Author's Note: This story has been posted on may AO3 account as well. For those of you who may prefer to read from there, my username is the same as it is here. Also, for any following my OTHER story I'm soooo sorry I haven't updated in so long T^T Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy my newest fic. Oh, and you can blame my friend Indy for giving me the dumb idea to put my mermaid OC in the frickin' TMNT universe. THANKS A LOT JACKASS! ...I love you.

Cover art was made by my friend Fordandra on tumblr! Please go check them out!

Chapter 1: Surprise...?

April couldn't be more excited for this week. Work was going great at Channel 6, her favorite group of boys wasn't in any immediate danger, an old friend of hers was coming back to New York soon, and she had a whole day planned to show her band of turtles a nice little beach she knew of not too far out of town. It was a nice little spot she'd found with a friend a long time ago, completely secluded and almost impossible to get to. Because of its difficulty, almost no one ever bothered to go there and even less knew it was even there. It was perfect! Everyone was on board and ready to go, even Splinter gave consent for his sons to go. However, he insisted he wouldn't be coming along.

"I will stay here and watch our home. Besides, I have a few soaps I'd like to catch up on and do not wish to get sand in my fur. Last week, Jessica was about to confess to Brian while Jeremy was just about to reveal that he was really her twin brother all along!" The simple fact the old rat watched soap operas at all still amazed her, but for some reason…wasn't all that surprising.

The boys themselves couldn't be more excited…and nervous. It was rare they could go anywhere without having to hide or stick to the shadows. They watched basketball games from above where no one could see them, viewed parades from storm drains, and most often had to wait for a movie to come out of DVD or be pirated if they wanted to watch. Mikey kept going on and on about being able to use his collection of surfboards, make a huge sandcastle, and maybe bury Raph in the sand. Raph had similar ideas in mind, but was also just looking forward to being out in the sun. They almost never got the chance to do that. "Are you absolutely sure we won't be seen by anyone out there?" Leo asked for the hundredth time over the phone. The blue leader was ever the overly cautious mother hen. For the hundredth time, O'Neil assured him it would just be them on a private beach, unreachable by normal human means. Most people would probably die just trying so it had been blocked off by police years ago. Some friends in the NYPD pulled a few strings and called in a few favors to get them access for a day. They would be the only ones allowed.

"And…what about this friend of yours? The one coming down soon? Don't you need to meet them?"

"Relax, Leo. Nikita won't be coming for another week or so, I checked. I sent her an e-mail letting her know I'd be gone if she decided to stop by early. There's no problem! I promise you, nothing bad is going to happen down there. Now get some sleep, I'm picking you boys up early tomorrow so we can beat the morning traffic." She hung up the phone, recalling how her old friend was soon to be her new roommate and how that all transpired in the first place before sleep could claim her mind.

"Hello? Nikita? Who are- I think you may have the wrong…! Oh my god, Nixie! Hi!" The pitch of her voice shot up a few octaves, becoming girlish and squeaky. April sat up immediately in her seat, a big smile spreading across her face. "I haven't heard from you in ages! How are you doing? Yeah, I'm working at Channel 6. Yeah, can you believe that?" She could hear the joy in her friend's voice on the other line. "Well I've been working there a while so it's not really news to me, girlie. Uh huh. So what's up? Apartment prices out here? Um…they can get pretty expensive, why? …What?! No way, seriously?!"

April had to get up and start moving, no longer able to keep still and bounce her foot. The four teens around her looked up curiously from their spots in the lair. Normally April's calls were short and sweet, either about work or…yeah no, usually work. They'd never heard her so girlishly excited. It was like listening to one side of a high school girl's phone call with her BFF.

"Well, you could always room with me. Yeah! My old roommate moved out a year or so ago and I've been looking for a new one anyway, you'd be perfect! Oh? Oh, okay. Hey, we can talk more about it later when you're not busy. See you soon, bye!" When April hung up the phone she still had that smile, looking to the boys with an excited glimmer in her eye.

"What was that all about, angel cakes?" Mikey was closest, having leaned closer to try listening in. His chin rested on the arm of the couch, baby blue eyes wide as he stared and tilted his head at her curiously.

"An old friend of mine, this girl who lived next door when I was a kid, her name was Nikita and she's moving back to New York to finish school! I haven't talked to her in so long! Once, she came by the lab you guys were made in because her dad got called in to work but they didn't have enough time for a babysitter and our parents were old friends." She grinned at the old memory. "Little Nixie was a lot younger than me and somehow got her hands on Splinter. Dad almost had a heart attack." The memory was happy, but bitter sweet.

"What'd she do to him?" Raph turned, eyeing their Hogosha. It was understandable for him to be a bit hostile at the mention of their father in some strange human's hands pre-mutation. Being the protective older brother he was, she assumed he was determining whether or not this girl could be a threat today.

"Oh come on, she was just a baby and she didn't know what she was doing. Besides, all she did was hold him and giggle. My dad was just glad Splinter didn't bite her." She took her seat again, crossing one leg over the other. "Sachs was mostly worried about contamination while my dad was concerned about what his friend would do if his daughter got hurt on his watch." There was audible venom in her tone at the mention of that snake. She was so glad that monster was behind bars.

"I would not have bitten her, Miss O'Neil." The old rat walked into the room, a soft smile on his face. It seemed he regarded the incident just as fondly as she did. "I think I remember young Nikita, very sweet for such a young child. I will admit, I was fearful of being handled too roughly by such a young child at first, you know how young ones can be at that age." He chuckled, glancing to his boys and perhaps recalling on something the boys did as babies. "Then again, I raised four very energetic young boys, not a small girl."

"Yeah, she's always been slightly…different." April sighed. "We were close up until she had to move away when her dad's job got transferred. Their whole family had to move with him. I tried keeping in touch but after a while everything just…got so complicated. Honestly, I'm surprised she even remembered me or still had my cell number! I'm pretty sure I changed it a few times at one point…"

"It sounds like the two of you will have much catching up to do." The old rat smiled knowingly. Did he know something she didn't?

"We do, Master Splinter. That we do."

Not long after that the two started texting back and forth constantly, calling when they could about how everything would work and what to do. Apparently her old friend had acquired her number by calling family members. When calling her old number had gotten her someone else, rather than give up she went through relatives to find her current contact information. The girl was nothing if not completely and immovably stubborn when she wanted to be. If they weren't talking about being roommates then they were catching up with one another's lives. Nikita, or Nixie as she was fondly known, was coming back to go to school in the state in which she'd been born. She planned on finding a job while she was there to help pay rent and had lived a fairly quiet life on the west coast up until now. The girl spoke of how much she missed it back east and wished she hadn't moved away and lost touch.

April apologized herself for not staying in better contact, telling of her own college days and life as a news reporter. She left out mention of her boys for the time being. Nixie didn't need to hear all of those details just yet. As much as she trusted her friend, it had been so long! Who knows if she'd be able to keep such a secret now? Besides, it wasn't exactly her secret to tell in the first place.

The woman sighed as she stared up at the ceiling in bed. Tomorrow was going to be a good day. She was spending time with her boys, her friend would be another day closer to flying over and nothing was going to ruin it. Everything was good.

• • •

Everything was not good, it was so not good! They got to the beach and there was someone there! Someone was on the beach. Their private beach. And someone was sitting under an umbrella and staring out at the waves crashing on the shore. Who had even managed to get down here? Even she couldn't get down past the rocks without the turtles' help. Thinking back, she wondered how she'd ever gotten down there as a kid.

Behind her the boys stood stock still, muscles tensed and all senses on high alert. There weren't many places they could hide and if they tried to leave the way they came they ran the risk of whoever was out there seeing them. The rocks were high and uneven. Getting up or down took immense concentration and a sharp eye, too slow for an escape. The only cover close enough was too far for them to sprint to without also risking getting seen. They were basically trapped. Leo leaned down and whispered harshly in her ear. "April, I thought you said we'd be the only ones here!"

"I thought we would," she hissed back. "Nobody knows about this place except for me and Vern! …Wait here." She took a few steps forward, trying to get a closer look at the person on the beach. There had to be a way she could get this girl to leave without exposing the turtles and blowing their secret.

It must be a girl, based on the small curves and the olive, cropped tube swim top she wore with a pair of cut-off jean shorts. There was a pair of dark sunglasses on her face, hiding her eyes and a pixie short brown hair cut with sky blue streaks on the bangs. On her right shoulder was a black, tribal lotus blossom. The closer she got the more familiar the girl seemed. Where had she seen this girl before? April was sure she didn't know anyone with dyed hair like that, or with a tattoo on their arm. She flinched as the girl finally turned her head to look in her direction, lifting the sunglasses to reveal pink-purple eyes. That's when it all clicked. Oh…SHIT…

"Nixie?!"

"April!" The biggest, happiest grin spread over the teenager's face as she raised a hand to wave at her. "Hey!"

"Hey! What the hell…I mean, w-what are you doing here?" April smiled, coming over and trying to put on a happy-to-see-you-omg face. Maybe she could give the boys enough time to hide or make a break for it.

"I managed to finish up early so…I figured I'd come down now! I got your message about going you to the beach with your friends and thought I'd surprise you and meet your friends!" Nikita leaned to the side, trying to peek around her. "So, you gonna let me meet these friends of your-"

"No!" April quickly moved to block her view. "I mean...how'd you get here? Isn't it like…dangerous? A-and how'd you know we'd be here?"

The teen just laughed, getting up frown her towel to walk around her. "Hello, I showed you this spot, remember? And you mentioned the secret cove, and last I remember that's what we called this place." She was smaller, lighter on her feet and easily ducked under the older woman's arm. Curse her fast reflexes! "What are you worried about anyways? Come on, if they're friends of yours I'm sure it'll be fine! I'm practically your sister…after…all?"

Shiiiiiiit... April turned around too late, Nixie already getting a good look at four. Large. Teenage. Humanoid turtle boys standing off to the side near the rocks, each holding some kind of beach item under their arms and clad in nothing but their masks and a pair of swim trunks with ninja weapons on their person. "Um…heh…surprise?"