*The following is nothing more than a bit of fun and fluff, dedicated to a fantastic writer, special friend, and fellow lover of the Ninja Turtles, Mikell. I hope you guys can get a little enjoyment out of it too. I do not own the TMNT, an adorable puppy, or Facebook. Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend...and be on the look out. The Chosen is coming soon, to a website near you.
Jazz's legs vibrated nervously against the passenger seat as she stared out the window of the dark blue Avalanche. Outside it was broad daylight, and there were a least a dozen people milling around at the rest stop, in addition to the semi-tractor trailers lining the road nearby. Why didn't I suggest that we do this at night? What if she doesn't even show?
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think Mike was sitting in front of me." Jenna laughed.
Jazz turned her head to glance at the raven-haired woman. "Why'd you guys agree to this?" she blurted out.
"It isn't like we'd let you go alone," Karina replied from the driver's seat. "Being a co-conspirator is kind of a fun way to pass the afternoon. We get 'left behind' all the time, Jazz. Why shouldn't we break out every now and then?"
"And why are you acting like this was our idea?" Becky called from the back.
Jazz's gaze rested on the car-seat to Rebecca's right, rather than on the curly-haired woman. "I don't know. I guess I'm panicking a little and having some second thoughts. Maybe we shouldn't have brought Nate." Even the presence of the coverings over the other windows in the back weren't making her feel better at the moment.
"You said that she wanted to meet him." Calley had the nerve to sound amused.
"She did—she does," Jazz faltered. "Why the heck are you chicks so calm about this?"
"Because it's going to be okay," Jenna assured her. "The sky doesn't fall every time we leave the house."
"Well it sure feels like it does," Jazz muttered.
"Besides, this little road trip is good for the five of us," Karina added. "I mean, when do we get to do anything with just us? We're too busy taking care our men, and waiting on our men, and cooking for our…you get the idea."
Jazz said nothing and returned to people watching out her window.
"Are you sure that you'll recognize her?" Becky asked.
"I know what she looks like," Jazz affirmed without turning around. "She might be disappointed that Olivia isn't here."
"That couldn't be helped," Karina told her. "Raph was working out with her. If I'd fought to bring her with us, he would have known something was up."
Jazz shook her head. "They probably still do. Mikey told me that ninjas are part blood hound."
"That might not be far off," Calley admitted.
Jazz huffed softly out of irritation and anxiety, but in the next moment, she froze with a jerk.
Jenna's hand immediately landed on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing…that's her," Jazz answered.
"Are you sure?" Karina asked.
"Yeah, and she's coming this way. She's got a box and everything."
Despite her friends' apparent lack of concern, it felt like all of the air inside the Avalanche was sucked out of the car at once.
"Okay, be cool," Jazz announced. "Let me do the talking." She put her window down a few inches, exhaling as the woman approached them. "Mary?"
The Author smiled. "Were you expecting someone else?"
"Man, I hope not. Is that what I think it is?" Jazz nodded toward the cardboard box that the writer was toting.
"A deal is a deal," the woman replied lightly, then laughed at herself. "This feels so clandestine. I'm dealing in puppies."
Jazz relaxed a little. "Can I see her?"
Mary brushed a blanket aside to reveal the short-haired puppy, and Jazz rolled down her window the rest of the way. As the dog raised her head, it was love at first sight. From her hound ears to her brown cheeks and the white patch cutting a path across her black face, she was even more adorable than the images Jazz had seen.
When Jazz glanced at Mary, she instantly detected the sadness in the woman's eyes. "You don't have to do this," she said quickly. "It was a nice offer, but you're not obligated."
"I want to do it," the Author replied. "I already have a full house of animals, and Diamond deserves a person of her own."
Jazz reached out a hand to let the puppy smell her, and Diamond hopped against the side of the box with interest. She laughed as the dog pressed her muzzle against her palm. "She's just a doll."
Jazz looked over her shoulder at the other girls waiting expectantly and turned back to Mary. "Do you want to get in? There are some other people who'd like to meet you."
"I've come this far. Why not go all the way?"
Calley rose to open the side door, and took the box from Mary so that the woman could climb into the car easier. The Author surveyed the women in the back of the Avalanche wordlessly for a few seconds.
"What?" Jenna finally asked. "You're looking at us the way people usually look at the guys."
Mary cleared her throat. "Sorry – I didn't expect to see all of you girls, or...is that…"she trailed off, staring at the car seat in the very back.
Rebecca smiled as she reached for the one-year-old turtle. "Yeah. I brought Nate along to meet you."
"Do you want to sit down?" Jenna invited her.
"Yeah, I could…sure."
Jazz chuckled at the way the woman barely repressed her eagerness. As Rebecca removed Nate from his seat, Mary pulled the puppy out of the box and handed her up to Jazz. Diamond squirmed in her arms, wagging her entire body with joy as she scratched behind her ears.
"She definitely likes you," Mary told her.
"I finally might have a real ally against Tiger," Jazz replied deviously.
"Jazz, I don't get what your problem is with Raph's cat," Jenna remarked.
Mary snorted. "You would if you followed Jazz on Facebook."
The Author accepted Nate from Rebecca with a small sense of awe, instantly resting a hand on the little turtle's shell. Nate stared back at the woman soberly, blue-green eyes alert but unsure. "He's beautiful," she crooned. "And so serious."
Rebecca giggled. "That's his 'studious' face."
"Will it take him long to figure out if he likes me?"
"Not too long," Becky assured her. "He's pretty good that way."
Nathanial reached to tug on the collar of Mary's shirt, breaking into his first toothy grin for the woman.
"He is his daddy's boy after all," Becky continued.
"That he is," the Author replied. "I'd know that smile anywhere. You've got a good-looking boy, Becky."
The curly-haired woman leaned over the seat. "He is pretty spectacular, but then, he's related to the guys. How could Nate not be amazing?"
"That's the truth." Mary switched her gaze to Jenna, gaining a curious twinkle in her eye. "So how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," Jen said. "Why do you ask?"
"You just look really good," the Author said meaningfully.
Jenna batted blue eyes innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I think another Mom knows the glow," Mary said.
"You also know our Author." Jenna seemed to intentionally change the subject. "So that you means you've got some clue about what's coming next for us."
"Uh…well…I really shouldn't…"
"Don't put her on the spot," Calley spoke up. "That's not fair. We outnumber her, and she's not responsible for any of it either way."
Mary looked relieved as she exchanged a glance with Calley, and then surveyed the rest of the girls. "Ladies, I have two words for you: bomb shelter. I've got one in the basement, and it's open if you need it, okay?"
"We'll keep that in mind," Jazz replied, happily running a hand over Diamond's back.
Mary glanced at her watch and winced. "I'd be perfectly happy to sit here for a few hours, but I don't think that's wise. Unless you girls would like to kidnap me and take me back to the city with you by force."
Karina laughed. "It sounds like you'd enjoy that, Mary."
The Author gave her a sheepish look. "I suppose I can only get lost in this world for so long before mine calls me back. Just tell Leo and everyone 'hi' for me."
"Sure, Mary, we'll tell Leo and everyone 'hi'." Jazz smirked.
Mary gave her a warning glance, and the young woman said no more. The Author sighed as she forced herself to hand Nate back over to Rebecca. "I won't even bother asking if he can come home with me. Look after your guys, ladies. You keep very blessed company."
Calley nodded. "We know. It was very nice to meet you, Mary."
"It was nice to meet you girls too."
Mary leaned over the front passenger seat and patted Diamond on the head. "I know you'll be good to her, Jazz."
"You bet I will," she agreed, then remembered the plastic bag at her feet. "Oh! Don't forget to take these with you."
Jazz handed the bag over to Mary, and the woman withdrew one of several packages of the square marshmallows.
"They do exist!" Mary exclaimed.
"I said I could hook you up. This supply should keep you and kids going on s'mores all summer long."
The Author chuckled. "They'll be thrilled. Thanks for meeting me, Jazz."
"Thanks for Diamond. I expect the guys will be hearing from you soon?"
"Soon enough. Writers by definition have to write. Goodbye, everyone. Drive safe."
Even after the Author had gone, Karina didn't immediately drive away. "You know…it's weird. That's the first time I've ever met Mary, but somehow…she's familiar to me."
Jazz nodded knowingly, cuddling Diamond closer in her lap. "We may not be part of her writing universe, but she's had a huge impact on ours."
Jazz was tempted to hide Diamond for a few minutes until she could come up with a proper excuse for the dog, but in the end, she decided to be up front. Everything seemed normal inside the Den as she trooped through the door behind the rest of the girls, but the conversation grinded to a halt when the two oldest turtles saw the puppy she was holding.
Raphael folded his arms. "What the shell is that?"
"What does it look like, Raph?" she asked indignantly.
Leonardo's forehead creased as he approached her. "Where did you get a dog?"
"Her name is Diamond and she found us at a rest stop. I've decided to call her an Aussie Hound," she replied proudly.
"Ya mean she's a mutt," Raphael emphasized.
"Raphael, look at this face," Jazz urged. "How could you say no to that?"
"You just found her?" he asked doubtfully. "This is highly suspect, Fearless."
"The entire afternoon was," Leonardo said smoothly. "You don't usually take Nate out on the road just for the heck of it."
"You guys don't have to get all suspicious." Karina scowled at the two turtles. "We weren't doing anything dangerous. Do you think we'd really put Nate at risk?"
"Well…no, but…" Leonardo stumbled, glancing at his wife.
Calley shrugged innocently. "One more animal isn't going to hurt, is it?"
"We've already got the border collies!" Raphael protested. "They gang up on Tiger as it is."
"Molly and Noah don't live down here," Jazz pointed out. "And Tiger doesn't need protection; I do – from both that cat and you." She ran a hand through her hair self-consciously, remembering how difficult it had been to repair the damage from the turtle's prank.
"Jazz, I've told you over and over that it was an accident," Raphael insisted. "I wasn't going for you."
"You can say it all you want, turtle, but I don't buy it."
Donatello, Michelangelo, and Brandon chose that moment to come in through the kitchen door. The three started to greet them normally, until Brandon got a look at the dog.
The bronze-haired man cocked his head. "Cool looking dog. Where did you get it?"
"She is cool," Jazz replied. "I'm glad someone else can apprec—"
"That's one of Mary's dogs!" Donatello said accusingly.
Jazz couldn't contain a gasp. "How do you know that?"
The purple-masked turtle was exasperated. "I follow all of the Authors on the Black-List, Jazz! You mean to tell me you were off all afternoon cavorting with one of the writers?"
"It sounds so weird when you say it that way."
"It is weird, Jazz!" Raphael shot back.
"So are you guys, but I don't complain about it," she retorted.
"The five of you went to visit an Author?" Leonardo verified.
"You know Mary, Leo," Jazz said, irritated. "You've been to her house. We weren't in any danger. She met us halfway."
Michelangelo couldn't hold back any longer. "Can I see her? Can I see her?"
Jazz laughed as she handed Diamond over to the orange-masked turtle, and gave the other boys a stern look. "She won't get very big, and Mary said she's got a great personality like her dad. She probably won't even eat Tiger."
Raphael gave her a dirty look. "She'd better not bother my cat, Jazz."
Jazz made a face at him. "Please, turtle. You don't scare me, especially with a watch dog by my side."
Donny shook his head as Mike started rolling over the rug with the puppy chasing after him. "Some watch dog."
"She'll learn," Jazz said matter-of-factly. "So Diamond can stay, right? The girls all like her too."
There wasn't much the turtles could say with the four determined females behind Jazz.
Leo sighed. "If it means that much to you, Jazz."
Brandon frowned as he sidled up to her. "You went and picked out a dog without me? Should I be hurt by that?"
"It was a gift, Bran. Mary called it an engagement present." Jazz snorted. "It sounds like she's just as eager marry us off as everyone else."
"You have to admit that it's only a matter of time," he told her.
Jazz shook her head with a sly smile. "It'll happen when I say so." She looked down at Mike again, and grinned at the sight of the puppy nipping at his feet. "I bet she'll love Lotus Salvus."
Brandon nodded. "What's not to love? I can't wait to get down there."
"Just a few more weeks," Donatello offered. "I'm already starting to dream about those mountains."
"We all are," Leonardo said. "And we'll be there before we know it, new friend and all."
Jazz grinned at Raphael. "Go on, Raph, get Olivia so she can meet Diamond."
"Oh, all right," the red-masked turtle grumbled.
Jazz sighed happily as Brandon extended an arm around her. Friends both near and far can make our world feel brighter. Whether you're dealing with our universe or someone else's, the friendships are still real.