***Getting closer to the end...any last predictions before you all see how things play out? Fun fact: I'ma need an extra chapter, so it'll be two more chapters and an epilogue LOL

I predict that by the time this book is done, I will be knee-deep in studying, sleep loss, and fast food.

Also, as I've said before, I had to play around a lot with the Ninjago law system to make this book work. I hope you'll bear with me. My goal here is to keep things fictional, but somewhat believable. I am not an attorney; I serve French fries. A lot of the laws I'm writing aren't in any way true. If you're looking for an accurate book I write, you'll prolly have to wait for McDareth's LOL

So now I'm thinking I just need to write a book of consistent Ninjago laws I use for different areas XD Nope. AiN't NoBoDy GoT tImE fOr ThAt-

Also, I don't own Wheel of Fortune. If it's up for sale any time soon, let me know.

And I don't own Jaws. If I did, it would have more plot and less shark.

Also, don't kill me, but this chapter is 7,300 words -***

***(Nya's POV)***

I'm ready to go at seven in the morning the next day. Apparently, Jay has a whole day planned, and I'm more than a little excited to get out from under my aunt's thumb. After a few gentle threats, I managed to get her to let me go on our date. She tried to put in a call to whatever anti-elemental place she set me up with, but they said they couldn't get me in any earlier than tomorrow.

Score.

Jay ended up staying for another hour yesterday after I told him the 'L' word. He was essentially bouncing off the walls. I did not, however, accept his proposal. I don't want to mess things up with him. I may think we have a future, but that doesn't mean I want to rush things and end up with a lot of hurt.

But his offer did keep me up all last night. I'm not really ready for marriage yet, but we both know we want to eventually get there. It makes me kind of mad how Jay can be so sure about a marriage between us working out. I'm great at everything...except believing in other people, it seems.

And I can't lose my elemental power. I've come up with three scenarios for how the next few days will play out. I can lose my powers, run away, or marry Jay. The first one isn't going to work, I just got over the whole 'running away' thing, and...that just brings me right back to Jay. Again.

I can't botch things between us.

I hear an engine rumble outside my aunt's house, and I sigh with relief, knowing Jay's arrived to pick me up for our day out. I hate Sunny's house. I basically stayed in my room all night because I wasn't willing to go out and face that woman. Jay told me to 'patch things over' with her, but I'm doing well just to be civil.

I head out the door to see Jay grinning goofily. He hops off the bike Lloyd lent him to wrap me up in a huge hug.

"Hi," he greets, his voice muffled by my hair as he presses his mouth there.

"Hi," I return. My words are garbled, too – I'm currently pressed up against his chest. It gives me a whiff of his subtle cologne. Yes, Jay Walker has finally learned not to wear too much.

"You smell nice," I mumble.

"Thanks," he beams. "I stayed at my bio-dad's beach house about an hour from here, and he gave me free use of all his stuff. He also gave me free access to one of his credit cards." He steps back, smiling into my eyes. "Ready to get this pre-birthday date going?"

"Yes, please. Get me away from these people." I take the helmet Jay offers me.

He shoves his hands in his pockets. "I, uh, have a couple of things loosely planned today. What did you have in mind?"

"Not much," I shrug. "Finding things that you haven't done is kind of hard. There aren't any extreme sports that I know of, aren't many foods you haven't tried just for kicks, aren't many projects you haven't worked on...yeah. The only thing I could come up with was maybe a game of lacrosse."

He pffts. "I was an eighth-grade lacrosse prodigy. However, I broke my foot before the final game of the season. It was not fun. And my mom told me I already got enough injuries on the junkyard, so I didn't need to be playing sports anymore after that."

I raise an eyebrow. "You were incredibly skinny when I met you your tenth-grade year. You were probably even smaller in eighth grade. I'm thinking you weren't as good as you say you were."

"Well..." He grins. "Okay, you've got me there. I was benched most of that year. But I really did break my foot, and my mom really did put an end to my lacrosse dreams after that." He makes a sweeping gesture toward the motorcycle. "Let's go back to my dad's beach house. We can eat breakfast and go from there."

I roll my eyes, climbing onto the bike. "I've eaten breakfast before, Jay. I thought we were supposed to be doing things we've never done before."

"Have you ever mixed together every cereal you can find, then served them with anything but milk?" He gets on behind me.

I laugh. "That sounds disgusting."

"No!" he scoffs. "It'll be fun. My bio-dad and I went grocery shopping last night, and we got all the good stuff – name-brand cereals, king-sized candy bars. And I found some fun stuff to put our cereal in besides milk – chocolate milk, orange juice, yogurt, dishwashing detergent – "

I burst out laughing. "Okay, motormouth. Where am I headed?"

"Make a left," he instructs, wrapping me in his arms and trying to peck my cheek. It doesn't really work out with the motorcycle helmets, so he eventually gives up.

He instead says, "You're going to love what I have planned, promise. I even invited my birth dad to come have lunch with us, since you've never met him before."

"Nice," I smile, pulling onto the quiet neighborhood road. "You're on your game, I see."

"And I have you beat. So far, Jay Walker has three great ideas for things you've never done before, and all you came up with was lacrosse. And I've played lacrosse before."

I roll my eyes. "We'll see. I'm good at being spontaneous." I wish.

He just chuckles against me, resting his head against my shoulder. Again, the logistics with the helmets are hard, so he ends up giving up after a few tries.

I smile. His attempts at physical affection still give me butterflies, even if they're laughable.

I spend the hour-long drive to his dad's house thinking of ways I can compete with him on our date. What hasn't Jay done before? I don't think daring him to stay quiet for more than five minutes is going to work.

He directs me to Ignacia's closest beach. Apparently, his dad owns a huge mansion down here. It's also a quiet area, as Jay tells me. Only two other rich families live nearby.

I am going to love the privacy. After you figure out you have a crazy aunt who keeps tabs on your life, it's nice to be able to keep some things secret.

When we finally reach the mansion, I blanch to see it's enormous. I thought Skylor's house was nice, but this? This is amazing.

***Music Cue***

"You like it?" Jay asks.

"I...I mean, once you've seen one mansion, you've seen...seen them all." I shake my head, driving the motorcycle up to the security gate. Jay gets buzzed in by one of the staff – staff – and I navigate the winding driveway.

"You do like it," Jay grins from behind me. "You can't stop staring at everything. I had a similar reaction. This place is like a resort."

Once we're off the bike and inside, Jay shows me to the kitchen – it takes him several tries and the help of one staff member to locate the room – and he sets out two bowls.

"Which cereals do you want?" he asks, grabbing boxes from a bag on the floor and throwing them at me. Most of them bounce off the kitchen counter, and he has to run, pick them up, and throw them at me again.

"I don't know," I laugh. "Maybe something healthy? And nothing too sweet."

He ducks behind the counter. I watch as his hand slowly appears and places three different boxes of granola-based cereal in front of me.

"You should really add some variety," his disembodied voice suggests. "Maybe some chocolate puffs or something." A fourth box – this one filled with chocolate cereal – appears.

I giggle. "I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate."

"If you forfeit chocolate cereal, you're eating your whole meal in chocolate milk," he warns me.

I roll my eyes, taking the cereal boxes from him. "Fine."

After I prepare my cereal mixed with water (it's the least disgusting option he gave me), he creates his own bowl of five different fruit-flavored cereals, two chocolate brands, and fruit punch in lieu of milk. I don't know whether to laugh or gag.

He stirs his bowl, humming happily. "Have you decided what we should do next on our date?"

I indicate his breakfast. "Clean up all the cereal you throw up?"

He winks at me, slurping up a big spoonful of his cereal mess. His mouth still full, he taunts me, "You don't have any good ideas today, Nya." He swallows his cereal without a blink.

I sigh. "Maybe we could watch one of the Ducky movies – you know, the ones with the possessed duck doll?"

"No way!" he exclaims. "I've already had bad enough sleep over the past couple days. Come up with something better."

I lift a hand in the air helplessly. "What all haven't you done?"

"You're supposed to figure that out." He points to my cereal bowl. "Try it, Nya. I'm sure it's not that bad."

I take a spoonful of soggy flakes and promptly dump them back in my bowl. "No, thanks."

He smiles boyishly. "Fine. Would you like some of mine?"

I shake my head, chuckling. "No."

He sighs. "Nya, you need to let go a little more and try new things." He pushes a box of granola toward me. "Suit your skim milk, natural-cereal self, but you're missing out." He reaches for my bowl, pulling it toward himself.

I make a sick face. "You're going to be violently ill after eating both those bowls of awful cereal."

"I'm not eating yours." He picks my bowl up and sends me a wicked grin before sloshing my meal all over my shirt.

I sputter. "Jay! I didn't bring an extra set of clothes today!"

"I bought you one." He holds up a finger, eyes gleaming, and walks over to the shopping bags in the corner.

"How do you even know my size?" I ask. "Don't tell me you memorized it from the monastery laundry or something. That's just creepy."

He sticks out his tongue, fumbling in a clothing bag. "No, Nya. I know your general size, so I picked up the same thing in three different sizes."

"You and your dad must've had your hands full last night."

"He's a cool guy. I enjoyed spending time with him." He beams, drawing something from the clothing bag. "Aha!"

I take one look at it and give him an annoyed look. "That's a bikini, Jay."

"Mmhmm," he says, nodding innocently. "For my eyes only. We're going swimming later in my dad's private pool."

"No, Jay. I haven't worn anything like that since the stupid nude photos incident." I heave a breath.

"It's just me," he smiles. "I'm not going to exploit your body, Nya. I just want you to let go of some of your past. An added bonus is that I get to watch." He wiggles his eyebrows.

I search for words. "Says the guy who always wears a shirt when he's swimming!"

"Not this time," he says. For the first time, his expression twinges with uncertainty. "I...uh, I'm usually uncomfortable without a shirt, but I'm doing it for you. And maybe...you'll admire me, too? I hope?" His grin shows more insecurity than he wants it to.

I release a long breath.

How am I supposed to argue with that? There's no doubt Jay's struggled with self-image in the past. He just confessed it yesterday.

"Fine," I huff, standing up, walking over to him, and snatching the clothing bag. "But you'd better get changed, too. I am not just going to wear a bikini around your dad's house while eating cereal. We're going swimming now."

He grins. "I'll be out back at the pool. I'll have one of the staff show you there."

I roll my eyes. "Don't stand me up, Walker. If I come out and see you fully clothed and watching for me, I won't be afraid to pummel you."

He smirks. "Still tempting, though."

I run over to the kitchen counter and grab his cereal bowl. "Come back here, you – "

Once I've finally found my way to the bathroom and changed into what Jay bought me – I guess it's not all that bad – I awkwardly wrap a towel around myself and head out to find a member of the staff to help me. Like, I'm good at everything and all, but finding my way in this maze of a house is beyond me.

"Hello?" I ask into the empty hallway. "Anybody there?"

No answer.

I huff. If Nadakhan were still a problem, I would've thought that he had shown up and done something awful.

I tramp through the house slowly, expecting Jay to jump out any moment. He's typically sweet and innocent, but apparently, he has other priorities today. A bikini? Seriously?

I'm glad Kai's not here. He'd have a cow.

I wind up navigating myself to the swimming pool. Jay said it was out back, right? So I can head in a general backwards direction from the kitchen and locate the pool area.

I pass by multiple guest rooms, an exercise room, the master bedroom. I see a closed door and, curious as to where it leads, crack the door open.

I blanch.

It's a ballroom, complete with marble statues and detailed furnishings and...

I've seen this place before – in my vision, when I was dancing with Jay.

Dread pools in my stomach. What if we haven't avoided the future at all? What if...what if Pythor's still a problem? And that means Jay might...

Die.

I shudder, slamming the door closed. Just because I saw this room in my vision doesn't mean that what I saw is going to come true, right?

In the vision, I was in my bridesmaid's dress, and I know neither I nor Jay has that gown. It's at Skylor's house. My vision can't be coming true. Besides, in my dream, I told him that 'I could be his', or whatever that means. I just confessed that I loved him yesterday. I'm pretty sure that sums up everything.

I sure hope we avoided a dismal future.

I wander through the mansion until I finally locate the entrance to the swimming pool. It's a massive outdoor structure with a diving board and multiple floaties.

Of course Jay would pull out the floaties. I think he loves anything that reminds him of his childhood. Scratch that – he's just a big kid. His childhood is still happening, for all he cares.

The pool gate is cracked, so I open it carefully, sliding my way inside. It makes a hideous creaking noise when I move it.

Jay's head bobs above the water at the far end of the pool, and he runs a hand through his wet curls. "Take off your towel," he says, annoyed with my incompetence.

I raise my eyebrows. "Stop being so insistent."

"Hey, I'm just helping you face your fears." He smiles like a first grader giving his teacher an apple.

"Uh-huh." I drop my towel on a free beach chair and make my way over to the diving board.

He sighs, staring at me dreamily. "You look great."

And the innocence is back. He doesn't call me hot or sexy or anything that indicates he's staring places I don't want him to. Nope, he just says I look great.

"Hate to say it, sparky," I say, ascending the steps to the diving board, "but I've been swimming before. I've also worn a bikini before. This was a lame idea of yours."

He makes quick strokes to the edge of the pool. "Was not. Come here."

I look skeptically down at him. "What do you intend to do?"

"Just come here," he says impatiently.

I roll my eyes, hiding a smile, and climb back down the diving board. I saunter over to where he is, hands on my hips.

He grins, holding out his arms for me. "Come on in. The water's great."

"How exactly do you want me to get in? It basically looks like you want to give me a huge, wet hug." I raise my eyebrows.

He grabs my ankle and tugs. "Come closer."

"You sound like the shark from Jaws."

He huffs out a breath, lifting himself over the edge of the pool. It gives me full view of his toned chest and abdomen muscles.

I try not to blush as my heart beats a little faster. "You look...nice."

His cheeks flush. "Glad you like it." He comes to stand behind me and wraps his wet arms around my form. "Move closer to the edge so I can shove you in."

I gingerly take a few steps, then wiggle around in his arms to face him. I crook my arms around his neck, lowering my eyelashes. Yes, Skylor taught me how to make the boys nervous.

"I know where this is going," he chuckles, eyes flashing with mirth, "and I am not that much of a sucker. You're trying to distract me."

I smile coyly and trace his jaw with one finger. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do." His voice comes out deeper than before, and his grip on my waist tightens.

My breath hitches, and before I can lose myself in his stormy gaze, I jerk backwards, dragging Jay into the water with me. He pulls me closer to him and kicks us back up toward the surface.

"I saw that coming," he coughs as soon as we hit fresh air.

"But you totally fell for it," I tease him.

"Hmmph." He releases me, flipping onto his back and paddling toward the shallow end of the pool. "How'd you sleep?" he yells from across the pool.

Oh. We're playing this game, the one where I tell him all my feelings about his proposal and losing my elemental power.

"Like a rock," I lie, following him in his trek across the pool. I'm an expert swimmer.

"Really?" he asks. "I don't believe that." He ducks underwater, then reappears closer to me moments later.

"I did," I blush.

He looks at me skeptically before plunging underwater again and bobbing up right next to me. He snakes one arm around my waist and the other under my legs. "Ever been carried around a swimming pool in laps?" he asks, smiling like a fool.

"No," I reply.

"Then I've found something you haven't done before. Score." Now that we're at a depth of about six feet, he uses the wall to guide us to the five-foot end so he can carry me around the pool.

I wrap my arms around his neck tightly. "If you dunk me, I'm bringing you down with me."

"Tempting, but no. We need to talk." He sighs. "Have you figured out how you're going to avoid having your power stolen yet?"

"I could run away?" There's not much initiative behind the words.

"And leave the team behind? I seriously hope you're joking." He quickly dips my head underwater, and I kick against him. He raises me up above the surface, chuckling.

I cough twice, spitting pool water out of my mouth. "Nice one," I saw sarcastically.

"I thought the same thing about your idea. Try again, Nya Smith."

"Well, having my power taken is not an option. And Kai's still recovering from the tea," I sigh.

He lowers his forehead toward mine. "And what about the other option?"

"The one where I put my aunt in the hospital?"

"No, the other one."

I sigh, closing my eyes.

On the one hand, I'd be happy to marry Jay and keep my elemental power. On the other, I can't stand the idea of ending up divorced to him.

But...what if he...dies? What if my vision somehow comes true, and I never get a moment of being married to him? What if he's the one, and I lose my chance because I'm unwilling to take a risk?

I swallow hard. "How are you so sure of what you want in life, Jay?"

"It's simple," he smiles. "I love you, so I know I want you. I enjoy making people laugh, so I know I always want to do that. I like kids, so I know I want to have at least two or three. No matter how the cards end up, Nya, nothing's going to change the things about myself that I don't choose to change. And I choose to love you, to make people laugh, and to like kids for the rest of my life." He rubs his wet nose against my face.

I cling to his neck, my brain warring. I can't lose my powers, which is one reason I could marry Jay.

But more importantly, I can't lose Jay without making the most of my time with him. If he dies...

I swallow hard, keeping my eyes clenched shut. "Jay, you know what neither of us have done before?"

"What?" he asks softly.

"Applied for a marriage license."

He drops my upper half, then quickly regains his hold on me, tugging me tighter against him. "Wait – what?"

"We've never applied for a marriage license before," I say nervously.

He beams at me. "And you want to marry...me?"

"Actually, your bio-dad seems like a pretty cool guy, so maybe – "

He dunks me again, and I come up laughing and sputtering. "I'm kidding," I reassure him. "I'm kidding."

His eyes dance with mirth. "You want to marry me."

"Yes." The word sounds sure despite the turmoil inside me.

"Oh my gosh," he laughs. "Oh my gosh! Let's – we need to get out of the pool." He dumps me in the water, swims toward the wall, and pulls himself up over the edge.

I follow him, snatching my beach towel off its chair as he pulls out his cell phone. "What are you doing?" I ask.

"Calling my birth dad," he says quickly. "I'm sure he can have us hooked up with a lawyer in no time. You're sure you want to do this?"

No, but I'm going for it. "Yes."

"Good." He holds the phone to his ear, hand shaking.

I dry myself off, hoping Jay bought more for me than just a bikini. I can't wear this anywhere.

After a few moments of chatting, Jay turns to me. "Call up your aunt and uncle. They'll need to be present with us at court. Ninjago City doesn't have a specific court procedure to approve marriage of a minor, but it's typically just a casual meeting in which the two parties and their lawyers meet with one official from the courts. My dad's lawyer says we can probably get in today to seek court approval – the casual nature of the meeting provides for flexibility – but we'll need agreement from your aunt and uncle. What's working in our favor is that your uncle is already a marriage and family attorney, so he'll probably think we're done for and agree to meet today. He won't want to give us time to develop any sort of a good case, so he'll want to meet sooner rather than later. He also won't expect us to have a lawyer at this point, but we do – my dad's financial attorney has a brother who works in marriage law."

"What happens if they refuse us a marriage license?" I ask, noticing his hint of nervousness.

"Then we can't apply for one again until you're eighteen," he swallows.

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

We arrive at court around three and a half hours later. We meet with our new lawyer in the parking lot, discussing the implications of marriage and what evidence we have that I would be a better guardian for Nya than Sunny and Herb.

Sadly, there's...not much. I've known Nya for almost three years now, so that works in our favor. It also helps that my bio-dad is a movie star, making me even more financially capable than the Lius. And there was apparently some slight scandal a few years back where Sunny claimed some interior design work was her own, but it wasn't.

And our lawyer says he has one last thing up his sleeve – something about Sunny and some anti-elemental work with the Ninjago City mayor.

I wish we had more time to compile evidence, but we don't. We have to change Nya's guardianship as soon as possible. Like, if we get the marriage license and such – there's no wait to receive one if we do win this case – then I need to marry Nya within the next day to make sure her aunt doesn't have anything up her sleeve. Nya could always use her powers to resist her aunt, but as I've said before, we do not need Nya in jail.

We're about to be seen now, and Nya and I are clutching each other's hands like a lifeline. I called all the guys and told them what was going on. Zane offered his assistance, Cole congratulated us, Seliel said Nya had nothing to wear worthy of a wedding night (to which Nya and I both blushed), and Lloyd just asked what the heck we were thinking.

Oh, and Nya called Skylor. Apparently, Skye hung up on Nya. Maybe she thinks we're joking?

Our lawyer crouches down in front of us in the courthouse. "Just follow my lead and only speak when spoken to, okay?" he hisses. "And do your best to look like you love each other, but not like hormonal teenagers." He gives us a thumbs-up.

And that's when the court official pokes his head out the door of an adjacent room. "The other party is ready. You can come in."

Our lawyer eyes us, then leads us into our room.

"No matter what happens..." I say, feeling myself choke up.

"We still have each other," Nya says for me. She tries not to betray herself by the fear in her eyes.

We walk together into our room to see our lawyer, the smiling court official, and Nya's displeased aunt and uncle. Actually, Herbert looks smug, like he's got this case in the bag or something. Sunny looks displeased – but that could be do to that horrible smell in here. I pinch my nose. The whole place is scented heavily of jasmine and cherry blossoms.

The official waits for us to get settled, then clears his throat. "I'd like to begin by asking a few questions of Miss Smith's party, given that this case is most directly involved with her." He eyes our lawyer.

The man nods. "Fire away."

"Mr. Walker, what is the reason you intend to marry?" asks the official.

I sit up a little straighter. "Because I love Nya and know I want to be with her for the rest of my life."

The official nods, then asks the same question of Nya.

"I want to marry Jay because...I see a future with him," she admits, blushing.

My eyes light, and I smile down at her.

Our attorney clears his throat. "The reason the marriage is so sudden is due to Miss Smith's aunt and uncle being unfit guardians."

Sunny's eye twitches.

"Please explain how they're poor choices for guardianship," the official requests.

Our lawyer replies, "Miss Smith feels lonely and undesired under their care. Moreover – "

"I apologize for the interruption," the official says, "but hasn't she only lived with the Lius for one day?"

"Yes," our lawyer answers. "However, Miss Smith had earlier hostilities against them due to her older brother's warning not to interact with them."

"Interesting," the official muses. "Was this older brother Miss Smith's guardian? I know her parents are no longer living."

"Not...legally," our lawyer sighs. "Her brother has, however, been the only caretaker for Nya since she was twelve years old."

The official's eyebrows raise. "I see. I'll proceed to question the Lius, thank you." He turns to Nya's aunt and uncle. "What are your reservations against a marriage between Miss Smith and Mister Walker?"

Herbert stands. "Mr. Walker is eighteen years of age, and we are thus concerned about his knowledge of caring for a girl who's not quite seventeen yet. Moreover, Miss Smith has shown herself to be a volatile elemental, concerning us for the welfare of Mister Walker should he do something to anger her."

Oh, great. They're bringing elements into this. Given recent legislation, that just makes this case less optimal for Nya and me.

I feel Nya tense beside me, and I squeeze her hand tighter, silently begging her, 'Don't ruin this for us by blowing up'.

"Moreover," Herbert continues, "we are aware that Miss Smith – our niece – is part of a ninja team in Ninjago City. We fear that a marriage to Mister Walker would thus endanger him."

I guess I knew that Sunny and Herbert had found out about Nya being a ninja – they did use to send her mail through the monastery – but they haven't figured out that I'm elemental yet. It's interesting that they keep such good tabs on Nya, yet they don't have much information on anyone else in her life.

Our lawyer stands. "Permission to speak."

"Permission granted," the official replies.

"When researching the Lius, it came to my attention that they have quite a special relationship with the mayor. It appears Sunny has worked together with the mayor in the past to promote anti-elemental legislation. Because Nya is an elemental, I believe that the ultimate objection the Lius have at this point to Nya's marriage is that she possesses powers. This should not be held against a marriage license for her, given that it simply rests on prejudice. Besides this, Mister Walker is himself elemental and can handle himself when it comes to Miss Smith."

"Thank you," the official says. He turns back to Herbert. "Objection?"

Herbert stands again. "Miss Smith has threatened my wife several times with her element. We have reason to be cautious, and our case does not simply rest on prejudice."

Dang it! I knew that would come back to bite us.

Our lawyer stands. "Permission to speak?"

"Permission denied," the official says. "Mr. Liu, tell me more about these threats."

"Whenever Miss Smith didn't agree with a decision of ours yesterday, she would form her water element and subtly tell us she had no qualms if we were injured."

"'Subtly'?" the official asks.

Herbert blushes. "Well, she never explicitly said so, but it was clear her point was that she was powerful enough to overcome Mrs. Liu and me should we try to resist her."

"Do you happen to have an audio recording?" the official asks.

Herbert shakes his head in the negative.

"Interesting," the official muses.

"Jay, how do I look?" Nya suddenly asks from beside me.

I start to shush her, but when I turn, I see her face is red and swollen.

I blanch, standing up. "Nya, what – are you okay?" I place my hands on her shoulders, my mind racing. Red and swollen...red and swollen...means she's having an allergic reaction. And it's probably to that weird jasmine fragrance! I should've known it was perfume!

"Did you remember to take your medicine this morning?" I ask her.

"What medicine?" asks her uncle.

I don't answer him, instead repeating, "Nya, did you remember to take your medicine?"

She shakes her head, holding her hands at her neck. "Didn't bring it...to Ignacia." She swallows. "Throat's swelling."

Her aunt holds a hand over her heart. "Oh, no. What's wrong with her?"

The attendant raises a brow. "You don't know?"

"Um, okay. Don't panic," I try to reassure Nya, pulling off my backpack. "Lloyd brought my things over yesterday, and I have an epinephrine injector in my bag." I quickly unzip my bag, and with trembling fingers, I pilfer through the contents.

Thank the First Spinjitzu Master for my stupid obsession that led to performing allergy drills with Nya.

"Nya, why didn't you tell us you take medication?" Sunny exclaims.

"Don't blame her," I say protectively, retrieving her epinephrine. "Why don't you actually do something and call an ambulance?!"

Nya wheezes and clutches my arm, and I help her stand up. "Hold onto me, okay?" I tell her. I place one arm around her waist and bend down. Then, with my free hand, I pop the top off the epinephrine container, pull out the device, and release the safety feature.

"We're almost there, Nya," I swallow. I press the epinephrine injector against her thigh, a "click" signaling the injection has begun. As I count back from ten, Nya's strangled breaths haunt my every move.

She's going to be okay. She has to be. I need her. We were going to get married. We are going to get married.

Once I finish counting, I release the pen and let it fall to the ground, rubbing at her leg with my thumbs. Back when I memorized the instructions for this thing in February, it said that massaging the injection site of the pen would help distribute the medication faster.

After a few seconds of massaging her thigh, I examine her face. "Do you feel dizzy? Like you might pass out?"

"Little...bit."

I place an arm behind her shoulders and help her lie down on the ground. "You're going to be just fine," I try to say soothingly. "Are you doing okay? Is it easier to breathe?"

"Y-yes," she manages, clasping my hand.

"Don't let her lie down!" Sunny snaps. "I know for a fact you're not supposed to do that!"

"And I know for a fact you're wrong," I reply, stroking Nya's hand with my thumb. "You don't know how many articles I memorized from the Internet when I found out she had severe allergies."

"You need to leave, ma'am," the attendant says, addressing Nya's aunt.

"And why is that?" she asks. "My niece could be dying!"

"She's not going to die," I say resolutely. "I'll make sure." I don't know whether I'm comforting myself or Nya.

The attendant replies to her aunt, "It says here in her medical records that she's allergic to perfume. You are most obviously the source of her reaction, ma'am. I assume that since she didn't ride with you on the way here, this is the first time she's been in contact with your perfume all day."

Oh, dang. Sunny has more problems than I thought if she thinks wearing that much perfume is a good idea.

"Well...fine." Her heels click along the floor as she leaves.

Nya squeezes my hand harder. "Can't...breathe."

"Shh, Nya. It's okay. Focus on me, okay? You're getting worked up."

She nods, trying to breathe a little deeper.

"Good job," I calm her. "You can trust me to get you out of this, Nya. Do you want me to sing for you? I'm going to sing for you." I croon the first few verses of You Are My Sunshine, trying to instill in her a calm I don't feel. She relaxes as she watches me, so I guess it must be working.

Nya lets out a breath. "I'm glad...you're here."

"Me, too." I run my fingers over her cheek. The hives have begun to diminish since administering her epinephrine.

"She looks a little better now," her uncle assesses. "Just a momentary panic. We don't need to call for medical help."

Okay, I was doing pretty well before, but this breaks me. "Nobody's called them yet?!" I practically shout. "Don't you know that that's one of the first steps when somebody's going into anaphylactic shock? What if her epinephrine isn't enough, or she has serious side-effects? Gosh!" I pull my phone from my pocket and throw it at him. "Use this."

Her uncle opens and closes his mouth.

"I'll wait for the emergency help so I can show them where you are," my lawyer says, hastening his way out of the room.

The official comes to my side. "What can I do to help?"

I think of the twenty-six informative allergy articles I memorized. "Grab a chair so we can elevate her feet. That should help keep her conscious, since she said she was feeling faint earlier."

I run my free hand through Nya's hair. "Are you doing better? Did I scare you?"

"You're fine. We're a good...team."

"Yes, we are. And you're doing a great job of staying calm."

"Somebody...had to."

I laugh lightly. "You're right, and I'm really bad at it. I'm so sorry about freaking out a moment ago."

"S'okay." She fiddles with her jeans. "Too...tight."

"Are you referring to..." Realizing the meaning of her words, I pull up her shirt a few inches and undo the first fixture on her jeans. They are pretty tight on her – we were out of luck for clothing options at my dad's house, so we stopped by the nearest superstore on our way here. Since Nya wasn't about to go in wearing a bikini, I ran in and grabbed something for her. I might've accidentally grabbed her a size too small.

"What do you think you're doing?" her uncle demands, my phone still held to his ear.

"Having her pants hug her stomach this tightly is making it harder for her to take full breaths." I unzip her jeans to just below her stomach, then pull her shirt down to cover my work.

She takes a breath, then smiles at me. "Better. Thanks."

"How often does she get like this?" the official asks.

"I've only ever seen her have this serious of a reaction today," I reply. "Usually, her medication keeps her from having any complications. I think not taking her meds two days in a row, plus the insane amount of fragrance her aunt was wearing, just put her on overload."

"Huh. You seemed to know what you were doing, which is why I asked."

"Oh, yeah." I chuckle at the stupid things my obsession made me do. "We practiced for a moment like this, Nya, didn't we?"

"You made me."

I smile. "Good thing. How do you feel?"

"Itchy and yucky, but not...breathless."

"Good." I rub circles on her palm. "I'll make sure I can stay with you tonight, honey. I don't want you having another reaction without me around."

Nya scoffs, but the move just sets her to wheezing. "Sunny won't...let...you."

"Shh. This isn't about your aunt and uncle," I say softly.

The official clears his throat. "I can get an order to have her put in your custody for forty-eight hours, as long as I have a doctor's recommendation. Now, that's purely forty-eight hours, and there are a lot of rules and conditions attached, but she'll at least be able to stay with you."

Nya's eyes show relief and contentment. "Please."

"That would mean a lot," I add.

"You're welcome. It just means you can take care of her until we're sure she's not going to have another reaction."

"Don't need a...caretaker," she grumbles.

"Sorry, babe, but that's what you get." I tweak her nose. "And I'm going to do a good job."

"Going to...annoy me. You hover."

I blush, looking at the attendant. "Well, yeah, but...it's for her own good."

She gives me a skeptical look, but nothing can pull the pure relief off her face.

Sirens in the distance tell me that medical help is here. I feel like shouting praise to the First Spinjitzu Master above.

"How do you feel now?" I ask her.

"No change."

"Okay. Do you still think you might pass out?"

"Don't know."

"How do you not know if you're going to pass out?" My mind goes into overdrive. Maybe she's confused because she's not getting enough air.

"Epinephrine...messes with my...head."

"Oh," I nod. "Okay. Well, if you start to black out, just tell me." I tuck her hair behind her ear.

"'Kay." She leans into my hand.

I offer her a wobbly smile. She has no idea the protectiveness and affection and worry that rises up in me when she trusts me like this.

The paramedics rush in a few moments later with a stretcher. Two sidle up beside Nya and me.

"Has she had epinephrine yet?" one asks.

I nod. "Yeah. She had one dose about five minutes ago."

They nod, setting to work as they lift Nya onto the stretcher and do medical stuff I don't know the name of.

"Can I come with you guys?" I ask. "In the ambulance? I don't want to leave her alone."

"Company policy is one passenger besides the patient," one paramedic informs me.

Nya's uncle clears his throat. "Jay...should probably go with her, then."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I say. I would be a little snarkier in my response, but I have more important things to worry about.

"You did it," Nya says softly beside me. "Jay Walker saved...the day."

"Nah," I grin. "We did, Nya. And congratulations: I think you officially have me beat in the category of things I haven't done before. I carried you around a swimming pool and mixed up breakfast. You suggested we get a marriage license and then gave me the opportunity to help save someone's life."

Three hours later, we're at the hospital, and life isn't half bad. Nya's watching reruns of Wheel of Fortune on the television, I'm yelling out the answers to the show's riddles, and we're having a much less stressful time than earlier. Our attempt to get a marriage license may have been a disaster, but Nya's okay, so who cares?

Besides, I have custody of her for the next forty-eight hours, so it means her elemental power can't be taken in that amount of time.

She looks up at me. "You know that Kai doesn't have legal personal insurance for me, right? This hospital trip is going to cost an arm and a leg."

"It could've cost you your life," I remind her. "We'll find a way to pay for it, Nya. My birth dad – "

"Has already purchased enough for me. That lawyer had to be expensive." Her face says she doesn't like taking favors from people.

I shrug. "I mean, given that my bio-dad missed out on eighteen years of my life, he's probably getting the better end of the deal here. I got so many injuries growing up on a junkyard. I swear my mom and dad are only poor because of their insurance rates." I squeeze her hand. "Or maybe Ninjago City will pay your fees, given that you've switched guardianship so much recently. They don't know who you belong to."

"True." She nods her head toward my phone. "Your phone buzzed around fifteen minutes go. Mind checking to see what it was?"

"Good idea." I pick up my phone and unlock it, then blanch when I see the message that came in.

"What?" Nya frowns. "It's something bad, isn't it?"

"No," I sputter. "It's...something really good." My lips twist into a grin.

"Please spill. I could use some good news."

I laugh, showing her my phone. "I guess maybe your allergic reaction had a purpose, huh? Don't ask me how Ninjago City Law is supposed to work, but this is a message from our lawyer. He says the official we met with is giving a recommendation to the courts to approve our marriage license. I'm the better choice for guardian because of how prepared I was for your allergic reaction."

"You're kidding me." She shakes her head. "So your stupid allergy drills..."

"...weren't so stupid, after all." I kiss her fingers. "The court will hopefully accept the recommendation and approve our marriage license."

"I just have no words." She closes her eyes, her mouth twitching upward. "You're really stupid, and you've made a lot of mistakes in the past, but I like to see you in action, Jay Walker."

***Thoughts on this chapter?

I know I didn't get some of the stuff with the paramedics right. And most of the stuff with the courts was fudged to make this story work LOL But I still thought it wasn't bad.***