Nail's End.

Rated K.

Disclaimer: I don't own Leo or his brothers, I do own Karena and Kaliann though.

Leo looked at his young daughter, Kaliann was three, and unlike her older cousin Ramiela, Kaliann seemed to not be too keen in wrestling or sports. Kaliann was not a tomboy though she enjoyed the lessons she was learning from their Uncle Raphael. Kaliann preferred quiet games, colouring, playing with her dolls, or simple board games meant for pre-schoolers like memory card games, or things like hungry hippos, don't spill the beans and other such games. At the moment she was colouring.

Kaliann glanced up and noticed her daddy watching her she gave a pert little smile, "Daddy!" She squealed running to greet him.

Leo scooped her into his arms, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek in greeting "How's my Princess?" Leo asked her.

" Good." Kali replied.

" Where's your brother?"

"Aiden wit Unca Mikey." The girl chirped, she gently patted his cheek, with one hand " Daddy make nail pwetty." She begged.

" You best wait for your mom for that one Kaliann." Leo hedged. Karena was substituting today and so while he'd been busy instructing Rama in her lessons and attending to other duties Mike had cared for the kids and gave Kali and Aiden their lessons for the day.

His other duties had consisted mainly of reorganizing the patrol shifts for the family because Sara had given birth and would most likely need her husband's assistance for things,at least for the first week, and Don didn't want to be long away from Jen because she was due to give birth soon. Not that his brother would miss the momentous occasion of his child entering the world, but that basically left Mike and himself for most of the patrol shift, at least for awhile. That had given him more then a slight headache and took more time then he wanted to spend on it. Meditation was a necessary relaxation after that, and then of course checking in on the Master who had a bad chest cough.

Leo didn't think Kali had been alone too long, at least not long enough to get into mischief of any kind. "Why don't we play a game Kali?"

Kali pouted, " Make nails pretty daddy." She insisted, " Pwetty for mommy."

Leo sighed, and rolled his eyes, he'd seen Karena do it for Kali, it seemed fairly simple task just dip the tiny brush from the bottle over the nails and done. "All right" he relented unable to say no to the pleading look his daughter gave him, the human features set in that turtle face, with the blond hair, and long lashes made it almost impossible to say no to her. " I'll get the stuff." Leo told her as he sat the little turtle child on her bed and went to his own bedroom to the top of a dresser where Karena left her make up on , well out of reach of Kaliann. He picked a sparkling green colour he knew Karena had bought specifically for Kali, there were some just for their daughter.

He returned to the twin's bedroom, "Here we go Kali, lets see those fingers."

Kali raised her hands up showing the nails with bits of old polish still on. Leo loosened the cap of the bottle and gently began to brush the polish on one nail, only Kali squirmed to grab a teddy bear and polish got on more then her nail.

"Hold still Kali." Leo said.

" Sowwy daddy." Kali replied.

Then she began to wave her fingers about just as Leo completed the second nail, once again polish got everywhere. Leo knew he could chide Kali again, but she was only three years old, and it was hard for any three year old to sit still too long. Leo knew there had to be some sort of trick to applying the polish to the nail, Karena could do it quickly and effectively enough but he had to admit he had never paid all that much attention to just how his wife did it.

Leo could tell that he was making more of a mess then he was at making the nails look pretty, and how in the world could something that looked so easy, be so difficult? He wondered if perhaps he ought to give up, but Kali's nails were only partially done and he didn't want to leave the task at that.

"Daddy make pwetty." Kali gushed waving her fingers too near Leo's face and smudging one of her still wet nails on his chin leaving green glitter polish there.

Karena came in many minutes later and her eyes widened in shock to see what her husband was attempting, and while he was usually fairly calm she could tell by the ever so slightest scowl on his face, that he was feeling very much out of his element. Kaliann had nailpolish everywhere, from fingernails to elbows. Leo had it on his cheeks, plastron and belt. He glanced up at her and gave her a weak smile, " I figured I could do this, but in hindsight I don't think I can, " he confessed with a rather sheepish look.

Karena chuckled, " What was your first clue? Look Leo you do the ninja stuff, I do the girly stuff... like Kali's hair and nails." She said, gently reminding him of a deal they had made. " I'm going have to clean Kali up and you best use some of the nail polish remover on yourself too, unless you want dabs and streaks of dark green glitter on you for who knows how long."

" I didn't think doing her nails would be that difficult." Leo muttered grudgingly.

" You can out guess your opponent on any battle move he makes, can move at ninja speed, but still can't manage something like this," Karena shook her head, sending blond hair bouncing slightly with her head movement. " I love you dearly and you have many excellent traits but doing nails requires a certain -touch- especially when dealing with young children." Karena smiled, " On the bright side it is good to know there are things you can't do, and nails is obviously one of them."

Leo chuckled at his wife's good natured ribbing, as she picked Kali up and headed to the bathroom telling the girl it was time to get her cleaned up before dinner.

After dinner Leo spent time with Aiden play fighting and wrestling with the boy to help wear him out, and by the time he packed a sleepy Aiden into the bedroom Kali held up her hands, " See daddy, Mommy make pwetty."

" She did at that Kali, daddy better leave mommy's jobs alone from now on," He agreed, " Now what story will we read tonight?"

XXX

Of course in a family like theirs, secrets were often hard to keep and it wasn't long before his brothers were giving him a bad time about the nail polish incident at their own practice sessions. Leo could handle that, he had suffered their remarks and bantering before so it hardly phased him when Raph intoned, " Maybe you better sit this out you don't want to damage everything but your nails Leo."

Or Mike's sniggering, and doing a fine impression of Leonardo. " I can hit any target blindfolded from ten feet or more away, but I'll miss the nail everytime."

Don didn't have much to say, about it, but he laughed and shook his head, as if to say, I can't believe this.

So, what? So, he couldn't do his daughter's nails. Mike had it easy, learning to braid Rama's hair had been a cinch and more often then not Karena would do it for him, besides Rama seemed to show little or no interest in having her nails pretty, though once in a while if feeling left out the older girl might go and ask for it. Raph's daughter Ashlynn was at the moment too young to ask for such things though he might get his come uppance in a couple more years, when Ashlynn asked for it.

Leo merely took the good natured joking in stride and refused to comment too much about the whole thing.

Leo knew that there was more important things then doing Kali's nails, let it be a special mother daughter thing, there was other ways he could bond with Kaliann, and still prove he was all a dad should be. But he was more then a dad he was also ninja, and his assets to the team and his family did not require such skills from him. He needed to be a leader, and part of being a leader was knowing when to let others do what they were good at.

Leo was willing to do this and yet, at the same time, he couldn't help but think that he had lost something. That he had some how failed, and while the sense of failure was one he was used to, having felt it often in his younger years- before he learned the art of balance, and perseverance in the sight of failure, among other valuable lessons- it was not now a familiar feeling or emotion, and Leo couldn't understand why it would surface now after so long.

Even Kali had seemed to have learned her lesson, and hadn't bothered to ask daddy to do her nails since that one time, in fact Leo had caught her giggling once or twice, while Karena did the task, and saying in her cheerful tone. " Mommy do nail. Daddy don't do."

Leo sighed, and went about his duties, spending time with Kali by helping her colour, reading stories, or playing simple board games. Until enough time had passed that his brothers joking had died down, though Kali's insistence that Mommy do nail daddy don't, remained just as strong as ever. Perhaps it was Kaliann's constant remarks that irked him, or maybe it was that he had seen Karena applying the nail polish to Kaliann's small nails and listening to their low whispered tones as if sharing secrets. The giggling and a sort of special bonding that seemed to come from such things.

It is mother, daughter bonding and it is meant for girls. They only get like this when Karena does Kali's nails or hair. Leo mused, It is no big deal. I can do braids and ponytails for Kali too, but she usually gets Karena to do it. Braiding was fairly simple technique, it didn't require a great deal. Ponytails had to be the simplest thing for doing hair and if you tied a little ribbon or put in a barrette, or some other little hair piece to fancy it up then Kali felt she had something real special. It took nothing really to do. Nails clearly were in a class by themselves, especially considering that Kali obviously didn't have the patience to sit still long enough to permit the nails to be painted and dried at the same time.

" I want to learn how to do this." Leo said, startling himself by speaking the words aloud and with great conviction on his part. He blinked as if he hadn't been expecting it. There was a challenge to do it, though it was only a personal challenge to see if he really could accomplish it, it was a challenge nonetheless. It would require speed, that much was clearly obvious from his failed attempt and from observing but there was also more to it then that.

Late that evening when the kids were in bed, Leo and Karena were alone in their room Leo looked at his wife, " Karena, I want to learn how to do Kali's nails." He declared.

Karena blinked in amazement, she arched an eyebrow and gave her husband a quizzical look, "But..." Karena paused as if not sure whether to finish those words or not.

Leo could see he had baffled her with his simple request, " I don't want to take away that special bonding you have with her Karena, but I'd like to share it. I want to be able to do that for Kali, and possibly for any other young turtle girl who might be keen on it." He explained.

Karena smirked just a little, " And maybe prove to yourself you really are capable of doing it?" She teased her green eyes dancing a little as she eyed him.

Leo shrugged, but because it was his wife he willingly confessed, "Maybe, a little of that."

"You do so much Leo, Kali doesn't think less of you for you not doing it," Karena pointed out, but seeing the look on her mate's face she nodded her head, " that isn't it though, you really want to learn. Once set and determined to learn something you don't give up." She said, knowing exactly that it was true of her husband, she had seen it often enough in their time together that it really was no surprise that Leo had asked this of her now. " Alright, I'll show you. You can practice on me."

She gathered the nail polish and the nail polish remover and cotton swabs, setting them onto their night stand by the bed. " You can work on how to apply it properly without having someone moving every two seconds, once you are familiar with the how you can work on speed."

Leo arched an eye ridge, " Back to the basics?"

"Something like that," Karena admitted, " But this isn't ninjitsu."

With that she began the simple instructions, of how to apply the product to the nail, " Children being quick to move and touching things especially when you don't want them to touch it, you have to think of other ways to keep their focus and insure the polish dries without them making a mess of it."

Leo nodded, he had all ready learned some of that with Kali the first time.

" I whisper, because when you whisper kids tend to pay attention and sit still. They want to figure out if you are letting out a secret," Karena chuckled, " to dry the nails you can use such tricks of blowing like a strong wind, or get them to flap their arms and hands to be like birds, you know wave your hands real fast. That is good for real young children like Kali's age, or younger."

XXX

It was a busy Friday morning and Karena was getting ready to go teach as a substitute teacher, when Kali prodded her mom. " Mommy make nail pwetty, please!" Kali drew out the last word making it as long as she possibly could.

" Not now babe, mom has to go to work soon."

Kali pouted crossing her arms over her plastron.

"Don't give me that look, we can do it tonight." Karena promised, a tiny glint came into her green eyes as she glanced over at her husband, " Or maybe get daddy to do it."

"Mommy do nails. Daddy don't" Kali stated in a surly kind of way.

Mike snickered a little, " Leo does nails the way Picasso does portraits."

Leo gave a low chuckle, " You could be right Mike." He agreed amiably.

Karena paused to give her daughter a stern glare, " Look Kali, either daddy does it now or it waits till mom comes home." She instructed with a firm tone that said, that was all there was going be to it. She gave Leo and Kali a quick kiss before bustling out of the kitchen to get her things together and leave.

Kaliann looked at her father, with a look of uncertainty, her brow furrowed in deep thought.

Leo smiled as he looked at her, " Would you let daddy at least try Kali?" he asked.

" Okay daddy try. Daddy don't do nails." She said.

Leo went and got a bottle of nail polish, "Lets see your hand." He requested.

Kaliann tentatively reached out her left hand keeping a quizzical look on her face, as her dad began to start putting on the nail polish, " Is this a pretty colour?" Leo whispered.

Kali nodded her head, " I like it."

Leo was soon blowing lightly on the fingers, " There all done at least that hand."

Kali's mouth gaped as she realized her dad was finished and he was instructing her to wave her hand about. In stunned amazement Kali offered her other hand for the fingers to be painted as well. She shook her head, " Daddy do nails?" She asked uncertainly, " Daddy make pwetty?" She wondered again. She paused and once again repeated " Mommy do nails. Daddy don't." She seemed to consider her last words for some time, in fact Leo had finished the other hand before Kali announced with great pride, "Daddy do too,do nail pwetty."

The End