Chapter 22

Kai woke up suddenly as if it was a new daily routine with his heart beating out of his chest. Air not reaching his lungs, he held himself with one arm and the other gripped onto his hospital bed rail. He gasped for air and his mind could only visualize the raging water from the bottom of the gorge.

"Kai," a voice whispered. "It's ok. Open your eyes."

He flinched at the voice and squeezed his eyes shut even more. A cold but calming hand touched his arm.

"It's alright. You are safe." The voice said and Kai relaxed his shoulders.

Kai opened his eyes but couldn't mask the fear that lingered. His eyes met his friend Zane and he took a shaky breath. "Zane... I-I'm sorry"

Zane's mouth twitched to smile for a second. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Kai glanced around the room and noticed Zane was the only one there. Even Cole's hospital bed was gone. He felt panicked.

"Wah- where's Cole? Is he ok?" Kai felt sick thinking about what could have happened.

Zane smiled again and his eyes had a twinkle in them. "No need to worry. Cole is getting his final check up and he will be discharged. You will also be discharged by the end of the day."

Kai felt an overwhelming feeling of relief. "Isn't it a little soon?"

With a slight hum Zane looked in the distance. "We all agreed that it was best to continue your treatment at the Bounty. We will be bringing a few things of equipment from the hospital."

Kai avoided his eye contact. "Is it because of my nightmares?" He whispered embarrassed.

Zane sat on the bed and ran his hand over the top of the hospital sheets. "Partly. Cole said the hospital bed was hurting his chest and he couldn't sleep. With a little talking to the doctors they agreed it was safer for you two to continue your healing process at the Bounty." Zane couldn't help but lie a little about Cole's sleep. It was best for Kai to believe that Cole was also the reason why they were leaving the hospital.

Zane cringed slightly, "Also despite our announcement to the public about privacy, there are still some citizens giving the hospital trouble. We are going to relocate so the hospital can begin operating normally." That wasn't a lie, the ninja didn't want to stay much longer with the crazed fans still waiting outside to see the ninja.

The injured ninja gulped and felt how dry his throat was. It was painful and it made it seem like his windpipe closed from the dryness. Kai sucked in air as quickly as he could and instantly regretted it. He started to cough as if he was just washed ashore again.

"Kai I know you do not want to but I recommend drinking something. I have an idea if you are willing to give it a try." Zane reached for a clear cup that had nothing in it. Kai focused on what Zane was saying and soon his coughing stopped. Zane gave Kai a reassuring smile and he turned his attention to the cup. He twisted his hand so it was pointed inside the cup and he used his elemental power to form small ice cubes. "This should be a good start. Please don't crush the ice or swallow it whole. Just allow it to sit in your mouth till it dissolves or if you are uncomfortable you can spit the cube out if it gets too small. It's ok to say no if you don't want to try."

Kai gave a shy nod. "I'll try it." Ice sounded amazing to Kai. It wasn't water and it would hopefully soothe his throat. Zane passed the cup to Kai and glanced at his bandaged hand.

Zane mentally face palms. "Please let me know if you need help. How is your hand feeling?"

He slightly shook the cup and watched the ice swirl around. "Feels a little stiff. Probably scabbing over the burns."

"Are you in any pain?" Zane eyed his injured body.

"Currently? Not much. This is the best I've felt in awhile." Kai continued the stare nervously at the cup. His throat demanded moisture so without a second thought he brought the edge of the cup to his lip and tilted it slightly to slide two ice cubes into his mouth.

Zane was shocked by his commitment. "Dr. Robert has a CAT scan prepped for you whenever you are ready. It's just to be sure there is no damage done to your lungs or throat. After you have that done he will get some prescriptions done and we can go home. You are still stuck on bed rest to recover your strength. Although, we are going to start small body exercises just to keep you mobile."

Kai sucked on the ice and shifted them to talk. "How much longer do I have to be in bed? I feel so useless just sitting."

The nindroid sighed, "Even though you are on bed rest you were the one who took out Clouse. You are far from useless. After all you went through and the pain you were in, you did the finishing blow." Zane shook his head with a smile. "As for how long you'll be in bed, we have an estimate but Nya told us you have always been a fast healer so we aren't sure the accuracy of how long. I say at most 3 days, Dr. Roberts estimates longer but he has never had a ninja as a patient before. Hopefully with keeping up with exercises and stretches you can start walking or limping around the next few days. We might have to get you crutches but we aren't sure how your strength will be or how your hand will hold up."

Kai frowned and looked down at his hand. "When will I have to make a statement to Ninjago?"

Zane looked to Kai with a comforting smile. "That is for you to decide. We will not force you if you aren't ready."

With a nervous laugh, Kai leaned back and studied the ceiling. "Probably should do that sooner rather than later. After.. Ya know, everyone thought I was dead."

Zane's smile dropped and he watched Kai's facial expressions change. "Remember you don't have to force yourself to do something you aren't ready for. Focus on healing before you put yourself in the public eye."

Kai cleared his throat, "Ok… How is everyone else? Where are they?"

"They are at the Bounty setting up a place for you to stay with the proper equipment. They are also resting up to spend time with you once on the Bounty. Jay wants to play Fist to Face with you. We are excited to finally have you back and out of the hospital."

Kai chuckled, "Of course Jay wants to play games. Not sure how much I can play with my hand."

"Don't put yourself down too much. Things are finally looking up." Zane smiled and the door opened. Dr. Roberts walked in looking cleaned up and rested. He looked like when the ninja first met him.

"Kai! Great to see you awake. Ready for your CAT scan? The sooner that is done the sooner we can get you out of here." The doctor asked while placing his clipboard down.

"Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today." Kai stated and Zane laughed into his hand.

The doctor looked between the two. "I definitely missed something there.. Anyways let's get that CAT scan done and over with."

After the CAT scan, Kai was allowed to change into clothes that were brought by the ninja. When he was asked if he needed help, he denied it. It was the hardest physical task he was presented with in awhile. Luckily for him, he was no longer attached to all the equipment but he still had the tubing in his arm for emergencies.

He stayed in his bed through the changing process and fortunately it wasn't anything difficult to put on like the ninja ji. He had a pair of gray sweats and a red t-shirt. Kai struggled with gripping with his bandaged hand and his wrapped leg got stuck on the elastic ankle hole. It was the best Kai has looked since the gorge but he still was missing his spiked hair and he desperately needed a shower.

Kai was finally dressed and he swung his legs to dangle over the side of the bed. He held back a groan of pain, he was already strained and exhausted just from getting dressed. He ignored the pain and could only think of walking, he was tired of being bedridden. Not only did he ignore the pain he was in, he ignored Zane's and the doctor's advice to relax and not walk.

In his fresh clothes, he pushed off the bed and as soon as his grippy socks touched the floor, he couldn't hold up his own weight. Kai tried to grab the bed railing on the way down but grabbing with his burnt hand only made him release his grip. He crumbled onto the ground and instead of crying out, he hissed in pain and held himself on the floor.

Three gentle knocks interrupted Kai's moment. "Kai, are you ready?" Zane's voice greeted him and the door slowly crept open. "Kai!"

Zane spotted his friend on the floor holding his chest and he rushed down to his level to assist him. "Are you ok? Did you fall while changing?"

Kai finally groaned out in pain and that only made his lungs ache more. "I'm fine."

"Perhaps we were wrong to take you from the hospital. I'll go talk to Dr. Roberts." Zane helped Kai sit in a chair that was next to the bed.

"No! Please Zane, I don't want to stay here. I was only trying to walk." Kai looked at his friend that was halfway out the door.

Zane hesitated, "Only if you think it will be what's best for you."

Kai looked ready to jump out of his chair. "Please.. I don't like hospitals."

The nindroid's eyes couldn't leave his hurt friend. "Alright… But I'm not happy that you are trying to walk without assistance. I recall telling you that you weren't ready for that much physical activity, especially alone. If you would like to try and walk, I can help you."

Kai frowned. Seemed like a trick question. "Can I?"

"Of course. But please inform me if you can't carry on. And you won't be walking the whole way." Zane offered Kai his arm and Kai reached out to him. Zane hoisted him up carefully and glanced down at his snake bitten leg. "Are you able to put any weight on it?"

Kai shifted his weight onto his bad leg and immediately it gave out and Zane held him up. Zane moved to stand on the side with the bad leg and he pulled Kai's arm over his shoulders.

"I'll support you brother." Zane said and he helped Kai take his first step.

"Why are you helping me walk? I thought you didn't want me to for a few days." Kai asked and they started the walk out of the room.

Zane smiled at him. "I know that if I told you that you had to still wait, that you would eventually try walking again by yourself. I thought I would beat you to it and assist you."

Kai felt embarrassed because Zane was right. He would feel completely useless if he couldn't walk and try again and again till he could. They walked a short ways down the hall to a door and Zane opened for them. Once on the other side, Kai was overwhelmed with emotions. He was standing with Zane in a small waiting room and inside the waiting room had his friends.. no family.

"Kai!" His friends collectively called out in surprise and excitement. They rushed to him and gently gave him a group hug. Kai didn't even notice the pain he was feeling, he was just happy to see the faces of his friends.

Dr. Roberts walked up and couldn't help but smile. "I believe you were right Zane. I shouldn't have doubted you. You ninja really do heal at an incredible speed. Just a day and a half ago, Kai was signalling yes and no with his fingers." He was holding the handles of a wheelchair. "I was just about to meet you at your room but I guess you don't need this."

Kai was almost afraid to talk. "No, I'll take that." Kai felt weak and he could barely hold himself up anymore. Zane didn't even notice how much he was really supporting Kai. They slowly eased Kai into the wheelchair. Once he sat down he could clearly see his friends around him.

Lloyd smiled but looked nervous. He was rubbing his sweaty palms on his pants. Jay was as bubbly as usual, he looked like he was going to pounce any second to give Kai a hug. Nya was calmed but extremely relieved to see her brother. Cole- Cole! He was standing right in front of him!

Cole stood with his hands on his hips and he was smiling at Kai. He looked perfectly fine and he was in casual clothes too! That was till he raised his hand and started to sign instead of speaking.

'Looking good, Kai.' Cole signed and Kai suddenly felt uncomfortable with everyone's attention on him.

Kai went to start signing out of instinct but rested his arm back on the wheelchair armrest. "Cole, you are out of bed!"

Cole continued to smile, 'So are you.'

Dr. Roberts clapped his hands together, "You guys are all set! You have all the proper equipment to continue your healing process and both of your CAT scan results will be ready in the next few hours and we can send it your way along with your prescriptions."

"I'm here!" Cole's doctor rushed in, Dr. Daniels. The ninja haven't seen much of him because they were always so focused on Kai. "Cole, I have something for you!" The excited doctor jogged up to Cole. "I have this cream for your chest. It helps with numbing your pain and it also has a hint of peppermint to help you breathe better."

Cole grabbed the cream from Dr. Daniels and signed, 'Thank you."

Dr. Daniels smiled to the group, "It was a pleasure to meet you all though I wish it was in other circumstances. Cole, make sure to take off your brace if it's giving you too much trouble. It's supposed to help you heal, not hurt you."

Cole gave a thumbs up and Kai looked to Cole then to the doctor confused. "Brace?"

Cole bunched the bottom trim of his hoodie in his free hand and pulled it up to reveal a plastic and metal brace over top of a t-shirt. It almost resembled a bullet proof vent.

Kai gulped and was at a loss for words. Jay could barely sit still and stepped forward to Kai. "Finally things can go back to normal! Let's get you out of here!" It was almost like he could read Kai's mind.

Zane shook the doctor's hands. "Thank you for taking care of my family. I really appreciate everything you did for us."

Dr. Roberts laughed, "I should be saying that to you ninja. You have been protecting Ninjago for years and keeping our families safe. We are simply doing our jobs to the best of our ability to repay everything you do to fight for peace."

Kai relaxed into the wheelchair more. "Thank you. I don't think I'd be here without you."

Dr. Roberts got flustered and he pushed back his hair. "You're very welcome!"

The ninja were led to the roof like they once were. After tackling a few steps at the very top the roof door opened before them and the blinding sunlight overwhelmed Kai. He squinted his eyes tight and heard the engines of The Destiny Bounty and the sounds of a helicopter. Zane was pushing the wheelchair closer to The Bounty and Kai continued to watch the helicopter.

"Wait, Zane." Kai said while the other ninja walked up the ramp going up to the deck. Kai went to stand, "Can you help me?"

Zane was confused but rushed over to Kai's side and helped him stand. Kai took a deep breath and raised his arm into the air. Kai waved to the helicopter with a smile on his face. Zane's confusion turned to pride when he watched Kai. It was the first time the public had seen Kai and there he was standing despite his injuries and his trauma.

At that moment it seemed like nothing could stop Kai. But no one knew what was going on inside his head.

Hello :D Lol not me making excuses again for not updating... I'm just a busy bee.