First Love
Note: Yes, yes, I know, I'm late with the next story, sooo sorry to the vigilant readers out there! But, this one I think will do the series some good. It might even be longer than 4 chapters this time, so here's hoping! It's a fluff story, no angst here(at least not in huge amounts)! So, enjoy!
~~~*~~~
Charlie sat on the edge of the twin bed, watching as his mother carefully placed the elastic cloth around the false leg and her own mutilated flesh, securing the limb to her body. Standing up he watched as she moved over to her dresser, picking up a brush and starting to untangle the rats nest that had formed over night in her curly brown hair.
"Mom, can we go an' visit Raph today?"
The brush froze in mid stroke, then continued. "Not today sweetie, maybe Don can take you down another time."
"But moooom, " He whined. "Leo promised to show me some cool ninja moves an' stuff!"
Slamming the brush down on the dresser Rowan spun around to face her son, "Charles Wayne Emerson! I said we're not going down there today and that's final! Do I make myself clear!?"
Freezing on the bed, Charlie stared closed mouth at his mother, unable to remember the last time she had yelled at him. Feeling tiny he scooted off the edge and raced out of the bedroom toward his own room. Rowan could hear him crying into his pillow.
Cursing her stupidity and brutality, Rowan stood up and made her way over to the child's doorway.
"Charlie, honey I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you like that."
"Ye-yes you did" He sniffled. "Y - you h-hate m-m-me! I w-wanna g-go an live with R-Raph an his f-familyt-they're n-nicer t-t-to me!" And with that he shoved his face into the pillow.
"No! No baby, I don't hate you! I wasn't thinking, and I yelled when I shouldn't have. I'm sorry, I really am."
Moving over she sat on the floor beside the bed, gently stroking his hair, trying to soothe the upset boy.
"How about we do this," She waited until she had his attention before continuing. When Charlie looked at her, still sniffling she continued.
"Both Donnie and Mike are visiting us today, if you want to go and visit Raphael so much, maybe Mikey can take you back with him. What do you say? Is it a plan?"
Looking at her eye's to find sincerity; Charlie broke out into a grin before throwing his arms around her neck in a hug.
"Thank you mommy!"
~~~~***~~~~
"Hey Mikey, you ready yet?" Donatello called out, waiting for his brother by the exit ladder.
"Jus' a minute, I'm tryin' to find my yo-yo and Ah hah! Here it is!"
Don rolled his eyes as Michelangelo came bounding out of his car, a backpack laden with things for his new playmate.
"Are you really going to use all those things?" He asked, eyeing the pack on Mike's shell wearily.
"Of course! Me an' Charlie are going to have a blast so you an' Ro' can have some alone time."
Despite his childish nature, Donatello knew that his brother was smarter than what he really let on, and he admired it. Especially since he was the only one other than himself than Rowan felt comfortable around. She was trying hard to over come her fears, especially since that one night over two weeks ago.
Placing the fedora hat atop his bald head, Donatello began his ascent to the surface, an eager Mikey closely following.
~~**~~
April looked up from her magazine at the sound of the doorbell. Going over she opened the door on two wet turtles. Smirking she let them in, on the condition that they didn't drip on the carpet.
"Some one forget to mention the weather?" Don joked, giving his wet overcoat a gentle shake.
"I almost drowned!"
"Calm down Mikey, you're not made of sugar." Donatello told his more dramatic brother with a roll of his eyes.
"I could be!" He retorted indignantly. Peeling out of his wet coat.
"Mikey!"
"Hey kiddo!" Bending down, the smaller turtle scooped up the child, showing him a tidbit of the toys he had brought with him. Watching him grin broadly with joy.
"Where's Ro'?" Don asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
April motioned for the kitchen. Noises and soft cursing could be heard from within. Cautiously making his way inside the room, the scent of something cooking wafted out towards him. Peeking around the corner he caught sight of Rowan bent over the over stirring furiously at something in a bot, her hair barely contained in a drooping bun.
"Uh, Ro' what are ya doing?" He watched her start with the suddenness of his appearance.
"Jeez, I didn't hear you. Stop doing that!" Wiping her hands on the white apron that had ripe apples going across the waist.
Coming up beside her, he breathed deeply the moist scents, looking at what he assumed to be a stew.
"What are you making?"
"I wanted to show April how thankful I was by her generosity, so I'm making supper!" She pointed proudly to the pot, and then turned around to pick up a tray that held crescent shaped dinner buns.
Picking one up he gingerly took a bite, smiling at her expectant face as the buttery pastry practically dissolved in his mouth.
"It's good."
Her smile widened. "I knew it! Ha!"
There was a bubbling sound from the stove and Rowan spun around, quickly removing the cover off of the pot and stirring furiously.
"You bugger, don't you dare boil over!"
He watched her for a few minutes, until she finally turned off the burner, allowing the contents to simmer before serving. Going over to the kitchen table, Rowan sat down beside Don. She had been looking forward to his visits more and more.
"How is everybody?" She asked. Donatello knew that it was a simple enough question, but knew of its true meaning.
"Leo is waiting for Charlie's next visit, he's quite happy that he's taken such an interest in the ways of ninjiitsu." He didn't linger on the subject since it was a touchy situation for Rowan, and had led to many heated phone conversations between his leader and his girlfriend. The main points being Rowans thoughts that you teach a man to fight, you teach him how to hit. But Leo constantly assured her that bushido prevented any of that from happening.
Rowan simply nodded. Donatello continued. "Splinter is doing well, his rheumatism is very faint now. Sometimes he seems to be back to his old self when Raph is acting up. It's quite funny to watch him sulk."
"How is Raphael doing?"
He took a deep breath, but told her the truth. "Raph is waiting patiently, which isn't easy for him to do. But he wanted me to tell you that he's sorry, very sorry. He promises that he won't act that way around you. It's just; we're used to his type of rationale and behavior. You weren't, and he knows that."
Nodding, Rowan stood up and moved over to the stove again, Don noticed a slight limp in the way she was walking, and felt remorse well up inside him, but he knew that feeling sorry never got a person - or turtle - anywhere.
Standing up, he made his way into the living room where April and Casey were sitting, watching some sitcom.
"Hey, Case can I talk to you for a moment."
Standing, Casey freed his arm from April's shoulders and joined the turtle in the hallway. Normally Donatello hated having to ask Casey for a favor; after all, he was his brothers friend, not his.
"Casey, what are you and April doing this weekend?"
The longhaired man paused for a moment, thinking it out, "This weekend? It's Valentine day isn't it? " He stopped himself and grinned. "Why, you an' Rowan got somethin' planned gak face?"
The purple clad turtle smiled sheepishly, "Well, no, not yet. Actually I was hoping that you and April could maybe leave for a few hours that night."
He could tell that Casey was enjoying his unease, but was bent on seeing it through.
"Yea, sure. Me an Ape can get out for the night. What about Charlie? I really don't think he wants to see you and his mom suck face."
Frowning at the analogy, Don kept his temper in check and shrugged.
"I already asked Mike and he agreed to let Charlie stay with him," He allowed a smile to grace his mouth, "He's already rented out some kid movies."
Casey nodded and turned on his heel to return to his own girl friend when Don stopped him.
"Casey?" He finally looked up at Casey. "Thanks."
Grinning, the man shrugged, "Awwno prob' gak face. But you do realize that this gives me legal teasing rights from now on."
Letting go of his shoulder, Don sighed. "I knew there was a catch."
TBC