Deeper Than Appearances (A Percy Jackson and Twilight Crossover)

Chapter 4

"Being sick is stupid," Percy moans, rolling away from the cool rag his mom is attempting to place on his burning forehead.

She groans. Yes Sally Blofis groaned. She's spent the entire night trying to take care of her uncooperative son. Percy is not entirely himself either. He's always stubborn yes, but he's usually not so vocal of his discomfort nor is he purposefully difficult. He's almost always put others first, but not the last eight hours. He's hasn't slept at all and instead he's groaned and complained all night long. "Percy if you don't let me care for you, you'll only get worse. Do you want that?"

He moans and pulls the blanket over his head. "It's hot."

"That's because you keep trying to bury yourself in heavy blankets while you have a high fever. Just let me put the rag on your head. It'll make you feel better," she replies, trying to tug the blankets down from his face. She has to admit that a sick Percy isn't fun.

"Mom?" he mumbles, curling the blankets in tighter. His voice sounds small and weak. It makes her pause. Has she ever him sound so .... defeated?

Sally sighs. "What is it sweatheart?"

He doesn't say anything at first and she hopes that he might have actually fallen asleep, but then his next words make her heart sink. 

"I'm scared."

She gently pulls the comforter away from his face and this time he lets her. She pushes back his hair. It's soaked with sweat. She has to ask a question that she fears the answer to, "Of what sweetheart?"

He turns his head to look up at her. His eyes are bloodshot but dry. The look he is giving her is so hopeless. He looks so young and vulnerable, not at all like the man he has become over the last five years. "All I ever see is the blood and the gore..... I-I can't get it....it out of my head. I can't eat,....... because I feel like I'm going to throw up and...... and I can't sleep, because the dreams ... they make it ..... so much worse....... Is it-it always going to be like this?...... Is it ever going to..... stop?"

It is at this moment that Sally feels more dread than she has ever felt. She's always known that when Percy left there was a really large chance he wouldn't come back. When he went missing for those eight months and only left a voicemail, she knew that it would likely be his final battle, that she might not even get to bury him. Even when he came back and she felt such happiness and relief, she knew there would be scars and that it wasn't over yet. 

But she never realized how deep those scars went, just what he was keeping inside. She doesn't know exactly what happened to him and he will likely never tell, but now, looking at her son so sick and fearful, she begins to imagine the magnitude of just what he went through.

Sally crawls onto her son's bed and pulls him close. She doesn't know what to say. There's nothing she can say. So she holds him tight and cries into his hair. She cries for both herself and for him because as low as he's been brought down, Percy will never cry for himself.

And she holds him like that until they both finally drift into a deep sleep. For the first time in a long time, the demigod son of Poseidon doesn't dream. That or he is simply too exhausted to notice that the dreams are there.

Paul comes to check on them, but quickly retreats when he sees them lying there. At first, he's unsure what to do, but then he calls the local daycare for Andromeda and heads off to work. He would stay home, but there's nothing really that he can do. Unfortunately, this is a situation that he cannot help with.

- O - O - O - O - O -

Carlisle spends a large portion of his day stewing over what his "children" had told him when he returned home last night. Edward can't read Percy's mind. Emmet is puzzled because Percy obviously does some kind of physical activity, but he said he's not in any sports. Rosalie thinks he's too good-looking to be human and that his mom's blue cookies are amazing, even though she doesn't like human food. (Carlisle doesn't quite understand that one.) Alice thinks he's the best thing since Jasper and is very worried about his health. Jasper for his part seems to fully hate the kid, (they chalk that one up to jealousy) but admits that he smells very good. Then they all admitted that Percy's blood smells very good.

The older vampire tries to recall if he noticed anything different about Percy's scent, but it was hard to tell since the boy was so sick. He makes a mental note to check today when he stops in to see if he's doing better or not. He does agree with Rosalie that the boy is unnaturally good-looking, but then again there is the occasional human that is. What bothers him most is the fact that Edward can't read Percy's mind. That makes two people who are immune to an ability that has so far proven fool-proof. 

He sighs as he pulls into the Blofis drive. He quickly climbs out of the car and brings his bag with him. Paul's the one who answers the door this time. He has the baby on his hip and somberly leads the doctor back upstairs. 

There are three fans turned on in Percy's room and the windows are open. That's the first thing Carlisle notices. The second is that Mrs. Blofis is sitting in a chair by the bed which contains a blanket-swathed lump. Percy's mom looks up and nods in greeting. Her eyes are red from crying.

Carlisle frowns. Surely things haven't gotten that bad. "How is he?"

She reaches out and tugs down the blanket to reveal a flushed, sweat-covered face. It's then that the vampire notices the comforter on the ground and realizes that Sally must have swapped out the heavier blanket for a lighter one. Percy reaches out and weakly tries to pull the blanket back over his face. His eyes are closed and Carlisle has to wonder why the boy isn't sleeping. He's obviously exhausted. Not only that but how can he bear to be covered up in such a condition.

Sally sighs. "He slept a bit this morning and it seemed to help. For a while, his fever was only 102, but just a little bit ago it seemed to have gone back up. How high, I don't know. He won't let me take his temperature."

Carlisle sits down on the bed and reaches out to feel the boy's forehead. He almost cringes from the unnatural heat that's rolling off of his skin. He quickly pulls out his thermometer, snapping on a plastic cap. Before Percy can protest, and he does try to, the doctor slips the little device under his tongue.

It seems like forever before they hear a beep and Carlisle's frown only deepens when he sees the numbers. 106.7'.

He's about to rush up and call an ambulance, but a vice-like grip stops him in his tracks. He looks down at the damp, clammy hand of the teen to see the boy staring weakly up at him with dazed green eyes.

"Water," he croaks. 

Sally is the one to act, having not seen the numbers on the thermometer she's a lot calmer than she should be. She reaches over to the nightstand and grabs the full glass of water that's sitting there. Percy practically drags Carlisle down when he uses him to suddenly hoist himself into a sitting position. He downs the water in what seems to be one gulp.

Almost instantly some color returns to his skin and the unhealthy red tint to his cheeks seems to dim. It's not as if he's suddenly not sick, but he is noticeably better than he was. Sally sags in relief as the distinct smell of the sea seems to settle in the room along with a tangy, sweet aroma that can only be the boy's blood. It hits Carlisle like a truck and he just stops himself from physically stumbling back.

Percy holds out the glass and Mrs. Blofis takes it, scurrying off down the hall to get more. Slowly the boy shifts so that he's sitting on the edge of the bed as if he's about to stand. Carlisle rushes forward.

"You should relax. You're still sick. It may make you feel better, but water won't magically heal you," he says.

The young teen stares up at him, his eyes are a really sea green, and smiles as if he knows something the doctor doesn't. "Don't worry. I'm just getting a shower."

Carlisle blinks, but before he can say anything more Percy is stumbling out the door and down the hall. The vampire can hear the teen take another glass of water from his mom and quickly down it before he hears what he assumes is the bathroom door closing.

Well, he can certainly say he didn't expect that.

----------------------------------------------

I don't have much to say after this chapter. Only please vote, comment lots and follow me. :)