A/N: I really appreciate all the support. Each one of you gets a cookie from me (::). Don't let it become stale.

Zöe pressed a cold towel to his forehead as Percy grinned weakly towards her. He was lying down on a spare bed in Artemis's tent.

'I like your hair'. He muttered. Zöe glared murderously at him.

'You do not flirt with me or say things like that in my mistresses's presence.' She shot at him in a harsh whisper.

So I can do that when she's not here? Percy thought, smiling internally.

Artemis lifted her head a bit from the corner of the tent where she was mending some bows.

'Is anything the matter, Zöe?' She asked.

'Nothing, my lady.' Zöe hurriedly replied. She glared back at Percy.

'So,' Percy continued, 'how long before she turns me over to Zeus?'

The huntress's hands twitched to slap Percy but that would surely get Artemis's attention. She settled for dragging the towel onto his eyes instead.

'Ouch.' Came a muffled voice, 'What was that for?'

Zöe dragged the towel upwards.

'She is not going to turn you in, Percy.'

It was clear he didn't believe her.A calm, resigned look came onto his face as he continued,

'What are you going to do with me then? Just let me go? You would have done that before if you meant to do that.'

'You're ill, Percy. You're severely undernourished and dehydrated. You think we could have just let you go?'

'Yeah, I mean. It's not like Artemis cares, anyway.' His voice slightly broke.

Percy could not be thinking like that. Zöe grabbed his face in her hands.

'Look at me, Percy. I do. And I'm not going to let Zeus kill you.'

Percy heaved a sigh,

'I trust you, Zöe. It's just that I don't trust her.' He nodded his head in Artemis's direction.

Much to Zöe's surprise, he suddenly heaved his legs off the bed and sat up straight.

'I need to get better faster.' He said, Where's the nearest water source?'

'There is this lake nearby which we use for baths.' Zöe said unsurely.

'C'mon.' Said Percy, standing unsteadily on his feet. 'It's the middle of the night. I don't think anybody will notice.'

He shakily walked towards the tent flap when Artemis stopped him.

'Where do you think you are going, Perseus?' She asked sharply.

'Water.' Was his simple reply. He walked outside.

Zöe glanced helplessly at Artemis.

'He says it will help his fever. I'll just take him to the nearest lake and see that he doesn't get into any trouble.'

Artemis slightly tilted her head by way of acquisence.

The worried girl almost ran out to catch up with Percy when she saw him sprawled on the ground two feet in front of the tent. She bit back a smile. He looked so completely ridiculous and helpless.

'I leave you for two minutes…' She said while helping him back to his feet.

Percy looked at her sheepishly.

'There was this tent peg.'

Zöe simply shook her hand and put an arm around his shoulders to help him keep his balance. They slowly made their way to the lake. Its surroundings were quiet and serene. Trees and foliage surrounded it on all sides and the only visible light was a flicker coming from the direction of the hunt.

Percy stopped in front of the dark water and looked at her.

'This is where you jump in, right?' Zöe asked.

'Yes.' He said distractedly. He seemed to be lost in his memories. It was almost as if the lake reminded him of something or someone. Zöe wondered what it could be that distracted him so much. After a while, he looked up from the lake and stole a glance at her. Then, quite unexpectedly, he dived into the water.

Zöe shook off a weird feeling she was having and looked around for a rock to sit on. She sat down on a suitable flat one and delved into her hundreds of years of memories to pass the time. She would wait for Percy.

The first rays of sunlight had just started to creep through when Zöe seriously started considering jumping into the lake to retrieve Percy. It wouldn't be long before the hunters were here and then… She didn't want to think about explaining all this to a group of man hating hunters. Well, technically she was a man hating huntress herself but then again, this was a special scenario.

Thankfully, Percy resurfaced not long after – eliciting a sigh of relief from Zöe.

'Thank the gods you're back, Percy. I was getting worried.'

'About me? I'm a son of Poseidon. I don't drown. You know that, right?' He seemed to back to his usual cheerful self.

'Yes.' Zöe rolled her eyes, 'It wasn't you drowning which I was worried about.'

'Then what-' Percy started but Zöe broke him off.

'We need to go. Artemis's tent. Now.' She shot off like an arrow.

Percy ran behind her, struggling to keep up with her speed.

She smirked at him as he arrived, huffing.

'I'm impressed. I didn't have to wait more than four seconds.'

Percy shot her a dark look,

'In case you didn't notice, I just recovered from last night.'

Zöe waved her hand.

'Boys.' She said in her usual disgusted tone. But Percy knew she didn't mean it that way.

Artemis was awake when they entered.

'Don't you ever sleep?' Percy asked curiously.

'I don't need to. But in case you're wondering, I do take some power recovery naps sometimes.' Artemis answered.

'She means she crashes into bed for dozens of hours sometimes. She's almost impossible to wake.' Zöe whispered from behind Percy and promptly came ahead to stand beside him.

Percy grinned slightly, imagining Artemis sleeping innocently with Zöe trying to wake her up. He quickly dismissed that train of thought as Artemis addressed him seriously.

'We need to do something about you.' She said.

Percy's heart rate crept up alarmingly. This was it. Artemis was going to turn him over and nobody would be able to stop her.

Zöe discreetly squeezed his hand. Artemis looked to be deep in thought and didn't notice.

'My lady.' Zöe spoke up.

'Yes, Zöe?'

'I have a suggestion.' Artemis didn't object so she continued.

'We could keep him here with us.' 'We won't tell the other hunters, of course.' She said hurriedly in reponse to Artemis's raised eyebrow.

'How can we do that?' Artemis asked, her interest piqued.

'Let's say a sick maiden came to you for help and you obviously couldn't refuse, so you let her stay till she gets better.'

Artemis smiled slightly.

'You think we could pass Percy off as a girl? He may have many feminine traits but I don't think that would be enough convince the hunters.'

'No.' Zöe's eyes widened. 'I meant that no one would have to see him because…er because his, no her, illness is contagious and could spread if someone gets close.'

Artemis seemed to consider this carefully before nodding.

'We can do that. If he gets caught, that's his problem.'

'Okay.' Zöe nodded confidently.

'Ummm… excuse me here.' Percy started, 'Is nobody going to ask if I'm alright with this? I mean, you could just let me go.'

'We can't.' Artemis objected.

'Why not?'

Artemis simply looked incredulously at him before walking out of the tent.

He turned to Zöe.

She looked at him sadly.

'You wouldn't last a day without our help. You'll probably fall off some tree and break your leg.'

Coming from a hunter, that hurt.

'Hey!' Said Percy in an insulted voice, 'It was only that one time. And I had ambrosia. I was fine.'

'But that's not all of it.' Zöe started in a matter of fact tone before becoming more serious.

'Zeus has Ares, Dionysus and Aphrodite looking for you. You won't be able to avoid all of them for more than a week at most. Without us helping you, that is.'

Percy looked at her thoughtfully. Things did look pretty bleak. It seemed as if he would just have to wait it out till everyone thought he was dead. He knew Zöe and Artemis were taking a big risk by letting him stay here. If Zeus found out, the hunt would suffer for it.

'Thanks a lot, Zöe. I don't know what I would have done without you.' He said gratefully.

The tips of Zöe's ears turned slightly red.

'Thank Artemis. I still can't believe she agreed.' She said.

On a sudden impulse, Percy leaned closer and kissed her on the cheek.

'I still thank you.'

A/N: Not much of action but I hope you people don't mind. Percy's with the hunt but (surprise!) he's not the guardian. The events of book 4 get a tweak in the next chapter.