Jay wakes with a groan, pain radiating through his body. His head throbs, his side aches, and when he starts curling up, pain shoots through his ankle as well, so he quickly stops moving. Yes, less moving, less pain..
"Are you awake?" asks Zane.
Jay startles, sitting up quickly, immediately regretting it, right, movement is pain.. "What are you doing in my room Zane?" He croaks before coughing, each cough making his side ache.
"I was concerned for your well being, so I decided to monitor your condition while you slept. I expect you will be wanting these." He holds out a box of painkillers.
"Um, thanks." says Jay, a little creeped out. Hopefully Zane wasn't going to become a permanent fixture in his room. He looks to his bedside table, seeing his regular half glass of water, as well as a fresh inhaler and his ruined notebook.
"Can I get some water, for these?" Asks Jay, holding up the meds.
"There is water right there." States Zane.
"Um, it's old.." says Jay, not wanting to admit that water was for talking to, not drinking.
"Ok, I'll get you some fresh water." Says Zane, standing and reaching for the glass of old water.
"NO!" Says Jay in alarm.
Zane stops, looking at Jay with a quizzical look. "What's wrong?"
"I, um, I don't need a maid to clean up after me Zane, just leave everything here, and bring me some fresh water. Please?"
"As you wish." Says Zane, before leaving the room.
Jay lets out a sigh, that was a terrible cover, but thankfully it was Zane, so he might not notice.
He lays back down on the bed staring at the ceiling, brain finally getting a second to process what happened the day before. I'm still alive. But at what cost? His bumps and bruises would heal, he wasn't too worried about that. But he had lost something precious out there. He glances over to the notebook, crinkled pages meant that even shut, it wouldn't sit flat. He takes it, opening it up, still a little soggy, some pages are stuck together, the others are a blurry mess of ruined ink, no trace left of what each image was supposed to be. He feels tears starting to form in his eyes as he puts the notebook back. He had felt happy out there, had found a sense of calm, a sense of peace. That is what he had lost, and now that path would forever be the place where he fell off the cliff. He wasn't sure if he ever wanted to go back.
Cole knocks on the door before entering with a glass of water. "Zane said you wanted some water?"
Jay quickly wipes his face, not wanting Cole to see his tears. "Thanks." He says, taking the glass and using it to down a couple of pills.
"How are you feeling?" Asks Cole gently, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Jay didn't want to do this, not yet. He wasn't ready to discuss this fresh grief. He looks at Cole who is staring at him with big sad eyes.
"Stop it. Stop looking at me like Lloyd."
"What?" Says Cole with a frown.
"You're staring at me like I'm broken." Explains Jay, but then remembers Lloyd saying, I don't think you're broken, I think I failed you.
"Sorry." Says Cole, looking away guiltily.
It's Jay's turn to frown, what did Cole have to feel guilty about? "How long was I out there?" He asks tentatively, he had lost all sense of time while he was stuck.
Cole flinches at the question. "Well, um, it took us a bit over an hour to find you."
Jay's frown deepens, it doesn't even take me that long to walk there..
"It's my fault," says Cole, voice starting to tremble. "I didn't see your message right away, I was sleeping, Zane normally tracks you.. I didn't know he was offline.. I didn't know you'd gone out.. I'm so sorry." His voice starts to crack on the last few words.
Jay stares blankly at Cole, brain processing this new information. "Huh." He says, then shrugs. "I'm still the bigger idiot. Zane normally checks the weather for me, he was um busy? I should have done it myself. I was unprepared, and went out without telling anyone."
"You're not mad?" Asks Cole.
"No, I'm tired." Says Jay before coughing a couple times.
Cole leans over to gently pat his back. "You ok?"
"Yeah, it's probably just my hayfever acting up or something. The bruise on my side doesn't like it when I cough." He lifts his shirt revealing that the colours have deepened since the day before.
Cole sucks in air through his teeth, "you sure it's not broken?"
"Pretty sure." Says Jay, before lowering his shirt. "I used to jump off roofs with homemade wings as a hobby, I know what a broken rib feels like." He sees lines of worry still occupy Cole's face. "It was an accident, ok? Not your fault, you saved me, you got there in time." Cole nods reluctantly. "Now get out of my room and let me rest!"
Jay spends most of the day moping in his room, doing his best not to cough. A layer of fatigue weighs him down, probably just a side effect of his ordeal yesterday, and leftover injuries. He puts in an appearance at dinner, to try and show them he is fine, using crutches to get to the dining room. Zane had cooked a hearty vegetable soup, which was exactly what Jay needed, helping to sooth his new cough.
After dinner he retreats to his room. Despite being early, he falls asleep quickly.
He is sitting on the tree, unable to hide from the icy cold rain. Lightning flashes in the distance, thunder echoing with a big angry boom. Jay shivers as he looks out into the sky, watching dark clouds reform into Nya's angry face.
"Why are you angry at me?" Yells Jay to the sky, "what have I done wrong?"
He reaches out an arm to the sky, but a muddy arm grabs it from behind. More muddy arms start grabbing the rest of his body as he is dragged underground, into the mountain.
Jay wakes with a start, body jerking as he tries to shake off muddy hands. He knew the new nightmares weren't going to be fun. He pauses, realising he is shivering. That doesn't make any sense, how could I be shivering for real? He was inside the warm monastery under a blanket, not out in the cold on a hillside. Could the dream have caused him to shiver? That seemed odd, but he did sometimes have real asthma attacks after dreaming about not being able to breathe. As if on queue his lungs decide that now is the perfect time for a coughing fit. Not just one or two coughs this time, but a dozen in a row that make him question if it's possible to cough up a whole lung. When it finally stops, his breathing feels laboured so he reaches for his inhaler, taking a puff and sitting upright against the wall.
There is a knock at the door.
"Yeah.." says Jay weakly, as the door slides open revealing Cole.
"That one sounded bad, you ok?"
"I'm shivering again." Says Jay, "um, can hypothermia come back?" He asks with concern.
Cole comes over and places a hand on Jay's forehead. "This isn't hypothermia, you have a fever." He says.
"Oh, right, that would make more sense." Says Jay wearily before coughing again, this time isn't as bad, maybe the medication was helping. He takes another puff to be sure.
"I'm getting Zane." Says Cole before leaving the room. He quickly returns with Zane in tow.
Zane takes a more accurate reading of Jay's fever.
"So what do we do?" Asks Cole to Zane, a trace of fear leaking into his voice.
"What do you want to do?" Asks Zane calmly to Jay.
Jay looks blankly at Zane. "Why are you asking me?" He was used to his friends making decisions about his health without even consulting him.
"Because you are not a doll." Says Zane calmly.
"Right." Says Jay, while thinking through his situation. "I should take some meds for the fever." Zane nods with approval. "The coughing is getting worse, so I should probably see a doctor."
"It must be bad if you want to see a doctor.." says Cole.
"Do you want to go now, or in the morning?" Asks Zane.
Jay thinks it over. "Let's see how I feel after the meds."
Zane nods approvingly before leaving to fetch the meds.
"Sorry." Says Cole. "Zane's right, I should have been asking you."
Jay shrugs, "It's ok, my decision making lately doesn't have a great track record." He looks over at Cole, worry clear on his face. "It's just a cold. I'll be fine." Another bout of coughing tries to prove Jay wrong.
"You sure?" Says Cole with a frown.
"Yeah, go get some sleep, I'll see you in the morning."
He allows Zane to stay in his room that night.
The meds help, the shivering goes away, and he manages to sleep again for a little while, but the coughing keeps waking him up. The second time it happens his breathing gets bad enough to use the inhaler again.
"Zane?" He asks, "Maybe it's better to go now?"
Zane nods. "I think that would be wise." He says before passing Jay his crutches and picking up a duffel bag sitting at the side of the room.
"What's that?" Asks Jay.
"An overnight bag, just in case." Says Zane.
Jay's heart sinks. Surely they would just give him some meds and send him home?
"Should I wake Cole?" Asks Zane.
"Nah, let him sleep. I don't need both of you for this."
Zane nods, writing a note and taping it to the outside of Jay's door.
Jay thankfully doesn't get worse on the way to the hospital. Maybe there is something to this going early thing.. he thinks. It is much less stressful than the car ride when he couldn't breathe.
Upon arrival Zane helps him fill in some paperwork and he is quickly admitted, leaving behind a bunch of people who had already been waiting when they arrived. The efficiency was making him slightly nervous, along with the staff saying things like, "you were right to come in," and, "that cough sounds nasty!"
Pretty soon he has to ditch his PJs in favour of a hospital gown, and gets a barrage of tests. X-rays of his ankle (not broken) and his chest area (rib bruised, not broken, lungs still crappy). A head CT confirms Zane's assessment. They take blood to try and identify the infection, stick sensors on his chest to monitor his heart, an IV in his hand for fluids and drugs, and a clip on his finger which somehow tells if he is getting enough oxygen. He also gets a face mask, which is giving him extra oxygen.
He doesn't like feeling so vulnerable, being poked and prodded in front of what must have been at least a dozen different people by now. The sheets are stiff and scratchy, the bed not as soft as his own. The smell of disinfectant lingers, but is also somehow different in each room. There is a constant barrage of unfamiliar noises, people's shoes in the hall, voices from other rooms, running water in the walls, the hiss of air through the mask, and AC coming through the vent in the ceiling.
"I changed my mind." He whispers to Zane. "Hospitals are stupid. Can we go home?"
"Unfortunately not," says Zane gently, "we can not leave until the doctor gives you the all clear."
Jay sighs, he wasn't actually expecting that to work.
"Do you want me to call Cole?" Zane asks.
"No."
"Do you want me to call your parents?"
"No!" The thought of them being here fussing over him was enough to bring on a coughing fit. After he is done he says "I just need you Zane." Zane was chill, he didn't fuss. He could sit silently offering the comfort of someone being there, without the burden of trying to manage someone else's feelings.
"Ok." Says Zane.
By morning the doctor comes by and says. "Well, you have pneumonia." Jay's heart sinks. That didn't sound like a regular cold. "It is a type of lung infection, and can be particularly risky for asthmatics. We suspect the stress your body was put under when you were hypothermic, allowed the infection to take hold." She pauses, looking at Jay.
"Well shit." he says.
The doctor gives a sympathetic grin. "That's one way of putting it. The good news is we have identified the strand, so can give you the correct antibiotics. We will start those immediately via your IV, and keep you here for a few days to observe your breathing. If it gets worse, there are a few drugs we can use to help manage it, including a special mask that can deliver airbourne treatments along with oxygen."
"Ok, fine." says Jay without enthusiasm, before being overcome by yet another coughing fit.
"I must warn you, it's likely to get worse before it gets better." says the doctor as she adds a new bag to his IV stand, "But trust me when I say it does get better."
The day is a blur of trying to sleep, coughing fits, and terrible food. He feels like absolute crap. His whole body aches, the coughing is getting more painful, and his head feels like it is full of cotton wool. "I thought being in hospital was supposed to make you feel better?" He moans to Zane.
"It will. Be patient." says Zane.
Zane's phone rings. Zane had installed a bluetooth chip some time ago, so he taps the side of his head before saying "Hello, this is Zane."
Jay frowns, if he answered the phone normally he would have a better chance at eavesdropping what was being said on the other end..
"Yes, he has pneumonia, they are treating him with antibiotics… His mood is, well, adequate. You know how much he likes doctors… No, I had a bag ready, we don't need you to bring anything." Zane then turns to face Jay. "Cole would like to know if you want another visitor?"
Jay shakes his head. It was bad enough having Zane see him like this.
"He is not up to visitors right now, maybe tomorrow?"