Chapter 1: Welcome to Motherhood
Rain pelted the concrete and asphalt of New York while thunder boomed with a vengeance from above. Lightening illuminated the dark city, giving the young girl who pounded her way blindly through the streets and alleys a chance to get her bearings. Her body ached and screamed with pain from the beating her thin frame had been forced to endure, but she thought nothing of it, completely refused to feel anything until she was safe. With a fearful glance behind her, she ran faster as she caught a glimpse of the Purple Dragons that gave chase.
Oh God oh God oh God. Why did I have to run into them?! Why do people enjoy beating me up?
When her thoughts stuck on that one question, she thought back to the events that evidently led her to her current situation. Damn that stupid dog she thought viciously. Rowan Mathews had endured a lot in her barely thirteen years of living, and it was all mostly because of one damn dog.
Everything had been okay until she had turned five, or at least better than they were going to get. Her father was a drunk and a gambler, but her mother was sweet and her older brother protective and caring. It almost made up for the heavy hand her father had on all of them, but especially on her. He couldn't believe that a small and frail looking girl had come from his loins, and made his disapproval clear with every look, every slap, and every bottle he sent in her direction. When she turned five, she started talking, making opinions of her own. That set him off even more.
Women are supposed to be submissive! Quiet! She could all but here the rant in her head, along with the snap of a Sam Brown belt. How many times does it take to beat it into that head of yours?
Next to him was always this dog that followed him around. He was afraid of the spine crackers the mafia would send to try to send to collect on his gambling debts, so he made sure that the dog was a mean brute. Large, black, with teeth and bark big enough to send the toughest men back in wariness.
It was his bark that alerted the mafia of what room they were hiding in before they shot up the house and set it on fire. She had survived by hiding behind her mother's prized armoire, where she had been found by the firefighters an hour later.
So at the age of ten, she was thrown into the first orphanage that would take her. In way, it was better than her old life. The man in charge wasn't mean, though he was indifferent most of the time. But he made sure all the kids had food and clothes, though there was little left for much else. Protection money had to be paid to the Purple Dragons, and the price was high.
For the next two years she played the role of a mother hen. As the oldest girl, she didn't have much choice but to raise the younger kids. The twin boys that were older than her helped her keep them in line and away from the Purple Dragons that tended to come to the front gate. The three of them got beaten up more times than they could count for interfering with the Dragons' recruitment work.
A couple of days after she turned thirteen the price for the protection money went through the roof, and the orphanage went bankrupt trying to meet it. In the end, it was just too high to pay.
The smaller kids were all adopted off quickly, leaving only herself and the twins. They were the only ones in the building when the Purple Dragons came and set the place on fire.
They were on the second floor so it took time for them to escape the building. When they managed to stumble outside, singed and gasping from the smoke, they were easily spotted by the Purple Dragons. The really big one with blonde hair and claw marks on his face looked at them in annoyance before motioning for two of the others to kill them, probably as a warning to the other orphanages in the area.
The three of them had gotten the shit beat out of them before the twins managed to take them down. Hauling her up, the three of them ran together for nearly four blocks before they heard the Dragons gaining on them. Apparently it is not appreciated among men to be kick were the sun don't shine.
Wishing each other luck, they split up. Now here she was, running for her life when she could barely see or feel her limbs.
When she heard the rev of a motorcycle over the thunder, the fear she felt doubled. Searching desperately for a place to hide, she nearly cried in relief when the lightening illuminated one of the open drains in the sidewalk. Calculating the distance when the world once again went dark, she threw herself down it, ignoring how the concrete tore and scrapped her already battered body.
Jumping down a drain in the middle of a huge thunder storm probably wasn't her best idea. The flood water had her as soon as she landed. The strong current swept her through the sewers, banging her against debris and the concrete walls before she finally grabbed hold of a ladder. The force of the current nearly pulled her arms from their sockets.
Hauling herself out, she lay choking and gasping on the walkway. Closing her eyes, she let herself give in and be exactly was she was. Cold, hurt, and terrified. Knowing it wouldn't get her anywhere, she didn't let it last long. Forcing herself up, she stumbled away from the flood waters and through a series of sewer tunnels in an attempt to find a dry place to sleep.
After what felt like an eternity, unwilling to go any farther, she slumped down against the tunnel wall, curling into herself for warmth. Staring blankly at nothing, she tried to decide what to do. She couldn't go back to the orphanage, seeing as it was charcoal despite the pouring rain. The hospital was out. The only people she would've gone to for help split up with her about ten blocks ago, so they weren't an option anymore. Purple Dragons were everywhere in the city, and at this point, she was just sick of humanity altogether.
A sound coming from the tunnel across from her had her head snapping up. It sounded like a baby crying. Unable to ignore it, though she was certain she was hearing things, she painfully hauled herself up and stumbled down the tunnel. She would've missed the small opening hidden behind a wall of debris if it hadn't been for the shrill scream and crying that seemed to get louder.
Forced to use the walls for support, she moved down the tunnel until she came to a small room. Looking for the source of the crying, she stopped short at what she found.
Four baby turtles, slightly smaller than a normal human new born, sat close together on the floor in a pile of blankets. Two of them were crying their eyes out while the other two whimpered. The thunder could be heard down here, and with every boom the crying got louder while the others got closer to tears.
Moving automatically, she knelt besides them and used the blankets to dry their faces, murmuring soothingly all the while.
"Shh Shh. Hush now little ones. It's all right. It's only a storm." Grateful for the comfort, all four of them clung to her without hesitation, making her injuries flare with pain.
Taking deep breaths, she forced herself not to stiffen up. As carefully as she could, she pried them off her legs. Settling them down, she covered them with the blankets. Four large pairs of tear filled eyes stared up at her, making her smile and gently rub their shells and heads.
"You don't have to be scared of a storm." She cooed to them. "It will be gone in the morning."
Gently, she raised the head of the olive green one until he was no longer curled into a tight, shaky ball. Bending down to place her forehead against his let her know that her ribs were probably broken, but she didn't let it show. Nuzzling the little turtle softly had wet strands of hair tickling his face, making him giggle. Despite her split lip, she smiled, rubbing her nose one last time on his…beak?
"Little ones like you shouldn't be awake at this time of night, storm or no." she murmured. "It's time for bed." They seemed to recognize that word, because they snuggled deeper into the blankets, careful to keep in contact with her.
Another boom of thunder had them whimpering again. Rubbing their shells in turn, she softly began to sing.
Little child, be not afraid
The rain pounds harsh against the glass
Like an unwanted stranger
There is no danger
I am here tonight
Little child
Be not afraid
Though thunder explodes
And lightning flash
Illuminates your tearstained face
I am here tonight
And someday you'll know
That nature is so
This same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
And forests and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you see
In the morning
As she sang, the turtles forgot about the thunder. Their eyes got heavy and slowly, one by one, they began to nod off. It was hard not to laugh when one of them got more comfortable by sticking his rump in the air.
And someday you'll know
That nature is so
This same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
And forest and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you see
In the morning
Only one of them was still awake at this point, so she sang the rest to him. His big, dark blue eyes stared at her sleepily while his little hand grabbed her long, auburn braid and held it to his face. He didn't seem to mind that it was still wet. Leaning closer to him while caressing his shell, she kept singing.
For you know, once even I
Was a little child
And I was afraid
But a gentle someone always came
To dry all my tears
Trade sweet sleep the fears
And to give a kiss goodnight
Well, now I am grown
And these years have shown
Rain's a part of how life goes
But it's dark and it's late
So I'll hold you and wait
'til your frightened eyes do close
And I hope that you'll know
That nature is so
This same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
And forests and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you see
In the morning
Everything's fine in the morning
The rain will be gone in the morning
But I'll still be here in the morning
He drifted off to sleep just as she sang the last line. Carefully, she tucked the blankets more firmly around all of them. It was cold in the sewers, even if you weren't wet.
Hearing a small noise behind her she turned, careful not to yank her braid out of the little one's hand and wake him up. A couple feet away from her was a large rat wearing what looked like a kimono. She was too exhausted to be afraid, but she shifted to put herself between the sleeping turtles and the rat. The rats eyes softened and he seemed to approve of her actions.
"You got them to sleep with much more ease than I could have." He said quietly, in a thick Japanese accent. She blinked once in surprise, but did nothing else.
"Are they yours?" she whispered. The rat nodded.
"My sons. They don't care for thunder." The look he sent them was full of love and amusement. For some odd reason, Rowan immediately felt self-conscious of how she must look in the rat's eyes.
Her clothes were torn, dirty, and soaking wet. She knew both her eyes were black, and felt the throbbing ache that meant her cheekbone was probably an array of bruises. Blood trickled from her split lip and from the welts on her back and legs. Her arms weren't in much better condition while her ribs were either broken or cracked. She was surprised she hadn't been attacked the minute he found her in the same room as his sons.
"I'm sorry for barging in. I just heard the crying." She mumbled without meeting his eyes. "I'll leave you alone." As quickly as she could without waking up him up, she tried to pry her braid from the turtle's hand. He was having none of it. He rolled so that the braid was underneath him, forcing Rowan to now hunch over to keep her head from hurting.
The rat chuckled and kneeled down across from her.
"I don't think you'll be going anywhere for a while." He said with amusement aimed toward the sleeping turtle. With a more serious expression, he turned back to her.
"You're not afraid of me?" he asked quizzically.
"No." she answered after a moment. She met his eyes briefly before once again lowering them to the floor.
"Why?"
Attempting to find a better angle for her head, she answered truthfully.
"I'm too tired to be scared." She said flatly, no emotion in her voice whatsoever. He considered this for a moment then motioned to the sleeping turtles.
"What of them?" he asked in the same quizzical tone. "Do you fear them?"
"They're babies. Why should I fear them?" she asked, clearly confused. The rat tilted his head to the side.
"They aren't human." He pointed out.
"What difference does that make?" The rat smiled warmly as her, clearly liking her answers.
"My name is Splinter. Hamato Splinter." he introduced with a small bow. After a moment's hesitation, Rowan bowed as well, though somewhat awkwardly with the way she was hunched over.
"My name is Rowan." Was the mumbled reply. They sat in silence after that, simply watching the small turtles twitch in their sleep.
"Do you have a place to stay Rowan?" he asked suddenly. Still refusing to make eye contact, she stared holes in the floor.
"… No." she answered after what felt like forever.
"Would you like to stay here?" he asked, much to her surprise. Whipping her eyes away from the floor, she stared at him in shock. Chuckling at her reaction, he continued. "You were good to my sons." He said simply. "For that I will readily offer a safe place to stay. Besides," he added with some amusement. "You seem to know more about taking care of children than I do. I could use all the help I can get."
Rowan looked down at the children while she considered. Hardly anyone went down into the sewers. She wouldn't have to worry about gangs anymore. She would have a safe place to stay. She watched in amusement as the smallest turtle flipped onto his back, flailed around for a moment, before going back to sleep.
The offer was tempting, incredibly so, but thinking back on her usual luck with homes kept her from immediately taking the offer.
"I don't want to be a burden." She said quietly, once again refusing to meet Splinter's eyes.
"You won't be." Splinter said gently. Almost as an afterthought he added, "I'm sure my sons would enjoy the company."
No matter how hard she tried, the reasons why she shouldn't stay wouldn't come. While she thought, the pain and exhaustion she had been fighting off came back full force. Black swam around the edge of her vision and it was all she could do to stay up right. She didn't really have a choice.
"I'll stay." She mumbled softly. Turning to look Splinter in the eye, she nodded, giving in.
"I'll stay."