Solangelo 1

Part 2

WILL

I'm hesitant to leave Nico's side after how reluctant he was to go to sleep. But there are still countless people who need medical attention. And as head councillor of the Apollo cabin, and the Head Medic, that's kind of my problem.
I shut the curtains around Nico's bed, giving him some privacy, and then set off to work.
The new introduction of Nectar is a Gods' send. Patients who are unconscious take Nectar far more willingly than clumps of broken up ambrosia. And besides, we need all the help we can get.
I try not to focus on my dad's missing status. The uncertainty is affecting my siblings pretty badly - some of them finding it hard to focus on music or archery. Thankfully my healing ability has had far too many years of practice to be too much affected by Apollo's absence.
Of the twenty beds that are in the Infirmary, seventeen are full. Two of them are still in a potentially fatal coma; four of them are dealing with permanent injuries (two have lost arms, one lost feeling in his legs, and the other lost her right foot); the remaining eleven are recovering from, thankfully, non-life-altering injuries.
Kayla and I have the shift for the next twelve hours, Austin and Reve both needing a break (and the rest of my siblings, while good at healing, are not good enough to handle it on their own).
I go from bed to bed, checking vitals, seeing what's needed. A couple people come in and out to see if they can help. I send a couple people for supplies, send a couple more with medicine for other campers not in the infirmary.
Annabeth comes in around the seventh or eighth hour of my shift. It takes me a moment to realise, my eyes having been struggling to stay open for the last hour or so.
'Hey Will. I know we're not Apollo kids, but a couple of my siblings can help out. You're clearly out of your depth and we're smart. We can do the basics.' She says.
'I...Ill honestly take all the help I can get. The last three days have been a mess. There's been no order and no one knows where we're meant to be. If you or one of your siblings could make up a chart of some sort - at least one Apollo healer always present and either another Apollo, or two Athena. Or something like that.' I say.
'Easy.' She says, 'I'll get that's sorted.' She looks as if she's about to say something, then decides better. But I can tell somethings bothering her.
'You okay?' I ask, not wanting to pry.
'Fine, just...I had a run in with my ankle a while back. I never had it properly looked at and-' I cut her off.
'Sit up here.' I say, gesturing to one of the empty beds. She sits down without question.
'I don't want to trouble you if you've got too much going on.' She says, 'it can wait.'
'This is the quietest it'll be for a long time.' I say, 'it's no problem, honestly.'
'Thank you.' She says. She takes off her sandals and I hold her ankle in my hands, gently examine it.
'About...three weeks old?' I ask.
'Yes.' She says, 'I made a splinter for it but then...you know, bigger problems.'
'Right.' I say, 'so what exactly happened?'
'I fell on it wrong, from about seven or eight feet. I made a splinter for it, but then it got pulled on by Arachne's web. And in Tartarus I just sort of...got used to it.' She says the last bit dejectedly, as if she'd given up.
'Right.' I say, trying to stay professional, 'so it needs to be reset. Bad news is you'll need to have it in a cast for about...three or four weeks.'
'And the good news?' She asks.
'You get to choose the colour.' I say.