~Annabeth~
Annabeth was on her way to Percy's room to go check on him. After all, he hadn't been up all morning.
She couldn't help but worry. After the horrible separation she'd been through, Annabeth couldn't help but think about it somehow happening again.
She rapped a couple of times on his door. No answer. Her concern increased slightly as she walked in herself.
Percy was laying sprawled in his bed, obviously asleep.
He's still sleeping? It's lunch time!
Annabeth walked over and tried to shake him awake. At first, there was no response, but eventually his eyes fluttered open.
"Annabeth?" Percy murmured. His voice sounded weak.
"Hey. Are you okay? You don't look so great..."
"Ugh... I don't know. I have a headache..."
Annabeth reached forward and touched his forehead. He was burning up.
"Percy, just stay here, okay? I'm gonna go get you some medicine."
He laid his head back down on the pillow, coughing painfully.
"Gods... this isn't good", Annabeth muttered to herself as she made her way quickly to the infirmary.
After grabbing some mortal medicine, Annabeth started to run back to Percy's room. Unfortunately, she ran straight into Piper, nearly knocking her down.
"Sorry!" Annabeth said. She tried to get by her, but Piper stepped in her path.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, Annabeth. Why are you running?"
"It's Percy... he's really sick, and I was just getting him this medicine."
"Oh, no, that's not good. No wonder I haven't seen him all day!"
"Yeah... could you tell the others? I've gotta get this to him..."
"Alright. See ya."
Annabeth resumed running down the hall, careful not to run anyone else over. By the time she got back to her boyfriend's room, he was sleeping again.
"Percy? Percy, wake up."
"Hmm...?"
"Could you take this medicine, please?"
He took the pills with some water and immediately went back to sleep.
Annabeth sighed.
Maybe I should leave. He needs his rest, and plus, I don't know how contagious he is.
She got up and left the room, somehow feeling less worried. Yes, her boyfriend was sick, but he'd just have to get better. That was how it worked. Right?
<><><><><><>
~Piper~
During lunch, Piper delivered the news about Percy. Everyone seemed a little surprised, because they'd never had sickness on the Argo II before. No one seemed too worried, though.
Except for Leo, that is. He seemed to be pondering something, concern glinting in his brown eyes.
"What are you thinking?" Piper asked him.
"Well... just that this is a small ship, with seven people occupying it."
"What's that have to do with anything?"
"I'm getting to that. So, Percy's sick, right? Like, really sick?"
"That's what Annabeth said."
"Let's say she gets sick from taking care of him. And then someone else gets sick. And someone else, and someone else... soon, we're all sick, meaning we can't fight monsters. Meaning we can't save the the world. Meaning Gaea kills us all-"
"Okay, I get it, Mr. Positivity! That's actually a good point, though... we need to come up with some sort of plan."
Leo nodded in agreement. "Any idea what Percy's got?"
"I don't know... something worse than a cold."
Leo tipped his head thoughtfully before going back to his food. Piper wondered for the second time what he was thinking. Before she could ask, Annabeth walked into the mess hall.
"How is he?" Piper asked.
"Not great, but I think he will be."
"What does he have?" Frank butted in.
"Looks like the flu to me."
Oh, man... that's bad.
As Piper watched Annabeth settle down to eat, she wondered if Leo's suspicions were correct.
<><><><><><>
The next morning, Jason woke up sick. He wasn't as bad as Percy, but still bad. Piper tried her best to take care of him, giving him mortal medicine and plenty of water.
"Get some rest, Sparky", Piper said before leaving. Annabeth had called a meeting for 2:00 PM, and she had to go.
Once she got to the mess hall, the rest of her friends were already there. Piper sat next to Leo, who looked slightly nervous for some reason.
"Hi", she said.
"Oh, hi, Beauty Queen."
Piper rolled her eyes at the nickname, but before she could reply, Annabeth started to speak.
"So", she said, "both Percy and Jason are now sick. This could be really bad for us, because now we know how contagious it is. We need to somehow figure out a way of taking care of them while keeping the rest of us as healthy as possible."
Leo raised a hand shyly. "I-I have an idea... but you may not like it."
Everyone looked towards him. Leo squirmed slightly before continuing, "...I think I should be the one to take care of both Percy and Jason."
"Leo... that doesn't make sense. You'll just get yourself sick, and then-" Leo cut Annabeth off.
"Hey, hear me out! I don't get sick. Supposedly. Most germs that enter my body immediately burn up in my internal fire. I could take care of them while you guys steer clear. It's our best bet."
"Okay... But you said 'supposedly'. Are you sure you don't get sick?"
Leo blushed. "...Not 100%. But I have a better chance than all of you! And I haven't gotten sick yet, unless it was from extremely low temperatures. That's a different story."
"Alright, fine... I guess it makes sense now."
"Wait. I agree that it's the most logical thing to do", Piper said, "but what if you're wrong, Leo? What if you're only immune to, like, colds or something?"
"I'm pretty sure I'm not wrong, which is more than any of you could say. Besides, I'd rather get-" he cut himself off, tapping his fingers, "um, I mean, I have a better chance of not catching the flu than you guys, pretty much no matter what."
"Anyone else disagree?" When no one objected, Annabeth went on, "It's settled, then. Leo will be taking care of Percy and Jason."
Leo smiled, seeming happy with his argument. "Doctor Leo is in da house!"
