You Give Liberty a Bad Name (a Percy Jackson AU)

Doctor's Orders

Pennsylvania: August 5, 1776
Nico looked up as he heard a twig snap. He was on sentry duty and he raised his rifle and looked around for a figure in the dark. The pearly light of the moon illuminated a tall figure. Nico saw a red hue and a rifle; he readied his own rifle, aimed, and shot at the figure.
     The figure fell to the ground, groaning. Nico approaches it cautiously, his left hand clenching his rifle cautiously. He moved through the brush with the stealth and skill of a cat hunting a mouse.
      When Nico was only a few feet away from the figure, he saw it more clearly. It was a British soldier. The front of his red jacket was splattered with the darker red hue of his own blood. He was breathing heavily and his blue eyes widened when he saw Nico.
      "What are you doing here?" Nico asked roughly.
       "I'll not tell you," the soldier said.
      Nico gave the blonde man a kick to his ribs. The man groaned and panted. Nico fingered his rifle slowly and smiled, revealing his teeth.
      "Tell me," Nico said. "What is your name and why are you here?"
     The man gulped. The sweat on his brow was visible and he looked as if he was frightened. Nico pushed down a wave of pity. He was the enemy.
     "My name is Jason Grace," the man said, "and I'm here to send you to the doctor."
     Jason moved so swiftly that Nico was unable to react. He grabbed Nico's rifle and with the element of surprise and his greater strength, he was able to wrench it out of his hands. He then fired and Nico groaned as a wave of pain hit him. He fell to the ground.
      "I will spare you," Jason said, seeming surprised by his own words, "but be sure to tell your fellow comrades that you lot better surrender soon if you wish to be shown the same mercy by the king."
     Jason gave Nico one last look and turned away, trying to staunch the flow of blood from his chest wound with one hand. Nico lay on the ground, groaning. When would the next sentry come? Would Nico last that long?
     Nico clenched his jaw. The pain in his chest was like nothing else he had felt. For once, Nico realized that he might actually die in this war. He tried to sit up, but the pain was too much and he ended up laying on the ground, trying to staunch the flow of blood with his hands.
      Nico was half-asleep when he heard the snapping of twigs. His eyes fluttered open. Was he going to die now? He saw a shadow and then a face looked over him.
      "You need to see the doctor," the figure said.
    He picked up Nico as if the man was a kitten and carried him to the tent where the doctor slept. After rousing the doctor awake, Nico was laid onto a blanket while the doctor examined him. Like Jason, the doctor had blonde hair and blue eyes, but he looked completely different. It was clear that Jason was a fighter from the way he held his shoulders and the wariness in his eyes. By contrast, the doctor — who Nico discovered was named Will Solace — had eyes that looked like pools of water instead of blue bolts of lightning and a softness in his face that Jason did not share.
    "You are badly wounded, but you may make it," Will said. "You'll have to rest for several days though — doctor's orders."
     "Pox to your orders," Nico muttered.
       "I know that you may wish for death, Death Boy, but we need you," Will said. "You will rest because right now you don't have the strength to stand for sentry duty — let alone fight in a battle."
      Nico pouted. If this was what being injured meant, then perhaps he should have been left to die. After all, death couldn't be worse than having to be around this infuriatingly annoying — and handsome — doctor.