Chapter Text
If anything, this had to be the worst week of Jason's life. Let's go back to Monday. First, he and Piper broke up. It was a mutual understanding unlike most break ups; Piper was a lesbian, Jason was into guys, no big deal. But things started to get awkward between them, like the only bond they ever had was them dating.
Then he had to get dragged on a quest on Tuesday with Apollo (who apparently is now a human named Lester). That quest was…something. He had gotten a prophecy before that if they went on that quest, either him or Piper would never return. He was resolved to not let that be Piper. He had to help him find an oracle but then Caligula, a Roman man who is remembered in Camp Jupiter for things that weren't exactly good, was there. They were fighting and the others had to escape to the cruise. He shouted: "REMEMBER!" like a character would say before a big death scene.
The last thing he remembered from then was a sharp stabbing pain in his shoulder and slumping over on Tempest.
Jason woke up in a hospital room he didn't recognize two days later, his shoulder bandaged and sore. He slowly sat up from the bed, a sharp pain accompanying the movement and looked around. There wasn't anyone in the room with him, so he just laid back down.
As he waited for someone to come check on him, his mind began to race. Constant thoughts of "this wouldn't have happened if you weren't a demigod" swirled in his mind. He began thinking about all the situations he had been put in just because of his parentage. Constant threats to his life, being put on a pedestal he didn't think he deserved, being looked up to in a way that wasn't because of who he was, or what he thought, but because of who his father was and what he could do because of it.
He thought of his friends who he had to watch die or come pretty close to it, of the times he almost died himself, of all the weight put on his shoulders by expectations he couldn't always live up to, of disappointed looks his way when he did something wrong.
Most of all, he thought of how much he wished all of this hadn't happened. Sure, he wouldn't have met his closest friends. Sure, he wouldn't know anything about this whole world that normal people couldn't even see. Sure, he wouldn't be respected as he is now, or have the friends he had. But what was so bad about that? He'd already tried to live normally for a bit, but look at how that turned out. Spear through the shoulder, so close to killing him. Even before Apollo showed up, that teacher who was a blemmyae, that other one who's probably an empousa. No matter what he does, where he goes, this life would follow him, and he hated it.
The best he could do was just to try and disappear.
But how could he do that? How, with everyone, everything, watching him? Gods, monsters, other people. He was constantly in the spotlight, he couldn't just…slip away. No one really could, but for someone like him? Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, one of the Seven of the prophecy, former praetor of the Twelfth Legion. All of these made it nearly impossible for him to leave without everyone noticing.
He had had these thoughts before, many times, especially since the end of everything that happened with Gaea. These thoughts of just leaving and never coming back. But the one thing that escaped him every time was just how—
"Hey! Good to see you're awake. How are you feeling?" a doctor he hadn't seen before asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"Uh, I feel fine, I guess?"
"Good, good. How's the shoulder? You got really lucky there, any more to the side and you likely would have died on the spot."
"How…reassuring. It feels mostly fine, very achy but nothing I haven't felt before."
At that, the doctor's lips pressed into a thin line.
"Well, it should fully heal within three months. You'll stay here for the next two weeks just to monitor your condition."
"What? Can't you just use ambrosia?"
"Kid, fruit salads can't fix you up."
Jason's mind reeled at this. Why didn't the doctor know of ambrosia? Wait, would that correlate with how he doesn't recognize the place? He'd been to the hospital in New Rome and the infirmary in Camp Half-Blood many, many times, and neither of them looked like this. The only explanation would be....
He was at a mortal hospital.
His friends might think he was dead. Everyone might think he was dead. He immediately thought of going back to camp and letting everyone know he was okay, that he was alive.
But Jason couldn't help but see the opportunity in front of him. He had always asked himself how he would leave if he did, and he really did want to just go somewhere to not deal with the burden constantly placed on him. But now, with everyone thinking he was dead, in a random mortal hospital, this was his chance.
He did wonder what the Mist had shown mortals, though, just so he could get his story straight.
"So, uh, how did I get injured? I can't remember much."
"Bystanders said someone threw a knife at you and it got through your shoulder when you were in the water. The man got away before anyone could catch up though. It was like he disappeared. Then you passed out before someone took you here."
So, a knife throw. That makes sense.
"Oh, by the way, what's your name? There's no ID on you and no one recognized you."
Jason hesitated for a moment. If he was going to go with this, he didn't want to be easily found. His name…
"Ryland. Ryland Grace."
"Alright then, Ryland, I'll get your name in the system."
Ryland had been the name of someone he respected a lot before being kidnapped by Hera. The real Ryland had died a month before the switch. He told the doctor his actual last name, though. On one hand he just didn't have any ideas for a different last name. On the other hand, he felt that it could also serve as a reminder to himself, that since he could get through all of what has happened to him as a demigod, he could get through anything.
That is, if he was going to keep using this name as his. He still wasn't fully sure of that.