Previously on Tiny Troubles...

Cole, secure in Jay's arms, briefly looked up and stared at the red ninja. He slowly waved his hand, quietly saying, "Bye, Kai."

"Bye Cole," Kai replied back, equally soft. "Be brave."

Cole nodded before lowering his hand and burying his face in Jay's chest. The blue ninja gently rubbed Cole's back as he left the room, murmuring soothing words in the little ninja's ear. Cole barely listened, too consumed in his worry and fear.

He has to be okay. Kai won't die, he'll be fine, hewon'tdiehewon'tdiehewon't die...

~~~~~~

Part 18

It was a long, long wait.

The food offered at the hospital was bland so nobody ate much. Cole at first refused to eat anything, but after much coaxing by his teammates, the little ninja finally consumed some food.

After the rather dismal lunch, everyone retreated to the waiting area. There, they settled down and waited for Kai to get out of surgery. Zane picked up a scientific magazine and began to read it, though he would occasionally glance up at a nearby clock. Nya began pacing up and down the room, occasionally sitting down for a few minutes before sighing and going back to pacing. Lloyd idly watched a program on a nearby TV, his mind far away. Jay held Cole, hugging the little ninja close to him while soothingly rubbing his back. He tried to get Cole to laugh or even smile by telling a few jokes or making silly faces, but the little ninja's face remained twisted into a worried frown.

The hours ticked by slowly. The longer they waited, the more anxious Cole became. He could hear the rain tapping out a rapid staccato rhythm on the roof while thunder quietly rumbled in the distance. It reminded too much of that one night, all those years ago...

Cole fiercely shook his head. Stop that, he told himself. Kai's gonna be fine, you have to be brave, he's going to make it, this isn't like that one time, it won't be like that...

Movement out of the corner of his eye made Cole look up. A doctor wearing scrubs entered the waiting room, a serious look on his face. At first, Cole thought he was here for someone else...until he looked over and started making his way towards them.

Cole's heart plummeted. No....no....

"Are you lot waiting for a Kai Smith?" the doctor asked once he reached them.

"We are," Zane asked, putting down his magazine.

"Is my brother okay?" Nya asked, pausing in her pacing.

The serious look on the doctor's face didn't fade and Cole felt his heart rate start to pick up. No, no, no.

"Well, there was more damage than what we first expected..."

No, no, nononono...

"But, Kai should make a full recovery," the doctor finished, a small smile appearing on his face.

There was a great sigh of relief and even a few cheers. "Thank goodness," Nya gasped, sinking into a nearby chair. "That idiot is soooo gonna get it for worrying me."

Cole remained frozen in Jay's lap, still comprehending the doctor's words.

Kai's....alive? He's okay?

The little ninja looked at the doctor's face, searching for any signs of deception. But there was none to be found.

Kai's....alive. He's alive. He'salivehe'salivehe'sokay...

"Can we go up to see him?" Lloyd asked.

The doctor nodded. "Just keep in mind that he'll be sort of groggy from the anesthesia and the painkillers so talk quietly."

The ninja nodded their consent and followed the doctor out of the waiting area, Jay carrying Cole.

The little ninja held his breath as the doctor led the way to Kai's room. He prepared himself just in case this was all some big joke or dream and Kai was either still in surgery or...or not around anymore...

But when the doctor opened the door to a room and Cole caught sight of Kai resting in a bed, his injured arm in a sling but his eyes open, the doubt went away and was replaced with pure, unadulterated relief.

"KAI!" the little ninja screamed, almost leaping out of a surprised Jay's arms. He wiggled and squirmed as the blue ninja quickly set him down. The minute his feet hit the floor, he sprinted to the side of Kai's bed and leapt onto it.

Kai let out a little 'oof' as Cole practically landed on top of him. "Hey," he said, smiling and gently hugging Cole with his good arm. "Told you I'd be back."

"Y-You're okay," Cole whispered, tears streaming down his face. "You're okay, you're okay..."

"Course I am," Kai whispered back. "I'm not going anywhere."

Cole buried his face in Kai's chest, silently crying. Kai soothingly rubbed his back, whispering, "shhhh, it's okay, Cole. It's okay, I'm here, everyone else is here, we're not going anywhere. Shhh, it's okay..."

Everyone else circled around the hospital bed. Jay, Zane and Lloyd all verbally expressed their relief that Kai was okay while Nya scolded her older brother for A) scaring her B)scaring Cole C)scaring everyone else D)being an idiot E)thinking it was a good idea to climb the mast while it was raining F) following through with the idiotic plan to climb the mast while it was raining and thus fall and hurt himself.....Jay had to calm her down before she continued the list, but she got her point across.

"I swear, if you ever do anything that idiotic again, I will never forgive you," Nya ended her rant, pointing her finger directly in her brother's face. "And you better not even think of moving that shoulder until it's properly healed, otherwise I'll tie you to the bed."

"Yeah, yeah," Kai grumbled, pouting. "Geez, you act like you're the older one somedays, sis."

"One of us has to," Nya shot back. "Especially when you act like an idiot."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Love you too, sis," he grumbled good naturedly.

Nya smiled at Kai, then frowned as she looked at the little ninja cuddled against him. "Cole, are you okay?" she asked softly.

Cole sniffled and nodded his head, face still buried in Kai's chest.

Kai sighed heavily. "Cole," he said softly. "I know that you probably don't want to, but...I think now is a good time to tell us what's bothering you."

Cole didn't say anything, instead cuddling closer to the red ninja. Not hearing any denial, Kai continued, "Cole, I think that I speak for everyone else when I say that we are worried about you. Not just today, but for a while now. You've been acting differently for the past few weeks before you got turned into a kid. You were distancing yourself from everyone else. And don't forget a few days ago when you had that mini panic attack. There's something going on, and we want to know what it is." Gently cupping his hand underneath Cole's chin, Kai lifted up the little ninja face so that he could look him in the eye. "We want to help you, Cole. But we can't do that if we don't know what's wrong."

Cole bit his lip, trying to look away. "I-It's..."

A small spark of anger burned inside of Kai. "It's not nothing Cole!" he exclaimed, frowning. "It's something. You can't just bury it down deep and try and act like it doesn't bother you! Not only does it not work, it's unhealthy!"

"Why won't you talk with us, Cole?" Zane asked, concerned. "We just wish to help you."

"We hate seeing you like this!" Jay added. "You're upset and you won't tell us what's making you upset."

Cole's shoulders started to shake. "You can't help me," he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut and desperately holding back tears.

"How do you know that?" Lloyd shot back. "You don't know that we can't help you. If you'd just talk about it, then maybe we could help you." His voice softened. "You talked to me about your nightmare last night and I managed to help you, right? So let us help you right now."

For a long time, Cole was silent. Everyone else patiently waited to see if the little ninja would say something, anything.

Finally, right when they were sure that Cole wasn't going to speak, the little ninja mumbled something so quietly that none of them could hear it properly.

"What was that, Cole?" Kai asked gently.

Cole hid his face in Kai's side again, but spoke up a little louder. "Anniversary....it's tomorrow..."

"Anniversary?" Nya asked, confused. "What anniversary?"

The answer came, so soft that they nearly missed it. "....the day my mommy left...."

Everyone gasped and shared a shocked look. If there was one thing that Cole rarely, if ever, talked about, it was his mom. And while they were curious, after more than a few discussions about parents gone slightly awry, the ninja had made an unspoken vow to never ask about anyone's parents. So to hear Cole talking about his mom...

"...left?" Jay finally asked. "What do you mean, 'left'?"

Cole sniffled. "S-she left me and my dad..." he whispered, his voice cracking. "I was only six."

Kai's heart broke at the tearful confession. "Oh, Cole," he said softly, hugging the little ninja with his good arm. "I-I'm sorry..."

Cole let out a little hiccup. "She and Dad used to argue a lot," he softly said. "I-I hated it. I used to hide in my bedroom to try and escape, b-but I could always hear them. They argued so much." He swallowed thickly. "Then...one day, she said that she's had enough. S-she hugged me goodbye and p-promised to visit me. Then...she left." He squeezed Kai's middle tight. "And she never came back."

"Never?" Jay gasped.

"N-never," Cole quietly sobbed. "She sent me letters and cards for my birthday, b-but she never came to visit. S-she promised to come and visit me, but she never did!"

Everyone's heart broke when Cole started to sob. He tried to stifle them, but a few escaped, along with a few tears. They thought that the story was over, that they had reached the conclusion.

So imagine their surprise when Cole quietly said, "Then...then she left me again."

"Again?" Kai asked.

"I-I was eleven," Cole stammered, shifting so that he could look up at everyone. "D-dad and I were out in Ninjago City." His nose wrinkled. "He w-was signing me up for Marty Oppenheimer. It had started to storm by the time we walked out of the place where we had to sign up." Cole's eyes glazed over, as if he were far away. "I happened to look across the street....and there she was."

"Your mom?" Kai asked.

Cole nodded. "She saw us. She looked surprised at first, but then she smiled, really big and wide, and waved. Dad and I waved back." A strangled, bitter laugh escaped from Cole's lips. "I was so happy, but also so angry. I didn't understand why she had left and never came back." Another bitter laugh. "I still don't. She promised me that she would visit me, but she didn't. She promised."

The amount of bitterness and anger in his voice indicated that Cole hadn't really forgiven his mom about that.

"What happened next?" Zane finally spoke up.

Cole's shoulders started to shake again and he squeezed his eyes shut. "S-She started to walk over towards us. T-The street light was red and she was using the crosswalk. S-she was maybe halfway across when this car came racing out of nowhere." Tears started to spill out of his eyes and Cole buried his face in Kai's shirt again. "T-The driver was drunk, a-and...and..." Cole let out a sob. "...he didn't stop. H-he didn't even slow down."

Everyone in the room gasped, and a look of understanding flashed across Lloyd and Kai's faces. "The person important to you..." Lloyd muttered softly.

"Oh god, Cole," Kai whispered.

Cole stifled another sob. "D-dad and I got to ride in the ambulance with her. She--she was still awake. Barely though. Dad tried to cover my eyes but, I still saw." Another sob escaped him. "Mom grabbed my hand and squeezed it. She-she said that she was sorry that she hadn't visited and that she promised to t-take me out for ice cream and bake me a cake once she was better. She-she promised that she would be okay..."

But she wasn't, went unsaid but heavily implied. "Cole," Jay whispered, for once speechless.

Kai hugged the little ninja as tight as he could with one arm. "I'm so sorry, Cole," he said. "And, I know that it doesn't make things any better, but...I'm sorry."

Cole hiccuped, obviously trying to reign in his emotions. "I-It's okay," he stammered, rubbing at his eyes furiously. "It was a long time ago..."

"That doesn't mean that it hurts any less, sweetie," Nya said, gently rubbing the top of Cole's head. "Just because something happened a long time ago doesn't mean that you can't still be sad about it."

Cole scowled. "B-But I'm a big boy now," he whispered. "I shouldn't feel this sad. I shouldn't cry like this..."

"Who said big boys don't cry?" Kai demanded.

Cole hid his face in Kai's shirt again. "The boys at the Marty Oppenheimer," he said quietly. "They--I was c-crying in the shower and they overheard me. They started making fun of me, calling me a 'crybaby' and telling me to grow up." Cole took a few, shuddering breaths. "So, I grew up. I stopped crying and got over it." His voice broke again. "A-at least I tried to. But then...something happens. I see or hear or even smell something that reminds me of Mom and...and...I dunno. All of a sudden it's all I can think about." Cole sniffled. "A few weeks ago, I was walking around the forest w-when I saw a forget-me-not." He stifled a sob. "T-Those are my mommy's favorite flowers. T-Then I realized that the anniversary was coming up and-and..."

Cole's grip tightened on Kai's shirt and he hid his face even more. Kai could only just hear the little ninja quietly chanting, "Don't cry, don't cry, you're a big boy, don't cry...."

"Is that the reason you have been avoiding us, Cole?" Zane asked gently.

Cole nodded. "D-Didn't wanna worry you guys," he said softly, hiccuping slightly. "Used to handling this on my own. Walkin' in the woods calms me down...."

"That's good and all, but Cole," Kai gently said, cupping the little ninja's chin again and raising up so that he could look him in the eye. "You don't have to handle this by yourself anymore. We're here. We can help you through this."

"You do not have to suffer alone, Cole," Zane added, gently combing Cole's hair with his fingers. "It may seem awkward at first, but it does help to grieve with someone that you are close to." A small smile appeared on the nindroid's face. "How do you think I managed to cope with my father's death?"

Cole's eyes widened and he ducked his head. "B-But..."

"No buts," Kai interrupted. "Cole, listen. We all care about you, you're our brother after all. And yes, we might tease you about somethings, but we would never tease you about something like this. You're dealing with your mother leaving you not once, but twice. That's no laughing matter. You deserve the chance to grieve in peace."

Cole bit his lip, eyes shining with unshed tears. "I-I..." he shook his head, clenching his fists and squeezing his eyes shut.

Smiling sadly, Kai hugged the little ninja closer to him. "It's okay, Cole," he whispered. "You can let go now. You are so amazing, having to put on this strong face for so long. But you can let go of it now. You're in a safe place, and you're surrounded by your family. You don't have to fake a smile for us. We're not gonna judge you, or think any less of you. We're here to support you and give you a shoulder to cry on. So it's okay. You can let go now. Just let it all out."

That did it.

Cole's face scrunched up and his breaths started getting faster and faster. He closed his eyes...and then started crying.

Everyone's heart broke when Cole started sobbing. Kai hugged the little ninja close to him, murmuring, "It's okay, Cole. Let it all out, it's okay. Shhh, it's alright, just let it all out..."

Zane and Nya took turns running their hands through Cole's hair while Jay soothingly rubbed the little ninja's back. Lloyd left and came back with a big box of tissues, silently drying the tears coming down Cole's cheeks as the little ninja sobbed and sobbed. Occasionally, Cole's sobs would die down and it seemed that he was calming down, only for the sobs to come back full force. But nobody said anything about it. They just continued to soothe the little ninja as best as they could as he grieved.

At last, after several minutes, Cole slowly stopped crying. He collapsed onto the bed next to Kai, hiccuping. Lloyd silently offered him a tissue, which he used to wipe away the remaining tears. "S-Sorry," the little ninja murmured. "I-I normally don't cry that much..."

"Don't apologize, Cole," Kai gently told him. "It's perfectly alright. Sometimes, when we miss someone like that, a good cry is exactly what we need. It helps."

Cole sniffled and rubbed his eyes. "I-I still miss Mommy," he whispered before smiling slightly. "Though, not as much anymore."

"Told you," Kai said, smiling back.

Cole hugged the red ninja's middle. "Thank you," he said quietly. "All of you. Thank you."

"Awww, you're welcome Cole!" Jay exclaimed, gently ruffling the little ninja's hair.

"We are always glad to help our brother," Zane added, grinning.

"What Zane said," Lloyd said, smiling. "We're always here for you, Cole."

Cole cuddled close to Kai, smiling a little. "You guys are the best," he said sleepily, stifling a yawn.

Kai chuckled and gently rubbed Cole's back. "Take a rest, Cole," he suggested. "You've had a long day."

The little ninja didn't protest. He simply snuggled closer to Kai and closed his eyes with a tired sigh. A few seconds later, Cole was fast asleep.

"Poor guy," Nya softly whispered, running her hand through Cole's hair. "I can't believe he was suffering so much and didn't even say anything."

"That's Cole for ya," Jay replied. "Always the rock for everyone to anchor themselves to whenever they need to, but too stubborn to admit when he needs help."

"I am just glad that he finally told us what was wrong," Zane said, rubbing Cole's back. "Now, we can be there for him and help him."

"Shhhhh," Kai quietly shushed. "Let's discuss this later, poor Cole's exhausted. He needs some rest."

Everyone made themselves as comfortable as they could in the small room, pulling up chairs and surrounding Kai's hospital bed.

Meanwhile, Cole peacefully slept on, surrounded by the people that he considered family.

----

Angst, angst, fluff, and more angst. If I made you cry, I'm sorry, but that was kinda the point. *hands out boxes of tissues*

Poor Cole. But at least he finally let everyone know what was bugging him.

To be honest, when I first started this story, I was going to have Cole's mom still be alive. Then I changed it to her still be alive, but on the verge of dying, before I finally settled on this. It wasn't what I had originally planned, but I kinda like how it works with this story. 

There's one more official part to this story and then the epilogue. Hope you guys have an awesome day and I'll see you next time!