This takes place almost immediately after the end of What Makes A Mother.
Cole felt terrible. His nose was stuffed up, there was gunk running down the back of his throat, and he had a massive headache. After spending a month on the Bounty rounding up ex-Sons of Garmadon members, he was looking forward to finally returning to the monastery where he could get some much needed rest. He looked around the living room and frowned.
"Where are the tissues?" Cole asked as he cleared his throat.
"I think there's some in the supply closet. If not, there's always some in sickbay. You okay?" Kai asked.
"Yeah. It's just allergies. We are getting into Fall."
"I have allergy pills in my bag if you need some."
"I have some, but thanks." Cole got up in search of tissues. Once he found some, he decided to take a nap. As soon as his head hit the pillow, the intercom dinged.
"I need everyone on the bridge," Lloyd said over the speaker.
Cole groaned as he sat up. He was the last one to arrive.
"Bad news. More Sons of Garmadon activity was spotted in the south," Lloyd said.
"Seriously? Do these guys not know how to take a hint?" Jay asked.
"Apparently not," Zane said.
"How are they still active with all of their leaders dead or in jail?" Nya asked.
"Good question," Kai commented.
"Probably someone else took over," Cole muttered.
"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked.
"I'm fine. I'm just tired and my allergies are acting up."
"All right then. I suggest you go lay down and get some rest. Actually, we should all get some rest. It's going to be late when we get there and I need everyone at their best. Zane, can you take over navigation?"
"Yes," Zane said.
"Thanks." Everyone headed to their bunks for a few hours of sleep.
It was almost two in the morning when they returned to the Bounty. It was times like these that Loyd was grateful to have a nindroid on the team. As Zane headed up to the bridge to navigate them home, everyone else went back to their bunks. Lloyd was nearly asleep when he heard someone loudly snoring. He sat up and grabbed his pillow. Kai would never admit it, but he had a terrible snoring problem. A light smack of a pillow usually got him to roll over and stop. When Lloyd reached Kai's bed, he saw Kai looking at him.
"What are you doing?" Kai whispered.
"I thought it was you snoring," Lloyd whispered back. He hid the pillow behind his back.
"I don't snore."
"Yes, you do!" Nya whispered harshly.
Lloyd turned around and saw that Jay was also awake. He softly groaned and glanced over at Cole. Cole only snored if he was sick and the alcove beds weren't big enough to allow Cole to roll over. As it was, Cole was already hanging off the bed. Sighing, Lloyd climbed back into his bed.
"How are we supposed to get any sleep?" Jay asked.
"Just try your best," Lloyd said.
Kai got up and left the room. He returned a moment later and handed everyone earplugs.
"I can't sleep with these," Jay complained.
"Good luck sleeping with Cole snoring like that," Nya said. She put her earplugs in and laid back down. Kai and Lloyd followed her lead.
Even with the earplugs, they could still hear Cole, but it wasn't as loud so they were able to get some rest. A few hours later, Lloyd was sort of awake when he heard a gasp followed by a loud thud. He looked over and saw Cole sort of sitting up and rubbing his head.
"You okay?" Lloyd asked.
"Yeah." Cole slowly laid back down and had both hands on his head. Lloyd sighed. This wasn't the first time Cole had bonked his head. The alcove beds were slightly smaller than a standard twin bed and definitely not designed for anyone tall. Of the six of them, only Nya really fit into the beds.
"Do you need anything?" Lloyd asked.
"An icepack wouldn't hurt," Cole said.
"Anything else? Maybe some cold medicine?"
"No, I'm fine."
"You were snoring," Jay said.
"Are you sure it wasn't Kai?"
"I don't snore!" Kai protested.
"You're louder than a freight train, dude," Lloyd said.
"I am not!"
"As someone who has lived with you for eighteen years, yes, you are," Nya said.
"I. Do. Not. Snore!"
Cole rolled his eyes and carefully climbed out of the bed.
"Where are you going?" Lloyd asked.
"To get an ice pack." Cole closed the door behind him.
Lloyd sighed and got comfortable again. A moment later, they heard Cole in the hallway coughing and blowing his nose.
"Why won't he admit he's sick?" Jay yawned.
"I don't know. Maybe he's afraid he'll end up in the hospital again," Nya said.
"Just try to get some rest, guys. We should be back at the monastery around noon," Lloyd said. He pulled his covers up to his chin and closed his eyes.
It was around eight when everyone slowly got up. Nya grabbed her clothes and headed to the bathroom to change while the guys got dressed in the bedroom.
"Where's Cole?" Jay asked.
"Oh, come on!" Nya yelled in the hallway.
"Found him," Kai said.
"I'll be right back." Lloyd threw a clean shirt on and went to go see what all of the commotion was about. Nya was knocking on the bathroom door. He could hear the shower running.
"Since when do you shower in the morning?" Nya asked.
"Since you were all asleep. I'll be out in a minute," Cole said.
"This isn't fair. I bet you used all of the hot water too."
"Nya, just chill. Besides, Kai's the one who won't have any hot water," Lloyd said as the water turned off. A few minutes later, Cole stepped out carrying a wet towel and his pajamas.
"You feeling better?" Lloyd asked.
"Yeah. I took some pain pills. Still have a bit of a goose egg though." Cole rubbed his head.
"I meant about the fact that you woke up in the middle of the night because you couldn't breathe."
"I told you, it's just allergies."
"I don't think it is," Lloyd said as he followed Cole back to the bedroom.
"I don't know what to tell you, Lloyd. I feel fine."
Lloyd didn't know what to say. Cole wasn't coughing or anything, and he didn't act like he was sick. He was afraid if he pressed the issue too much, Cole would stop responding entirely. Cole took advantage of Lloyd's silence and left.
"I can't tell if he's lying or not," Lloyd admitted.
"He is a good liar when he wants to be," Jay said.
"I guess we just have to keep an eye on him," Kai said.
Lloyd sighed but nodded.
Cole was silent during breakfast. Lloyd couldn't tell if he was mad or just tired, but either way, Cole refused to look at him. After breakfast, Cole disappeared. Lloyd decided it was best to give him some space. He had learned a long time ago that Cole was irritable if he hadn't had alone time in a while, and that was hard to find on the Bounty.
They arrived back at the monastery after lunch, and after telling Wu about their mission, Cole retreated to his bedroom.
Cole didn't want to admit it, but he had a cold. During dinner, he was too tired to really pay attention to what the others were saying. The next morning, when Wu rang the gong to wake everyone up for Sunrise Stretches, Cole seriously debated just staying in bed. He only got up because he did not feel like getting a lecture from Wu.
The next morning he was even worse. He slept whenever he could, but between training, chores, and meals, he really didn't have much downtime. By the third day, he couldn't hide his cough anymore. The others stared at him if he so much as sniffed, so he did his best to avoid them. The day he didn't finish his breakfast was the day he admitted defeat. He was coughing almost nonstop and his voice sounded absolutely terrible.
During their afternoon break, Cole wandered into the kitchen to make himself a glass of green tea. As he poured honey into his tea, Lloyd stormed into the kitchen.
"Cole, you're sick and if you don't go to the doctor, I will drag you there myself. So make an appointment or I will." Lloyd put his phone on the table and crossed his arms.
"I have a doctor's appointment already," Cole said softly.
"You do?"
"Yes. Monday afternoon."
"Monday?"
"It's the earliest I could get. And I'd like to see you try to drag me anywhere." Cole coughed and sipped his tea.
"Oh. Are you going to go?"
"Unless I'm better by then."
"Okay then. Good talk."
Cole rolled his eyes as Lloyd left. He could hear the others whispering in the living room, but he really didn't care anymore. He moved the chair next to him to make it sound like he was getting up and he heard them run away. As soon as he finished his tea, he went to take a nap.
Jay sprang up. It was the middle of the night, but he quietly ran out of his room. He slid open the door to Cole's room and peered inside. It was dark, but he heard Cole snoring and relaxed some. He made his way back to his room and climbed back into bed.
"What's going on?" Nya yawned.
"Nothing. Go back to sleep." Jay kissed her head.
Nya rolled over and propped herself up on her elbow so she could glare at him.
"It's nothing, really."
Nya just glared at him.
"I just needed to check on something, but it's fine."
"Are you really going to keep me up all night doing this?"
"I had a nightmare, but it's no big deal," Jay admitted.
"About?"
"I… I dreamt that when Morgen had captured Cole, we were too late."
"Cole is fine," Nya said as she placed her head on his shoulder.
"Have you seen him lately? He is anything but fine. And it's only been a few months since he came back. We don't know if he still has vengestone in his system or not."
"Jay, he's fine. He's going to the doctor tomorrow and he'll be back to his old self in a few days. You'll see."
"But what if-"
"You'll be sleeping on the couch if you don't shut up and go back to sleep," Nya yawned.
Jay stopped talking, but he didn't fall asleep. His mind was racing with everything that could go wrong. If Nya hadn't fallen asleep on him, he would've gotten up ten times that night to check on Cole. By the time morning came around, he was exhausted. Instead of the gong, Wu knocked on everyone's doors to wake them up, except for Cole who got to sleep in. After Sunrise Stretches, Jay decided to check on Cole. He was still asleep. Jay quietly closed the door and turned around to see Nya right behind him.
"He's not going to get better if you keep bothering him," Nya chastised as they walked back to the living room.
"I'm not bothering him," Jay argued.
"Bothering who?" Lloyd asked, looking up from his video game.
"No one."
"He's worried Cole's going to die," Nya said.
"Dude, he's fine. Just let him rest," Kai said.
"I am," Jay argued.
"You are not," Nya argued back.
"Just let him sleep. He has to go to Ninjago City later for his appointment," Kai said.
Jay sat down and tried to focus on the TV. Around nine, Cole came into the living room. His hair was a mess, there were bags under his eyes, and he looked extremely confused.
"Why didn't anyone wake me?" Cole asked. There was so much gunk in his throat that his voice was barely above a whisper.
"Clearly you needed the sleep," Kai said.
"You have a doctor's appointment today. Did you really think Uncle Wu would make you do Sunrise Stretches?" Lloyd asked.
"Eh. Is there any breakfast left?" Cole asked.
"Zane's still in there cleaning up."
Cole went into the kitchen.
"See? He's fine," Nya whispered.
"You call that fine?" Jay whispered back.
"Leave him alone."
"How do we even know he's going to actually go to his appointment? He could ditch."
"Jay, Cole is a grown man who can make his own decisions. If he ditches, which I don't think he's going to do, then he will suffer the consequences. We cannot force him to go to the doctor, but we need to have faith that he will actually go," Lloyd said.
Jay nodded and turned back to the TV. Nya cuddled with him in order to keep him on the couch.
Cole left for his appointment shortly after lunch. Lloyd offered to drive him, but Cole insisted he could make it himself. When he still hadn't returned for dinner, Jay couldn't take it anymore and called him.
"Are you still at the doctor's?" Jay asked.
"No, that ended a while ago. The pharmacy is taking forever with my prescription. I'm at my dad's place until they call and say it's ready. If it's not ready soon, I'm just going to have to spend the night here."
"Well, I'm sure your dad is happy to have you around."
"He's at work. I'm hoping my prescription is done before he gets home. I'm not in the mood to deal with his drama," Cole said.
"What was wrong?"
"Bronchitis. I'm supposed to start taking antibiotics, if the pharmacy ever decides to fill it."
"Oh. Well, get some rest and I guess we'll see you tomorrow," Jay said.
Lloyd wasn't used to having an empty spot next to him during Sunrise Stretches, but Cole still wasn't back yet. As they followed Wu's through the motions, the door to the courtyard opened and Cole ran to the monastery.
"Ninja, focus. He needs to rest," Wu said.
Everyone turned back around, but no one could focus. As soon as Wu dismissed them, they ran into the monastery. Misako was busy preparing breakfast.
"Where's Cole?" Kai asked.
"He came in, screamed into a pillow, and went to his room," Misako said.
"I wonder what happened at his dad's house," Jay said.
"I don't know. Can you please go see if he's going to eat?"
"Sure." Lloyd headed down the hall. Everyone else followed him. Cole's door was locked.
"Cole?" Lloyd called.
"Go away," Cole said. His cell phone started to ring.
"Mom said breakfast is almost ready."
Cole opened his door long enough to throw his cell phone into Lloyd's door before he slammed his door shut and locked it.
Lloyd sighed and looked at his door. There was a dent in the wood where the phone had hit it. Surprisingly, there wasn't any damage to Cole's phone. He picked up the phone when it started to ring again. It was Lou.
"Hi, it's Lloyd. Cole isn't really in a talking mood right now," Lloyd said.
"So he did make it back there. Good. He left here around nine or ten last night and he's been ignoring my phone calls," Lou said.
Lloyd glanced over at Cole's door. He didn't want to think about where his friend might have slept. He made a mental note to review the security footage in the garage.
"I'll let Cole know you called," Lloyd said.
"Now, wait a moment. I'm going to need you to tell Cole that if I have to suffer through my sister's birthday party, then so does he," Lou said.
Lloyd handed the phone to Jay and ran back into the kitchen.
"Wait! Why do I have to talk to him?" Jay screeched as the others followed Lloyd.
"I don't think he's eating," Lloyd told Misako.
"Okay."
"Lou said Cole didn't sleep there last night. I'm hoping he slept on the Bounty."
Within two days, Cole started to feel better. He still didn't have much energy, but he wasn't coughing nearly as much. He was lounging on the couch, watching TV, when Lloyd came up to him.
"When is your aunt's birthday?" Lloyd asked.
"Doesn't matter, I'm not going," Cole said. He pulled the blanket up to his shoulders.
"Your dad wants you to go."
"He's going to be disappointed. It's not even a big birthday. She's turning fifty-three and I know I won't be well enough to attend."
"Cole…"
"I'm serious. Besides, if she can't be bothered to remember my name, why should I go?"
"Can you at least tell your dad to lose my number?" Lloyd asked.
"I can ask, but I know he won't."
"Yeah, you're probably right. And Cole?"
"Hm?" Cole looked up.
"Next time you get sick, please don't wait so long to admit it?"
"I make no promises."