Merry belated Christmas and apologies for the lack of updates, holidays and family have kept me busy (and away from my tablet/laptop).

And thanks to all my wonderful readers for the most amazing Christmas present (see picture above) 😘.

Now on with the story. (There will be a second part to the visit in Nya's POV.)

—

Chapter 16 (Jay)

Seven years ago, after 'The Royal Blacksmiths', Ed & Edna's Scrap N Junk

"Ed, the boy's here." My mum shouts, possibly loud enough to wake up the Great Devourer even without the four Fang Blades, while she pulls me into a suffocating hug. "And he's brought Nyyyaaa."

As she lets go of me to also hug my girlfriend – I still can hardly believe my luck and secretly pinch myself from time to time, just to make sure I'm not dreaming this – slightly more gently, my dad appears from behind a pile of scrap cars, wiping his greasy hands on his overall.

"Son." He exclaims. "S-so great to see you. You too, Nya."

"What brings you here?" Mum enquires. "You need any spare parts for your flying ship?"

I blush. Have I been that bad of a son that I need such a reason to visit my parents?

I sheepishly rub my neck. "Actually, uhm..." I feel Nya take my other hand and squeeze it reassuringly. "We got the day off, and I-we just wanted to see you."

"Oh, that's wonderful." My mum squeals. "Are you staying for lunch? And are the others coming as well?"

"We'd love to." Nya gives mum her breathtakingly beautiful smile. "But it's only the two of us today."

Which I am really happy about, as much as I love all my teammates.

Following the Ninjago's Got Talent competition, Cole has decided to stay with his father for a few more days. And as Sensei Wu still isn't back from... well, wherever he went to, the rest of us have taken the day off as well. Zane has gone to his father's laboratory in Birchwood Forest, looking for more clues on his origins, while Kai has stayed back on the Bounty, moping around because he's now the last one who hasn't found his True Potential.

I was going to ask Nya out on another date, but seeing Cole make amends with his father (and hearing Zane, Kai and Nya talk about their dead or missing parents) has made me realise once again how lucky I am to have my mum and dad, who've always been proud of me and supported me no matter what.

And I didn't even have to decide between spending the day with my parents and with my girlfriend as Nya was more than happy to come to the junkyard with me – I just hope it isn't only to see those embarrassing childhood photos that my mum mentioned during her first visit...

"Jay has talked so much about you." Nya adds softly. "And we have quite a bit to tell you as well."

My mum smiles as her gaze falls on our entwined hands.

"Awww, my little boy is growing up so fast." She exclaims. "It won't be long until you're gonna bring our grandchildren with you."

Nope, that's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Present Day, Ed & Edna's Scrap N Junk

"I hear something, this must be them." My mum jumps up from her chair for the umpteenth time this early morning, almost spilling her coffee again. Not sure why she's having coffee anyway, she's nervous enough as it is.

Today, my parents are going to meet their granddaughter for the first time.

As the Ninja's home is in almost the opposite direction from my place, Nya and I have agreed that we'd meet directly here at the junkyard this morning rather than me picking them up from the floating temple. Which also means that I've come here extra early to make sure everything is in order and to calm down my mum and dad – or at least try to.

Not that I would be doing much better myself. I haven't slept too well last night – which has happened way too frequently in the last week – as too many questions and worries have been going through my mind...

Will my parents love Abby? Definitely. Will Abby like them? Most likely. Will they be happy to see Nya? Probably. Will mum and dad be upset with me for not getting back in touch sooner and making them miss so much? Possibly. Will they...

"There they are."

My thoughts are interrupted, for it turns out that my mum was right this time, and Nya's little car is just entering the junkyard.

We rush outside, reaching them as Nya is getting out of the car, quietly closing the driver's door behind her.

"Shh." She places a finger on her lips as she sees us approaching. "Abby fell asleep suring the drive. Give her some time to wake up by herself, otherwise we're gonna have a grumpy little girl..."

I chuckle. "I wonder where she got that from." I remark as I give her a quick and rather awkward hug. Nya has never been a morning person.

When I peek inside the vehicle, I see Abby fast asleep in her car seat, hugging the huge white soft toy that she introduced to me as 'Unikitty' when showing me her room earlier this week.

"She likes to hug things when she sleeps." Nya retorts, smirking. "And I know where she got that from."

Before I can react to her comment, she turns away to greet my parents. I can hear them talk while I keep watching our daughter through the rear window.

"Edna. Ed. Good morning." Nya says politely. "Thank you so much for inviting us."

"Oh, thank you for coming over." My mum replies, and from the gasp I hear Nya make I conclude that she has just experienced one of my mother's (in)famous hugs. "It's so lovely to see you, it's-" Mum sighs. "... it's been way too long. And what a beautiful young woman you have become. Isn't she, Ed?"

"Indeed, my sugarplum." My dad confirms, and I silently agree with them. "G-good to see you, Nya."

"Thank you." Nya repeats. "You look great too, you haven't changed a bit."

"Ah, that's too kind of you." Mum says. "We've become old, everything is just a bit harder these days than it used to be. But we can't complain, we're still doing rather well. And Jay comes over to help us whenever he can."

"Does he?" Nya sounds surprised. "That's really nice of him."

"Well, you know him." Mum says. "He's such a great boy."

I'm glad I have my back turned towards them so my parents and especially my ex-girlfriend can't see the deep blush on my face. I've not always been the great son that my parents deserve.

And I certainly don't deserve my mum's praise, but I'm nonetheless grateful for it, especially in front of Nya. I can use really anything that proves to her I'm a lot more responsible now.

"You'll have to wait a bit longer to see Abby, she fell asleep on the way here." Nya says – deep in my thoughts, I must have missed parts of their conversation. "She had some trouble getting to sleep last night because she was so excited to see you."

"Oh, so are we, my dear." Mum replies. "We could hardly believe our ears when Jay told us about her last weekend... I am so sorry about how things turned out between the two of you." She adds in a sad tone.

"Me too." Nya agrees, to my big surprise. "But I'm really happy I have her, and..."

As much as I am curious to hear what Nya's saying, my attention shifts back to the car where Abby is just waking up. She drops her plushie as she stirs in her seat, stretching her arms and yawning cutely, before her eyes finally flutter open. She she looks around, slightly confused, but then breaks out into a bright smile when she sees me. "Daddy." She exclaims.

"Hey, Abby." I smile back, as I open the rear door. I still don't feel comfortable using any kind of nickname for her. "Do you want me to help you out?"

My daughter nods excitedly, and I unbuckle her seatbelt before I gently lift her out of the car. She wraps her arms around me so that I carry her over to the others instead of setting her down right away.

"Hey sweetie." Nya affectionately brushes the girl's tousled brown hair. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mh-mh." Abby nods, her blue eyes fixed on my parents. "You my granny an' grampa?"

"Awww, did you hear that, Ed?" My mum gasps. "She's just called us granny and grandpa..." She wipes her eyes with her sleeve as she takes a step towards us. "I'm your grandmother Edna, and this is Ed, your grandfather. And you must be Abigail."

"I am." Abby nods as she wriggles in my arms to let me know that she wants down. As soon as I've set her down, she hugs my mum. "Love ya, granny Edna."

Sure, I've experienced her reaction to me being her dad - and I've heard from Nya about Abby first meeting with her maternal grandparents – so I shouldn't be too surprised, but I am still amazed to see my daughter bond with my parents. And a tiny bit worried that my mum might faint or at leats burst out in tears. Luckily, neither of which happens, but she is visibly moved.

As is my dad when Abby hugs him too. "Love ya, grampa Ed."

"Ah, aren't you the cutest little girl I've ever seen?" He asks. "Take a note, Edna."

"Shall we go inside?" I suggest to Nya. "You two must be thirsty after the drive through the desert."

To be honest, I am more concerned about my parents and want them to sit down.

"I am not." Abby insists. "An' I wanna see the junkyard."

But luckily, Nya has understood the true meaning behind my suggestion.

"And you can see everything later, sweetheart." She promises our daughter. "We have loads of time to explore everything, but first we're all going to sit down for a bit and chat. And I would love a glass of water, please."

Walking towards the trailer, I flash her a grateful smile. "Thanks." I mouth.

"No worries." She answers, equally silent and with a little smile as well.

"Talkin' is booowing." Abby pouts but follows us nonetheless.

"You normally like talking, sweetheart." Nya laughs, ruffling her hair.

"Not adult talkin'." Abby states, but her interest is piqued as soon as we get inside.

While I insist that my mum and dad sit down and relax, while letting me get some refreshments (and some sweets that they have bought for their granddaughter) from the kitchen, the curious girl starts looking around the trailer. And of course, it doesn't take long until she has discovered my parents' picture wall.

"Look, mummy." Abby exclaims, pointing at the photo I added only a week ago. "There's you. An' baby me."

Nya turns to me who is just exiting the kitchen carrying a pitcher of water respectively homemade lemonade in each hand. "I can't believe you've put up this picture." She says accusingly. "I look horrible – fat, exhausted, with puffy eyes from all that crying ..."

I've actually never noticed these details. I think that the way Nya smiles at her newborn daughter is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. But of course, I can't tell her that.

"It's the first picture of Abby." I say instead. "And there are much worse photos of me up here. Like this one..."

"That's daddy?" Abby's eyes widen when I nod at the embarrassing – no, humiliating – photo of my first potty time.

"Yup, that's him." Nya confirms. "And on this one here as well. And this one..."

She turns her head to look at me. "I remember all these pictures." She says softly.

And I remember us looking at them together.

"Look, sweetheart." Nya points at the picture of my mother's parents. "This is your great-grandmother, her name was Abigail."

"Like mine?"

"Like yours." Nya nods. "It's a beautiful name, isn't it?"

I reluctantly turn away from them and their conversation, as I don't want to leave my mother waiting for too long. I put the pitchers on the dining table and head back to the kitchen where I grab the giant bag of chocolates and place it on a tray with some glasses which I then also carry to the main room.

"Daddy's got chocolate." Abby immediately spots the sweets when I pass by her and Nya again. "I like chocolate."

"Me too. And these were my favourites when I was about your age." I say. "Would you like some? You can have some at the table, okay?"

Sure, it's not the way to go as a teacher, but Nya has reassured me that a bit of bribery is common practice among parents.

And it works. Abby follows me back to the dining table. Nya sits down on the bench with my my parents, whereas I take a chair, just so that I can be the first one to get up in case we need anything else. Although this is made a bit more difficult when Abby climbs onto my lap.

"Chocolate." She demands.

"Can I have some chocolate, please?" Her mother corrects her.

"Pweeeaaase." Abby says, giving my parents her puppy eyes, which make my mum hand her the whole bag.

"One." Nya says firmly, more used to her daughter's little tricks.

"Abigail, I've heard you're in school already?" My mum enquires. "How time flies..." She remarks.

"Mh-mh." Abby nods, chewing on her chocolate. A stern look from Nya ensures she swallows down the piece before she continues. "Kindergarten class. With Miss Katherine."

"Katherine is such a nice young lady." Mum remarks; my parents met Kath last Christmas when she was staying at my place after the incident with her ex-boyfriend. "And I am sure she is a great teacher. Do you like her?"

"Yes." Abby says. "An' I like Olivia, she's my best fwiend."

"That's wonderful, it's important to have good friends."

And you should never let anything or anyone come between you. I add in my thoughts.

"Daddy's a teacher at my school." Abby informs my parents. "He was my fwiend too, an' now he's my dad." She snuggles against me.

"And I'm still your friend I hope." I say.

"Yup." She grins cheekily as she holds out her hand. "An' fwiends share. Even their favouwite chocolates. Pwease."