It's been a while... again. I have a lot of reasons for not updating this book - Netflix, real life, some lack of motivation Netflix, finally finishing NvS, and of course the discovery that Netflix has my favourite shows from when I was a kid and I now have over 170 episodes to re-watch...

Anyway, I'm back now.

Most people who have replied to my question (on the message board) were fine with the chapter length but there have also been a few requests for longer chapters, so this part is sort of a compromise, at around 3.2K words (excluding A/N).

As most of you know, I'm German, and the Christmas Market in this chapter, especially the food, is what I am used to from home.

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Chapter 28 (Nya)

Seven years ago, Ninjago City Christmas Market

"Here's another one." Jay exclaims excitedly, as the six of us Ninja and Samurai stroll through the brighly illuminated city. "What goes Ho Ho Whoosh, Ho Ho Whoosh?"

"I don't know, and I don't care." My brother groans. "One more Christmas Cracker joke, and I'm outta here."

"Is that a promise?" I giggle at my boyfriend's sarcastic reply.

When Jay and I decided to spend our night off at the Christmas Market, it certainly wasn't our plan to have our brothers – especially not my overprotective biological sibling – join us.

"Yeah, why don't we split up for a bit and just meet up again at the concert?" Cole suggests. The Royal Blacksmiths are going to sing Christmas carols in front of the city hall later this evening.

"Good idea." I agree quickly, before Kai gets the chance to object.

"This is a reasonable suggestion." Zane states, then turns to our youngest team member. "Lloyd, would you like to help me choose some new decorations for our Christmas tree?"

"Can we get some candy as well?" The kid requests.

"Of course." The Nindroid nods.

"Uhm... I guess, I'm gonna see you later then." Kai mumbles, less than impressed how his earlier comment has backfired.

"Not that I don't mind spending some time with you without the others around, but is my sense of humour really that bad?" Jay asks as we watch them all take off in different directions. "I'm sure the Serpentine would pay a fortune for my secret Ninja Repellent..."

"I like your sense of humour." I reassure him. "And being a hero is hard enough, we can all use a good laugh once in a while."

Sure, Jay could sometimes take things – and me – a bit more serious, but hey, nobody's perfect. And even though we're carrying a huge responsibility on our strong shoulders, we're still teenagers.

"And I like making you laugh." He kisses my nose. "Now, what would you like to do?"

We first have a look around at the Crafts Fair, where Jay buys a little angel with a tambourine for his mum – as he informs me, Edna collects these kinds of wooden figurines (well, she seems to collect pretty much anything) – before we have some food.

"And now, to the best bit of every Christmas Market." Jay announces after we have finished our hot dogs. He wipes his fingers on his trousers – no, I'm not gonna comment on that – before he holds out one hand for me.

I raise an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

"The sweets stand." He grins as he pulls me to the pale pink van. "What would you like, milady?"

"No." I shake my head. "You've already paid for the food. It's my turn." I insist.

"B-but..."

"No buts." I say firmly, letting go of his hand as I cross my arms. "Either I pay for both of us, or I'm not having anything at all."

I am a very stubborn person, and Jay knows it all too well.

"Alright." He eventually sighs in defeat. "I'll have some cotton candy, please. The small one."

Of course, I don't listen to him.

"Thanks." He says as he has no choice but to accept the extra large bag with the light blue fluff I hand him. "What have you got?" He wonders, looking at the chocolate-coated fruit skewer in my hand.

"Pineapple and dark chocolate." I inform my curious boyfriend. "My favourite. You wanna try?" I offer.

He grimaces as he takes a tiny bite. "Ugh, it's sour."

"It isn't." I object. To me, it's the perfect combination of tangy and sweet, juicy and crunchy. "That's probably just because you've ruined your taste buds with all that sugary cotton candy..."

"You think I have a bad sense of taste?" Jay pouts playfully.

"Not in everything." I laugh, wrapping my arms around him. "I'm definitely not sweet but you still like me, right?"

"I do." He smiles as he places his hands on my hips. "I like you a lot, Nya."

"I like you too." I return the smile. "Even though you are sweet."

And even though his kisses taste like cotton candy.

Present Day, Ninjago City Christmas Market

"Where's daddy and Miss Kathy?" Abby whines. "I'm bo'ed."

We have just arrived at the car park behind the market place ourselves and are now waiting for Jay and Katherine to meet us here.

"He should be here soon." I assure my daughter.

"Don't worry, kiddo." Cole ruffles her hair. "Jay's always been the punctual one."

He has.

And, telling from the time we've spent together, he hasn't changed as much as the rest of us over the last six years. Sure, he's undeniably more grown up – both physically and mentally – but I can still see a lot of the 'old', i.e. the younger, Jay in him.

And I can't deny that I am falling in love with him all over again.

I, on the other hand, have changed a lot, and I sometimes wonder what he thinks of me now...

"There they are." Abby's excited voice snaps me out of my thoughts. I turn my head in the direction she is pointing and indeed, Jay and his colleague have just turned around the corner and are walking towards us, talking to and laughing with each other.

"Daaaddyyy." My daughter lets go of my hand and runs towards them. Jay's face lights up and he crouches down to scoop her into his arms.

"Hey, Abby." He tickles her tummy as he carries her back to the group. "Did you have to wait long?"

"For aaageees." She says dramatically.

"We've arrived maybe two minutes ago." I say. "It's not been that long."

"Apparently long enough." Jay laughs as he sets the girl down and greets me with a chaste peck on the cheek. He then proceeds to do the same to Skylor, Seliel and PIXAL, while the guys and the twins all get a quick hug.

During all this, a rather nervous looking Katherine is standing a few steps behind. I flash her a reassuring smile and she gratefully return it.

But I'm of course not the only one who has noticed. Jay is quick to link his arm with her and lead her towards us. "Everyone, this is my dear colleague and friend, Katherine Dashner." He introduces her. "Kath. You already know Nya and Abby, Kai and Skylor. This is Dirtclod, aka Cole, my other best friend. His wife Seliel and their twins, Luke and Sylvie."

"I wanna go to Miss Kathy's school too." The back and pink haired girl proclaims as Katherine shakes hands with the parents. "Abby says it's the best."

"That's great to hear." Katherine smiles.

"An' it's my daddy's school too." My daughter adds proudly.

"These are Zane and PIXAL." Undeterred by our daughter's praise, Jay continues the introduction. "And this is Lloyd." He smirks. "You see, from close up and without his fancy green gi and golden armour, he's not that intimidating, right?"

"What's eenie-meenie-mating?" Abby pipes up.

"Intimidating, sweetheart." I whisper. "It means scary."

"No, Miss Kathy." Abby gasps loudly. "Uncle Lloyd isn't scary. He's funny."

"There goes my reputation." Lloyd laughs. "It took me years of hard work to build it up, only to have it destroyed in seconds by a five-year old."

"W-well, h-he is the Green Ninja, a powerful elemental Master and protector of Ninjago..." Katherine stammers, blushing profoundly.

"And so is my mum." Abby shrugs. "And my dad. And uncle Kai. And auntie Skylor. And..."

I really don't think my daughter's statement is helping to make Katherine less nervous, so I come to her aide.

"But tonight, we're all off duty and just a group of friends spending a relaxing evening at the Christmas Market." I interrupt. "It's great to see you've made it, Miss Dashner."

"Thank you, Miss Smith." She replies politely. "I'm glad, too."

"Why so formal?" Jay asks, wrapping his arms around both of us. "As you've just said yourself, we're all friends, and we're not even at school so can't we just scrap the titles?"

"That's fine with me." I agree. "I'm Nya."

"An' her name is Katherine." Abby informs me matter-of-factly.

"I thought so, sweetie." I laugh. "Nice to meet you, Katherine."

Despite my little girl's exaggerated claims that she hasn't eaten in ages and is starving, we agree to first split up and take a stroll around the Christmas Market before having some food all together.

While Jay is occupied with running after our daughter who spots one interesting stand after the other - which proves that she can't have been too hungry after all - Katherine and I slowly follow them.

"Look, mummy." Abby turns around as we approach them, holding a giant snow globe in her hands and shaking it vigorously. "It's snowing."

"Wow, it's lovely." I smile at her. "Just be careful that you don't drop it."

"That's Birchwood Forest, how pretty." Katherine recognises the scenery. "Do you like snow?"

"I do." Abby nods, gently putting down the globe. "But there's no snow where we live."

And I am glad there isn't. Having grown up in hot, dry Ignacia, I'm not used to cold weather at all.

"There's always a lot of snow where I grew up." Katherine tells her. "I loved to do skiing when I was a kid."

"Where are you from?" I enquire when another stall catches Abby's attention and she zooms off, Jay in pursuit.

"A small town in the east of the continent, past the Glacier Barrens." She tells me. "My parents still lives there, I moved to Ninjago City when I started college."

She gradually relaxes as we talk about our home towns and families – Katherine tells me that she also has an older brother, he has just finished his PhD in Immunology and is getting married next spring – and I really enjoy our conversation. It's been quite a while since I've talked to someone outside our little clan, and about something other than Ninja business or children.

Eventually, we catch up again with Jay and Abby.

"You found something nice?" I ask. They must have spent more time at this stall than at all the others combined.

"Remember I bought one of these for my mum when we were here together?" He points at the little wooden angel figurines. "She loved it so much so I've come back every year ever since to get her another one. Abby's helping me choose a new friend for this Christmas."

"It's a vewy difficult division." Abby states. She eventually points at the one with the cymbals. "This one. Can I get one too?"

"No, Abby." I chide her. "You can't just ask for something. It's gonna be Christmas soon, so if you really want it, you can put it on Santa's list."

"Okay." She drops her head, disappointed. "Mummy, I'm weally hung'y now." She says, which simply means she doesn't want to look around anymore.

Jay checks his watch. "We should meet back with the others now anyway, then we're all gonna have food together. Why don't you go ahead while I pay for this one." He winks at me. Of course, he's going to buy two.

I silently roll my eyes. As if she wasn't spoiled enough...

Katherine laughs when she notices my expression. "Don't worry, he's way stricter with the kids at school." She assures me.

When we arrive back at our meeting point – the central fountain on the market place – the others are back and waiting for us. And unsurprisingly, they have already started discussing our dinner options.

"Master Chen's has a stall over there." Skylor explains. "So if anyone wants noodles, I've got a couple of vouchers with me."

"Nood'es, yay." Luke cheers, and Sylvie claps her little hands in agreement. Definitely their father's children.

"And what is even better than noodles is free noodles." Cole grins. "Who else is with us?"

"I'll have a slice of pizza." Kai replies, as he turns to his wife. "Nothing against your noodles, Mrs Chen, but we've had them quite a lot lately ."

"No offense taken." His pregnant wife smiles back. "I am actually looking forward to trying something else myself as well. Sel has recommended the potato pancakes." Our pink-haired friend nods in agreement.

"I wanna hot dog." Abby states. "And fries."

"That sounds good to me too." Jay agrees, he then turns to look at me and Katherine. "What about you two lovely ladies?"

After we've all got our respective food, we even find a couple of benches and tables to accommodate our large group.

I am sharing a table with Abby, Jay and Katherine, as are Zane, PIXAL, Kai and Skylor, and finally Lloyd and the Brookstones, the Green Ninja trapped between the twins.

"Suits you, Lloyd." Kai teases our little brother, who is fighting to protect his plate of fries from the little thieves sitting on either side of him, while noodles are scattered all over their table.

"You wanna swap?" He retorts. "You're the one who should get some more practice."

"No thanks." Kai declines. "I'm enjoying my last few weeks of freedom."

"What freedom?" Cole asks loudly. "You're already married..."

Needless to say, Seliel isn't too impressed...

"I guess you've lost all your respect for the 'glorious heroes of Ninjago' on one evening." I say to Katherine who is seated opposite me, next to Jay. "You're lucky we're in public, and nobody's started a food fight." Yet. I add in my mind. I sincerely hope I haven't given anyone an idea...

"It would take a lot more to make me lose my respect for the ones who have saved us so many times." She shakes her head. "It's actually really nice to see that you are pretty normal people. And rather down to earth."

"Well, unless they use their dragons or Airjitzu..." Jay chimes in. "But definitely nothing to be afraid of."

"I would have never expected the famous Ninja to be such wonderful, loving parents." The kindergarten teacher adds.

"And so childish." I add.

"Oh, I'm used to much worse." She laughs. "I'm talking about my job, not about Jay." She nudges him.

"Thanks, little sis." He wraps his arm around her, pulling her into a side hug.

I feel a small pang of jealousy, seeing them so comfortable with each other, even in public. Sure, Jay has assured me that there is nothing romantic going on between them – and he's just called her his sister – but it still bothers me. We used to be like that, before all those stupid boundaries...

"I'm gonna get some waffles for myself, my adorable kids and of course my wonderful wife." Cole announces loudly, obviously in an attempt to make up for his earlier comment. And it works.

"Add some whipped cream and a bag of roast almonds, and we're good." Seliel kisses his cheek.

"Deal." He grins.

"Yes, their relationship is totally based on food." I confirm, having noticed Katherine's confused look.

"Well, that's Cole for you." Jay agrees as he stands up. "But dessert sounds actually pretty good. C'mon, Abby. Let's get some sweets."

"Bring me some candy, will ya?" Lloyd calls after him, unable to leave his spot.

"So, it is true." Katherine giggles.

"What is true?" I enquire.

"The Gree-... uhm, Lloyd loves candy."

"Oh, he does." I confirm. "In fact, when we first met him, he was trying to rob a candy store..."

I sometimes can't believe how far we've come from then. And yet, some things are still the same.

Katherine looks me in the eyes. "Thank you, Nya."

"What for?" I raise an eyebrow.

"For... for making me feel welcome. I-I was really nervous about meeting you guys here tonight but now I'm actually glad that Jay has convinced me to join."

"No problem." I assure her. "After all, he considers you part of his family."

This came out a lot harsher than I wanted it to.

"He's great." She smiles fondly. "I'm so glad to have him as my friend."

Really, you sure that is all he is to you? I wonder. Katherine is a very nice person, and I think she and I could become good friends, but I just can't help but be a bit suspicious of her intentions with regards to him. Well, I'm a sneaky Ninja, it's my job to get to the bottom of things...

"I hope you're not upset with Abby and me then." I say. "We've kinda hogged him these past few weeks, so it's our fault that you two haven't spent much time together lately..."

"Oh, don't worry. I still got see him at school." She assures me. "Sure, I've missed him, but I don't think I've ever seen him this happy. This really means a lot to him."

"Yes, it's great to have him back." I agree. "And I can see how much he cares about Abby."

"What about you?" Katherine's question takes me by surprise.

"Wha-what about me?"

"Do you only spend time with him for your daughter?"

I narrow my eyes. "Why are you asking?" I challenge.

"Because I care about him." She answers. "Jay is my friend, and I don't want him to get hurt."

"Neither do I." I assure her. "And I'm not doing this just because of Abby. Yes, it may have been our initial plan – me joining him and Abby, until they would be more familiar with each other – b-but I really enjoy spending time with hi-them." I sigh. "I'm dreading the day when Jay tells me that he doesn't want me to join them anymore." I admit. Well, in all fairness, those two are already getting along so well that they really wouldn't need me around anymore.

Now it's Katherine's turn to give me a reassuring smile. "I don't think that will ever happen." She says.

"You can't know that..." I mutter.

"Not, but..." She nervously glances around, making sure that our tablemates are still busy before turning her gaze back to me. "I happen to know that it isn't just spending time with Abby that's making him happy."

I'm still processing her words, lost for a reply, when I hear my brother's disgusted voice.

"How can you still like that stuff?" Kai questions.

I turn my head to see Jay and Abby standing between the other's tables, distribute the sweets they have selected. Sylvie and Luke have got two gingerbread hearts – saying Little Angel and Little Devil, respectively – and Lloyd is holding a giant bright green candy cane that looks like it might glow in the dark. And it seems that the spoiled princess herself has got a bit of everything: a gingerbread heart saying Little Lightning Bolt around her neck, giant cotton candy in one hand and a candied apple in the other.

"I do." Jay retorts, demonstratively taking a bite from his cotton candy. "And it still makes me feel young, so deal with it."

"Maybe you should have gone for the bigger size then." Cole teases him.

"At least it still works for me at all." Jay retorts.

"He got you there." Seliel smirks. "But I still love you, old man."

She leans over to place a kiss on his lips. "Mmh, waffles..."

"Get a room." Lloyd, Kai and Abby yell in unison.

"Nya." I feel a gentle tap on my shoulder. Distracted by my friends' antics, I haven't noticed that Jay has returned to our table.

When I turn around, he hands me a little paper plate with dark chocolate-covered pineapple pieces.

"I hope you still like this." He says nervously. "I mean, I know that your taste has changed – y-you don't like popcorn anymore but suddenly love olives – so I-I probably should have asked before getting something for you, but..."

I smile. "I love it." I say, locking my eyes with his. "You know, my taste hasn't changed in everything."