Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while, guys. College can be a bit of a pain like that. But, I did find this old oneshot I wrote a few years ago. I based it off a tumblr post I saw where Cole, desperate to be seem as a good and strong leader, decides to hide whatever battle injuries he gets from the rest of his team and fix them himself with no one the wiser. It inspired me to write about it, so here we go. Hope y'all enjoy!

Note: There's nothing graphic in this in terms of blood and gore, I promise. The worst injury is a dislocated shoulder. Let me be clear, though, when I say DON'T FIX THESE TYPES OF INJURIES ON YOUR OWN. Cole's an idiot in this story, don't be like him. 

~~~~~~~

The first big injury happened during their first encounter with the Serpentine.

Up until this point, Cole had suffered many minor injuries, as had the rest of his team. Bruises were a given, and scratches and cuts weren't rare, especially since most of their weapons(excluding Jay's nunchucks) were extremely sharp. But those were easy to tend to. A small bandage for a scratch, a little ice for a bruise, and they were able to keep it moving.

A twisted ankle was a little more difficult.

In hindsight, Cole knew that jumping from the roof of that building was basically begging for an injury. He was lucky he didn't break his legs. Still, the instant he felt his left foot bend the wrong way and felt a red-hot pain shoot out from his ankle, it was all he could do to not scream in agony.

He fell onto his butt and held his foot, hissing in pain. The black Ninja wanted nothing more than to sit and wait for the pain to go away. But he could hear the sounds of battle not too far away, and he knew that his team needed him. So, gritting his teeth, Cole slowly stood up, leaning against his scythe for balance. Carefully, he put pressure on his left foot. Pain flared out from his injured ankle, but the ninja refused to fall. Eventually, the pain died down to the point where it was just barely tolerable. Walking was torture, running was sheer agony, but Cole was determined to be strong. He fought through the pain like he fought through the hordes of Hypnobrai. Adrenaline rushed through his blood and helped to further dull the pain.

Finally, finally, the Hypnobrai had retreated and the tired ninja could go back to the monastery. The adrenaline slowly made its exit, and the pain returned full force. Cole managed to sneak away from his team and into the bathroom. He locked the door behind him and sat down on the floor. He moaned as his injured ankle throbbed in pain. The black ninja opened up the cupboards underneath the sink and extricated the first aid kit. He pulled out a roll of elastic compression wrap and straightened out his left leg. He flexed his foot back towards him, hissing in pain when his ankle protested the movement. Once he was sure that his foot was in the right position, Cole slowly wrapped the bandage around his ankle. He made sure that it was tight enough that his ankle would stay in place, but loose enough so that it wouldn't cut off any circulation to his foot. He mentally thanked the first aid refresher courses that he had been forced to take back at the Marty Oppenheimer. Who knew dancers could get so many different kinds of injuries?
Once his ankle was properly wrapped up, he tied off the ends of the bandage and slowly stood up. His ankle was still a little tender, but a few painkillers and some rest and it should be fine. He wished that he could get an ice pack to help keep the pain at bay, but he didn't want his teammates to notice his injury and worry about him. Worrying was the leader's job. And Cole was determined to do his best.

He carefully put away the first aid kit and walked out the door, pleased that he didn't even walk with a limp. Now to find some painkillers. His ankle wasn't the only thing causing him pain, his head was killing him...

~~~~~~

The second big injury was the result of a training accident.

It was a bit of a rookie mistake on Cole's part. One of the first things he had learned from both being a Ninja and a dancer is that if you fall, you never want to land on your hand. That was asking for a broken wrist or finger.

But he had been sparring with Kai, a few weeks after Lloyd Garmadon had released the Fangpyre, and the fire Ninja had swept his legs out from underneath him. Reacting on an instinct, Cole had thrust out his right hand and landed on it hard.

He felt something go pop! in his pinkie finger. Pain flared out from the joint of his finger, and Cole had to bite back a yell. He knew that his finger was probably dislocated at the very least, but instead of telling his teammates that he had injured his finger, he got right back up and continued to spar with Kai.

It was almost two hours later that Cole found an opportunity to check on his injury. By then, his finger was really swollen and in pain. The black Ninja frowned. He knew that normally, a dislocated finger would mean a visit to the doctor, but unless he wanted his teammates to find out and worry about him, that was not an option.

Instead, Cole turned on the sink's faucet and made the water as cold as he could bear. He held his finger underneath the water for a few minutes, sighing in quiet relief as the pain died down. Soon, his entire finger was numb, and the swelling went down. Now he could see the dislocated joint. He firmly held his pinkie finger between his right index finger and thumb, took a few deep breaths, and quickly popped the joint back into place.

A scream of pain made its way up his throat, and he had to bite his lip hard in order to hold it back. He took a few more deep breaths in order to calm down his racing heart. He pulled out the first aid kit and grabbed a roll of bandages. Cole ripped off two thin strips and carefully wrapped them around his pinkie and ring finger, taping the two fingers together. He carefully clenched his hand into a fist. His finger was still a little sore, but he knew that he could manage it.

A sudden knock on the door startled Cole. He frantically put the first aid kit back and pulled his glove over his hand, hiding the bandages. He opened the door and found Jay waiting somewhat impatiently just outside. He held the door open for him and Jay ran inside, none the wiser to his injured leader.

It was for the best, his brain told his heart. You have to be strong, you can't let your teammates down.

His heart barely listened.

~~~~~

The third big injury was the worst yet.

They had been fighting Serpentine troops in Ninjago City. They were winning and the Serpentine had just called for a retreat. It was going fantastic, but Cole made a mistake.

He had been fighting a Constricti warrior on top of a stopped bus when the call came. He had gotten distracted and the Serpentine had taken advantage of it and shoved him off.

Unprepared for the unexpected push, Cole had landed on the concrete on his right shoulder. Hard.

Pain exploded from his shoulder and Cole very nearly screamed in agony. He managed to keep the scream to a pain-filled moan. Dimly, he was aware of his team calling his name, worry filling their voices. Gritting his teeth, Cole forced himself to stand up. He gave his teammates a shaky thumbs-up, reassuring them that he was alright. He carefully rolled his shoulders, holding back a wince as his right one violently protested the movement. He found out that any attempt to move his upper arm was met with extreme pain. He knew that he had dislocated his shoulder.

He knew he needed to get it treated right away, but he had to wait until he could get away from his team without raising any suspicion. He quickly ducked into the bathroom, closed the door, and took off his shirt. A quick look in the mirror revealed that his shoulder was rather swollen and definitely looked dislocated. He grimaced, knowing what he had to do, but not liking it one iota.

While it basically was the same as the time he had dislocated his pinkie, Cole wasn't sure how fast he could get his shoulder back into position. He also knew that while his pain tolerance was higher than most(shown by the fact that he wasn't rolling on the floor screaming his lungs out right now), he might not be able to hold back a scream or two while he popped his shoulder back into alignment.

After a few seconds, Cole came up with a plan. He grabbed a clean hand towel from underneath the sink and stuffed a good portion of it in his mouth. He knelt down on the floor and sat back on his heels. He grabbed his right arm, his left hand circling his right tricep. He took some deep breaths before trying to roll his shoulder back into place.

The pain....he couldn't accurately describe the pain even if he tried. It hurt so much, it was ridiculous. He screamed, the sound muffled by the towel in his mouth, but continued to try and fix his shoulder. Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes, and he could feel sweat forming in small pools on his forehead.

It felt like forever, but just as Cole was about to give up, he heard a slight popping sound and felt his shoulder joint finally slip back into place. The pain instantly died down, and Cole groaned in relief. He spat out the towel in his mouth, and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes, and just took in slow breaths, glad that it was over.

Suddenly, he heard the floorboards near the bathroom door creak. Cole's eyes shot open and he realized with dawning horror that in his haste to fix his shoulder, he had left the door slightly ajar. Someone might have seen him. He quickly stood up and wrenched open the door, scanning the immediate area for any sign that someone had been there. But there was nothing. No retreating shadow, no suspicious figure hiding anywhere. The hallway was empty.

Cole warily kept looking for a few more minutes before deciding that he had been hearing things. He was fine. Sighing and running a hand down his face, he retreated back into the bathroom, intent on taking a shower. The hot water might help soothe his injured shoulder.

He never noticed the three sets of eyes peering out from around the corner, nor did he notice them exchange worried looks.

~~~~~~~

His fourth big injury was a repeat of his first one. But with a different outcome.

This time, they had just finished defeating a group of Serpentine warriors. Jay had come up with the idea to have a race across the building tops. Whoever got there first would be the Ultimate Ninja for a week. The person in dead last had to eat a bowl of his chilli.

Naturally, Cole was indignant by that last thing. So he was dead set on redeeming his chilli's honor.

The race had started out really fun. They were allowed to use their powers, which wasn't really fair in Cole's opinion. His scythe could only produce earthquakes while he was on the ground. So he was stuck dodging Jay's lightning bolts and Kai's fireballs without being able to retaliate. Still, it was fun.

He really should have been watching for Zane, though.

He had been in the lead when he felt himself slip. His feet shot out from underneath him, and he only had a second to see the patch of ice that had suddenly appeared on the roof he was running on before he fell.

He managed to land on his feet, but there had been a small dent in the ground that his left foot managed to land in it. His ankle caved, and Cole fell.

He hissed as pain flared up from his ankle. While it had been two months since he had last sprained his ankle, his left ankle was still somewhat weak, so he wasn't really surprised that he had reinjured it so easily. Annoyed, for sure, but not surprised.

He managed to get onto his feet just as his teammates found him. They gathered around him, Jay asking him multiple versions of 'are you okay?!' while Zane started apologizing profusely. When it got to the point where Cole couldn't understand a word of what Jay said and all of Zane's sentences started with 'I'm sorry', Cole gently pushed them away and reassured him that he was fine. His teammates exchanged a look, and Kai asked him if he was absolutely 100% positive that he was alright. A small part of Cole was flattered that his team was so worried about him, but the bigger part was yelling at him to be strong, and tell his team not to worry.

He listened to the bigger part.

His teammates still looked skeptical, and they actually decided to cancel the race and walk the rest of the way to the ship on the ground. Cole only went along with it because his ankle was killing him. The sprain was much worse than the last time.

They walked for a few minutes, Cole feeling thankful that his hood masked most of his face, before Cole accidentally tripped over a rock he didn't see.

He came down hard on his left foot, and pain exploded from his ankle. He drew in a sharp inhale and leaned on his right arm against the wall of a nearby building. He squeezed his eyes shut and desperately tried to will away the pain. But it just wouldn't stop!

Someone gently grabbed onto his left shoulder. Blinking his eyes open, he saw Kai looking at him, concern in his eyes. Not expecting to see the emotion in his normally fiery teammate's eyes, Cole broke eye contact and ducked his head. He hissed quietly as his ankle throbbed in pain.

Suddenly, Cole felt Kai taking his left arm and wrapping it around the fiery teen's neck. Kai gently wrapped his own arm around the earth ninja's torso and gently eased him away from the wall. Cole tried to push him away, tried to convince his teammate that he was fine. But at seeing the sheer determination and concern in the fire ninja's eyes, his arguments died before he could even open his mouth.

Swallowing hard, Cole carefully put a little of his weight on his left foot. Pain flared up, and he was forced to raise it up again with a small grunt of pain.

Kai noticed and he gently squeezed Cole's wrist. Suddenly, he felt someone taking his right arm. He looked to his right and saw Zane there. Seeing the black ninja's surprised look, the white ninja just gave him a simple smile.

Fully supported by his two teammates, Cole slowly started to limp back to their home. Jay led the way, often turning his head in order to give Cole an encouraging thumbs-up or a smile. He even held open the door in order to let Cole in.

The four of them went to the rec room, where Kai and Zane gently set Cole down on the couch. From there, his teammates started to fuss over him. Jay ran to the bathroom to grab the first kit while Kai got some pillows from their bedroom to keep Cole's foot elevated. Zane went to the kitchen to fetch an ice pack, as well as check to see if he had the ingredients necessary to make Cole's favorite food--orange chicken.

Cole just sat there in bewilderment, watching his teammates worry over him and his ankle. It wasn't until Jay had returned and Zane started to wrap up his ankle that he came back to his senses. He pulled back his foot, assuring his teammates that he could do it himself. His teammates looked surprised, and Zane tried to persuade him that he could fix Cole's ankle for him. Cole firmly shook his head, saying that as team leader, he was the one who should be doing the worrying, not his teammates.

His three teammates' eyes widened and Kai demanded to know if that was the reason why Cole never told any of them when he was injured. When Cole blinked in confusion, Zane piped up that he, Jay, and Kai had been looking for him when they saw him trying to fix his shoulder. Jay also admitted to hearing Cole grunt in pain the day he had dislocated his finger.

Cole gazed at his teammates in shock. Soon, however, that shock turned to shame and he broke eye contact. He admitted to hiding his injuries and fixing them by himself. He didn't want to burden his teammates with the knowledge that their leader was hurt. He was supposed to be the strong one, the one everyone else could lean on.

He saw Kai's expression turn from one of concern to one of anger. Sure that he was about to be berated for being such a weak leader, Cole ducked his head and closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.

He wasn't expecting the slap upside the head.

Protests arose from Jay and Zane, but Kai's voice rose above theirs. He called Cole a 'stubborn, well-meaning idiot', and immediately started ranting about how he should have told them, or at the very least, gone to a real doctor instead of trying to fix it on his own.

At the end of his rant, Cole felt rather sheepish but couldn't help but ask if the slap was necessary. Kai bluntly told him that if he ever did something even remotely this stupid ever again, he was going to get a slap upside the head and a slap across the face.

Cole absently rubbed his shoulder, feeling rather touched by his teammates' concern. He apologized for not telling any of them about his injuries. Kai and Zane reassured him that it was alright, as long as he told them the next time he was injured. Jay even gave Cole a hug, though he was careful not to jostle his ankle. Cole grinned and hugged him back.

After Jay let go, Cole allowed Zane to finish wrapping up his ankle. The white Ninja then went back to the kitchen to start making dinner. Kai and Jay started to play video games. They offered Cole a controller but he declined. Instead, he was content to watch his teammates duke it out in virtual combat.

But now, they were much more than teammates in Cole's eyes, so much more. They weren't just teammates--they were his brothers. And they weren't just a team--they were a family.

And family helped each other through everything, whether it was as minor as a scratch or as bad as a sprained ankle. They took care of each other, so that none of them had to heal alone.

~~~~~~

Again, DON'T ATTEMPT TO FIX A DISLOCATED JOINT ON YOUR OWN. YOU'RE MOST LIKELY GOING TO MAKE IT WORSE. 

Cole's an idiot, but a lovable idiot. Thankfully he has his friends to help him out.

Hope y'all enjoyed!