Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu or any of these characters.
Sensei Wu came in to wake up the ninja for a day of training. Thankfully, he looked in before banging on the gong. Zane, Cole, and Kai were peacefully asleep, but Jay looked terrible. He was flushed and sweating, and his breathing was shallow. Anyone could see that he was sick. So, Sensei Wu simply woke up the other ninja and warned them to be quiet. Each of the ninja were slightly confused by this until they all got up and saw Jay, then their confusion turned into worry. Once they were all gathered around the breakfast table, Zane asked the question they were all thinking.
"Sensei, is Jay going to be all right?"
Jay woke up just like he had all night, running to the bathroom. His puking hadn't brought anything up since about three, but that didn't stop the dry heaves. As he made his way unsteadily back to his bunk once again, he noticed that none of the others were in bed. That probably means something. If only I wasn't so tired, I might know what it was. With that thought, Jay collapsed back into his bunk, hoping that he wouldn't wake for a long time.
Before Sensei Wu could answer Zane's question, Nya came running in.
"The Serpentine are attacking the village!"
Before the ninja could react, Sensei Wu said, "Fly the ship there, Nya. Without Jay, we all will have to help."
Nya nodded and ran to the engine room while the ninja got ready.
Jay was woken by the feeling of motion, namely, the ship was moving. This was not a good sensation to experience when his stomach was already unsteady. He stumbled back to the bathroom, where his stomach proceeded to try and turn itself inside-out, again. You would think after doing it all night, Jay would be used to it by now, but each time was just as bad as the last. Once it was over, Jay sunk down onto the floor of the bathroom, too exhausted to care anymore. He was asleep before he hit the floor.
When Jay woke up, he felt marginally better. That is to say, he was alternating between burning up and freezing cold; the world seemed to be spinning so he could barely stand, and he had severe stomach cramps. However, he was not puking anymore, so he decided to find out where everyone else was. As he made his way slowly down the hall with his arm pressed firmly into his stomach, he heard the distinct sound of fighting coming from outside. Groaning, he made his way up to the deck. As he looked over the side, he saw Zane, Cole, Kai, Nya, and Sensei Wu all fighting the Serpentine. This in and of itself was hardly unexpected, but as he continued to watch, Jay realized that they were losing. They were badly outnumbered and were being slowly forced into a corner.
Jay couldn't let his friends be captured, so he tried to push away what his body was telling him, that he should go back to sleep, and got his nun chucks of lightning. Focusing his mind just then was one of the hardest things he had ever done, but he managed it and was soon in his jet. He flew to right over where Kai had been cut off from the rest of the team and was quickly being overwhelmed, and he dropped out of the sky with a cry of "Ninjagooooo!" His spinjitzu was off, that much he could tell. However, it was enough to startle the Serpentine and give Kai the edge he needed to defeat the group. After that, Kai ran off to help the rest of the team, and Jay went as fast as he could after them.
The rest of the battle passed as a blur. Jay fought as best he could, though most of his energy was devoted to keeping his knees from buckling and going to sleep right where he stood. Finally, there were no Serpentine left. After ascertaining that nobody had been seriously hurt, Jay finally reached the end of his rope and collapsed into obliviousness.
The Serpentine had been defeated, though it had been a close call. As the ninja made sure that everyone was okay, they spotted Jay over to the side, collapsed on the ground. Zane, Cole, and Kai rushed over to their teammate with Sensei Wu and Nya close behind.
Jay didn't look good. He was curled in a ball, white as a sheet, and shaking. His face was flushed with fever, and he was soaked in sweat. Working together, they got him back onto the Bounty and back in bed. Everyone was reluctant to leave until Sensei Wu said, "Too many people crowding him might make him worse. One person at a time may sit with him."
Zane volunteered to go first, and the others agreed, hoping that his ice powers might be able to bring the blue ninja's fever down. Once the others were gone, Zane sat down on a stool next to Jay's bunk, hoping that he would get better soon.
Jay came back into consciousness gradually. His head pounded and his stomach was still cramping. He heard someone next to him and pried his eyes open. The blurry image of Zane came into his vision, before the light made his headache worse and he closed them with a groan.
"Jay?"
The white ninja's voice was hushed, for which Jay was grateful, but also held a note of concern. Jay managed to get out, "Hi," with a brief ghost of a smile before curling into himself as his stomach cramped again. He was so hot. "Do you think you could cool me off a bit?" he asked through clenched teeth. Immediately, he felt ice forming around him. Before he could thank his friend, the tiny amount of relaxation caused by the relief had sent him back to sleep.
When he woke up the next time, Cole was sitting next to him. The normally stoic ninja was looking at him with a mixture of concern and relief. "How're you feeling?" he asked gently.
"It hurts," Jay moaned.
He hadn't meant to say that, he was a ninja for crying out loud! However, the pain was overwhelming him. Now not only did he have a killer headache and continuing stomach cramps, but the rest of his body seemed to ache as well.
"Where?" Cole asked.
"Everywhere," Jay whispered, tears pricking his eyes. He really was being a wimp.
Cole was at a loss. He wanted to help Jay, that was why he was here, but he didn't have a clue what to do. He noticed that Jay looked tense, so he did the only thing he could think of. He started rubbing slow circles on Jay's back, hoping it would help him relax. To his relief, Jay started to loosen up and soon was back asleep, this time looking like it was a bit more restful than before.
When Jay woke up again, he felt a good deal better than he had before. His fever wasn't nearly as bad, taking with it most of the hot and cold spells as well as the general fogginess he had been feeling. He noticed that Kai was now sitting with him and wondered exactly how long he had been there.
"How long have I been here?"
The question seemed to startle Kai, who obviously hadn't noticed that Jay was awake.
"Jay! Uh… a long time?"
"That's not very helpful, Kai."
"It's about dinner time."
Jay's stomach flipped at the mention of food.
"You okay? You look kind of green."
"Yeah… let's just stay away from the topic of food."
Unfortunately, just then the smell of dinner wafted into the room. Jay jumped up and ran to the bathroom, where he started dry heaving all over again. This time though, Kai was there too. He put his hand on Jay's shoulder while he heaved and helped him back to his bunk afterward, for which Jay was grateful. He collapsed into a ball with a groan. Whatever he had thought about feeling better when he had woken up was gone. He felt miserable and exhausted.
"Go back to sleep, Jay. You look done in."
Jay wanted to protest that he had just woken up, but he was being pulled towards unconsciousness too fast. Another minute and he was fast asleep.
The next time Jay woke up, he was alone. Sitting up gingerly, he took an inventory of how he was feeling. His head was slightly cloudy, his stomach was iffy, and he could tell he still had a fever. Better take it slow then. He slid his out of the bed and was pleased to find that his legs would support him. He made his way slowly out of the room. Where is everyone? Might as well start with the game room. So, Jay worked his way to the game room and was glad to find his teammates there. He walked into the room, trying for his normal demeanor.
"Hey guys, what's up?"
Immediately, all three of his friends turned around and started talking simultaneously.
"Jay! You're up!"
"You really had us worried there buddy!"
"How are you feeling?"
Jay held his hands up.
"Whoa, guys. I'm thrilled to see you too, but I wasn't dying or anything!"
The looks on their faces made him doubt this statement.
"Was I?"
Cole was the one who answered. "Originally, no. You were just sick. However, once you stepped in and helped us fight the Serpentine, you got a lot worse. You wouldn't wake up half the time, and when you did, you were completely delirious. Your fever was sky-high, and we couldn't get you to eat or drink anything."
Jay was confused. "Wait, how long was I out of it?"
Zane answered this time. "Jay, it has been a week since we fought the Serpentine."
Jay was stunned. He had thought it had been about a day, two at the most. Just then, his legs went to jelly, and he had to grab the doorway to keep from collapsing on the floor. Kai rushed over and helped him sit down with his back against the wall. Then they all sat down in a half circle in front of him.
"You really should go back to bed."
"I've just been in bed for a week, I'm in no hurry to go back."
"Kai is right. You do look rather pale."
"Come off it guys. I'm not tired!"
"Alright, but you have to eat something."
Jay was doubtful of this proposal, but his friends were not to be dissuaded. They finally compromised on Jay sipping a glass of water. After the first few sips, Jay felt fine. After the next few, not so much. He carefully put the glass down and hugged his knees to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut, desperately hoping that he wasn't going to start heaving again. He didn't, and his friends didn't push him anymore.
They just sat there for a while, talking, though it was kind of awkward because all the others were watching him like he was about to pass out at any minute. A few hours later, Jay attempted another sip of water to appease his friends. Unfortunately, this made his stomach start cramping again. He pulled his knees up again, every muscle tense as he tried to ride out the pain. He didn't even notice the tears making their way down his cheeks. After what seemed like days, but was probably closer to ten minutes, the pain subsided. It wasn't gone, but it was bearable. As Jay opened his eyes, he realized that all three ninja were watching him with concerned looks on their faces.
"Come on, Jay," Cole said gently. "Let's get you back to bed."
This time, Jay didn't argue. As he stood up, he quickly realized that his legs were still not up to supporting his weight, and he grabbed the wall to keep from falling back to the floor. He smiled sheepishly at his friends. "Little help?"
Immediately, Zane wrapped Jay's arm around his neck and supported him back to his bed. By the time they got there, Jay was exhausted. As he collapsed into his bunk, he looked up at his friends.
"Thanks guys."
Then he was asleep.
When he woke up, he was alone again. As he started to get up, he realized that he didn't have the strength and had to make do with sitting propped up in his bed. As he tried to come up with why he might be so weak, he couldn't quite work it out. He knew that he knew, but it seemed just out of his grasp. Why is it so cold? Just then, Cole came in.
"Hey, Jay. Feeling any better?"
"I- Why can't I get up?"
Cole looked at him for a minute, taking in Jay's pallor and his shivering.
"Probably because you haven't eaten and barely drunk anything in a week. Do you want to try and get something bland in you?"
Cole was trying to not show it, but he and the other ninja were starting to get seriously worried about Jay. If he couldn't start keeping things down soon, they didn't know what would happen.
Jay looked at him with what could only be fear in his eyes. Cole felt sorry for his friend, the ninja who could always find a bright side, who always had a joke ready. Now he was afraid of something as simple as eating. Cole left to get him a glass of water. While the last attempt at drinking hadn't been pleasant, at least it had stayed down.
When Cole came back, Jay was in the same position as when he had left, but he looked exhausted. Cole had never seen him look this tired, not even after a whole day of merciless training. He sat down on the mattress next to Jay and gently shook him. Jay's eyes refocused on his friend, then he noticed the glass of water in his hand.
"No…please." The plea was barely audible.
Cole hated to do this, but he knew it had to be done, and that was what being the leader meant. Doing what had to be done, even when it was hard.
"Come on, Jay. Just a couple of sips."
Jay hesitantly did as he was asked. After waiting a few minutes with nothing happening, he tentatively took a few more. Still nothing. The process continued until the glass was empty. Then, Jay lay back down, exhausted and shivering, and went to sleep.
Cole made sure he was covered up and quietly left the room, to where Kai and Zane were waiting.
"How is he?"
"He's exhausted, the lack of food combined with his fever is starting to really take its toll. However, he managed to drink an entire glass of water and keep it down."
Both the red and white ninja smiled with relief when they heard this. Maybe Jay would be okay after all.
When Jay woke up, he was definitely feeling queasy. He hoped that his friends wouldn't try to make him drink anything else. Eating was definitely out of the question. He curled up into a ball, and for a moment he could pretend that this was an ordinary day and he was trying to catch a last few minutes of sleep before Sensei came in to wake them up for training. Then his stomach reasserted its presence, and he went back to hoping that he wouldn't start puking again. He felt so hot.
How long he lay there, half awake and half asleep, he wasn't sure. However, eventually he became aware that he was no longer alone. He rolled over and opened his eyes to see that Kai was standing there.
"Hey," Jay said quietly.
"Hey," Kai replied at the same volume.
Kai had been about to ask Jay if he wanted to try and get something else into him when he noticed that his friend was curled up and looking slightly green. He decided that now wasn't the time, so he just sat there with his friend until he fell asleep again.
A few hours later, Kai had to wake Jay up. He hated to do it, but with Jay's low energy level, they weren't sure when he would wake up on his own. Once he was awake, they offered him various bland foods. He didn't want to eat anything, but they persisted until he relented and nibbled on some toast. Unfortunately, that was too much. Minutes later, Jay was stumbling back to the bathroom, where he lost the few bites of toast and the water that he had drunk before. Once he was done, he collapsed onto the floor, lacking the energy or the will to go back to his bed. Kai and Zane picked him up and helped him back to his bed, where he collapsed and went back to sleep.
Over the next few days, Cole, Kai, and Zane took turns trying to get Jay to eat something and keep his fever down; it was rising again. Normally they could get him to drink water and keep it down. However, it wasn't until the end of the week that Cole finally got Jay to eat a piece of toast without it coming back up. Jay was still sleeping most of the time, but the others hoped that he was starting to get better.
Finally, about two weeks after he could keep food down and a few days after his fever finally broke, Jay joined his teammates in the game room. He was still weak and tired easily, but he managed to make it there by himself with only a steadying hand from Cole. Once there, they all sat down in much the same positions as the last time Jay had come in here.
"You gave us quite the scare there, Jay."
"You can say that again, Cole. We were scared stiff!"
"I agree that we were quite worried about you."
Jay smiled at all his friends. "Thanks guys. I couldn't have made it without you."
Over the next few weeks Jay slowly regained his strength, though he still wasn't able to participate in training just yet. One day they had to land the Bounty for repairs. Jay helped where he could, but for the most part he just sat in the corner giving advice to Nya, whether she wanted it or not. Finally Nya had had enough.
"Hey, Jay. I've got it down here, why don't you see if you can help some of the others?"
As Jay walked out, he huffed a little to himself. However, his little pity party was suddenly cancelled when he realized that the ship was under attack. Completely forgetting his own condition, he joined in the battle against the small group of Serpentine that were hoping for easy prey. The battle didn't take long, but at the end Jay was exhausted. He leaned against the side of the deck, trying to catch his breath. He didn't even realize that he was falling until someone caught him. That was the last thing he registered before passing out completely.
Cole, Zane, and Kai were worried. This was becoming a more or less common occurrence. After they had fought off the Serpentine, Cole had noticed Jay leaning against the side of the deck. Tell me he didn't… But, of course, he had. Cole had to rush over to keep his teammate from cracking his head on the deck. Now his fever was back full-force, though his stomach seemed to have been unaffected, for which the ninja were incredibly grateful. Jay still didn't eat much, at least compared to the way he did before the illness, so the last thing they needed was him losing the little he did manage.
However, the fact remained that he still had not regained consciousness several hours later and was tossing and turning, face flushed and sweating. Zane kept trying to cool him off with ice, but it would melt almost immediately until he was soaked through.
Eventually Zane and Kai left, and Cole was left sitting by his friend. This is my fault. I'm supposed to be the leader and I can't even keep my teammates from hurting themselves. Just then, Jay started whimpering and curled up into the ball that had become so familiar to his friends during that week after the first Serpentine attack. Oh no. Not again. I'm not sure he can take it again… Cole's thought were cut off by Jay's heaves. He didn't wake up, didn't even lean over the side of the bed, just vomited all over the sheets and himself. Cole rubbed his back until he was done, then began cleaning up the mess. He ended up moving Jay to his own bunk and having to change him into clean pajamas. Jay hadn't woken up during the whole process, a fact that worried Cole to no end. Before, he had at least managed to wake up enough to try to get to the bathroom. He went to get Zane; Jay needed to cool down, now.
Zane kept creating ice around his friend, but almost as fast he could create it, it would melt. However, it seemed to be helping, at least a little bit. Jay wasn't as restless, though he still hadn't woken up.
Finally, Jay's eyelids fluttered open, and he looked at Zane through fever-glazed eyes.
"Zane?"
"It is me, Jay."
"P-please stop with the ice, I'm freezing."
Zane looked at his friend and realized that he was, indeed shivering. However, his fever was still high.
"I am sorry, Jay, but I have bring your fever down. Just go back to sleep."
Jay let his eyes slip closed and was asleep in minutes.
When Jay woke up, Cole was sitting next to him. What he noticed first though, was that he was no longer in his bunk.
"Wh-Why am I in your bunk?"
"You threw up all over yours."
"S-Sorry." Jay was fighting to stay awake. He didn't really feel sick any more, but he was just so exhausted. He could barely follow what was going on.
"It's fine, just go back to sleep. We'll still be here when you wake up."
Jay closed his eyes and succumbed to his exhaustion.
Cole had come in when Zane had reported that Jay's fever had broken. Thankfully, the relapse wasn't anywhere near as long as the original illness, lasting about twelve hours. It seemed to have taken a lot out of the blue ninja, though, who continued to sleep for another three days. When he woke up for real, he tried to get out of Cole's bed, where they had left him, saying that Cole should get some rest. Cole was tired, but he pushed Jay back down.
"You need it more than I do, so just stay there. I can get plenty of sleep once you've recovered."
"Yeah, but how long has it been since you slept?"
Cole knew that he hadn't slept since he had caught Jay on the deck, but he wasn't about to tell Jay that. "It's fine."
Jay, however, wasn't going to let it go. "Cole, you look like you got hit by your own earthquake."
"I told you, I'm fine."
Jay realized that he was not going to win this argument verbally. So, he laid back down and pretended to go to sleep. When Cole started nodding, about ten minutes later, he still waited. Another five minutes and Cole was just about as asleep as it gets while sitting on a stool. Jay crept quietly up and put Cole into his bed. From there, he could tell exactly how bad Cole was. Not only was he exhausted, but he seemed to have a fever too. Jay fervently hoped that he hadn't caught what he had. He wouldn't wish that on anyone. Using his rapidly waning strength, Cole hadn't been entirely wrong, he went to go find the other two ninja. He ran into Kai first.
"Woah, Jay. You should get back to bed. You look dead on your feet!"
"I-I will. But you have to help Cole…first." Jay could barely keep his eyes open.
"Cole? What's wrong with Cole?"
"He wore…himself out. H-has a fever." With that, Jay sagged against the wall and closed his eyes.
Kai was at a loss. Here was one of his friends, utterly exhausted and collapsed in a hallway. However, if Jay was to be believed, then Cole needed help too. He went to help Jay up, but Jay waved him away, eyes still closed.
"I-I'm fine. Just tired. Help C-Cole."
With that, Kai ran off towards the bunk room. When he got there, he found Cole in his bed, asleep but restless, burning with a fever almost as high as Jay's had been. Kai ran to find Zane. After finding the white ninja and informing him of their leader's predicament, Kai went to find Jay. He found him exactly where he had left him, snoozing in a corridor. He was slightly flushed, and Kai figured that the exertion had brought on a low-grade fever. He helped Jay back to his bed, which had been cleaned and restored to working order, where Jay fell into an exhausted sleep.
Meanwhile, Zane's efforts had done little with Cole's fever. He kept trying, hoping it would do some good in the long run. Eventually, Cole slipped into a little more restful sleep, although his fever still hadn't gone down by much. Zane thought it was more to do with the fact that he simply was running out of energy. He had been so concerned about Jay that he hadn't been sleeping and had eaten precious little.
Over the next twenty four hours, both Jay and Cole slept, thought Jay's was a much more restful sleep than Cole's. Once Jay woke up, he insisted that he sit next to Cole. Kai and Zane put up token resistance, but to be honest, neither had much of the temperament to sit by an unconscious person, no matter how much they cared about that person. So, when Cole started puking, Jay was the only one there. Fortunately, he knew first-hand how uncomfortable it was, so he had brought a bowl for that specific purpose. When he was done, Cole looked up miserably at Jay.
"Thanks"
"Don't mention it. It's the least I can do for giving this to you in the first place."
Cole was completely out of it for several more days, and Jay hardly left his side during that time. He felt responsible for Cole, considering it was his fault that he was sick in the first place. At night, either Kai or Zane would insist that Jay get some sleep. He argued with them the first time until they pointed out that he would be no use to anyone if he exhausted himself again. So, Jay had reluctantly agreed.
About three days later, Cole finally reached some level of awareness. He looked blearily up at Jay, this time actually registering what was going on, sort of.
"Jay? What are you doing out of bed?"
"I thought that would be rather obvious. I'm taking care of you."
"But-" Cole tried to get up, but Jay quickly pushed him back down.
"Easy there, you've been out of it for a while. I promise I've been careful. Kai and Zane won't let me do too much."
Cole curled up into a ball with a moan. "I see what you meant. Everything hurts."
Jay started rubbing his friend's back, just like Cole had done for him a couple weeks back. And Cole, just like Jay, relaxed a little and went back to sleep.
Cole's illness wasn't as bad as Jay's had been, but it was still a good week before he stayed awake for more than a few minutes at a time. Jay was there every step of the way, always ready to help, whether it was trying to keep his fever down or just helping him relax when the pain got too bad.
Jay's recovery was slow, though nobody really knew how it was going. He stayed with Cole every waking moment, and Cole wasn't really aware of his surroundings most of the time. If Jay had the occasional hot or cold flash or had to lean against Cole's bunk to keep from falling over every now and again, nobody knew about it but him.
Finally, Cole seemed to be getting better. His fever was very low-grade, and he had stopped vomiting. At this point, he and Jay were at just about the same level of recovery, since Jay had refused to take much of a break. The first time he had woken up for more than a few minutes, he had asked Jay about it.
"Jay?"
"Yeah?"
"How are you feeling?"
"That's funny, no one has really asked me that since you went downhill."
"That doesn't answer my question."
Jay hesitated, then said reluctantly, "Okay, I'll tell you how I feel, if you tell me how you feel first."
"I'm really tired, like I would collapse if I tried to stand. My head's a little fuzzy, and the world spins if I move too fast."
Jay looked impressed. "Well, that was a perfect summary of how I feel, so I guess we're on the same page now."
Cole sat up quickly, a little too quickly. He had to wait for the world to stop spinning before getting out, "You shouldn't be up."
Jay helped him lay back down. "Relax. I've managed it for a week now, I doubt I'm going to keel over right this second."
"A week?"
"Oh. Well, that's how long you've been sick. I doubt you remember much of it, if my experience is anything to go by."
"You're right about that."
"Now, you should probably go back to sleep. If you rest, you should be up and about by tomorrow, the day after and the latest."
"But-"
Whatever Cole had been about to say, it was lost and the ninja succumbed to sleep. Jay smiled and leaned against the bed. He really was tired, but he only had to hold on a few more days, then he was sure that Cole would force him to sleep, whether he wanted to or not.
The next time Cole woke up, the next day, he saw Jay next to his bed. However, the blue ninja wasn't exactly aware of his surroundings. In fact, Cole was fairly certain that he had passed out from exhaustion. Moving slowly so as not to pass out with his friend, Cole got up and got Jay into his bed. Then, Cole went back to his own bed, where he quickly fell asleep, exhausted.
Both ninja slept for another two days before waking and mutually deciding to get up, though they were going to take it slow. Over the next few weeks they recovered together, thankfully without any Serpentine attacks.