Okay, so I know this is a short chapter. But i felt like i was at a good stopping point with this chapter.

What do you think?

Kayla woke the next day to see the sun streaming through the hospital window and smiled as she felt the warm sun on her skin.

"Good morning," a familiar voice to her right said.

She smiled. "Father," she said softly.

"Michaela," He smiled as well spoke softly as he place a tender hand her cheek. "How are you feeling, my child?"

She gave a small yawn, and smiled. "Better." she looked around the room, but saw no one else. She raised an eyebrow, "Where is everyone?"

"Your brothers took Shelia home and then I told them to go home themselves to get some rest." He said.

She gave a small nod. "Good."

"I agree," he said. "I also wished to speak with you alone." Sensing what she was going to say next, he raised his hand. "You are not in trouble." He said with a small smile. A split second later, his smile faded. "I wanted to speak to you about your mother."

After a moment, he then took a deep breath, let it out, and then began to speak. "Your mother was sick long before she knew you were coming into her life. And when the doctors informed her you were coming, they gave her a choice. They told her she could not continue the treatment she was getting while she was pregnant. But without the treatment, they were not sure how long. . ." His voice drifted away as he swallowed past the lump that formed in his throat. "They were not sure how much longer she would stay in this life if she kept you."

Kayla could feel the tears burning her eyes. "That's horrible." She said letting them spill out of her eyes.

He reached out and gently brushed the tears away from her face. "She had always wanted a girl," he continued. "But ended up with three boys instead. . . So when they told her it was a girl, she was determined to have you. She was so very determined to give her sons a little sister to love and protect." He reached up and brushed away a tear in his own eye. "As her sickness progressed, she was no longer able to care for your brothers. . . That was when she contacted me." He sensed her next question, and answered it. "We had become friends in my former life."

"When you were Splinter," She smiled. She was referring to her father's past life as a martial arts master.

He nodded and gave her a small smile. "I have always enjoyed that name." After a moment, his smile faded. "Your mother had no one else to turn to, so she contacted me. . . At the time I had nothing keeping me in Japan, so I came as soon as I could." He could feel the tears returning to his eyes. "I took care of your brothers while she tried to retain as much strength as she could . . . and the night you were born, I drove her to the hospital. Before they took her away, she asked me to love and protect the four of you like you were my own. I believe she sensed that she would not make it through the night. By the next morning, you had been born, and you mother passed away." There was silence in the room for several moments as Kayla attempted to find something to say. But when nothing came, her father spoke again.

"You and your brothers mean more to me than you will ever know." He said reaching his dark red kimono. A second later he pulled an eight by ten photograph and handed it to Kayla.

There were three people in the photo, one of whom she recognized as a younger version of her father. Seated in front of him was a beautiful woman with long black hair, wearing a purple kimono decorated with white orchids. In her lap was a little girl that Kayla was guessed was about three or four years old wearing a light pink kimono covered in cherry blossoms. "They're beautiful."

Her father nodded. "That is my family."

Kayla looked up to meet his dark eyes, "Family?"

"Tang Shen and I were married for almost eight years." He said smiling. "And our daughter Miwa was four years old."

Kayla sensed the use of the past tense. "Was?" She said even though she was afraid to ask.

"I was very good at what I did. . . And because of that, I attracted a lot of enemies." He took a deep breath in an attempt to control his emotions. "One night . . . one of my more volatile enemies set fire to our home." He glanced at the cane resting against his chair. "That night cost me my knee." For the first time in a long time, he let the tears that were building in his eyes slowly flow down his cheeks. "More importantly, it cost me my wife and my little girl."

Kayla felt the tears flow down her face as well. "I'm so sorry."

"They were my world, my everything." He said quietly. "I did not know what to do without them for a long time. . . I was consumed by depression, lost in my own small world." He took a deep breath, and then finally looked back up at her. "When your mother called me, I felt the energy around me change. I sensed a change coming to my life." He gave her a warm smile. "You, Michaela. . . You and your brothers pulled me out of my depression and gave me new life and new strength. . . I felt I was given a second chance to raise a family."

He reached up and softly stroked her cheek again. "I was given another chance to raise a daughter."

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