I need you to listen. "Okay?" Charlie opened one eye and glared at him, "We're supposed to be doing this together, dummy."

"Right." He concentrated, willing his senses to make contact. They did and he was shocked by how hard she was fighting. He tried to send strength, the way Reyna had so many times for him. He tried to think of all the things that he and this half dead girl might have incommon. He tried to make a connection. But he couldn't.

He closed his eyes and he saw Bianca's face. He pushed the memory aside, now was not the time. Right now he had to save a life, not dwell on one. Another, more recent, memory came into his head. He heard Calynn's voice, soft and gentle, with that crazy mysterious edge. And he remembered what she had told Will, 'Memories come back for a reason. Like dreams. They have a purpose. All you have to do is figure out what their purpose is.' He hesitated, then he sent his favorite memory, a one of Bianca, to the broken daughter of Demeter. He hoped the connection would work.

Charlie had said to convince her to stay, and the best way to convince anyone was to show them what they would be missing. He opened his eyes saw Anika smiling at him, she nodded like, do it again, then she continued to talk.

He blocked out the noise and tried to think, Charlotte had a sister, a twin, who had been beside her every moment of her life. They had done everything together. They had made it through the death of their father, through the Titan war, everything. They had always done everything together. Just like him and Bianca.

He closed his eyes and showed Charlotte what had happened to him, he showed her what had happened to him after Bianca had died, how he had felt. And he hoped that would be enough.

He opened his eyes slowly, nothing.

Then, the blue eyed, blonde haired daughter of Demeter sat up.

suprise! she lives =