Author's Note: All of the original characters mentioned in this story (Robert, Rosalind, and Allison) have been introduced in my "Reflections" series, but I'd definitely consider this a "stand alone" piece. If you disagree, please let me know.

Enjoy!


"Welcome to Second Time Around. May I…oh!"

April stopped herself in mid-spiel as she turned around and saw who it was that just walked into her shop. It was Robert Donnelly, and he was carrying his two-year-old daughter with him. A friend of one of the turtles' close friends, he only just recently learned about the existence of the turtles when his life was put in danger by one of their enemies. Needless to say, he was still taking it rather hard.

"Hi," he said quietly. April wondered if he remembered her as being involved with the turtles, but he quickly answered that query. "You're April, right? One of... you were there when… I mean, you're one of Allison's friends, yeah?"

"Yup," she replied with a small smile. "And you're Rob. And that's Rosalind, right?" Robert nodded, and April wondered if she should mention that she remembered when Rosalind was a baby. She decided against it, not knowing how much Allison had managed to tell him. "So," she asked, "what can I do for you?"

"I just… I need to know that Allison's okay." April softened her gaze on Robert as he looked down. It was no secret that Robert appeared to have a thing for Allison, and it was also no secret that Allison and Raphael had a "special" kind of friendship. "Allison means a lot to me and… I don't know anything about… them. It was okay when I thought they were just wearing costumes to a comic convention, but when I found out that they were… you know… what they are, I haven't really been able to think about much else. They seem like good guys, but… how do I know they won't go all psycho crazy on her and use their ninja skills in a bad way?"

"Rob," April said soothingly, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "I think you've known Allison enough to be able to trust her judgment. And if not, then take it from me; I've known the guys way longer than she has. I've never seen them hurt a human being that wasn't about to, you know… perpetrate a crime or attempt to take over the world or something."

"They fight bad guys," Rosalind said resolutely. "Because they're superheroes with magic powers." Robert looked down at his daughter, wondering just how she seemed to know so much about these creatures that he had only just met a few weeks ago.

"Hey sis?" April looked back as her sister Robyn came in from the backroom. "I was relabeling some old files back there for you, and my sharpie ran out of ink. Have you got another?" Seeing Robert, she stopped. "Oh! Sorry! Didn't mean to interrupt while you were talking to a customer."

"It's okay, Robyn," April responded, walking towards the counter in search of a sharpie. "Rob's something of an old friend. Robert, this is my sister Robyn. She's spending some time with me until she can get things worked out with her new apartment downtown."

"Nice name," Robyn remarked. "I especially like the prefix."

Robert laughed at her remark. "Thanks. This is my daughter, Rosalind. I'm sensing a definite similarity between names, but I can't quite figure out what it is." Rosalind waved up at the newcomer, seemingly enraptured with her.

"A guy who laughs at bad jokes and who has a cute kid," Robyn mused, accepting the marker from April. "Your wife lucked out."

"Oh, uh," Robert began awkwardly. "Actually, I'm not married. My, uh… my girlfriend… she, um… didn't make it through childbirth."

Robyn's face took on a horrified look. "Oh… oh gosh. Wow. I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean…." April watched as Robyn offered more embarrassed apologies while Robert uncomfortably tried to tell her that it was okay.

"Well, talk about a first impression," April muttered dryly.

"You have freckles," Rosalind suddenly proclaimed, pointing to Robyn. She then pointed to her own chubby cheeks. "I have freckles, too. Daddy says it's because I spend too much time in the sun. Do you spend a lot of time in the sun?"

Robyn smiled gently at the small girl. "You bet," she replied. "I like going to parks and sketching random things that catch my attention. You can catch me sitting on a bench for hours at a time."

"You're an artist?" Robert asked, surprised.

"Artist is such a… professional term," Robyn answered. "I'm not nearly good enough at it to be called an artist."

"Oh, well, I can always look over your stuff sometime, maybe give you a few pointers," Robert suggested shyly. "See, I draw comic books for a living, so I'd be more than happy to look at your portfolio, if you're interested."

"Wait a minute," Robyn gasped. "April, this isn't the same guy that you said drew The Sewer Dwellers, is he?" When both April and Robert affirmed that it was, Robyn appeared amazed. "Oh wow, you have no idea how much I loved that comic! I was so disappointed that it was only a one-shot graphic novelization. You're amazing!"

Seeing Robert's blush, April had the distinct impression that things were about to get a little complicated.


"Guys, I've got something of a crisis."

Leonardo looked up from his sparring match with Donatello, concerned as April sped into the lair. "What is it, April?" Going over the list of disaster scenarios that they've already experienced, he asked, "Someone's been kidnapped? A priceless artifact has gone missing? Someone's been following you?"

"Worse," April professed. "My baby sister's got a date!"

The turtles blinked and looked at one another. Putting his weapon away, Donatello asked, "And how, o reasonable and wise best friend of mine, is this a crisis? Do you suspect that the date's going to sprout tentacles and carry her off to his home planet?"

"Very funny," April remarked dryly. "Actually, her date's Rob Donnelly. Allison's friend." The turtles ceased their quiet chuckling, and April crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, so you're only interested after knowing that it has something to do with other people you know. Thanks a lot, guys."

"Robert and… Robyn?" Leonardo breathed, confused.

"It sounds like a brand new sitcom," Donatello mused.

"It was the most random thing," April said, moving to sit on the sofa. "They met in my shop about a week ago, and have apparently been calling and instant messaging one another ever since. And they finally settled on a first date, but it's the most inconvenient timing for everyone."

Joining her on the sofa, the two turtles asked what she meant. "It's next Friday… the same day that Casey, Raph, Allison, and I are going to that stupid hockey game. Robert doesn't have anyone to watch after Rosalind, and he still has too many trust issues after the convention fiasco to leave her with someone new. Now Robyn's trying to convince me to break my date so I can stay with Rosalind, but I don't want to leave Allison alone with Raphael and Casey; it'd be like a trip to Hotheads Anonymous."

"Never fear, fair maiden!" The group looked up just in time to see Michelangelo jump down from his room, his hands on his hips in a valiant display. "Luckily for you, I—the Turtle Titan—not only dedicate myself to thwarting crime whenever and wherever it might arise… but I also do babysitting."

"Mikey," Donatello whined.

"Mike, are you kidding?" Leonardo asked.

"What?" Michelangelo queried, slightly offended. "I'm not doing anything Friday night. And Rosalind's crazy about her Uncle Mikey! And besides, Rob knows me! Well, now he does, at least. And he seemed to like me when he met me at the convention. Remember, he bought me all those comic books."

"That was before he found out that you weren't wearing a turtle costume," Leonardo reminded him. "Mikey, I hardly think that he'll even want to look at us until his nerves calm down, never mind entrust his daughter to one of us for the night."

"Actually," April brought up, "he just might. I mean, Allison and I have been talking, and it seems like Rob's really kinda… well, for lack of a better word, smitten by Robyn. Wow, it feels weird for me to say that. Anyway, I don't think it'll take too much convincing if Mikey really wanted to do it, since neither of them have any opportunity for another date until the end of the month."

"Woo-hoo!" Michelangelo screamed out, pumping his fist in the air. "And Michelangelo gets one night of unsupervised fun time with the mini-bud!"

"Only if Rob agrees to it," April reminded him, getting up again. "I'll find Rob's number and tell him you're willing to do it. He still can't even bring himself to say the word 'turtle,' so it isn't likely that he'll be willing to explain to Robyn why he'd turn down an offer from one of my friends."

"I can't believe this," Donatello bemoaned. "We're actually trusting Mikey alone with a two-year-old for several hours? Why do I suddenly feel the need to clear my social calendar for Friday night?"

"If Raphael's going to be out," Leonardo informed him, "and Mike's babysitting, it's going to fall on our shoulders to go patrolling for the night. Still, the idea of Rosalind's safety being in Mike's hands for the evening is making me debate whether or not I can handle whatever happens to pop up that night on my own."

"Yeah," Michelangelo replied bitterly as his brothers laughed at him. "You guys are a laugh riot. You trust Raph to be out alone with Allison almost every night. True, she's a little bigger than a two-year-old, but still! Pop in a DVD, make some popcorn, teach her some of my favorite movie quotes, read her a bedtime comic, and pig out on Rob's food 'til he gets home. What's the worst that can happen?" Realizing what he just said, Michelangelo put a hand to his head.

"Man, oh man," he murmured, "why do I always jinx myself?"