Farewell Dear Friend.
What's it like for Raphael and the others to make a new friend with the knowledge that she isn't going to be alive for much longer?
Dedicated to any and all who have lost a love one. Especially the family and friends of Bethany aka. LadyLuna78. I'm sure the angels love her stories.
Chapter 1: Maggie
five months before Exodus
The rain pounded on Raphael's shell like a thousand marbles falling on a drum. Each one felt like a high speed bullet striking his shell. Each one made a hard thunk against his shell when it struck. Multiply that by the hundreds of thick fat raindrops falling from the sky the constant drumming made his shell, spine, bones, muscles, and blood vibrate. Raphael loved that feeling. It made him feel one with the storm.
Today, however, Raphael ignored the constant drumming on his shell, and pulled the grey green wool blanket further over his head to keep the rain out of his eyes. Peering through the foggy darkness Raphael dimly saw the edge of an equally moldy, grey cloak hovering at the edge of a shadow. Anybody else would have never seen the cloaked figure in the darkness, but Splinter had trained Raphael well.
Heh maybe a little too well, Raphael thought with a chuckle. It was Master Splinter he was tracking. Splinter had been vanishing from the lair for a couple of hours every day for the last two months. Everyone was curious, but none of Raphael's brothers were interested in finding out why. Michelangelo suggested that Master Splinter just needed some space. Donatello told him flat out that if Splinter wanted them to know he would tell them, All Leonardo did was ask Raphael if he remembered what happened the last time they followed Master Splinter somewhere. That little reminder of the trouble that occurred when they entered the Battle Nexus killed the conversation really quick.
Still Raphael felt as if Splinter needed some watching over. Sure he could wipe the floor with all four of them when he wanted to, but that didn't make Raphael worry any less. So tonight, being extra careful not to be discovered, Raphael followed his sensei through the rainy city streets.
Suddenly Splinter ducked into an alley. Raphael scrambled to catch up. He watched as Splinter climbed up the side of the building and around the side. Raphael began to wonder if maybe Splinter wasn't aware that he was being followed. Raphael didn't have claws like Splinter. Climbing up the side of the building in the rain wasn't going to be easy, but Raphael had his shuko spikes, and found the wall only moderately difficult.
When Raphael made the turn around the side of the building, he paused to look for Master Splinter. He found him in the well of an old brownstone. Raphael just made it in time to see the aged rat pull a key out of the sleeve of his kimono and unlock the door. In the blink of an eye Splinter slipped inside of the house.
What the shell is Master Splinter doing in that house, and how did he get the key? As soon as the door was closed, Raphael jumped down to the well and looked carefully at the door. The lock was too small to pick with his sai. On his left was a window barely opened. Slowly and carefully Raphael used his sai to pry the window open. Once it was open wide enough for his shell, he slipped inside.
He began to towel himself dry with his blanket, when he felt the air in the room change. Raphael tensed his muscle, and ducked as he felt the breeze of a missed strike fly over his head. He didn't have time to take the blanket off his head or to draw his weapons. He blocked two more blind strikes then his feet were kicked out from under him. He found himself suddenly on his shell pinned to the floor. The blanket was pulled off his head revealing his sensei's glowering expression looking down at him.
"Master Splinter?" Raphael called out. He wasn't sure what he should be asking his sensei.
Splinter sighed, and got off of Raphael. "Raphael," the aged rat said with a hint of disapproval in his voice. "I thought perhaps Leonardo was following me."
"Nah, I couldn't talk him into it this time," Raphael confessed. Then as an after thought he said, "You thought I was Leo?" He couldn't help himself. That was a sign that he had been exceptional in following his Master. A proud smile danced across his face.
Splinter rolled his eyes, and helped Raphael to his feet. "What are you doing here, sensei?" Raphael asked.
Splinter began to frown. "It is a matter that does not concern you, Raphael," Splinter said sternly. "I am fine. You should return to the lair."
Obviously Raphael wasn't wanted here, but wanted to understand. "But Master Splinter - " Raphael began, but then another voice came from the back of the apartment.
"Splinter, is someone there?"
Raphael was surprised. "Who was there?" The voice sounded like a woman. What was Splinter doing here?
Splinter signaled Raphael to keep silent. "It is merely one of my sons, Margaret," Splinter called back. "He was concerned for my safety."
The voice echoing down the hall answered back. "How nice. Don't send him away though. I'd like to meet one of your sons."
Splinter eyed Raphael up and down with an amused grin, as if suddenly Raphael had become the butt of a great joke. "As you say Margaret," Splinter said with a slight chuckle. Then to Raphael he said, "come." He gestured for Raphael to follow him.
As Raphael followed behind, he whispered, "Master Splinter, I don't understand. Who lives here what's going on?"
"You will see, Raphael," Splinter answered softly. "Come." He took Raphael by the hand and led him down the darkened hallway. The second door on the right was cracked open allowing a thin golden beam of light illuminate the blue wallpaper adorned with red and white flowers along the walls of the hall.
Splinter opened the door, and gently guided Raphael through first. Raphael found himself in a bedroom awashed with light from lamps in wall scones around the room. The room was decorated with white and pink swirled wallpaper with pink roses boarding the top. To his right was a set of dresser drawers with an old thirteen-inch TV perched on top. Next to the TV was a dark wooden jewelry box. On his left was a wardrobe of the same dark cherry wood and brass fittings as the dresser. Next to the wardrobe was a pink and white vanity with an oval mirror framed in wood with carved roses. On a shelf above the dresser was a set of three different antique model planes.
In the center of the room was a king-sized bed. The bed had a soft sky blue comforter on it with white daisies and under the comforter was an elderly human woman.
She had white hair and bright blue eyes that her reading glasses couldn't possibly hide. She was dressed in a lavender bed gown, and was smiling brightly at Raphael.
"Hello dear," The woman said in a kindly voice. "I'm Margaret. Well I guess I'd be your Aunt Margaret, but you wouldn't know that, would you? I suppose not. You see Splinter here talks an awful lot about you four, and I dare say most likely he said very little about me."
"You can say that again," Raphael said with a grin. Splinter glared at him while Margaret laughed merrily.
"Dear Splinter worries so much about you four. He didn't think it was a good idea for you to visit me all the time. The neighbors might have seen you. Now which one are you?"
Raphael was completely taken aback by her friendly tone, and her complete lack of fear. "Um . . . I'm Raphael," He answered a little subdued. "If you don't mind my asking, why are you my Aunt Margaret?"
Margaret looked slightly crestfallen at that. "Oh I suppose you wouldn't know, would you. Splinter and I have been friends for a very long time; even before he found you and your brothers."
"Before -" Raphael tried to digest this slowly. "That would mean you knew him before -"
"Before he changed of course," Margaret finished for him, smiling gently at his confusion.
Splinter coughed to get Raphael's attention. "Margaret used to clean the apartment of my Master, Hamato Yoshi."
"Poor Yoshi," Margaret said with a sad sigh. "He was such a dear. He would cook such wonderful lunches for me when I came to clean, and he would have Splinter do the most amusing little tricks."
Raphael bit his lip to keep from laughing. He wasn't sure he heard that right. "Tricks?" He asked.
Splinter folded his arms over his chest and tried to look stern. "I recall you not liking me very well back then," he reminded her. "Performing for you soon made you think of me more as a pet, and less of a pest."
Margaret chuckled at that. "And you were clever enough to know it too, even back then." She turned his attention back to Raphael. "He used to get out of this cage and run about the room all the time. Eventually he'd appear all of a sudden out of nowhere, and before I could scream or take a broomstick to him, he'd look right at me with those sharp little eyes and do a back flip, then run back to his own cage."
Oh wait until the others hear this. Raphael thought with glee. It was all he could do not to burst out laughing. Splinter looked as if he wished that Margaret had not told that particular story. Even so Splinter reached out, and took Margaret's hand. "I often thank fate that the day The Shredder came to kill my Master Yoshi, you had called to tell him you could not come to clean that day. Master Yoshi would not have wished harm to come to you."
Margaret sighed sadly, and leaned back on her pile of pillows. "There are many times I wished I had been there, dear. I may not be a ninja warrior, but I know how to dial 911 with the best of them, and at least I would have found you and taken you home with me. I had well lost my fear of rats by then."
"But how did you hook up again?" Raphael asked puzzled. "I mean after we was mutated; I'm sure Master Splinter didn't go looking for you."
"I did not," Splinter said firmly. "It was fate that caused our paths to cross again." He glanced over at Raphael was waiting to hear the whole story. "It was six, no nearly seven years since The Shredder had killed Master Yoshi. You four were still too young to go above, and I was scavenging for food and supplies. Suddenly I heard footsteps running in my direction. Quickly I hid myself behind the trash pails, and watched as Margaret ran into the alley. Five men entered the alley after her, and it was clear they meant her harm, so I attacked them, and drove them away."
Raphael smiled at that. Even though his sensei always preached non violence, anyone on the wrong end of Splinter's fist didn't remain standing for long.
"Once I had cleared the alley of attackers, I realized that Margaret had seen me." Splinter finished grinning at his old friend.
"Nearly died of fright right then and there," Margaret said smiling as well. "It took quite a bit of convincing on Splinter's part that at least one of my two dear friends had survived the attack of those awful Foot people, and had changed so much." Margaret chuckled warmly. "Well of course I insisted he see me home, and after a few cups of tea I managed to get the whole story out of him, including about you four. I invited him to bring you all here to live, but he insisted that you were all safer down in the sewers."
Splinter grinned at Raphael. "I did not wish to inflict four rambunctious boys on my old friend," he told him. "Especially when two of them were notorious home wreckers."
Raphael knew who he was talking about too. Splinter was getting a mild revenge for being embarrassed earlier. Raphael knew that between himself and Michelangelo Splinter had to replace broken furniture again and again.
"Oh, but they're grown up now," Margaret said. "I'm sure they won't damage anything now."
Raphael bit his lip to keep from laughing again. That's cause she hasn't met Mikey, he thought to himself.
"Margaret," Splinter said firmly. "I do not think it is a good idea for you to have too many visitors in your condi-"
"Nonsense!" Margaret answered sharply, yet still kindly. "It's high time I meet your sons!"
With a sightly frustrated sigh Splinter asked. "Are you sure that will be a good idea?"
With a wide smile, and pat on his hands, Margaret said, "I can't wait to meet them!"
"Very well," the aged rat said. "Tomorrow I shall bring my sons, and you shall meet them all. Now I shall warm up your meal. Raphael, shall keep you company."
Splinter left the room indicating to Raphael that he should remain behind. Uncertain of what to do, Raphael stood there awkwardly looking at the old woman slightly embarrassed.
Margaret saved him by shifting over in the bed and patting the side where she had moved from. "Come sit down, dear. I'm sure you have a lot of questions that you didn't want to ask around Splinter"
Raphael smiled in spite of himself, and sat on the edge of the bed where she indicated. He wasn't sure what to ask first, but then he finally said, "Did you really go after Master Splinter with a broom?"
By the time Splinter had returned with Margaret's meal, Margaret felt like an old friend. She told Raphael stories about Splinter and Hamato Yoshi that Raphael would never have been able to imagine.
"I was ever so worried when he vanished a year ago," she was saying as Splinter walked in. "He told me he had met some of Yoshi's employers, but he didn't fool me for a second. Something had happened to him, and he did not wish me to worry."
Yeah you would have worried if you had known that we stormed The Foot headquarters, that Master Splinter took a major hit, and almost died. That the guardians of an alien race took him and zapped us clear across the galaxy, Raphael thought to himself. What he said out loud was, "Yeah, we met those guys too. We had a bit of a misunderstanding at first, but we got everything cleared up."
Margarete gave Raphael a look that told him she knew that he had seriously abbreviated the story as well. Just then he heard Master Splinter clearing his throat. Raphael turned to see his sensei carrying a red and black laquer tray containing what looked like poached chicken with rice and mixed vegetables. A fruit cup and a small pot of tea balanced out the meal. Raphael also noticed a small dessert plate with seven different pills.
Margaret also noticed the pills. She sighed exasperated. "Splinter, dear," she began, but Splinter shook his head firmly.
"When I agreed to help you, Margaret, you agreed to talk your medication."
"You sound like my doctor," Margaret complained, but she swallowed the pills anyway, and then ate her dinner. After she ate, Splinter sent Raphael into the kitchen to do the dishes. In addition to doing the dishes, he also poked around a little bit. Splinter had kept this secret from them for years, and only started visiting her every day recently. What had changed?
Raphael found at least a dozen different types of pills over Margaret's sink, and they were all current prescriptions. He also found three letters on the kitchen table from Mount Sinai Hospital. Is she sick or something? Raphael wondered. Splinter had started disappearing every night only a month ago. He seemed to be taking care of Margaret.
Once the dishes were dried and put away, Raphael snuck back down the hall and listened to Splinter talking to Margaret.
"I do not think this is a good idea Margaret. My sons are still very energetic. You will wear yourself out if they visit."
Margaret shot back, "That might have worked when they were young, Splinter, but not now. Raphael has been a perfect gentleman his entire visit, and I'm sure the others will behave as well."
Splinter sighed and shook his head sadly. "But Margaret - " he began. Margaret's hand on his silenced him.
"Splinter, dear, I want to know your sons before it's too late," she said firmly. "It is said that you live on in those who remember you, and right now the only two who I know will remember me are you and that sweet young lady April. Your boys are the only grandchildren I'll ever have, and I want to know them. "
Splinter sighed again, but this time in defeat. "I could never say no to you my friend. Very well, Margaret. Tomorrow you shall meet all my sons."
Raphael decided he had heard enough. Ever so silently he moved back into the kitchen, and called out to Splinter. "I'm all done in here, sensei. You need me to do anything else?"
"Come here, Raphael." Splinter called. Raphael walked back down the hall and poked his head into the room. When Splinter saw him, he said, "Return to the lair and inform your brothers of my whereabouts. All of you will be accompanying me here tomorrow."
"Okay sensei," Raphael said agreeably. He couldn't wait to tell the others what he found out. He gave Margaret a warm smile. "See ya tomorrow Margaret." He bowed politely to both of them, then slipped out of the brownstone. The rain had stopped, and a thick fog hung over the area. He wouldn't even need to go back underground to remain hidden.
