Aaand another update... as said before, I have a lot to catch up on :).
Couldn't find a better chapter title, so I've just called it Part 2 😄. If anyone has another suggestion, please let me know!
Continuing from the previous author' Note, this is the last one-shot related to this storyline in this book. I really want to continue this storyline, but just not exclusively for this couple, so it will be continued in a separate book. And that one will then lead up to yet another upcoming book... [I am working on a Next Gen fic (the winner of a poll on wattpad), the first part of that will focus on the Ninja's kids as little children.]
As for this book, I am of course still going to continue writing one-shots for my favourite couple, and if you have any requests/suggestions, please send them to me (PM for registered users please).
Breaking the News (Part 2)
"How are you feeling, Nya?" Jay turned his head to face the rather pale raven-haired woman sitting behind him. "Holding up alright?"
Flying through the Sea of Sands, the newly married couple were on their way to see Jay's parents for lunch – and to share some exciting news with them. But Nya was not feeling very hungry right now.
"Stop moving around." She groaned, struggling to suppress the feeling of nausea rising up her throat.
Even the slightest movement of the Lightning Master caused his elemental dragon to wobble. And needless to say, Nya was not happy about this. She was resting her chin on her husband's shoulder, the arms tightly wrapped around his midsection and her eyes fixed on the horizon straight ahead.
Although she didn't like to depend on anyone else – not even on her husband – the pregnant Water Ninja had agreed to ride with Jay on his Lightning Dragon today, feeling too unwell to control her own or even their hybrid dragon.
"Sorry, love." Jay apologised. He chuckled. "Please don't throw up on me."
"Believe me, I am trying my best." Nya stated dryly. "Although it might be a good training for when we will have a baby..."
"Ugh, not looking forward to that part." Jay remarked, trying to steady his suddenly rather shaky hands. As much as he was ecstatic to start a family with the love of his life, he was also incredibly nervous about the prospect of becoming a father. "You think you'll be okay?"
"Are you talking about having our child puke on me or the visit to your parents?" Nya laughed. For some reason, Jay always found a way to make her feel better, even if it was involuntarily.
"The latter." He replied. "We can worry about the other part at a later stage."
"I agree." Nya smiled. "And don't worry, it should be alright once we're at the junkyard. I've had the same kind of motion sickness coming home from our honeymoon. And I wouldn't want to disappoint your parents."
The older Walkers were very excited to have their son and daughter-in-law over for a visit, they hadn't seen their son and his new wife since their wedding three weeks ago.
"You are right." Jay said fondly. "I love you, Nya."
"I love you too. But I will love you even more, if you promise me a smooth flight back."
When Ed & Edna's Scrap N Junk finally came into sight, Jay slowly descended the dragon and gently landed it right in front of his parents' trailer. He helped Nya slide off before dispelling it.
Nya sighed in relief as her feet finally touched solid ground – or at least the warm sand – again. She waved at her parents-in-law, who must have heard them arrive as they were just coming down the stairs outside their home.
"Hello, son." They waved back. "And Nya, so wonderful to see our lovely new daughter-in-law."
Nya smiled happily hearing them address her that way. But as soon as she started to slowly walk over to them, the young woman suddenly started to feel another rush of nausea.
"Oh no, not again..." She muttered, and, pressing a hand over her mouth, rushed past the puzzled Ed and Edna into the trailer.
"Oh, dear. What's the matter with Nya?" Edna asked her son. "Is she not feeling well?"
"Hi dad, Sorry, ma. I'll explain later." Jay gave his mother a quick kiss on her cheek before he sprinted after his wife.
He found her in the small bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. The Master of Lightning sat down on the side of the bathtub, trying to keep the short black hair out her face with one hand and gently rubbing her back with the other.
"Thank you." Nya said as Jay helped her stand up. He flushed the toilet, while she splashed some cold water in her face. "Can you please give me the toothbrush?" She asked.
Jay handed her a toothbrush and toothpaste Nya had started carrying in her purse.
"I'll be outside, okay?" Jay planted a kiss in her hair and left the room. His parents were sitting on the bench in the main room.
"Is Nya alright?" Edna asked. "I have put on the kettle to make some tea, if she wants."
"Thank you, mum." Jay embraced his mother.
"Thanks, Edna. That would be great." Nya was standing in the doorframe, weakly smiling at the (other) three Walkers. "And don't worry, I'm alright."
Despite her claims that she was perfectly fine, the Water Ninja soon found herself on the old, yet still very comfortable couch, her back supported by all the cushions available, and her feet propped up on a stool. A cup of tea and some toast were standing on a small table right next to her.
"I am so sorry." Nya mumbled, carefully nibbling on a slice of toast.
"Oh, don't be. We are sorry to see you unwell." Edna retorted. She and her husband had moved some chairs from the dining table to sit opposite the ailing young woman. "And it's not like we haven't never had that before." She nodded at her son, who sat next on the sofa to his wife. "When this one here was still a little boy, he got sick all the time. Do you remember that one time we went to the funfair and..."
"Yes, how could I ever forget about that?" Jay remarked. "You mention it every single time when someone throws up. Or even when nobody is sick."
"Oh, I love that story." Nya giggled, leaning against him. She had heard it numerous times already.
"Sounds like you are feeling a lot better already." Jay wrapped his arm around her and planted a kiss on her temple.
"How could I not, with all that amazing care?"
"Glad to see you having some colour in your face again." Edna remarked. "I do hope it's nothing serious though. There's a lot of nasty stuff going around at the moment..."
"What?" Ed involuntarily scooted away from the young couple.
"Don't worry, it's not contagious." Nya smiled at him.
"You sure about that?" The elderly inventor was not entirely convinced.
"Absolutely." Nya chuckled. "Although that would be funny..."
Jay removed his arm from her shoulder and gently took her hand into his.
"Mum, dad. We... uhm... well... you know... uhm..." He choked out.
"What my eloquent husband is trying to say." Nya took over. "The reason I haven't been well recently is that... we're having a baby."
"Oh, Nya darling. This is wonderful." Edna excitedly jumped up and towards the sofa. Remembering the other woman's conditions, she embraced both Nya and Jay in a very careful hug. "I am so happy for you two." She exclaimed, a few tears glistening in her eyes as she turned to her husband. "Ed, did you hear that?"
"I did, Edna." Her husband said, slowly moving his chair closer again. "Congratulations, son and Nya. Couldn't be more happy for ye."
"Have you told your brother parents?" Edna wanted to know, sitting down again. "I bet Maya was delighted as well."
"We told them when they were over at the temple yesterday." Nya nodded. "Mum was very happy, yes. Dad, well, not so much at first, but he's fine with it now."
"Ah, he still has more than enough time to get used to the idea." Edna agreed. "How far along are you, by the way?"
"Eight weeks." Nya replied. "I can't wait to get to the second trimester, this so-called morning sickness that sometimes lasts for the whole day is not fun at all." She quickly added, wanting to avoid another discussion about the fact that she had gotten pregnant before she and Jay were married.
"I wish I could give you some advice on that, my dear." Edna told her. "But sadly, Ed and I never got to experience all this ourselves. I won't complain though, we were still blessed with a wonderful adoptive son and a lovely daughter-in-law. And now our family keeps growing again..."
"I am very happy to be a part of your family." Nya smiled. "And don't worry. I am sure you will be able to give us lots of advice when the baby's born."
"Of course, we will support you in any way we can." Edna beamed. "We even should still have some of Jay's old baby stuff lying around somewhere... we can look for them after lunch."
"As you have said yourself, there is still plenty of time before we will need any of that." The Master of Lightning was not too keen on finding out what items exactly his parents had kept. "But on the other hand, it's not that long until lunchtime..."
"You are right, honey." His mother agreed. "I'd better check on my roast. And take care of the vegetables."
"We will help you." Nya offered.
"Oh, no, my dear. You are staying right where you are." Edna insisted. "Ed will set the table, and Jay can give me a hand in the kitchen."
As instructed, the blue Ninja followed his mother into the kitchen.
"Oh, this is just wonderful." She repeated. "You two must be so happy."
And so was Edna. Still remembering how devastated her son – in fact, the whole family – had been after Jay's break-up from Nya, the elderly woman was delighted that the two had made up again in the end. She still didn't understand how and when exactly that had happened, but it didn't matter anyway. What mattered was that they were together, stronger than ever and obviously very much in love with each other. There was no doubt that this time, their relationship would last. The older Mrs Walker was absolutely sure about that, and even more so after hearing the exciting news this morning.
"We are. We both really wanted this, and having a family with Nya really is all I've ever wished for." Jay smiled. "But... please don't tell Nya, she already has enough on her plate. I am also totally scared and it takes a lot not to freak out about it all the time. Sure, we do have a lot of time to get ready for the baby, but I am just not confident I'll be a good father. First of all, I am everything but a very patient person. I'm not as bad as Kai, sure, but still bad enough. And I'll probably be doing a lot of things wrong. And a baby is not like a machine, you can't just fix it when you mess up."
"Don't worry, honey. You will be fine, where's your positive thinking?" Edna reassured her son. "Just look how amazingly you are taking care of Nya right now, I am so proud of you. And a baby is actually a lot more robust than it may appear. Also, you will grow with the task. Your father and I were completely unprepared when, all of a sudden, we found that cutest little baby boy on our doorstep." She sighed. "Ed and I, we-we've made so many mistakes at the beginning. Sometimes I even thought that we should give you the chance to grow up with people who know more about taking care of a child and who could give you a better home. Especially a safer home than a junkyard in the middle of the desert. I was worried that it was selfish of us to keep you, but we loved you way too much to give you away..." Edna took off her glasses to wipe her eyes. "And now look what a wonderful young man you have become."
"I love you and dad very much, too." Jay hugged his mother. "And I am so glad that you were selfish and didn't give me up."
"Really?" His mother sounded surprised.
"Of course, ma. I am so, so sorry if I sometimes didn't show it – and maybe I didn't always appreciate it either – but I couldn't have wished for any better parents or a better home than this here."
"You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that." Edna beamed. "And I know that you and Nya will make the best parents for your child."
"Thanks, ma." Jay smiled. "I am feeling a lot more confident about it already."
"Glad to hear that, son. And never forget that you can always count on us."
"We won't. Whatever happens, one thing is for sure. Our child will definitely have the four best grandparents in all of Ninjago."