I'm so glad that you guys are liking this series so far. This next one-shot was requested by another Guest. Unless you're the same person who requested the last one. I honestly don't know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago

It had been a month since the ninja had made their way back home from the First Realm. A month since C.J. started talking and now, he was about to hit another very important milestone. He was starting to walk. Well, he was trying.

Cole had made a promise to himself long ago that he wouldn't try to push his son to do anything he did not want to do. Whether that be dancing, being a ninja, going to college, or even walking. He'd learn when he was ready, but the young father was just starting to realize how frustrating that was.

Currently, C.J. was clutching the bar to his crib, so he wouldn't lose balance as he stood watching Cole as he put the sheets to C.J.'s crib in the laundry.

"Uh! Gross!" Cole exclaimed to himself as he caught a whiff of the sheets. Of course he had to wet the bed only minutes before Sunrise Stretches were starting.

Speaking of which, Cole could hear the familiar knock being made to the door next to them. Nya's door.

Since they now had a baby living in the Airjitzu Temple with them, Wu had thrown away his gong and started knocking a rhythm from his own childhood to wake the ninja up. Usually, C.J. slept right through it, but Cole was not getting his extra minutes of sleep tonight.

"Daddy," C.J. whined.

"Yeah, Bud?" Cole asked as he turned around, making sure to give the toddler his full attention. Although, the stench in the room bothered him greatly.

C.J. whined some more as he plopped down on his bottom and began working on crawling towards his dad.

Cole frowned slightly as he told himself once again that C.J. just wasn't ready to walk yet. He'd be ready soon. He just had to be patient.

Once C.J. made it to his father, he grabbed onto his leg and used that to stand up. The height difference was still great, though.

The baby whined again as he began reaching his arms up to Cole, only to fall back down.

"Oh!" Cole exclaimed when he saw him fall, but C.J. seemed unaffected. "Oh," he said again. This time in realization. "I see. You wanna be held. Well, then. If that's the case...The earth master lifted his son up off the ground and used his left arm to support him while his right arm had a laundry basket under it.

As he exited the room, he suddenly heard Wu's voice calling his name.

"Yeah?" Cole asked.

"What are you doing?" Wu asked.

"Oh! I had to wash C.J.'s sheets so I could get him back to bed," Cole replied. After a moment, he continued saying, "I'm not sure if I'm going to make it to Sunrise Stretches today."

"Perhaps I can ask Pixal to help. I'm sure she won't mind," Wu responded.

"I wouldn't want to ask her to do that," Cole quickly said.

"That's why I am," was Wu's last words before he disappeared to the kitchen. Most likely get Pixal.

Cole groaned. He hated the idea of Pixal doing his job for him. Sure, it helped a lot, and he was able to do more ninja stuff, but this was his responsibility. Cole was the one who chose to adopt C.J. Plus, if Pixal or Wu was watching him all the time, Cole might miss his first steps and that was not something he was willing to miss.

It wasn't too much longer before the female android had arrived and began changing the sheets to C.J.'s crib.

"I can take it from here," she told Cole.

"Are you sure?" Cole asked nervously. He looked between Pixal and his son, wondering whether this was the right decision. Was he just handing his child off to someone else because he was too busy?

"Of course. I'm happy to help in any way I can," Pixal replied. Her smile was truly genuine, which put Cole slightly at ease, but he didn't leave the room until C.J. lay down on the floor to sleep. Maybe C.J. wouldn't miss him if he was asleep.

Training felt like it took forever. Cole watched the clock intently as they did Sunrise Stretches, he was completely out of it as he practiced his punches, and was vividly distracted as he sparred with Jay.

"Cole, are you feeling okay?" Jay asked when he hit his opponent with his nunchucks a third time. Usually, he could barely get him once.

"Huh?" Cole asked as he diverted his attention back to the blue ninja. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"You sure? Because you seem...distracted."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Cole sighed, though, before continuing saying, "I'm just excited for C.J. He should be taking his first steps any day now, and I don't want to miss it."

Jay's eyes suddenly went wide. He had often voiced his concerns to Cole about when C.J. was able to run around, and they'd lose control, but seeing his friend's down heartened demeanor, he decided to put his own fears at rest and say, "I doubt you will. You're with the kid practically 24/7."

"Yeah," Cole nodded, but over the next few days, he realized how wrong that statement actually was.

Every day, he woke up at five in the morning for Sunrise Stretches. C.J. was asleep during this time, but when training was over at noon, Pixal would be serving lunch, C.J. already in his highchair. She would still be in charge of watching the baby as he'd speed through his shower. Cole would usually be with C.J. for the rest of the day, but he those many hours in the morning were something he missed all the time, and Cole was terrified that he'd miss C.J.'s first steps.

Every Saturday, it was Cole's job to go to the grocery store as he was the only one who understood what brand of diapers were needed for C.J. When he did this, Kai or Jay and Nya would usually watch him, another two hours where Cole could miss anything, and that made him worried.

One day, when Cole entered the study of the Airjitzu Temple, he saw Zane looking after C.J. The masters of earth and lightning had gone to see the newest superhero movie, which was horrible, and Cole would rather watch a samurai in space. He had only gone because Nya and Kai were going to see their parents that day and the schedules coincided with each other, but Cole was beginning to regret it. How much could he had missed in those hours he was gone?

"How was the movie?" Zane asked when he noticed his brother entering the room.

"Even Jay thought it was bad," Cole chuckled, although Zane knew the master of earth well enough to know that it was just a front.

As the young father picked up his son, Zane asked, "Is something wrong, Cole?"

He sighed, wondering why he thought that he could speak with Zane without getting into his internal thoughts. Turning the Zane, he asked, "Do you ever get tired of watching C.J.?"

"Of course not. That is absurd," Zane replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I just feel like I'm not with him enough. I was the one who choose to adopt him, and I'm constantly asking you guys to watch him or not being available or-"

"Cole," Zane interrupted. "We do not mind. In fact, we enjoy it. He's a joy to watch, and I'm glad when I have that honor."

"Does he ever miss me?" Cole asked.

"Sometimes," the nindroid replied, "but that does not mean you are doing anything wrong. You're with him most hours of the day. Don't feel guilty when someone else takes on the responsibility."

Cole looked down a moment, pondering on the things Zane said. Although what the nindroid said made sense, he couldn't help but let the doubt in his mind roam free. Zane seemed to notice this too and said, "Perhaps you should get C.J.'s opinion."

"Do you think he'll understand what I'm saying?" Cole asked.

"You've always had a way with kids."

That night, when C.J. had brushed his teeth and gotten in his pajamas, and Cole had done the same, they decided to wind down with a little game of stacking blocks.

"Daddy?" C.J. asked as he clumsily handed one of the blocks to his father.

"Huh?" Cole asked as he looked down at the blond. He had been so lost in thought. So many questions roamed in his head. Was he really failing as a father? Was it unfair to ask the others to help him? Was C.J. happy with him?

He watched as C.J. continuously stacked the blocks, remembering what Zane had told him earlier. Get C.J.'s opinion.

Following his son's example, Cole stacked the block, making C.J. so happy that he clapped.

Cole smiled slightly at this, but he knew that he needed to bring the frightening subject up sooner of later.

"C.J.?" Cole asked.

The toddler looked up at his father as Cole asked, "Do I pay enough attention to you?"

The blond didn't seem to understand. He looked at Cole with a confused expression on his face as Cole tried to rephrase expression.

"Do I...play with you...enough?" he asked in terms the boy would understand.

"Yeah," C.J. replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"What about when the others watch you? Do you miss me?"

"Yeah."

C.J. had a distant look on his face for a moment before he continued saying, "Miss Jay."

Cole looked at his son in surprise. It took a moment for him to collect himself before asking, "You miss Uncle Jay?"

"Yeah. Miss Kai."

"And Uncle Kai?"

"Yeah."

Cole smiled slightly at this. C.J. did miss Cole when he wasn't around, but he missed the others too when they weren't around. That didn't mean he was unhappy when he wasn't there, and that didn't mean that Cole was doing anything wrong. Zane was right. Getting C.J.'s opinion was the perfect idea.

"You know what? I think we should have a day where we all look after you. What do you think of that?" Cole asked the blond.

"Yay!" C.J. exclaimed.

"Great! I'll tell the others."

The other ninja thought that it was a great idea. They set aside a day where they were all available, and two days later, they were all hanging out in the living room, C.J., looking up at the young adults happily.

"That's adorable," Kai said matter of factly as he pointed at the ten month old, looking up at him with curious eyes.

"What gave you the idea to do this, Cole?" Lloyd asked as the master of earth was setting up a small stacking block castle for C.J. to crawl into.

"Well, I was talking to C.J. the other day, and I thought that this would be something he'd like. He hardly gets any time with all of us," Cole replied.

Zane smiled as he nodded to Cole who he'd noticed had been much more at ease these last few days while Lloyd said, "I do enjoy our times together."

As he said this, C.J. grabbed Lloyd's knee to support him as he stood up, so he could get a better look around the room.

"Okay, Ceej, you're castle awaits!" Cole laughed as he gestured towards the block castle he made. Really, it was just a wall with a little opening just big enough for C.J to crawl through.

C.J. smiled as he slowly let go of Lloyd's knee and began trying to make his way to Cole, step by step.

The ninja watched in shock and anticipation as cautious step by cautious step was taken. Sometimes he wobbled, and other times Cole was about to run over to him to catch him as he fell, but he never did fall.

Finally, after many moments of held breaths and excited smiles, C.J. fell into his dad's arms, and Cole lifted him up into the air, cheering. The rest of the ninja soon joined.

"You did it!"

"I knew you could do it!"

"Yeah, C.J.!"

Cole laughed as he hugged the boy in his arms and said, "I knew you could do it! I just knew it!"

And the best part was, everyone was there to see it.

I hope you all liked that, and thank you to Guest for requesting this one-shot to make it possible. If anyone would like to request anymore one-shots, you may review on this story or any other story with C.J. You could also PM me, if you'd like.

As always, have a great day/night!

#God'sNotDead