Just a one shot idea my sister thought up. Inspired by the Captain America scene in Avengers. ;) Enjoy!

Would you find me when the light go down?

And hold me steady when I'm freaking out?

I'm not strong enough to catch my breath,

Come and save me from the monster in my head…

Jay wasn't an explosive person. It wasn't in his nature.

Kai was the one who felt things loudly, blowing his stack at even the most trivial of things. When Kai was angry, everyone knew it.

Jay didn't know how to do that—to explode in a fiery rage that made everyone in the general vicinity fear for their safety. But that didn't mean he didn't feel things.

It didn't make his emotions invalid.

When Jay was upset, he cracked jokes, tried to make someone laugh—even if it was just himself. Laughing usually helped. It had to. He didn't have anything else going for him in that department.

Going off to be alone was Cole's thing, crying was Nya's—and he'd been told it wasn't manly to cry, anyway—and Lloyd used his emotions to help others work through their emotions.

So, laughing was Jay's cure. Most of the time.

Lately, however, he didn't feel much like laughing. His throat was too sore from screaming.

Each member of the team had their fair share of nightmares, but since erasing the timeline, Jay knew he'd been having much more than his "fair share."

He knew Nya was having them, too, only hers seemed to be a little less vocal.

So, Jay didn't laugh as much anymore. He couldn't. Not when the memories were still so fresh.

Jay wasn't an explosive person. He didn't find release in beating something to a pulp.

Until Nadakhan.

Until the Misfortune's Keep.

Until he'd made his wishes.

No, Jay had never used violence as a coping mechanism.

Until now.

Not sleeping was better than facing the nightmares, so Jay didn't.

Talking to someone might have helped relieve some of the anxiety, but Jay couldn't.

Choosing not to make any wishes in the first place would have spared him so much pain, but Jay hadn't.

So, instead of dreaming—instead of reliving the nightmare that had supposedly been erased from existence—Jay found himself venturing down to the Bounty's training salle most nights. He would feign falling asleep along with the others, then sneak down when he couldn't take the darkness any longer.

When he couldn't take the memories, which preyed upon him in both his sleeping and waking hours.

"I guess a poor boy from a junkyard wouldn't understand."

Gritting his teeth, Jay tightly wrapped his hands.

"Well, I guess one little wish wouldn't hurt…"

His knuckles, he'd decided, shouldn't suffer just because he didn't know how to handle his emotions.

"Wait! We're supposed to stay together!"

With clenched fists, he approached the punching bag. It was worn out from Kai and Cole, who usually found stress release in the form of beating something up.

"You've seen Nadakhan and you haven't told us?"

And now, Jay did, too.

"It was Nadakhan, but don't ask me how I know. Ask Jay."

The first punch came in fast, and Jay didn't hold back.

"Well, I know who just nominated themselves to extract the Tiger Widow's venom!"

Sharp left and right hooks followed, sending a series of dull thuds echoing off the walls.

"Believe me, aboard my ship, you will break."

Sweat began to trickle down his temple as Nadakhan's silky voice resounded through his mind.

"I will make sure of it."

The djinn's face made an attempt to materialize in front of him, the memories threatening to consume his vision.

"And when the time comes…"

Jay punched the bag again, willing the wicked smile to go away, go away!

"I will be there so you can wish it all away."

Another several hits only served to keep his heart rate climbing as Jay's movements quickened. A jab to the right.

"After I take your friends and take your home, Nya will be mine."

A slam to the left.

"And no one will be able to stop me!"

An uppercut to the center, and for a moment, Jay forgot to breathe. Forgot that the bag hanging before him wasn't a four-armed djinn out for his blood.

"Perhaps it's time to involve him in some of our on-ship entertainment…"

His lungs burned, but his fists continued to fly.

"Oh, no, no. The loser doesn't tap out, only the winner does."

The corners of his vision blurred with an inky blackness, yet he continued to intensify his attack.

"You have to stay in until someone else loses."

Breathe! Breathe, you idiot! Breathe—!

"Jay…"

Nya. With a strangled gasp, Jay filled his lungs, though his punches never let up.

"Wish me mortal and she dies…"

And she dies… She died. His vision blurred again, this time for a different reason as the familiar prickle of tears pushed against the back of his eyes.

"The greatest love stories always do end in tragedy."

Because she had died. In his arms. He'd felt her last breath. He'd felt her crumble against his chest.

"I wish…"

He'd felt her heart stop beating. And he'd felt his own heart shatter into a million jagged shards.

"I wish you had just taken my hand… and I wish—"

A cry tore from his throat as he landed a kick in the direct center of his target. The force of the blow broke the rope and sent the punching bag sailing across the room with a bang!

But Jay hardly noticed as he collapsed to the floor. Pain exploded in his kneecaps, adding to the throbbing of his hands.

Hands.

"I wish you had just taken my hand…"

A sob collected in his throat, but he pushed it back down, refusing to give it freedom.

"I wish you…"

"I wish…"

"I—"

The sound of sobbing filled the room. Someone was crying, someone was in pain. Several minutes dragged by before Jay realized the sound was coming from him.

With a start, he slapped one of his aching hands over his mouth in a vain attempt to muffle the wracking sobs. Only, it felt too much like duct tape, and suddenly, he couldn't breathe.

Gasping, he ripped his palm away from his face and clutched at his hair as he tried to catch his breath. Only when his brain began to trick him, making it seem like the hand was Nadakhan's and not his own, did Jay release his grip in favor of clutching his chest.

Somewhere beneath his gasping, the tears still made themselves heard and sob after painful sob tore from his throat.

Even after it was all over, even after the djinn was sealed back in that blasted lamp, Jay was still tempted to wish it all away.

Wish away the memories, the pain, the scars that had somehow remained. All of it.

"I wish…"

It was supposed to be over, wasn't it? So, why did he still have to remember? Why did he and Nya have to remember every horrific little detail when everyone else had been able to forget?

Why can't I just forget? Why won't you let me forget?

Before he could decide who he was even talking to, hands came at him from behind and he shuddered against them.

No, no!

Still gasping for air, he struggled against the hands as they turned him around. Then, someone closed in on his personal space, a thing he never knew how much he needed until Nadakhan took it away.

Closer, closer, closer they came, until—

"Jay?"

For a moment, Cole's face was just a hazy green blur. Blinking away the tears did nothing to clear his vision because more came out to take their place.

"C-C-Cole…?"

The hands closed in again, but this time, Jay welcomed them, burying his face in Cole's chest.

"It's okay," Cole soothed. It wasn't, but Jay had a feeling Cole knew that. "It's going to be okay."

Try as he might, Jay couldn't stop the tears. Not for a long time. Cole didn't rush him, though. He let Jay simply be held.

Sometime during that long stretch of night, Jay caught his breath and the tears subsided. Even when the silence fell over them, Cole made no move to leave, and for that, Jay was grateful. They just sat together in the semi-darkness holding each other.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Cole said at last.

Jay shook his head.

Cole's reply barely rose above a whisper. "Okay. Just let me know when you do."

Jay nodded.

"Do you want to go back to bed?"

Another shake of his head was all Jay could manage, seeing as he couldn't trust his voice. Not after everything.

"Okay." He felt Cole pull him closer. "Just let me know when you do."

"I'm sorry." Jay hadn't meant to say it, but the hoarse words slipped out anyway.

That's when Cole gently pulled away, and Jay felt the absence greatly. "For what?"

Swiping at his eyes, Jay shrugged. "I don't know." Yes, you do. You just don't wanna say it, coward. "For waking you up, I guess."

"You didn't wake me up," Cole replied, much to Jay's surprise and confusion. "I never fell asleep in the first place."

"Why n-not? Y-You're usually out like a light."

It was Cole's turn to shrug. "Because I know you haven't been sleeping and I needed to figure out why." Jay opened his mouth, but Cole wasn't finished. "You don't have to tell me anything. You don't even have to talk at all if you don't want to. Just… let me help you, okay?"

Jay cursed the fresh tears that welled up in his eyes, but he nodded nevertheless. "...Okay."

Okay…

When Cole embraced him once more, Jay clung to his brother as if his life depended on it. Perhaps it did.

"It's gonna be okay," Cole whispered. "I promise."

'Cause I need you here,

You keep me safe.

You keep me safe and sound.