Cole's P.O.V.:

I woke up to my daughter right in front of me. She was already dressed and I could tell she was really excited because today was her birthday.

"Daddy, Daddy get up! It's my birthday!" Allison said excitedly.

I was excited too because Seliel was coming home today. It had been so long since we've seen her and it was really hard to keep it a secret all week, but I only had to keep my mouth shut for a few more hours. According to her texts, she was gonna be staying here a whole week so I had a lot of activities planned for her, me and Allison.

"Good morning cupcake. Happy birthday." I said sitting up.

"Thanks. Come on Daddy, we have to get ready for my party!" She exclaimed.

"Allison, I know you're excited but you're party isn't for a few more hours."

"Aw ok." My daughter sighed.

"I'll tell you what. How about you go get ready and I'll take you out for breakfast at Pancake House?"

"Really? Yay! Thank you Daddy!" She hugged me.

"You're welcome." I smiled. "Alright, now go get ready."

She zoomed out of the room and went to get ready. Then I got dressed and ready to go myself and once we were both done I flew us to the Pancake House in Ninjago City on my dragon. We set down and got a table and the waiter came up to us and we ordered.

"So are you excited about your party today?" I asked my daughter.

"Yeah, I just wish Mom was here for my party." She sighed.

"You know she wants to be here cupcake she's just..."

"Busy? Yeah I know." She sighed. "I'll just try to make the best of it I guess."

"That's the spirit." I encouraged her.

I wanted to tell her about Seliel's visit so bad, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise. It was so hard to see Allison like that, but it would all be worth it when Seliel arrived later today.

"So good news, all your friends can come to your party." I said trying to lift her spirits.

"That is good news." She smiled.

We had invited everyone to her party that she met at the meeting. All of my team and their kids were coming so I was really excited. The other ninja knew about Seliel's visit so it was going to be fun. Kira said Ryder was sick in bed last week, but he was feeling better so he would be there.

Nya and Kira had gone to the mall yesterday to help me pick out a present for her while Jay babysat for me. We ended up getting her a pink mountain bike with a matching helmet. Seliel and I both had one and now she was finally old enough to get one. It was the perfect present.

Once we were done with breakfast, we stopped by the bakery and picked up her cake then I flew her back home. The other ninja arrived with there kids and we got the party started. We had plenty of games for the kids to play.

After the kids got done with their games, something amazing happened. A smoke bomb went off in the middle of the room. The kids were a bit confused, but me and the other ninja knew exactly what was going on. That was Seliel in her phantom ninja suit. She always had a way of making an entrance.

"Wow Allison, I didn't know you had a magician at your party." Amber said.

"Me neither. Must be my dad's idea." Allison shrugged.

The smoke cleared and revealed Seliel in her phantom ninja suit. She took off her helmet and Allison's jaw dropped.

"Surprise." Seliel smiled.

"MOMMY!" Allison screamed and jumped into her arms with the biggest smile on her face.

"Hey All-Star. Happy birthday." Seliel smiled.

"I missed you Mommy." My daughter said hugging her.

"I've missed you too sweetie." Seliel said.

"So have I." I said as I joined the group hug.

"Hey rocky." She kissed me.

I was so happy Seliel was back. I had my family back together.

We continued with the party and we got to the cake. It was really good cake. I had my wife back, my daughter was happy, I was with all my friends, and I was eating cake. It turned out to be the best party ever.

Then Allison got to open her presents. Kai and Skylor's family had gotten her a pair of roller skates and Lloyd's family gave her a LEGO set. The Walkers got her an art kit and Zane, Pixal and Alex got her a book, they weren't the best at giving gifts but Allison was happy with it. Then it was time to show her our present.

"Allison, we have one more present to show you." I told her.

"But I already got a present, Mommy's my present." She said hugging Seliel.

"Awe sweetheart, I'm happy to be here too." Seliel said picking her up. "Let's go see what daddy got you ok?"

She nodded and Seliel and I took her out front. Everyone else followed us outside where we had her bike set up with a big bow on it. Allison's eyes lit up with excitement and she ran to the bike.

"Wow! My very own mountain bike!" She exclaimed.

"Don't forget the helmet." I said as I pulled it out and put it on her head.

"Thanks Daddy. Thanks Mommy." She hugged us.

"I'm glad you like it cupcake." I said.

All of the kids started to surround Allison and they all checked out her new bike. They all really liked it just as much as she did.

Everyone went back home after the party and then Seliel and I helped Allison set up her new bike and taught her how it worked. She had been riding bikes since she three and without training wheels since she was four so she already knew how to do it.

We took her for a short ride around the neighborhood and Seliel and I enjoyed every minute of it. It wasn't that often that we all got to do things together as a family, so we were enjoying getting to spend time with one another.

When we got back home, me, Seliel and Allison got to catch up a bit.

"Hey Allison. I got one last present for you." Seliel said.

"But I don't need another present. I have you here." Allison hugged her.

"Awe, I missed you too sweetheart." She smiled and hugged her back. "That's why I got you this."

Seliel reached into her backpack and looked around for something. Then pulled out a giant egg.

"Is that what I think it is?" I asked.

"Yep." Seliel smirked.

"You got me an egg?" Allison sounded confused.

"Not just any egg, a dragon egg. When it hatches you'll have your very own dragon." Seliel said.

"Really?" Allison smiled.

"Yep, happy birthday sweetie." Seleil gave her a hug.

"Thanks Mommy." Allison said.

"Seliel, we never talked about getting her a dragon." I said.

"I know, but I found the egg on one of my trips to Medalonia and It didn't have a mother so I thought it would be nice to give this little guy a home." She explained. "Plus I know you used to have a dragon yourself, so I thought it would be a nice surprise for you too."

"Ok but dragons are a lot of responsibility. You have to feed it and take it flying and clean up after it. It's a lot of work." I told them.

"Relax Daddy, I can take care of it." Allison boasted.

"Alright." I sighed. "I can't say no to my little cupcake on her birthday."

"Yay! Thank you Daddy!" My daughter hugged me.

"But you have to take care of it. Ok?" I said.

"Of course Daddy, I promise." She nodded.

Later that night after Seliel tucked Allison into bed, I got the chance to talk to her. I caught her up on everything that was going on. I told her how Kira returned, how she and Skylor were expecting babies, and about how Zane and Pixal had built Alex.

"Wow, I sure have missed a lot." She sighed. "I'm sorry I've been so busy lately."

"Hey, it's ok." I said. "I know how much your village means to you."

"Thanks." She smiled. "Sorry about the dragon egg, it was kind of a last minute thing."

"It's ok, it's actually kind of exciting." I admitted. "Do you know what kind of dragon it is?"

"Karlof told me it was an earth dragon." She explained. "I figured that was appropriate considering she's getting your powers and everything."

"Really? It's an earth dragon?" I asked excitedly.

"Yep. Are you mad?"

"Of course I'm not mad." I smiled "It's a really nice surprise. Thank you."

We shared a hug and went off to bed. It was really nice to have Seliel back and I know Allison was happy too. I knew she would have to go back to Nom soon, so we were gonna spend every second we had together until she had to leave in a week.

When we got up the next morning we took Allison to breakfast and then we went on a bike ride so Allison could break in her new bike. We had a blast and me and Allison were so happy to hang out with Seliel again. I was so happy that we got to spend time together as a family again.

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I've always considered Cole and Seliel as a military family of sorts in this series, so this chapter goes out to all military families who are doing everything they can and making sacrifices for their country. Thank you for your service. 🙂🎦🐉

~Awesomespecs21