Summary: Striker and Maria welcome a new member to the family.

"Maria, I'm home!"

That's funny, whenever Striker came home from his errands, his daughter always came down to greet him. Where could she be? After putting away his groceries, he checked around the house, but Maria was nowhere to be seen, not even in her room. Then, he decided to check the barn, just in case. Once he opened the doors, however, there she was hunched over in a corner.

"Maria Violet Wilde!" The impling jumped hearing her father's voice. "I've been lookin' all over for ya! Why didn't you answer me when I called?"

"Sorry, daddy." Maria smiled sheepishly. Striker noticed she had a small black bundle in the crook of her arm; as he came closer, it squirmed and made a small 'mew' sound, then revealed itself to be a black kitten with red tinges and a grey muzzle, stomach, and paws. "I was... side-tracked."

Striker blinked in surprise. "Come again?"

"I found her back here all alone about a week ago." Maria explained. "She was starving, so I tried to keep her fed."

Well, at least that explains why they'd run out of milk.

"Oh, well, that's very big of you, sweetheart." Striker rubbed the back of his neck. "But, shouldn't we look for her momma?"

Maria shook her head sadly. "I tried, but I couldn't find her. I think she was abandoned. Can she at least stay with us till she's all better?"

Striker sighed, not wanting to disappoint his daughter, but he felt like he had to say something.

"Sugarplum, I gotta be honest with ya, I don't think this is a good idea." He quickly placed a gentle on her shoulder before she could protest, kneeling next to her. "Don't get me wrong, you did the right thing helpin' her, but ya can't just adopt some random animal from the wild. It's just not-"

Another mew cut his words and he saw the kitten had climbed out of Maria's hands, walked right to his other hand, and was now nuzzling him. Maria smiled warmly at the scene and Striker, to his vast surprise, found himself stroking her head; the little animal purred as he did. Okay, maybe this wouldn't be a bad idea after all, she was very cute.

With a sigh, Striker scooped the kitten up in his arm and smiled, "Oh, alright, we can look after her."

Maria beamed and hugged her father, petting their newest family member. "Let's call her Screwball!"

"Screwball? Why that? Wouldn't it be labeling her as crazy?"

"Why not? I mean, we already live a pretty crazy life, don't we?"

Striker chuckled, "Fair enough. Screwball it is."