Disclaimers: I don't own them, I'm not making any money off the story… I'm just trying to play well with others.

~~ I want just a day to make it all OK. You, could you teach me how to cry. ~~

Just a Day- Reamonn

Chapter 7: still sick, just a little more awake

"I'll check it out. Just call Blake, Tori and Dustin for reinforcements," Shane said.

"Like I'd let you do this alone," Cam muttered.

Just after Shane morphed and left, Cam contacted the others to let them know about the alien. Soon after, Cam joined them in battle since Hunter wasn't going anywhere. After the alien was defeated, everyone regrouped at Ninja Ops with Blake heading straight to his room so he could check up on Hunter for himself.

Hunter awoke upon hearing the door open and light flooding the dark room. He didn't move, figuring it was Cam coming to poke him or prod him with some device that he didn't recognize.

"Hey bro."

Hunter propped himself up on his elbows when he heard his brother's soft voice.

"Hey."

"Dustin said you were feeling miserable."

"Yup."

"I brought you Animal Crackers, Mad Libs and a few magazines."

Hunter merely glanced, weakly smiling. Since he had been sleeping for a few hours, he slowly stood.

"And where do you think you're going?" Blake asked when he saw his brother on his feet.

"Kitchen. Should try to eat more."

"And what have you eaten?"

"A couple pieces of toast."

Blake followed Hunter into the kitchen, where they found Cam already cooking. But the thought of sweet & sour pork made Hunter's stomach churn, and not in a good way. So while Cam cooked for himself and Blake, Blake made some soup and a sandwich for Hunter. And while he ate, Blake subjected him and Cam to Mad Libs.

"My brain's fried," Hunter whined quietly. "Fever."

"I just need two verbs ending in –ing."

"Sleeping. Reading."

"A noun."

And Hunter just put his head on the table, picking at the sandwich.

"Pen," Cam supplied, casting Blake a look.

Blake put the book down, finally realizing that Mad Libs wasn't such a good idea. "Ok, we'll save the Mad Libs for later. You wanna watch TV or something?"

"Sure. I've been sleeping all day."

"Blake, I'll bring dinner in when it's ready," Cam said.

"Thanks, bro."

And Hunter caught the exasperated look that Cam had thrown at Blake's retreating form. Grabbing the bottle of water, Hunter headed out to follow his brother. They had settled on cartoons by the time that Cam made his appearance. He and Blake sat on the floor with their plates and silverware on the coffee table while Hunter was sprawled out on the couch. None of the three said a word with the occasional comment about the food or the cartoon. It wasn't until Cam and Blake had finished that something was said.

"I'll clean up," Blake offered.

"Thanks," Cam said, then turned to Hunter. "And now to check up on you."

Cam disappeared behind Blake, but returned a minute later. And Hunter saw the familiar thermometer and bottle. He groaned, but behaved when Cam handed the thermometer to him. With the thermometer in his mouth, he went back to watching TV, although he knew Cam was watching him.

The thermometer beeped a minute later, and Cam took it from Hunter's mouth. He glanced at it, trying not to frown.

"The good news is your fever's gone down a bit," Cam announced. "Down to 102.5."

After seeing that Hunter had taken a couple more Tylenol, Cam sat back on the floor and watched cartoons with Hunter. But soon after, Cam turned to see that the other boy had fallen asleep. He went into the brothers' room, fetched Hunter's blanket and brought it into the rec room. He spread the blanket over Hunter's long body, tucking it up to his shoulders. Although Cam left the TV on, he turned the volume lower so it wouldn't wake Hunter up. On his way out, he turned the lights off, then shut the door softly behind him.

And he really, really hoped the Hunter got better soon. He had a feeling that the longer Hunter was sick, the more everyone would be affected by it.