Replacement

Getting Through It

(Author's note: I'm sorry this chapter came later in the day than usual!)

Cole didn't discover he had been bed ridden for nearly two months until he was face to face with his father. It was still breakfast time and Jay had sat beside him and helped feed him some oatmeal. He seemed glad Cole was finally able to get solids to stay down and that made Cole feel a bit proud. He wanted to get better, he had to get better.

"How'd you sleep?" Jay asked while stretching.

"I thought I heard singing," Cole smiled fondly, "but it was just a dream."

Jay had his suspicions about that. He smiled though, glad Cole was happy, that's really all the blue ninja could afford to be worried about now. Between the growing tensions in the monastery and the fact he hadn't had a decent night's rest since it all started, he was just going through the motions by now. Cole couldn't ignore it, the way Jay looked half dead and still just as gorgeous as ever, it made him want to cry.

There was a knock at the door and as Jay opened it, Sensei Wu came in with Lou who instantly limped over to his son's side. The man had seen many things in his years, but the sight of his son, ill and in bed, was his greatest nightmare come true. No one dared speak as Lou hugged Cole tightly. Cole hugged him back and made room for him to sit on the bed, Jay would understand, he felt. "Hey dad... how's the Blacksmiths?"

Lou smiled, though it was strained, and put an arm around Cole's shoulders, having to stretch a bit. "We're all wishing for a speedy recovery, so don't fail us son." This man was a champ, Cole could see it clearly in his eyes, he saw his mother. In truth, he wasn't the only one, Master Wu himself saw Lilly in Cole, they were so painfully similar, he couldn't imagine how Lou felt.

Cole leaned against his father as Jay left to take the dishes, a sudden fit seized him and he was coughing until he couldn't see. When it subsided, his chest throbbed and his lungs ached, what did he do to deserve such hell? The two older men looked at him in concern and he sighed, waving a hand. "It's fine, you get used to it actually," he tried joking, but it did little to ease the tension.

Wu sat down in the famous bedside chair and sighed. "Cole, be honest. How are you feeling?"

Honest. Honestly Cole was crushed emotionally and physically incapable of doing anything because his body ached and he was in no condition to try training. He felt miserable and he was really starting to miss Zane and Kai and even Skylor. But that was if he was being honest, and while Cole detested lying, he knew he had to or else his father would have a heart attack.

"I'm still pretty sore, but I haven't thrown up in a few days, and my temperature has been normal."

Beside him, his dad lightly patted his head, a small chuckle leaving him. "That's a good sign." He sounded hopeful, which was all Cole needed. So what if the truth hurts? He could bear it a little while longer if it meant his father didn't have to live in fear of losing him too.

Wu nodded and stroked his beard in thought. "If you would let me, I have another question."

Cole nodded, "Anything Sensei."

He should have known exactly what he was gonna ask.

"Is it true? The rumor going around." Wu asked, amusement clear in his eyes. Cole was almost certain there was a grin under that goatee.

"I think you're missing the part where I was half awake and running a high fever." Cole said, slightly huffy but laughed. "But I guess so yeah, that's what they told me anyways." He was a bit embarrassed to be admitting it, he had wanted to ask Kai first about it just to confirm he had in fact said it. Kai wouldn't lie to him just to make fun of him like the others would.