A little while later Jake climbed into his hammock, next to him Neytiri climbed into hers. As Jake closed his eyes a familiar prickling on the back of his neck told him he was about to be pulled back into his human body. "Goodnight Neytiri." He never heard if she said goodnight back or not. He felt his mind tunnel and then when he opened his eyes he found himself laying in the psionic chamber back at the main base.

CHAPTER 2

As he lay in the chamber Jake sighed. The familiar numbness in his legs was back. But he quickly smiled as the lid to the chamber opened and Grace's face came into view. "Welcome back to our world." Smiling back Jake pushed himself out of the chamber and maneuvered himself back into his wheelchair. As he sat down, a voice behind him spoke. "so the lucky bastard returns." Jake turned to find a grinning Norm clambering out of his own chamber. A grin of his face." Jake smiled and nodded to norm, who nodded back and spoke. "how are things with your avatar?" Jake shrugged. "I'm asleep in my hammock." Norm nodded. "lucky. Well shall we do our video logs?" Jake nodded and proceeded to do his video log of what he had learned that day. As he and norm finished grace brought them food, or what passed for it and then left them alone again. As they began eating norm and Jake talked lightly. Mostly norm chatted animatedly about what he and grace had learned that day. Every now and then Jake would add something but for the most part he stayed silent and listened.

As they finished 'dinner', Jake left norm and slowly made his way to his 'room'. As he pushed open the door, Jake stopped. On one of the walls grace had hung a large mirror. Try as he might he couldn't stop his eyes from drifting downwards to his wheelchair. Shaking his head Jake had been about to move again when a voice behind him made him look up. "Hey….. You ok?" Jake turned and found grace had stuck her head out of her small laboratory, and was now looking at him, her look a mixture of curiosity, and worry. Jake smiled at her. "Yeah I'm fine grace just tired." Grace nodded in sympathy and stepped out of her lab being sure to close and lock the door behind her. "Want some company?" Jake raised an eyebrow and a moment later grace smacked him in the face with a folder. "Not that kind of company. But you know someone to talk to. I noticed earlier your vital peaked and you seemed stressed."

Jake knew grace wasn't about to leave him alone so he wheeled himself into his room and hoisted himself up onto his bed as grace took a seat on the small swivel chair, in front of his desk. Sighing Jake retold the story of what had happened during his last trip. As Jake finished his story grace leaned back so her back was resting on the edge of the desk. "So you had a dream about how you ended up paralyzed?" Jake nodded. "hmmm. Don't know what to tell you. I suppose try no to dwell in the past. What happened happened and nothing we do can change that. But if it'll make you feel any better I don't have any feeling in my left thumb." Jake chuckled. "That doesn't help…….. But thanks." Grace nodded and got up to leave. As she exited the room she stopped, turned to him and spoke. "You've got about 5 hours to rest. I'll wake you up, then ok?" Jake smiled and grace left the door hissing shut behind her. Jake moaned as he lay down his spine popping in several places as he did so. He was asleep before, his head hit the pillow.

6 HOURS LATER

AVATAR FORM

Jake sailed through the air, leaping from branch to branch. The wind howled around him and not far behind him Neytiri followed in close pursuit, Laughing as she tried to catch him. as Jake came to edge of a large branch Jake took a flying leap and launched himself into the air. As he sailed through the air, Jake smiled. This was what he loved about his avatar body. he could run, jump, and do things he could never do in his human form. As he landed on a branch about 15 feet below, Jake felt a strange feeling in his legs. They tingled like when a person's limp falls asleep. But he didn't pay any attention to it. That was until his legs caved out from under him as he ran the length of the branch. They simply caved out from under him. Like someone had grabbed both ankles and pulled them behind him.

Jake fell forward hit, his head on the branch. Even as the pushed himself up, he pitched sideways and nearly plummeted off the branch towards the ground below. Even now his weight was pulling him down to the ground. It was only with his strong grasp that Jake was able to hold onto the branch. But he was losing the battle and even now he could hear the small creaks as the branch bent beyond its limit getting ready to snap. 'thump' Neytiri had landed and grinned at him. Obviously she thought this was some game he was playing. "well Jakesully it seems the grace of the na'vi has yet to gift you." Jake struggled to pull himself up. For some reason he was feeling very tired all of a sudden. "Neytiri please help me up." Neytiri shook her head, playfully. "no Jakesully I will not fall for a trick by you." Jake grunted and grabbed another bunch of branches in an attempt to stop his battle with gravity.

"Neytiri please this isn't a joke. I'm going to fall." But Neytiri smiled and made no attempt to stop him. Jake grunted more out of frustration but slightly out of fear. He tried using his legs to scramble back onto the branch but with a jolt of fear Jake found his legs wouldn't move. They hung down seemingly useless. Then a new problem hit him. His vision began to blur, the outlines of the trees around him became blurring. A heartbeat later he felt the branches he was holding onto snapped. For a fraction of a second, he looked up and he could see Neytiri's look of pure surprise. Then gravity grabbed him and brought him crashing through branches and ferns. As he fell he felt someone grab him about the waist and stop his fall. From far away he thought he could hear Neytiri's voice, shouting sounding worried. But now his vision was clearing. The world around him was becoming clearer, and he found he was able to move his legs again.

Neytiri's voice no longer echoes in his ears and he found he could understand what she was saying. "Jakesully are you ok? What's wrong?" Jake shook his head trying to rid himself of the disorientated feeling he had. "Yeah…… I'm-" Jake never finished his sentence. His mind tunneled and a moment later he was looking up from his position in the psionic chamber, grace hovering over him a look of fear covered her face. Helping Jake to sit up grace frantically punching in commands on a computer mounted above the chamber. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JERK ME FOR?!?!?!" grace looked down at him and shook her head. "You mental stress rated sky rocketed. For 10.8 seconds you mind wasn't in either body. Something's wrong, very wrong with either you or your avatar. For now, I'm not going to let you 'back in' until I know more about what happened." Jake shook his head and shouted again. "Grace I almost fell from a tree! Neytiri is worried sick about me. Now I'm lying 'dead' in her arms. What do you think will happen?!" grace sighed deeply and closed her eyes. After a moment she spoke. "2 hours. Give me 2 hours to figure out what happened. After that I'll plug you back in. but you need to come back here. I can't in good conscious let you run around in a possibly defective avatar. Ok?" Jake let out a roar of frustration but agreed, pulling himself out of his chamber and angrily putting himself in his wheel chair.

For the next 2 hours Jake angrily, 'paced' the lab. He wasn't mad not really. He knew grace was following rules but he didn't like it. He was more worried than mad. Right now somewhere out in the forest Neytiri was probably worried to death about him and she had no way of knowing he was fine. As he paced he caught sight of himself in the shiny surface of grace's desk. 'Well mostly fine' he thought as he found himself looking at his wheelchair again. As grace worked every now and then she would ask him a question and he would answer. More often than not in a very angry and annoyed voice. When grace's 2 hours were up Jake almost leapt into the chamber as he made to close the door, grace stopped him and spoke. "Listen. I have no idea what happened. It might be nothing but it might be something. If you feel something…. Anything like that, Stop whatever you're doing and wait for the feeling to pass. I'm going to be moving to a temporary base, near the Hallelujah Mountains. Do you know where that is?" Jake nodded. "You get into your body, you say whatever you have to say and then you get your blue ass there so we can see if something is wrong. Got it?" Jake nodded and graces closed the door to the chamber. A moment later Jake's mind tunneled and he felt the feeling in his legs return telling him, his was back in his na'vi body.

JAKE'S AVATAR POV

Jake slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Neytiri. Or more accurately he felt her, which was not hard to do considering she was holding his head to her chest. Her long black chord flowing over his face like a curtain. Even with one of his ears pressed against her rapid and panicked heart he could hear her sobbing begging for him to come back. Gently Jake pushed himself apart from Neytiri who upon seeing that he was ok, tackled him and began hugging him. "Jakesully, you're ok! I was so worried." Jake again pried Neytiri off of him. "yes I'm……… ok. For now." Neytiri didn't seem to hear him as she continued describing how she had prayed for his return. But after a moment she stopped midsentence. "What do you mean for now Jakesully?" Jake shook his head, and using the tree trunk for leverage pulled himself so he was standing. "I don't know. Grace, one of the sky people….. they think something might be wrong with me. That I might be sick. I need to get to them. There's a place near the Hallelujah Mountains. A place they can see if I'm sick. I need to get there as soon as I can." Jake began to walk away but was stopped as he felt Neytiri's touch on his tail.

Turning Jake spoke. "I can't tell you to not come. But I beg you. When we get there you must leave." Neytiri cocked her head and opened her mouth to speak but Jake interrupted here. "no. this is not up for debate. When we get there you HAVE to leave." Jake turned to leave but Neytiri voice made him stop. Her voice was small and weak, afraid. So unlike the real her. She said only one word. "Why?" Jake sighed, and turned back around. Neytiri stood still holding his tail, small tears flowing from her eyes. Jake instantly felt like crap and rushed to her. Wiping the tears from her face. Gently he spoke. "Neytiri………… I" in the back of his mind he knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to say 'I love you Neytiri but if you saw the real me you wouldn't love me.' But he couldn't. it was improper. Neytiri was engaged to Tsu'Tey. It would be wrong to voice how he felt. But Neytiri was looking at him and he had to say something. "Neytiri………. I can't. If you saw me…..the real me. You'd…….. You wouldn't want anything to do with me. You'd look at me different. I'm not…….. I'm……… damaged." Jake had been about to say something else but again the feeling washed over him. his head spun and he tried to grab a bunch of nearby branches, only to find Neytiri hands on his shoulders steadying him.

But after a moment his vision cleared and he could easily see the worried face of Neytiri looking at him. "Jakesully you are in no condition to go to the Iknimaya. (Hallelujah Mountains) you're sick and need rest. We'll travel to the Iknimaya when you're better." Jake shook his head but gripped Neytiri harder as he did so. "No. I can't wait. These……… 'Fits' are going to get worse. I need to get to Iknimaya as soon as I can." Neytiri looked worried but spoke with clearness in her voice. "Alright. I'll help you but I once you're better I want answers. Is that clear?" her voice tone left no room for talk back. All Jake could do was node. For the next few hours, Jake and Neytiri made their way down from the tree and along the ground until they came back to the hometree. Once there Jake was left to rest in Neytiri's alcove as Neytiri went to inform her parents that she would be traveling.

NEYTIRI'S POV

Neytiri frantically left her parents looking slightly bewildered near the tree of souls. Hurtling her way passed several na'vi who looked crossly at her when she pushed her way passed them Neytiri could feel her heart beating. She could tell Jake was in pain. And he had made it very clear to her that he need to get to Iknimaya as soon as he could. Leaping off the platform she was on Neytiri easily landed on the platform below, easily in view of her alcove and the waiting Jake. But as she neared the alcove she stopped. Jake was no longer alone in the alcove. At least 5 other girls had joined him and now sat around him. Neytiri easily saw Ninaht, and Pidal amongst the group of na'vi that swarmed around Jake. There also seemed to be several other younger na'vi around him. Biting her lip Neytiri tried to figure out what to do. On one hand Jake and her needed to get going if they wanted to make it to Iknimaya before night fall. As it was they were facing a 12 or 14 hour journey. But on the other hand, it looked as though several of the na'vi had gifts for Jake, and that meant only one thing. They wished to be Jake's mate when the time came for him to choose one.

Peeking out again Neytiri's heart clenched with heartbreak as she noted Jake smiling and seemingly having a good time talking with the other females. But then Jake's smile vanished for a moment and a look of pain crossed his face. And while most of the other females failed to notice it, the look of pain was not lost to pidal who put her hand on Jake's forehead and asked if he was ok. It was too much for Neytiri who burst into her alcove faking a look of surprise as though she had not noted the group of females. Grabbing Jake by the arm, Neytiri half walked half dragged Jake away from the females who all shot Jake seductive looks and shot her glares of death and pain. As they left the hometree Jake smiled at her. "Thanks. What did they want?" Neytiri shook her head angrily. "you're a moron Jakesully. Soon your training in our ways will be done and you will be able to take a women as your mate. Those females were trying o catch your eye so you might choose one of them to be your mate." Jake nodded. "Ok. But why do you seem so mad?" Neytiri stopped walking for a moment, the slowly she turned to Jake trying to put on her most dangerous face. "they chose a bad time to do it. Plus they invaded my alcove." Jake put his hands up as though fending off an attack. Neytiri growled and began dragging Jake again. They needed to get going or they weren't going to make it to the Iknimaya in time.

AN)well folk. Chapter 2.

Hope you all enjoyed it. I know I had a lot of fun writing it. Hope to see reviews for this too.

bye