This is another scene I wanted to put in What Makes A Mother but took out because I felt like it slowed down the pacing too much. Anyway, enjoy!

Jay rushed around the monastery. Everything wanted everything to be perfect, but he didn't know what that meant in this situation. What's worse, he didn't even know who he could ask for advice. Kai and Nya were possibly the only two who could relate to him now, but Kai's advice was always questionable at best, and he didn't want to burden Nya with his problems. He wished Cole was around.

"Jay, please, sit down for a minute?" Nya asked.

"How can I sit down? I have to finish getting ready!" Jay ran off to see if the table was set for the hundredth time.

Nya followed Jay into the kitchen. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder and lowered him into a chair.

"Jay, you need to calm down. It's just dinner," Nya said.

"Just dinner?"

"Yes. Just dinner. Nothing else."

"I'm going to kill Kai when this is over, just so you know."

"Jay…"

"He's the one who got me into this!"

"Well, you weren't going to do it on your own."

"Because I can't do this!" Jay yelled.

"You have to. You've been avoiding this issue ever since we found her."

"Nya, this is the woman who gave birth to me. I didn't even know she was still alive. I didn't know she existed until recently. I don't… I don't want to meet her. I don't want to get to know her. I already have two parents who love me."

"You have to do this. She's been trapped in a cave for over eighteen years. A lot has happened in that time. Her life isn't going to be the same. You need to talk to her."

"I can't."

"I will hide all of your video games and comic books if you back out."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

The two locked eyes for a minute before Jay relented.

"Remember, she didn't abandon you," Nya said as she rubbed his arm.

"Was it this hard when you reunited with your parents?"

"That was different. Especially since Kai thought Dad was a traitor and tried to kill him."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Ask Kai."

"Ask me what?" Kai asked as he entered the room.

"Why you tried to kill Dad when we found him."

"Oh. See, Krux told me-"

"Why would you believe anything Krux said to you?"

"What if she hates me?" Jay asked.

"She's not going to hate you. You're her son." Nya kissed Jay on the cheek.

"Nya's right. She just wants to get to know you," Kai added.

"What if she's horrible? What if she's worse than Morgen?" Jay asked.

"I seriously doubt Libby could be worse than Morgen," Nya said.

"I can call my parents and ask them what she was like way back when," Kai offered. He pulled out his phone.

"No, you don't need to do that," Jay said.

"Too late." Kai had called his parents on speaker.

"Hello?" Maya asked.

"Hey, Mom. Real quick, you knew Libby a long time ago, right?"

"Yes. During the Serpentine War."

"What was she like? Jay wants to know."

"Chatty. She was always going on about her husband, the actor. 'My husband, the actor, did this. My husband, the actor, said this in his letter. I just love my husband, the actor. He is so amazing and an actor,'" Maya said in a high pitched voice.

"Oh, not this again," Ray muttered in the background.

"Never wanted to gag someone so much in my life. I don't know how Ice put up with her."

"Ice?" Kai asked.

"I think that was the guy who died," Nya whispered.

"He raised her. Don't get me wrong, she was really nice, she just would not shut up. Your dad thinks he knows how bad she was, but he didn't have to room with her," Maya explained.

Kai glanced up when he saw Lloyd in the living room, motioning to the front door.

"I have to go. I think she's here." Kai hung up the phone.

"Here? She can't be here! It's too early! I can't do this!" Jay sprang up and ran to his room before anyone could stop him.

"False alarm! It's just Zane," Lloyd called as Zane entered the monastery carrying a grocery bag.

"Did something happen?" Zane asked.

"Jay locked himself in his room," Kai explained.

"That is not good. Libby will be here in half an hour. I should start on dinner."

Lloyd sighed and followed Kai down the hall. Nya was already knocking on his door.

"Please come out," Nya pleaded.

"No! And Cole's not here, so you can't break down my door!"

"We have a dojo full of weapons that says I can," Lloyd challenged.

"Cole's hammer and scythe are in his room, I think," Nya said.

"I'll get them." Kai opened Cole's bedroom door and saw the weapons leaning against the closet. He grabbed the hammer and stopped when he couldn't lift it.

"Holy crap," Kai said as he dragged the hammer into the hall.

"Heavy?" Nya asked.

"How the heck does he lift this?"

"Super strength," Lloyd said as he took the handle from Kai. He tried to lift the hammer but too struggled.

"See?" Kai asked.

"Wow. Jay, you should get out here and try to lift this thing. Seriously."

"No!" Jay said.

Kai brought the slightly lighter but still heavy scythe into the hallway. He had just managed to pick it up and was about to swing it at the door when Wu spotted them.

"What are you doing?" Wu yelled.

"Jay won't come out of his room," Lloyd explained.

"So, you thought you would break the door down?"

"Um…"

"Jay! Get out here!" Wu demanded.

Jay cracked the door open and peered out.

"All the way," Wu said.

Jay opened the door and stood in the doorway.

"I'm only going to say this once: I want each and every one of you on your best behavior tonight. Anyone who misbehaves will be scrubbing the floor of the Bounty with toothbrushes. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Sensei." The four bowed.

"Good. Kai, put those back where you found them."

"But they're heavy," Kai whined.

"Kai," Wu growled.

"Yes, Sensei."

Kai worked on dragging the scythe and hammer back into Cole's room while Lloyd and Nya dragged Jay into the kitchen. They managed to coax him into a chair.

Twenty-five minutes later, there was a knock on the front door. Lloyd answered the door since Jay was paralyzed with fear. Nya stood behind him and rubbed his shoulders.

"Hi, come on in," Lloyd said.

"Thank you… Can I get some water?" Libby gasped.

"Yeah. Right this way."

"That was a lot of steps," Libby said as she followed Lloyd.

Lloyd got her a glass of water, which she chugged down.

"I am so out of shape. Can't exactly work out in a cave," Libby chuckled.

"Guess not."

"Hi, Jay," Libby said when she noticed him staring.

"Hi," Jay replied.

"Look at you. How old are you again?"

"Nineteen."

"Wow. You're a lot bigger than I remember. Course, you were twelve and a half months when I last saw you. I can't believe your father gave you up. If he was still alive, I'd kill him. I can't believe he's dead! He wasn't that old! He was an actor, you know."

Kai rolled his eyes and grabbed a stack of plates.

"You must be Ray's kid," Libby said.

"Yeah," Kai said.

"I can tell."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You have that same look when you're annoyed. Well, good for him I say. I wasn't sure if he would have the guts to take a relationship that far, especially after he disappeared in the middle of the night. Broke Maya's heart. She vowed to track him down, probably threatened to cut off body parts if he didn't give her a good answer. And she was a pirate, so you know she could do it."

"Mom was a pirate?" Nya asked.

"Well, she never used that word, but she was from Stiix, her parents were in the 'high-risk naval acquisitions' business, she used a cutlass, she read maps and sky charts well, she spent a lot of time on ships, and she talked about growing up around a bunch of rowdy men. If that doesn't scream pirate, I don't know what does."

"I think I need to call Mom back," Kai said.

"Not now," Nya whispered.

An awkward silence filled the air.

"Zane, please tell me dinner's ready," Lloyd called.

"A few more minutes," Zane yelled.

"Jay, tell Libby about yourself," Nya demanded.

"I think I'd rather hear more about your parents. If Maya was a pirate, what was Ray?" Jay asked.

"That's a story for another time," Wu said as he entered.

"Hey, Wu. Long time no see," Libby smiled.

"Hello, Libby. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay, I guess. Kind of wish Ice was still here. Though, to be fair, the dude was old when I met him. I know he said he wasn't, but the guy was old. Not old like you, but old. He lived a good, long life. Unlike Cliff. How could he be dead?" Libby sat down and put her head in her arms on the table.

"Uh…" Lloyd looked at the others, who were just as confused as he was. Except for Wu, who closed his eyes and sighed.

"Anyway, how's your friend doing?" Libby asked as she sat up.

"Cole? He's getting better. He still can't really move or talk, but they have him in therapies," Jay said.

"It's his dad that's the problem," Kai muttered.

"I still can't believe Hermes has a kid, much less a grandkid. I realize he's married but I don't see how anyone could stand to be with him longer than a few hours. His wife is a saint. I've never met her, but she has to be a saint to stick with him for so long."

"He's not so bad once you get to know him," Nya admitted.

The others murmured their agreement before the room was plunged into another awkward silence.

"So what sort of things are you interested in?" Libby asked after a while.

"Oh, this and that. Mostly I like to invent stuff," Jay said.

"When you're not playing video games," Nya muttered.

"What do you invent?" Libby asked.

"Uh, you know, stuff," Jay said.

"Stop being modest. It was you who made the Bounty fly. And you made the sparring bots. And the gliders. And-" Kai said.

"Okay! I get it. I've invented a lot," Jay interrupted.

"It's one of the things I love about you." Nya hugged Jay from behind and kissed his cheek.

"Dinner is served." Zane placed a crown roast in the middle of the table.

"Looks good," Nya said as she sat down next to Jay.

"Are you two a couple? 'Cause it looks like you are from my perspective," Libby asked.

"Yes," Jay said.

"We were going to get married three months ago, but Morgen happened and we decided to postpone," Nya explained.

"It didn't feel right to move forward with Cole in a coma. But now that he's awake, he can be my best man once he gets out."

"It's going to be a while before he's released, Jay," Lloyd pointed out.

"And once he is released, he will still probably have some recovering to do," Zane added.

"I know that. It's not like we're getting married this week.," Jay argued.

"Yeah, once we pick a new date, we're going to have to replan everything," Nya said.

Jay loudly groaned and sank in his seat.

"Jay…"

"No. We already planned everything once. Just use those exact same decisions and move them to a different date. I won't even complain about the stuff you picked, just please don't make me do that again."

Nya grinned mischievously.

"Okay, Nya, I have to ask. If you had known Cole was stupid rich back when he and Jay were fighting over you, would you have picked him?" Lloyd asked.

"Well, I certainly would've thought about it more. No, I made the right choice. Cole will make some girl very happy one day, but that girl isn't me." Nya squeezed Jay's hand.

"I remember when I was young and in love. Back when the world seemed so simple and Cliff and I had our whole lives ahead of us. Then this guy came by and asked for our help. I told him no unless I got to marry Cliff first." Libby said as she touched her wedding ring.

"I remember that. Garmadon was not happy with you," Wu said.

"Yeah, I still don't care what Garmadon thinks, but Ice, man I hadn't seen him that angry since I stole his wallet. 'You're sixteen, don't throw your life away for a boy.'"

"I'm sure Ice was just doing what he thought was right."

"Yeah, well, I don't know about now, but back then, you only had to be thirteen before you legally live on your own and get a job. I know they were thinking about raising it to sixteen."

"It's still thirteen, but you can technically be an unpaid apprentice as young as ten, not that anyone will hire a ten-year-old. Most people wait until they're fifteen or sixteen before they get their first job, after they get a driver's license, and most people also leave home around that same time," Kai said.

"I see," Libby said.

"I'm curious, how did you meet Ice?" Zane asked.

"I stole his wallet. He would say I didn't, since he got it back, but it was in my hand for a good two to three minutes. When he caught me, he bought me dinner, and one thing led to another and he became my legal guardian. I was surprised when he kept me around, especially after I lied about how long I had been on my own. Not that I got away with it. I had to steal from a human lie detector," Libby said.

"Human lie detector?" Kai asked.

"He was an accounting lawyer. He dealt with people who lied about their money all day long and he was very good at his job. Actually, I met your father through Ice."

"Did he commit tax fraud?" Jay asked, slightly horrified.

"No, nothing like that. Ice also did estate planning stuff, and Cliff hired Ice after his mother died. I don't know if Ice hated Cliff specifically or hated that I was dating one of his clients, but either way, I got multiple lectures about it. But we were talking about marriage when Wu came by, and like I said, I told them I wanted to get married first. We had less than two weeks to throw together a wedding, which somehow we did. Then Ice and I went off to fight Chen. Two and a half years later, I finally got to go on my honeymoon."

"Two weeks to plan a wedding?" Nya asked.

"Yes. I would not recommend that to anyone," Libby said.

After dinner, while the others cleaned, Libby pulled Jay aside so they could talk privately. Nya stayed close to them but out of sight, just in case.

"Jay?" Libby asked as they walked into the courtyard.

"Yes?"

"I want you to know that I really enjoyed tonight. I know this is super awkward, but I thought about you every single day when I was in that cave. I have missed you so much."

"I know it wasn't your fault. Morgen took you and my dad gave me up. I was raised by a really great couple."

"I would love to meet them one day."

"I'm sure they would love to meet you."

"Okay. And I don't mean to put you on the spot, but I would love to see you again. I know you're busy, what with the trial and your friend's recovery, so I understand if you can't, or don't want to see me again."

"No, I… I guess I can try to visit? Like, on Saturdays, maybe, if we aren't busy doing something else."

Libby hugged her son.

Libby rubbed her arm as she followed Jay into the junkyard. This was where her baby had grown up? Jay walked up to the trailer in the middle of the yard and knocked. An old woman answered the door.

"Jay! How are you, sweetie? What a lovely surprise. Who's your friend?"

"Mom, this is Libby Gordon, my birth mother," Jay said.

"Ed! You both better come inside. Ed, stop whatever you're doing and come here! Ed!"

"What is it, dear?" Ed asked as he came around the corner.

"Jay's brought his birth mother here," Edna said.

"Birth mother?"

"I just wanted to see where Jay was raised," Libby said.

Edna ushered everyone inside and sat down at the round table.

"Oh, I'm sorry about the mess. I didn't realize we were having company today." Edna brushed some crumbs off the table.

"It's okay." Libby was surprised to see how well organized the inside of the trailer was, especially compared to how the yard outside looked.

"Ed, where are those letters?" Edna asked.

"I'll get them." Ed disappeared into the bedroom.

"Jay, why don't you go up to your room, sweetie?"

"I'm not a child, Mom," Jay protested.

"Ed?"

"Jay, listen to your mother," Ed called.

Jay groaned and climbed up a ladder to the loft above Ed and Edna's bedroom, then lowered a small door until it clicked into place.

"That's his room?" Libby asked.

"We don't have much spare room here," Edna explained.

"I can see that."

"Right. Here we are." Ed placed some envelopes onto the table.

"This one was with Jay when we found him," Edna said.

"Where was he?" Libby asked as she opened the envelope. She recognized Cliff's handwriting as she skimmed over the note.

"On our step. He had a blanket around him and he was holding a toy bear. We didn't know he was there until he started to cry. That note was placed under him. A week or so later, we got this letter in the mail that had more information."

"Edna and I talked it over and agreed to adopt him," Ed added.

"Oh, Cliff. Why did you do it?" Libby whispered.

"We didn't know you were still alive. If anyone had come to claim him, of course we would've given him back," Edna said.

"No, I understand. Morgen took me, and I guess Cliff, my husband, thought Jay was in danger. Elemental masters were disappearing left and right, and we knew Jay had my powers. It's just… The whole time I was captive, I thought Cliff would raise Jay by himself. I never imagined he would do something like this. Thank you for taking such good care of him. And please understand I don't want to try and minimize what you've done for him. You raised him. I get it. But I do want a relationship with him."

"That's fine with us, as long as Jay's okay with it," Ed said.

"It's fine with me," Jay called from his bed.

"Jay, how many times do I have to tell you to not eavesdrop on other people's conversations?" Edna chastised.

"How many times did I ask you to soundproof my room?"