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Jason had no clue what happened, but whatever it was hurt. So much.
His head was somehow throbbing and stabbing at the same time, his vision was blurry, his stomach turned every time he tried to move. He collapsed onto the grass, knees gone weak, trying not to throw up.
“Oh shit. Jason!”
He tried to respond but he couldn’t even tell who it was or why they needed him. He just wanted everything to stop. Sound hurt. Light hurt. Thoughts hurt. Ow.
There were hands on him trying to steady him, but he was dizzy and the ground felt both close and far away. They were saying things but he couldn’t understand them. He finally managed to make his lips and voice work somewhat–
“Whappanadae.”
Nevermind. Words were out too.
He was only able to catch a couple voices with tones of concern and alarm before passing out, but to be honest it was blissful.
He woke up to the painful throbbing continued, but it was slightly less than before. His mouth felt dry and his mind was only working at half speed, but at least he could see and didn’t feel like the world was tilting anymore. The more he woke up, the more he recognized that whatever had happened had probably been pretty bad.
He was in Camp Half-Blood’s infirmary. His head was wrapped tightly in bandages. And to top it all off, Leo, Piper, Percy, Annabeth, Nico, and half the other camp kids were sitting at the foot of his bed, staring at him like he was a zoo animal.
“Hey,” he croaked out. His voice sounded like cracking ice.
“Hey yourself,” Will said, walking into the room. “How are you feeling?”
Jason held up his hand in a so-so gesture. Will nodded and then sighed towards the crowd. “Really, guys? I told you he’d be fine, why are you all spectating his recovery? Which is technically not allowed, by the way, but you’re all hiding behind my boyfriend.”
Percy shrugged. “Had to check up on my boy J-Grace.”
Annabeth shrugged. “Wanted to make sure he’s okay.”
Piper crossed her arms. “If he died I was going to charm speak his soul back into his body.”
Nico’s face went deadpan. “I was watching his soul to let her know if it happened.”
Will groaned into his hands. He turned to Leo, who had his arm wrapped around the shoulders of a little blonde kid that Jason thought was one of the other Hephaestus kids. “And what about you two?”
“We’ve got our reasons. Save my boyfriend and maybe you’ll find out,” Leo smirked.
“Oh. My gods,” Will rolled his eyes. “Alright, everybody out. Jason doesn’t need you guys crowding him and I don’t need your lame excuses for taking up my infirmary. Go!”
Everybody but Leo and the kid shuffled out, apparently satisfied that Jason’s soul wasn’t going to escape to the underworld any time soon. Will tried to chase the remaining two out as well, but Leo gave him some kind of look. Will went back to checking things, taking bandages off and replacing them with new ones.
“So, am I allowed to ask what happened? And why you two stayed behind?” Jason asked after a sip of water from Will.
The kid was fidgeting with his bracelets, refusing to look anyone in the eyes. Will shone a light in his eyes, making him wince. “Well, to your first question, you got hit on the head again. Badly. My magic took care of most of it, but you’ll still be recovering for a while.”
Jason groaned. “Again? What, does my head have some kind of magic beacon for flying objects?”
“Don’t let any godly creatures hear you, dude,” Leo joked. “And to your second question… Harley, do you want to say it?”
Harley! That was his name. He was the kid who was always making things explode–
Oh. Jason saw where this might be going.
Harley’s lips trembled and his eyes had a slight sheen to them. “I’m sorry! It’s my fault, one of my inventions went haywire and hit you, please don’t hate me!” he cried.
The sight of Harley being so torn up about it made Jason’s heart break. He was just a kid.
“Harley, look at me. I don’t hate you. It’s not your fault. It was just an accident, okay? I promise I’m fine,” Jason said, leaning over a bit to take Harley’s hand.
Harley squeezed it back. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
Leo patted Harley on the back. “See? Told you he wouldn’t be mad at you. Why don’t we go get a popsicle to celebrate you not killing anyone?”
The two left, leaving Jason awkwardly alone with Will. They never talked much, all he knew was that Nico and Will were dating and that Will was head healer.
“Jason?”
“Yeah?”
“Have you had head injuries like this before?”
Jason thought about it. “A couple. Why?”
“I just,” Will paused. “Sorry, I know this might feel like a bit of an intrusion, but when I was healing you I could see the past remnants of damage done and to be honest, it concerns me. There’s a lot of built up tissue damage, and I’m afraid if it keeps happening you’re going to have more problems than just needing rest.”
Jason let that sink in. He knew he got hit a lot, it came with the demigod territory, but yeah. That was concerning.
“Don’t… I don’t see it as an intrusion, Will. I’m glad you told me about it. Guess I’ll just have to avoid the catapults in Capture the Flag, huh?” he tried to laugh.
Will sighed. “Knowing life around here, I’ll have to hide you in here for forever. Just, be more careful of your surroundings, okay? Maybe wear a helmet when you go near the Ares cabin. Or the ball pit. Or Harley.”
“Pfft. Okay, sure. I’ll turn bike helmets into the next fashion thing so I look less like a dork.”
“You wouldn’t be able to. Piper might, though.”
They laughed, Will doing the last of his medical check-ins and then leaving Jason alone to rest. Well, Jason thought. No more getting hit on the head. Hopefully the Fates will actually allow that.