There was a knock at the door, but only Cole looked up. He sighed at the others, who were still staring intently at the T.V.
"Don't all rush to the door at once, I'll get it," he said sarcastically.
"Shush, we're trying to watch a movie here!"
The earth ninja rolled his eyes at Jay's comment and walked from the room to the door.
"Is Kai here?" A young woman holding a baby asked as soon as the door opened.
Cole turned around and called over his shoulder, "Kai, it's for you!"
"Oh, come on!" the fire ninja's loud shout carried from the game room, and the lady softly laughed. "Jay, pause it for a second."
The blue ninja did so, but he un-paused it again as soon as Kai was out of the room.
When Kai saw the girl standing there with a sudden look on her face that screamed hate, he swiftly moved onto the deck and slammed the door behind him.
"What the heck are you doing here?!"
[A/n: this next part makes me so nervous about posting this. Heck, even just typing it.] He thought he'd put her out of mind. After all, it had been a little over a year since what he considered maybe one of his biggest mistakes.
And he'd done it with, of all people, an almost-total stranger he'd met by some sort of random, sudden chance. Not to mention the complete embarrassment of realizing what had happened the next day and having to not only sneak out of her house, but onto the Bounty as well. The memory alone made his face burn. He subconsciously pulled his mask over his face.
"Long time, no see," the girl, who's name was Andi, commented, her face softening slightly as the baby in her arms gurgled. "This is Adam," she added, introducing the infant.
"Is that the only reason you came?! So I could meet some stupid- Oh, brick." Kai had realized the kid's eyes were nearly identical to the pair he saw daily in mirrors.
"Oh brick indeed. Look, I haven't gotten much sleep the past few months, just look after him for a few hours!"
"We're ninja, not babysitters."
"He's yours!"
Kai couldn't believe the nerve of this girl. He could barely look her in the eyes, but Andi... whoa...
"And I didn't ask for him!" he finally shouted, mocking the volume and tone of her voice.
With the yelling from the two, Adam started to cry. Andi smirked; she had an idea.
"Hold him for a second while I get his pacifier out of the car." She gently eased the boy into Kai's previously-crossed arms before walking off the deck.
Kai was trying to readjust the child to something more comfortable for him when he heard Andi shout, "I'll come pick him up later."
"Wait, what?!" he shouted, running to the side of the ship only to see her slam the car door and fly off. After the initial shock and slight panic wore off he glanced down at the familiar eyes and sighed. Turning around, he saw Zane.
"Don't tell the others!" Kai immediately pleaded.
A look of confusion spread across the nindroid's features. "Why would you not want them to know? Do you not wish them to share in the joy of your child?"
"I..." he groaned in frustration. "Just don't tell them he's mine, Zane, please!"
"I still do not understand why you would ask this... But I will keep your secret. Hand him to me; I fear you will drop him." Kai nodded and transferred Adam into Zane's arms.
"What do you plan on telling the others, if not the truth?" Zane asked.
"You'll see," Kai replied, opening the door and leading him back into the game room.
"Is that a baby?" Cole was, again, the first to notice.
"She ditched it on us."
"Who?" Jay asked. Cole, on the other hand, looked shocked.
"It's only for the day," Zane reassured him.
"Hey, did you play the movie?" Kai asked, changing the subject.
"Uh... No," Jay said, scrambling to grab the remote and pause it again.
"Then who did?" Kai asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Um, Lloyd did it!"
"So he and Sensei got back from the tea shop and came onto the ship without coming through the deck- otherwise I would've seen them- and for whatever reason played the movie?"
"They… were practicing their ninja skills and came in through the bedroom window?" Jay said weakly.
"Seriously?"
Under Kai's gaze, Jay shrunk back against the couch and admitted that he did it.
"Would you like to hold him again?" the nindroid suddenly asked.
"Why?"
Zane was taken back by Kai's indifference; it would seem he didn't care much at all for his son.
"Because he is-" he caught himself and tried again. "You were the one she handed him to initially and he seemed more at ease with you."
Jay snickered.
"What?" Kai leaned forward to glare at the blue ninja from his spot on the other side of Zane. "And yes, I'll hold him." Too bad it's only to prove something to Jay, Zane thought.
"Nothing," the lightning ninja quickly replied, holding back laughter as Adam was passed back to Kai. "Just that the baby prefers you, I guess."
"It is not all that strange. I do not have a heartbeat, but Kai does. From what I have heard, infants find their mother's heartbeat soothing."
"Kai's a mommy now?!" Jay was no longer able to contain his laughter. He laughed so hard he fell off the couch, tears in his eyes.
"What's going on in here?" Nya suddenly appeared in the doorway. Taking in Jay on the floor, Kai looking annoyed with a baby in his arms, and Cole watching both with a somewhat confused but amused expression on his face, she almost wished she hadn't asked.
"Jay, it wasn't that funny," Cole finally said.
"Yeah, it w-" he was cut off by music coming from Kai's pocket.
"Your ringtone is 'Awesome'?" Jay asked, sitting up.
"No, it's 'A-W-E-S-O-M-E'. You have to spell it out," Kai told him, switching Adam to the other arm and grabbing his phone.
"At least it's not 'Sexy And I Know It'."
"Nice one, Nya," Jay complimented her as he stood up, brushing away dust. "So, who is it?" he asked as soon as the phone was up to Kai's ear.
"The kid's mother," the fire ninja replied bitterly.
"Put it on speaker; I wanna hear her reasons for leaving us with her baby!"
Kai looked to Zane. 'Not a word,' he mouthed. The ice ninja nodded, and he pressed the button. Laughter was heard, accompanied by Andi's voice.
"Dang, you're gullible! Kai, what kind of mother would I be to leave a 3-month-old on a ship full of ninjas and weapons?!" Andi calmed down a little bit and lowered her voice slightly. "And if I were to actually let you watch him, I'd leave a baby bag or something or you might change his diaper with one of your masks! Oh, and open the door please."
Jay, who was closest to the door, took a few exaggerated steps and opened it. Standing there was Andi, doubled over laughing, with her phone just barely pressed to her ear. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down at least somewhat and straightened, hanging up the call.
As she sat in the backseat of her friend's car, who had actually been the one who drove off earlier, Andi tried to silence Adam's wails and wondered how bad things could get if she did that again. Except for real this time.
[a/n: Dang, I did this thing I call impulse-writing again. It's when Istart work on something from my idea notebook just because I feel like it. This would probably be three chapters tops. Also, don't kill me because I did that to Kai, he just seems more likely to get into that situation than Jay, Cole, or Lloyd. And last but not least, Kai's not a cheater. Okay, Kai and Skylor weren't officially dating (I blame Dareth, lol) but you know what I mean. In my mind Kai did you-know before the Tournament but this story takes place after it.]
