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Cole and Lloyd carried a wobbly Jay into the Bounty, Pixal stood by the bottom and followed the three of them up the ramp, staring at the specks of blood still trickling to the floor despite a very large bundle of cloth around his leg. "What we doing with him, Pix?" Lloyd hoisted himself up once they reached the door of the Med-Bay, then tightened his grip on Jay who tried wrangling his way out, surely desperate for the bed.
Jay being desperate for the bed in the cramped Med-Bay of the Bounty spoke volume, because time and time again, he'd complained about the thin mattress and creaky floorboards above him, or asked silly questions like why he couldn't rest in the cabin or the couch.
Pixal looked down to his leg, the team had been doing regular patrols, sometimes multiple times a day lately, in order to build up what they had lost after defeating the oni and wasting away six months. Master Wu was always one to lecture them on training, sticking to a routine, but he was wise, and knew that all six of them out patrolling multiple times a day was not healthy, and had tried pushing the importance of sometimes leaving the official law enforcement to deal with petty crime.
As always, the ninja never listen, so they went their way to stop some low-level bank robbers. While they handled it quickly, something had slipped through the cracks - apparently someone disguised as a customer of the bank was working with them, and "nicked" Jay's leg, as Jay himself said.
It was a little more than "a nick", the others urged countless times over as they waited for Pixal to arrive.
Turns out, the knife had gone straight through him.
Lloyd slowly guided Jay to the bed once he and Cole jostled their way over, Pixal hummed looking at his leg. It was a mess of Zane's shirt at the bottom of it all, tightened as close as he could get to a real tourniquet, and once the blood seeped through that, the others had either ditched their shirts, belts, or hoods to do whatever they could.
Pixal doubted if they even had first-aid training, or if they had, and it all flies out the window once real panic settles in. Perhaps she should advise Wu to help them with staying calm to help a friend in need, and this time, potential deadly blood-loss after a knife through the leg.
"We need to get him to a hospital." she announced as the others, Zane, Kai and Nya came rushing in.
She had many complaints with how the team handled the situation, but she could stay calm despite her worry, now amplified by their panicking. Now, all they needed to do was get him to the emergency room.
Beside her, Jay squirmed and lifted his head, the unbearable pain reducing any screams to a whimper, "A hospital?" he mumbled, slurring his words, and shook as he tretched his way to sitting up, clearly trying to ignore the blood still seeping out. "Why? Can't- can't you just patch me up?"
Cole rushed beside him to hold him up, while Nya grabbed his hand. Pixal sighed and pointed for someone to start driving the Bounty to the hospital. Kai got the memo and rushed out the Med-Bay. "I cannot, you need professional medical treatment." she urged further, clapping her hands together for him to understand, but clearly, the blood-loss was getting to him, and combined with the sight of his own blood, he got increasingly agitated.
His head bounced around as he spoke, Cole and Nya, both trying to support him as much as they could, gave each-other a look, "I'm not gonna die!" he fumbled on his words, dragging out each letter until his breath failed and he'd choke on the air. "It's just a little scratch, Zane's dealt with this loads of times." Thankfully, the Bounty rose and Kai had began rushing them to the hospital.
Pixal shook her head and rolled her eyes as she made her way to Jay, she took his back from Cole and laid him back down, taking an ice-pack she had already received from Zane. Nya took it and rubbed it over his head, doused with sweat despite his shivering.
"Jay, those were minor injuries." Zane added, he stood with his shirt off, now becoming a pinkish hue on Jay's leg. Meanwhile, Pixal continued working, she grabbed another cloth and wrapped it just above the other pieces of clothing. "This is much more severe, an injury like this will require stitches, perhaps even surgery—"
Jay shook his head and gripped the blanket he was shoved on top of, "No, no! Pixal, just fix me up, you can do stitches, right? Zane? Lloyd, you're the leader, do something!" his breath shuddered and what looked to be an intimidating point was just a floppy hand, "This can be a teaching experience, guys!" he finished, a shaky smile on his face while pointing to the ceiling.
She wished she could have been there since the beginning to stop him from losing this much blood. This wasn't enough to kill him (as long as they got to a hospital, much to Jay's dismay), but still very serious, enough to get him more delirious by the minute.
Now she just had to work around the panicked mess of the First Aid, because she was sure a blood explosion would erupt from Jay's leg as soon as she removed any of those cloths, despite how useless they looked with the blood already spilling out. "No, we're bringing you to a hospital." Pixal said for the last time.
Then, tightening it one final time, Jay flinched up and screamed, almost kicking her in the face. His grip on Nya's hand got tighter and another thick layer of sweat latched onto him. "At least we know you can move it." Nya chuckled and rubbed Jay's hand.
A larger sway of the Bounty got Jay alive once again, he launched up and grabbed the bed railings. "I'm not going! No, not at all!"
Nya pushed him down, well, that was what it looked like to Jay, but to everyone else she touched him like he was a delicate flower, guiding his head down to the pillow again. She smiled and felt his forehead, dripping with sweat, with her hand close enough to feel every shudder of his body.
Fingers drifted through the curls of his hair, now stuck to his forehead. "Jay, I know you're scared, but it's really not—"
"It is that serious! Hospitals are dangerous!" he interrupted, assuming what Nya would say. Pixal wondered when Jay got so scared of hospitals, whether it was an irrational fear, nervousness, embarrassment?
Nya scooted closer and let him grab her hand again, no matter how tightly he gripped it to hide the tremble of his leg, how it most likely was travelling upwards with each moment the cloths saving his life bound tightly around him.
Despite how long the team had been saving the world for, there had barely been any huge injuries, well, in their standards. While they'd been on the verge of death more times than they can count, comatose, or whatever things most people would immediately rush to the emergency room for, there wasn't many…things like this. Going to an actual hospital was rare, and Jay had the idea that because he was conscious and moving that it was so much less serious than any other battles that had left him unconscious.
Pixal breathed deeply and wracked her hand through her hair, "Jay, what is serious is that this" she pointed to his leg, eyes turned towards her and silenced, including Jay's, but his breath continued picking up, "is too much blood-loss, it went through your leg, there is a risk of infection, and even if not, you will not be walking for a while. So, do you want to let us fix your leg and not walk for a year, or go to the hospital and not walk for a few months?"
He didn't have much choice in the matter, because through the tiny window, she could see the hospital, and she sighed in relief. She didn't mean to get so sassy, but she was soon going to get tired of their self-destructive antics.
Cole and Lloyd noticed and looked to Pixal to question if they should rush him in on the bed or carry him, she was about to unlock the bed and and wheel him around, because she was sure he would be reluctant to hobble his way inside, but his breath still trembled and grew, until the scratchiness of it filled the room, and she noticed it over her racing thoughts.
"I'm not— not… don't bring me in there—" Jay mumbled, his head flailing around again, but this time, it returned to the pillow with a thud, and his hand went from a deadly grip on Nya to flopping to the side.
"Jay!" Nya jumped up and grabbed his hand, while the others all paced about, some went to the deck, maybe sliding down the ropes to get whoever they could in a panic, or just running around in a senseless and unuseful panic. She turned to Pixal but kept looking to her side at Jay, waiting for his hand to twitch or at some delirious blood-loss mumbles again. "Is he—"
"He is okay." she responded, Jay was breathing, not completely unconscious because he quickly started squirming again, each second his breath picked up as the Bounty slowly reached the ground, taking up half the space in the car park.
They arrived at the East hospital of the city, furthest from the coast, around there the buildings weren't as large as the other skyscrapers, and the streets a little less busy. She could be grateful for that at least, as long as the hospital stuck to the atmosphere outside - and hopefully, an atmosphere less crazy than in this ship.
"We need to get him inside, Nya, can you carry him?" she instructed, then peaked her head out to Lloyd and Cole rushing to the ropes to get inside the building, but that wasn't helpful at the moment, "Please keep calm, Nya is taking Jay inside."
The Bounty finally plopped to the ground right by the entrance, and Kai immediately jumped down to the main deck where Nya now carried Jay, now only partly conscious. He still mumbled mostly incoherent things, but the few words anyone could catch were all about how he didn't need to go in there, to 'let Pix or Zane deal with it', she sighed and let down the ramp.
Kai rushed to her, and rushing out the cabin was Zane, who grabbed a new shirt for himself and Lloyd. While their belts would have been a better tourniquet, she couldn't be mad at them.
Zane could talk about how he is the intelligent one, and the others could be bitter over his supposed brain-power, but when his friends were in danger, his photographic memory quickly gets jumbled. "Pixal, thank you for your help. I believe…my circuits get jumbled when I am distressed."
She smiled softly and took his hand, then followed the others inside.
—
"Alright," a doctor pushed her glasses up, the group stood in the ER by a wall, making as much space with the four of them there. "he's stable, we gave him the blood transfusion, we've got him on iv antibiotics for a possible infection and some strong pain-meds."
The whiplash of rushing Jay inside, slipping in and out of consciousness, or maybe just total delusion, then to Nya rushing around the ER following the doctors and nurses, then, the others staying behind in the waiting room was a lot.
Now, finally, after a little over an hour, they'd dealt with Jay for the meantime and got him to a more comfortable bed, but the room they expected was really just a corner of the ER, the little privacy just a curtain around them, not much quiet at all. They stood quite a way from it, probably the quietest area of the place for the four of them. "How long will he be here for?" Lloyd asked.
Lloyd had paced a lot in the waiting room, the others would have urged him to sit down but they too were trapped in their worry. They had no idea if Jay was okay despite the typo-filled text messages from Nya every ten minutes or so.
"Probably a few days, I can't give a very accurate estimate for now, we're just going to keep an eye out for infection, see if antibiotics improve his condition. I'd say for now at least two days with his current vitals."
Nya was still by Jay, they could see she'd taken a chair through the part of the curtain that hadn't quite been closed. As soon as they'd been whisked up here, Pixal rushed inside to accompany her. With the little they could see, she seemed calm, so they were calmer.
"His vitals? Is he okay?" Kai pushed to the front.
"Yes, yes, there's no immediate danger, but things aren't quite in range, just something we need to look out for." she assured, and with deep breaths, the others looked to each-other, then eyed the little curtain they desperately wanted to get inside to rush into a group hug. "You're free to stay with him by the bed, a nurse is in there taking vitals right now." she pointed to the corner, though they'd already been staring at it for a while, then went her way.
Everyone ducked through the curtains, inside, Jay was in the bed, looking much more peaceful than before, but only because his eyes were shut. "How's he doing?" Kai asked, watching the nurse sat by the bed attaching a pulse oximeter to his finger, then to their surprise, Jay squirmed away.
Nya continued to hold his hand tightly, Jay was looking a little more freshened up with a hospital gown on, no more blood seeping into thin sheets of a Med-Bay, no more of his reluctant noises. They could be glad for that, at least.
"Doing okay now, he's been, um…what is it?" she tried answering, but soon realised her knowledge was sparse. The nurse smiled and rushed to answer in place.
"He was administered sedatives, he's going to be in and out of consciousness for a few hours, but it's nothing to worry about, it's keeping him calm." she answered, placing Jay's hand down again with the clip now hanging on his finger, measuring whatever needed to be measured.
It was strange for them to be in a hospital, with so much training, most injuries actually ended up happening in the Monastery itself: with how isolated it is, it's easier to get patched up at home. But there were rare times like these where something would go seriously wrong in something they thought they'd get done with so quickly, not some mission they would be forced to fight through any injuries, just some case of…bad luck.
The others either kneeled down or knelt against the one free wall, the other corners taken up by curtains, it was getting a little cramped. Nya gave the nurse a nod of gratitude, then sighed and looked to the others, " He was really worked up, he…doesn't like hospitals."
"Why?" Lloyd looked to Jay again, he wanted to not let his eyes leave him for a second, but it quickly grew too hard to see him. Sure, he was fine, he would recover perfectly, but…
Like back in the Bounty, her hands trailed through the curls of his hair, though still not as curly as they usually were with remnants of the sweat that stuck strands to his forehead turning it into a weak wave. "There's no reason, really, just a phobia." she sighed and used her other hand to trace the creases of his palm when he squirmed again.
His squirms were gentle this time, hopefully filled with just confusion or wooziness, and not extreme blood-loss and pain.
Though, maybe his half-conscious state still knew he was in a hospital, he'd be terrified, yet completely trapped in his woozy body.
Bustling background noise wouldn't help, nor all the bits and bobs attached to his body; the IV line, nose canula, oximeter, sensors on his chest, bandages on his leg that showed just how long he wouldn't be walking for.
"Will he be staying somewhere…quieter? To help him keep calm?" Cole asked the nurse, who stood by the side listening to them, they were probably providing useful input about how to deal with this fear.
She smiled and nodded, "Yes, there should be a private room in the next hour, if he becomes too agitated before then, however, you can use that call button over there, we're able to give him more sedatives."
Cole nodded and turned back to Jay, he kneeled at the side, with his head flopped at the foot of the bed, Jay's leg was elevated a little, and from this view, he got a clear view of each small squirm of his body. "Sedation? Is that okay to keep giving him? Was he that scared?"
The nurse grabbed the curtain, looking at her tablet rapidly then to the rest of the ER, "I have to go, but yes, it's okay, or you can just keep holding his hand, assuring him." she paused for a moment and tilted her head at the bed, supporting hands still holding him, heads and bodies resting by his feet, "You just keep being there, it helped a lot when he first arrived, right?"
Nya raised her eyebrows and hummed, recalling. It helped as she kept a firm, yet not tight grip on his hand from the hospital entrance to a hurdle of doctors taking care of him. Then, if he needed to grip her hand so tight the bones might break, she let him do that too, because how could she let him stay so scared?
The nurse left and finally, they were alone with the scary machines, call button on display like something would go horribly wrong, and most of all, Jay, who gripped her hand back and dug his head into the pillow.
"I don't like this place." he whispered suddenly, and grabbed the sheets, then Nya rushed for his hand, he needed it a lot right now. She hummed, Lloyd leaned forward, but was unsure what physical comfort he could provide, Nya seemed to have that handled.
"You won't be here too long, Jay." she assured, and caressed his cheek, feeling his hair, he leaned into it, his eyes closed most of the time, in a little bit of a daze with the meds, that was for the best right now.
"Why'd you take me?" he exclaimed, voice much clearer all of a sudden, "I told you- I told you not to." tears rushed to the corners of his eyes, but they never fell, like crying would make this hospital too real.
Kai sighed, he sat on the right side of the bed, to Jay's left, leaned back on a chair. Like everyone, he was worried, but after his initial unmatched panic in the moment of an injury, he often tried to act calm in the aftermath.
"You were stabbed, we don't care how much you hate hospitals, we're gonna drag you here whether you like it or not. No matter how scared you are, it's for your own good."
Jay grumbled, and turned away from him, gripped her hand tighter, and maybe he wouldn't mind someone like Kai holding the other, he was terrified, he needed as much comfort as he could get.
"And we'll be here if you're scared." Cole added, and Jay knew he would be infinitely more scared if the others weren't by his side. So he closed his eyes again and leaned further into the pillow.
"I hate you guys for bringing me here, but…" he suddenly mumbled, his voice cracked, and the only thing keeping him from ripping all the stupid equipment off or out of his body was Nya's hand, "for now, can you just- just stay with me, please." a tear finally fell, and he wiped it away.
So they wrangled their way through the equipment and huddled closer. It was all so scary, but they had each-other.