I own nothing but the story.
The sound of vomit splattering into the toilet bowl made Kai cringe for perhaps the millionth time that day. If eyebrows could have six-packs, his would have a twelve pack by now.
"Again?" he called.
His response came in the form of a broken groan and more bespattering. Kai sighed. And he had just cleaned that toilet.
"Alright," he shuffled over to the bathroom door and put a hand on the green ninja's back. It was damp with sweat.
"Let's get you to bed," he said, offering what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze.
Lloyd groaned and hugged the toilet bowl tighter, even going as far as to rest his head on the actual seat, a gross decision that struck fear in the heart of his teammate. Who in their right mind would ever place their cheek in the same spot where far less pleasant cheeks had also rested? Swallowing the urge to gag, Kai gave his friend's shoulder a slight pull.
"Come on, Lloyd, I know you're sick, but you'll feel better once you lie in bed and take a nap."
This time, the groan turned into a single coherent word: "Nnnooo..."
"Yyeess," Kai reached over and flushed the toilet, taking care to avoid the mess that lay within it, "Sleep helps the sick. I should know, I was sick once."
"Oh really?" said Lloyd, managing to muster some weak sarcasm, "You, sick? Impossible."
"I know, now come on," Kai pulled at his friend's shoulders. When Lloyd didn't budge, he gave up all pretenses and scooped him up with a massive grunt.
Lloyd protested, but didn't fight back as Kai shuffled him over to the center bed and dropped him. He was going to kill whoever brought the sickness onto the Bounty. In less than three days, it had infected everyone on the team, everyone except Kai, who was now forced to singlehandedly take care of all the unwell patients.
If only we'd found out who was sick sooner, thought Kai as he dragged Lloyd's feet onto the foot of the bed, then we could have isolated them.
He was fairly certain it was Jay who got sick first, since he was the first to show the symptoms. But Cole had also been complaining of a headache the night before, and hadn't Sensei Wu gone to bed early with a sweaty brow and runny nose? Kai shook his head and moved to tuck Lloyd into the bed.
"What're you doin'?" Lloyd said, suddenly alert and anxious.
"Uh..." Kai froze, "Tucking you in?"
Lloyd pulled the blankets away, "I can do that myself, thanks."
"Oh," Kai took a step back, "Uh..okay." He was new to the whole "caring for the sick" thing, and always thought that all caring guardians were supposed to tuck the sick into bed. It felt like an unwritten law of sorts.
Not that it mattered. Lloyd had already pulled the blankets up so that only the top of his face peeked out from underneath it. He looked to Kai, who stood halfway between the bed and the door, unsure of what to do.
"Thanks for bringing me to bed," said Lloyd, his voice muffled, "you can leave now."
Kai took a half step back, "Uh, you sure?" When he was little and sick, his mother always stayed until he had fallen asleep. Was he supposed to do that with Lloyd? That would be awkward, but he didn't want to just leave him.
"Yeah," said Lloyd, "If I throw up remember that you were the one who dragged me away from the toilet."
"I didn't drag you!" Kai took a full step back, finding the notion of leaving to be easier now, "and if you throw up on those sheets, I'm gonna rearrange your teeth!"
Seriously, he'd just washed them.
But Lloyd laughed, "You don't stand a chance against the green ninja."
Any retort Kai had melted in his throat when Lloyd's laugh turned into a large, hacking cough. He rushed back to his friend's side, struggling to find something for his hands to do.
"Uh..." Kai rested his hand on the lump that contained Lloyd's arm, "There, there," he said, "Pat, pat."
The coughing subsided.
"Okay," said Kai, "I'm going to leave now. You sleep. And don't...do...anything."
Lloyd cleared his throat, "Okay."
Kai turned to go, and had made it halfway out the door when Lloyd's feeble voice called him back.
"Can you get me a glass of water?"
Suppressing the urge to groan at the thought of more dirty dishes, Kai moved to the kitchen and filled a large plastic cup. Before he left, he paused, grabbed a bendy straw—the kind Lloyd liked—and returned to the bedroom. By the time he reached it, however, Lloyd was already out cold. Shaking his head, he placed the cup onto the bedside table and, with only a moment's hesitation, brushed the bangs off of his friend's forehead. Then he left, making sure to shut the door behind him. He and Lloyd had been moved their own separate bedroom after the other three ninja had gotten sick, in an effort to keep it from spreading, but the same night Kai had awoken to his friend spewing bile all over the place. That left Lloyd with his own room and Kai with a spot on the living room couch.
While he was angry he had no comfortable place to sleep, he was thankful Lloyd at least had gotten his own room to wallow in. The other three were stuck making each other miserable.
Kai sighed as he began to head down to their bedroom, which had since then turned into something of a war zone. He still had to take care of the rest of the team, as well as Sensei and Nya. In the past he hadn't even been able to take care of a plant, let alone some sick and needy humans.
Oh well, he thought as he opened their bedroom door, One down, five to go.
Thank you so much for reading. I look forward to posting the rest of this story on here, for it was fun to write. Anyway, wherever you are, have a nice day, and take care of yourself this week.