Haha! A day early again! *Draws sword with a cocky grin* Here's your chapter, my dear friends, enemies, and enemies who pretend to be friends!

So in case you weren't clued in by the past two chapters, I'm about to hit on a super touchy subject, known to most of the world as abortion. I sort of gloss it over, so please don't worry. This chapter is not a 3,000 word rant on how much I hate homocide. (Although that is very true, please know that my goal is not to make any of you feel bad! Please do not take offense at my opinion, I am doing my best to be gentle about it!)

I think that I totally scared you all with my hentai suggestion, LOL. It was totally a joke, I am so sorry. :( I still have a lot to learn about the fact that you guys can't actually see the quirky grin on my face as I write sarcastically. My apologies, that was sort of terrible of me.

But yeah, this chapter does have a few little implied things at the very end, but it can hardly be called lemon. I've read about kisses more graphic than what I wrote about at the end.

I guess that this is your adoption chapter? Hehe... After I wrote 15,000 words into a real adoption chappie, I came to the sudden conclusion that it was... Rather boring. So I scrapped it. Here's attempt 2, please review! :)

Zane's hands moved without his brain as he prepared the meal. His mind was occupied with much more important thoughts, like what he had just done to Nya. Shouting at her in such a manner was no way to treat anyone, let alone his soulmate. There are very few times that I have ever felt this terrible, he thought as he stirred a wok full of vegetables. How much of a fool could a man become?

When the meal was complete, Nya had still not made her appearance. He wondered if he needed to give her some space to vent.

But no, that was not right. He needed to make this up to her as soon as possible. He needed to get down on his knees and beg for her forgiveness, and then hear her out. She had obviously been about to pour out a dark, closely guarded secret out for him; possibly something that would hurt everyone's image of her. He had kicked her while she was already down, rebuked her without due cause.

He set down the stirring spoon carefully on the counter, making sure that he was wasn't leaving a mess. It would not do at all to have a filthy kitchen. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and began walking through the eerily silent house. His footsteps seemed to echo as he went up the stairs and down the dark hallway, painfully aware of the fact that their bedroom door was shut and that the lights were out. In all honesty, Zane was not sure what he expected to find on the other side of that door.

He slowly reached out with a shaky hand and grabbed the cold door handle, then let go of it and drew his hand up to his chest. He knew that he could not just barge in on her and intrude her privacy, so he reached out again and knocked softly. He tried to speak but found that his throat was dry. He swallowed and tried again, this time croaking out her name. "Nya?"

He waited a few long, painful seconds before knocking again. "Nya, can I come in?"

He heard the sound of shuffling inside, and then her voice. "Y-yes," she said quietly. "You can come in."

Zane grabbed the doorknob and twisted it slowly. The door opened on silent hinges, and he walked into the room. He shut the door behind him and squinted, trying to make out Nya's form in the darkness. "Where are you?" He asked. "You shouldn't be in the dark like this. It's not healthy for your eyes."

"What do you care?" She tried to sound angry but her voice wavered, telling Zane her true emotions.

She was afraid.

The realization hit him like a sack of bricks. His feet shuffled toward the direction her voice had come from, and he continued to peer with uncertainty into the darkness. His hands reached out and felt the bed. He guessed by the way that it sloped gently that she was sitting at the other end.

"Can I turn on the lights?" He asked.

In response to his question, he felt the bed shift slightly under his hand, and the bedside lamp clicked on. The dim orange light blanketed the room, and he saw Nya sitting on top of the sheets, eyeing him cautiously from the opposite side of the bed, one hand on the light switch. "What do you want?" She asked. Her voice was not particularly harsh, but it wasn't soft either. She was conflicted, caught between being afraid of him and feeling angry.

Zane found that his knees were knocking as he tentatively stepped forward. Facing a problem like this was more terrifying than going up against a hundred Nindroids with a-

He let out a grunt and pressed his palm to his forehead, panic and pain gripping him suddenly. Nindroids... How he despised them... It was ironic, since he happened to be one of them. He was so glad that they were gone. They had hurt his family so much already. It was good that Lloyd had taken out Cryptor when he did. Zane had not been sure that his sanity would have lasted much longer with the possibility of the dark android still lurking around every corner.

Zane opened his eyes and blinked in the dim lamp light, slowly regaining control again as the pain faded. "S-sorry," he stuttered, letting his hand drop to his waist. "How long did that one last?"

Nya sat up straight and hugged her knees to her chest. Her face was wet and tear stained from her crying. "Only a few seconds," she said meekly. "Are you okay?"

So she did still care, that was good. Zane allowed himself to breathe in a lungful of the seemingly tense, stale air as he took another step in her direction. "Don't worry about me," he said. "I'm fine, thank you." His voice was stiff and formal. He knew that Nya could sense his trepidation in the same way he felt hers. He had to break the ice somehow...

He sat down at the foot of the bed and stared at his feet, which rested on the floor, and sighed. "I am sorry, Nya." He said after it became evident that she was not going to be the first to speak. "I spoke without thinking earlier, and I wounded you deeply."

Against his better judgment, tears fell onto the clenched fists, which rested on his lap. But to his mild relief he found that he was not quite to the point of sobbing. They were silent tears, at least for the time being. "I know that it is too much to ask," he said. "But if you could find it in your heart to forgive me, Nya. I truly am sorry for what I did." The amount of tears that splashed against his hands every second suddenly doubled, though he still managed to keep back the sobs. "I-if you want me to leave you alone, I will." He said. "I'll go and eat by myself tonight. I could just bring up your meal, or..."

He trailed off, puzzled by Nya's expression. It was not angry and harsh. Her red, puffy eyes were soft and compassionate. She crawled across the bed and sat down next to him. Her arms went around his neck, and she pulled his face close to hers. "I forgive you, Zane." She whispered into his ear. "And I'm sorry too. Will you please forgive me?"

Zane nearly broke down into relieved sobs. He nodded slowly as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I forgive you," he said in a gentle voice. "Do you want to tell me your story now? I want to hear it." Actually, he really didn't. But he knew that he had to, so he tucked away all of the negative emotions and firmly told himself to behave for her sake. She needed someone to listen to her confession and that's exactly what he was going to do.

Nya bobbed her head once hesitantly and let go of his neck. "Okay," she said. Her chest gave a slight shudder as she suppressed a small sob.

Zane kissed her cheek softly and wrapped an arm around her middle. "I'll do my best to keep myself under control," he said. "No matter what you tell me."

Nya's head fell into her hands as she sobbed softly. She stayed like that for almost a full minute before she sat up and began her story. "Well," she said, voice trembling. "You already know the first part. Jay and I slept together about a month before his proposal. About three weeks later, I found out that I..." She hesitated, looked up at Zane's eyes for confirmation, and breathed deeply to calm herself.

"...I was pregnant." She said it barely above a whisper.

Zane's heart jolted. He looked back on those weeks before and directly after Jay's passing. She had always been a little nauseous, and didn't seem to have a good handle on her emotions. She had also been slower, with less energy to go throughout the day. Sure signs of pregnancy, misinterpreted as depression.

"I told Jay immediately," Nya continued. The tears dripped from her chin slowly and fell onto her lap. "He was such a good man. He promised to take care of me, and that the others would never know about what happened."

"How?" Zane interrupted, trying to keep his voice gentle for her sake. "How on earth could you keep such a thing a secret?"

"He proposed to me a few days later." Nya ignored his question and continued her confession. "He had planned on us getting married as soon as possible, so no one would know about how we had eloped." She laughed softly and shook her head. "Jay had been concerned about my health, since I'm so tiny that delivering a baby might be a problem. But he was so excited. He really wanted to be a father; the inconvenient timing did nothing to dampen his enthusiasm. He...told me several times that he could not wait to meet his child, and..." The memories overtook her like a flash flood, and she wiped her face dry with her sleeve as she attempted to compose herself.

"And his enthusiasm gave you hope," Zane finished. "You felt like you two shared his confidence, and that as long as he was there, you could manage the inconvenience of having a child?"

Nya shook her head fervently. "No, Zane." She said. "He did not see the child as an inconvenience. It was an opportunity and a joy, and I had never seen him more happy."

Through many hiccups, she managed to let in a deep breath, calming herself for about two seconds before she broke down again. "T-that's why..." She breathed deeply again as Zane gently rubbed her shoulder. "That's why I feel so terrible about giving it up."

Zane's heart caught in his throat. He had thought that maybe she had miscarried because of the shock of losing Jay, or because of her near death experience with the hypothermia. He knew that such things were possible. But this...

He forced himself to stay calm. He could not berate her now, in the middle of her story. He needed to be patient. "Why didn't you ever talk to us?" He asked. Even though he did his best, the shock and disapproval showed itself blatantly in his tone.

"I was scared," Nya said. Her voice was close to a whimper as she buried her head in her hands, hot tears dripping through her trembling fingers. "I didn't know how you guys would react, and I was ashamed. With Jay gone, there was no way to hide what I had done. The cover-up wouldn't work, since we hadn't been married yet."

"Didn't you want the child?" Zane asked.

"Of course I did," Nya answered. "Just as much as Jay did. But I didn't want to do it alone, Zane. Surely you understand that." She hesitated another moment before speaking again. "Are...are you angry?"

He wrapped both arms around her in a gentle embrace, pulling her close to his chest. "I am shocked by your actions. I don't think that you did the right thing, killing your own child. Surely you knew that both Kai and I would be there to help you through it. Your lack of trust in even your own brother disappoints me greatly. But no, I'm not angry." He kissed her cheek tenderly and gave her a squeeze. "I will continue to love you, no matter what."

Nya could not hide her relief. She choked on a sob and threw her arms around his neck, body shuddering uncontrollably. "I'm s-so sorry, Zane." She whispered through her tears. "What I...did was w-wrong. You are right, I should have come to you...and Kai for..." Her quiet sobs prohibited her from speaking any further.

Zane held her close, once again fighting tears. He felt a little bit absurd; him and Nya surely did more crying in a month than other couples might in two. But he had heard once that being in wars changes the way that the mind functions. A man who had gone through a war would not have as good of a handle on his emotions as another man who had never touched a weapon in his life. His time as a ninja, and Nya's as samurai, had messed with some serious stuff in both their heads. Crying frequently was only to be expected.

Zane rested his head in her hair and breathed deeply. Perhaps Nya is right, he thought. I think we both need a counselor.

"D-o you have anything else to say?" Nya asked, fighting to regain control, though she was failing miserably. "I-I think I am strong enough right now to t-take some scolding. Might as well get it over with."

Zane squeezed his eyes, shut, knowing that she was right. He could tell by her tone that she could take some gentle scolding without becoming too offended. It would still hurt, but he would be careful.

He gave his head an almost imperceptible shake. "That baby was your last tie to Jay," he said in the most gentle voice he could manage. "You killed your last chance of ever having Jay close to you in a physical way again."

"I know," Nya said. "I was a fool, killing my own child. There is no good excuse for what I did. I...I tell myself that I did it because I simply couldn't do it alone, but that is a lie. I had you, my brother, and Lloyd and Cole." She sniffed loudly. "None of you have ever let me down, and I know now that what I did was just plain murder. It was because of a selfish motive, and I can never forgive myself. You all would have helped me through it."

Zane drew a parallel between his situation and hers. He had pulled the trigger on six different men, women, and children in Cryptor's tent. Yes, it had been murder, but he had been working against his will, with no way out. Nya, on the other hand, had killed when she had several possible alternatives. She had acted on her own selfish motives, not out of a desire to save the lives of others, as Zane had done for the six who survived.

"Zane?" Nya spoke his name softly, voice still wavering with her sobs.

Zane's body shuddered slightly as he lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "Yes, Nya?" Of course he still loved her. Love was all about forgiveness and mercy. She could never fall too far for him to stop loving her.

His wife's deep brown eyes trembled with her lower lip as she whispered. "I want another chance."

Zane's eyes showed clear confusion. "Another chance at what?" He asked.

Nya's eyes darted to the wall, Zane's lap, then back to his eyes. "I want a baby."

Blue eyes rounded as they stared into brown. Zane began to quiver. It started at his eyes, then went to his lower lip, spreading from there to his limbs. She was asking him the impossible. They both knew that he could not give her that. It was the one thing he could not do.

"I can't," he whispered softly. "I'm so, so sorry, love. But you know I can't do that for you." He leaned in, and their foreheads pressed together. "I...I could give you other physical pleasures associated with your request, but we both know that a non-living object cannot create life."

Nya gave a short nod, rolling her skull against his for a brief moment. "We could adopt," she said. "Could we...maybe?"

Kai had suggested a similar thing the day before the wedding, Zane realized. 'There are other ways to get kids, you know,' he had said.

"Of course," Zane said. "A child would be wonderful. A girl?"

Nya lifted her chin, drawing her face closer to his. "I don't really care," she said. "I just want a child to share my love with, to compensate for the one I selfishly rejected."

"You know that's not possible," Zane said. "You can't compensate for something like that."

"I know that." Nya said, her voice growing desperate. "But I must try. Please?"

"Of course," Zane said quickly, his excitement growing. "We will both try." He had never said anything before, but ever since he had first proposed to Nya, he had often fantasized about starting a family with her. Having a house full of young ones to love and care for sounded like an adventure more appealing than anything he'd ever done as a ninja.

Zane felt a strange tug at his heart, as if there was a broken circuit in his body that was effecting the way he thought and felt. It was, once he gave it a few seconds of thought, very similar to the feeling he had coursing through him with their first kiss. So strange and foreign, even after all the months of intimacy between them. It was like someone had plugged him directly into a strong power source without a circuit breaker to control the flow.

"Nya," he said. "Forgive me if this seems off subject, but I must have an answer before we go to eat dinner."

"Yeah?" Nya's voice was still shaky, but seemed to be regaining its usual confidence.

"You do forgive me, right?" He asked. "For what I did to you earlier? I should not have shouted at you for-"

Nya pressed a finger to his soft lips and managed a weak smile. "Hush," she said. "Yes, frosty. I already said that I forgive you. Now please, just forgive yourself." She removed her finger from his lips and placed both hands on his firm chest. "You want to go an eat now?"

Zane glanced down at her hands, then back up at her face, brain almost too fried from that buzz to speak. He wondered if this was how all men felt when a woman was touching them. It truly was a wonderful feeling, but he didn't really want to be controlled by impulses right now. Remembering what had happened thirty minutes earlier, he knew that he needed to keep his mind firmly under his control.

He swallowed hard and gave a quick nod. "Y-yes," he said as soon as he found his voice. "Let's go eat." He tried to push her off of himself, but was mildly annoyed and embarrassed to find that he was frozen. His eyes shifted back down at her hands, then up at her face again as he waited silently for her to move.

Nya caught the glance. A sly grin lifted her lips. "Are you stuck?" She teased. She shifted her weight on his lap, and her knees were weighty on his lap.

Oh, that did it. Zane gave a short yelp and managed to squirm out of her grasp, gently disposing her on the bed. "N-not anymore," he said, face flushing.

Nya got to her feet and traced his pink cheek with a finger. "Well," she said. Her voice still quivered, and her face was still flushed from crying, but she had a relieved smile on her face. "If all is forgiven, then I agree. I'm sure it'll be a wonderful meal. Let's go eat."

Augh...happy endings get on my nerves. What on earth possessed me to come up with an ending that happy and complete? It's terrible.

So... Yeah. I hope that this chapter doesn't offend anybody, 'cuz that was definitely not my intention. Feel free to tell me your opinion, but be gentle.

I might be one of the first authors in the Ninjago fandom to touch on such a touchy subject as abortion, just throwing that out there.

I'm just special that way, I guess.

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