I hope you like this chapter, I'm sorry it's so short! I had the biggest writers block... EVER! And Velocity Edited this chapter so special thanks to her!

~GingerS

Hello! Well, I'm Velocity, and I edited this wonderfully amazing chapter written by the fabulous Gingerlock. I want to say, you guys are pretty lucky to be able to read stories as good as hers! :) If there are any mistakes in this chapter, it's all my fault, so don't be mad at Ginger for it, please! So... yep! Enjoy!

~Velocity

It's hard to tell if I'm dreaming or not. I hear voices but I can't understand what they're saying. There are blurred images of faces peering down at me and moving away before I'm thrown into darkness again.

I have no perception of up, down, right, or left. Consciousness fades in and out. I attempt to grasp it, but I can't seem to get a good grip. I try to remember what happened. Why do I feel so heavy? Why can't I bend my left arm?

There's a dull pounding in my head. I move my fingers - stretching them and curling them to make sure they work.

Then I try to open my eyes. It's as if I can't remember how to. Like the rest of my body, my eyelids are hot and heavy. Eventually, I manage to pry them open.

It's dark in the room. The first thing I see is a crack at the bottom of a door in front of me. It casts a long shadow of fluorescent light across the tiled floor. I'm on a bed with white pillows and sheets. I'm definitely in a hospital. My own private room - and a fancy one at that.

It's nighttime. There's a window to the right of my bed, and outside I can see the moon - just beginning to rise, shining its light on the quiet world. There's a smell of something familiar - I can't place it, but it's crisp and stale and everything reeks of it.

Outside my door I hear wheels rolling, people talking, and the strange beeping of machines all echoing against each other in a chorus of unusual sounds. I recognize one of the voices - it's sad, soft, and female. It's one I've heard countless times before - Annabeth.

My throat is raw. My voice comes out a whisper. "Annabeth?" They keep talking, I can finally hear what they're saying, though.

What I assume to be a doctor's voice speaks. "I'll remind you of Mr. Jackson's injuries. He has two fractured ribs, a broken arm, and a broken wrist. Also, he has a large bruise on his abdomen. Despite that, everything is healing properly thus far." I looked back down at my cast. It felt strange hearing about my own injuries.

The next voice was Annabeth's dad. "And... you still don't know when he'll wake up?" There was silence. "I see..." They weren't sure when I'd wake up. I couldn't have been out for that long, right? A day, maybe two.

The doctor mumbled something then spoke. "Well, Mr. Chase, Mrs. Chase, Annabeth, if you have anymore questions, feel free to call me at anytime."

Mrs. Chase's voice was shaky. "T-thank you, we will keep that in mind." The doctor's footsteps echo loudly down the hall. How long had I been out? Fear creeps into my throat - they have to know I'm awake!

"Dad, could I stay with Percy tonight?" Annabeth sounds like she'd been crying. Her dad doesn't respond for a while, probably thinking it over.

"Alright Annabeth," he decided, "you can stay. But your mother and I-"

"Have work tomorrow." She cut him off. Once again, an awkward silence filled the air.

Mr. Chase cleared his throat. "Annabeth, it's not like that. You know we would stay if we could, but it's too important." Annabeth sniffled. "Are you sure you'll be okay alone, sweetie?" Annabeth swallowed loudly, forcing back sobs.

"Yea, I'll be fine... could you call Thalia and Nico for me, and tell them what the doctor said?" I heard Mrs. Chase whisper something to her, then they walked away, down the hallway - each footstep hanging in the air.

The door slowly creaked open. Annabeth closed it behind her, then sunk against it. She put her head in her knees. I wondered what she'd say if she knew I was awake. Maybe she'd get mad at me because I was eavesdropping.

I lay there for a long time, wondering what I would say. Annabeth sighed, still trying not to cry. She got to her feet, only to collapse into the chair that faced the window. She still had no idea that I was watching her. She still thought that I was sleeping.

It hurt to talk, so my voice came out barely a whisper. "Annabeth." Annabeth's head snapped towards me quickly. Her eyes widened and for a moment we just stared at each other.

"P-Percy!" she breathed, stumbling out of the chair and next to the bed. I blinked groggily and smiled at her. To my surprise she started yelling at me. "Don't you ever do anything like that again! Do you have any idea how much you worried me, jumping into the street to save me?! You understand that you almost died, right? And-and-"

Silent tears began falling down her cheeks. "Annabeth, I'm-" Her lips were suddenly crushed against mine - her hands cupping my cheeks as I ran my good hand through her hair. We kissed for a long time - jumping when the door flew open again.

The nurse either didn't realize what we were doing, or pretended not to. "Ah! Mr. Jackson, you're finally awake! Annabeth, please watch him while I go get the doctor." The nurse shuffled out of the room.

Finally? I thought.

"Annabeth..." I braced myself for the answer she would give, "how long was I out?"

Annabeth kissed my forehead and clung onto my neck before hesitantly saying, "Two months."