Hello again everybody! Here is chapter 4. I hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long.

Chapter: 4-Sickness-Part I

Jake Long woke up to a beautiful sunrise peeking out of his curtains. The sky was filled with multiple colors, ranging from different shades of orange to a pale pink. The rolling clouds were tinged with colors as well, reflecting them from the sky. Birds had just starts to sing their beautiful tunes to start of the new day. All in all, the scene was spectacular.

Unfortunately for Jake Long, the scene did not reflect the way he was feeling.

When Jake Long went to bed last night, he thought the next morning would actually be a good day. He managed to actually get at least nine hours of sleep, something that did not happen often. He finished all of his work for school—even his project for Mythology class (because Rotwood had actually managed to get a job in teaching his stupidly false views of magical creatures at the exact high school Jake went to)—with time to spare to hang out with Trixie and Spud and for dragon training. He even had time to spend with his family. So, yeah, Jake thought he would wake up for school and have a good day.

Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case. He woke up feeling as though his whole body was on fire, even hotter than his own dragon fire. His skin was sweaty and chills racked through his frame. His body ached very badly, like he got pummeled with an ogre's club a hundred times. The sheets on his bed were damp with sweat and made him feel like he was warmer than before; he quickly kicked them, trying to cool himself down.

What was going on? What was happening to him? He was feeling just fine yesterday and even the day before. It occurred to him that this just came on suddenly, probably during the night or early hours of the morning. As he was lost in his thoughts he felt another shiver run through his body. He wanted to wrap the blankets around him to make the chills go away, but he knew that would make him warmer at the same time.

Jake had been awake for only ten minutes when he started to feel nauseous. He wrapped an arm around his stomach and groaned. Not only was he starting to feel nauseous, he felt as if someone was stabbing him right in his abdomen. He doubled over and let out a cry of pain as the pain in his stomach intensified.

Okay. It was time to get Mom and/or Dad.

There was no way in heck he was going to school like this.

Jake threw his legs on the edge of the bed and stood up. Just as he stood up, he felt a strong wave of dizziness pass over him, making him sway in place and fall right back onto the bed. He clapped a hand to his forehead. "Alright…definitely not cool," he thought to himself. "Gotta stand up more slowly this time…" He stood up slowly this time, being careful not to go too fast lest he fall over again. He still felt dizzy, but it was not as bad as before. He made his way out of his room and into the hallway and headed for his parent's room. He hoped they were awake. It was five in the morning after all; he guessed they would be getting ready for work or something. He did not get even three feet out of his doorway when another severe wave of vertigo crashed into him. He stumbled but he managed to catch himself by leaning on the wall, putting the majority of his body weight against it.

This was getting bad.

Very bad.

He leaned heavily against the wall as he inched forward, determined to get some kind of help. He was panting slightly and groaned again as the sharp pain in his stomach returned. He paused for a moment to as he waited for the pain to subside. With one arm around his stomach and the other on the wall, he trudged forward. It was taking most of his strength to even walk a few steps. His legs were shaking. He was ten feet from his parent's door, almost to the help he desperately needed. "Yes! I'm almost there!" Before he took another step, darkness began to creep at the corners of his vision, obstructing the view of his parents' door.

"No, no, no! I only have a couple feet to go. No!"

Unfortunately, he did not make it to his parents' room. With only five feet left, he slipped from the wall and hit the floor with a muffled thud. The darkness completely over took his vision and Jake passed out, oblivious to the world around him.

Jonathan Long had just woken up. He looked at the clock on the nightstand at the corner of his bed. It showed that it was 5:30, time to get up for work. Before he did that, however, he needed to get a good cup of coffee to start the day. He got out of bed, careful not to wake up Susan, and grabbed his robe and slipped it on. He silently made his way out of the room and shut the door with a soft click. As he turned to walk down the hallway, he stopped dead in his tracks.

He saw his son sprawled on the ground a few feet from their door in the fetal position, not moving.

Jonathan dashed to his son, dropping on the ground to his knees. He picked him up from the floor and placed his upper body in his lap.

Jake did not look good at all. He was panting and gasping, as though he could not get enough air. He looked very clammy and his hair was matted to his forehead. His face was twisted in an agony filled grimace, and low groans of pain passed from his mouth. Jonathan could feel the strong shivers that racked through Jake's body. Even as he held on to him, he could feel the heat radiating of off Jake. He put a hand to his son's forehead and had to pull back quickly. It felt like he just put his hand on the stove!

"Jake, can you hear me? Jake!"

Jake did not show any sign that he heard Jonathan.

Jonathan was becoming dreadfully worried. He had hoped that Jake would at least respond to him. Speaking would have been wonderful, but even a pain filled groan or grimace to his question would have appeased Jonathan a bit; it would have meant that Jake at least heard him. He was completely unconscious, however.

"Susan!" he called to his wife. "Susan, Jake needs help, hurry!" It seemed that the mention of one of her children was enough to get Susan out of bed quickly. It was literally two seconds after Jonathan had called his wife when she burst out of the room, hurriedly making her way towards Jonathan and their son.

She had her sight set on Jake. "Jonathan! Oh my gosh! What happened to Jake?"

"I'm not sure." Jonathan responded. "I came out of the room to go get coffee and saw him on the floor." Judging by how damp the floor was from sweat around Jake, Jonathan surmised that he had been on the floor for a while. Not good. "I am sure that he needs to be looked at now." He stood up, carrying his son in his arms in the bridal position to his bedroom. Jake whimpered in pain as he was moved. "Sorry, son," Jonathan whispered down to him even though Jake would not be able to hear him.

Susan changed the sheets for some new ones. Jake's old ones were covered in sweat and were bound to make him more uncomfortable if they put him in his bed with them on. Jonathan gingerly placed Jake onto the bed, trying not to cause him any more pain by unnecessary extra movement. He pulled the covers up to Jake's chin; it was probably best to let him sweat out whatever was raging through his body.

"He has a very bad fever," Jonathan told to Susan. Susan nodded and he watched as she bent over Jake and touched his forehead, and then pulled her hand back as if burnt—the same reaction he had. Her eyes widened and she spoke worriedly, "That's very hot. It feels like I burnt my hand! Jonathan, go get me the thermometer. It's in the bathroom in the medicine cabinet above the sink." Jonathan gave a nod and went to do just that. A few moments later, he returned with the thermometer. "I'll do it, Susan. I already have the thing in my hand."

Jonathan pressed the button on the thermometer, turning it on with a beep. He placed it in his son's mouth and waited apprehensively. What should have been a minute felt like an hour. "What could possibly be taking so long? I need to know his temperature now! Even if someone has a fever, it shouldn't make the skin burn someone else's on contact!" The high-pitched beep of thermometer jarred Jonathan out of his thoughts. He pulled the thermometer out of Jake's mouth and looked at the digital screen. He let out a gasp of surprise.

108.6º F.

Susan reacted immediately to Jonathan's gasp. "Jonathan? Jonathan, what is it?"

Jonathan did not say anything, but he did shove the thermometer quickly into her hand. She fumbled with it slightly before looking at it. She gave out a small scream that was muffled by her hand. "Isn't 106 degrees lethal?" He nodded his head. "Yeah, and he's two degrees over that so we need to get him to a hospital! Let's go."

He spun quickly on his heel and made his way to the door. Before he could take a step out of the room he heard Susan's voice behind him. "I think we need to call my Dad first, Jonathan." He stopped and turned to look at her incredulously.

Call Lao Shi? Couldn't she see that their son's insides were cooking via intense fever? How could she possibly think of waiting and wasting time to call Lao Shi? (He had nothing against Lao Shi. The relationship between the two of them had improved since Hong Kong, but he wanted to get his son to a hospital fast enough so that he would live.)

"What's your father going to do? Susan, our son is being cooked alive. We need to get him to a hospital! The more time we waste talking, the sicker Jake is going to get!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"I know that, Jonathan!" she replied tersely, "but it might have something to do with him being a dragon. I heard that a dragon's body temperature is higher than that of a human's. Maybe Jake's temperature isn't lethally high. Maybe it's just a slight fever for a dragon."

Well…that did make sense. "But Jake never gets sick! Ever!" That was true. Jake never got a cold, the flu, stomach aches—nothing.

"It could be a magical disease," his wife guessed.

"Alright," Jonathan said. "See if he can come over. Maybe he has some fancy potion thingy that will make Jake better."

Susan nodded and hurried out the room.

Jonathan sat on the edge of the bed and looked at his sick son. He reached down and brushed some of the dark hair from the teen's face.

"What's happening to you Jake?"

It was around six o' clock when Lao Shi arrived.

Jonathan and Susan were sitting at the kitchen table anxiously, both drinking their now cold coffee. Susan stood up when she heard a knock at their door. "I'll get it, Honey."

She opened the door and Lao Shi immediately stepped inside. The Chinese man turned to hug Susan. "Hello, daughter." Susan hugged him back. "Hello, Dad. I'm so glad you came."

Lao Shi then turned to Jonathan. "Greetings, Jonathan," he nodded. Jonathan nodded back to him.

"I assume Jake is in his room, correct?" Lao Shi asked.

"Yes, we're really worried about him," Susan said. "We don't know what's wrong."

"What are his symptoms?" the Chinese man asked.

"He has a temperature of 108.6º F. He has really bad shivers, too," Jonathan said. "We found him unconscious, so we wouldn't know what other symptoms he has until he wakes up and we ask him ourselves."

Lao Shi hummed. "Well, 108.6º F is a fever for a dragon. A dragon's normal body temperature is around 103.6º F. Let us go see Jake, now."

They all headed up the stairs (1) and to Jake's room. Jonathan was the first one at the door. When he stepped inside, he did not expect Jake to already be awake.

"Dad…?" Jake asked tiredly.

"Hey, son. How're you feeling?"

Jake groaned. "Ugh…terrible; I feel like I got mauled by an ogre."

Susan and Lao Shi then stepped out from behind Jonathan. "Hey, Mom," Jake greeted. "Gramps! What are you doing here?"

"Hello, young dragon," Lao Shi said. "Your mother and father called me here. They think that your sickness is of magical origin. I came to see if that was true. Can you tell us specifically what you are feeling, Jake?"

"Y-Yeah," he tried to sit up but winced. "I woke up feeling like my whole body was on fire. I felt really dizzy. My stomach hurt really badly—like someone stabbed me—and I felt really nauseous. My whole body hurt really bad—still does; hurts to move. I tried to get to Mom and Dad's room but I passed out."

"Ah, I know exactly what you are going through, Jake," Lao Shi said.

"What's that, Gramps?"

"You are going through what every dragon goes through at your age. Dragon puberty (2)."

Jonathan watched as Jake's amber eyes widened and his honey-tanned skin pale.

Jake then proceeded to pass out, again.

Oh, boy.

Published: 7/13/12

(1) I really don't know what the inside of the Long house looks like. I'm guessing the apartment is a two story one (i.e. one with stairs).

(2) Yes, I went there. You guys will find out what happens in the next chapter.

A/N: Guys, I am SO sorry for not updated for like 3 months; I am alive, though! I will not abandon this! Ironically when I first started writing this back in April, a few days afterwards, I got a bad fever! What are the chances that I write about someone having a fever and then I get one? Anyway, I was occupied recovering and making up work for a few weeks after that. Unfortunately, I lost inspiration for American Dragon: Jake Long. Then those evil school final exams came up.

After being parted from this story for so long, I lost inspiration for it. That is why this chapter was shorter than the others. That is also why this chapter is of lower…quality than the others. This chapter did not come out the way I wanted it to. It was going to have a lot more in it plot wise and it was going to be longer. Ugh. I need inspirational help! Those reviews that you all write me actually give me said inspiration. When I was writing this I actually went back to re-read all my reviews and P.M.'s that I got for the last chapter to get my inspiration back. So, guys, your reviews really do mean a lot to me.

Also, If you all like this story, go read my other American Dragon: Jake Long story: Instincts.

A/N 2: Speaking of reviews, I want to give a special shout-out to Lord Jace whose 5 paragraph-long P.M. and gorgeous reviews got me back into my own story. So thanks, Lord Jace.

A/N 3 (dear God, so many): This story has reached 1, 486 hits! Amazing! Thanks to all who reviewed chapter 3: (Mizuki99, Lord Jace, Lord Jashin Follower, Icy wolf, Linzerj, Major Simi, Mayonaka no Sasayaki, Elle, Ginshi-chan, and Aka-sama.