Author's Note: Okay, so I shamelessly admit both to staying up til well past midnight (shut up lloydskywalkers, I can hear you yelling at me from across the country – also, I might've stolen Lloyd's love of fuzzy blankets from you. No regrets) and getting sidetracked by Episode 97 instead of working on OMaC like I should be… But anyways, this little one shot popped into my head while watching the latest episode of ninjago earlier, so I figured, why not? The Timeline is iffy, but this takes place the night just after The Fall. Mild spoiler alert to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. You should probably hold off on reading this until you have… Otherwise, please enjoy "Long Nights, Long Road Ahead"

The kitchen of the Bounty was dark, empty, as the figure who'd been wandering the decks aimlessly for over half an hour slipped quietly inside. Jay was having one of those nights. The nights where he couldn't shake the horrific memories of past events from his head, no matter how hard he tried. Where his usually endless optimism wasn't enough. Thus, trying to sleep was pointless. Today had been one of the roughest days they'd faced in months. Not that he was keeping track. Though, he might as well have been. And it probably wasn't going to get better anytime soon; what with the Oni being so dedicated to ruining everything they held dear. Seeing family ripped away… fall away… like that had been… Devastating to say the least. And he hadn't been able to do a thing… Only watched as… Which was why he was currently refusing to even think about going to bed. Why? Why could they never seem to catch a break? When would it be someone else's turn to suffer? The ninja of lightning fumbled for the light switch, feeling the desperate urge to do something to keep the shadows at bay. A slight flicker brought some small amount of warmth to the desolate room. There hadn't been much time to admire the workmanship of whoever had been responsible for rebuilding their beloved flying ship, but a flood of nostalgia struck Jay as he glanced around. They'd made so many memories here. Shared so much. Become family. Unbreakable. Well, almost. He wasn't so sure anymore. It was going to take a long time for any of them to feel even remotely okay again. A really, really long time… Tomorrow,there would be plenty to keep him busy; Surely he could convince Kai to let him help in the forge, once they'd arrived back at the monastery… But for now, maybe… Food might help? If anyone had bothered to stock their supplies sufficiently (everything had happened so fast; they hadn't even been able to dine together before everything went south. Just one simple meal – that's all he'd have asked for). He wasn't really hungry, but he needed a distraction, so, with a sigh, he began exploring the various cupboards that framed the wall. Plenty of rice, canned goods, miscellaneous spices, and a few unidentifiable jars. Nothing appetizing. The fridge, then? It seemed as good a place to check as any. Jay pulled it open, shivering as a blast of cold air hit him. And immediately regretted it. Because someone had very well-meaningly left them a present – a ginormous, oozing with thick layers of chocolatey frosting, cake. Cole's… Cole's favorite. It was too much for him. Suddenly, his face was damp, tears flowed freely. Heck, he'd thought he was done crying… apparently his tear ducts were still functioning after all… Quickly forcing the refrigerator shut again, the ninja of lightning sank onto the nearest of the benches surrounding the table. The blue ninja buried his face in his hands, overwhelmed by the wrongness of it all. He missed Cole. Wanted him back more than anything… But he knew no amount of wishing could fix things now. Not that he'd even want to wish for real. He'd already learned his lesson about such things. It never worked out the way they say it will in all those fairytales with the happy endings… He stayed like that for what felt like hours, no longer having the energy to fight through the pain. It wasn't like anyone was going to see him like this, anyway… Except for whoever had just sat down next to him…

"Hey…" His girlfriend breathed. Jay removed his face from his hands. She bit her lip, seeing his tear stained face.

"H-hey… So… You too?" She looked like a disaster – ponytail even messier than usual, and very, very obviously puffy eyes. Nya nodded.

"I… Yeah." They regarded each other, silently, as if wondering how many sleepless nights there'd be to come. But they had each other, at least. Neither was alone in their sorrow this time.

"C'mere, you…" He said, finally. The former samurai gratefully scooted closer. Wrapping his arms around her, the master of lightning brushed a strand of dark hair from her face and kissed her cheek.

"Gosh, this… this is gonna be rough, isn't it...?"

"Dunno how…" Nya's voice cracked. Jay's grip tightened.

"Me neither… Look… I-I wish… If I could… I'd totally build a blanket fort with you right now, if it'd make you feel better…"

"N-no… S'okay… Gayle and her crew need the extra blankets more than we do…" She replied shakily.

"You're probably right…" He admitted sadly. Which was a shame, really, because he knew how much it helped her when she was feeling down. And he could've used the comfort, too.

"I-I wanted to tell you – I rewired the thruster mechanism…" The girl told him awkwardly, "There shouldn't anymore… Problems with…"

"I… What happened? It's not your fault…" He reminded her, cupping her cheek with one hand. She sighed wearily.

"That's what everyone keeps saying… And believe me, I'm trying to listen. But… I-I couldn't take any more chances… Not after… I could've stopped it…. He was your best friend and now-" Now there were tears running down her face, too. Jay did his best to brush them away.

"Oh, Nya, sweetheart… I know… I just… I-I hate seeing you like this… So… So broken…" She choked on a sob, burying her face in his shoulder, but he could still make out her words.

"I'm so tired of losing people…" The master of lightning rubbed her back, trying not to start crying again himself.

"Me too… It really, truly sucks… And I miss him, so, so much… There's a part of me that can't help but feel like I should've been..." His voice cracked and he shuddered, "But we gotta… we gotta stay strong… it's what he'd want… I'm here with you. For as long as you need… I promised we'd get through times like this together. A long time ago, 'member?"

"It's so hard…" A nearby floorboard creaked.

"Oh… Uh… I-I didn't realize the kitchen was such a popular place right now…" Lloyd whispered, looking every but as distraught as they did.

"I'll just…" He turned to leave, but Nya stopped him.

"No. No… Please stay… You don't hafta…"

"A-are you sure? I don't wanna interrupt…" The blond protested.

"Lloyd, it's your home too… And honestly, right now, you can just join the insomniacs club… Probably better if none of us are in our own right now…" Jay told him.

"O-okay… I was gonna start some tea… You guys want any?" The green ninja asked, edging towards the table.

"Tea would be good…" The master of water mumbled into her boyfriend's shirt. Setting a pot on the stove, Lloyd joined them at the table.

"Have you two even tried to sleep tonight?" He inquired worriedly. Nya snorted wetly.

"Like you fared any better…"

"Touché…"

"H-how are you holding up? You know, if you don't mind me asking?" Jay commented, still clinging to Nya, but debating whether or not to forcibly drag his brother into a hug.

"Not… Not great… Finding out about… It was like…"

"Like that night on the boat… after the colossus…" The master of water finished for him, knowing exactly what the green ninja was feeling.

"Pretty much… It was completely awful…" She reached out a hand and pulled him closer. Family. Family was important now more than ever.

"We're a mess, aren't we?"

"Everyone is… Well. Maybe not my father…" Lloyd stated bitterly. Jay put a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, your father's a jerk, so he doesn't count… Did you see how mad Zane got? I don't think I've ever seen him that furious…" Nya frowned at him through drying tears. The green ninja shrugged it off.

"He's not lying… Zane nearly lost it… And so did I… I-I thought maybe… But the way he was acting earlier? I dunno anymore…"

"I'm sorry... I know how hard it is for you. To have him here…to…" She informed him. The blond leaned against his companions, silent until the faint sound of boiling water caught his attention. He poured them each a steaming cup of tea.

"At least I have you guys to keep me company while I drown my sorrows…"

"Hey, we're all in this together, green bean…" His sister assured him, looking a little perkier thanks to the beverage.

"In that case… What are the chances that you guys'll help me build a fort, or something? I know we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow, with forging the new weapons and all, but I'd kinda… rather not risk anymore nightmares…" The green ninja begged, looking far too young all of a sudden. Nya and Jay glanced at each other.

"We-ell… We thought about it… But we didn't want to deprive our guests of…" The master of lightning said after a moment.

"Oh. Well. That's not really a problem, see? Cause someone must've found out about those super fuzzy blankets I collect and gifted some to us… there's a whole stash of them in the storage room…" Lloyd assured them. The raven haired girl raised an eyebrow.

"And you didn't think maybe you should've mentioned this earlier?"

"C'mon guys… please? I could really use a distraction right now… and I know you could, too…"

"Okay. Yeah, we're doing this." Nya decided. Jay gave a weak smile in agreement. Off they went, in search of materials. The living room was off limits, of course, as that was where the rescued civilians were currently being holed up. So, they decided they might as well just officially claim the kitchen for now. The tent like structure they manufactured took up at least half of the room, blankets hanging loosely from the table and counters. Lloyd also managed to find a few extra cushions they'd somehow missed in the scramble to locate extra bedding earlier in the day.

As it turned out, the rest if their makeshift family wasn't having any better luck with sleeping than they were; it wasn't long before two exhausted nindroids and a fire ninja with serious bedhead (wrapped so tightly in a blanket that he was barely recognizable as human) showed up.

"Figured we'd find you here…" Kai commented drowsily.

"Mind if we join you?" Pixal asked quietly.

"Not at all… Please, just… Stay… All of us… Together…" Nya answered for the others.

"Thank you." Zane told them, relief written on his face. They weren't going to get much rest, but with each other to lean on, they could cope. And that was what they really needed, because tomorrow would be filled with its own problems and obstacles to overcome, but their bond would hold, not matter how many times it was tested.

Thank you to everyone who read this! I hope you enjoyed it and have a wonderful weekend! And also that no one was too traumatized by everything that happened in The Fall… As always, reviews are appreciated if you have feedback you'd like to leave.

~GwenBrightly