The sight before the dark haired girl's eyes was breathtaking; the dark sky was full of stars that glowed like tiny diamonds upon her. The way the waves hit the rocks with such intensity and raw power, the light sound of waves washing on shore like a smooth melody… it was simply beautiful. Who took a deep breath, a sweet mist filled her lungs and the cool breeze entangled itself in her braided hair; she smiled softly and closed her eyes, letting the cold breeze caress her skin.

In less than a blink, her eyes opened.

She jumped back on her feet, taking a defensive posture to welcome the sudden intruder that had come to bother her peaceful moment. Even in the darkness, her eyes could see movement; someone was behind the palm trees, waiting for a moment of distraction to attack her. Who held her breath, took a step forward towards the palm trees and threw a punch. When nothing happened, she went back to her spot near the border of the rocky little cliff. She focused on the sea and let it enchant her once again.

It was then that she felt steps behind her and, turning around swiftly, threw a kick to whoever was behind her. Turned out it was someone familiar.

"Whoa!" Leo exclaimed, stopping the incoming kick with his hands. "Easy, it's just me."

Who relaxed after seeing it was just the blue-clad ninja and lowered her foot once Leo let go of it.

"How did you know I was going to be here?"

Leo gave her a smile. "Intuition. Mind if I join you?"

The girl shrugged and sat down, her legs dangling off the border of the cliff. Leonardo took a seat beside his friend in lotus position. The only sound between them was the waves hitting the rocks and the leaves 'dancing' along with the breeze.

"It's quite beautiful up here," the ninja said. Who nodded in agreement.

"So… young lady… mind to explain why you left in such a rush?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do know what I'm talking about," Leo replied. "When you called Splinter 'dad', you froze. Why?"

"Leo, curiosity killed the cat and will kill a turtle if you keep at it," Who hissed, giving the ninja a murderous glare.

Leonardo chuckled and turned his attention back to the sea. "I was just asking… but if you don't want to talk I won't pressure you."

The blue-clad turtle could feel Who's angry gaze on him; he could tell she was really ticked off now.

"You're doing it again," Who accused him.

"What?" Leo asked innocently.

"Reverse psychology. You say you can't pressure me but you know I will end up telling you. But guess what?! That ain't gonna work with me, Fearless!"

"Ok."

"I mean it! I won't say a word."

Leo shrugged. "Alright."

"I'll just ignore you and enjoy the view instead," the girl ended, folding her arms tightly against her chest.

"Good for you."

Both ninja and girl stared at the sea, ignoring each other. But the girl couldn't exactly appreciate the sight before her eyes… not without imagining Leo's sly smirk and that 'I told you so' expression on his face.

Damn, she really hated it when Fearless Leader was right.

"Fine, I'll tell you," the girl said, growling a bit. "You happy?"

Leo nodded. "Pretty much."

Who sighed and ran a palm across her face. She was glad Leo came to find her alone so she wouldn't have to explain this to the others as well. Telling Leonardo was embarrassing enough.

"I left because I… well, I didn't mean to call Splinter… you know…"

"It's not like you insulted him. You've been part of this family for two years now. It's ok if you see a dad in Splinter. He really doesn't mind. On the contrary, he feels honored to know you see him as a fatherly figure and not just a Sensei."

"No offense, but it didn't feel right to me," Who replied.

Leo chuckled. "And may I ask why?"

"Because… I already have a father," Who sighed. "And I hadn't mentioned or thought of him in the last two years."

The smile on Leo's face vanished after hearing this. It was rare to hear Who talk about her family. She preferred not to so her unfortunate past would remain forever locked and someday forgotten. But somehow, bits of her memories had started to make their way through her mind during this month in Hawaii, especially when looking at the sea. It would seem that the blue watery surface was a giant photo album for Who and every time she looked at it, a new memory would return to her. Some of them bad, some of them good; this time was a good memory apparently.

"You've never told me about him. What's he like?" Leo asked, leaning into a nearby rock.

The dark haired girl smiled softly. That was a tricky question. She could say lots of wonderful things about his father and even then, she wouldn't be able to capture his essence completely. Leo's sensei and father was a good reference for a description, minus the fact of being a giant rat. After all, she didn't call Splinter 'dad' randomly. It was because of their similarities that the memory of her father had come to light again.

"Well, he's understanding, sweet, wise, loving… incredibly overprotective…" she said, making an emphasis on the last part, which made Leo laugh.

Of course her father had to be overprotective, what kind of father wouldn't be?

That could be applied to his sensei too. What reason, other than overprotection, would Splinter have to give them strict curfews every time they went to the surface, even when he was fully aware his students were old enough and fully trained?

"But you know why I really appreciate him?" Who continued. "Because he didn't turn into a heartless monster, unlike my mom and sister."

Leo hmmed in understanding. "I see. Hey, why don't you call him one of these days?"

The girl's expression turned gloomy. "I can't."

Leo sighed. "I know your mom was treating you horribly, and no one should have to pass through that after a surgery, but… it's been two years. What if everything's ok now? What if things cooled down already? What if-"

"-In case you don't remember, my mother doesn't want to see me! You heard the phone call, Leo. You were there the night I dropped the phone off the building after listening to all her insults! I know she hates me, and so does my sister, and I bet they made up a story so Dad would hate me too!"

"But what if you're wrong?"

Who grew tired of Leo's insistent 'what ifs'. She stood up, leaving Leo sitting in the sand as she made her way through the palm tree forest. She was about to reach the rocky ladder that would lead her back to ground but the blue-clad ninja jumped in front of her blocking her path.

'Damn ninja training,' she thought.

"We're not done here," Leo said, using his leader voice.

"Leonardo, move!"

"I won't until you understand that you can't give up on your father just like that. What if he's waiting for you to call and tell him your version of the story- the real version?"

"I know he won't listen! Besides, it will be the best for everyone if we just leave things the way they are."

Who turned around glancing at the sea again. She could hear the sigh of frustration coming from Leonardo.

"But you're not happy, Who," he stated, sadness present in his voice.

The girl stiffened. "You think I'm not happy? I have friends, a job…" She turned around and looked at the blue-clad ninja, straight into his eyes. "…I have freedom, Leo! I'm free to think and act by myself, and I'm honored to be living with you guys, and call you my family."

The blue clad ninja lowered his gaze in defeat, but jerked his head up when he felt a hand cupping his cheek.

"I am happy, bro," Who said, smiling.

Leonardo could not return the smile. He could feel she was lying but he decided not to continue with this argument. Who let her hand drop from Leo's face, her smile vanishing. The blue-clad ninja turned around towards the rocky ladder and began his descent off the cliff.

"I still believe you are being unfair with your father," Leo replied.

Who arched a brow. "Unfair? How?"

"By not letting him know you still love him and for not sharing that 'happiness' with him.

With that said, Leonardo disappeared from the girl's sight and she was left alone with her thoughts once again. Who looked at the sea again. It brought her back so many memories that she resolved to not see it again. Leonardo's words repeated several times, flooding her mind and making her feel somehow guilty.

She huffed. "I really hate when he's right."

Giving a last glance at the sea, she took the blue plumeria from behind her right ear. She smelled the subtle scent before giving a light kiss to the flower and letting it be carried away by the wind.

"I miss you, Daddy"


Back in New York, the choir's lead voices yawned and stirred tiredly from their spots on the floor, couch or wherever they had managed to fall down from exhaustion. The Phantom's production was officially a go and all voices must be present for auditions, but with Who having disappeared, they couldn't begin. So they had been looking for the young soprano all night without rest and, sadly, no success.

"Anything?" Helga asked with a yawn.

"No. She's not in Orlando either," Fiona answered, fighting not to close her eyes.

"Guys, how about we take a break? It's 8 am, we haven't slept all night and I bet you're hungry," Deuce suggested, earning approving nods from both girls.

"Alright, let's go get some breakfast before heading to the theater."

"Just a sec, I'm commenting a pic," Ted said.

Deuce caught a glance of the image and whistled in admiration. "Nice shot. Is that Hawaii?"

"You betcha! And this is a cool pic indeed," Ted commented. "I knew Whoey had a gift for photography and stuff."

Both girls and Deuce froze. "Did you say 'Who'?" they asked in unison. Ted answered with a nod.

"When did she post that photo?" Fiona asked eagerly.

"Two hours ago. Why?" Johansen asked back, but then realization hit him. "Oh… right."

Helga, Fiona and Deuce looked at Ted with angry eyes. With all the tension, stress and lack of sleep, they just had one thing in mind: kill Johansen. Fortunately for Ted, they were still a bit lethargic so they limited themselves to glaring furiously at him.

"What?! I was just checking my Facebook and this pic appeared!" Ted defended himself. "It ain't my problem if you guys don't check your Facebook regularly."

"Because we do have lives", Helga replied bitterly.

"And mine's not complete without you, Sugar," Ted said teasingly, earning a whack over the head from the Swedish girl.

"Guys, enough," Deuce interfered. "Ted, is Who logged in?"

"It appears so. Hang on, I have her Skype number."

Johansen typed the numbers rapidly and dialled. Everyone surrounded Ted waiting for Who's face to appear in the screen.