(Reader POV)

I had another dream with an automaton. I had been in another stainless steel room, no furnishings whatsoever. When the automaton crashed through the wall this time, I didn't move fast enough, getting my leg caught underneath the machine. I moaned I pain, barely keeping myself from screaming. The automaton registered my presence, grabbing my throat again. I thrashed around, trying to loosen the machine's grip. I clutched at my throat, pulling the machine's hand off of my neck. I dropped, my hands gently touching my neck. I didn't get very much time to recover, because a few random people came in through the hole in the wall, advancing toward me. My hand went to my wrist, finding my sword missing. The people got closer, and I started throwing punches. I felt a few connect, downing some people. Then, everybody disappeared. It got super cold in the room, like the room had suddenly transported to Antarctica. I shivered, almost immediately before getting a parka. I heard soft music coming from all around me. There was a voice singing to it. Leo's voice. I calmed, looking around for him. When I couldn't find him, I panicked, bolting upright.

I sucked in a breath, having forgot about my side, again. Leo sat up, resting a hand on my shoulder. "You okay?" He asked. I nodded, not wanting to go back to sleep. "Three nightmares in less than 24 hours," I whispered. "Oh, baby," he said, pulling me against him. "Sleep stinks," I said. "I bet, after three nightmares in less than a day," he said. I pulled back. "You haven't had a nightmares since you've been on the Argo, haven't you?" I asked. "Wrong. I've had a few." I raised an eyebrow. "'Bout what?" He put his other hand on my shoulder. "Losing you," he whispered, looking me in the eyes. I smiled, kissing his jaw. I tasted salt before pulling back. He smiled, kissing me on the mouth. He pulled back, resting his forehead against mine. "Now, this is true love. Not what Anna thought she had with Hans, what we have. We dream about losing each other, and it breaks us apart inside. We know when the other is in trouble, call it a sixth sense if you want, but it is called true love," I whispered against his mouth. "It's not just true love, it's the definition of true love," he whispered back. "You're right," I murmured before kissing him again. I relaxed against him, feeling his strong arms pull me close. He might look scrawny, but he was strong. You could tell if you looked close enough. I was surprised he didn't break my ribs. He pressed his mouth against mine with the same strength. I rested my hands on his shoulders, feeling his muscles under his skin. I felt his hands grip my waist so tight, I gasped a little before pressing my lips to his, forgetting about the pain. We were kissing with such intensity, it was almost painful, but I welcomed it. One of my hands moved up to rest underneath his ear. I made a noise at the back of my throat, cupping his face against mine. I slipped both hands into his hair, reveling in how soft it felt. He pulled me onto his lap, making it a little easier to kiss. He massaged my sides, and I gripped his curls, making it impossible to break the kiss. He sucked my bottom lip between his, raking his teeth against it. I whimpered, tightening my grip on his hair, making it so it had to hurt. His fingers traced my collarbone, causing me to shiver. He moved his head over a little so he was kissing my jaw. His head moved from my jaw to where it met my neck, kissing that spot, using little nips. I groaned, a little too loud, and Leo jerked his head back, looking at the door. I glanced at the door, not knowing what he was looking at. Probably waiting for Percy to come in and see us kissing...again. "He's not there," I whispered in Leo's ear. "No, I know. It's just..." He got up, causing me to slide onto the mattress. As he approached the door, time seemed to slow down. "Leo, no!" I screamed, jumping up and running to his side. Before I got there, though, the bomb went off. The explosion knocked me off of my feet, causing me to land flat on my back. I sat up, looking around. It obviously wasn't a very big bomb, judging from the amount of damage. My eyes came to rest on Leo's body. He was lying on the ground, his body covered in blood. I curled up, pulling my knees to my chest and pressing my forehead against them. This couldn't be happening. I heard a faint whimpering coming from the doorway's direction. i looked up to see nobody, so I crawled closer to Leo's body. I pulled him close, stroking his face. His eyes opened -those wonderful, chocolate-brown eyes- and took in my face. I tried to hide the depression, the sadness in my eyes, but he must have seen it, because his face changed, the emotion changed, becoming concerned. "Oh, gods," he whispered, so low I had to lean in to hear. "I'm going to die, aren't I?" I shook my head quickly. "No, no, no. I still have to check for wounds, but you're covered in blood," I said. Suddenly, everybody else was in the doorway. "We heard an explosion-" Percy started, getting cut off by me. "We're fine. Just help me get him up and into the bed," I said, standing up, my hands supporting his shoulders. Percy walked over and picked Leo up like he weighed nothing. I followed him, close on his heels. Hazel came in with some ambrosia. "Thought you might need this," she whispered before heading out of the room. "Be right back," I told Leo before heading to the mess hall to get warm water and a sponge.

When I got back to my quarters, I stood in the doorway for a minute, watching. Nico was in there, hopefully telling Leo that he had to get better. But I knew better. After Nico left, I walked over to Leo's bed, wetting the sponge. I set the bowl on the nightstand and started to clean his arm. He put his other hand over mine, and I looked up. "Te amo," he whispered solemnly. "Oh, no. You are not going to die on me," I said. He shook his head. "Nico said-" I cut him off. "I don't care what Nico said! You're not dying on me, Valdez." My voice broke, as I held back a sob. "How will I live without you?" My voice broke again as I crumpled to the floor. "No. No," I murmured over and over again. "Hey, look at me," he whispered. I looked up. "Nico said it wouldn't happen for a couple days. But I will die soon. It is inevitable. But you can't shut me out. I'm going to need you now more than ever. There is a slight chance that I will recover, though, so you need to be here for me," he whispered. I doubted he could do much more than that. I nodded, standing again. I grabbed the sponge again and started cleaning the dried blood off his arm again. My tears hadn't stopped falling by the time I'd finished cleaning the blood off of him. His hand went up to my cheek, wiping the tears away with his thumb. He had shrapnel cuts all along his arms, some on his face, and a few on his neck. I found a lot of cuts in his shirt, ranging from a couple centimeters long to four inches, and I pulled his shirt up, looking at the cuts closely. I almost suggested some ambrosia, but thought better of it. It would heal the skin, but there could be metal underneath his skin. Instead, I sat with him until dinnertime, when I went to get plates. I sat down on the edge of his bed, balancing both plates. I helped him sit up carefully, putting pillows behind him to make it easier to sit up. I took the dishes back when we were done, and headed back to our quarters.

On my way back to our quarters, I ran into a particular son of Hades, literally. "Oh my gods. I'm so sorry," he said. "For what? For bumping into me or for not telling me he was dying?" My voice cracked.