Doctor Leo

Chapter Three

~Leo~

For the next few days, Leo struggled to fit everything into his schedule. Between taking care of the boys and working in the engine room, he was rarely seen out by the others.

At least Percy and Jason were getting better. Mostly Jason, though, since he hadn't been as sick as Percy in the first place.

Now, Leo was doing some repairs in the engine room. He was to go give Percy his medicine in a few minutes, so his nimble hands built quickly.

Move faster, Valdez, you're on a tight schedule.

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~Percy~

Leo suddenly barged into Percy's room, waking him with a start.

"Gods, Leo, you'd think it was the apocalypse", he said hoarsely.

"Yeah, well..." Leo answered. Percy found his lack of jokes a bit odd, but said nothing.

Leo was holding a cup of tea. "I made you some tea."

"Thanks."

"No problem." Leo shot him a grin, but he noticed it didn't reach his eyes.

"You okay, Leo? Are you getting sick?" Percy asked after a moment of silence.

"Of course not! Everyone keeps asking the same question. I'm fine!"

But Percy didn't believe him. After watching Leo take care of him, he realized that the boy looked absolutely exhausted. He lacked his usual hyperactivity, with his shoulders slumped and hands completely still at his sides.

Leo leaned tiredly against the wall. "Need anything else?"

Percy ignored his question. "Leo, you look really tired. Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should get some rest-"

"I'm fine, Percy. You shouldn't be worried about me. You're the one with the flu."

He felt slightly frustrated that Leo wouldn't listen to him. He seriously looked tired, with pronounced bags under his eyes. "When was the last time you slept?"

The question caught him off guard. "Um... last night, duh. Look, Perce, I really have to go, Jason's due for his medicine. I'll be back for lunch, 'kay? See ya, Aquaman!" Leo spoke so fast, Percy couldn't cut him off.

"Wait! Leo-!" Percy tried to call after him, but he'd already raced out of the room.

Gods, I hope that kid isn't getting sick.

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~Leo~

Leo sighed in relief as he escaped Percy and his questions. He didn't have time to 'get some rest'. There was work to be done, and plenty of it.

He ran to Jason's room, quickly took care of him, and then went back to the engine room. Soon, he'd have to go back and check on Percy. Just the thought gave him a headache.

Or maybe it was the dehydration.

Either way, Leo couldn't afford to go get an Advil at that moment. He needed to finish the engine repairs, work on some blueprints, and get some calculations done for MORE repairs he was planning on doing, all before giving Percy his dose of medicine.

A sigh escaped his mouth for the thousandth time. This was gonna be yet another long day.

<><><><><><>

Leo was running down the hall when he bumped into Annabeth.

Of course it's Annabeth. Literally the last person I'd wanna run into. She might kill me for bumping her.

Luckily, she didn't do that. "Oh, hi, Leo, sorry. I've been wanting to talk to you anyways."

"Oh... what about?" Leo asked.

"How are Percy and Jason?"

"They're getting much better, Percy's still a little worse but Jason should be out and about within the next day or two."

She sighed in relief. "Thanks, Leo. Are you feeling sick at all?"

"Nope. I may be hot, but it ain't a fever."

"Are you sure? You do look a little pale."

"I'm sure-" suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit Leo. He leaned slightly on the wall, somehow managing to keep his face clear of any reaction.

"Okay." Annabeth brushed past him with a small wave.

Once Annabeth was gone, Leo let go of the wall, testing his wobbly legs. They supported him enough to walk back to the engine room.

"Gods, that was weird", he muttered to himself.

Luckily, Leo made it back to the engine room without any more running into people and/or bouts of strange dizziness.

After being in there for literally five minutes (at least that was what it felt like to Leo. Maybe the ADHD was just messing with his mind again), Piper bursted in, only to ask the same questions as Annabeth.

"Hi, Leo. How're Jason and Percy?"

"They're doing a lot better..." he broke down to her everything he'd told Annabeth.

"That's great! Thanks, Valdez... hey, are you okay?"

The dizziness returned, and he staggered slightly to the left, dropping the contraption he'd been working on.

"Woah... dunno what that was", Leo muttered as he steadied himself on Piper's shoulder.

She frowned and reached out to touch his forehead, but he only swatted it away. "Pipes, it's fine, probably just all the coffee I've been drinking."

"Coffee? But you hate coffee!"

"Yes, I do, but I've been tired and so I drank it anyway."

"You were tired enough to drink coffee, which you despise."

"Yep, that's what I just said."

"Have you, like, not been sleeping or something?"

"Uh, I guess I have missed on some sleep, yeah."

"How much?"

"... Enough to drink coffee."

"So, a lot?"

"Maybe."

"A little?"

"Could be."

"Leonidas! You are impossible."

"Ah, come on, Beauty Queen, I told you never to call me that."

"Well, these are serious matters."

"Oh?"

"Yes, your health is a very serious matter to me."

"Getting sappy now, are we? I'm in tears."

"I'm serious, idiot. You look like one of the zombies Nico summons from the ground."

"I feel insulted."

"Leonidas Alejandro Samuel Valdez!"

"Piper Oduh McLean!"

Piper glared as he smiled.

"Come on, Pipes, you're the one who declared us on full name terms."

"Not the point, Leo. You still won't admit that you're either sick or dying from sleep deprivation."

Leo swayed on his feet again. "What? Nooo..."

"That's it. If you won't cooperate, I'm taking you to the infirmary to find out for myself what's wrong."

Piper grabbed him by the arm in order to steady him, and then began to march to the infirmary. Leo protested weakly, but she ignored it and kept walking as he stumbled along behind her.