3 Days

2

Nico awoke with a start from a dreamless sleep and had no idea where he was. It was pitch dark. He was comfortable. In fact, more comfortable than he had ever been. The blanket on top of him seemed to be radiating warmth. Could he be in Tartarus again? Tartarus was warm and dark, but not comfortable. Definitely not comfortable. The opposite, in fact. Could he be in Elysium?

Wait, where was the Athena Parthenos?! The frantic thought hit him from nowhere. Where was Reyna? And Coach Hedge? Were they safe?

Just then, something near the end of his bed rustled like a curtain being pulled back. He sat up, ready to fight.

"Nico, are you awake?" Will spoke in a whisper.

It all came flooding back to him. His sentence to three days of rest in the infirmary. The warm blanket. A kiss on his forehead? No, he shook the thought. That must have been his imagination.

"Yeah, what time is it?" he asked.

"It's about 9:30, you slept the whole day. Everyone else has gone to the campfire sing-a-long, but I'm on duty tonight. Austin and Kayla brought you lunch and dinner, the food is on the nightstand if you're hungry. How are you feeling?" Will's voice was full of care and concern. The Apollo kids were such natural caregivers.

Nico glanced at the nightstand. From what he could see in the dim moonlight was what looked to be an unappetizing peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a cold hotdog with ketchup, a plastic cup with bright red? unidentifiable liquid, and two bags of chips.

"Oh, thanks," he said, his two eyebrows going up briefly and then falling back down. "I'm feeling, ummm..." it was hard for him to answer, he didn't have much practice in talking about himself. "Great actually."

"That's good to hear," Will beamed. Then he said quickly, "are you being honest with me DiAngelo, or are you just trying to get out of here?"

"What?" Nico exclaimed, "try to leave this establishment with such fine dining and sumptuous accommodations?"

"Ha ha," Will aimed back. "No such luck for you, shadow traveler. I've got you for two whole more days. Doctor's orders."

"I'm just kidding," Nico blushed, but luckily it was too dark for Will to be able to see this time. "I've actually never had such peaceful, dreamless sleep. How does the blanket stay warm? Is that some sort of Apollo magic?"

"That would be nice," Will answered. "But no, I just asked Austin and Kayla to check on you during their rounds and swap it out if it got cold. Then I did another swap right before you woke up."

"Oh, wow, thanks." Nico was speechless.

"Are you still feeling tired?" Will asked him.

"Not at the moment. But I'm also not ready to go out and fight dirt women and their armies either."

"Luckily I think we've all earned a break from those activities for a while," Will smiled. "Would you mind if I sat down? Maybe we could hang out for a bit until I have to make rounds again. You're my most alert patient at the moment."

"Be my guest," Nico invited him, waving to the foot of the bed while pulling up his legs to make room. Will jumped up and sat cross-legged facing Nico and rested his arms on his legs.

"So tell me about your trip. You were kidnapped by giants, lived on pomegranate seeds for a week, and then were tasked with hauling a 40' statue halfway across the globe along with two passengers. How do you do it man?"

"I just did what needed to be done. Not dissimilar to what you do in this building. And that dog whistle! When did you learn that?! Holy cow Will, you saved us yesterday when the Romans and Greeks were about to go after each other's throats."

"Hashtag demigodlife," Will laughed. "But I know my limits. Something I think you need to be more careful of. If we lost you Nico," Will shuddered so violently the whole bed shook. "I can't even," he said.

He reached out and took Nico's left hand in his right. A jolt of electricity traveled through Nico's body. "Promise me you'll be more careful, Neeks, promise me," Will begged sternly, looking him directly in the eye.

Nico closed his eyes, averting Will's gaze, took a deep breath, and nodded. Then Will squeezed his hand and let go.

"I'm starving. Did they leave anything decent?" Will asked.

Nico tossed him a bag of chips. "These should be edible." He grabbed the second bag. They both started munching.

The chips alerted Nico's stomach that it was in fact empty. He tried half of the PB&J, then ate the hot dog in about three bites. "Do you want the other half of the sandwich?" he held it out to Will who took it and made a grimacing face after the first bite.

"It might be a little crusty, but we haven't got many other options," Nico mused.

"Yeah, it's too bad Dominos doesn't deliver to Camp Halfblood," Will agreed. "Can I have a sip of juice?"

Nico had downed about half the cup and handed it over to Will who finished it.

"If you're feeling better in the morning, I know a really great breakfast joint I can take you to," Will offered.

"Oh, you mean the CHB dining pavilion?" Nico cracked a smile.

"Oh, you've heard of it? Let's hope it's open. I'm not sure if they operate on Thursdays."

Nico threw his only pillow at Will. Will caught it and laughed. "Ah so my patient really is on the mend."

He then stood up and handed the pillow back to Nico.

"Unfortunately I've got to go make rounds. Thanks for sharing your five star rations. I'll be back in a bit. We keep some books and magazines in the nightstand if you're interested."

Will turned to leave, and as he started to close the curtain, Nico said, "Thanks Will. I really appreciate you looking out for me." He paused. "But next time man, I expect some warm cheeseburgers and cold milk shakes."

"There's not going to be a next time DiAngo," Will growled. "There will be no more excessive shadow travel on my watch."

And with that Will left to check on the other wounded campers.