New Member of the Family

Master Splinter silently sat in thought as he watched his sons practice their ninjitsu. They were coming along well, he could see, despite being a mere three years old. He could already see a bit of their personalities just beginning to bloom.

Leonardo, his oldest, was proving to be a very astute student. He almost always seemed to master his ninjitsu moves before his brothers, and he always seemed to be ready to help his brothers in whatever they were struggling with. Master Splinter could tell he would make a fine leader one day.

Raphael, the second oldest, was showing early signs of defiance and a bit of a temper; it was easy to see now as he let his anger get the better of him and allowed Leonardo to flip him in their practice bout. He was a skilled fighter, nonetheless, and probably the strongest of the four. And under his tough shell Splinter could sense a strong sense of loyalty in his heart.

The second youngest, Donatello, was proving to be the smartest of his brothers. He always seemed to be thinking several steps ahead, though Splinter sometimes wished he would think a little less. It also appeared he wasn't nearly as strong as his brothers, this thought was emphasized as the youngest turtle, Michelangelo, knocked Donatello down and made it impossible for him to get up. They would need to work on building up his strength.

And finally Michelangelo, the youngest. Michelangelo seemed to be the troublemaker of the family most of the time. He loved to spend his spare time reading comic books and playing videogames. He also seemed to enjoy picking on his brothers, especially Raphael.

Master Splinter sighed as he stood up and called for his sons to stop in their training. In just a few moments all four turtles were in a row on their knees in front of him. He looked at them silently for a few moments before speaking.

"You have done well today, My sons. That is enough training for now. I am going to go meditate now so you may have the rest of the evening to yourselves."

Michelangelo's hand shot up. "Can we go explore the sewers?" he asked.

Master Splinter thought for a moment. "Very well. However, I want you to stay away from this section of the sewers." he added, pointing at a section on a map of the sewers hanging on the wall. "That section is not safe at this moment. And if I find out that any of you go there you'll wish I made you do a hundred pushups instead. Understand?" Splinter looked each of his sons in the eye as they nodded sincerely. He smiled. "Now, I'm going to meditate."

As Master Splinter went into his room to meditate the four turtles jumped to their feet and started discussing where they were going to explore. Leo looked over at the map and noticed Raph looking at it thoughtfully.

"Hey Raph! Any ideas on where we should explore?" Raph nodded slowly and his brothers came to see what he had in mind.

"Alright, where?" Mikey asked as he practically jumped onto Raph's back.

Raph shook him off impatiently before lifting his finger and pointing at the map. "There." he said.

Leo, Don, and Mikey all looked at each other uncertainly.

"Uh, Raph?" Don spoke hesitantly, "Weren't you paying attention to Master Splinter? He said that section was dangerous and didn't want us to go there."

"I was payin' attention." Raph scowled angrily, "But why would dis section be anymore dangerous than any other section? And why would it be more dangerous now and not some other time? If ya ask me it sounds like an adventure."

Mikey and Don exchanged uncertain glances while Leo stepped toward Raph and the map. "But Master Splinter told us not to go there. Why don't we go here instead?" Leo pointed on the map to a sewer tunnel very similar to the other but in the opposite direction.

"'Cause we've been in that tunnel a hundred times, Leo! Why don't we try somethin' new?"

"Fine, we'll try something new, but not that tunnel." Leo insisted.

"Ya know what? Fine. If you three babies want to go into one of those tunnels, fine. But I'm gonna go have an adventure. See ya later, Splinta' Junioa." Raph turned his back on his brothers and headed into the forbidden sewer tunnel. Leo crossed his arms angrily and watched him leave while Donnie and Mikey glanced at each other nervously behind him.

Raph walked through the empty sewer tunnel, the sound of his feet splashing through the water echoing off the surrounding walls. He stopped and surveyed his surroundings for a moment when a scuffling sound made him spin around. He narrowed his eyes and balled his fists as he waited for something to jump out at him. He tensed a moment as movement from the shadows caught his attention. Suddenly a sewer rat shot out of the shadows, raced across the tunnel, and disappeared into a crack in the bricks. Raph straightened up and relaxed for a moment. He looked around silently for a moment.

Then he shouted, "This is supposed to be dangerous!?" his voice echoed off the walls. When the sound died down he kicked a small rock with his foot. "Man, what a bust." Raph turned to head back to the lair when a sound in the other direction got his attention. He stopped and listened and after a few moments he heard it again, though he couldn't tell what it was. He'd never heard anything like it before.

'Well, ya wanted an adventure.' he thought to himself. Doing the best ninja-sneak he could manage he crept through the sewer tunnel, careful not to splash the water too much. As he followed the noise he came to a turn in the sewer line. He kept his back pressed to the wall as he peaked around the corner. Sitting there, in the middle of the tunnel, sat a light golden brown basket. Raph had seen baskets kind of like this one in Master Splinter's room; he'd said they were hand woven from Japan. Only this one was MUCH bigger, and a different shape. It was kinda long with one side curved up to shelter whatever was inside, like an umbrella or something. Raph listened carefully and he heard the sound again. It was coming from the basket.

Raph took a deep breath. Then he stealthily crept out from behind the corner and approached the basket. Very carefully he peaked over the side of the basket and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Lying in the basket, wrapped in a light blue blanket, was a BABY. Raph couldn't believe his eyes! He'd never seen a human before, especially not a baby one! The baby looked back up at him. Her chocolate brown eyes met his and for a moment he couldn't look away. Then Raphael gingerly stuck his finger toward the baby. She made a pfft sound with her lips, blowing spit bubbles, as she grabbed his finger in her tiny fist. Raph felt a smile creep across his face. It didn't hurt but he was surprised at how strong she was for someone so small. He pulled his finger away and she started to cry. Worried that she would attract attention from being too loud he tucked the blanket around her.

"Ssshh," he whispered as he gently stroked her head. She had very soft, black hair. Raph smiled as she stopped crying and looked up at him with her big, brown eyes. Raph looked both ways down the tunnel. There were no signs of anyone around, but who would leave a baby alone in the sewers? He thought for a moment. He looked down at the baby. She had begun sucking her thumb and making cooing noises. Raph sighed. He couldn't leave her alone, and Master Splinter would understand. He was always talking about honor and doing the right thing. Well, where was the honor in abandoning a defenseless baby?

"That's it," Raph said to himself, "I'm not leaving you behind. I'm taking you home with me." So Raph walked around to the back of the basket, grabbed it with one hand on either side, and began dragging it in the direction of the lair.

"Huff, huff. Okay…just a…little farther." Raph panted as he dragged the basket a few more feet. He hadn't realized how far they'd been from the lair. He stopped to rest for a moment to catch his breath when he heard laughter and voices coming from one of the other tunnels. He looked into the tunnel expectantly as his brothers stepped out of the shadows and approached him.

"Hey Raph! You missed out on a ton of fun!" Don called when he noticed his immediate older brother. "Mikey tripped and fell into a pile of sewage!" Don laughed as he looked over at Mikey, who was scowling at him.

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny, Donatello." Mikey said sarcastically as he crossed his arms.

"What's with the basket, Raph?" Leo interrupted the two as he stepped ahead of them.

Raph glanced nervously from his brothers to the basket. How would they react to his discovery? Would they tattle on him to Master Splinter for going to the tunnel they weren't supposed to go to? Cautiously he said, "Promise you won't tell Master Splinter where I found this?" as he stepped between them and the basket.

The other three turtles glanced at each other for a few moments. Mikey shrugged at his older brothers and they all looked back at Raph. Leo spoke for them as he said, "We promise."

Raph took a deep breath as he stepped back and looked into the basket. His brothers all looked in with him. By now the baby had fallen asleep, curled up in her blanket with her knuckle in her mouth. Raph glanced nervously at his brothers. All three had wide eyes as they took in what their brother had found.

Leo looked at Raph. "What do you think Master Splinter will do?" he asked his younger brother. Raph looked at the ground and shrugged.

"He wouldn't turn away a baby." Donatello jumped into the conversation, "would he?" he looked back at his older brothers nervously.

"Lets get her into the lair and then worry about Master Splinter." Leo decided. They all agreed as they each lifted a side of the basket and carried it through the doorway to the lair.

"Careful!" Raph warned as Mikey accidentally bumped the basket into the wall.

"Sorry." Mikey whispered as they set the basket down in the middle of the family room. They all looked into the basket. The baby had woken up and was looking at all of them with wide, curious eyes. Then her eyes squinted shut as her mouth stretched into a huge yawn. "Aaawww!" Mikey leaned in closer, "She's sooo cute!"

"Where have you four been?" asked a gentle voice.

The four turtles spun around to see Splinter standing in the front entrance to the lair. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the large basket behind his sons. Leo, Mikey, and Don exchanged nervous glances while Raph stepped in front of them.

"They had nothing to do with this, Sensei." Raph bowed his head. He had to be careful what he said. "We all wanted to go explore the tunnels, like you said we could, but I wanted to go off on my own. And I found this in one of the tunnels." he stepped aside, gesturing to the basket.

"There's a baby in it!" Mikey blurted out. Raph turned to glare at him while Leo smacked him in the head. Raph turned back around and looked up at his father. Splinter looked from Raphael to the basket. Then he walked past Raph toward the basket. The other three turtles moved out of the way as he bent over and picked up the baby. Raph watched the exchange carefully. The baby stretched her hands toward the rat's face and stroked his whiskers, giggling at the touch of fur. Raph felt a small strand of hope when he saw Master Splinter smile at the baby.

Then Master Splinter cradled the baby in his arms before turning to his sons. "Well," he said, "if you four want a baby sister you're going to need to help take care of her." at this all four brothers jumped and cheered.

"Can we name her Silver Sentry?" Mikey asked excitedly, clearly thinking about his favorite character from the Justice Force. This comment earned him another smack, this time from Raph.

"Actually, I was thinking of something…a little more common." Splinter said as he went to sit down on the sofa with the baby still cradled in his arms.

"What?" Raph asked as he followed his father to the sofa.

"Kayla." Splinter said softly as he stroked the babies head.

Raph stood on his tiptoes so he could see his new sister's face over his father's arm.

"Kayla." he murmured.