The Newest Addition: Irrilia

How Are We Gonna Tell Splinter?

The four brothers sat at the kitchen table, thinking of ways to tell their master and adoptive father, Splinter, that Raphael was now the father of a Salamandrian-turtle hybrid.
"Maybe we could wait 'til he's in a good mood to tell him." Raphael suggested.
"No, once he comes in here, the first thing he'll see is Irrilia. I doubt he'll be in a good mood about finding a half-Salamandrian, half-turtle baby in our home." Leo pointed out.
"Then how about we have Irrilia hide out in Raph's room until it's the right time?" Mikey said.
"Of course not. What if she cries? Master Splinter will hear. Besides, who knows when the 'right time' would be." Donnie told Mikey.
Leo sighed in frustration. "Okay, how about I go talk to him first and I'll give you guys the signal to come in with Irrilia?" he suggested. Mikey automatically perked up.
"Oh yeah! You could be like, 'Master Splinter, I need to tell you something', and we all just jump in with a big sign like, 'YOU'RE A GRANDPA, SENSEI!' and Raphael holds Irrilia like in the Lion King and I'll have one of those '#1 Grandpa' shirts for--"
"NO, Mikey!" Donnie, Leo, and Raphael snapped in unison. Mikey frowned at his brothers, but stopped talking anyway. "I vote for Leo's plan." Donnie announced. Raphael took a breath and said, "Yeah, me too. I mean, it's the best idea we've come up with so..."
Mikey raised his hand. "Me three." he joined in, still disappointed about his idea being shot down. "Okay. It's official. I'll go find Master Splinter. Raph, Mikey, why don't you guys come with me? You could stay outside the room while I talk with Splinter and I'll tell you to come in. Donnie can stay behind with Irrilia until it's the right time. How does that sound?" Leo explained. All three brothers agreed. Leo got up and exited the kitchen to look for Splinter with Raphael and Mikey right behind him. Meanwhile, Donnie stayed behind with Irrilia, who was sitting in his lap as she played with the stuffed toy she had with her in her carrier. At first, Donnie felt a little uncomfortable since he was almost never around babies so he didn't really know what to do. But in no time, he was at ease. He even felt attached to the infant already, precisely like an uncle to a niece.
Donnie tickled Irrilia's chin making her giggle. "Heh. You're a real cutie, aren't 'ya?" he said to her. Irrilia smiled at her Uncle Donnie. Her mouth was open, showing no teeth. "Aaww...can you say 'ah', Irrilia?"" Donnie cooed to his niece. Then, Irrilia opened her mouth even wider. Her skin had spread back to reveal her big jaws and mouth while he tongue stuck out. "Aaaahhh!" she hummed like a patient getting their throat checked at a doctor's office. Donnie was amazed.
"Whoo! That's quite a mouth you got there, l'il missy! Your jaws are even bigger than a regular turtle's. The skin must be flexible so it hides it." Donnie observed.

Irrilia laughed. Donnie began to doze off then. He tried to fight it back, but he failed. His head laid itself on the back of the couch and his eyes closed. Soon, he started to snore. Irrilia still sat in Donnie's lap. She looked around the lair with her large, brilliant eyes. She slipped herself off Donnie's lap and dropped herself onto the floor. Then, the Salamandrian-turtle infant began to crawl further away from Donnie as she took in her new surroundings....

*********

A few minutes later, Leo, Raph, and Mikey returned. "Huh...where could Splinter be?" Leo thought aloud. Mikey did an exaggerated shrug and Raph shook his head. The brothers noticed Donnie snoozing on the couch.
Leo poked Donnie on his shoulder, waking him up. "Huh--? Wha--?" Donnie mumbled. "Hey. You fell asleep." Leo said.
"Oh. So did you guys tell Splinter?"
"Nah. We can't find him."
"Well, then I guess we'll have to tell him later."
Raph looked around the couch. Where was Irrilia? He began to panic. "Uuhh, Donnie?" he nervously asked his purple-masked brother.
"Yeah?"
"...where's Irrilia?"
Donnie paused and looked around himself. Mikey and Leo fumbled around the couch with Donnie and Raph. The four brothers all looked at each other. Horror was apparent in their facial expressions.
"Oh, crap..." they all groaned.