Wild Kratts - A Sick Kratt

Chapter 5: I Love You, Bro

"Any sign of them yet?" asked a troubled Koki.

"No," said a worried Aviva.

The two of them were keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of the Kratt brothers. It had been an hour since the search started, and the crew was only getting more an more concerned for their friends.

Suddenly, a thunder roared furiously, the electrifying lightning zipping across the sky making Jimmy scream in terror while piloting the Tortuga, he was getting stressed.

Aviva decided to call him, "Jimmy, come in. Koki and I can't see anything from up here, we need you to take us down into the forest!" She looked at him with worry in her eyes.

"Alright, going in!"

The Tortuga's wings folded before lowering into the rainforest, flying at tree level. Koki and Aviva were still looking, using goggles and a search light similar to the one they've used to find Chris and Martin during a nocturnal tarsier creature adventure once.

Dropelettes of rain quickly turned into heavier drops, and soon the sky was bucketing down rain on the entire rainforest. This made the crew even more anxious.

"I hope the guys are okay," Aviva's voice cracked.

Koki turned to her then put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, they're Kratts. I'm sure they're alright and somewhere safe," she said comfortingly. Aviva smiled thankfully then went back to searching, with more determination than ever.

Thunder.

Martin gasped at the horrifyingly loud sound. He took about five seconds to regain his breath, then his eyes turned to the entrance of the cave; it was raining heavily outside.

"Must've dozed off," he told himself while rubbing his face, feeling a little groggy.

His attention turned to his brother who started moaning and agitating uncontrollably, his head turning from right to left as he mumbled something in his sleep. Martin, worried about Chris' state, went over to place a hand on his forehead, only to find that his temperature has risen from earlier. This made him even more concerned, the fever was getting higher and he had to give Chris immediate medical attention. But he didn't have the first aid-kit with him, he also suspected that he was having a fever dream wich only made things worse.

He had to wake him up.

Chris was twirling rapidly while Martin held him by the arms and shook him. "Chris! Bro, wake up!"

His attempt worked because, the next thing he knew, Chris came back to the world of living, maybe a little too quick and looked around panically with feverish eyes.

"Chris, Chris, calm down, it's me Martin, everything's fine..." He tried calming him down, which only took a few seconds to work.

Chris slowly calmed down, breathing heavily, then looked at his older brother with blood-shot eyes, his expression told him that he was frightened. He could've sworn his eyes were teary.

"M-Martin," his voice was cracking really badly, as though he was about to burst into tears. He was shaking badly while his brother held him close in his arms.

"It's okay, bro, I'm here." Martin whispered in his brother's ear, attempting to comfort him.

They stayed in a sitting, hugging position for a while before Chris let out a sigh of relief.

"Feeling better?" Martin looked down at his little brother with caring eyes.

Chris slowly nodded, he was dealing with heavy headedness.

Martin wasn't even thinking about asking his brother about his dream, he just wanted him to feel safe.

He helped him into a sitting position by the fire to keep him warm, then picked up his blue sweater and tried to place it around his brother's shoulders...but was met with refusal.

"Martin, you can't give me your sweater, you'll catch a cold," his voice was sore.

"Chris," Martin's voice was firm. "You need it more than I do," he said with both a caring and serious tone.

"But-" Chris tried to protest but was instantly interrupted. "C'mon, haven't you had enough of being stubbern like this? Look where it led us!"

Chris' expression changed into one that Martin recognized automatically; the memory of Chris when he had to say goodbye to his cricket friend from years ago flashed before his eyes.

This made him feel bad a little.

"Chris I-" But before he could apologies, Chris beat him to it. "No, I'm sorry."

This made Martin a bit confused. "I just didn't think much of it at first, and when I remembered how excited you were yesterday about today's adventure, I just figured I would ignore myself..." He turned to make eye contact with his older brother. "I just didn't want to worry you."

Martin was listening to each and every word. That last phrase made him realize just how much he meant to his brother.

Chris turned his head away from Martin to look at the fire, his arms wrapped around himself.

"Chris," Martin sat next to him then wrapped his sweater around his little brother's shoulders just like he had the intention to before saying, "I love you, bro."

Chris' eyes widened as he looked straight at his older brother, the warm smile on his face confirming his words. Chris' expression changed too, into one full of warmth and affection, a smile crossed his face as they both side hugged in front of the fire.

"I love you, too."

A few minutes had passed, and the Kratt brothers were still in that same embrace, when suddenly-

"Chris! Martin!" They heard a familiar female voice call out.

Martin and Chris were both startled at the lound sound coming from outside. They both got up, Martin's arms wrapped around Chris fo support, and as soon as the two brothers stepped out of the cave, a wave of relief washed through them as a familiar blue ship was flying above their heads.

"The Tortuga! We're saved!" Martin yelled out with a mixture of enthusiasm and relief. Jimmy parked the ship right in front of them.

Just then, Koki and Aviva walked out with two umbrellas above their heads.

"Guys, we're so glad we found you!" Aviva said delightfully.

"Yeah, what happened to your creature pods and-" Koki stopped when she saw the state they were in. The two girls exchanged confused looks.

"Uhh, did we miss something?" Aviva asked.

Chris and Martin both looked at each other, and chuckled.

"It's a long story."

That was exactly what happened two days ago, the memory kept replaying in Martin's head ever since. He was brewing some tea for his ill brother, who was currently resting in his bed.

He held the warm mug in his hands and took it all the way to his and his brother's room. As soon as he stepped in, his eyes set on a sleeping Chris who was covered in his favorite blanket; he was wearing a light green shirt and comfortable dark green shorts.

Martin put down the mug on a bedside table before placing his hand on his brother's forehead; his fever was coming down now that he was receiving proper care.

A smile crossed his face as he saw how peaceful his little brother seemed, then Chris mumbled, "Thanks, bro." His eyes were still closed and his voice was shallow, but a familiar smile of warmth was on his face.

Martin's voice softened, now that he knew everything was going to be alright.

"Anytime, bro. Anytime."