{Location: The Mayor's house}(Dawn's POV)[Years ago]
"Honey," James playfully brushed hair out of my face, "You feeling ok?"
I can't help but chuckle. Ever since I hit month 9, James checks up on me every 5 seconds.And that's on top of his job and him reserving future doctor classes for me. "I'm fine," I lean up, so far the living room and the kitchen are finished. And the bedrooms don't have beds, making James and I have to sleep on the couch, "And so is the baby."
James pulls out a long sheet of paper, "We still need to decide on a baby name."
"I know, but the baby's gender is still a surprise, remember." I feel my eyes flicker around. Am I ready to bring a child into this world? With the distant but ever-present threat of Chen. Maybe I'll be horrible and my kid will hate me. Can I do this? Can I be a good mom if I'm not a good person?
"I know," James holds his hands up in mock defense, "But what do you think she'll want to be when she gets older?"
"How can you be sure it's a she?" I slowly push myself off the couch, I really have to use the restroom. "What if it's a he?" I waddle towards the restroom.
"I just have a feeling." James leans back to stretch.
I smile as I turn on the sink to wash my face. I bend over when my lower region begins cramping up. There's a small puddle under me as the pain is indescribable. But then it goes away. I dry my face, going nice and slow as another cramp hits. I waddle to the doorway, "James," He perks up, should I even tell him? It could be a false alarm. I may not even- ouch! Nope, not a false alarm, "I think it's time."
James jumps hits his knee on the coffee table as his jaw drops to the floor, "WHAT!? YOU'RE NOT DUE FOR ANOTHER TWO WEEKS!"
I'm able to breathe for a second before the contractions come back, "I don't think the kid can read a calendar." I waddle a little into the hallway as James holds still, "Well, aren't you gonna get the baby bag?"
"Oh, right." James charges upstairs as I slowly wobble to the car. James is like a tornado, grabbing snacks, baby bottles and a large white and pink duffle bag. I grab the keys from the counter as he now runs around in his boxers. I climb into the passenger side as I try to keep my lips button and not scream.
Was this a bad idea? I'm not ready to be a Mom. This kid will always be in danger because of me. James is one thing, whoever comes out soon is another matter. I can't be a Mom. I'll fail. I patiently wait in the car as James throws things in the back then jumps into the driver's seat.
He pats around, "Keys, keys, keys," His voice rises.
"Honey," I hold up a long black and silver car key, "Here."
"Oh thank goodness," James grabs them, starts the car, runs out to open the garage door then runs back to back up, "Can you call the hospital?"
"Crystal Pass doesn't have a hospital." I grunt as the contraction fades, "The closest one is in Kona."
James almost breaks the speed limits as we fly through Crystal to the highway out, "We're just gonna have to gun it."
Oh boy, here comes another, "I don't know how far we can make it." I scream. Good glory this hurts. My body wants to lurch up but can't from the seat belt.
"Just hold it in or something." James almost launches us off the cliff as police light follow us, "Perfect." James pulls over and quickly explains the situation. He wins the cop over, who leads us down the mountain, clearing a way for us.
James comes back and puts the pedal to the medal with the cop.
I don't know if I can do this.
What am I doing?
I can't be a Mom.
{Location: Crystal Pass Elementary School}(Seliel's POV)[Present day]
"Hey," I smack the teacher. He's still out cold. Crystal Pass is in total lockdown due to the fact there's me nutso ex-boyfriend still in town hall. Parents are coming for their kids but at the speed of molasses running uphill. I don't mind hanging around kids, except they won't stop staring at me, "Wake up."
A little boy with light brown hair and a green t-shirt takes a break from taking deep breaths in a paper bag, "The only way to wake Mr. Little now is to swipe his lesson book and then mess with it."
I tap my voice changer, kids have a habit blabbing on, "Lesson book?"
"Yeah," A little girl in a pink dress and pigtail pulls out a black binder, "Now, I say next Monday, we have all day recess!"
The remaining kids cheer. The teacher wakes up and clenches his heart. He snatches his lesson planer back, "Sorry. I believe we have a long enough break already." He must be from New Ninjago City from the thick accent he has.
With the teacher up it's time for me to give Victor his welcome to office knockout punch. I turn when a group of kids latches on to me.
"Don't go." The little boy gives me the puppy-dog eyes.
A little girl with blond hair and grey eyes sticks out her lip, "We feel safe with you."
"Yeah," Pink girl pretends to sniffle, "And all Mr. Little does is talk about the Ninja. Ninja this, ninja that." She turns to stick her tongue out as the teacher folded his arms, "It gets annoying."
"I don't see why!" Mr. Little's voice growls with frustration and slight annoyances, "What's the problem with little kids looking up to perfectly good role models?"
I sigh, start to pull off the kids then fold my arms, "The thing is, there was an attack a while ago, a lot of things went wrong. And no one really came to save us. We did what we could but I guess the only thing worse than not meeting your heroes is them not coming when you need them."
"Oh," Mr. Little rubs his chin, "I guess it is kinda hard to look up to someone when they create abandonment." Then a smirk slides onto his face, "Maybe I should start using the Phantom Ninja as a more suited role model."
Embarrassed blush heats my cheeks. I've never really thought about who watches me. I just did whatever I have to do. "I'm sure there are lots of people that have a more honorable lifestyle."
"I don't think these little ones care about honor," His smirk grows wider as the kids grab my legs again, "Just seeing someone with courage take action."
My face keeps heating up, I'm the Phantom Ninja, I go where danger is, fight the good fight, and never leave the ones I care for. "Speaking of action, I have a certain problem to fix."
The little pink girl whimpers, "Can't you stay and protect us?"
I shoo away the kids, kneel down and hold her shoulder, "I would love to stay. But I have to protect everyone. All the Mommies, Daddies and kiddos." I tap her nose with my index finger then stand up, "I promise, The Yellow Tiger crossed the last line. And I'll make sure they leave with their tails between their legs." I turn to run as kids actually cheer me on.
I make it a block away from the school before realizing that Townhall is much further away. I sigh a little before slowing down to walking speed, "I really need my own ride."
Then a beat-up gold mini-van pulls up next to me, Ethen in the driver's seat with Marci right next to him, "Need a ride?"
I pull open the door, "Yeah." I hop in, standing in the middle instead of sitting down, "Wait, what are you doing here?"
Ethen pulls out into the street, "That's a long story. Right now I just want to get you to Town Hall."
Marci pokes her head out as she has nuts and bolts scattered on her seat, "Speaking of which, we're gonna need a plan."
I smirk as I pull my helmet off, "I have a few ideas." I think I'm getting better at this planning thing.
{Location: Town Hall}(AJ's POV)
The Mayor holds out a small rusty key that looks like it belongs in the old west. "Now time for 37th attempt to freedom." He sticks the key in the keyhole in my cuffs.
"You know the saying, 37th times the charm." I roll my eyes. Julia has done a wonderful job of keeping the guard busy and Victor must still be angry. But this is becoming very boring. Try, fail, try, fail, try-Click. The left cuff falls off, "Well, I guess 37th times the charm."
"Finally," The Mayor takes off the right cuff, "Now, help me down."
I start digging my nails under the tape, "It would be my pleasure." I get a grip on two, "As soon as I pull, someone might hear. And we have a long way to go if we're going to get passed Victor."
"And the window is not good. Unless we can both survived a two-story drop."
I rip the tape off. The sound is very loud but no one has come yet, I keep pulling, which also takes off the of the paint on the wall and a few buttons on the Mayor's suit, "Well, Seliel survived a five-story drop."
"She gets that from her Mom." The Mayor rubs his wrist as I walk over to the window. I just need some rope or something. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not as athletic as either of them."
"Don't worry about a thing," We're just gonna have to free climb. Unless we have the time to make a ladder out of staples and post-it notes, "I have to be the athletic one." I look below, we're clear. The Mayor steps over grabs my hand as I lower him to a league. He's barely on it but it'll have to do. Next, I swing myself over and slowly stand next to him.
He looks pale in the daylight, "That wasn't so bad, what's next?"
I look over my shoulder, neither of us can lower the other without tumbling off. "We have to jump." I can't see a good spot to land, I really hope I'm lucky right now. I do a tiny jump and land in the tall grass. Not my best landing on how hard I hit the ground but I shake it off. I wave for the Mayor to follow me. He closes his eyes then jumps. He slams harder than I do and holds his rear. "I guess I'm not as young as I use to be."
"You did fine. Now, to get you to safety." I look around my belt, I have to have something. Oh yeah, I pull out my pepper spray, the only thing that wasn't taken from me. It'll have to do. I walk forward, holding the pepper spray out like a gun. I keep to the back with the Mayor right behind me.
I pause behind a small shed. The Mayor slams right next to me, "Why are we stopping?"
"Seliel thinks you're still in townhall," I manage to pull out his cell phone for him, "Call her and let her know that you're safe."
He starts dialing as I look back and forth, making sure we're safe. I tiptoe forward, stopping only to hide behind house. The Mayor comes along but he's slow. If I could get him to the clinic, he'd be safe. The first time I saw that thing, I thought it was an armored hospital. We'll be more than safe from dummies being lead by a dummy.
Slowly but surely, we make our way to the clinic. The Mayor redials Seliel as I carefully open the door. We get inside where it's super dusty and hard to see anything. The Mayor heads to the back for a better signal as I lock the door then barricaded it, "Oh, Seliel. Finally." He goes on to explain the situation as I double check all the entrances in here.
Then I come across a picture. I recognize an older woman who looks like Seliel but without the blue strip, but this lady also looks like she's relieved as she is handed a college degree.
"Oh, so that's where this picture is," The Mayor puts the phone away and picks up the picture.
I hold on to my pepper spray but relax a little, "Who is that?"
"I always forget they you weren't here when Dawn was. Dawn is...was my wife. She had a very troubled past but she wanted more. She didn't want to be stuck in the same place, being the same person, after she had Seliel, she enrolled in a few medical classes. And least to say, she found her calling. But she wouldn't have done it if she didn't want to better herself."
I feel like there's some subtle point here. Sure, I love my life here in Crystal Pass. But what happens after Victor gets the boot? There's not much crime and with Seliel here, I may not actually have a reason here. But I want to be an officer. It's been my dream since I was a little kid and only strengthened by seeing the Phantom Ninja work. "Are you trying to make a point or trying to my sappy?"
The Mayor has a gentle smile on his face, "Maybe both." He brushes the picture, "Being Mayor of a small town is hard but once I had it master, I starting watching my fellow law enforcers closely. And I don't think that you belong on the C.P.P.D. forever. You've more built for someplace with more people."
"Like where? New Ninjago City?" I meant it to be sarcastic but it comes out as hopeful. That wouldn't be so bad. I guess there's more to do there. And it's not a bad idea. But I just settled into my life, between helping Seliel and Marci and being a cop. Maybe after this que, the police force won't be as needed.
"I do have a few friends there." The Mayor rubs his chin, "And I think they do have a few openings. Maybe it is worth a look into." He folds his arms, "You never know how much one change can affect your life." His eyes glance at the picture one more time.
I guess it is worth thinking about.
{Location: Kona Village}(Dawn's POV)[Years ago]
James slams the breaks as he pulls into an open parking stall. I'm screaming as paramedics come out with a wheelchair. I cradle my stomach with one hand and squeeze the armrest to death. The paramedic pushes me into the hospital as James looks like a pack mule with all our things. I can't do this. I'm too messed up to be a Mom. What if Chen uses her against me? What if Edward Nom figures out I lied and take revenge on my little one? What if I am not meant to be a Mom? "I can't have this baby," I tell the closest paramedic.
He shrugs his shoulders as I'm moved to a bed and James signs us in, "I don't think you have a choice."
"You don't understand," I grunt as I feel several kicks from in me, "I can't be a Mom. I won't do anything good. I can't do anything right."
The Paramedic rolls his eyes slightly as I'm placed in a room, "Do you think that you'll support him or her through anything?"
"Yeah." I feel the contraction fade as doctors race around.
"Do you think that you'll be there for whatever they might need?"
"Yes."
"What about dedicating your life to this kid. Helping them no matter what it means to you."
"Of course."
"Lady," He smiles as the curtains close, "You're going to be a fine Mom." He leaves with his partner as the doctor smiles at me.
He pulls on his rubber gloves, "I'm Dr. Ling. What's your name?"
A stronger contraction comes on, I grunt/scream out, "DAWN. DAWN QUARTZSTONE!"
"Nice to meet you." Dr. Ling points to something I can't see then I squeeze my eyes shut, "Are you ready to deliver?"
I don't think I am. But I nod as the contraction keeps climbing higher on the pain index.
"Wonderful, Now," He goes into more talk as nurses and other doctors grab things.
I guess this time I don't have a choice, I am going to deliver this child whether I like it or not.