This takes place during the first Generations book when Kira came back. Enjoy and merry Christmas!

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Lloyd's P.O.V.:

"Daddy! Daddy! Wake up it's Christmas!"

I opened my eyes to my son who was jumping up and down. He was so excited and for good reason. Today was Christmas Eve, Ryder's favorite holiday.

To be honest, I had never been a fan of Christmas until Ryder came along. Before I was a dad, the holidays always reminded me about my father and how he was never around during Christmas except for that one year he was good.

It got even worse when Kira disappeared. My mom and I had always done our best to make sure Ryder was happy on Christmas, and he always was, but it was really hard for me to be happy.

But this year was different. Kira was back! I had everything I wanted for Christmas, I got to spend it with my wife and my new baby on the way.

Kira was in the third month of her pregnancy and things were looking good. We were expecting our baby sometime in August and we were all so excited. We didn't know if the baby was a boy or a girl because we couldn't decide if we wanted to know or keep it a surprise. Kira really wanted to know and I didn't so it kept getting pushed off to a later date, but I guess we'll find out sooner or later.

Of course, I still had a broken leg from what happened at the realm of madness, but I could walk on it with a brace so it wasn't too bad. Either way, this was looking like the best Christmas ever.

"Hey bud, tomorrow is Christmas, today is Christmas Eve." I told him.

"Awe man." He pouted. "So no presents?"

"Your dad and I will let you open one present tonight if you're good." Kira smiled.

"Yay!" Ryder shouted and ran out of the room.

"Sorry Ryder woke you up." I apologized to Kira. "He's always happy around the holidays."

"It's ok, I missed this." She smiled. "I'm so happy to spend Christmas with you again."

"Same here." I smiled.

Kira got up and helped me put a brace on my leg. She helped me out of bed and walked me to the kitchen where my mom was making her traditional Christmas tree shaped pancakes.

"Good morning guys, Merry Christmas Eve." My mom smiled.

"Merry Christmas Eve Mom." I said.

"Merry Christmas Eve Misako." Kira said. "It's so nice to spend Christmas with you all again."

"And we're glad to spend it with you again." I kissed her cheek.

"Yeah! With Mommy here, it's gonna be the best Christmas ever!" Ryder exclaimed as he hugged Kira.

"I'm excited too. And next year you're gonna have a little sibling to share it with." Kira smiled and rubbed her stomach.

"You mean our family is gonna get bigger?" He asked.

"Yep, and your little brother or sister is gonna love you."

"I can't wait!" He yelled.

It was so nice to see Ryder excited about the new baby. Kira and I didn't have any biological siblings, so Ryder didn't have a lot of family on either side other than the other ninja. I think a little sibling was exactly what he needed especially after him and I were all by ourselves for the longest time. I was so happy he wouldn't be all alone for any more Christmases.

"How are you feeling son?" Mom asked me.

"I'm doing ok. I can get around the house just fine." I told her.

"I'm glad." She smiled. "Take a seat. Pancakes are almost ready."

"Yay!" Ryder shouted and immediately hopped in the chair.

"I missed this so much." Kira said giggling at Ryder.

"Me too. I'm so glad we could all be together again." I smiled.

"I can't imagine how hard it was to celebrate Christmas without me for the last three years." Kira frowned.

"It's ok, Ryder always has fun around the holidays. Besides, that's in the past. All that matters is that you're here now." I held her hand.

That was enough to get her to smile. Wow how I missed that.

"Here Lloyd, you need to be resting that leg." Mom pulled out a chair for me.

"Alright." I agreed.

I set down at the table with Ryder and Kira set next to me. My mom put a plate of pancakes in front of me and I started eating. It was delicious as always.

After breakfast, Ryder ran to the tree and started looking at the wrapped presents under the tree. He would pick them up and shake them and try to guess what was inside.

"Ryder, don't snoop at the presents. You'll open them all tomorrow morning." Kira said.

"But they're taunting me!" He shouted.

"Hey bud, how about we show Mommy how to make our special Christmas cookies?" I said.

"Can I lick the spoon?" He asked with a smile.

"Yes, but after the cookies go in the oven." I giggled.

"Ok."

Ryder got up and followed me into the kitchen. Kira came with us and we all baked cookies just like old times, except this time Kira made sure I didn't cook them too long so they actually tasted pretty good.

I loved being able to spend Christmas with Kira again, but the holidays were always hard for me because my father was never around for them, for one reason or another. This year was especially hard because for the first time I knew exactly where he was. He was in the realm of madness trying to pull himself together and Master Wu had left to help him . He wasn't lost, or dead, or evil, he just wasn't here.

My mom looked at me from across the table and noticed I the look on my face. She always knew when something was up.

"Ryder, let's go hang the stockings." Kira grabbed his hand and headed out of the kitchen.

"Lloyd, are you ok?" My mother asked. "I know Christmas isn't your favorite but I thought having Kira back would lift your spirits up a bit."

"I'm thrilled that Kira's back, but it just feels weird." I sighed. "I've gotten used to Dad not being here but now that I know exactly where he is, it's like he could be here but he... can't." I frowned.

"Lloyd, you know your father wants to be here more than anything, but the last thing he wants to do is put you and Ryder in danger. He has to figure out his own life before he can be a part of ours."

"I guess." I sighed.

"Has he contacted you lately?" Mom asked.

I shook my head. "Not recently."

"Well he's probably really busy figuring stuff out. You just have to give him time."

"But it's been months. I guess I'm just stressed out because the baby's gonna be here in a few months and Dad is gonna miss out on their life just like he did with Ryder's."

"He had his chance to get bonding time with Ryder and sure he'll get his time with the new baby too."

"You think so?" I looked at my mom.

"I promise, everything he's doing is to make sure he never hurts our family again, but he only gets one chance to do that. He has to make sure he gets it just right."

"I understand." I nodded. "Thanks Mom."

I gave my mother a hug. The chat with her actually gave me the perfect idea for Kira's present.

*****

The next morning was Christmas Day. Ryder got up very early and woke us to see what Santa brought him. He got some pretty cool presents like a race car track and a ninja suit that was just like mine, but in his size of course. My mom got a necklace from all of us and I got a new sword from Kira. Now it was time for Kira to open her gift.

"Here you go." I smiled as I handed her a flat wrapped box.

"Lloyd, I told you that you didn't have to get me anything." Kira said with the present on her lap. "Spending Christmas with you again is all I ever wanted."

"Come on, open it." I insisted.

Kira rolled her eyes and smiled as she started unwrapping the present. She opened the box to reveal a small envelope and a note.

"Inside is the gender of the baby." She read it allowed and looked at me. "But I thought you wanted it to be a surprise."

"But I know how badly you wanted to know, so this way we can all find out together." I smiled.

"What is it mommy?" Ryder looked at Kira.

"Ryder sweetie this is gonna tell us if you're getting a brother or a sister." Kira smiled.

"OOOOOO! Open it! Open it! Open it!" Ryder screamed and set on my lap.

Kira opened the envelope and the word "GIRL" was written in big bold letters.

"Looks like you're getting a sister Ryder." I smiled at him.

"Yay!" He shouted and started jumping up and down.

"I can't believe this. We're having a baby girl!" Kira hugged me and kissed my cheek. "Thank you Lloyd, this is a wonderful present. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." I smiled.

Even though my father couldn't be here, it turned out to be a pretty great Christmas. I had my daughter on the way, I had my wife back and for good this time. Maybe I didn't dislike Christmas as much as I thought I did.