Welcome to the beginning of my C.J. one-shots. Basically, it's going to be a collection of one-shots (usually) focusing on C.J. or Cole. I want to address any plot holes that I accidentally make and write fun little scenes with C.J. and his ninja family.

This first one-shot was suggested to me by RPM Shadow.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago.

Cole looked to his son nervously. It had been five months since he adopted C.J. and the baby was now nine months old. It had been tough to take care of him. Especially when they were stuck in the First Realm for so long, but now that they were back in Ninjago, and there were no dangers to watch out for at the moment, Cole had called his dad. He wished with all of his heart that he had told Lou about this sooner, but with everything going on with the Sons of Garmadon and the First Realm, it had slipped his mind that his father didn't know that he had a grandson.

As soon as the excitement died down, and Cole was back in his bed at the Airjitzu Temple, that fact hit him. He immediately pulled his phone out and dialed his dad's number. Luckily for him, his dad was always up at late hours. Especially on nights like this, so he picked up after only the first ring.

"Son!" Lou exclaimed as soon as he picked up the phone. "I'm so glad you are all right! What happened? Are you all right?"

"Dad, Dad, slow down. I'm fine," Cole replied with a laugh.

"Are you sure? I thought you were..." Lou couldn't even complete his sentence.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Cole said, a little more solemn this time. "This old woman in the city, Mystake, she gave us a special tea so we could survive Garmadon's attack by sending us to another realm. We're okay."

"Good," Lou sighed in relief.

Cole couldn't help but feel bad for his dad. And Lloyd and Nya. They didn't even know that the other ninja were alive for the longest time. Lou thought that all he had was his singing group, and Cole didn't want to imagine what that would be like for him. At least he was able to reassure his dad. It wasn't often that he'd seem okay after the city had been attacked so recently. Lou trusted him now, and Cole hoped that what he was about to tell him wouldn't break that trust.

"Uh, Dad?" Cole began after a very long silence.

"Yes, Son?" Lou asked.

Cole was about to tell him. He really was. He was going to tell him all about how he was captured by the Sons of Garmadon while on a mission with Zane and how he was thrown into a jail cell. How he escaped by singing horribly on purpose and eventually finding C.J. How he took the baby in and adopted him, but none of that came out. Something about this conversation was very intimidating to him. What if his dad didn't approve? What if he disowned him again? What if...?"

"Was there something you wanted to tell me?" Lou asked.

"I...was wondering if I could come over tomorrow?" Cole said very quickly. "I need to tell you something. Something important."

"Of course. You know that you're always welcome."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Love you."

"I love you too, Dad."

"See you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

Lou was the one to hang up, and Cole's nerves spiked to insane levels. Now he had something completely new to worry about. Was his dad going to jump to conclusions?

The next day, Cole was packing everything he knew he'd need in his newly acquired diaper bag. Despite its name, it carried much more than diapers. It was also packed with formula, C.J.'s stuffed bear, a baby blanket, teething rings, and a rather large first-aid kit that Cole was still contemplating whether it was necessary to bring. After a bit of debating with himself, he decided that it was better to be safe than sorry.

Once he was all packed, he placed C.J. in his baby carrier on Cole's back, and they were off.

To avoid anyone noticing a ninja and a baby, Cole dressed up in a sweatshirt and black jeans and took the only normal car the ninja had. No one ever really used it, but Cole was planning on driving this thing around Ninjago City a lot.

"Dada!" C.J. exclaimed.

It had been close to twenty minutes since the two arrived, and Cole had not made even the slightest effort to move out of the car. He was too afraid of what his dad might think.

"Are you hungry, Buddy?" Cole asked as he turned around to face the boy in the back.

C.J. was opening and closing his mouth as a way to say yes.

"Okay. Let me see what I brought," Cole mumbled to himself as he began digging through the diaper bag. "Come on. I know it's in here somewhere."

After a moment, Cole finally cheered victoriously to himself as he pulled out everything he needed to make the formula.

As C.J. was sucking on his bottle, Cole took a deep breath and decided that he needed to get this over with sooner rather than later. No matter how much yelling his father had for him. He really hoped it wasn't too much.

"Come on, Bud," Cole said as he took C.J. out of the car and cradled him in his arms, bottle still in the baby's hands. "Let's go meet gramps."

As he held C.J. in one arm, held his phone in his free hand, and carried the way too heavy diaper bag over his shoulder, he texted his dad three word, "Don't freak out."

He placed his phone back in his pocket and made sure to remember to ring the doorbell this time. After the little "welcome" song had played, Cole braced himself for the worst. The door swung open and Lou was shocked.

"Cole?" he asked his son.

"Hey...D-Dad," the young adult replied with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Cole?" Lou asked, his voice wavering from shock to a possibly, no, definitely strict tone. "Who's kid is that?"

Cole stopped himself from letting out an annoyed sigh. He knew his dad was going to do this. Once he was sure it wasn't going to come out, he looked to his father and said, "He's mine."

Lou hesitated a moment, seemingly not sure of what to do before he grabbed Cole's free wrist and led him inside. He sat his son down on the couch and said, "Are you out of your mind!"

"Dad-" Cole started, but Lou cut him off saying, "I raised you to be smart and rational in your decisions. To bring honor to the Steal name. To know what's best for you, and you have a kid!? You're eighteen!"

"Dad."

"Where did I go wrong? I mean, I know I was rather distant after your mother passed, but I didn't realize it could lead to this."

"Dad!"

"Where's the mother?"

"At this particular moment in time, there is not a mother because he's adopted," Cole finally managed to get out.

"Adopted?" Lou asked.

"Yeah," Cole nodded.

"Oh, thank goodness," Lou sighed as he sat down in a nearby armchair.

"Dad, this is my adopted son, C.J. C.J. this is my dad," Cole introduced the two. Although, C.J. was much more interested in the bottle than in this new person sitting with them.

"I adopted C.J. after finding him while being held captive by the Sons of Garmadon. I never had the chance to introduce you guys until now," Cole explained.

"Oh," Lou said after a long while. "How long since...?"

"I've had him for about five months," Cole noticed the shock on his dad's face and immediately looked down saying, "Sorry."

"It's-it's quite alright, Son. I'm sorry that I jumped to conclusions."

"Yeah, well, I don't blame you. We haven't really caught up in a long time."

"Well, why don't we change that."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing's going on right now. You can stay here for a couple of days. That way I can get to know my grandson more and catch up with my son."

"I'd love to, but I didn't bring any of my stuff."

"Your old room is still open. And your old crib is still in the attic. You can even take it home with you if you'd like."

"Really?"

"I have no use for it."

"Thanks, Dad! You're the best!"

Right after the three had finished their lunch, they decided to put on a movie. It was a favorite from Cole's younger years, but it really didn't hold up now that he was an adult. C.J. was getting a kick out of it, though. While the nine-month-old was laughing his head off at some robber that fell on a banana peel, Cole was telling his dad all about how he found C.J.

"Anyway, there was this huge fight about if I should keep the baby or not. Some said it would be too dangerous while others said it'd be too annoying, but I thought I could handle it, so I didn't listen. Kai and Zane were the only ones who were completely supportive throughout the process, but the others got used to it."

"Do they help at all?"

"Oh, yeah! When you live with seven other people, there's bound to be someone there when you need help. Although, sometimes I feel like they think I take advantage of them. I'm not trying to. It was my decision to adopt, and I feel bad when I ask Kai or Jay to watch him.

"As long as you don't rely on them too much, I'm sure it'll be okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course."

Cole smiled a bit and even laughed at the next childish joke that came on screen. Lou even laughed at how bad it was.

"Do you think I made the right decision?" Cole suddenly asked.

"Parenting is created by a road of ups and downs. You aren't going get it right the first time, but if you learn from your mistakes and know that you can't make them again, I'm sure you will make a great father."

"Thanks, Dad," Cole smiled.

Lou then looked down to C.J. and said, "What do you think about Papa Lou?"

"I mean, if that's what you wanna be called," Cole replied with a laugh.

That night, Cole was getting C.J. ready for bed. The old crib was in Cole's room, and Lou was more than happy to help out with a little bedtime story. First, though, C.J. needed a diaper change. And to get into his PJs.

C.J. cried as Cole tried to change his diaper. He wasn't sure what it was about getting cleaned, but kids really hate it.

"Just hold still!" Cole groaned as he tried to keep C.J. from rolling away from him. "Don't you wanna be clean?"

The baby cried even louder at that.

Cole sighed. His arms began to give up in the frustrating battle as he reached into the diaper bag and held the stuffed bear that was slowly losing his fluff.

"Hey, Buddy," Cole cooed as he held the bear up to his son. "Look. It's your good friend, Barry."

C.J. began laughing when he saw his bear and began reaching out for him.

Cole laughed as he gave him the bear and finished changing him.

As he was putting C.J. in the new onesie he had just bought, Lou entered the room and asked, "Isn't that the bear your mother gave you?"

The earth ninja nodded. "We lost the blanket from his birth father. That bear was the only thing that cheered him up. He loves it."

"It's so...imperfect now."

"'A toy can never be broken unless it was loved first'," Cole responded, wiping his eyes as he said so.

"Your mother told you that. When you broke your action figure."

"I was so scared that you'd get mad at me. I'd been begging for that thing for months, and only a week after I got it, his arm snapped off."

Cole suddenly began smiling as he stood C.J. up on his feet and began dancing him around, gaining giggles from both his father and his son.

"He could be a good dancer one day," Lou smiled teasingly.

"If he wants to, he'll have the best teacher."

"Thanks, Son," Lou said.

"Anytime, Dad. Now, who's gonna give this little dude the best story ever?"

"I don't know about that, but I do know some pretty good ones. You're going to have to help me, though."

Story after story was told as Lou and Cole remembered times from Cole's childhood. Great moments with them hanging out together as a family, and when Cole laid in his bed that night, he felt truly happy with where he was in life. He had amazing friends, a great father, and a beautiful son. Things were looking pretty good right now.

I hope you guys liked. More one-shots are soon to come! If you have any ideas for one, leave a review. If I like the idea, I might just do it :)

As always, have a great day/night!

#God'sNotDead