A/N: Title comes from P!nk's "Are We All We Are".

I really wanted to do a piece between Splinter and Casey. They have zero interaction together in most continuities that I know of. So it was fun writing this.

It's also a bit more serious but well weighty things are weighty.

As always this is unbeta'd.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Part Ten:

Hamato Yoshi, currently known as Splinter, stood before the small homemade altar to his wife that was kept in the dojo.

Carefully, he lit the incense and bowed his head. Ever since his sons, their sons for she was their mother in spirit, had begun to fight greater enemies then he had ever anticipated, Splinter made sure to ask for Tang Shen's protection.

Despite the odd circumstances of the family and the tragic circumstances regarding Miwa, he would like to think in another life, a different life, that Tang Shen would have loved their sons. He had tried his best and yet, as all fathers often do, Splinter worried that he will…

He shook his head to banish such thoughts. Once his sons leave, he will meditate until they return.

Or, he will make the attempt to meditate. Some nights it works better then others.

A gentle knock on the door disturbed Splinter from his thoughts. He had heard her coming and her scent had drifted in before she knocked.

He turned still to greet the girl.

Casey Jones stood in the doorway. She was carefully toeing off the sneakers that she preferred for the combat. Her weapons of choice laid by the door as did her mask. Her face remained unpainted, but the girl often vacillated between wearing the make-up or not.

She carefully left her sneakers by the door, surprising Splinter. Eastern customs were not that well known in the West. He didn't let it show, but Casey rubbed the back of her neck.

"I took karate when I was a kid. I can, at least, remember that. Sensei made sure that was drilled into us," she explained awkwardly. "I've never been in here before."

The teenager took a step forward and looked around the room.

"You are more than welcome to come in here."

"Oh," said Casey suddenly and blushed. "I didn't want to interrupt anything. I'm not really a ninja. Besides this always struck me more as a family place."

She rubbed her arm awkwardly.

Splinter had to admit that it was. It was a family place, for his sons and April. But, perhaps, Casey had worked her way into the family as well.

"You studied karate?" he asked, neither confirming nor denying Casey's statement.

"Yeah," said Casey simply, walking in a bit more. "My parents signed me up when I was a kid. I did a lot of sports: soccer, figure skating, ice hockey, karate… I had a lot of energy and got angry. They thought it would help me."

"And did it?" asked Splinter, curious about his sons' new friend.

"Not particularly," she said as she ran her hand along the trunk of the tree. "Kind of obvious. I just…I was just an angry kid in the end. I guess. The man who taught it was a pretty cool old guy. He was just super patient and calm and everything. He seemed to like me a lot and I liked him, too. But he died and his son took over. Son waited until the first time I acted up and kicked me out for not being disciplined enough."

Splinter could feel the corners of his mouth tug gently into a frown. A firm hand was needed when teaching children, but so was a kind one. Patience was key even when the students took time to grasp the lessons put forth.

She was an adept fighter; if Casey were given a better chance then perhaps a different story would be told of the girl.

Casey tapped the tree thoughtfully, lost in her own thoughts. "Last I saw of the dojo, it was Chris Bradford place now or something. I guess he ended up selling it."

"I am assuming that you are not here to reminisce about the past with me, Casey," said Splinter after several quiet moments.

Casey smiled tiredly, "No. I didn't."

"Then," said Splinter, "why are you here?"

The girl bit her lip and looked down. It was clear that what she wanted to say was having a hard time making itself known. Some people, people of action like Raphael and Casey, had a more difficult time putting their actions into the correct words. It took a measure of prying and coaxing without seeming like it to get them to talk.

"Is that your wife?" asked Casey as she noticed the altar. She walked over, standing next to Splinter, and peered at the photo of Tang Shen holding Miwa.

"Yes," he said quietly. "That is my wife."

"She's very beautiful," whispered Casey quietly. Her eyes were half lidded, "She has kind eyes."

Splinter watched the girl from the corner of his eye. Her hands were shoved into pockets and he could see her fiddling with something in them.

"Tang Shen was the kindest woman I have ever known. She loved fiercely and was always willing to help those who needed it."

He saw Casey's red lips twitch upward, almost sadly, "Reminds me of my own mother. She was very, very beautiful and very, very kind. She taught me a lot. I wished I listened to her lessons more when she was still alive."

"I am sorry for your loss."

Casey blinked up at him, "I believe that you are. I used to not, you know. When most people said it sounded so fake to my ears. Like we didn't lose. She died from cancer and I spent months watching her just waste away in front of me. I watched my mom become not my mom because the medication messed with her mind. I watched her waste away and I was so…powerless. I hated that feeling more than anything in the world. "

She blinked, fiercely, as if holding back tears.

Splinter just rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. It was something that seemed to comfort the girl. At least, she didn't shrug him off.

The thing he has noticed, with Raphael and Casey Jones, was how deeply and truly they felt. And the anger, the annoyance covered up their fears that stem from the deep feelings within them.

It was, he supposed, a curse of an emotional soul.

Casey took a steadying breath, "When Mom died. She left Madeline her pictures and me her jewelry. It felt weird. I couldn't really wear it. I was never a jewelry type of girl. So when Madeline is old enough to appreciate it more, then I'll give it to her. I kept her wedding ring though. Dad has her engagement ring somewhere. I think he wants to give it to the first guy that comes to like ask for his blessing or something weird like that."

She bit her lip.

"But I kept the wedding ring. Normally I wear it under my clothes. It's…nice. Having it with me, it makes me feel alright. Last year, when I went off the rails, I would leave it at home somewhere safe when I went to go do things she probably wouldn't approve of. I don't know how she would feel about this but I didn't want to leave it at home."

Casey pulled out the ring from her pocket. Splinter remembered that ring from the very first night Casey had entered the Lair. How she held it and stared down Leonardo and swore to protect their secret.

He remembered her eyes and steady words: both fierce and steady yet vulnerable. She didn't want them to turn her away.

And they haven't.

It was nice, seeing a different sort of person interact with his sons. Her interactions with them provided a counterpoint to April's own, but in a good way. Casey had carefully and deftly snuck her way into his sons' hearts.

She had offered a freely given friendship to Raphael, allowing him the freedom to vent as Spike had once while also having him not internalize it. He was finding different interests of his own. They had bonded as warriors and as friends. Splinter was happy to see his son have that in his life. It was something that Raphael needed.

Casey and Leonardo respected each other. Perhaps, in time, they would become friends but, for now, they were on an even level. She respected Leonardo's command in the field and, in turn, his eldest respected Casey's choice to be here. They have also seemed to bond over some sort of book series. But anything that toned down the near constant Space Heroes re-runs were a bit of a good thing in Splinter's book.

He won't begrudge his son's interests, but one does get tired of watching Captain Ryan slap semi-hysterical people.

Casey, in the way older siblings could do, was easy-going with Michelangelo's plans. She didn't mind him testing food on her or getting dragged off to play video games with him. They seemed to enjoy having fun with each other. Normally, when they were paired they were also able to coax everyone to have good time.

The instances when April joined Casey and Michelangelo's schemes to brighten up the harsh facts of life were something truly remembered.

Splinter was relatively sure the kitchen had recovered from the Brownie Batter Incident.

Finally, Casey and Donatello proved to be even more interesting counter points to each other. Both of them utilized gadgets to some extent in their fighting. Though Donatello's had a greater range and required strategic planning, Casey's were easier to put together on the fly. Donatello had been impressed with the taser rig the girl had come up with. It was rare for others (outside of April) to impress his son so easily. The two of them seemed though to have a steady relationship with each other. And it did his smartest child good, Splinter decided, to have people outside of the family to accept him unconditionally.

A father knows his children. Splinter knew that, out of all of them, Donatello was the most affected by their mutant status. His great mind was both a gift and curse in many regards.

The changes in his sons that had appeared since April and Casey have come into their lives were good ones, positive ones. They were changes needed for them to become the best ninja that they can be.

And it also allowed them to be children in the moments that calm ruled and his sons could just be the youth they were.

Splinter had a lot to thank both girls for.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he saw Casey move.

Casey had turned to face him. They were quite nearly eye-to-eye as the teenager was quite tall for her age. There was a light blush on her face and she was struggling to keep her eye contact with him.

Still she looked at Splinter, assessing him seemingly.

Then she held the chain with her mother's wedding ring before him.

He looked at her in askance. Casey lost the battle to keep her eyes on his face and glanced down.

"I don't want to have to keep worrying about it when I fight. Someone could grab it or something, rip it off, could fall out of my pocket…I don't have a lot of my mother. I mean I have the memories and stuff, but not a lot of material things. And it's fine. I'm not a material person. This though? This is important. I don't wanna lose it. So I was wondering if you would keep an eye on it when I go off with the guys, keep it safe."

"You trust me with this?" asked Splinter gently. He was touched by such a gesture of trust from the newest member to their group.

"Of course I do," said Casey with a surprisingly amount of intensity.

Splinter solemnly took the chain that held the simple wedding ring from her. Carefully, he placed it next to the picture of his past life with his wife and daughter.

Casey swallowed thickly, "Promise me though. If something happens to me that you'll take it to my family, make sure that my sister gets it."

The statement was simple. The waver in her voice was a giveaway, attesting to the fact that Casey knew she was involved in dangerous work. That there was a chance her luck would run out and something could happen to her.

Splinter thought of Timothy in the tank barely human and barely sentient, the knowledge of their being some fates even worse than death.

How lucky he was to escape such a thing with his sons.

"I give my most solemn vow," said Splinter quietly, "I will make sure your request is fulfilled."

Casey looked up and nodded.

"Thank you, Splinter," she said and bowed neatly at the waist.

The boys, in the distance, were calling for her to come on already.

The girl turned to leave.

"Casey?"

"Yes?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"The dojo is for family," said Splinter gently. "And I understand you have commitments to your hockey team but, barring games, on Sundays and Wednesdays I expect you to join us for practice."

The girl blinked in surprise.

"Uh…"

"You are part of this family as well, Miss Jones," said Splinter with a half smile on his face.

Casey stared at him with wide eyes and then she smiled brightly, "Yeah. Yeah. Alright…yeah. I'll be there."

"Good. Now I believe my sons are getting impatient."

Casey nodded and ran off, toeing her shoes back on quickly.

In the distance, Splinter could hear everyone call out their goodbyes to head out for the night.

He sighed, in the worried yet indulgent way of fathers, and glanced at the altar. He hoped that somehow the spirits of the mothers of all the children would watch over them tonight.

And every night following until their work was finally done.

A/N: Alright next up will either be a very short story or we go for the "Fungus Humungous" Glitter Verse version.

Maybe a short one. I kind of want to build up some more of the Casey/Donnie aspect of the series. Not a lot but just a cute little bonding story.

Because when we get to the Fungus? Oooooh that is just going to be really not fun for anyone. Bring tissues is all I'm saying.