A very impatient Mikey stared in deep concentration at the several piles of sand scattered all over the beach. "Dude, how long do we have to wait?!"

"Patience, my son," Splinter said. "You can not control the way Mother Nature does things, nor when."

"I know, Sensei, but-"

"-Mikey, relax! It's not like you've never seen this happen before," Raph replied.

"That was only on TV," Who commented. "This is ten times better than in a documentary."

"She's got a point," Don seconded.

The orange clad turtle sighed in resignation and went back to trying to focus on the task his human friend had given to him to pass the time. He grabbed another three thin strands of hair and started criss-crossing them while the girl remained sitting up straight, waiting for the five pair of hands to finish braiding her long dark hair.

Looking at the sea, Who's mind began to wander; the memories of this sabbatical month replaying in her head made her smile.

These vacations had been incredible; for once in her life she didn't have to worry about anything, and neither had the turtles and their sensei. All they had to do was enjoy Hawaii to the fullest. They arrived at sunset using Don's copter and Who had rented a hut in a special part of the island where no one would disturb them. They wouldn't need to hide here, just move around freely.

During their time in Hawaii, Leo and Mikey had had time to practice their surfing skills and the orange masked turtle wouldn't put his surfing board down not even for a second. Raph took advantage of that and just snoozed under a palm tree, without worrying about his youngest brother pulling pranks on him. Don couldn't stop collecting flower seeds and native bugs to study and classify once they went back home. Who took pictures of everything and bought souvenirs and clothes while Splinter relaxed on his own and forgot about the stresses of being the father of four teenage turtles. They also enjoyed group excursions to places no tourist had ever been and had nightly campfires like the one they were having right now.

But tonight's campfire was not for telling stories; they were waiting for a great event to happen: the hatching of the Green Sea baby turtles. Mikey, being the most impatient, had been constantly asking when the babies would make their appearance, so Who allowed him to braid her hair in order to pass the time. The idea was so good the rest of the team tagged along a few minutes later.

"Could someone tell me: how did we end up playing beauty salon with lil' witch here?" Raph said out of the blue.

"You were all bored and I needed a hairdo," Who answered.

"Think of it as a nice way to pass the time. You know, until the babies hatch and all that," Leo said.

"It's kinda hard to braid hair with three fingers, though," Don admitted with a nervous giggle.

"Guys! It's time!"

The team's eyes landed on the spot Mikey was pointing at; the tiny heads of the first newborn turtles peeked out the sand and their beady dark eyes looked briefly at their surroundings before they began to squirm out of the pile of sand that had protected them and instinctively made their way to the sea. A few seconds later, more baby turtles appeared and followed the others at a quick pace.

"Awww! They're so cute!" Mikey squealed. "You think I could keep one?"

Who laughed. "To be honest, I don't think little Klunk would want to share his daddy with another pet."

"Besides, you can't adopt a wild sea turtle just like that," Don added. "They are meant to be free, not end up as pets."

The first babies had made it to the shore and there were still more incoming, their little flippers dragging their tiny and fragile bodies through the sand. The turtles couldn't help but smile at the sight before their eyes; it was like seeing a different, non-mutated version of themselves and even Splinter aww'ed every now and then.

One of the tiny turtles was still struggling to get out of the pile of sand and caught Mikey's attention.

"Oh no! Little fella needs help!" He was about to get up when he felt a hand grabbing his, stopping him.

"Mikey, we can't interfere with this," Leo said.

"But that poor baby needs help!" Mikey replied. "He can't get out of there!"

"I know it's hard to watch, but that's the way things are in wild life."

"It's just like the butterflies' struggle before getting out of their chrysalides; it makes their wings stronger," Don explained. "In the sea turtle case, it's like training their little flippers so once they reach water, they can swim easily."

Mikey looked sadly at the tiny creature, still struggling while the others continued. "What if he can't make it?"

Don sighed. "Natural selection, I guess. The strong survives, the weak… you know…"

"It's not fair."

"Neither is life, bro," Raph said, patting his youngest brother's shell.

Mikey didn't care about the other baby turtles anymore after seeing that baby still trying to free himself. He thought he had seen those tiny eyes look at him pleadingly, like asking him for help, but Mikey knew his brothers were right, he couldn't interfere. This was the way Mother Nature did things… and Mikey hated it.

"You know, maybe you could help him," Who said.

Mikey's eyes opened wide, the sparkle of hope shining in them once again. "Really?! How?"

"Moral support. Talk to him, cheer him up!" the girl suggested. "You're a turtle, he might understand you"

Don snorted. "Who, that's not logi-"

"You're right! Thanks sis!" The nunchuck wielder jumped back on his feet and ran towards the baby turtle. "Hang on, little dude! Mikey's coming!"

"You don't seriously think that's gonna work, right?" Raph asked while looking at the girl skeptically.

Who didn't say a word but her lips curled up slightly in a knowing smirk.

Once Mikey reached the tiny turtle, said creature turned his gaze at this overgrown strange looking turtle. His dark eyes stared at Mikey as he waved his flippers in the air, like trying to request for assistance. The orange-clad ninja sighed heavily and knelt beside the pile of sand.

"Sorry I can't help you, little dude; you have to do this yourself… that's how things are."

Surprisingly, the baby squirmed one more time as if showing Mikey how hard the task was and then stopped moving. The ninja was shocked; did his tiny friend understand him for real? Leaving all his questions and doubts aside for later, he resolved to keep talking to the baby turtle.

"I know it's hard but you can do it! Look at your bros and sis! They're waiting for you" Mikey said pointing at the horizon. "You just have to try a little harder."

The baby seemed to understand Mikey's encouraging words and, with a little more effort, he finally wiggled his tiny body out of the sand. Mikey's grin was wide enough to split his face in two.

"That's it, that's it!"

With the help of his flippers, the little creature began to go down the "enormous" pile of sand. He tripped with a conch shell and went rolling down the pile. Mikey contained his breath, hoping the turtle wouldn't land on his shell which, luckily, didn't happen. Shaking his tiny head to get rid of the sand on top of it, the baby turtle began to follow his brothers and sisters.

"WOOHOO! YOU GO, LITTLE DUDE!" Mikey yelled in glee air pumping his fist in victory. He didn't know exactly how this had happened but he couldn't care less, the little baby was about to join his family.

The tiny baby looked back at the giant talking turtle and turned around, his tiny beak nudged Mikey's toe as a symbol of gratitude.

"Aww~ No need to thank me, little baby," Mikey cooed. "Now go before they leave you!"

The baby looked at Mikey one last time before he set his sight on the shore and continued his way to the sea. Meanwhile, the whole family had been watching the scene with wide eyes and opened mouths. The only ones not surprised were Splinter and Who, they both smiled as if knowing that was going to happen.

"Unbelievable. How did you know it was going to work?" Leo asked in awe.

Who chuckled. "Intuition."


Minutes passed and most of the babies were already swimming their way to open sea while the turtles and sensei rat finished their handiwork on the girl's hair.

"This is the perfect way to end the day," Don said to himself, but loud enough for the others to hear.

"You mean by braiding Rapunzel's hair here? Tch, yeah right," Raph said sarcastically. "We're never going to finish!"

"For your information, my hair is not THAT long. Just some… inches below the hip," Who argued. "And be grateful I let you put your hands on my precious."

Raph snorted. "Well, you don't seem to have any trouble letting Fearless here touch'your precious' anytime he wants."

Leo gave his brother a glare. "That's not true!"

"I'm done," The genius said, showing Who his part of the job.

"Nice work, Donnie."

"I didn't make them tight enough," Leo admitted with a slight red color tinting his cheeks.

"It was a nice try, though."

Mikey waved his hand excitedly. "Look at mine, look at mine!"

Who giggled as she saw the slightly messy braids. "Aww, you put tiny turtle hair clips at the end."

"Does that give me extra points?"

"This is not a competition Mikey, but you were creative, I have to admit."

Suddenly, a bunch of half perfectly braided strands hair came into the girl's sight. "Don't start whining if you don't like them," came Raph's gruff voice

"But you did great! Why should I whine?" Who said, admiring the impulsive turtle's job.

"Wow, Raph beat us all on braiding hair? That's…" Don couldn't find words to express his surprise and neither could his brothers.

Except for the youngest of the team, that is.

"I knew he had a natural gift for girly stuff!" Mikey said, giggling. "First it was knitting, then hair styling. What's next, Raphie? Baking?"

The sai wielder pulled his laughing brother into a headlock and the others just watched and laughed while Mikey tried to squirm out of Raphael's deadly grip and shout out apologies.

"Aren't you going to stop them, Sensei?" Leo asked, trying to contain his laughter.

"Michelangelo knows well not to bother his brother; it is a shame he has to learn that lesson the hard way. Besides, I am on vacation," Splinter said calmly as he finished braiding the last strand of hair, placing a blue plumeria flower behind the girl's right ear.

"Nice final touch, Master Splinter." Who smiled, admiring her braided hair. "Say… you've done this before, haven't you?"

The old rat smiled. "Well, I must admit I had more than enough practice in the time Miss O'Neil lived with us."

"You know? I don't think I'm ready to leave this place yet," Don said, stretching his arms lazily.

"Ditto! These have been the best vacations ever!" Mikey seconded. "Sun, sand and sea-"

"-no worries about some sicko going after our shells, or stinking Foot Ninjas-" Raph added, leaning his shell on a palm tree.

"-and don't forget about the food and the landscape," Leo continued.

"And all of that could not have been possible without you, young lady," Splinter ended, receiving nods of approval. "My sons and I are grateful for such a generous gift."

"Aww~ But you don't have to thank me at all, dadd-"

She froze; so did everyone else.

By the time she realized, all eyes had landed on her before she could finish her previous statement, and the dark haired girl just wanted the earth to open and swallow her up.

Who blushed in embarrassment. "I… Sensei, I'm sorry. I-I didn't…"

"It is alright, my dear," Splinter chuckled. "I do not mind having another daughter."

"Who's the first one?" Mikey whispered.

"He's talking about April, duh!" Don answered.

"Really? I thought he was talking about Miss Raphie, The Braid Mistress~"

"WHY YOU!"

While Mikey tried to not get himself caught by Raph, Leo and Don shook their heads and laughed at the youngest's distress. Splinter was right: Mikey did learn things the hard way. As for the old rat, he merely watched and laughed silently. Seeing his sons chasing each other was far more entertaining than his soap operas at the moment.

Suddenly, the dark haired girl stood up and dusted the sand off her legs the best she could before starting to walk away from the group. Don noticed the sudden movement and turned his attention to the girl.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'll be back in the hut," Who answered while walking. "You guys tell me if all the babies made it to the sea, ok? Or if Mikey made it out alive, anyway."

Leo and Don shared puzzled looks with each other. When they turned their sight back the girl, she was gone. Now that had been a little odd; why did she leave so suddenly?

"Ooook? Any idea why she left in such a hurry?" Don asked.

"I might have one. But for now, I'd better go check if she's ok," Leo said, abandoning his spot by the fire as well.

"Again? You've been checking on her almost all the time!"

"What are you talking about?"

The expression on the genius' face was clearly a teasing one: the corner of his mouth curled up, his right brow arched and his arms folded against his chest.

"Don't give me that face, Donatello. I haven't been checking on her."

The purple-clad ninja shrugged but didn't erase the smug smirk from his face. "Whatever you say, bro. Just don't complain when Raph teases you."

"Yeah right," Leo rolled eyes. "By the way, Mikey is throwing sand at your laptop."

"WHAT!"

Leo couldn't help but laugh after seeing the expression on his most intelligent brother's face after he broke the unfortunate news, but now Don was distracted chasing Mikey, so the sword wielder took advantage of this to follow his friend without being teased. Again.


Alright, another chappie that has nothing to do with Epic Halloween time… yet. I just like to spoil you, guys! Especially since my updates became slower and slower. Sorry about that.

Busy me is busy but still… that's not an excuse!

I'll get to work on my other stories soon.