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Lloyd hadn't expected to wind up in the hospital - especially not this close to Christmas.
His situation - even in hindsight - still felt as random now as it had when it all started.
Zane, PIXAL, and Nya had been out doing some last minute Christmas shopping (though not as last minute as Kai, who was hanging decorations at the Monastery with Jay and who usually did his shopping on Christmas Eve) when Lloyd walked in on Cole in the kitchen. Preparing food. By himself.
"What are you making?" he asked from the doorway, managing to keep his voice level.
"Cranberry sauce!" Cole smiled over his shoulder. Lloyd glimpsed the bowl of dark red sauce on the table in front of him among other bowls and foods - such as stuffing mix. Apparently he was being entrusted with more than just cranberry sauce.
"I thought Zane was doing that." The Green Ninja joined Cole under the hanging lantern.
"Come on, even I can't mess this up! The instructions are right here." He poked the cans and boxes spread on the table.
He had a point. It would be pretty hard to ruin pre-made cranberry sauce...
"Besides, Zane told me to get a head start."
Ah good. Lloyd breathed a sigh. "Smells good," he admitted. The sweet tang of berries and the warm smell of bread hovered in the air.
"Thanks." Cole stirred the lumpy red sauce and pushed the bowl aside next to the stuffing mix and a small plate of pickles. He stuck a small spoon in. Christmas dinner was being prepared early to celebrate Ray and Maya returning from their long absence. There was a chance Kai and Nya would end up spending Christmas away with their parents this year, so everyone wanted to be sure they ate at least one meal with everyone together. Besides, nobody (namely Jay and Cole) was complaining about having multiple Christmas feasts.
With a lop-sided smile, Cole reached across the table to pull over small jar of something white, which he set next to a empty bowl. He twisted off the lid before spooning globs of white into the dish. A strong smell rose from it.
Lloyd peered over at it. "What is that?"
Cole spun the jar around. "Horseradish," he read off the label. "People put it on their roast beef, I think." He dipped a finger into the jar to sample some.
"Did you wash your hands before you stuck your entire finger in?" Lloyd teased, doing likewise and scooping up a finger full.
They both stuck their fingers in their mouth at about the same time. Cole's eyes bugged out, and Lloyd gagged in his throat.
The Green Ninja swallowed hard and stuck his tongue out, eyes watering. "Ew!"
"Ugh!" Cole moaned, spitting his out onto the table.
"Cole!" Lloyd reprimanded, his voice weak and slurred from the leftover taste.
"'m sorry," Cole murmured, stumbling off to get a cloth to clean up what he'd spit out. He ran it under the sink, wiped his tongue, then folded it in half. "Why would Zane buy that?"
"Who would want that on their roast beef?" questioned Lloyd as Cole came back and wiped up the mess.
"Not me." Cole took a step and tossed the cloth back into the sink.
"You should put a warning sign on that."
"Yeah," Cole agreed. Then he smirked. "After I trick the others into trying it, first." He put the disgusting stuff in the fridge.
The mental image of Kai and Jay screaming and gagging on the overwhelming flavour of horseradish both appealed to Lloyd and filled him with sympathy.
"What are you doing next?" Lloyd scratched his neck, then planted his hands on the table.
"Stuffing."
"Want help?"
They had then both set to work. Rarely did the Master of Earth get the chance to prepare food without being dive-bombed by a terrified sibling, so he beamed as he worked with Lloyd, who chatted lightly with him instead of moaning about how bad things would taste later.
When he went to retrieve celery from the fridge for the stuffing, Cole instead pulled out a tray of neat little rows of round dough.
"You made cookies, too?" Had Zane given his permission to do that?
"Cookie dough balls." Cole licked his lips, setting the tray on the counter, then popping one in his mouth.
Saliva pooled in Lloyd's mouth despite multiple health code violations spinning in the back of his mind.
"Shouldn't you put those in the oven?" Lloyd questioned, inching closer and scratching his neck.
"I will! Later. There are too many on the tray right now." Cole ate another.
"Right." The dough did expand a lot while baking. He could see the tray getting overcrowded, and nobody wanted all the cookies to stick together. Lloyd stepped up and snatched some dough for himself. It melted on his tongue. "Mmmmm!" He shut his eyes and savoured it.
"Good right?"
They both allowed themselves a few more before Cole picked up the tray. "Ok, I'm totally going to eat them all if I don't put this back right now." The dough went back into the fridge, he got out the celery, and they both got back to work in what felt like comfortable silence.
At one point, Cole looked up at Lloyd. "You've been scratching your neck a lot."
Lloyd frowned a little harder, scratching at his throat again. "Yeah." He coughed in his throat, but the tight feeling stuck. "Maybe it's just something I got on my hands."
He went to the sink and rinsed his hands under the tap. Cole stirred the stuffing in silence, listening to the running water splash in the basin. A minute passed. The water kept pouring into the sink. Cole glanced over his shoulder to see Lloyd rubbing his throat, frowning at nothing, oblivious to the water still running in front of him.
"What's wrong?" Cole turned around.
"I..." Lloyd choked on the simple sound. He scowled and cleared his throat. Once. Twice. He rubbed his neck harder. Cole could hear his breathing now, as if Lloyd needed to force the air in and out.
"Woah, buddy." Cole strode over and placed a hand on his brother's back.
Lloyd opened his mouth, breathing audibly.
"Are you choking?" Cole asked. "What does it feel like?"
"It feels like..." Lloyd swallowed hard. His voice came out strained. "It itches, like there's something stuck." He swallowed again, and his throat convulsed.
"Do you need a drink?" Cole asked.
"Maybe that'll he..." Lloyd's throat closed mid-word.
Cole slipped a nearby cup under the tap and finally turned the water off. He offered the cup to Lloyd, who lifted it to his lips, but no more than one sip would go down. He coughed the rest of the liquid up, and it spilled off his chin into the sink.
His hand returned to his throat. The skin bulged when he tried to swallow. He blinked rapidly, and his face and neck turned a shade of red.
Cole's heart pounded in his chest, and he noticed he couldn't hear Lloyd's breathing anymore.
"Are you okay?"
The teen's skin turned somewhat blotchy in reply.
"It must have been something you ate." Cole's gut churned at the thought. He rubbed and patted his back, but the rash only got worse and his breathing didn't ease up. "We need to get you to the hospital." He realised.
Lloyd nodded, and the fact that he actually admitted needing help scared Cole almost as much as the symptoms.
Hands sturdy on Lloyd's shoulders, Cole pushed him out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the deck. Coloured lights glistened against the snow on the rails. Biting his lip, he fumbled for his phone in his pocket, hating how his fingers shook as he tapped on Kai's contact number. While the phone rang, Cole ushered Lloyd up toward the helm.
He instructed his younger brother to sit down beside the wheel. After some moments had passed - too many for Cole's liking - Kai picked up the call.
"Hello?"
"Kai!"
"Kinda busy at the moment, Cole!" Kai raised his voice over a yell and a crash in the background.
"We don't have time to be busy!" Cole shouted.
From the silence on the other end he could feel Kai's shock at how angry he sounded, but he didn't care. Lloyd squirmed where he sat and he gasped in his struggle to breath.
"Hey, buddy, hold on," Cole soothed, touching his brother's shoulder, then turning with a grim expression to fire up the Bounty.
Kai's voice transformed with concern. "Hey, woah, what's happening?" He sounded ready to throw down the phone and Elemental Dragon his way over in the next second.
"I need to get Lloyd to the hospital." Cole flicked on the switches for the Bounty's rockets with his phone-free hand, his eyes on Lloyd, who clutched at his throat as if it were noosed.
"What's going on?" Jay's voice sounded near Kai. The Bounty's engines rumbled underfoot.
"What's going on, Cole?" Kai asked.
"Something's wrong with Lloyd... he can't breathe." Cole felt sick as he gripped the helm with one hand. "I gotta get him to Ninjago Hospital. Is Sensei there?"
I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do...
"Jay, go get him!" Kai ordered.
Cole slammed his hand down on the lever with his phone-hand and the Bounty kicked forward. The floor jolted under his feet, and Lloyd jerked off balance.
"You okay?"
"Hurry," Lloyd wheezed, his eyes, wide with fear, flicked up to meet Cole's. He opened his mouth but only a choking sound came out. He arched his back as if that would help him breathe. Cole felt all the more ill with panic.
"What's wrong with him?" Kai quivered over the phone.
"I don't know," Cole answered, his voice just as shaky. He tried to remember how to set the Bounty to auto-pilot, but the panic threw up a mental block. His hand wavered over the buttons and switches.
Was it the cookie dough? Was it because it wasn't baked yet, or was it because I made it?
Lloyd sucked for breath that wouldn't come, his throat making a wet, clicking sound with each breath. He shivered.
It's freezing out here.
"Can he talk? Can I talk to him?" Kai asked.
"I don't think... not really." Cole wobbled over to the large computer behind him, where his trembling hands - nearly dropping his phone - remembered how to set an automatic route. He returned to the helm.
Lloyd shivered again and closed his eyes. His chest heaved. He murmured something that sounded like "dizzy."
"Lloyd, can you hear me?" Kai said, voice fogged with concern.
"Kai..." Lloyd whispered too quietly to hear, eyes remaining shut.
"Lloyd?" Kai said a bit louder.
"He hears you," Cole replied for him. He checked that the Bounty was, indeed, en route to the hospital, then settled on his knees in front of his brother.
The Bounty swept over Ninjago City. The tallest buildings brushed by in a blur, and Cole pulled Lloyd closer to shield him from the wind. Thank the First Spinjitzu Master they were already in the city! If they'd had to come in all the way from the Monastery... Cole didn't want to think about it. As is, the journey to the hospital seemed to take forever! Cole found himself holding his breath, willing Lloyd to breathe in his place. Kai rambled for a bit, saying things Cole forgot to listen to.
"Cole?" Sensei's voice came over the phone.
"Sensei!" Cole gasped. Lloyd slumped against his chest, and Cole caught him in a hug. "Sensei, what do I do?"
"What condition is he in?"
Cole felt a surge of gratefulness for Wu's calm tone, though he noted the underlying concern. He looked down at his brother. "He's got a rash or something around his face. It's all red. And he can barely breathe, Sensei!"
"Are you near the hospital?"
He looked back at the map on the screen. "We're just coming up to it now." The fact eased his racing heartbeat somewhat. He rubbed Lloyd's arm.
"Get him there. We'll meet you inside as soon as possible."
"Thanks Sensei."
They hung up and Cole pressed his cheek atop Lloyd's head, feeling every shift in his body each time he sucked in a breath. "It's okay," he said. He was still breathing, he was still breathing. "You're going to be okay. I got you. You're going to be fine. The hospital it right here."
As they approached, Cole stood, lifting up Lloyd beside him. "Good job," he praised when the Green Ninja didn't topple over. The Bounty swerved as it halted above the hospital roof, forcing Cole to take a step to keep balance. He pulled Lloyd's arm over his shoulder to support him. His eyelids drooped, but he still sucked in tiny sips of air.
"That's it, Lloyd, keep breathing," Cole encouraged, half carrying him down to the main deck.
Lloyd blinked and answered with the smallest of nods.
When they reached the railing, Cole struggled to use one hand to toss the heavy rope over, then to ready both of them for the descent. Lloyd's thin breathing hitched as Cole propped him up on the side. He climbed up beside him, hugged him tight with one arm, and, tensing up his muscles, slid them both down. His hand burned against the rope. They fell fast, and when Cole landed with a grunt his knees almost gave. He steadied both of them just in time, semi-catching Lloyd, who slipped in his grasp.
"Let's get you inside." Propping his little brother up again, Cole hurried him to the door to the roof of the building.
It felt like it took forever to get down all those stairs. When they burst through the door at the bottom several nurses looked up in alarm.
"Help! Help us! He can't breathe!"
Cole and Lloyd both sat opposite each other in the hall outside of the ER, kicking their heels against the legs of their chairs in awkward silence while they waited for the doctors to come back. Lloyd, his skin back to its natural shade, puffed out his cheeks. Cole averted his eyes momentarily.
"Well that was exciting." Lloyd stated.
No... really? Cole looked back up at Lloyd and wished Kai were here to get angry at him.
The silence dragged on.
"Look Lloyd..." Cole licked his lips. "I'm really sorry for what happened."
"Don't be. It's not your fault."
"But it probably is." Cole's head sank between his shoulders. He stared at the floor. "It was probably the cookie dough. It wasn't baked, and I shouldn't have been eating it. You shouldn't have been eating it."
"I don't think raw cookie dough..."
"Then it was because I made it without Zane. If it wasn't that, it was something else I made."
"You don't know that, Cole."
"Everyone is always joking that my cooking is dangerous. Now I know it really is," he whispered.
"I don't blame you, Cole." Lloyd's tone remained calm. It made Cole queasy. "This is something totally random. We'll see what the doctor says."
"Yeah." Cole pressed his knees together.
After the hospital staff had treated Lloyd with an EpiPen and monitored him until he was breathing normally, they'd asked him when the symptoms had started as well as what he had eaten/interacted with within a thirty minute time frame. They'd then performed a skin test, which the ninja were now awaiting the results of.
At last, the doors opened and a doctor strode out towards them.
"Ahmm." The doctor cleared his throat, casting a sidelong glance at them over his clipboard. "We have the results, Green Ninja, to the skin test. It's a food allergy, just like we thought. It seems you're allergic to certain foods, such as horseradish and wasabi."
Lloyd and Cole both straightened in their seats.
"Horseradish?!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"I mean how crazy is that?" Kai shouted. "That's got to be the most obscure allergy ever!"
Everyone - Sensei Wu, Misako, PIXAL, and the Ninja - was gathered around Lloyd in the sleeping/living quarters aboard the Destiney's Bounty. His mother held his hand and had been holding it since she'd arrived. Sensei stood back a bit farther to allow his students room to lean into their little brother's face. Cole watched their wide eyed reactions from his bed. Next to Wu, PIXAL seemed to be the only one not freaking out. She looked curious.
Then there was Zane. If Zane had nails to bite, he would have been absolutely eating them. For once, someone other than Kai took top spot for most worried Ninja.
"Don't blame yourself, Zane," Lloyd told him. "Nobody knew."
"But I should have. I should have had some scan, some way of knowing of your allergies..."
"Don't be ridiculous." PIXAL grabbed his shoulder.
"She's right," Misako comforted. "You shouldn't be blamed for a random accident."
"I suppose you're right," Zane admitted. "But - "
"Don't try to claim guilt that doesn't belong to you." Sensei bopped the Nindroid on his other shoulder with his staff. Zane couldn't help but smile.
"Well," Misako sighed, squeezing her son's hand, "I'm going to go dispose of this offending horseradish." She smiled and left the room with Sensei Wu.
"I must find a way to have everyone examined for allergies," Zane rambled as he and PIXAL followed them out.
Lloyd smiled and shook his head as he, Jay, Kai, and Nya headed out as well. Just as they started to go through the door, he noticed Cole wasn't with them. He twisted his head around to look past Kai and Nya's arms draped over his shoulders. The Earth Ninja still sat on his bed, lost in thought.
"You coming, Cole?"
"Hm?" He looked up. "Oh, yeah! Coming." He got to his feet and followed them out of the room.
Their early (horseradish free) Christmas dinner was soon ready, and Ray and Maya arrived that evening. Nobody brought up the fact that Lloyd had almost died again, and they all enjoyed themselves late into the night. When it was time to go to bed, Kai and Nya went home with their parents as expected, each of them giving their siblings a hug goodbye (Lloyd receiving an extra big one).
Next morning, Lloyd woke up to the warm smell of scrambled eggs and buttered toast wafting down the hallway. He entered the kitchen to find Zane making breakfast, and Cole and Jay at the table. They all smiled and greeted him with a "good morning".
"Morning," he said. Zane handed him a plate. Lloyd placed it at the table and went to get a drink. Most of the cups were in the sink, dirty from the night before, so the only ones in the cupboard were up high. Lloyd stood on tip-toe, trying to reach.
"Let me get that for you." Cole was at his side, getting it down for him.
"Thanks," Lloyd smiled when he handed it to him.
Throughout the day, as well as the day that followed, Lloyd started to notice a pattern in Cole's behavior. He caught him watching him out of the corner of his eye almost 24/7. He'd started going out of his way to help Lloyd with the simplest of things: grabbing his training gear, moving anything remotely heavy, even opening the fridge! That last one made Lloyd frown. Cole had darted from the room.
Almost two days after the horseradish incident, on Christmas Eve, Lloyd, Cole, and Jay were lounging in their quarters with some holiday spoil. Lloyd was munching on some Christmas chocolate when he swallowed a bite too soon. It went down the wrong way. He burst into a coughing fit, bent over, hacking it up, tears streaming down his face.
Cole blanched. After only a second's hesitation, he dashed to Lloyd's side and gripped his shoulders.
"Can you talk? Can you breathe?" he demanded.
"I'll get some him water!" Jay jumped to his feet and ran to the kitchen.
Lloyd coughed. "Yeah, Cole, don't..." He coughed again and looked up, wishing his eyes weren't red and swollen with tears. "I'm fine, it's not the same thing." Already the coughing had stopped. He straightened his shoulders.
Cole removed his hands and stood back, averting his eyes. "Had me worried there for a second. It's all good now." That last part he said more to himself. He sat back down on his cushion in the center of the room.
"Cole, what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"I told you at the hospital I didn't blame you."
The Earth Ninja paused. "I know, it just..."
"It scared you."
"Yeah." Cole glanced up with a wistful smile.
"I understand. It scared me too."
"Ha! No kidding, green stuff! You were the one who couldn't breathe!"
Lloyd laughed in spite of himself and sat down next to Cole.
"I got you some water!" Jay came running back in and thrust the cup in his little brother's face. "Here!"
"Thanks." Lloyd accepted it even though he wasn't choking anymore. He took a sip. Admittedly, the cool liquid felt great on his throat.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Good," he sighed in relief. Then wiped his forehead. "I think I need a drink now." He left the room.
A moment's silence. Lloyd turned to Cole. "I never said thank you. For looking after me."
"Ah, you didn't have to. Anyone of us would throw himself on the ground for you."
"Yeah, I know, but... I'm glad you were there. I was so terrified, but you kept telling me it was going to be okay, to keep breathing, and because of that I just knew I'd be alright."
"After I was done freaking out," Cole uttered a dry chuckle.
"But you had me the whole time! You didn't let me go. I could trust you."
Lloyd had felt safe with him. The thought made Cole's heart swell. He sent him a grateful smile. "Well, I wasn't about to lose you, green bean."
Lloyd smiled.
Cole smiled back.
"Merry Christmas, Cole."
Cole threw his arms around his little brother and gave him the biggest, warmest bear hug he could offer. "Merry Christmas, Lloyd."