The Truth Behind The Myths

I Wish I Could Give You the Short List

"It's an anoxic brain injury." Will said solemnly to the group sitting with him. Annabeth and Steve had gathered everyone close to Percy, to talk about what they needed to do about the situation. "They happen when the brain is deprived of oxygen. I believe this problem has been building up for a while, when I was looking at some of his older medical sheets there are anomalies that I couldn't explain otherwise. They weren't obvious enough for me to realize what it was."

"What is all involved in injuries like this?" Steve asked quietly.

Will looked down at the sheets in front of him. "Quite a lot of things... Anomia, for one. He will most likely have difficulty with processing words and using them correctly. It will get better with time, but the process is slow.

"He may have trouble processing visuals. This will affect his hand-eye coordination and his sense of depth perception, and he may have issues focusing on objects. He also has ataxia, lack of coordination. Annabeth, you remember his gait before when you kicked him in the head?"

The blonde nodded silently and Will made a vague gesture with his hand. "That will be aggravated again. It can also get better with therapy, but it will take time and will not go away completely."

"Anything else?" Bucky asked.

"Apraxia, most likely." Will sighed. "He won't remember how to do basic tasks like brushing his teeth or drinking from a cup... this will only last a week or so, especially if we work with him to correct it. He'll also have severe headaches periodically, but those can be treated like normal headaches."

"So why doesn't he recognize me?" Annabeth asked after a moment of tense silence. Everyone was contemplating what this would mean for their relationships with the Son of Poseidon.

"Most likely a combination of the visual disturbances and chronic confusion, which can also be caused by injuries like this. The part of his mind that processes what his eyes register is damaged irreversibly. There have been cases with similar injuries where people have gone temporarily blind, but still act like they can see and oftentimes can identify simple things like objects and colors." Will shook his head. "The brain really is fascinating...."

He lapsed into silence, correctly sensing that now was not the time to geek out about the complexities of the human body.

Annabeth picked at her nails, thinking hard. After a minute, she looked up and realized everyone else was staring at her.

"What?" She snapped.

Will finally took the job that everyone was dreading. "Annabeth, Percy won't really be able to function as an independent person anymore... most of his conditions will be with him for life."

"So?"

"We're not saying you have to-" Will started.

"Have to what?"

He sighed. "Annabeth, in situations like this it is very common for the able partner of the relationship to end things with their significant other. I'm not saying its the best course of action... but you're a caretaker for life now. If you don't want that, it's best to be done now."

"You think just because he's got a brain injury that I'm just going to up and leave?" Annabeth asked sharply, anger flaring aggressively in her chest. "Is your impression of me really that shallow?"

"No, I-"

"I have run all over the country for this man. I have dealt with more pain and anger for Percy Jackson than I have for anything else in my life and I am not going to give up just because the Fates want to play hardball." Annabeth stood up, glaring everyone at the table down. "If they want me to quit that sucks for them, because I don't back down that easily."

Will just nodded.

Shaking with anger, Annabeth stalked away from the group. At first she had no clue where she was going, but when she saw the infirmary in front of her again she knew what she was going to do.

Percy looked up when she stepped inside the curtain. Annabeth felt a pang in her chest at the blank look he gave her, then he spoke tentatively.

"Annabeth?"

"Do you recognize me?" She asked quietly.

Percy shook his head in defeat. "Lucky guess... I'm sorry, Wise Girl."

"Don't apologize, you can't control it..." Annabeth walked to the bed and Percy reached for her hand.

It took him a few tries, but he finally found it and squeezed it gently.

"Marry me."

"What?"

"Marry me." Annabeth said quietly. "Please, Percy. Marry me, and I'll take care of you."

Percy laughed a little. "Isn't it my job to propose?"

"I beat you to it, too bad." Annabeth smiled. "What do you say?"

He nodded, squeezing her hand again. "Yeah. I'll marry you."

[A/N my friend Pierce put this list of conditions that go along with an Anoxic Brain Injury together forever ago for another character so I'm using his list]