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Lloyd was not having it today. Everything ached when he woke up, but he assumed he slept the wrong way. Speaking of sleep, he slept well into the morning while the other ninja were up and about but he still felt really tired when he finally pulled himself out of bed. The draft hit him and made him shiver really bad but he was also hot at the same time. He shrugged it off, put on his gi and took some Tylenol. He ate a little bit, but he honestly felt like he was going to throw up so he started his chores feeling like crap.
At lunch he just sat and picked at his food, not feeling particularly hungry even though he hadn't eaten much all day.
Kai looked over, concerned. "Hey, Lloyd? You okay?"
It took a second or two for Lloyd to realize that someone was talking to you. "Hm? Oh... yeah, just feeling a bit off today."
"You do look rather pale," Jay commented.
"I'll be fine, guys," Lloyd said, "just a bit tired. And cold."
"Well, today is chilly," Nya said, "maybe we should land the Bounty so we're not as high up."
"Yeah, okay," said Lloyd, getting up to clear his plate. "I'm gonna go finish my chores. Is Sensei around?"
"He and Zane are out," Cole replied. "Are you really sure you're okay?"
"Yeah!" No shouting next time. Mental note made as his head throbbed. He carefully placed his plate on the counter and left.
==
After finally doing all of his chores, Lloyd skipped on training and just collapsed on his bed, throwing off his gi and changing into shorts and a t-shirt. He knew he was sick. He felt really hot- not even chilly anymore, just plain-out hot. His body ached, his stomach felt really bad, his head was pounding and he felt dizzy. As soon as he closed his eyes, he fell into a deep and feverish sleep.
He missed dinner which wasn't a shock to most of the team. They worried, but agreed to let him sleep. Sensei Wu was informed of the situation when he asked why Lloyd was missing out on Zane's cooking. It was no shocker seeing how he was at lunch.
They were also pretty prepared for hearing retching sounds coming from the bathroom while washing the dishes and taking out the trash. As soon as Kai heard what was happening, he stopped, pulled off his dish gloves and ran for the bathroom.
There, he found Lloyd curled up on the floor, shaking violently, and crying. Springing into big brother mode, Kai quickly filled a cup of water for Lloyd to wash his mouth out with which he shakingly did so and spat it out into the toilet before flushing it. After that, the green ninja just curled up into a shaking ball on the floor of the bathroom, breathing haggered and still crying but not as much.
"Hey, hey, hey," Kai said gently, putting a hand on Lloyd's side, feeling the heat of his fever even through the fabric. "You're going to be okay, but not if you stay on the floor. Let's get you back to bed." Carefully Kai hauled Lloyd up and let him lean on his side while he guided Lloyd back to his bed in the shared room. The other didn't have the energy to fight, not like he wanted to. He heaved himself into bed and didn't have the strength to fight with the covers. He was cold but also ridiculously hot so he decided just one sheet would be okay.
Kai rushed back to the kitchen where the others were waiting anxiously.
"What do I do?!" Kai finally let his nervous energy out. He was scared for Lloyd. "He's burning up but I don't think he can stomach any medication."
"Well, we could try a cold cloth on his forehead," Nya suggested, "and we should probably take his temperature to make sure his brain isn't being fried."
"Ye- wait, what?"
"A human's body temperature has to stay within a fixed range," explained Zane, "for proper enzyme function. If you get too cold, the enzymes will slow down, if you get too hot, they deform. If he goes above 103 we'll have to bring him to the doctors."
"Great," Jay said, sarcastically. "What can I do to make sure Lloyd does not get fired like the food Zane cooked tonight?"
"My suggestion is to keep Lloyd cool and hydrated," Zane said, "and keep an eye on his temperature. Do you want me to assist you, Kai?"
"Fine. Yes. Okay. You seem to know what you're doing." Kai grabbed a cup from the cupboards. Nya ran a facecloth under the sink, ringing it out before following her brothers.
Lloyd was tossing around in his fever sleep, muttering incoherently. It hurt all of them to see their little brother like this. He was very pale but his cheeks were very red and his body was all sweaty and hair was in tangles.
"Lloyd," Kai said, placing a hand on his arm. "Lloyd, we need you to wake up."
Tired, fever-bright eyes cracked open, the normally vibrant green faded to a dull gray-blue. With help, he sat up, wrapping his arms around his stomach. "I wasn't sleepin'," he mumbled tiredly. He seemed half asleep still.
"Open your mouth," Zane said. When he did so, Zane stuck a thermometer under his tongue. When it beeped, he extracted it with a frown. "100.2. Not bad, but not great. He can have his water and try to cool him down."
"Zane," Jay said from the hallway, "you're the ice ninja. Why don't you just, you know, cool him down yourself?"
"That would be dangerous, possibly resulting into further damage to his body," Zane replied, leaving to wash the thermometer.
When Lloyd had slowly finished the glass of water, he slid down slowly onto his mattress. Nya placed the cool cloth over his forehead. He hissed at the sudden coldness but relaxed and an uneasy look of relief spread on his face. "Thanks, guys," he croaked.
"No problem, kiddo," Kai said. "Are you good now? Do you think you're going to throw up again?"
"I dunno."
Just in case, Kai placed slid the trash bin closer to the bed. The others left Lloyd to get some sleep for a few hours before they went to bed.
==
Lloyd's eyes snapped open as his stomach clenched again. He had been fighting nausea for the past ten minutes and his over-exhausted body couldn't keep it in any longer. He didn't want to throw up in the bedroom with everyone else sleeping so as quietly and quickly as a sleepy sick teenager could, he darted to the bathroom and kneeled at the toilet, waiting for what was to come.
He gagged as watery bile went up his throat spilled out of his mouth. It went on for several more times until it was just painful dry heaves as his body had nothing left to expel. Silent tears ran down his face as he waited for his stomach to settle. He felt so alone. He didn't want the others to wake up for him, but he felt so helpless, weak, and alone. Miserably, he flushed the toilet and crawled back to bed, trying hard to fall asleep. He felt warm again.
About thirty minutes later he woke up, body rigid with pain. He couldn't force himself to get to the bathroom, but this time was different. It was far more painful. As quietly as he could, he tried to throw up into the trash bin but nothing was coming up. He was full on sobbing with pain as cramps rolled through his stomach. He was the green ninja, he was strong, he could get through this.
Soft orange light came from Kai's bed. He held a lit hand on fire. "Lloyd?! Are you okay?!" He was quick to get out of bed, bumping his head on the way. Cole was quick to get the light by his bed. Everyone in the room was up. Lloyd could feel guilty when his stomach was not currently trying to kill him.
"What's wrong Zane?!" Kai demanded, starting to freak out.
"It appears that he doesn't have enough to expel so he's experiencing dry heaving," Zane said, "we just have to let it run its course. Then, Lloyd, you have to drink a lot of water to help you first get whatever your stomach wants out and then more to keep you hydrated."
Lloyd didn't like that solution, but he couldn't argue and Kai went to get a glass of water, shoving it into his hands. Lloyd didn't want to drink, he was already in enough pain, but he did, knowing that Zane was probably right. He just gulped it down and braced himself to throw it back up. He did and he had to admit that he felt much better. Kai took the trash bin out to clean and Zane took Lloyd's temperature again, frowning even more.
"101.1," he said, "it went up. Let's have you drink a little bit of water and go back to sleep. If you're still bad in the morning, take a warm bath."
"Okay," Lloyd sighed. Kai came back with more water which Lloyd slowly drank. Zane went back to bed and Cole shut off the light, but Kai stayed by Lloyd's side until the younger fell asleep again.
==
Lloyd felt a bit better in the morning. He got up first and took a bath which made him feel cleaner and refreshed. He was also hungry but also very cautious of what he ate. Wu was already in the kitchen when he walked in, dressed in sweats and a t-shirt.
"How are you feeling, Lloyd?" Wu asked, sipping a cup of tea.
"Okay, I guess," Lloyd replied, pouring out plain cereal into a bowl and picking at it with his fingers.
"That's good to hear. I'm going to give all of you a day off to recover."
"Oh, you don't... wait, what do you mean 'all of us?'"
"Things like this tend to spread quickly around groups of people," Wu said, "I believe Kai was feeling unwell earlier this morning."
"Oh."
"Do not blame yourself," Wu said, as if he could read Lloyd's thoughts. "You are not at fault for making people sick. I blame the colder weather."
Jay and Nya came into the kitchen. Nya perked up when she saw Lloyd.
"You're up and you're eating! You look so much better, how do you feel?"
"I'm good."
"Guess it's just one of those bad 24-hour things," Jay said, looking relieved. "Hopefully Kai doesn't have it as bad as you." He poured a coffee. "You don't look like Shade anymore, at least."
"Yeah..."
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, just feel bad."
"It's okay!" Nya exclaimed, making the boy jump. "You can't help when you get sick. And Kai knew the risks of helping you, but it doesn't even matter. We care a lot about you and you're more important than a few less hours of sleep and a small bug."
"Okay... Thank you." He paused. "How bad is Kai?"
"He threw up this morning," said Jay, "but he's not running a fever and his system usually just burns out germs before things get too bad. Only problem is that he normally runs hot so we don't know the danger zone with him."
"Okay." Lloyd got up and put his bowl into the sink to go check on Kai.
He found the fire ninja lying on his back in a light doze. As soon as Lloyd stared at him for a second, his eyes opened. "You're okay!" His voice was hoarse and weak but there was genuine excitement in it.
"Yeah," Lloyd said, "and I'm sorry for giving you what I had."
"It's no big deal. I'll be fine."
"Just- just go back to sleep. I'll get you some water. Do you want anything else?"
"Nope, I'm good. I don't need you to-"
"You took care of me when I was sick and that's how you got sick," Lloyd said, "I'm going to take care of you now." He was quick to leave and come back with a glass of water. "It's the least I can do." He gave a small smile and handed Kai the glass of water who smiled back before closing his eyes. "I love you Kai. All of you. I love you all. Thank you."
"I love you, Lloyd."
"I still feel ba-"
"Don't!"