Don't Fade Away: A Solangelo Fanfiction 2

Chapter 50: Diagnosis

Immediately after getting back from Camp Jupiter, Will and Nico unpacked all of their things, and headed across Camp Half-Blood, hand in hand.

"Will, where are you taking me?" Nico asked him.

Will kept walking. "To Mr. D."

"What? Why?"

"We're trying to figure out what's going on with you, right?"

"Yeah." Nico said. "But what does he have to do with anything? He doesn't deal with memories or physical pain."

Will finally stopped. He looked down at his boyfriend. "Nico, what's going on with you has everything to do with Mr. D. He's not only the god of wine, but also the god of mental illnesses and mental health."

"What has my problems got to do with mental illnesses?" Nico asked.

"Listen, those aren't just memories, and that's not just pain. They're connected. At least, I think they are. That's why we're going to see him. You think that the physical pain is just random? Physical pain can happen because of mental issues. I have a hunch about what you're dealing with, but I'm going to see what Mr. D says first."

Will noticed that Nico looked very confused. "Just come with me." And they started walking again.

Mr. D, big surprise, was on the porch of the Big House playing Pinochle with a satyr.

As they approached, he looked up lazily. He was about to say something, then he noticed that Nico and Will were holding hands. "What's that about?" He motioned to their hands.

"We're dating." Nico said simply.

"I'm surprised anyone would want to date you. Especially that sunshiny medic."

Will ignored him. "Mr. D, we need your help."

The god raised his eyebrows. "Why do you need me? Go talk to Chiron."

"Well, er, this is kind of your specialty." Will continued.

"And that is?"

"Mental health."

"Ah." He said, understanding. "So you want me to check out Nico's psyche, huh?"

"Exactly." Will nodded.

"Well, you'll have to play a game of Pinochle first." He said, shooing away the satyr that was sitting across from him.

"We don't know how to play Pinochle." Nico told Dionysus.

"It's simple enough. Sit down, I'll teach you."

So after a short game of Pinochle, which to be honest didn't make much sense to Will, they asked him again.

"My gods, you guys are terrible. No wonder the game ended so quickly." He met Will's pleading eyes. "Yes, yes, I'll help your boyfriend now."

He looked over at Nico. "I assume that I don't need to tell you that he has anxiety and depression?" Mr. D said, still talking to Will. "And ADHD and dyslexia?"

"No, we already knew that. Anyways, It's just, I feel like there's something more going on lately. Ever since Jason died."

"Who was that again?" He asked.

"Jason Grace, son of Jupiter. One of the seven demigods of the prophecy of Gaea. Served 12 years in the Legion, became a Praetor. Does that ring any bells for you?" Nico said in between gritted teeth.

"I think so."

"So, what else do you see?" Will prompted.

He glanced at Nico again.

"Well, I think it's most commonly called PTSD?"

Will sighed. He tried not to show his sorrow, he didn't want to upset Nico. "I thought as much."

Nico glanced between the two of them. "I'm confused. What's PTSD? I think I heard your mom mention it before."

"Yeah, my mom was a bit worried that I would develop PTSD after Manhattan."

"But what is it?"

Will combed a hand through his blonde hair. "PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Some people, after going through something traumatic, develop it."

"Some? Why only some people?"

Will didn't know how to answer that. Luckily, Mr. D seemed to know.

"It comes down to resilience, kid. Looks like you can't cope as well. You're not resilient enough."

"That's not true!" Will said. "Nico is the most resilient person I've ever met. You can only be so resilient when traumatic event after traumatic event after traumatic event happens. He's lucky he's not insane!"

Mr. D shrugged.

After the 2 of them walked away, Nico asked more questions.

"So everything that's been going on really is connected?"

"Yup. Intrusive thoughts of the trauma, you wanting to avoid the trauma, the physical pain, and the flashbacks."

"That's what the memories are called? Flashbacks?"

Will nodded.

"But why does everyone else seem to not have PTSD? Why me?"

"I'm sure other demigods have PTSD."

"Not that we know of."

"Nico, you've been through a lot of horrible things in your life. A lot more than anyone else I know. So you were already prone to it, because of that. What happened with Jason was kind of like the last straw. It triggered some bad things for you."

Nico and Will continued to talk about PTSD. Will told him as much as he knew. Nico seemed to really want to understand it, which made sense.

Will just wished that he didn't need to.