WHAT? AN UPDATE? From me? No way!

Anyway, I know I have been gone a long time (dodges random flying shoe). Hey, that was unnecessary! But I am back with the... drum roll, please... final chapter of In Which The Seven Are Oblivious!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, lots of things would've been different and people would no longer be able to read a single word without crying from all the angst.

Within seconds, Leo was on his feet and diving into his mother's arms. He was somewhat surprised to find out that she was solid; he half expected her to be a ghost that he would run right through, but no. She was solid and warm and the hug was just as comforting as Leo remembered it.

"Hello, mijo," she murmured into his curls. "You've grown up to be such a strong boy. Man, more accurately. You have no idea how much I've missed you, my lion."

Leo sobbed into her chest. "I missed you, too," he whispered as a response.

"Why did you do this to yourself?" she asked, holding his wrists. In this dream/vision, the cuts Leo had made had faded almost entirely, but if Leo squinted hard enough, he could vaguely see where he had cut his skin.

Leo didn't answer, but he didn't need to. Somehow, his mother just knew what was wrong with him without him saying a word. It had been like that for as long as he could remember.

"Leo, your friends do care about you," she told him. "They're crying because of how guilty they feel about not noticing that you were hurting. They're so scared that they're going to lose you. Trust me, mijo, I know."

"Are you a ghost or a vision or…" Leo's heart broke as the next theory crossed his mind, "my imagination?"

Esperanza smiled. "I'm a ghost. Apparently, Hades owes your father a favor, and your father knew that you needed me now more than ever.

"Leo, you are the strongest, bravest person I know or have ever known. I understand why you did what you did. If I were in your shoes, I would've probably done the same thing, but you are not me, Leo. You are much stronger than I was or am."

Leo shook his head. "That's not true. I'm weak, a coward. I'm not the son you wanted."

"You are not weak or a coward. Hurting doesn't make you either of those things."

Leo looked up. The pain and self doubt didn't vanish just like that, but hearing his mother say those words made the pain fade just a little.

"And you're right. You're not the son I wanted."

Any trace of a smile dropped from Leo's face at that sentence, but Esperanza smiled at her only son, and she continued.

"You're better," Esperanza added. "You're more than I ever could've hoped for in a son. You're not the son I wanted or expected, but you're the son I needed."

Leo smiled before he gasped as he felt his mother begin to fade.

"My time is up," she stated, reluctantly. "Just remember, Leo, that I am always with you, always watching over you, and most of all, remember that I will always love you."

Esperanza pressed a kiss to her child's forehead, and Leo felt a single tear run down his face.

"We'll see each other again. I promise you. Just… not too soon, okay, mijo?"

Leo nodded. "I love you, Mamá."

"I love you, too, my brave lion."

Esperanza Valdez faded from sight, and Leo shivered as the terrifying cold settled back into his bones. Fatigue struck him, and he fell to his knees as exhaustion overwhelmed him, followed by an excruciating pain that caused him to pass out.

Pace, pace, pace, pace.

Pace, pace, pace, pace.

Pace, pace, pace, pace.

Pace-

"Jason! Stop pacing!" Annabeth ordered, and Jason reluctantly stopped in his tracks and sat down between Percy and Piper.

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" Frank murmured.

Hazel pursed her lips. "I think so. He's not going to die, I know that, but okay… who knows? He hasn't been okay for a long time…"

"And none of us noticed," Jason mumbled.

"Leo was very good at hiding it," Percy pointed out. "But we should've noticed something. How did we not notice something?"

"It's amazing what a smile can hide," Piper summed up.

The door of the Infirmary opened, and Will stepped into the room, his shrubs covered in blood. Leo's blood.

The seven shot to their feet at the sight of the doctor, and Will, sensing their anxiety, began the diagnosis.

"He's out of the woods. He lost a lot of blood and did require stitches in both arms. He's malnourished and sleep deprived and is at a risk of infection of his wounds or general sickness, which wouldn't help his recovery, if he's not carefully watched. He will need to stay in the Infirmary for two weeks at least for me to monitor his recovery. After that, he will come to the Infirmary every other day just to check up on his health and his injuries for another two weeks. And after the month is up, we'll be able to tell whether Leo needs to continue coming to the Infirmary. That is his physical health. Mental will be a little harder. He'll need all of us right now more than ever. He's still asleep and will be out cold for the next few hours. You can come in, but don't crowd the bed. There's a lot of equipment, so be prepared for that."

Will led them into the Infirmary, and the seven couldn't help but stop in their tracks when they saw Leo, pale as a ghost, lying in a hospital bed. He was surrounded by machines (built by the Hephaestus cabin, mostly Leo, with special metals that would repel monsters instead of attract them) and had bandages wrapped around both wrists with several needles taped to his arms to supply blood, medicine, and fluids.

He looked sickly and lifeless, and Leo was way too small for that bed. They hadn't noticed how thin Leo really was until he was wearing Infirmary clothes (a green shirt and green pants) that did nothing to hide his small frame, unlike his usually baggy work clothes.

"He doesn't even look like Leo any more," Piper whispered.

The other five members of the seven agreed as they sat around the bed, making sure to steer clear of the equipment to avoid knocking into it.

Now… all they could do was wait.

Leo came to, slowly, and as he pried his eyes open, he found himself staring at the other members of the seven, the white sheets of an Infirmary bed, and a lot of needles.

Leo didn't have a fear of needles, but it still freaked him out when he found himself staring at what seemed to be dozens of needles, and he unconsciously shifted in the bleary panic of waking up so suddenly before deciding to remain as still as possible to avoid yanking any needles out of his body.

His movement caused Piper to stir, and when she noticed that he was awake, she swatted at the other five teenagers without taking her eyes off of him.

"Ow!" Percy muttered. "Piper, what was that for- Leo!"

That woke the others up real quick, and it also brought Nico, Will, and Grover into the room.

"Hey, guys, I'm sorry about-" Leo began.

"No, don't you dare apologize," Piper snarled, making Leo pull away from her slightly.

"Piper, no scaring the patient," Will said, but he couldn't help but laugh.

Piper continued as though she hadn't heard him. "We should be apologizing. You haven't been okay for a long time, and if Grover hadn't told us or you hadn't…" she gestured to his wrists, "We probably never would've known. We're sorry we were so oblivious to how you were feeling."

Leo smiled. "Apology accepted, but still, I'm sorry I put you guys through this."

"We're just glad you're okay," Nico said with a small smile. "Have a nice chat?'

Everyone else was confused, but Leo grinned and nodded. "Tell your dad I said thanks."

Everyone looked like they wanted to ask what that was all about but decided against it.

Leo turned to Grover. "Thanks," he told the satyr. He didn't specify what he was thankful for, but he didn't have to because Grover knew when Leo said thank you, he was thanking Grover for everything, not just one of the many things Grover had done for him over the past few days.

Grover clapped a hand on Leo's shoulder and smiled at the son of Hephaestus. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. His relieved and ecstatic smile said it all as Leo finally- finally- started to open up, even if it was only a little.

"So when do I get out of here?" Leo asked.

Will chuckled. "Not for a while, my friend."

Leo groaned while everyone else laughed, and Jason ruffled his hair while Leo smiled and uselessly swatted Jason's hands away from his curls, pretending to be annoyed as he rolled his eyes, playfully.

"Don't worry, Repair Boy. We'll be here to keep you company," Piper told the boy she thought of as a little brother, taking his hand in her's.

"Yeah," Jason agreed. "We're not going anywhere. I promise"

Leo grinned, and for the first time in a long time, Leo didn't have to fake a smile.

Overall, I loved that ending. I think this might be one of my favorite stories I have ever written. A special thanks to Dawnbreak55 for the prompt, and I apologize the story took so long to complete.

ALSO: I know a lot of people are waiting for updates on my stories, Reading Fire Triangle and The Fiery Hero. I would like to finish The Fiery Hero and get to chapter 24-28 in Reading Fire Triangle (the point where I will have to put the story on Haitus until the original Fire Triangle by NBrokenShacklesN is updated) by the end of the year, so I am hoping that will mean you will see updates for both stories sometime in October or November. I cannot promise, but I can tell you it is very likely you will see updates for those stories within the next few months.

Thank you for reading and for sticking with this story. Short as it was, it took a long time to complete, but so many of you still stuck with it, and I am very thankful for that. Thank you and if you have not already, please go check out my other stories. Goodbye and have a nice day!