Staying in Times of Trouble {Book Two}

Chapter Ten: Nervousness

Aira plopped into her nearby chair. Lloyd was in the shower and she was waiting to brush her teeth.

"Lloyd, hurry up," she yelled.

"I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying," he yelled back.

The nice thing about their room was they had an on-suit, Meaning a bathroom. The rooms upstairs had one bathroom to two rooms. So Cole and Kai shared a bathroom. Jay and Lloyd used to but now Nya was upstairs so Jay got moved to Zane's old room. That way Skylor could have Jay's room and then Nya and her would share a bathroom. Zane, Pixal, and Kyle had moved to Skylor's old room downstairs because it was bigger and it had a private bathroom. Married couples got the better rooms but they needed them.

Lloyd exited the bathroom drying his hair. He looked so funny when his hair was wet. His hair was normally a messy waive. It looked nice but when his hair was wet it looked sort of lopsided.

"No hair jokes," he said. Ah, he knew her too well.

"Who said I was going to make hair jokes?" She giggled. "But I do need to brush meh teeth."

"Well, brush your teeth then," Lloyd laughed. "Gosh, it is so freaking hot in here! Has Jay fixed the AC yet?"

"Mhmmm," she mumbled. He took his shirt off and sat on the bed.

She couldn't exactly talk because her mouth was full of toothpaste. Suddenly she gagged and ran to the toilet. Lloyd looked at her alarmed. He came behind her and held her hair back as she vomited. She sat back up and leaned her head back against the cabinet.

"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked.

"For some reason, every now and then when I brush my teeth; I gag and hurl," she said. "At least I haven't been having serious morning sickness."

"Do you need cuddles," Lloyd said holding out his arms. "After you clean your mouth."

Aira laughed and nodded.

**********************************

"Have you found out anything?" Alita asked over Amaya's communication device.

"I've only been here a day," Amaya said exasperatedly. "But I did find out that Lloyd and Aira got married."

"That soon?!" Alita asked incredulously.

"Maybe they knew each other longer than we thought," Amaya said.

"I suppose," Alita said. "We can probably use that information to our advantage."

"Really good way to cause a rift," Amaya agreed. "Anyway to turn a ghost human again?"

"Not with out his body. If someone died and became a ghost they can be fixed but if someone was cursed to be a ghost it's irreversible as far as I know," Alita answered. "Why?"

"That earth ninja is a ghost," Amaya said. "I thought I could earn their trust by turning him human again but I guess that's out for the count."

"Hmmm, yes," Alita said. "Don't get to close to anyone."

"Oh, please, they are all so stupid," Amaya said scornfully. "Why would I do that?"

"Just making sure."

***********************************

"Daddy!"

Lloyd turned toward the sound. He couldn't see anything but for some reason he knew the voice was calling him.

"Daddy, help me!"

Lloyd felt frantic. He didn't know why.

"Daddy, they are hurting me! Why aren't you saving me!"

All of a sudden the scene vanished and he was in a room with Aira. She was sobbing.

"You couldn't protect your own child!" She screamed.

"Aira, I tried!" He heard himself saying.

"You were never cut out to be a father!"

Lloyd shot up. He was shaking and breathing heavily. Aira sat up and looked at him groggily.

"Lloyd?"

"It's nothing. I'm sorry I woke you," he said running a hand through his hair.

"Did you have one of your nightmares?" Aira asked her face filled with concern. "I thought they went away months ago?"

"It was just one. It's probably nothing," he said laying back down.

"Okay," she said skeptically.

Lloyd laid awake long after Aira had gone back to sleep. He really hoped he wasn't going to start having nightmares again. He noticed that when he was scared of something he tended to dream about it. It was actually kind of annoying. He knew what he was scared of. He was scared about being a father. He was scared he wasn't going to be able to protect his family.

Lloyd finally got up and threw a robe on. He didn't want to just walk around with no shirt on. He walked past his dad's meditation room and noticed a light underneath the door. He opened the door and saw his dad sitting on top of his staff.

"What are you doing awake, Dad?" Lloyd asked.

"I could ask you the same question," Garmadon answered.

"I just can't sleep," Lloyd shrugged.

"Why can't you sleep?" Garmadon asked still not opening his eyes.

"I had one of my nightmares again," Lloyd said.

"You have nightmares regularly?"

"Actually I hadn't had them for a while. Not since I told Aira about them. But I had one tonight," he said.

"Your scared?"

"I wouldn't say I'm scared," Lloyd said laughing nervously.

"Yes, you are. I had nightmares as well at your age when I was scared," Garmadon said finally looking up. His gaze pierced Lloyd. Almost as if he was looking straight through him.

"I'm not so much scared as I am-"

"Well, something is troubling you," Garmadon said.

"I think it's just daddy nerves," Lloyd said.

"Oh, I know those all to well," Garmadon said laughing. "I had many sleepless nights when I first found out you were on the way."

"Most expectant father's probably do," Lloyd said trying to turn the focus off of himself.

"I'm still getting used to hearing you say that," Garmadon said.

"Me too," Lloyd laughed. "It's like, 'this is my wife,' what the heck! I have a wife! And, 'I'm going to he a dad,' I mean it's so crazy!"

"You're funny, Lloyd," Garmadon smiled.

"You never answered why you were up," Lloyd said.

"Do I need one?" Garmadon asked. "You should probably return and try to at least get a little sleep."

"You're right," Lloyd said. "Goodnight, Dad."

Lloyd walked out of the room and back towards his room. A shadow moved in the hallway. Amaya knew Alita would probably be please with this news.

A/n- is anyone else confused by Amaya? I'm the writer and I'm even confused by Amaya ;) just a random fact: sometimes when writing, an author may have a different idea for a character but as they are writing, the character just seems to morph in a different direction. Authors go with the flow! :) -LL_17