A/N: A little bit more Jaya and then some of Lloyd. I'm heading back home from vacation tomorrow; back to a regular schedule of will-write-when-not-working. *wink*


"No hanky-panky in my garage," chided Julien, lifting his head from out of the vehicle's hood.

Jay and Nya, who were not about to do anything worse than kiss each other but were still standing inside the wide door of Julien's garage, groaned loudly in protest.

"Shut up, Dad!" snapped Jay.

All three of them fell silent for a second, staring at each other, as they realized what he'd said. Then the garage erupted in laughter.

"I wasn't aware that I'd been adopted!" cried Julien, holding on to the vehicle to stay upright.

"You're not my real father!" Nya screeched and tore out the door.

It took Julien a second to figure out that she'd just been joking, but Jay doubled over, laughing even harder, until his chest was almost on his knees.

Nya waltzed back into the garage, grinning and shaking a little with giggles. "Leave us alone, Dad," she said.

"Go back to bed, Dad," Jay added.

"Ooh, I like that second one!" said Julien, pointing at them with a grin.

Nya held her sides and laughed even harder.


"Now, about calling my father 'Dad'..." said Zane.

"Uh-oh," Jay gulped.

"If he does not mind it, you have my full blessing," said Zane. He smiled brightly at Jay and Nya. "I'm just delighted that my brothers and sister are so fond and accepting of my father."

"But..." Nya said slowly. She shared a quick look with Jay. "We're calling him our dad."

Zane raised one white eyebrow. "It's a term of endearment, isn't it?"

Jay scrunched up his nose and thought about that for a second. "Yes?"

"Then I see no problem." Zane turned and wandered away into the kitchen. "I have to check on the roast now."

Jay didn't register that the sharp pain in his ribs was Nya's elbow until she was whispering harshly in his ear, "I told you!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know?" he yell-whispered back. "I know I'd think it's weird."

"Zane's so sweet to share his dad with us." She tipped her head slightly and smiled off into the distance, her hands clasped in front of her.

"I know," said Jay. "I'm gonna get a toothache."

Nya elbowed him so hard it knocked the wind out of him.


It was a late summer afternoon in between press junkets, and the warm breeze was wafting in through the schoolhouse break room's open windows. Lloyd sat on the bench, his legs swinging, and breathed in the fresh air and the chatter around him.

Uncle Wu was busy somewhere else, but the guys were all there, and so was Nya, and Dr. Julien sat nearby, mostly sketching something but also interjecting in the conversation now and then.

Lloyd leaned toward the old doc to get his attention. "You were right, you know," he whispered, just loud enough to be heard over the talk.

"Hm?" Julien looked up, peering at Lloyd through the round glasses. "Right about what?"

Lloyd felt a tiny grin come to his face. "You remember what you said at the party a few months ago?"

The doc's face screwed up in confusion, and then he smiled wryly. " You're asking the old fellow if he remembers—"

Lloyd started to laugh. "All right, all right, I get it! You said that I should talk to my dad and tell him I believe in him and everything."

The doc's eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh, of course! Yes! Did it work?"

"I just said that," replied Lloyd with a grin. "Yes. You were right."

By that time, the others had stopped talking, and they must have overheard. "Gee, Dad, pay attention when the kid is talking," cracked Kai.

"Yeah, really, Dad," added Jay with a smirk.

Dr. Julien chuckled, the lines around his eyes crinkling.

Lloyd felt his face heating up, and he crossed his arms. "I slip up one time, guys—"

"Never gonna let you live it down," Kai said with a mean grin.

Lloyd groaned and turned to Dr. Julien. "Why'd you have to tell them?" he asked.

"In my defense, they started calling me that all of their own accord," answered the doc, jabbing the eraser of his pencil at Jay and Nya.

"Speaking of which," piped up Nya, "I worked out the catch in the subatomic filibuster in the garage, Dad."

"That's great news!" answered Julien.

Lloyd groaned again and thumped the back of his head on the wall.

"I helped!" cried Jay, waving his hand in the air.

"He helped," Nya said with an indulgent smile.

"Hey, green-bean." That was Cole. Lloyd lifted his head to look at him. "You gonna be able to stay for dinner? Zane's cookin'."

Lloyd frowned and sat up straight. "Why are you guys having dinner this early?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Kai, waving at the clock. "It's like...five-thirty."

Lloyd jumped. "Oh, my gosh!" He leaped across the room and grabbed his shoes by the door. "Sorry, guys, I can't. I'm already gonna be late!"

"I thought you might say that." Zane breezed out of the schoolhouse kitchen, a brown paper bag folded shut in his hand and a slight smile of triumph on his face. "I packed you something for the road."

His shoes finally on, Lloyd exhaled, smiled at Zane, and jumped up to hug him. "You're the best, Zane," he said. Then he jumped down, snatched up the bag, and ran around hugging everyone else. "Bye, guys!"

"See ya, Lloyd!" said Jay when it was his turn. "Ow! Watch the ribs..."

"Don't get into trouble, pipsqueak." Cole took the opportunity to give Lloyd a noogie.

Lloyd laughed. "Right back at'cha."

Kai ruffled his hair and said, "Love you, you nerd."

"Love you too." And after hugging Nya and the doc, Lloyd headed out the door. "See you guys later. Say bye to Sensei for me!"

There was a general chorus of goodbyes, but they all kind of melted into one. "Bye, Lloyd!"

He grinned and bolted out the door.


A/N: Had to rearrange some things slightly. The Night Ninja suggested Lloyd comforting Zane after Dr. Julien's death, and I had to fit that in. That'll be next update. But this is the end of all the deleted scenes I came up with when writing Grass Whistle; I hope you enjoyed them.

Reviews are paper bags.