I guess I always was just a teensy bit selfish. It's not like I set out to be the Queen of Selfishia, it just ended up that way. I was always the one who got what she wanted, but in the end, can I say it was worth it? That being myself, and getting exactly what I wanted, worked out well?

Let's just say the Wanted by Federal Agents poster wasn't doing me any favors...

My baby girl was laughing, tossing a Frisbee through the air in the park. She grinned at me, and I waved back, sighing in contentment. For once we were doing sometime relatively normal.

Except, we were sitting in the park at night, my baby girl was throwing a Frisbee with four giant mutant turtles, and I was sitting next to a meditating mutant rat.

Yep, normal.

The red masked turtle, Donatello I think his name was, caught the Frisbee from my daughter and then tossed it toward Michelangelo, the blue bandana'd one. They seemed to be having fun, and I was so happy to hear my daughter giggle uncontrollably. The four turtles, ever the adults, were taunting each other with a passion. Leonardo was called slow, Donatello called an idiot, Raphael was told he wasn't even trying, and Michelangelo was called the original show off.

I smiled sadly, wishing I could have given Krista this experience her whole life long. What kind of mother awards could I win anyway? Best criminal acrobat? Kick-butt thief?

"What troubles you, Ms. Sumner?"

My eyes glanced in the rat's direction. He had apparently come out of his meditative state without telling me...

"I already told ya, It's Laura. When I hear someone say, 'Ms. Sumner', I think of my mother. Do I look that old?" I demanded of the ninja master.

"...No."

"Then don't talk to me like I'm sixty-three!" I exclaimed.

"...I doubt that the name is what troubles you," Splinter finally murmured.

I huffed out a breath, falling into the grass behind me and letting out a groan. Splinter gave me a minute to throw a tantrum, and then I sat up, gesturing to my baby girl.

"Krista?" Splinter inquired, puzzled. "She is what ails you? Your daughter?"

I could hear the disbelief in his voice, and I just gave him a look.

"Am I a terrible mother?" I blurted out, and the rat just looked at me like I was loosing it.

"I'm sorry?"

"I let my only living heir live in the sewers for years all because my profession wasn't exactly what you would call 'respectable' and I got an alien race on her tail because I might've borrowed a necklace I shouldn't have known existed in the first place! And not to mention the fact she basically lost all her vocal cords trying to be quiet, and of course meeting you and your boys, and having to live in DARKNESS for YEARS because of it!" I exploded in a ramble.

"I-"

"Oh, and my daughter still thinks I'm as irresponsible as I was back then. What does that say about me? I haven't changed at all, have I? What if the state takes Kristie away from me? I'd just die! I got her back, after all these years, and I would simply double over and die if they took her from me!"

"Ms. Sum-" I gave him a hard look, and he stumbled over his words. "Laura," he said, and I knew he had trouble saying a first name. Why be prim and proper all the time? Whatever happened to chilling anyway? "The state will not take her away, for the same reason they would not consider taking my sons. As far as the state is concerned, our children do not exist."

"Exactly! And what if she wants to get married? She'll be a ghost! She'll have no paperwork! She'll be just as bad as a border hopper! The law will just throw her in jail to rot!" I wailed, throwing my head back to shout at the sky. "What kind of life is that? And what if she becomes a jail bird? What if-"

"Laura."

"Yes?"

"Calm your mind, you're overwhelming yourself."

"Overwhelmed? Overwhelmed? Are you kidding?"

"Your daughter will be fine, she was raised by both you and I. She was raised honing her instincts, being able to rely on herself and her surroundings, to be wise beyond her years. She knows things teenagers her age have no clue about, and is able to outwit four ninjas. I know she will be fine."

"...You always know what to say!" I cried happily, throwing my arms around him. He stiffened in my hug, and then loosened up to pat my back lightly.

"I still think I messed up somewhere," I mused. "Maybe it was the whole thief thing."

"And how do you propose to fix it?" Splinter asked.

"You want a daughter?"