"I know the road ahead is a long one, especially for people like us… but I know you will pull through. I know the pain will never truly go away, but it will lessen over time, so Percy promise- promise Annabeth that you will live your life to the fullest… If you can't live your life for you, then live it for Annabeth, whose life ended too soon." Jason spoke with as much strength he could muster, but his face betrayed him as tears streamed down his cheeks. He might not have known Annabeth for very long, but he considered her a friend. There had been so much death and suffering in this war. He wondered if it had been Piper who died instead of Annabeth if he would be in the same state as Percy. He hated seeing Percy like this, so broken, so defeated. Ever since he heard the name Percy Jackson, and heard the stories, he thought Percy was some untouchable hero, that nothing could bring him down, but traveling with him and getting to know him made him realized:Percy was still human, just like him, with the same need to protect his friends, and with some the same insecurities when it came to their failures as leaders. They became friends, so when Percy was at his worst, he would stay by his side, because he knew if their roles were reversed, Percy would be there for him.
They must have sat there for hours as they both cried. Eventually Percy passed out from exhaustion and Jason moved Percy to his bed so he would be more comfortable. Even in his sleep, Percy didn't relax, his face was still etched with pain and sadness. Jason sighed he turned to leave the dirty cabin, promising himself that he would be back in a couple of hours to check on him, and to be there when Percy woke up to show Percy he wasn't alone.
Stepping out to the harsh light of the afternoon sun, Jason saw the waters of the lake and on Long Island Sound had calmed. It wasn't as choppy and stormy as before. He wondered if Percy was one controlling the waves as he wallowed in his emotions. He saw demigods, Hunters, Amazons, and nymphs doing their best to clean up the camp. The ground was still scorched and marred by the recent battle; tents were scattered around the field as many of the cabins were destroyed and people moved around with forced purpose to move the debris to start the rebuilding of camp. No one escaped the war unscathed, and many were still dying and injured in the hospital tent the Apollo campers had set up. They looked the worse for wear as many of them hadn't slept since the war ended, running around treating everyone and doing surgeries and caring for the rest of the camp.
"How is he?" a voice spoke beside him. Jumping slightly as he was forced out of his thoughts, he turned to see the worried face of Hazel Levesque. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She said quietly.
"no, I – I was just lost in my thoughts, what were you saying?" he asked.
"How is Percy doing?" she asked, turning to face Cabin Three's door as if she could see Percy sleeping and wearing a worn-out expression.
"Finally, asleep… he- he's hurting." Jason decided to say. He didn't want to tell Hazel how broken and dead Percy looked, knowing Percy hated feeling weak or showing his weaknesses, even to his closest friends. Jason understood that feeling. Hazel nodded, not pushing for any more details.
"How are you holding up?" she asked after a moment of silence.
"Fine," came the quick reply.
"Jason, it is okay not to be okay, this war hit everyone pretty hard. You don't have-"
"I said I'm fine." he snapped, cutting off the daughter of Pluto, who winced at his harsh tone. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you; I am just a little worn out…" he sighed, "I think I will take a nap." He turned and walked over to Cabin One, not waiting for a response. One of the only cabins that had the least amount of damage was the Zeus cabin. Other campers had camped out in the marble building until their cabins could be rebuilt. Normally he wouldn't mind,but now all he wanted was to be alone to lock himself up much as Percy had done. He sighed and flopped on to his cot, but sleep didn't come easy. The thundering in the room was not a sleep-inducing sound.
Time skip
A month and half had passed since the war had ended. Things were starting to get back to normal. The rebuilding process was fully underway, and people's spirits were being lifted. There were still some in the infirmary, but most people were more or less back to normal. Jason stopped by Percy's cabin to see if the demigod was there, Not seeing any sign of him, he headed off to the arena, the only other structure that made it through the battle mostly unscathed. As he neared, he heard sounds of metal hitting metal. On closer inspection, he saw Percy hacking practice dummies to pieces. In this one month, Percy had made a complete turnaround. He had built up muscle again and he didn't have the sickly aura around him anymore, he got his tan back, and his green eyes, though not as bright as they used to be, had regained their slight glow. Jason watched for a couple of minutes as Percy whirled around, making precise and clear movements.
When all the dummies had been dealt with, Percy capped his sword, putting it back in his pocket, and walked over to Jason.
"Hey." He said not seeming too out of breath.
"Hey." Jason replied, "You are looking better. I can tell your lungs are also getting better, since you are not breathing hard after the workout."
"Will says I still need time to recover fully before my lungs are 100%, but I think if I eat any more ambrosia I will explode." He gave Jason a small smile which Jason returned.
"He fast-tracked your recovery?"
"Hey, he knew I wouldn't stay still long enough for a 'proper' recovery time." Percy said. They both chuckled. "So did you need me for something, or did you just come by to check on me?" Percy asked after a minute.
"Chiron told me you are heading to your mom's later today and I was wondering if you wanted me to tag along?" Jason questioned. Percy raised an eyebrow.
"No, I want to do this alone. I have been gone for a long time and now I think it is time I went home and relaxed with my family." He spoke in a soft tone.
"Just like how you went alone to tell Annabeth's dad…" he didn't need to finish, as Percy's face darkened, remembering how he asked Nico to shadow travel him to San Francisco to break the bad news that Annabeth was dead. When he got back, he disappeared into his cabin for three days.