After somewhat reluctantly pulling away from Cole's hug, Jay felt a little better. He didn't know what was going to happen to him, but he knew that his friends would help him through it. Right now he needed to concentrate on getting out the door. 

Jay put a foot forward and would have fallen over if his arm hadn't been wrapped around Cole's shoulder. The master of earth propped him up once again and they started their slow walk to the door. After Jay had tripped about ten times, they finally reached the door, and the blue ninja smirked at his friend. 

"This might take awhile, huh?" he snickered, his wobbly legs barely holding him up. 

Cole smiled back. "Are you sure you want to keep going? We can go back any time."

"No!" Jay protested, flailing his free arm wildly. "I don't want to stop! Let's keep going."

The black-clothed ninja shrugged and opened the door. 

"Which way do you want to go?" he asked, looking from side to side. "Kai's room is that way." He pointed to the right. 

"Um..." Jay didn't really want to see Kai just then. He just wanted to hang out with Cole, although he was embarrassed to say it. The ninja of earth would always be his best friend. 

"Let's just go left for awhile," he finished with an air of finality. 

Cole grinned in acknowledgement and they started off to the left. They started talking, and didn't stop until they heard a patter of feet from down the corridor. They both looked up in surprise, but didn't see anything. 

All of a sudden, Jay stopped, and it took all of Cole's strength to not run into him. The black-haired teen had no idea what Jay had seen, but he started to get worried. The blue ninja had a look of pure bewilderment on his face as he stared down the hallway. 

"Nya....?" Jay whispered. "Is it..."

Suddenly a feminine figure melted out of the shadows and stared down the corridor at the two ninja. Jay's heart felt like it broke in half as he saw his girlfriend for the first time since they had left Ninjago City. His throat caught as he tried to call out to her, but she seemed to register who they were. 

"Jay?" the voice cried out from down the hallway. She started running towards him, and Jay gulped. He attempted to run to her in turn, but fell to his knees. He only managed to open and close his mouth in surprise. 

She barreled into him, and he immediately wrapped his arms around her. He started whimpering her name over and over again, kneading his hands into her back like a cat. She was sobbing. 

Cole stared at them a moment before deciding that Nya would help his buddy back to his room, and he pattered back to Jay's room silently.

Jay mewled her name for the fifth time, digging his head into her narrow shoulders. She hugged him closer, wishing she could never let go.

"Jay... I heard... they told me... I thought you were..." she broke off, shivering in shock. "I thought... you were.. gone..." 

He didn't reply, but continued whispering her name, squeezing her even tighter. Her tears ran down his neck, but he didn't pay any attention. He could barely breathe; they were holding each other so tightly. 

"You're holding me too tight, you big lug," Nya whispered happily. Neither of them eased up. 

"Nya..." Jay whimpered again. She pulled back so she could look in his eyes. They stared at each other silently. 

"Oh Jay..." She leaned forward so that their foreheads were touching. Jay closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He relaxed his grip on her slightly, and she leaned into his arms again. 

"Nya?" he whispered. She squeezed his arm. 

"Yes...?" she whispered back, her eyes closed. 

He just wanted to hear her voice. "Nya...?" 

"Jay... I'm here... It's going to be okay..." 

He breathed in her sweet scent. Don't stop... he thought. 

"Nya..." he breathed once more, licking his lips. "You're... going to stay... right..?"

She smiled. "Of course...." 

Jay lifted her head up so that it was inches away from his. He stared into her eyes, trying to read her thoughts... She was beautiful... She was... his. 

He kissed her. 

"I love you," he whispered when they pulled away. He brushed her bangs out of her eyes with his un-blackened hand. He couldn't worry her... not now. 

She looked like she was going to cry again, and he pulled her close. She broke into tears. He ran his hand through her perfect black hair fondly. 

Now he realized why he had been so lonely. Why he had almost given up when Cole wanted him to stand. Why he had felt so bad. How had he not known this? 

"I've dreamed about you every night," he told her. "I missed you so much..." 

Nya had managed to stop crying, and she bit her lip. She looked slightly perturbed by how emotional and soft she was being, but Jay loved it. 

"How did you find us?" he asked softly. His chest hurt, but he didn't want to let go of his girl. 

She seemed to be a bit relieved to have something to talk about. "Well... Zane managed to contact us... He tried to tell me that you got seriously hurt, but we got cut off and... I just didn't know... If you were even alive... and I've been so worried about you!"

Jay smirked lopsidedly. "You'll never get rid of me!"

She let out a nervous laugh, but didn't seem happy at all. He ran his hand through her hair again. It was so soft... 

"Stop it, Jay..." she giggled. That was just what he was going for. Anything to make her happy. 

He skittered his numb, blackened hand down her back and hugged her tightly, caressing her hair with his undamaged hand. He didn't ever want to stop holding her. His chest was still hollow and painful, as if even seeing Nya again wouldn't put his heart back together. 

He winced as a sharp pain shot through his chest. Nya gasped as his hand snagged in her hair. He groaned as an icy claw raked across his heart. His eyes rolled back into his head. 

"Jay!" Nya exclaimed as he doubled over, clutching at his heart. "Jay, are you okay?" 

She had no idea why she asked that, since he was undoubtedly not okay. She squeezed his hand and felt his pulse dropping steadily. 

"Jay! No, no, no... Jay... Come back to me..." She crouched over him and rolled him onto his back. She touched his cheek, hoping to calm him down somewhat, before she noticed that he wasn't breathing. 

Jay stared at her longingly before passing out. 

Nya gasped, taking in what had just happened. She put his lips to his, not thinking about what she was doing, and tried to get him to breath again. She dug her fists into his chest and pushed, but he still wasn't moving. 

She gave a series of growls as she pushed and breathed into him. 

"Jay... Jay... No... No!" she refused to give up, but she was starting to get desperate. Tears ran down her face as she breathed into his lungs again. In one last final effort, she shoved with all her might down on his chest. 

Jay took in a huge breath and started coughing uncontrollably. Nya cried out in relief and tried to get Jay to sit up. She rubbed his back, and he finally started breathing normally again. 

"Wh-what... happened...?" he sputtered, feeling as if he had swallowed a snowball. 

Nya's heart was pumping like crazy. She collapsed into his arms, trying to forget the moment of panic. Luckily, Jay noticed how upset she was and didn't say anything more. 

"You... just stopped breathing..." she whispered, stroking his cheek fondly. "And I had to... had to..."

"Mouth-to-mouth?" he asked hopefully, loving the feel of her fingers on his face. 

She giggled.

He hugged her closer. 

"Think you could do it again?" He smiled mischievously. 

"Oh, Jay."