Donny stood outside the door to Raph’s room, going over what it was he planned on saying. It wasn’t the kind of news that was easy to break. Leatherhead stood nearby so that he could watch the baby while Donny went in to break the news to Raph alone.
The baby was in the typical bassinet, trolley that was used in hospitals. He looked down at her and watched her sleep as he thought. It was still hard for him to believe that she was real. She was so small, weighing in at just under three pounds. She was more length than anything else. Donny was sure that, with enough food, she would fill out nicely, doubling her weight in no time.
He looked up at Leatherhead, who was waiting patiently while Donny collected his nerve. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Donny prepared himself to enter the room. He placed his hand on the handle, took one more steading breath, and then opened the door.
Raph was moving around the room, packing his things. Chaplin had told him an hour earlier that he was being released and he was eager to go. He looked up when Donny entered but didn’t stop what he was doing.
“We decided to go out to the farm,” Donny said, not quite ready to get to the point. He figured that a little bit of small talk would be best.
“I’m f…fine with that,” Raph said as he stuffed his things into a bag. “B…basking sounds… nice.”
“It does,” Donny agreed.
His heart pounded as his mind raced with what to say. He had no idea how Raph was going to react. The night of her conception was not something that they liked to talk about.
After a while of wringing his hands together, Donny decided to just say it. “Bishop… changed me,” was all he was able to choke out before the look in Raph’s eye had his throat closing.
Raph’s eye narrowed, “What?”
“He put something in me,” Donny tried to explain. “Something that takes my DNA and the DNA of anyone I have sex with and combines it into one… baby.”
Raph looked at Donny while his mind processed what it had just heard. The scowl changed to a look of confusion. “B…baby?”
“I had a baby,” Donny blurted and the words sounded strange coming from him. “She’s a mix of you, me, and Leatherhead but she looks more like Leatherhead.”
“She?” Raph sat down on the bed and his eye darted back and forth. “A baby? Why didn’t you tell me you were…?” He looked up at Donny, “W…Where?”
“She’s just outside,” Donny pointed to the door. “She was born a little after I left you, earlier today. I didn’t know that I was… well, pregnant until I saw her in the toilet. Do you wanna see her?”
Raph nodded and Donny felt a sense of relief wash over him. This was good. Raph didn’t seem to be mad. He looked to be in shock but that was expected. He stood up as Donny made his way to the door and waited by the bed for Donny to return.
“He wants to see her,” Donny said to Leatherhead as he entered the hall. All of his fear was giving way to joy as he scooped her up in his arms. He looked up and saw a slight smile turn up the edges of Leatherhead’s mouth and smiled in return.
When Donny walked back into the room he saw Raph, still waiting by the bed and smiled. “This is our daughter, SnjórEldur.” Donny glanced over to see that Leatherhead was waiting patiently just outside the door. He didn’t want to make things anymore awkward for Raph than they already were.
Raph’s eye was on the bundle in Donny’s arms but when he heard her name it shot up to look at Donny. “What?”
“SnjórEldur,” Donny repeated. “It’s Icelandic, meaning Snow Fire.” He liked to study languages and Icelandic was the most recent one he was learning. He liked the way it sounded and it seemed to fit, given who her parents ware. Raph and Leatherhead both could be as cold as ice one moment then in a fiery rage the next.
“I… c…can’t say that,” Raph complained some of that fire coming to life.
“We can call her Snow for short,” Donny smiled. “You don’t ever have to attempt to call her by her full name.”
“I w…won’t,” Raph grunted, looking down at Snow. “I l…like the name Snow.”
“Good.” Donny placed her on the bed and undid the swaddle so Raph could get a good look at her. The sudden change in her environment had her complaining with a soft cry. Raph reached down and grabbed her before Donny had a chance to react.
Don felt a rush of panic, “Be careful.”
Raph glared at him, “I w…won’t drop her.”
“Maybe you should sit down,” Donny insisted, reaching for Raph.
Turning away from Donny, Raph grunted, “I’m f…fine.”
“Okay,” Donny backed away but his nerves didn’t settle. “Why don’t you sit down and take some time to hold her and I’ll finish packing your things? No reason to stay standing.”
Sighing, Raph walked past Donny then made his way to sit down in the blue chair. He then propped his feet up in the green chair and placed Snow on his lap to get a good look at her. “She d…doesn’t l…look like m…me.”
“I told you that she looked more like Leatherhead,” Donny said as he checked inside a drawer. “His DNA dominated but the blood work shows that you are her parent too.”
Donny looked up and noticed a newly bought set of seven Disney Princess Barbie dolls, still in their packaging. He walked around the bed and picked it up off the floor to get a better look at it. “Is this what Casey bought you?”
When Casey had seen the doll Mikey had bought for Raph, he was confused. Donny had done his best to explain to Casey why it was Raph had an affinity towards princesses but it took Casey a while to wrap his mind around the idea. He couldn’t understand how Raph, out of all of them, could like something so ‘girly’.
April, being the more sensible one, spent weeks explaining it to Casey. In time he learned to accept it and decided to show his support. When he told Donny that he was going to buy something for Raph, Donny wasn’t expecting something like that. A set of those dolls wasn’t cheap.
“This is nice,” Donny smiled and set the box with the rest of Raph’s things.
“At least h…he kept it in the b…box,” Raph quipped.
“Mikey didn’t do a lot of thinking that day.” Donny walked over to stand next to Raph. “You’re not mad that Casey knows, are you?”
Raph shook his head, “No. He’s n…not giving m…me a hard… t…time about it.”
“Do you want me to make a quick trip to the lair to drop some of your things off?”
Again Raph shook his head.
“Okay. I think we got everything,” Donny said, looking around the room. “You ready to go?” He bent down to collect Snow and when Raph hesitated, Donny placed his hand on his shoulder. “I promise, you will get to spend all the time you want with her out at the farm.”
Raph nodded and Donny reached down to take Snow. “I’ll get the others to carry your things out to the van.”
After another nod from Raph, Donny turned to leave. He smiled at Leatherhead when he exited the room and heaved a sigh of relief. “That went better than I thought.”
“He’s been handling everything well,” Leatherhead added and Donny detected concern in his voice.
Donny nodded, “It will catch up to him soon enough.”
**
Karai supplied them with everything that they would need to take care of an infant, including a car seat. Donny fussed for the better part of an hour over the proper placement of the car seat. When he finally had it to where he was satisfied, they all loaded into the van for the nearly four hour drive out to the farm.
It was a new van, yet another gift from Karai, that had seats and tented windows. It was a much better mode of transportation than what they had before, which was an empty supply van with no seats in the back. It was much safer for all of them as well, especially Snow. No one wanted her car seat sliding around in the back of a van.
Raph sat next to Snow in the middle seat, alternating between watching her sleep and looking out the window. Mikey had managed to nab the seat on the other side of Snow while Donny was loading the rest of his things into the van. Mikey cooed and played with Snow for the long ride, keeping her happy.
Mikey wanted to make a good show of loving her. He knew that it relieved Donny to no end to see his family take to the baby so quickly. They could have rejected her, viewed her as a danger and part of Bishop’s agenda. But instead they saw her as the innocent creature that she was.
Casey drove with Master Splinter in the front passenger seat while Leo, Leatherhead, and Don sat in the far back seat. The van was equipped with a Blu-ray player so they had a movie going, but mostly for the noise. Mikey had his own movie surprise for later.
The moment the van pulled up to the house, April and Casey’s mom came rushing out. “They are eager to see the baby,” Casey looked over his shoulder to warn them. “April was upset. She said that if she had known, she would have been the one to drive to New York to get you.”
“You mean they’re not running out to see me?” Mikey pretended to be hurt in an overly dramatic way. “I was her maid of honor. It’s because I’m no longer the cutest one…, thanks to Snow.”
Raph reached over and smacked the back of his head, “You w…were never the b…best looking one.”
Mikey couldn’t help but smile at seeing his brother acting like his usual self, despite all that had happened to him. Donny had told Mikey that Raph’s ‘normal’ mood wouldn’t last, that it was just a part of the grieving process and that he was in denial.
Though he showed signs of anger, he had yet to fully enter into the next stage.
Raph opened the door and stepped out of the van to receive his hug from April. Mikey started to unbuckle the straps around Snow but Donny shoved him to get his attention. “I’ll get her.”
“Fine,” Mikey groaned then opened the door to jump out. Sure, all he wanted was to hold Snow while everyone gushed over her so he could still be the center of attention. Donny didn’t have to be such a jerk about it.
As Mikey rounded the van, Leo grabbed his arm. “Help get the things into the house.”
Mikey moaned, earning himself another swat. He didn’t know how much more abuse he could take. Not wanting to make many trips, Mikey loaded himself up with bags then trudged towards the house. Leatherhead saw what he was doing and relieved him of some of his burden.
“I think we are going to be ignored for a while,” Leatherhead stated, looking back at the others fussing over Snow.
Mikey looked back then rolled his eyes as he looked forward again, shaking his head. He looked up at his large friend, “Do you wanna go for a swim after we drop this stuff in the room and see how long it takes before they realize that we’re gone?”
“I like the sound of that,” Leatherhead replied.
Leatherhead might have been Donny’s boyfriend but he was still Mikey’s friend. The two liked to hang out and Mikey enjoyed making Leatherhead laugh.
They did just as Mikey suggested and dropped the bags in the middle of the room then ran back down stairs and out the door before anyone saw them. As they neared the river, Mikey picked up his pace and was running full speed by the time they reached its banks.
Jumping high into the air, Mikey managed a flip before curling up to cannonball into the water. He landed carapace first to make the biggest splash then immediately regretted it. Though it was spring, the water was still cold and nearly stole his breath away. When he surfaced, he spat out water then flailed to get back to shore.
“It’s still a little cold,” he chattered then flopped down on the warm grass.
Leatherhead let out a deep chuckle and sat next to Mikey. “Then I guess it would be best if we simply bask for today.”
“I like the way to think,” Mikey said as he rubbed his arms in an attempt to get his blood moving again.
“Will you be alright?” Leatherhead asked, placing his hand on Mikey’s carapace.
Mikey nodded and scooted closer to Leatherhead, “Can I just lean against you for a while and steal some of your heat?”
Leatherhead wrapped his arm around Mikey, “Of course.”
“You’re a great friend,” Mikey sighed and leaned against Leatherhead.
After a while, they fell asleep as the sun warmed their bodies. Mikey loved it out at the farm where he could really cut loose. He didn’t have to be quiet and he could run in the open air in the middle of the day. He didn’t need his comics or video games to escape. Being out at the farm was an escape.
A warm hand on his shoulder had Mikey opening his eyes. He sat up and stretched, realizing that the sun was almost down and there was a chill in the air. Looking up, he saw Leo and knew that he was going to get a stern talking to later about leaving the bags in the middle of the floor.
“Took you long enough to realize that we were gone,” Mikey huffed then reached over to wake Leatherhead, something that had to be done delicately. The large croc seemed to be in peaceful slumber so the chances of him waking up angry was low.
Leo sighed, “You’re not going to start acting jealous of the new baby are you Mikey?”
“Who, me?” Mikey acted surprised that Leo would even think of such a thing. “I like Snow. I just didn’t want to be there with everyone fussing over her.” Mikey flipped up to his feet, not an easy thing to do, given how cold his body was becoming. “I’m not jealous.”
“I didn’t want to hear all the cooing and high pitched squealing either,” Leatherhead said as he opened his eyes. “Is it out of their systems?”
“I think so,” Leo chuckled, helping Leatherhead stand. “April and Mrs. Jones are cooking dinner and Donny has a fire going in the fireplace. Let’s get you two back to the house so you can warm back up.”
“Give me a ride on your back,” Mikey whimpered, hopping up onto Leo’s carapace the moment he turned around. “I’m cold.” Wrapping his arms around Leo, Mikey moved in to snuggle Leo’s neck. “Then we can snuggle by the fire and you can whisper sweet nothings in my ear.”
Leo shrugged Mikey off, causing him to land on the hard ground with a thud. “You’re incorrigible.”
“No loving for you tonight then,” Mikey huffed as he got to his feet and made his way back to the house.
Leatherhead tilted his head to the side and then looked at Leo, “Are you two…?”
“No,” Leo put an end to that train of thought. “We’re close but not that close. He’s just trying to get under my shell.”
Back at the house everyone was getting ready to sit down for dinner. Mikey snuck into the kitchen to grab a before dinner snack but Splinter was there and smacked Mikey’s hand, keeping him from grabbing a roll. “Go wash up. Your odor is offensive.”
“That’s because he jumped in the river,” Leatherhead informed them, poking his head into the kitchen.
“I see,” Splinter nodded then turned to look at Leatherhead. “And did you jump into the river as well?”
“No,” Leatherhead shook his head. “It was too cold. I basked by the river with Michelangelo.”
“I suggest that you wash up before supper as well,” Splinter said flatly. “The two of you smell like you wallowed in filth.”
“Oh,” Leatherhead blushed.
“Come on,” Mikey grabbed his hand. “We can shower together. I heard it’s more fun that way… nothing funny though. No matter how hard I try, I can’t swing that way.”
**
After dinner, Mikey pulled out his surprise movie for Raph and had Donny set it up so that they could watch it. They all gathered in the front room and scattered about. Raph and Mikey sat on the sofa with Mrs. Jones, Splinter got the old arm chair, Leo managed to get the rocking chair and the others had to make do with the floor.
“What are w...we watching?” Raph asked as the Blu-ray loaded.
“Only one of the biggest movies to come out of Disney in a long time!” Mikey declared.
“We’re not watching Frozen are we?” Casey moaned.
“Yep!” Mikey beamed. “Raph was out cold when it came out to the theaters and was in rehab when it came to Blu-ray. He missed all the hype. I figured it would be a great first day of freedom movie for him.” He turned to look at Raph and held up two fingers. “This has two princesses. Elsa might even beat out Belle for your favorite princess.”
“Just s...start the movie,” Raph said, shoving Mikey.
As they watched the movie Mikey could hear Raph occasionally chuckle or moan, depending on what was going on in the movie. When Let it Go came on Mikey knew it so well that he lip-synched to the song. He didn’t want to sing it out loud and ruin it for Raph.
He was stopped about midway through when Leo nudged him. Mikey glared at Leo, he wasn’t doing anything to earn it. He was being quiet. Yeah, he was moving around, but still, it was well behaved for him.
Leo then pointed to Raph, causing Mikey to turn and look in time to see Raph wipe away a tear. Mikey had read that the song tended to strike a chord with people who had suffered abuse. He really didn’t think it would apply to someone in Raph’s situation.
When the song was over Raph looked around to see if anyone was looking at him and Mikey quickly turned his attention back to the movie. It was a good thing that he was sitting on Raph’s left or he would have been caught.
When the movie ended, Mikey looked at Raph. “Well?”
“It was s...stupid,” Raph grunted then smiled. “But for s...some reason, I l...liked it.”
“I know right?” Mikey stood up. “It’s because you see some of me in Anna. I’m cute and I’ve got freckles,” he leaned in close to Raph, “and I love you unconditionally.”
“Dork,” Raph said, pushing Mikey aside as he stood up then made his way upstairs. “I’m g...gonna take my p...pain pill and g...go to bed.”
“Goodnight,” they all replied in a broken choirs.
“I know you love me too, Raph,” Mikey called after him and got a mumbled response. He looked over at Leo and smiled, “He loves me,” earning himself another hard shove.
