An Extended Visit

Later that day

Hey guys! Thanks so much for all the votes :D hope you enjoy this chapter, and sorry it took so long to update! Hopefully it won't be as long a wait next time! 

Nico spent most of the day laying in the bed of his new room, sinking in the sunlight. Despite his spur of free time that morning, Will had only been in a few times since, and that was just to bring in meals, make sure he ate them, and ensured that Nico wasn't dissolving, then left again. At around seven in the evening, Will came in Nico's room, looking sweaty and carrying something purple in his hands. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Nico didn't really know how to respond to that, so he just went with the most obvious choice. "Okay, I guess. What about you?"

Will laughed. "Me? I'm not the medical anomaly stuck in an infirmary. But I'm pretty good. But, have you been keeping track of days?"

"No, can't say I have. It's been a while since I've had a regular schedule."

"Well, it's Friday and capture the flag just ended, so the main hall is full of campers. And, see, Kayla and I have been developing a therapy system for campers like you who have serious medical concerns and have to stay for a lengthy amount of time in the infirmary, so, um…put this on and I'll be back in ten minutes," Will said, tossing the purple something to Nico.

"Wait, what? What do you mean therapy? I don’t have to sit on the couch and talk to a shrink, do I?"

Will laughed his sweet, hearty laugh. "No. That's not it. It's just that being around other patients can be really helpful for those here long term. The old Hephaestus head, Jake Mason, was able to do some last time he had a problem. He might even be out there today, too…"

"Do you actually think patients would want to get better by being around a child of Hades? Also, what is…this?" Nico asked, fingering the purple.

"Scrubs. You need them when you deal with patients. I wasn't sure what size you were, but this is the set Malcolm uses when he helps out, and I think you're about the same size."

"Really, purple? Also, why don’t you or any of the other Apollo kids have to wear them?"

Will shrugged, "just the way it works, now change. I'll be back in a few to take you to the main hall. Are you familiar with how big an idiot Percy Jackson is when he's going up against Jason Grace? Who, by the way, is mad at you for not playing with him, which probably makes him the bigger idiot, for thinking you'd actually be good enough to play. Which you are not."

Nico rolled his eyes at the way Will babied him, and the number of times he casually slipped in the fact that he would be staying a while in the infirmary and mentioning that he wasn't healthy, even though he was always happy to be cared about, ever since Bianca…deep breath. "Just go, so I can change."

"Okay, be right back."

Nico slipped out of his hospital gown and cotton pants, which he couldn’t remember having before he went out of it, and blushed thinking about what that meant. And then practically screamed thinking about what that meant, but pulled on the scrubs anyhow, not wanting Will to be annoyed at him, which was basically always. Nico almost laughed, thinking of his previous opinion of Apollo kids, especially Will Solace. He can't believe he used to think of him as easygoing and laid back. And he is definitely not someone to spend all his time at the beach.

Will knocked at the door, "good to go?" he asked.

"Well, I'm in the scrubs anyway."

"Better than most people, then" Will said, beaming, as he surveyed Nico, who looked especially good in his scrub uniform, as if he didn't always. Not to mention, he looked a little less sullen and pale after his first twenty four hours soaking in sun. "So, basically for the first few times anyone helps in the infirmary, you gotta shadow one of the trained medics. That goes for Apollo kids, medically inclined campers, and guinea pig patients like you who test how this works as a therapy for getting better. Hope you don't mind I volunteered to guide you around, though, I was hoping to keep an eye on you."