#but raph also has his own daddy issues which is fun

[thenerdytomboynewb96]

Samantha Allan Park Ch. 51

Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to “TMNT Out of the Shadows” DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC’s and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. Thank you.

Chapter #51

Spring Break through Renet’s eyes:

She had only known them all for about a month now, and she couldn’t have been happier that this was the family she had been destined to be with. In fact, she believed that this family was placed on this earth for her to find them, just like her Aunt Sam had. Maybe it was Rachel who had been looking out for her, maybe it was some sort of greater power, but with this family she truly felt she would never ever be alone again.

On Monday morning Renet had woken up very early. She sat up only to see that her parents were still asleep, and as long as Keeno was still sleeping, then so were they. She tip toed over to where the closet was and silently pulled out a clean t-shirt and pair of sporty shorts. Once she had her shoes and clothes on, she silently left the room without anyone knowing she had ever moved a muscle. She then ran down the halls, amazed by the beautiful building she was in. She ran down the staircases and then from floor to floor, until she heard movement from the weight room that is.

She walked closer and looked through the glass of the door to see her mutant uncles and her Aunt Sam working out and using all different types of equipment. She didn’t realize that she had leaned forward as she stared in awe at her family’s incredible strength and abilities until the door had begun to open and she then tumbled forward. Leo turned around when he heard the door and smiled when he saw the small child. “Well, looks like we have a visitor” he said as he walked over and leaned over the child who was teeny tiny to him even when she was standing up. “I wanna be strong like you guys” she said, her eyes still open wide. “Heh, well it’s going to take a long time for you to be as strong as us” he said as he leaned down and scooped up the child so that she was sitting in his arms. “When did you become strong Uncle Leo?” she asked with curiosity. “Hmmmm, we were probably 7 or so when Sensei introduced us to martial arts. That’s when we started training daily. But you’re took young for rough training like that.” Renet crossed her arms and began to pout. “How am I gonna fight bad guys and save the world if I’m not strong?” she moped. Leo couldn’t help but chuckle. “And who said it was your job to save the world?” he said with a smile. Renet paused, realizing that she might have just said something she shouldn’t have. “I want to keep all of you safe. You all protect each other, I want to do the same thing” she replied. This way she wasn’t lying, but she wasn’t revealing secret information either. “Hmmmmm, well Raph is the best at preparing workout routines for the rest of us. Maybe he can come up with something for you. Let’s go ask” he whispered as he brought the girls ear close to his face, making the girl giggle from her uncle’s silly actions.

Leo walked over towards where Raph was lifting weights as he laid back along a bench, while Sam was standing nearby as his spotter. She smiled when she saw Leo walking over with the little bundle known as Renet. “Oh Raphael” Sam said in an oddly sweet voice. “What?” he grunted as he looked back at her. That’s when he saw Sam nod her head forward. Raph looked forward and began to sit up, and that’s when he saw his brother and the young child. His expression immediately changed from the annoyed expression from the way Sam had said his full first name to a calmer one. “Hey. What’s up?” he asked as he stood up and away from the bench. “I have a small fry who wants to turn into a tough tatter tot” Leo said, moving her arms as if she was fighting a bad guy. Raph chuckled. “Oh really?” “Train me?” Renet asked, her hands clapped together in front of her as a means of asking permission. While Renet bowed her head forward, Raph and Leo exchanged the same comical look. “Ohhhhh fine. I guess I can train you for today” he said as he took Renet from Leo’s arms and carried her across the gigantic space to a spot where she could ‘train’ without using any heavy equipment.

He first taught her some different stretches to complete first so that her muscles would be warmed up. He then took her to a spot where there were hand weights of all different sizes. He then showed her different exercises using the lightest weight they had (which was about 2 pounds). He then showed her how to use machines that would be safe for her. She used the bikes (although Raph had to help her use the pedals), he taught her how to use an ab machine (which was actually just a curved pole that could be used in a variety of different ways, how to use the rowing machine, some different exercises on yoga balls, a mini stepper machine, and a few other machines that were harmless as long as he was there right beside her. Within this gym was also a course based on the Ninja Warrior series. Raph ended their training session with helping Renet complete the course. He helped her climb the ladders, he held onto her and helped her jump (which was really him carrying her) from one jumping stone to the other, and he helped her move across each set of monkey bars the course had to offer.

Raph was having so much fun with the child that he hadn’t even thought about her parents, not until Jay walked over with a concerned look on his face. “Dude! I have no issues with you having a play date with my child, but let a dad know first! Okay?” “What are you talking about?” Raph asked, confusion written on his face as he placed the girl back on her feet on the ground. “I came down here on my own daddy” Renet said as she walked over and put her arms up so that he dad would hug her. Jay crouched down and gave his daughter a huge hug, but then pulled back and put his hands on her shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell us you were leaving the room? We woke up and started freaking out because we couldn’t find you. We ran into the hall and ran into your uncles who said you were down here.” “Oh” Raph said as he then looked around the room, “I hadn’t realized they even left, hehe.” Renet smiled at her uncle and then turned back towards her dad. “You and mommy were sleeping, so I didn’t want to wake you. But I was ready for the day!” she said with excitement. Jay smiled. “And that’s fine, but next time you need to let us know!” “That or inform us to contact your parents” Raph said with his arms crossed as he now walked over and stood over top of Renet. The girls smile began to fade. “You’re mad at me…” she said in dismay. Raph shook his head. “Nah, I’m not mad. But I am worried that you’re going to scare your dad again. I don’t know if I can train someone without permission” he said, secretly winking to Jay as a signal that he would catch him up later. Renet then rapidly began shaking her head. “No! I’ll let my parents know next time! I promise!” she said turning back and forth between her dad and her uncle. “Good. In that case, training is over for today. Let’s go eat” Raph said. Jay stood up while holding his daughters hand, and he couldn’t keep from smiling when he saw his literally hopping daughter squeeze his own hand while also squeezing the hand of her rough and tough uncle. Today was day one of her training with Uncle Raph, which continued throughout the rest of the vacation. She would later on be grateful for these training routines that her uncle introduced to her this week and at such a young age. She had no idea now how much these routines would come in handy the older she grew. Donnie was right when he said that one day she would change the world, but for now, she just wanted to spend more time getting to know her ‘scary’ teddy bear of an uncle.

On Tuesday evening she got to spend more quality time with the oldest brother when the teens had returned to the pool. Renet wanted to join the group, but she also had seen teenagers before and she knew that some groups were mean when they didn’t want to be bothered from their fun. However, Leo sensed this child just like he had the previous morning (something he was also learning to master) and snuck into the house through a side door. He then scooped up the surprised Renet from the doorway and walked her outside. “So why are you hiding from us tatter tot?” he asked. “I didn’t want to get in the way” she said softly. “I’m sorry what?!” he said out loud, shocking the child in his arms. “Well my soul is broken. HEY GUYS!” Leo called out to the others in the pool, “RENET THINKS SHE’S GOING TO GET IN OUR WAY.” “Ha! I must be hearing things, I thought Leo just said Renet would get in our way” Kris said, literally slapping his knee. “That’s funny!” “I shall now reenact the way my heart feels” Mikey said as he flopped into the pool. Raph, Donnie, and Sam all looked at each other. “Ditto” the trio said as they all threw themselves into the pool the same way Mikey just had. “See?” Leo said as he placed the girl on her feet and then sat in a chair nearby so that he was on eye level with her, “those dorks over there love you. You can’t get in the way when you’re the path they want to follow” he said with a smile. “Now let’s go back inside and get your floaties-” “My swimmies!” she interrupted. “My apologies, your swimmies, so that you can join us in the pool” he said as he stood up and walked with her back inside.

The two returned soon with Renet’s swimmies which Leo helped blow up and place around her arms. He then walked with the girl back over towards the pool. He knew that Renet still wasn’t confident in the water yet, so he placed her on top his shoulders as he walked into the pool. Sam had brought a couple boogie boards from the beach shed up to pool since she liked to lay in the sun on the boards. She gave one to Renet and the teens took turns pulling her around the pool, and once Jay and Brenda made their way outside with Keno, Jay jumped into the pool and pretended to chase after her while she was being pulled from the turtles who were pretending to save her from the ‘monster’ that Jay was acting as. At one point Sam pretended that she needed to be saved and Leo held onto Renet in the water so that she could save Sam. This process was then repeated as Leo helped Renet save Mikey, then Donnie, then Kris, and then Raph. After a couple more hours in the pool, Renet grew very tired. Many of the teens and adults had taken breaks and had rested throughout their time at the pool, and everyone had taken turns holding baby Keno, but Leo had decided to play with Renet as much as he could since he didn’t always get the quality time he would have hoped for with the girl. Between all the aunts and uncles the young child had, it wasn’t always easy getting time to play and bond with her, so he wanted to take advantage of this time as best he could. That was why he also offered to take the groggy child inside and freshen up once it was obvious how tired she was.

Leo walked with Renet to the elevator that took them to her parent’s room. Leo had Renet take a ‘tubby’ but had her keep her bathing suit on. This way he could help clean the chlorine from her eyes, but not have her sit completely naked in the tub as well. Of course, Renet got her second wind and wanted to play once she was in the tub. Well Leo wasn’t ready to say no to bath paints and bathtub fishing. Leo taught Renet how to write some Japanese kanji on the sides of the tub and was surprised at how easily the child was able to copy his own handwriting. Soon after, Renet had thrown a bunch of toy fish into the tub so that she and Leo could use toy fishing rods to pull them out of the water. Finally, the actually tubby was complete and as Leo was helping Renet dry off and change into a clean pair of clothes, he began to count how many times she had yawned (it was 9, oh now it was 10 times). Leo smirked as he walked the sleepy child over towards one of the beds. After the long day full of play he had had, he decided to lay down next to her, but leaving enough space so that if he happened to turn over that he wouldn’t hurt her. He fell asleep…and the next thing he knew, he was gently being shaken awake. “Hey bro, time to wake up” he heard Raph saying. Leo groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. “What time is it?” “Dinner time!” he heard his youngest brother call out from down the hall (which he also heard Sam smack him because ‘Renet was sleeping in there’). Leo rubbed his eyes as he sat up. He then stared down at Renet who was still sound asleep. “You okay?” Raph asked him. Leo looked confused. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?” “Hmph, sorry. It was just the look you were giving her” Raph replied as he sat down on the bed. Now Leo’s eyes were wide. “Was my stare creepy? Was it weird?” Raph chuckled softly. “No, you just looked at her as if you were a dad.” “Is…is that weird?” Leo asked. “No, trust me. I’ve had talks with Jay and Casey about it. Apparently all four of us do it. They say it’s just natural instincts and Jay says him and Brenda appreciate that we have them. They’re always trying to monitor the baby so they love that we know how to be protective of their daughter. They also think us being so fatherly is what’s helping Renet get so comfortable so quickly with the whole family.” “Well our family is definitely one that takes a while to get used to” Leo chuckled. They both then looked back down at the sleeping child. “Man I want one of these one day” Raph said softly. “Me to. I never realized how great it would be to have a kid around. And we’re fortunate to have two in our lives now” Leo said with a smile. “Hopefully more in the future when Sam and Kris get married. And if April ever gets married then she might have some to.” “But let’s not rush things. Let’s cherish the time we have with these two while they’re still kids” Leo said. “Couldn’t have said it better myself bro” Raph stated. “Hey, you guys coming?” Kris said as he now stood in the doorway. “Yup, who wants to carry the tatter tot?” “I’ll do it. You guys keep hogging her, so I’ll take care of her this time” Kris teased, which then lead to him receiving nudges from the two brothers.

Of course, Renet being the sneak she was, was acting the entire time. She had been awake ever since she heard Mikey yelling in the hallway, but she kept her eyes closed so that no one would notice (something Sam and Mikey had taught her). She was shocked to hear her uncles talk as if they were never going to have children one day. Granted, there were still a lot of people that would eventually enter their lives that they had never met, but did they really think that she was one of the only kids that would enter their lives? And why did they think Aunt Sam was going to marry Uncle Kris? That was a bit shocking to her. Apparently they had no idea who Sam really loved (or who she would love, since nothing could tell Renet when her aunt fell in love with her husband when she did, she just knew that one day it would happen). But she wondered why they thought it would be Kris. Was it because he was human? He acted the same way that the others did around her, and Sam treated him the same as she did the others, so maybe her turtle uncles assumed that Sam would only date a human. She did just hear her uncles talk as if they would never have kids of their own, so maybe that’s how they felt.

She carefully brought it up with her intelligent uncle the following afternoon when she was with him on the beach. Every day at one point or another throughout that entire week, Renet ended up on the beach with Donatello. There were days when he taught her how to fly a kite, there were days where they went sightseeing and watched dolphins from the shore, some days they went scuba diving and examined different plants and animals they saw in the water. Today, they were collecting shells. It was part of a craft that Renet was completing. She took some sand from the beach and scooped that into a zip lock bag. She also had a bucket in which she was placing small shells. At home she had a jar where she would place all the shells and would then pour the sand in from the beach. Of course, the entire time she was on the beach with her uncle, the two were always talking up a storm. “Uncle Donnie, what do you and your brothers think of humans?” she asked as she picked up a rosy pink colored shell she spotted in the water. “Can you be more specific?” he asked as he picked up a shell, but then tossed it back into the water once he realized it was badly cracked. “Do you like humans?” she asked. Donnie chuckled. “Well of course we like humans. You and your entire family are made of humans. That and we saved the entire city, well, the world actually. And the world is made of humans. So yes, we care about them. Why do you ask?” “I thought maybe that’s why you all think Aunt Sam likes Uncle Kris.” Donnie paused while the two were crouched down in the water. “Why would that have anything to do with whether we like humans or not?” he asked gently. “I thought maybe you assumed she liked him because they were both human.” “Ahhhh I see” he said as the two stood up and continued to walk along the shoreline. “And why are you worrying about things like that in the first place?” Donnie asked. Renet had to think of an excuse. “Because I’m a child, and I see everything” she said in a playfully menacing tone before running along the shore towards a shiny shell. “Well, I definitely can’t argue with that” Donnie said as he placed his arms behind his head and trailed behind the young girl. “Gasp! Something you can’t argue with? You can’t be my Uncle Donnie” Renet teased as she stuck her tongue out playfully. Donnie stopped and stared at the child with raised brows. “Well something I can argue about is whether that shell belongs to you or me!” he said he snatched it from her hand and then ‘ran’ away. “Hey!” Renet laughed, “that’s mine!” “Well let’s look at the facts. I’m taller, I’m faster, and I’m a ninja” he said as he dorkily kicked his leg in front of him, “therefore, unless you can defeat me, then this shell is mine.” “Well the facts say that finders keepers losers weepers” she said with her hands on her hips. “Those aren’t facts because they can’t be proven. Soooo I win you lose!” he said as he continued to take long and slow strides along the shore. Within seconds, tiny little Renet was chasing her tall uncle all over the beach. Once Donnie could see that Renet was growing tired, he pretended to trip and collapse onto the beach. “Oh no!” he said. “Got it! It’s mine!” Renet said as she scooped up the shell into her hands. Donnie snapped his fingers and placed his fist under his chin as he sat up in the sand. “You got me this time. This has been a terrible tale of the troublesome tatter tot” he teased. Renet walked up to Donnie and sat in his lap. “It’s okay Uncle Donnie, I’ll share it with you” she said as she held it close to his face. “It’s purple, so we can take turns keeping it” she said with a beaming smile. “You’ve already shared more with me then you’ll ever know” Donnie said as he smiled and hugged his niece. As the two gathered their belongings and made their way back to the relax space, Renet wondered if what her uncle had said was similar to what her two oldest turtle uncles were talking about the other day. ‘He must be the same way. He must think I’m one of the only kids he’ll ever see.’

Donnie laid down on a hammock so that he could look up at the stars, but his gaze was distracted and redirected to the four year old who climbed up and was now sitting on his stomach. “Uncle Donnie, are you ever going to have kids?” Renet asked bluntly. Donnie fought to hide his laughter. “Ex-squeeze me?” he asked. “Will-you-ever-have-kids?” she asked as she clapped out the syllables. “No” Donnie said, “why?” “…I want cousins” Renet stated. This was a lie. She loved her baby brother and was fine with how things were now where it was just two children being spoiled with attention, but she needed to say something without giving away her real reason for wanting to know. “Well even if I had kids, they would be even younger than your baby brother by the time they were born silly. Now what’s up with these questions today? Did Uncle Mikey say something stupid in front of you again?” he asked as he rolled his eyes. “No” Renet giggled, “and I always ask you questions.” “Yes, but today they have a unique theme. Why are you asking personal questions?” Now Renet felt embarrassed, she couldn’t think of an excuse that wouldn’t make her uncle feel sad. “Renet” Donnie said more sternly, “be honest. It’s okay” he reassured her. Renet looked down while she spoke. “Why do you all think that you’re never going to have families?” she asked in a low voice. Donnie scrunched his face. “Now why are you worried about something like that?” he asked gently, sitting up some so that he could sit face to face with her. “I want you all to be happy. You guys all helped change my life in such a short amount of time and have made me so happy. Why don’t any of you think that you’ll be happy like that?” “But, we’re already happy Renet. We have more than we could have ever asked for right here, right now. Me talking to you on a beach is literally something I never thought would ever happen to me.” The girl shook her head. “That’s not the type of happiness I mean. I mean like how dad looks at mom, and how he looks at me and Keno.” Donnie paused, wondering how he should respond to this. “You see….your uncles and I…we would love to have something like that. But, it’s not really possible-” “Why not?” she asked in a demanding tone. He displayed an apologetic look, as if what he was about to say would upset her. “You and your parents, Sam and Kris, Irma and Vern and April and Casey, they’re each a one in a million type people. Meaning that there’s no one else like them. They accept us for who we are, not what we look like. Like, Sam has literally put her life on the line to protect my brothers and I. Not everyone in this world would care about others like that. Sam cares about us, and we all care about her. That’s why our families are connected, because we all care about one another and would do anything for the others. But not ALL humans are that way.” “But Aunt Sam said that there are people in the city that want to thank you! They care about you!” Renet said as she excitedly started kicking her feet, hoping that maybe this conversation is what Rachel was talking about and was the surprise that would lead to her uncle’s future.

Donnie sighed with a smile. “They may support us, but we can’t put our trust, our lives in the hands of hundreds of thousands of people we don’t know. It’s complicated to explain. We are and will be forever grateful for what the people of New York do for us, but we’re still ninjas. We still live in the shadows. That’s why there are no workers here, because we can’t be seen. But you should be happy about that” Donnie said. Renet titled her head to the side. “Why?” “Because that means that we can dedicate more of our time towards you” he said as he hugged her once more, something that he was more prone to doing ever since the children had entered his life. “And Keno to, right?” “Oh of course Keno to! We would never leave him out” Donnie said as he rested his chin on top of the small girls head. “Good. Oh! A shooting star!” Renet exclaimed. “That’s a plane” Donnie said as he leaned back and laid down in the hammock. “What about that one?” she asked. “Another plane.” “Man I can’t catch a break” she said as she flopped backwards.

The two continued to look up at the actual stars for the rest of the night until they had both fallen asleep in the hammock and needed to be carried in by the others.

Renet decided to drop the questions for now (Donnie wasn’t the only uncle she asked interesting questions to). She knew what was in store for everyone in her family, so she decided to leave the topic alone. That and if she began asking too many questions then she might change things in a bad way, so she chose to keep quiet. However, right now she was screaming in excitement while she was riding on a jet ski with her youngest turtle uncle.

She could see her mother holding onto her father’s arm for dear life in fear that something was going to happen to their daughter, but she knew her Uncle Mikey deserved more credit than that. This was one of her favorite things about her youngest mutant uncle. While the other three said it wasn’t safe for her to be out on a jet ski, Mikey knew his boundaries and knew he could keep her safe. He knew how to have fun without being so paranoid. This was also due to him having incredible reflexes. There had been a few times that Renet had been down to the lair and had the opportunity to watch her uncles spar from afar and while Mikey joked around A LOT, he did pay attention and was always alert. Granted, sometimes him being alert kicked in at the very last second, but she lost track of how many times his brothers thought they were about to win the match and then Mikey dodged at the last second, as if getting a second wind and becoming twice as skilled as before. He was the same way with physical activities.

When they were all on the water slides, Mikey was the one who went down with her so that he would be right there in case something went wrong and she got scared and couldn’t swim. Mikey was the one to help her learn how to boogie board and feel comfortable in the water. Mikey was the one who taught her how to do basic rolls and flips on the trampolines near the game room. There was so much that Mikey helped her learn and feel comfortable with, and more than anything, Mikey trusted her. He made it very clear when they were getting ready to ride the jet ski that she would have to sit relatively still so that she wouldn’t fall off (even though they also twisted the clips on her life jacket so that she was literally strapped to him) and that she needed to hold onto a small handle in the front so that she could hold onto something tightly. He explained to her what to do if they tipped and that in order for her to ride with him then she had to follow the rules. While the others weren’t so sure if Renet would be okay with all of this at such a young age, Mikey trusted that Renet would follow the rules and he believed that she would be able to handle the fast speeds of the Jet Ski, and right now the child was extremely grateful for his trust in her.

“Let’s go faster!” she shouted. “What?! We’re already going so fast that we passed everyone else twice!” Mikey announced with a laugh. “I love feeling the wind in my hair” the child said as she turned her head side to side. “Then you’ll love this, hold on tight!” he said as he sped up to an upcoming wave and made the jet ski jump off the water some. Of course Renet was howling with laughter. She was enjoying every second of this action packed adventure she was currently on. The group was following a course that was set up further out into the water. Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey all had their own jet ski. Casey was riding with April, which he had no complaints about holding onto her while she drive, and then Kris and Sam each had their own as well. Vern was driving a jet ski as well with Irma holding onto him tightly from behind. “Ohhhhh we’re gonna pass grammy!” Renet said, lightly kicking her legs from the fun of passing others on the speedy water vehicle. “Let’s go!” Mikey said, swiveling and swerving quickly throughout the course until minutes later they made a sharp turn and passed by the others. “YESSSSSS we’re winning!” Renet exclaimed. “Hehe, let’s go splash Uncle Raph” Mikey whispered, and he couldn’t help but laugh at the adorable yet wicked face the child made in agreement with his claim. The two sped up some and as they made their turn, splashed the heck out of Raphael. “Argghhhh I’m gonna get you back for this, just wait!” Raph bellowed. Renet, who now knew more about how her sometimes grumpy uncle acted, knew that he would not actually hurt her (maybe get a little rough with Mikey though) and giggled at his reaction. Renet then gasped and began to squirm. “What’s up tatter tot?” Mikey asked. “I gotta pee” she said. “Well then let’s park and I’ll run you inside” he said. He double checked behind him on both sides and then drove away from the course. He carefully pulled up to the side of the dock and then turned off the jet ski. “What happened?” Jay called from the side. Mikey scooped Renet up so that she was now sitting on his shoulder, and as he ran he screamed out “we’re taking a pee break!” Renet giggled when she saw her parents sigh, and also Sensei shaking his head at his son’s silly remark.

The two made their way into the gigantic house so that Renet could ‘use the potty,’ and she almost made it…but she was a few seconds short. She was potty trained and could use the bathroom by herself, but she had waited too long and it was a decently long run back to the house, even if they were using the bathroom outside by the pool. Luckily, there was also a shower in this rather large bathroom. “Looks like we’ll have to get you cleaned up before we head back outside. You can’t go back and swim in a peed in bathing suit. That only works if you’re surrounded by the ocean” he teased, trying to make her feel better. He then realized that the young girl was beginning to cry. “Oh no. What’s wrong?” he asked in concern. “I peed myself like a baby” she said as a few tears drizzled down her cheeks. Mikey sat down criss cross and pulled the child over towards him and gave her a hug. “Hey, it happens sometimes. I used to wait until the last second as a kid all the time, so I had a lot of accidents when I was even older than you” he said as he gently pat her on the back. Renet then took a step back so she could face him. “Really?!” “Mhmmmm, really-really. Of course my brothers always teased me about it, but that’s just what brothers do.” “Will….will they tease me?” she asked, her face growing sad once again just from the thought alone. “What? Of course not! But, if it makes you feel any better, I’ll keep this a secret between the two of us” he said with an honest smile. Renet then nodded her head as a few more tears spilled from her eyes. “Now let’s get you showered up and out of these bottoms. There’s towels outside so I can always wrap you up in one so no one knows you’re not wearing bottoms” he said as he began to stand up and make his way over towards the shower.

Mikey knew that his brothers were sensitive to things like giving Renet a bath since she was a girl, but he knew that most adults were fine with things like this as long as the kids were still very young. Because of this, he helped Renet take off her yucky bathing suit bottoms and he let them soak in the sink while he turned the shower on and let her stand there and rinse off. Afterwards, just like he promised, he quickly got a towel from one of the racks outside and wrapped it around the girls waste so that it looked like the towel was being used as her skirt. He walked inside with Renet and lead her up to her room where he helped her change out of her bathing suit. “Do you wanna go back to the beach, or do you wanna stay inside?” he asked the girl who was now jumping on the bed. “Is it okay if we stay inside?” she asked softly. “Of course!” he said as he caught her mid-jump and placed her back on the floor so he could help her get dressed. “And I know exactly where we’re going to go” he said. The two left the room (Renet quickly latching onto her uncle’s hand) and they made their way down towards the trampoline and rock climbing room.

As soon as Mikey opened the door, Renet ran right in and ran towards one of the longer trampolines and instantly began rolling around. “Well look at you, our little ninja in training” he said as he walked over and fell backwards onto a trampoline. “You really think so?!” she said as she sat up and stared at him. “Well yeah. In another life you would totally be kicking butt with us” he said as rolled forward so that now he was next to the child. Renet pouted and crossed her arms. “Why can’t I fight bad guys with you in this life?” she asked. “Because” he said as he pat her head, “you’re thinking of things from a kids perspective and have no idea how dangerous and serious being a ninja really is” he said with a smile. “But one day I’ll grow up and I’ll be mature enough to fight. You guys can’t save the world forever.” “Ouch. That’s pretty dark” Mikey said. “Sorry” Renet said with a saddened expression. “Why do you want to be a ninja so badly? Even Sam has other future goals. She’s going to be a soccer star and a dancer in the next few years, so she doesn’t even want to be a ninja forever. So why are you so dedicated towards becoming one?” he asked gently as he now sat criss cross facing her. “I want to keep you all safe” she said, not fully telling him the truth. “Awwww but that’s our job. Your job is to change our diapers when we get old” he teased as he gently nudged her with his foot. This got the girl to smile, along with an ‘ewwww’ as she ran forward and leaped onto him. And of course the playful uncle rolled backwards with the girl in his arms as she pretended to fight and defeat him. 15 minutes later the two were in a position where Renet was sitting on Mikey’s shell while Mikey groaned and begged for mercy. “Pleaseeeeeee let me go! I’m innocent!” Mikey begged, trying to crawl away from the child sitting on his back. “See, I could totally save your butt from bad guys” she said, crossing her arms and nodding in confidence. “So we’re back to that, huh?” he said as he rolled over so that now the child was sitting on his stomach. “I’ll never back down” Renet teased. “Well how about this? When you’re my age, then I’ll train you so that you can become a ninja and save everyone. Okay?” he asked, putting his hand out for a fist bump. ‘You’re going to train me way sooner than that, but I’ll play along with this for now’ the child thought to herself. “Okay” Renet replied while following through with the fist bump. She then looked over towards the rock wall. “Will you help me climb that before my parents get back?” “Girl I’ve been waiting for you to ask. But remember, you have to follow my rules. Okay?” “Got it!” Renet exclaimed as she rolled to her side and then began to run over towards the rock wall, but then stopped and turned around and ran back to her uncle so she could give him a big hug. “Awwww, what’s this for?” he asked as he snuggled his chin against the top of the girls head. “Thank you. For trusting me, and for believing in me. Everyone else still sees me as a child, but you trust me more than they do. That and you can keep secrets. One day I’m going to owe you a lot of favors” she teased. Mikey then kneeled down in front of the child. “You know why I treat you differently from everyone else?” “Why?” “Because even though I’m 17, people treat me like a baby to. I’m literally the same age as my brothers, but because I was the last to be born they see me as the baby. Honestly, that’s why I act the way I do sometimes, because that’s how they all view and treat me. But I’m a lot more than the kid they think I am. And I believe that you’re a lot more than just a typical 4 year old. They’re going to see you as a child no matter how old you are. I’ll always be a baby brother, just like how you’ll always be the little girl that joined our family as a daughter and as a niece.” “You’re really smart, and really insightful Uncle Mikey. I’ll never forget that, I promise” the girl said as she put her pinky forward. “And I’ll never forget about your feelings either kiddo” he said as he completed the ‘pinky promise.’ “Now where on earth did you learn the word insightful at your age?” he asked as he walked with her over towards the rock wall.

The ironic part of this conversation between the two was that Mikey had no idea that one day he would train Renet to help do incredible things, and Renet had no idea how important it would be that she could trust her uncle more than anyone else in the family. Neither one knew of what was in store for their future. But one day, they would look back on this conversation and laugh at the irony. For now, they were just worried about climbing this rock wall before anyone found out.