Michelangelo walked into the living room and making his way towards the couch. He sat next to Splinter, who was catching up on some reading. All Mikey could think about was how unfair his brothers were being. The only thing he wanted to do was help them put together a puzzle, but no he couldn't. He wasn't allowed to even touch it because he was a baby. No matter how hard he tried to persuade his brothers that he was not a baby they still treated him like he was one.

Mikey was the same age as his brothers, they were all the same height. It was true that Mikey was still a little scared of some things like scary movies and the dark but those things didn't make it okay for his brothers to call him a baby. He didn't take naps anymore, he drank from a cup without a top, he even slept on the top of the bunk bed these weren't things that a baby did. So if he could understand it why couldn't his brothers. Splinter looked up from his book and could tell his son was deep in thought.

"My son is something troubling you?" He asked marking the page in his book.

"Well Sensei something has been kind of bugging me lately."

"Yes my son what is it?"

"Sensei, do you think I'm a baby?" The last word to leave his mouth with left Michelangelo with such a disgusted look on his face. Splinter smiled and asked

"Why do you ask this my son?"

"Because Leo, Raph, and Donnie always call me a baby and I'm tired of it." He answered looking slightly depressed, he wasn't telling on them it was more like he was venting.

"Well my son if you would like me to give you my true answer I will."

"Yes Sensei, please."

"Well the answer my son is both yes and no." He said simply.

Mikey looked extremely confused, he wasn't sure how could it yes and no. It was either a yes or a no, but before he could say anything Splinter followed up what he had just said.

"Michelangelo let me explain why there is both a yes and a no to my answer."

"Okay, but Sensei could you please explain the no part of the answer first please?" At this point all Mikey wanted was for someone in his household to understand that he was six years old.

"Of course I will my son." He placed his book down and motioned for his son to move closer to him.

"Now Michelangelo, you are not a baby because you are six years of age." That put a big smile on Mikey's face.

"It is also true that you do not need me for so many things as you once did, such as I no longer have to feed you food, rock you to sleep or hold your hand when walking with you."

It was all true, Mikey was fully capable of eating all his food now; well accept vegetables but those were different. He was also completely able to go to bed on his own now, still he did like bedtime better if there was at least one story.
With all that Master Splinter had said Mikey was still not sure how there could be a yes in his answer but he continued to listen.

Splinter smiled went on. "Now my son for the reason I said yes."

"You must first understand something I am your father, (Mikey's facial expression was one of DUH!) and even though I am very aware of your age you are still my baby and I am sorry to say I will always see you that way."

Mikey let out a sigh, just great so even when Mikey was like 30 years old his dad would still think he was a baby, he gave a small frown he really didn't want to hear the yes part of the answer.

"When I see you Michelangelo, I see my son that had the most difficulty saying his own name, I see the son that came running to me so many times in the middle of the night when something did not seem right to him."

"Also when I look at you I can still see my son that first gave me a smile." There was just something about a Michelangelo smile that made others smile and Splinter loved it. Mikey who'd been looking a little sad now that they were on the yes part of the answer looked up with one of his famous Michelangelo smiles.

"Sensei I was the first one to smile at you?"

"Yes you were my son."

"Was I first at anything else?" Mikey asked at this point totally forgetting that they were talking about him being a baby.

"Yes my son you were the first of your brothers to get very sick and I was so worried about you." That memory of his son being so sick was extremely unpleasant for Splinter but it was one that he would never forget.

"You were also the first to make effort at walking although you were not to successful with it." That recollection brought a smile to Splinters face. Michelangelo pulling himself up over and over just to stand up for about five seconds before he went crashing back down.

Splinter could see that he had his son's full attention now, so he decided to add something that might just make him feel a little better.

"My son would it interest you to know that I feel the same way about your brothers?" His brothers for a few minutes Mikey had forgotten all about them. He couldn't help but gave another one of his smiles.

"You do Sensei please tell me about them, and can you start with Raph please?"

"If that is what you would like my son, when I look at Raphael I still see my son when eating always found a way to get more on him than in him."

Splinter could recall on more than one occasion feeding the four of his sons and turning his back on that one for only a second only to find him covered in applause or whatever he was supposed to be eating. It was a habit that he grew out of as he got older but still. Splinter liked to think his son did this on purpose, because every time it happened he would have no choice but to give him a bath, which of course meant some special time between just the two of them.

Mikey made a mental image of his brother covered in applesauce and then made a note to keep that image in his head for the next time Raph dare call him a baby.

"Your brother did not cry as often as you three did, but when he would it took me some time before I was able to calm him down."

It'd figure, that even as a baby it would take Raph more time than his brothers to chill out.

"But Raphael was also the first to sleep through the night in his own bed." Yeah Mikey couldn't help but think that his Raph's snoring was most likely reason the other three had not made it through the night.

"What about Donnie?"

Mikey was now ready to hear about his smartest brother.

"Donatello was so precious because every time he slept he would suck his thumb."

"Donnie used to suck his thumb?"

"Oh yes it was something that just seemed so natural to him, he would go to sleep with it in his mouth and take it out as soon as he woke up." Splinter had always loved watching his sons sleep and seeing Donatello suck his thumb held a special place in his heart.

It was taking a lot of Mikey not to fall over with laughter.

"Sadly though, your brother seemed accident prone."

"What does that mean Sensei?"

"It means that without trying Donatello somehow would trip over something, or get hurt" Poor Donnie Mikey thought he hated when one of his brother was in pain no matter how much of it there was.

Splinter sometimes worried if his son would ever be to go an entire day without some sort of accident but was always there with open arms for his son after each time something happened. Again this habit his son seemed to grow out of as time passed. One thing that had not changed was how unselfish his son was.

"He was always very willing to share what he had with you three." That was so true you could always count on Donnie to share anything and everything with you.

This was it as if it'd been saved for last Mikey was finally going to find out about his brother Leonardo the perfect one. He was so ready for this one.

"Leo's the only one left Sensei."

"I suppose he is, Leonardo was the first to walk and to talk." Leonardo had always shown great confidence in almost everything he did. Splinter could still see that same confidence in his son now. So Leo had been the same form the time he was a baby.

Mikey had half expected to hear that Leo was perfect. "Sensei did Leo ever give you any trouble at all ever?"

"Your brother was very well-behaved, accept that I could never get him to take a nap."

"Really Sensei, how come Leo wouldn't take a nap?" Mikey was finding difficult to believe for even one second that his brother wouldn't follow a rule.

"I do not know the exact reason Michelangelo." Splinter thought back to when he would put his sons down for their nap. No matter what he tried to get Leonardo to sleep almost nothing worked, and he did not know why this only happened with Leonardo.

However there had been a few time when Splinter and sleep had won the battle over the child's will. Mikey smiled and thought to himself, "If perfect Leo had once been a rebel maybe, just maybe there would hope for him in the future."

All four of his sons were still his babies. That was how it had been from the day he found them and it would always be that way.

"Michelangelo, while I am positive that your brothers reasoning for calling you that name are not the same as mine, I hope that you now understand my reason for giving you a yes and a no answer?"

"Yes I do Sensei thank you for explaining it to me."

As Mikey got up to give his father a hug Splinter repeated his earlier statement to his son. "You will always be my baby."