Time and Earth: A Doctor Who and PJO Crossover (Bk 1)

Chapter 33: Dawn

Chapter 33: Dawn

Rebuilding was harsh from there on. After the war, the God Lords came to us with a peace agreement; to live alongside us at Camp Half Blood. Now that they were without a leader, there was truly nowhere for them to go.

And we were never ones to abandon, so we let them stay.

As the sole surviving member of the Three, I became a sort of emissary in those months, a de-facto and then official leader. A title I never wanted, but stumbled upon anyway.

Once Will healed from his burns, the first thing he did was go on a date with Nico. They'd gone out of camp for one night, presumably to some beach cabin or towards the city. All that they promised was to be back before midnight, a promise which the broke for an hour.

We erected a memorial for the battle beside Hestia's hearth, a small statue of the Gallifreyan word for 'hope.' Built from marble and its construction lead by Leo, it was beautiful, a testament to the future I hoped for us.

Leo took longer than expected to heal completely. He had the ability to walk and create gods knew what, but there were barriers in his mind that not even my regenerative energy could override.

The last thing he'd seen, felt, before he lost consciousness was a longsword sheathed in his stomach. He shouldn't have survived, and even if human medicine had saved him, he shouldn't have returned to his full scope of movement for far longer, if at all. So it took him a while to walk, and then to run and use his hammer again.

It was only when my eighteenth birthday came around that he had the will and the ability to go back to Manhattan and meet Dorothy. She'd told me she'd spent the whole day cleaning, excited out of her mind to finally meet Leo. She even took a day off work.

Of course, Dorothy was still in her usual attire when she opened to the door to us, looking down at our entwined hands before letting us in. The apartment was always clean, but Dorothy had really outdone herself. Even I noticed the change.

She still gave me a hug, despite having only seen me just a few days ago, when I'd gotten a chance to get away from camp.

That day Will and I travelled to meet her, and then Daniel's adoptive mother, who turned out to live in Brooklyn now. We'd told Dorothy first, and then Daniel's mother, about what had happened to our friend. They'd both cried for a while, and then smiled once they read his letter.

Daniel Kane's story was one they'd hold dear and remember.

Even now no one had entered his room in the apartment, as if he was going to use it anytime soon.

His gift to me, the cube with the flowers, remained at my bedside at the Demeter Cabin. The flowers hadn't died yet, and I hoped they never did. But for as long as I could keep them alive, I'd keep them by my side, as a reminder of the strength of friendship and the pain of could-have-beens.

"How's camp?" Dorothy asked as we got seated, and Leo made a beeline for the sliced bread prepared in the table centre. By the time I reached for my own slice, Leo had already begun chewing, leaving me the only candidate to speak.

In our defence, we hadn't eaten for hours and Leo was...well, Leo.

"Camp's fine."

It was only then that the awkwardness truly set in. The three of us sat there, hands clasped, looking at each other, pleading for the other to speak.

Dorothy, with her line of work, was skilled in conversations, and even this scenario was too hard for her. She reached out and grabbed a piece of bread as well, her hand moving like quicksilver.