Have fun everybody! Please review and tell me why you hate/love it! Unfortunately, I only own my OCs, not any of the ninja or Sensei or Nya. This chapter contains Jay/Nya awesomeness. Oh, and I apologize for my punctuation mistake for the title of Destiny's Bounty. I just learned that the titles of ships are always italicized. Thanks for understanding!

Illuminate : Chapter 7

3rd Person

Jay sauntered into the game room with his glass of juice and watched as Kai and Zane battled against each other for the high score on their favorite video game.

"Hey guys, you know how that girl Gabriele looked as if she was about to bite Cole's head off a little while ago? Well, when I was in the kitchen, she and Cole walked in. She looked like she was about to pass out." By now, the other two had paused their game and were listening to Jay intently.

"Why do you make that assumption?" Zane inquired.

"Her face was white and she looked half scared, half excited. Also, she was grabbing Cole's arm so strongly that her knuckles were white."

"Interesting. What were they doing in the kitchen?"

"Tonight is Cole's turn to make dinner." Zane and Kai groaned simultaneously.

"Hey, do you think that Gabriele can cook?" Kai asked.

"Let's not get our hopes up," Zane countered. Just then, they all smelled something savory and delicious wafting from the kitchen.

"I don't know what that is, but it smells great!" said Jay enthusiastically.

"Should we go see what the lovely couple is making?" Kai wondered.

"No," Zane replied. "I for one don't want to walk in on whatever they are doing." All of the guys laughed.

Just a little while later, Gabriele called everyone to the table. By then, the delicious smell of garlic and peppers had permeated every room on the ship. Even Nya came out of the control room with only one summons. Tonight she chose to sit next to Jay. He blushed profusely and tried to say something but the entrance of Cole bearing a platter of food made everyone quiet. Gabriele followed him with cups and water for everyone. As Cole gently placed the tray on the table, Gabriele announced dramatically:

"From the kitchen of Destiny's Bounty for your delectation and delight we have Garlic Sauteed Chicken and Peppers over Rice Noodles, prepared by Cole Clays and Gabriele Blackstone." Everyone applauded as Gabriele curtsied and pulled Cole into a bow. Even before they sat down, on opposite sides of the table, the other ninja, Sensei Wu, and Nya were digging in. As Gabriele watched Jay insist on serving Nya and Nya gently blush, it suddenly occurred to her that the two might be in love. However, her attention was quickly pulled back to the conversation around her as everyone started complimentary her and Cole. At one point, Jay asked how she had turned Cole into a good cook.

"The only thing that was wrong with Cole's cooking was that he added too much or everything," she replied. "I had him pick one protein, one spice, and two veggies. To accompany that, I had him choose one grain or starch. With that, anyone can make a good meal."

"After a while, everyone was finally sated. Everyone was happy and content. Nya even had the courage to lean up against Jay. He wrapped his arm around her waist gently. Kai was so comfortable that he fell off of the back of the bench. As he got up, he said,

"I wish you could stay with us, Gabriele. You make dinner so much more… awesome." Her face paled, and she looked at Sensei Wu. He nodded, and she stood up.

"Well, I guess this is the perfect time to tell you. Sensei Wu has asked me to," she closed her eyes for a second, "to become a ninja." The variety of reactions was highly amusing, to Sensei and Cole at least. Kai fell off of the bench again, Zane's system frizzed out for a second, Jay's arm tightened around Nya before he unwrapped himself from her altogether, and Nya grinned from ear to ear.

"Finally, another girl!" she exclaimed. "I haven't been able to talk to another girl in months." Gabriele looked around at everyone. When she had assured herself that they were all happy that she was joining them, she smiled.

"Great. Now, who does the dishes?" she asked. Everyone pointed at Jay. He sighed and slowly got up from the table. Gabriele jumped at the opportunity to ask him about Nya, so she offered to help him. As soon as the door shut behind them, she asked,

"Are you in love with Nya?" He blushed more red than a poppy waving in the sun. "I'll take that as a yes." She chuckled as she walked to the sink and started washing the pots and pans.

"How, how did you know?" he stammered.

"It was quite obvious."

"I thought that it was obvious that I had a crush on her, not that I love her."

"I don't believe in crushes. If you love someone, you love someone. Anything else can be controlled. Since you're twenty, too old for a long lasting crush, and nobody appeared shocked when you put your arm around Nya, I assumed that you were in love."

"You are way too logical," was all that he could say in return. After a second he just started laughing uncontrollably.

"Go get the plates," Gabriele commanded, trying to hold back her own giggles. Jay practically fell through the swinging door to the dining room, still laughing. Nya had already gone to her room, but all of the others stared at Jay like he was crazy.

"What the…" Cole started to ask, but Jay just shook his head. Her tried to breathe deeply, but he just ended up laughing harder. The dishes rattled as he carried them back to the kitchen. He almost dropped the stack onto the countertop.

"Seriously Jay, what is so funny?"

"Here I was thinking that it was some big secret that I'm in love and you haven't been here for an entire day and you've already figured it out," he said through chuckles. He breathed deeply and finally stopped laughing. Gabriele replied,

"I read in a book once that 'love is like a light shining in a dark cave. It can't be hidden.' Your closer friends probably haven't noticed because falling in love is gradual."

"So, Nya doesn't know?" he inquired nervously.

"Probably not."

"Whew. That's a relief."

"So you don't want to tell her?"

"No way! She would probably hate me forever!"

"Okay, okay. I won't tell her. I'm really good at keeping secrets." This wasn't strictly true; Gabriele could only keep important secrets. If she thought that they didn't need to be kept private, then she would tell. This, however, was important enough for her to hold her tongue; for a while at least.

By then, the dishes were all clean. Since Jay had not washed any, she left the drying and putting away to him. Gabriele left the kitchen.

Gabriele's POV

As soon as I left the kitchen I hurried to Nya's room. I had the perfect plan in mind, but I had to make sure of Nya feelings first. This little game that I was going to set up was simply a distraction from what I was feeling. I was not looking forward to sorting through what I felt later. For now, though, I had a few more secrets to uncover. I knocked on Nya's door and she called

"Who is it?"

"Gabriele," I answered. She opened the door almost immediately. Her striking green-blue eyes were rimmed with red, and her short black hair looked mussed, as if she had been running her hands through it.

"Oh Nya, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, why do you ask?" Her innocent tone was somewhat belied by the pile of tissues on her bed and the sniff at the end of sentence.

"Nya, don't try to lie to me, please. Is it something I did?"

"Oh, no. It's, well, it's Jay." At that, she burst into tears again. I pulled Nya into a comforting hug as she sobbed. When she became calm, I asked,

"What did he do?"

"He put his arm around me," she replied, about to sob again.

"Stop!" I commanded. "Why does that make you cry? Don't you love him?" At my command, Nya stopped and stared at me. She sat down on the edge of her bed. After she had taken a few deep breaths, she answered,

"I don't know. I like him, I know that. He's so handsome, and funny, and smart. I wanted to date him; I mean, we went on a date, but then he saved me and I, well, it was different. Have you ever dreamed about your wedding? When you're younger, all of the people are facelss. But then, as you get older, you see yourself in that dress. Well, after my date with Jay, it's been him standing at the altar. And I don't get nervous around him anymore; it's more like a warm, fuzzy feeling. At night, I dream about kissing him. And, worst, I like babies!" I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Seriously! I have always hated babies! They are nothing but snot-filled poop machines, but on my last trip to Jamonicai Village, I saw a baby sleeping on it's mother's back in one of those slings. It was the cutest thing I've every seen. For the rest of the afternoon I couldn't keep myself from dreaming about what it would be like to have my own baby. What is wrong with me!?"

I was laughing so hard I could hardly stand up.

"Girl, you've got it bad."

"What?" Nya asked.

"You are madly in love," I replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah There is nothing else that can make a girl act that ridiculously."

"What am I going to do? I can't tell him."

"Why not?"

"He doesn't love me! I mean, he has a crush on me, but I don't think that he is in love with me."

"So, I shouldn't say anything to him?"

"No!"

"Alright. But I don't think that this is as big of a deal as you're making it."

"Just promise me that you won't say anything to him."

"Of course. I won't say a word." Nya smiled gratefully at me. Ihad no intention of saying anything to Jay; Kai, Zane, and Cole were another matter. Suddenly, she jumped up.

"You need some more clothes, don't you? That's why you came, and all I've been doing is complaining about my feelings. Here are some pajamas. I don't know…" She left her sentence unfinished as she surveryed me. The grin faded from my face and I sighed. I knew that I couldn't' fit into Nya's clothes. Her dresses and outfits were pretty clingy, and she was lithe and willowy. My figure was, well, lumpy. I think that Nya could tell that I was bothered because she looked worried before she said,

"It's no problem. I can have the Bounty fly to your house tomorrow so that we can pick up your stuff." I smiled a little at that. I already liked Nya. She was sensible and selfless, from what I could see. But I was still worried about my future.

"Nya, what if I fail at being a ninja? What if I can't learn?"

"Gabriele, my grandmother told me right before she died that 'Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called "present."' Tomorrow and its problems will come soon enough," Nya replied tenderly.

"Thanks, Nya." I stood up and hugged her. "We should both get to bed now. I know one problem that tomorrow will bring: training. I'm going to need all of the energy that I can get for that."