***This is pretty much the aftermath of last chapter - it needed to be in the book to keep things realistic and easy to follow LOL I should have something more substantial for you Wednesday. I'll try for tomorrow, but don't hold you breath - unless I get a burst of wakeup energy, I'm taking advantage of a day I can sleep in before going to class/work <3

Also, I'm thinking this book is going to take until the beginning of November to finish. Not posting everyday has really helped me focus better/enjoy my chapters better, as I'm sure you can imagine. But I'll post the cover and foreword (no book material) for "I Always Wished" on November 1st, and I'll start giving you guys the story within a day or two of finishing this one. Right now, it looks like it'll be about the length of INK.

I'm surprised Celine Dion hasn't shown up in the series yet, but here she finally is. I apologize for my 90's vibe lately LOL And this song is semi-cringworthy, just a warning.

You guys are the best!***

***(Lloyd's POV)***

Kai's the one to pick us up from town. Jay and Nya were oddly silent throughout the walk there, which bothered me. Jay would usually be complaining about why the heck we had to walk to town if we had service at the water tower. Of course, a vehicle driving along the backroad to the water tower would draw attention, that's why, but Jay doesn't typically think those things through.

But the fact that he was so lost in his own thoughts, he didn't complain at all...that's weird.

We're currently all seated in the Ultra Stealth Raider – Kai's driving, I'm next to him, and Jay and Nya are awkwardly sitting a seat apart in the back.

Nya said they hid under a blanket, but it sure looked like it was a lot more than that to me.

I clear my throat. "So, um, Kai, we found out Mr. Peters is actually Nadakhan. Which makes sense – I was wondering why someone from foster care would give off such weird vibes."

"And say so many pervy things," Nya adds. "That guy just plain gave me the creeps from the start. Cole should've let me knock him over the head with the pan earlier! We could've trapped that slimy Djinn!"

"Wait – Peters is Nadakhan?" Kai exclaims. "Well, no wonder we didn't find anything on him on the Internet! I knew he was too weaselly to have no record!" Kai slams his palm against the wheel, jerking the vehicle roughly to the side.

This is why we never let him drive on missions.

Jay pulls out his phone. "I'll call Cole and let him know what we've found out. I guess if the six ninja bring the news to the foster care system that they have a phony in their midst, they'll probably listen to us, right?"

"I would imagine so," I reply. "And when they reevaluate the monastery as a foster home, I want all of you to be prepared! That means Nya and Seliel will be fully clothed and playing dolls together, Kai won't be coming to the kitchen for any queso, Cole will not be the one to show the government official around – "

Nya rolls her eyes. "And you won't leave the training course open. What's up with you lately? You're so distracted."

"Nothing's up with me," I huff.

Just...that I hate myself for still loving Harumi after all she's done. I haven't had the guts to tell Kai, Nya, or the police about Harumi and the nudes yet, but I'm sure the conversation with Rumi was caught on security camera at Kryptarium. The staff there trust me with Harumi, given that I could blast her to next week if I needed to. They typically don't monitor our visits.

But if they go back through that security film, the result will be more time added to Harumi's sentence, I'm sure, or at least some increased punishment. Harumi may still be a minor, but she knew full well what it meant to participate in child porn – and those photos ended up reposted on the social media accounts of many students at our high school.

I should probably at least tell Kai and see if he wants to press charges. Nya deserves to know, too, but I'm honestly scared of her doing something stupid if I tell her. 'Stupid' meaning she goes to Kryptarium and breaks Rumi out for the sole purpose of pummeling her.

"Yoo-hoo, Ninjago to Lloyd Garmadon?" Nya says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I blink. "Uh, sorry. Were you saying something?"

"Yes. I was saying that it might be a few days until we get Seliel back from the government – we do have to worry about the monastery being reevaluated, after all." She shakes her head. "I can't believe Nadakhan set us up like that. His plan was to take Seliel from us to stretch us thin – to try to create enough chaos in the team so he can get Jay alone." She clenches her fists.

"I'll be okay, Nya," Jay says comfortingly, awkwardly patting her hand across the seats. "I'll make sure I'm not alone, and then he won't be able to do...whatever he plans to do to me." He gulps.

"But this is the same thing the Sons of Garmadon did – they tried to create enough confusion to get us away from each other so our powers could be stolen. The only thing is that this time, there isn't a power-stealing staff in the mix, so we have no idea what they want with you! And they want you, specifically."

"Pfft," Kai chuckles. "Jay? They think Jay's a threat?"

Nya unbuckles her seatbelt. "I'll show you a threat – "

"Guys!" I yell, holding out my hands for silence. "Nya, climb back in your seat. Kai, we shouldn't discount that the plans that have been stolen from various electrical plants could have something to do with Nadakhan wanting Jay. He is the master of lightning, after all – couldn't he stop their evil plot if...well, I don't know, if they were making a giant mechanical monster that ran on electricity?"

"Right," Kai says, rolling his eyes. "A giant mechanical monster. That's about as likely as Skylor and me having our first dance to The Backstreet Boys."

Nya, Jay, and I all blink.

Kai waves us off. "It was just some stupid bet she and I made about whether we'll be dancing to country music or her favorite band at the wedding. So far, I'm winning."

"What's this bet dependent on?" Nya frowns.

"Nothing," Kai reassures her. "I'll tell you after the wedding. I don't want you getting mad at me and trying to make the bet work in Skylor's favor. I've had about as much Nick Carter as I can stand recently."

Jay shrugs. "Huh."

He casts Nya a weird look, and she blushes and looks out the window. "We'll talk later."

"Huh?" Kai asks, entirely clueless.

Nya heaves a sigh. "Jay and I. Words. Speech. Once we get back to the monastery and see if the others have uncovered anything, we're going to have a chat."

I pull my phone from my pocket. "I'll go ahead and get Cole on the line."

As I dial his number, Kai plays Twenty Questions with Nya to try to figure out what she needs to talk to Jay about. He doesn't say she and Jay aren't allowed to have some private time together, though – he's lightened up a lot in the past year. He trusts the team now. Except me. I can't believe he's still suspicious about Nya and me and our night under the stars in February.

And he's always on Jay's back about everything, but that's just the way he is. The fact that he even let her date Jay in the first place means he trusts him.

The call with Cole isn't too long – he's been on the phone with Seliel as much as possible, apparently – but you can hear the relief in his voice when we reveal that Peters is actually Nadakhan. That gives us a sure way to renew our chances of the monastery becoming a home for Seliel.

He informs me that there have been no more sightings of Pythor and crew since we earlier spotted them at the water tower. I'm not sure whether to be relieved or not.

The only thing I know is that they've dreamed up some elaborate plan, and we have no clue what it is.

***(Jay's POV)***

Once we've debriefed with the team, Nya excuses herself to use the restroom. I know exactly where she'll be, though.

She's right. We really do need to talk. Maybe we need more boundaries, maybe I shouldn't spend so much time with her...I don't know, but I just have a feeling something's going to happen in our relationship tonight.

I pad out to the back porch to feel the warm breeze. Nya has a quilt spread out across the wooden deck, and she reclines her hands behind her neck, staring up at the sky.

I approach her slowly, but she already knows I'm here.

We keep tabs on each other, and it's not even conscious – it's just something we do. It's scary yet exhilarating to be that aware of another person.

***Music Cue***

I lay down next to her, leaving a few inches of space between us. I don't know where we stand right now, and the fact that we just made out for the sole purpose of covering up our eavesdropping...

Yeah, I have no idea where we stand right now.

After a few moments of silence, I whisper, "Hey."

She rolls over on her side to look me in the eyes. "I'm not the best with apologies, but...as I said earlier, I really am sorry for what happened...on the mission."

"It's okay. You did what you had to." It's just breaking my heart, that's all.

She goes on, "Jay, I think you've really improved a lot in the past three three and a half weeks since I put space between us. You're so much closer to your normal self now, and that's...good to see." She smiles slightly at a fond memory.

A fond memory...of me?

"You're doing better, too," I breathe. "It's nice to see you reaching out to other people again. We missed you."

"Yeah." She inhales. "It's not like I don't have questions and doubts about myself sometimes – with my choice to not run away, I mean. I do have worries, but...I'm learning to drown them out."

"I know. You've talked to me a little about your concerns before. And you know I'll always be there for you, right? I'm here if you need to talk."

"Thanks. And I'm here if you need to talk – you should've told me you were having nightmares. How bad are they?"

"It's the same dream, mostly – the memory of what happened. My mom shattering that staff, then crumpling to the ground as she gets her original power back and loses the power of mind. Ronin comes over with chronosteel to take her original power so there aren't two masters of lightning. And then she's in so much pain and shock...she can hardly form words." I swallow hard against tears.

Nya takes my hand in reassurance. "Do you want to go on?"

"Y-yeah. And then she tells me she's dying and that I have to sing for her, and I can't think of any songs, but you come up right beside me and help me remember one. And after that, I pour my heart out for her through music, and I promise her that help is coming to keep her alive, but...it's not enough to save her. And she takes some of her last breaths in my arms."

She lets my words hang in the night air a moment, then murmurs, "You wanna know what I've always found interesting about your nightmares, Jay?"

"What?"

"They're a real memory in such vivid detail, but you never include one part – the part where at the time your mother died, you'd been stabbed in the arm, and it had to be hurting like the Cursed Realm. You got pain meds at the hospital, but I'm sure you still remember the prior pain."

I shake my head. "It wasn't important to me while my mom was passing, I guess."

"That's exactly the truth. Jay, you loved your mom so, so much. You loved her too much to feel any other pain right then. And that's something incredible about you – your capacity to love."

"I haven't been very loving lately," I sniffle. "To you or Lloyd or the team or even my parents."

"You were hurting." She wiggles toward me and pulls me into a hug. "I'm here for you, Jay. If you have a nightmare, it's okay to come get me at night. And I'll break out the popcorn and fuzzy blankets, and we can just sit together someplace small, dark, and safe."

"I just...I know I've unloaded all my pain on you in the past, Nya – used you like a lifeline – and it's so hard for anyone to deal with that." I tenderly hug her back. "Cole's told me stories – not much, don't worry – about how it was killing you. I'm really sorry I put you through all that."

"I was happy to help you with your struggles about your birth mom, Jay. And your nightmares. I just hated seeing you become someone entirely different from the boy who danced in the morning and sang along to the radio and cracked jokes whenever he was nervous."

"But I'm back, Nya, and I'm here to stay."

"And we'll make sure of that." She sighs. "Which...is why we need to talk. About our relationship status."

I knew this was about that. "Throw it at me, Nya. Do you think we need space? Should we hang out with other people? Choose different partners for missions?"

She smiles softly, shaking her head and pulling back from our hug. She stares up at the stars. "Jay, all I was going to say was that we need to wait before we consider being together as a couple again. I'm...not the only one who thought that was where this was going, right?"

I blink. "Nya...wait. You were, like, even considering getting back together with me?"

"Do you not want to be with me?" she frowns.

"Oh, no, no, no! I would love to be with you, Nya. But, um, I thought we were done for as a couple. I messed things up so bad, and I was so clingy before just a few weeks ago – "

"I know, Jay." She laughs humorlessly. "Gosh, I messed this whole speech up. I'm going back inside now."

"Wait." I grab her hand. "Nya, it's okay. We can finish this talk. I was just surprised, is all. Um, yeah, when...when we both feel comfortable in our own shoes, if you haven't moved on from me by then...I would love to date you again, Nya." I swallow hard.

I never thought...I mean, I know we fake-kissed just tonight and all, but...I didn't think she'd ever be interested in me as her boyfriend again.

She's quiet for a moment, then finally speaks up. "Maybe we can talk again...in a few weeks, if things are going well? Or after the wedding? I don't want to rush things."

"Yeah, yeah, that sounds...that sounds great, Nya. Thank you for bringing that up."

She kneels down next to me and wraps me in another hug. "I'm going to bed, and you shouldn't be alone out here."

"Oh, definitely not." I do not want to face Nadakhan alone.

She rises, opening the back door to the monastery for me. "And for Pete's sake, wake me up if you need me."

I giggle. "But you're grumpy when I wake you up at night."

"I'm grumpy when anyone wakes me up at night. I make exceptions for nightmares, though. Now, get back inside and get good rest, Jay." And she ushers me into the monastery before closing the door and walking off to her bedroom.

I have a feeling that tonight, I won't even have to worry about waking her up.

Bad dreams will be far, far away.

***So just taking a poll here:

How many of you think Jay Nya will be a couple by the end of this book?

How many of you are saying, "I know you, and you're going to make us wait until the bitter end of the series for Jaya as a couple?"

And how many are neutral?

Just wondering LOL <3***