***Short summary: y/n becomes very protective over Percy after he collapses from a poisonous chimera stinger.*** 

Y/n was concerned for Percy. 

He'd just been stung by Echidna's child. She wasn't entirely sure if it was poisonous or not. But she still made sure to keep close to Percy's side just in case anything did happen, or if she noticed any signs. In the meanwhile, Annabeth was rambling about an Athenian temple in the middle of St. Louis. Even Grover was surprised. 

"So there's a hidden temple inside St Louis?" 

"Yes. Except . . . . it's not entirely all that hidden. This is how you show your Athena your love: A monument of perfection! It's held up by math — and only math. It's got no internal support. And it's earthquake-proof. So Poseidon can't bring it down." 

Percy seemed a bit peeved by this. He scowled. 

"Nice," he said bitterly. 

They casually made their way through the crowd of people. 

"It's also a monument to other things, too," said Grover bitterly as he motioned to a painting of people trying to kill a bull, along with animal skulls being put on display. 

"You're talking about what people want it to be about," Annabeth snapped. "I'm talking about what it actually is." 

"Whatever. We're safe here, right?" 

"No monster can enter it. Not even Echidna," Annabeth reassured them. 

"Great. Now since our train has exploded, I'm going to go find another place to get tickets. We can't stay here forever." He glanced over at the painting in disgust. He sighed before adding, "Just because we're humans doesn't mean we have to be helpless." 

And with that, he slouched away. The three of them stared after him. Finally, Percy spoke. 

"He doesn't like it when people mistreat animals." 

"Yeah, I know. I shouldn't have s-snapped at him," Annabeth admitted. "I just got a bit defensive. Anyway, I'm going to go look around. Stay here, will you? And keep an eye on him, y/n. Yeah?" 

Without waiting for an answer from y/n and Percy, she wandered off. Percy and y/n stayed in an awkward silence. She could feel butterflies rising in her stomach, and she tried to ignore the blush that rose to her cheeks. 

"So, this place has a temple?" Percy finally asked, breaking the awkward silence. 

"Yeah, I guess so. I know that it's a temple dedicated to Athena, but . . . . a temple is a temple. Maybe we can say 'hi' to your dad while we're here?" she suggested kindly. 

Percy shook his head frantically. His tone was bitter.

"No, thanks. The stuff going on between you and your dad? It works great with you, doesn't it? My father, he — he had his chances. He spent my entire life ignoring me. And, in all honesty, you have helped me in the past few days more than my own father has. And if I had to choose anyone, I'd stick with —"

He suddenly cut off his rambling, realizing that he was talking too much. But y/n glanced away, smiling slightly, before turning to face him. Her eyes twinkled. 

"Careful, there," she laughed. "I think that you were about to call me your friend." She got a closer look at Percy. That was when she noticed that he didn't look too good. His face was turning a sickly-pale color. There was a tinge of red around his eyes. She frowned. "Hey, are you sure you're — whoa! Percy!" 

Percy's knees had buckled before he collapsed. Luckily, y/n immediately caught him around the waist before he hit the floor. 

"Oh, shit! Grover?! Annabeth?!" the terrified girl cried out, searching frantically for both of her friends. 

Luckily, they heard her and immediately came to y/n's aid. Y/n struggled to keep Percy from falling to the ground. His body was beginning to feel like lead, thanks to the poison coursing through his veins. Y/n held the boy close to him, making sure that she was protecting him with everything she had. 

"What happened?!" Grover exclaimed as he came trotting over towards the duo. 

"I think — I think that the stinger was poisonous," Percy answered. 

His voice was becoming weaker by the second. Y/n noticed that his eyes were beginning to flutter close. With her free hand, she gently tapped his cheek, getting him to open his eyes again. 

"Don't close your eyes, Perce. Please," she pleaded desperately. She was worried that, if he closed his eyes, he would never be able to open them again. 

"What are we going to do?" Grover rambled anxiously. "The nearest source of water is 20 feet from where we're standing. There's no way we'll be able to make it on time — especially with Echidna on the loose!" 

As Grover continued rambling, y/n, herself, began to frantically search with her eyes, hoping to find some sort of water source for Percy to be healed in. She didn't care what it was as long as it was water. Finally, the fountain outside caught her eye, and a lightbulb went off in her head. She got Percy to wrap his arm around her shoulder. She kept a protective, secure arm around his waist, bringing the injured boy closer to her. 

The boy stared at her in surprise as she got him adjusted to a more comfortable position. The entire trip, he and y/n had been bickering. Not even once did she show any sign of remorse for him — except when they first met in the infirmary when she had been keeping watch over him. But all of that changed in Medusa's lair when he had frozen the Fury. Sure, she still found ways to tease him. But nothing hurtful. 

"I've got an idea," she declared. "But I'll need you guy's help," the girl said as she glanced at Annabeth and Grover's direction. 

Y/n half-dragged, half-carried Percy to the water fountain, the nearest water source they had. With all her strength, y/n got Percy over the edge of the fountain and got him to sit down. Annabeth and Grover immediately got the hint of what y/n's plan was, and began to splash water all over Percy until he was drenched. 

But the water did absolutely nothing. And y/n was starting to get concerned. She could see that he looked as though he was in so much pain. His face looked deathly pale and he had red rings forming around his eyes. 

"The water cured him back at camp!" said Annabeth frantically as she splashed water onto the boy again. Y/n rubbed Percy's shoulder in hopes to ease him from some of the pain."Why isn't it doing that, now?" 

"Maybe it has to be naturally-running water for Poseidon to heal him?" Grover suggested anxiously. 

"Grover, the nearest naturally-running water is 20 ft away from us. That's what you said, right?" y/n reminded him angrily. She rubbed Percy's arm hopes to comfort him. "And, besides! We'd never be able to make it with Echidna on the loose!" 

"Guys, I really appreciate the suggestion," said Percy quickly. He began to shakily get to his feet. He groaned in pain as he did. "But I think that it's working —" He collapsed back into the water, wincing in pain, panting heavily. "— or not." 

A squeaking noise came from down the road. They looked over just in time to see a car crashing into another truck. They knew that Echidna was getting closer. And they were not going to waste any precious time. They had to get up to the top in order to ask Athena for help so that she could save Percy's life. 

"We've got to get to the top — now!" y/n demanded frantically. She grabbed onto one of Percy's arm and began to pull him to his feet. 

"Get to the top of what?" Grover asked. he sounded frustrated. 

"To the top where the alter is!" 

"Alter? Where is there an alter?"

"Percy was watching the duo arguing in front of him. He shivered from the intense cold that coursed through him. 

"The highest point, the one with the best view!" 

"I thought that we don't ask for help?" said Percy weakly from the ground. 

They glanced over across the courtyard. Echidna was approaching ever closer. Y/n knew that they had no choice. But this was an emergency that had to be dealt with quickly. And they needed their parent's help to cure Percy. 

"Quick! We've gotta get out of here!" said y/n frantically. 

She held on more tightly to Percy's arm, keeping it secure. She made sure to keep an arm protectively around his waist to keep him from falling or collapsing. They didn't stop their trek to the elevator pod until —

"Did you hear that?" Annabeth interrupted. 

"Hear what?" y/n asked, sounding a bit frustrated and anxious about delaying their attempt to heal the dying boy in her embrace. 

"Never mind. Let's go," Annabeth hastily replied.

They quickly made their way to the nearest, empty pod, pushing past people. They gave the four teens a look of confusion. Y/n winced every time she heard Percy's sharp, painful breathing. The moment they sat down, y/n continued to be protective of the boy who sat next to her. She wrapped her arm around his waist again. He leaned his head against his shoulder. Y/n turned to Annabeth. 

"She spoke to you in your mind, didn't she? What did she say?" 

Annabeth refused to say anything. A growl caught their attention. They looked up to see Echidna entering the building. She could see the shadow of a chimera closely following the woman. Upon seeing this, y/n got extra protective and held Percy more protectively towards her. Her eyes widened at the sight. 

"Was that the chimera?" Grover asked once the door of the pod had closed shut. "I think that was the chimera!" 

"Annabeth!" y/n said sharply as she held the shivering, ill boy close to her. 

Every little whimper that came from his lips made y/n feel horrible for him. She couldn't imagine the pain he must be in. She vowed to herself that she would protect this boy with all that she had, no matter what came in their way. 

"What did Echidna say to you?" 

"She said that my impertinence wounded my mother's pride, and that it would be my doom," she answered bitterly. 

"Impertinence?" y/n echoed. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. The boy next to her shuddered from the intense cold that shot through his body. Y/n could feel the clamminess of his skin. She couldn't stand seeing the innocent boy be in pain. She wished that there was a way to save him. But the chimera was a demigod killer. It was very rare to survive a chimera wound. "What kind of —?" Annabeth shot the girl a look, and y/n immediately realized what she meant. "Oh. Medusa's head." 

"She said that I embarrassed my mother. And now, she's angry. That's why she's not going to help Percy. That's why she let Echidna waltz into the temple without a problem." 

"Guys, what are we going to do?" said Grover nervously. 

"Well, obviously, my mother isn't going to help us once we get to the top," Annabeth answered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. 

"No! I mean, what are we going to do about the chimera? They're going to be right behind us when we get out of this thing!" 

They remained quiet, dreading the moment they got out of the pod. The only thing that could be heard was Percy's uneven breaths and his whimpers of pain. 

When they got to the top, y/n and her friends knew that they had to act quickly.  Annabeth immediately began to devise a plan. Percy leaned against y/n for support. She could tell that he was hurting, and she felt horrible for him. 

"We're not gonna have much time," said Annabeth. "We need to do something. And I think that I have a plan." 

"You think?" y/n answered sarcastically, shooting her friend a look. 

Annabeth didn't retort. They got to the top. Y/n's heart sank when she saw a whole crowd of people exploring the top of the arch. 

"Oh, no," said Grover softly from next to y/n. "We've gotta get these people out of here." 

Y/n looked around for something to use to devise a plan. She finally spotted the familiar fire alarm trigger. She had an idea, but she passed Percy to Annabeth and Grover. They both set Percy on the ground so that he could catch his breath for a moment. Y/n triggered the alarm, which immediately started blaring.

People started panicking, making their way to the stairs. Y/n made her way to Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Her face went pale when she saw that Percy looked much worse than he had looked just moments ago. His breathing was sharp and ragged, stuttering in between. The look of pain in his eyes made her heart shatter. 

Annabeth and Grover moved out of the way to give the duo some space. Y/n grabbed Percy's face, which felt unnaturally cold. She could feel him shivering. She rubbed his cheekbones with the pads of her thumbs, hoping to soothe him at least a little bit from the pain he was in. He stared weakly at the girl in front of him.

"Percy, I need you to listen to me, okay?" y/n demanded firmly. The boy didn't say anything, allowing y/n to continue. "I'm going to buy you guys some time. Annabeth and Grover will get a head start and take you down to the river so that Poseidon can heal you. Okay? I'm going to stay here." 

"What?" Percy asked, his voice weak. "N-No! Y/n, we — we have to stick together! We're not losing each other!" 

"I know," y/n answered quickly. She pressed her forehead gently against the boy's forehead. She closed her eyes momentarily. "Trust me, Percy. I don't want us to split up, either. But I need you to get to the river. Promise me that you'll get the Bolt from Hades and get back to Camp safely." 

"Y/n, I —" 

"Promise me, Percy!" the girl repeated more firmly. 

Percy went quiet for a moment. He could feel the tears coming to his eyes. His voice began to feel choked up with tears. He knew that he had to fix this. He would not let this girl die for him. 

"I — I promise," he answered softly.

Y/n nodded and gently pressed her forehead against his.  

"Good. Now, go!" She handed the boy to Annabeth and Grover. They stared at her, shocked, as they adjusted Percy in their arms. "Get him to the river. Do not stop this quest. Not until you reach Hades. Do you understand me?" 

She began to close the door on them, but Percy quickly stopped her. 

"Y/n — wait!" 

He dug in his pocket for Riptide. He transformed it into a sword, handing it to the girl in front of him. 

"Take this." 

"Percy, I can't —" 

"Just take it! Please!" the boy pleaded desperately. 

Tears came to y/n's eyes as she stared at Riptide. She reluctantly grabbed the handle. She immediately regretted her decision because, before she knew it, Percy had switched places with her, slamming the door in their faces.