Jay suddenly froze halfway through a random conversation he'd been having with Lloyd as they walked from the bus stop to his parents' junk yard.
"Crap," he suddenly said, noticing a beautiful red sports car parked in front of the gate around his home. "I'm so sorry, Lloyd! I completely forgot this is Monday! I swear this wasn't a trap!"
"What are you talking about?" asked Lloyd.
"I told you I'm adopted, right?"
Lloyd nodded.
Jay chewed his bottom lip nervously. "And Kai and Nya's parents explained the hereditary powers thing?"
Lloyd's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Are you saying that's your..." Then those eyes blew wide open. "Are you saying Lightning is at your place right now?!"
"Uh, I just call her Liberty and her husband Cliff. Since they're not really mom and dad, you know? But yeah, they come over for dinner on Mondays." Jay squeezed his scarf, looking thoroughly ashamed of himself. "I am so sorry, Lloyd! Do you want to switch with one of the others tonight? Like, I already told ma and pa, and they probably told Liberty and Cliff, but since we never told you and this kind of might be a dealbreaker and..."
Lloyd couldn't help a small smile at his friend's babbling. "Jay," he interrupted, before his excitable friend could work himself up too much. "I'm cool with seeing Lightning again. Did you know she always snuck me candy?" He grinned. "And you know how I feel about candy!"
Jay sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness! Alright then!"
Lloyd was checking out the sweet ride as they approached, and froze when he saw the license plate. "What did you say your birth dad's name was?"
"Oh, Cliff?"
Lloyd gestured to the custom plate. STARFRR. "You can't mean Cliff Gordon. The actor that plays Fritz Donnegan in the Starfarer movies."
"Um, yeah? Didn't I mention that when we marathoned the movies? Huh, guess not."
"Holy crap, Jay! I'm a huge fan! Think he will give me an autograph?!"
Jay couldn't even begin to process how Lloyd casually rolled with personally knowing the Secret Ninja Force, but freaked out over a famous actor that played a hero in sci-fi movies.
"Probably," he laughed holding the gate open and gesturing Lloyd to hurry and follow.
They'd barely gotten in the gate when they heard a delighted, "Little man!"
A blond blur whizzed by Jay and scooped up Lloyd, spinning him around dizzily.
"I heard from Ray and Maya that you know everything so we might as well ditch the secret identities which means I can TALK to you without the mask which is so great because I always hated that mask it was terrible for my hair and all itchy and I'm just so happy to see you again I missed you so much and it was such a stupid idea to leave you alone and I'm gonna kick Wu's butt since he was wrong anyway and -"
"Hi, Liberty," laughed Jay, a little awkwardly.
She stopped spinning, noticing her actual son and smiling in delight. She set down a wobbly Lloyd, his eyes actually whirling a bit, to give Jay a kiss and squeeze.
"And hello to you too, my little Bluejay!"
"Libber!" he complained, but smiled over her shoulder at a still dizzy Lloyd.
"Dinner!" she cried out excitedly. "Would you believe Edna made a full turkey dinner after she got your news this morning?! It must have taken hours and hours! Come! Come inside!" And she took off again.
Jay smiled shyly and set a hand on Lloyd's shoulder until his eyes stopped spinning.
"That was worse than my first spinjitzu tornado!" Lloyd chuckled, a little loopy.
"Was, was it good? To see her again?" asked Jay, worriedly.
"Honestly, all I saw was a blond blur," admitted Lloyd. "But I remember that nonstop voice. Plus," he held out a hand and Jay laughed seeing his birth mom had somehow slipped him an entire handful of candy. "Yeah, she's my Lightning," he murmured softly, smiling affectionately.
"Yep, she's one and only," chuckled Jay in relief, holding out his own handful of candy to show Lloyd. "Ready to go in?"
Lloyd nodded.
~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~
Jay's family could TALK. They were absolute masters of talking! I've honestly been sitting here in awe for about an hour, listening to about three conversations going on simultaneously, occasionally interweaving, separating, asking and replying to questions and comments, laughing and interrupting and just. Wow. I'd never seen or heard anything like it!
Edna and Liberty were exchanging embarrassing childhood stories about Jay and me. Cliff and Ed were talking about the special effects in the last Starfarer movie, comparing CGI to classic animatronics. Jay was somehow following both and trying to have a conversation with me about, uh, I don't even know. I'm too distracted watching the volley as Ed calls across the table for Edna to take a note on something for their next project, and Liberty is laughing about my evil laugh as a kid - hey! - but now Cliff was saying they were shooting the next Starfarer movie and I wouldn't believe what they had planned for -!
Jay nudged me. "Lloyd. Lloyd!"
With a bit of difficulty, I tried to focus on him.
"You okay?"
And suddenly I was the center of attention and everyone was waiting for my reply. I shrunk in my chair.
"I've been asking you if you'd like any sweet potato casserole," repeated Jay, looking concerned. I nodded and he scooped a serving of the globby looking dessert onto my plate. Weird looking, but oooh man did that stuff taste good! Sugar heaven!
"First time at a family dinner?" asked Edna, smiling sweetly.
I had no idea how to reply to that, especially without insulting anyone if all this talking was normal and I was just the odd one out. "Um, kinda? It's usually just my dad and me. This is all, sort of, new?"
"So what are dinners like at your place?" asked Cliff Gordon. The Cliff Gordon. "I bet Garmadon still cooks to feed an army!"
I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out. The Cliff Gordon. Fritz Donnegan. "Fear isn't a word where I come from!" Fritz Donnegan.
Jay nudged me again. "Yes!" I yelped. "Um, I mean, yeah, he always, um, makes too much food?"
"That a question or a statement, son?" asked Ed, laughing.
"Leave the poor boy alone, Ed! Can't you see the boy's a little starstruck?"
"You are being awfully quiet, Lloyd," interjected Liberty. "Is that it? Or are you not feeling well?"
Cliff's eyebrows rose. "Starstruck? Lloyd Garmadon? For me?"
Oh. Crap. I'm blushing again.
"Yeah, Lloyd was asking earlier if he could have your autograph," said Jay casually, between bites of his dessert.
Cliff Gordon started laughing, and oh first spinjitzu master I wanted to disappear. Hide under the table. Run away and lock myself in the bathroom or something.
"Lloyd," he finally said. I tried to shrink some more.
"Lloyd? C'mon kid, look at me."
I nervously glanced up.
"Seriously, kid. I'm flattered! Your mom and dad are way more famous than I'll ever be! Your uncle is a legend. The last Secret Ninja Force would die for you, and the current Ninja Force count you as one of their own, when they only met you last week! Your own name is probably known to nearly every person in Ninjago, even if everything they 'know' is wrong. And you want MY autograph?"
I managed a timid nod.
Cliff held out a hand. Without a word spoken, Edna passed over the notebook that she carried around.
He scribbled something and spun the notebook over to me.
[To Lloyd Garmadon,
The most fearless person in the universe, hands down. You're MY hero.
Cliff Gordon]
Oh. Oh, wow. Wow! Yes! This was awesome!
I delicately tore the page out and fished under the table for my backpack. Once I had my sketchpad in hand, I gently set the autographed note between two blank sheets and closed it protectively.
Everyone was watching me again, this time with a sort of "aw, how sweet" look which should have bothered me more, but I was still giddy over my new treasure.
"My turn," said Cliff Gordon, smiling expectantly at me.
Huh?
He gestured to the notebook, then held out a pen.
"I'm your hero? Well, I just admitted you're mine. Can't I get an autograph?"
I have no idea what look was on my face, but Jay was laughing so hard he fell out of his chair. This had to be a joke, right? But Cliff Gordon was still waiting, even as I took the pen, waiting for the punchline.
FSM. He's completely serious.
I had no clue what to write, so I sort of copied his.
[To Cliff Gordon,
Forever a big fan,
Lloyd Garmadon]
I set down the pen and slowly passed the notebook back. He smiled and, as carefully as I had, tore out the page. He got up, went over to a messenger bag near the door that must be his, pulled out a book, and carefully set it inside where it couldn't be damaged.
"Never seen a celebrity up close before?" teased Jay. "Someone not a ninja, anyway?"
"Um, I guess I met Red Shark? When my dad kidnapped her last year? But that didn't go so well."
"The pop star? Your dad kidnapped her?" asked Edna, concerned.
"You know, I think I remember that. It made the morning news, but was dismissed by the evening news as a hoax?" mused Liberty.
"Yeah, everyone said it was just a celebrity stunt, that she made the whole thing up," said Jay.
I groaned, but didn't feel the need to hide under the table anymore. "No, it happened. I made the mistake of telling my dad I liked her music. I guess he thought it'd make a good gift? I made him let her go, though! But, um, yeah. She wasn't exactly up for doing more than calling me an evil little demon spawn. I didn't exactly want her autograph after that."
"Well, no wonder her career tanked after that! That's no way to treat a fan!" huffed Cliff, thoroughly insulted.
Huh?
"Not even a thank you for rescuing her! How rude!" inserted Liberty. "She should have given you a private concert at the least! And announced that she was unharmed and that you had helped her, instead of falling back on petty insults!"
"No respect," scoffed Ed.
"Terribly rude!" agreed Edna.
I am so confused. My dad kidnaps someone, for me, and these people are mad that the person was rude to me?
"That was so sweet of Garmadon, though!" said Liberty, smiling brilliantly. And wow, Jay's birth mom is seriously supermodel gorgeous when she smiles like that. No wonder I never made the connection to her and Lightning, despite all the photos of her and her husband on the red carpet.
But did she just say...?
"Why don't you ever kidnap anyone for me, Cliff?" she whined.
"Well, who would you like, my love?"
No wonder these people used to get along with my dad.
~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~
"What do you think of my parents? All of 'em?" whispered Jay as he lay on the top bunkbed. I had the bottom, that before me had always been reserved for Cole. Zane apparently liked to sleep on the floor.
"Ed and Edna are wonderful," I whispered back. "Like, like those perfect grandparents you see on tv? Kind of too good to be true. And Liberty and Cliff are so cool, even if they are kind of quirky."
"Quirky?" asked Jay. "You mean with the rushing around and candy?"
"I kind of meant with the whole discussion of who they would kidnap for what special occasions and how best to go about it..."
"Ah."
We lay in silence for a few minutes. The room was pretty dark, lit only by a little night light that I knew better than to ask about.
"I only forgave them a few months ago," whispered Jay. "You know. For abandoning me."
Ouch.
"I... like, I never knew them, right? I knew I was adopted, but I didn't even know who they were until after Master Wu recruited me for training. And told us powers were inherited, so the last Lightning Ninja had to be my mom. My birth mom."
He swung his legs over the edge and jumped down. I sat up and patted next to me on the bed. Jay curled up, hugging his knees.
"Cole and Zane were no help," he confessed. "Both of them have parents that love, have always, loved them, would go to the ends of Ninjago and beyond for them."
I just let him talk.
"But you get it, right?" Jay whispered. "When she first showed up at the warehouse to help with my training, I hated her. Hated. I wanted to scream at her, punch her in the face, blast her with her own lightning. Cole and Zane were all, its so awesome, your mom is here, and I'm like, I HAVE a mom, and it's not this stranger, and I don't like her or want her or anything!"
His voice was shaking. I reached over and took his hand. His hands were shaking too.
"I still hate her sometimes. It's terrible. I know she's a great person, Cliff's a great person, and they already explained why they left me and everything. And I wouldn't give up my parents for the world, but I still..."
Jay trailed off. I heard a soft, choked back sob.
"Why did they leave you?" I asked softly.
I heard him swallow. "I guess, like, historically, the Lightning Ninja is ALWAYS getting targeted, even captured. To, you know, power weapons of mass destruction and crap. A lot of them die pretty young. She knew I inherited her powers. It terrified her. And Cliff's a public figure - they thought it was only a matter of time before the paparazzi unmasked her."
"They were scared," I whispered back.
I made out the shape of him nodding in the dim lighting.
"I didn't get it. I didn't want to get it. I mean, Garmadon's pretty much been the only villain I'd ever known, and he never targeted her like that. And certainly no one ever revealed her identity. So I was so mad. Like, they left me for nothing! They didn't have to, but they did, and it hadn't really hurt before, but now it just... it didn't go away."
"I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive my mom," I confessed in return. "And now she's back with my dad, and it's like, home isn't even home with her there. But he's so happy, and I guess she had her reasons, but..."
"It hurts," whispered Jay in a choked voice. "It hurts so much and just... nobody gets it. At least, before you."
"Abandoned kids stick together?" I tried to joke. Jay let out a sad excuse for a laugh, trying as hard as I was.
"At least Garmadon's an awesome dad?" replied Jay awkwardly. "He would kill for you. Literally. Like, destroy all of Ninjago City, if anything happened to you."
"Yeah. Like, Ed and Edna are awesome too. They might not wipe out a city, but their worlds would end if anything happened to you."
Jay stood up and reached for the ladder to climb back up to the top bunk, but hesitated. "Um, Lloyd?"
"Yeah?"
"Not telling you what to do, but... Liberty and Cliff really are good people. I still hate them sometimes, but... but once I decided to give them a chance? Agreed to all these family dinners and stuff? It didn't hurt as much. I... I think one day it might not hurt at all. Just, just something to think about. As one abandoned kid to another."
He climbed back up to his bunk. I said nothing for a long time.
"Thank you," I whispered. "You're a good friend, Jay."
"Brothers," whispered back Jay. "Zane always calls us brothers."
~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~
Author's Notes: I hope everyone enjoyed the three parts to Lloyd's sleepover at Jay's! Meeting Lightning again, the family dinner and Lloyd's fanboying over Cliff Gordon, and of course Jay and Lloyd bonding over knowing what it's like to be abandoned and having that parent trying to come back into their life. They're going to be much closer after this. Yep, Kai's gonna be jealous!
Special thanks, as always, to my wonderful beta and fellow Ninjago writer, Sunny Lighter!
Also thanks to all my wonderful reviewers from last chapter: Dyphen, Beaner97, Sunny Lighter, Carrie2sky, EMPFangirl02, Savannah-the-Caracal, Pitch'snieceanddaughterofMew, Watcher321, and Bookkeeper2004!