I wrote this one shot for a friend on wattpad who was sick, because she told me that Jaya fluff is good medicine for her ;).
Sick Day
Jay woke up to the pitter-patter of little feet along the corridor.
As he opened his own eyes, he found two pairs of eyes, one blue and one brown, expectantly looking back at him from the doorframe.
"Daddy!" Abigail, the four-year old owner of the blue orbs, yelled and jumped into her parents' bed, immediately followed by her two-year old brother Robert.
"Good morning, you two." Jay hugged his children. "Are you feeling better?"
Both kids had been down with a throat infection last week. Luckily, it looked like they were back to their usual (adorable, noisy and rather exhausting) selves now. "Ssh, we don't want to wake up mummy." He told them.
His wife had never been a morning person, this was something Jay had learned the hard way very early in their relationship. And she had been absolutely wrecked last night, after taking care of and entertaining two sick children.
"No, she isn't." Nya mumbled sleepily.
Jay smiled. "Good morning, sweetheart." He placed a chaste kiss on her cheek - which felt a bit warmer than usual. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Not really." Nya replied in a hoarse voice. "My throat is sore, and I have a bit of a headache..."
Jay groaned inwardly, this was exactly how it had started for the two little ones.
"Do you need anything?" He asked her worriedly.
"Not right now." She said. "Just a bit more sleep, please."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of those two monkeys. It's my turn today anyway, you had them all week." He then turned to their children. "Alright, let's play a game: Who can get dressed and walk downstairs - no, not the fastest but the quietest. And then, we're gonna make breakfast for mummy, okay?"
"Whoohoo." - "Yay." Abby and Robbie cheered as quietly as they could (which was not very quiet at all), before they climbed out the bed and ran back to their room.
"Thanks." Nya smiled weakly. "I love you."
"Love you too." Jay smiled back. "Just try to get better soon."
"Believe me, I am trying."
When Jay had gotten out of the bed and into a plain t-shirt and a pair of joggers, Abby and Robbie were already impatiently waiting for him on the corridor.
"C'mon, daddy." The girl grabbed his hand and pulled him along. "I got the clothes and helped Robbie, I am a biiig girl, right?"
"Well done, Abs." Jay said, not commenting on the fact that her shirt was inside out and the boy's pants had been put on the wrong way. "You are a big girl. And who's gonna help me now in the kitchen?"
"Me, me." Robbie excitedly bounced up and down.
"I gonna help daddy." Abigail told her little brother. "An' you can help me."
About one hour and one devastated kitchen later, Jay quietly walked back up the stairs bedroom, carrying a tray in his hands. Even from outside the room, he could hear Nya coughing.
"Scrambled eggs and toast." He announced, seeing (or hearing) that she was awake. "Well, more like crunchy eggs. Abby insisted on cracking them, so there's quite a few pieces of shell in there."
"Thanks, honey." Nya sat up in the bed. "And thanks for letting me sleep."
"That's nothing new for me on a Saturday morning." Jay teased her, carefully putting the tray on her lap. "But you do need to rest. And I brought yoy some paracetamol." He pointed at a little box on the tray.
"What are the kids doing?" Nya asked, trying a small bit of the eggs.
"Watching some telly, we've already had our breakfast." He told her. "Oh, I've called mum, she and dad are gonna take the kids for the weekend until you're better. Your parents already have Mattie and Amber; apparently Kai and Skylor are both out as well."
"That's just the way it goes." Nya smirked. "Remember when Abby brought home that stomach bug from playgroup and you started throwing up during training? Everyone in the team got sick..."
"Of course I remember." Jay stated. "I'd really love to forget about it but Kai keeps reminding me, making sure I won't."
"That's my brother..." Nya remarked. She took two tablets with some water. "Please tell Abby these are the best and crispiest scrambled eggs I've ever had - definitely calcium-rich... unfortunately, I am not very hungry right now."
"At least try to have some tea." Her husband sat down next to her, gently running his hand through her damp black hair.
Nya rolled her eyes. "Yes, mum." But she followed his advice nonetheless.
"I'm gonna pack a few things for Abby and Rob, my parents should be here to pick them up soon." Jay remarked, standing up.
"Okay, thanks." Nya said. "I'll try to get up now as well and come downstairs, to kiss them goodbye. I probably have the same stuff they had, so the kids should be immune. Unlike you..."
"Does that mean I won't get a kiss?" Jay pouted playfully.
Despite her piercing headache, Nya had to laugh at her husband's antics, which unfortunately resulted in another coughing fit.
"Well, I sure hope you are not scared now and go with them, leaving a sick and miserable me here all alone." She finally managed to bring out.
"Don't worry, I will never leave you." He said, his blue eyes locking with hers. "I love you, Nya."
"I love you too, Jay." Nya replied. "But I still won't kiss you now. You are just too unbearable when you are sick."
When Nya had finally managed to get up and change from her sweaty nightgown into a fresh top and comfortable leggings, Jay had already finished packing the children's overnight bag for their stay with the grandparents and was waiting for her outside their room.
It was not a big bag anyway, Abigail and Robert pretty much only needed to bring their toothbrushes, their dragon plushies, and their current favourite bedtime story book. Both sets of grandparents kept a set of the most needed items, including spare clothes (suitable for playing at the junkyard and blacksmith shop, respectively), strawberry-scented shampoo and body wash, nappies and wipes for the younger children, and colourful plastic tableware at their homes.
Together, the married couple slowlt walked along the corridor. Seeing that she was on rather wobbly legs, the Lightning Ninja placed an arm around his sick wife's slim waist to support her, and the usually strong and independent young woman gratefully leaned against him.
In the living room, the children were sitting on the sofa, their eyes glued to the television. But as soon they heard their parents enter the room, they jumped up and ran to their mother.
"Mummy." Abby cheered. "You feelin' better?"
"A little bit, honey." Nya gave her daughter a weak smile.
"Ma-ma." The smaller boy tucked at her trousers, looking at her expectantly with his big brown eyes.
"Sorry, sweetie." Nya told her son. "I'm afraid, mummy can't lift you up today."
"But I can." Jay let go of her waist to pick up their son and placed him on his shoulders to carry him into the living room, tickling his feet along the way.
Abby and her mother followed the pair, but Nya had to stop when another coughing fit overtook her.
"You needa cough in you' eyebrow." The girl lectured her mother, demonstrating the correct technique of coughing into her elbow, as she had learned at playgroup. "An' you needa lie down." She gestured at the sofa.
Nya followed her instructions, and 'Nurse Abby' started gathering some cushions and blankets from around the room and putting them in her mother's back and on top of her, respectively. The younger boy watched his older sister with great interest, before he started copying her.
When the children were finally satisfied with their work, they quietly sat down on the floor in front of the sofa and proudly smiled at their mother, or rather the pile of cushions and blankets under which she was buried.
"We're goin' for a sleepover with granny Edna an' grandpa Ed." The blue eyed girl informed her. "But you don' need to be sad. Daddy'll take care of you, okay?"
"Okay, sweetheart." Nya nodded.
Robbie stood up from the floor and walked to the huge box of toys they had in one of the corners of the family's main room. When the two-year old returned, he was holding a big electric blue teddy bear that he placed into Nya's arms. "And Mr Zaptwap take care too." He said.
Uncle Cole had given the soft toy to his little godson for his first birthday - and Uncle Kai had named him.
"Thanks, Robbie." Nya softly ruffled the boy's messy brown hair. "I am sure that with such good care from both daddy and Mr Zaptrap, I will be fine again when you come back from granny and grandpa tomorrow."
As if on cue, the doorbell rang. The kids excitedly raced to the door.
"Granny, grandpa." They cheered.
"Ah, my little darlings. Are you feeling better again?" Nya could hear her mother-in-law enquire.
"And how much you two have grown again." Ed added. "Take a note, Edna."
"Mum, dad. Thank you so much for taking them." Jay greeted his parents. "Abby, what did mummy and I tell you about answering the door?" He asked his daughter in a stern voice.
"Sowwy, daddy." The girl apologised.
"It's okay, darling." Nya smiled hearing her husband's voice soften again. Jay could never stay mad at his precious little girl for long. "You just didn't want to let your grandparents wait outside in the cold, right?"
"Yes, daddy. Not want granny an' grandpa get sick too."
"Awww, that's our little girl." Edna cooed.
"Big girl." Abigail insisted. "Robbie's little. An' Tori's even littler."
"You are right, sweetie." Edna then peeked into the living room. "Nya, dearie. Sorry to hear you are a bit under the weather."
"Thanks, Edna." Nya tiredly smiled at her husband's mother. "And thanks for helping us."
"Oh, not at all." She exclaimed. "We are always happy to have our two big little helpers around at the junkyard. Aren't we, Ed?"
"Of course, my sugarplum." Ed appeared behind his wife, carrying Robbie. "Get some rest, Nya, and let us take care of these two."
"And Jay, you need to take good care of Nya." Edna added in a stern voice.
"Don't worry, mum. I will." Jay kissed his mother's cheek. "Thanks again."
The Water Ninja sighed in relief when the door finally closed after the two oldest and the two youngest members of the Walker family. As much as she loved her children (and her in-laws of course), her pounding head was incredibly grateful for the sudden absence of noise in the house.
Enjoying the peace and quiet, Nya leaned back against the pile of cushions in her back and closed her eyes.
When she woke up again, she found Jay sitting in an armchair, reading a Starfarers comic book (that he insisted he had only made the subscription for for their children - at a time when their oldest had only been two months old).
"Hey Sleeping Beauty." He put the book down and smiled at her.
"Hey." She smiled back, slowly sitting up. "How long was I out?"
"Almost two hours." He replied. "But it's not like you've missed much. It took me almost an hour to clean up the kitchen from Abs and Rob helping me make breakfast earlier. And I've got some chicken soup cooking on the oven. My parents went shopping for us before they came here for the two monkeys."
"Sounds great." Nya still wasn't very hungry, but she appreciated his efforts. While his kitchen skills had never matched Zane's - and then later P.I.X.A.L.'s as well - Jay had always been one of the better cooks in their team, thanks to his mother's teaching. He was definitely a lot better than his wife. And in contrast to Nya, he even enjoyed it.
"It still needs a bit, so I am all yours now." Jay wiggled his eyebrows.
Nya sneezed in response. "Then maybe you could start by bringing me a new box of tissues." She asked.
"Yes, ma'm." He saluted and got up to get the requested item for her.
"Anything else you need?" He asked, putting the box on the table in front of the sofa.
"Yes." Nya smiled. "Can I get a hug?"
"Hun, you can always get a hug from me. Especially when I am not allowed to kiss you." Jay removed some of the cushions and put them on the floor so he could sit down on the sofa next to his wife. He put his arms around her and Nya snuggled into his side and immediately fell asleep again.