So here's the next part in the delightful continuing adventures of Irma and the gang. But before that, I thought I should answer a question posed to me by one of my beta readers. The question is "Are the turtles still super active, but Irma isn't with them on a lot of their missions, or are they not as active as before for reasons unknown?" The answer is that they are as active as ever saving the world, but those various missions aren't very important when we get to these stories. They save New York from a lot of crazy stuff, but I can't add all that in because the story would quickly move from a single story to a huge series, and frankly I just don't really have the energy for that. Right now, at least. So all you need to know is that those extra adventures are happening in the background and we're focusing on Irma's POV, which at the moment is explosion-free. And she's pretty happy that way.

Thanks to my beta readers and all their help!

I don't own TMNT or anything affiliated with them. Except for pajamas, and those were a gift!

Chapter Two

I woke up the next morning alone in bed, which I didn't mind too much because it gave me more room to stretch my waking limbs. Donnie took up more than half the bed thanks to his shell and size, so I didn't get to stretch as much when he slept in the same bed as me. Or at least, not like I was doing at that moment. We did plenty of other kinds of stretching.

I clambered out of bed a couple of minutes later, intending to head towards the kitchen to grab some breakfast. This plan was put to an abrupt halt when I saw Donatello sitting on my sofa going through the package that Paul had sent me the day before. I couldn't see the expression on his face, but I could tell by his stance that he was troubled by what he was reading. It was by far one of the most awkward moments of my life.

"Donnie, babe, I, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to see that." I quickly walked over to him wearing the baggy t-shirt and sweatpants I had worn for pajamas intending to take the box away. The thing was going to be set on fire along with everything inside. "He just sent it to me yesterday and I hadn't decided what I was going to do with it all, but now I'm going to take it and douse it in gasoline and-"

"I didn't know you read computer code," he interrupted me.

That stopped me in my tracks. "Huh?"

"Computer code." He held up the paper in the envelopes so I could see what was written on them. I blinked and took a piece of paper from him.

"What the hell is this?" I asked, flipping back to front. There was nothing on the paper except repeating series of 0's and 1's over and over and over in uninterrupted lines.

"Computer code," Don repeated again. "Like the DNA of computers. It tells the programs what to do. Did you not know what it was?"

"Uh… No, I am just as surprised as you are." I felt a moment of relief. I had really dodged a bullet there. For a moment I thought I was going to have to explain why I had a box of old love letters in my apartment, but now that I knew that it was something else-

"So why were you so worried for a second there?"

My eyes flew up to his face. He had a serious expression on his face. "Uhhh…"

He tapped his large fingers against the wood of the coffee table. "Yes?"

"Uhhh…" That was about all I had to say.

Donatello sighed and stood up so that we were (more or less) eye to eye. I hated it when he did that. "Irms," he said softly, and that was all.

See, this was the part of our relationship that I was still having trouble with. It wasn't so much that I didn't want him to know everything… it was more that I was too ashamed to let him know. But he was giving me that LOOK, the one that said he wasn't sad or angry so much as hurt, and that made my innards squeeze together in an uncomfortable feeling. With a sigh, I decided to confess.

"Okay, my ex-husband sent the box and it's full of stuff from our… time together."

His expression gave nothing away. "So you thought that I'd be hurt that you loved someone before me?"

"Actually, I was more concerned with the thought that you were reading my old love letters to him."

His jaw dropped a little. "Love letters! You wrote him love letters?"

I instantly became defensive. "Yeah, so? What's wrong with that? We were married and it was cute at the time."

He turned his head away and tried to look like he was seriously examining the documents in front of him. "You've never written me a love letter," he grumbled quietly.

I stared at him. "Really? That's what you're upset about? Really?"

Scowling, he moved towards the kitchen. This was his usual trick. When he was upset about something, he'd go to the kitchen and act like he wanted to eat something but really just wanted an excuse to open and slam a few cupboard doors. "It was years ago, Don," I said, following him. "I was younger, and I was nuts about him, and I thought he loved me, too, and I haven't done it since because the thought never occurred to me." He stared at me. "Oh, don't you give me that look," I pointed at him accusingly. "Just because I never wrote you a love letter doesn't mean I haven't let you into some deep, dark part of my soul or something equally dramatic like that." He still said nothing, but had thankfully stopped slamming the cupboard doors. Taking his face in my hands so he would have to face me, I stared deep into his eyes until a faint blush showed on his cheeks, and I kissed him thoroughly. When I pulled back, he seemed somewhat mollified, but not entirely, so I proceeded to kiss him lightly all over his face until he chuckled and rested his head against my shoulder. "Do you want me to write you a letter?" I wouldn't mind writing him one if he did… but when I thought of writing love letters, I thought of my former husband, and it left a sour taste in my mouth.

He shook his head against my neck. "Nah… That's something you did with him. I'd rather come up with something new for us."

I grinned. "We can do that."

"Excellent." And then he proceeded to nibble at my collarbone.

"No, no, no… Not now, babe." As much as I would have liked to give into his suggestion, I did have work to do downstairs. With a sigh he loosened his arms from around my waist and stretched his arms above his head. "I'd ask you how your night went, but that'll have to wait until later. I'll come down to the Lair tonight and cook, how's that sound?"

"Sounds awesome. I need to head home and do some work anyway. I've got these calculations I need to complete and I should get a head start on them soon."

I began walking back to my bedroom yawning. "Well, try to get some sleep, okay? It's not good for you pull these all nighters constantly."

"I will, don't worry." He headed for the window and blew me a kiss as he slid outside. "See you tonight."

At five in the evening, I began closing up the shop while also making a mental checklist of the things I needed to purchase at the store in preparation for dinner that evening. Myself, plus the four turtles, plus Master Splinter, and possibly April and Casey would pop in as well… Having made the necessary calculations, I decided on a recipe and everything that would be needed. At five thirty, I was done closing everything up and was on my way to the store.

My cell phone was sitting comfortably in my pocket when it began to vibrate when I was just two feet away from my car. "It's gonna be Mikey," I mumbled to myself as I began to unlock the door to my car. "He's gonna ask for pizza. Bet myself five dollars."

Pulling out my phone, I looked at the screen. "Yep. Mikey."

Quickly pressing the Accept button, I wedged the phone between my shoulder and ear as I tried to unlock my car door. "Hey, bro. What's up?"

"Yo, Irma!" His voice was cheery as always and I grinned to myself at how upbeat he was. Michelangelo, the youngest of the four Hamato brothers, radiated excitement and energy just like the sun gave off heat. It actually wouldn't be too far of a stretch to compare the two of them to each other. "Just callin' my favorite big sister to see how she's doing!"

"Aw, that's sweet of you. I'm doing really well, thanks for asking." I opened the door and slid inside, patting my steering wheel. "Hey, Gary," I said to my car. Gary was a 2002 Camery who had been by my side since my years in High School. I was fond of the vehicle and referred to it by name quite often. "So how's things with you, Mike?"

"Pretty awesome, actually! But Don told me you were gonna make dinner and I was just calling to see what you were thinkin' about getting."

I knew it. "Actually, I was thinking about making that Mexican Ranch Casserole." I loved that recipe myself. It had cheese, chicken, bell peppers, spices, sauces; it was pretty much an all-around delicious meal.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh…" Michelangelo said, feigning interest. "That sounds, uh, really good, but, you know, I was thinking of something even easier."

I repressed a sigh. "Really, what's that?" There wasn't any real reason to ask since I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.

"I was thinking something with cheese… and bread… marinara sauce…"

"Spaghetti and meatballs with parmesan and a side of French bread?"

A moment's pause. "Uh, close! Really close! Both of them are Italian in nature, but one of them is more round, and has crust-"

"Calzones." I loved this game.

"No!"

"Well, I can keep guessing, Mikey, there's like a thousand different Italian foods."

"Pizza, Irma! Sheesh!"

This time I couldn't hold back my sigh. While I had nothing against the dish as it were, the turtles, especially Mikey, ate it far too much for my own liking. "Mike, you keep eating this stuff your body is going to adjust so you can't eat anything BUT pizza!"

He gasped and then asked if this was really possible in an excited tone of voice that was usually reserved for when a person was told they had won the lottery. I should have known it would just encourage him.

"Alright, fine," I said resignedly. "What kind do you want? And don't say jellybeans. Or gummy bears. Actually, you know what, I'm just going to get pepperoni. Safest bet."

"Awesome! I'll be there to greet you at the door when you get down here!"

"It better not be with a pizza slicer. This stuff is going to be for everyone."

"What they don't know won't hurt them."

"NO, Michelangelo."

About forty five minutes later, I was walking down an empty alleyway towards a thick metal door with a security keypad at the end. Quickly typing in the numbers and then doing a retinal scam, the door clicked open and I slipped inside, shutting the door behind me. The security device had been installed by Donnie a few weeks before. Now that their number of human friends had grown, the turtles decided that it would be best to have an easier entrance into the sewers for them. It wasn't that I necessarily minded crawling through manholes to get to the home of the man (er, terrapin) I loved, but trying to explain to someone why you were clambering down a dark hole dressed in regular clothes without anything to show that you were a professional was difficult, to put it lightly. So Donatello went ahead and made a secondary entrance for their human friends, promising that he'd take every precaution in keeping it secret and safe. He had implied that if he wanted to, the door and its tunnels could disappear overnight if he so desired. I didn't doubt it.

I carried four large pizzas in my arms, one pepperoni, one sausage, one extra cheese, and one margarita. They were from my favorite pizza parlor, a small family restaurant, and they loved me since I had become a familiar face within the last two years. The boys often sent me on pizza runs. I liked the place well enough on my own, except for the fact that the older couple running it kept trying to set me up with their son. I may have taken advantage of the fact he liked me. Once. Twice. Okay, a few times, but pizza wasn't cheap!

The hallway was small but clean, and towards the end of the hall there was an elevator. I stepped in and once again punched in a code on the keyboard. This time it took a scan of my fingerprints, and when it was confirmed that I was allowed access, the elevator began to move slowly downwards. Gentle music played over the speaker, and it brought a sudden smile to my face when I remembered the time Raph had changed the music to punk rock and stalled the elevator so that I was stuck listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers for an hour. Thankfully, this time was different and the elevator came to a gentle stop after a couple of minutes. I took a deep breath and braced myself for what was coming next.

The doors opened with a gentle ding, and then-

"IRMA!" A big blur of green and orange came tumbling into the elevator and I found myself being accosted by my newest youngest brother. I couldn't stop the tiny screech of panic that escaped my throat as his strong arms came around me and then quickly caught the pizzas as they slipped from my fingers. This was a regular tradition for us. He'd try to tackle me, and he would succeed, and he would be so quick that I'd be scared out of my wits that he'd crush my ribs. Then he'd catch the pizza and tease me while we walked towards the Lair, where I would be greeted differently every time. This time was pretty good.

Leo met me at the door with a smile and quickly snatched the pizzas from Michelangelo before he had a chance to go at them. Which he had actually done before.

"How've you been, Irms?" Leo asked as he escorted me towards the dining area. "It's been a couple weeks since I last saw you."

"Yeah, you guys have been super busy saving the world and all that. Got a lot on your plate."

Leo shrugged, but couldn't fight back a small please smile that appeared at the corner of his mouth.

I grinned at him and then noticed Raphael sitting on a sofa reading a magazine. "Hey, Raphael!"

He didn't look up, but gave a fist-pump in my direction. "Yo."

"Ah, Irma." Master Splinter walked into the room, radiating serenity and wisdom as usual. "It is good to see you again my daughter."

Now it was my turn to try to hide a pleased grin. It still made me happy knowing that I had a father. One besides my actual father who contacted me maybe once a year. With an unsigned postcard. My mother also didn't sign it, so, you know, lots of fluffy, family feels there.

"Hey, where's Don?" I asked, setting down my stuff on a counter in the kitchen.

"I think he's in the lab," said Mikey. He was trying to get to the pizza before Leo portioned it out on the plates. He stopped when Master Splinter whacked his son's hand with his staff.

"Thanks! I'll go get him!" As I began walking towards the lab, I heard Raphael call after me "Don't take half an hour like that one time! You fooled no one!"

My face was, undoubtedly, red at that point. I couldn't see how red exactly, but I could see how quickly I was walking. It was fast. Within moments I found myself outside the lab, and I peeked inside to make sure that there wasn't anything that could set me on fire within five feet. Occasionally, Donnie's experiments would include what one might refer to as 'potentially combustible materials'. After one or two incidents, I had decided to always wait a few moments until I was certain it was safe. Usually when I thought it was, it wasn't. But what was life without a few risks?

Stepping into the room, I looked around to see where the errant turtle was. I located him in the corner of the room, bent over a table as he studied the blueprints to whatever he was designing in front of him. I didn't say anything since I knew he was already aware to my presence. One of the perks of being a ninja. Instead I walked up behind him and put my hand on his shoulder. "Heya, handsome," I said.

"Hey, gorgeous," he said, not looking at me. All his concentration was focused on the figures in front of him, but the warmth in his voice was obvious. "What do you need?"

"I was ordered to tell you that dinner was in twenty seconds sharp. I was given strict orders. It was implied that the last time I spent half an hour getting you to come to dinner, we 'fooled no one'."

"The time… oh. Oooooh!" This time, he turned to look at me, a slow grin spreading across his face as he remembered the events of that one time. "I remember that now."

"Yeah, I imagine it would be hard to forget."

"M-hmm… Although some of the details are fuzzy. I think I might need a repeat-"

My mind was flooded with some very delightful images, but it was overpowered by the fact that this time they wouldn't be so kind as to leave us to ourselves. "I think I may have completely corrupted you, Donatello Hamato."

"And a wonderful process it was, too."

He kissed me lightly on the lips and then stood, walking towards the kitchen. "We should sit at different sides of the table so they don't make any comments."

But we shouldn't have worried. When we got back to the main room, the other brothers were too busy greeting April and Casey to the Lair to pay any attention to the two of us. The redhead and her athletic fiancée were smiling happily as they were greeted by their old friends. When the saw the two of us, they came to hug me immediately.

"I haven't seen you in ages, April!" I said excitedly. "How was that treasure dive off the coast of Spain?"

"Terrific! We didn't find the main wreck, but we found evidence to prove that it may have been a mutiny rather than a surprise attack by the English like it was thought all these years." April O'Neil, explorer extraordinaire. When she wasn't saving the world with her turtle friends, she was making historical discoveries. Or at least ones that would interest historians in specialized fields.

"That's really cool," I said, turning to hug Casey fondly. "And how's my favorite masked fiend?"

"Doin' great, as usual," he replied, patting me on the back. "Thanks for holding down the fort for us."

"My pleasure," I said, and I meant it. After a little more chatting, we all settled down at the table and began passing around plates and cups for the pizza and soda. "Just so you're all aware," I began, "I just want it known that I was going to cook something besides pizza this time, but someone insisted I get something else."

"Wonder who that could have been" said Donnie dryly.

Mikey said something, but none of us could understand since his mouth was full of pizza at the time. Splinter sighed, but only took another sip of his tea. "It is good to have everyone here," he remarked with a small smile. "It has been too long since we were all together."

"Yeah…" I sighed happily and leaned back in my chair, basking in the warmth of having so many loved ones around me. As I sat there, I felt someone's eyes on me. I glanced over at Donatello, expecting it to be him, but he was laughing over something Casey had said. Then my eye's caught Raphael's. Oh…

He was sitting at the other side of the table, with a little smirk on his face, the pizza on his plate half eaten. His arms were crossed, and he lounged in his chair looking as content as a five-and-a-half foot, anthropomorphic turtle could. He was watching me, an almost gentle expression on his face. I couldn't help the light blush that worked its way onto my cheeks, remembering what had passed between us a while ago.

Once, when we were first together, Donnie and I had decided to end our relationship for a brief time, (and by 'decided to end our relationship', I mean we got into a fight the likes of which were legendary), and Raphael had taken the opportunity to tell me he also had feelings for me. And then he kissed me.

Nothing happened outside of that. I had told him gently that I loved him, but as a brother, and he had graciously backed down and had been nothing but supportive of my relationship with Donatello ever since. But still, every once in a while, I would catch him watching me when he knew no one else was watching. It made me feel a little sad that he felt that way, especially since I couldn't help but think I was causing him pain, but there wasn't really anything I could do about it. Plus… I had to admit I was a little flattered. There wasn't a girl out there who wouldn't be, what with a guy like that admiring them. I mean, granted, said guy was actually a turtle, but still.

My thoughts were pulled back when I felt a hand land gently on mine. I looked over at it to see Donnie's hand covering my own. He wasn't looking at me, because he was still talking to April and Casey, but his thumb was slowly caressing the skin on my hand, just to let me know that he knew I was there, and he loved me. A smile bloomed on my face, and I turned my hand over so I could hold his and squeeze it.

We continued our meal, happily chatting with each other until we were fully stuffed. I rose and began to clear away the plates when I saw that everyone had started to stop eating.

"Irma," Splinter said, "You don't always have to be the one to clean up after us." He gave a sharp command, and the four boys immediately jumped up and began to help gather things up and take them over to the sink.

"But Splinter, I don't mind helping," I told him. "I like helping."

"Yes, I know. And if my sons were exhausted from a long night of fighting or training, I would gladly allow you to take care of all their needs in order for them to rest. And you would do it without hesitation. But they cannot grow too reliant on you. They will begin to take you for granted, otherwise."

"Impossible, Sensei," Donatello announced, coming over to me to pick up my dishes. "I spend a lot of time reflecting on how grateful I am to her." Then he leaned over to kiss my cheek before moving away.

"Awwwww…" April grinned at me. "You have him wrapped around your finger, don't you?"

"More like the other way around," I laughed, but I felt oddly pleased that she would say such a thing.

"C'mon and sit down, tell us what's new." Casey was making himself comfortable, and began to put his feet up on the table. Master Splinter made quick work of that and whacked Casey's legs with his cane. "Owch! You could have asked me to move them!"

"Yes, but the bruises will last longer than a verbal reminder."

Casey rolled his eyes and let his legs down. I began telling them what was going on. "Not much new is happening here. The shop is doing well, and I've sold a few things there. Most every call I get are requests and job offers, and of course I send those on to you guys. And meanwhile, in the wedding department," And here I gave a meaningful look to April, "there's several venues open, but most churches are booked during the summer. I'm thinking maybe you should look into a spring or fall wedding. Those are still two very beautiful seasons, as long as you time them right. Plus, it might be cheaper in the long run.

"Have you already picked the wedding dress, too?" joked Casey.

"I might have to. It's been six months and April still hasn't settled on a date, much less a dress."

April scowled at me. "I've been busy, you know that."

"Yeah, but you need to get this stuff on the road. If we plan it quickly and carefully, then you'll have a lot less stress in the future. I mean, unless you just want to go to the court house and sign a certificate."

Casey gave a chortle. "Yeah, right. I can't give my girl too much, but I'm definitely gonna get her the wedding of her dreams." April smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

"Then in that case, we need to get some plans settled. If you want to be married in a church or not, where you want the reception, who's going to cater, what dress you want…"

"Sounds really… detailed." April seemed less than enthusiastic.

"Well, yeah." I myself had had two weddings, and while the second one had been in Las Vegas, there had still been some planning involved. "But look, if we start now and we make a deadline, it'll be a lot easier as we go along. We could start right now."

"Woah, woah, we just got back." Casey picked up his beer bottle and took a swig. "Let's just take this a day at a time. We have plenty of time to talk about this stuff tomorrow after a big breakfast and a good night's sleep."

After a moment's hesitation, I nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have rushed you."

"No problem." April grinned at me. "It's your job as Maid of Honor."

"Matron of Honor. Remember Calvin Harris. And Paul Keating."

Before anyone could respond, Mikey came back to the table and dropped Monopoly on it. "Game Time!" he shouted happily.

Several hours later, April, Casey and I were saying our goodbyes to the turtles and Splinter. Mikey was already yawning. He hugged the three of us goodbye before heading to his room to go to sleep. Leo and Master Splinter went next, and then finally Raphael. April and Casey left a little before me, leaving me alone in the Lair to say goodbye to Donnie. He wrapped an arm around me affectionately and nuzzled my hair. "You could stay the night here with me, you know. I worry about you walking alone."

"I'll get a cab, don't worry."

"And you aren't even marginally interested in my offer."

"Oh, I'm more than marginally interested, but you have to get up extra early to train, and I have work tomorrow." He sighed, but nodded. "Hey, there's always this weekend," I said, trying to comfort him.

"I know… I just like being with you all the time." Then he looked at me with those big, beautiful eyes, and I melted. "I love you, Don."

He wrapped both arms around me and kissed me hard. "Love you, too. And I'll see you tomorrow."

At that moment, everything in the world seemed nearly perfect. I couldn't think of anything that could make it any better. Well, one thing. But that was hardly the appropriate time to act on those impulses. So with one last kiss, I headed home, and fell deeply asleep almost as soon as I hit the bed.

Looking back, it was a good thing I had had such a good evening. I was going to need those good memories in the not too-distant future.

So in Peaches, Puzzles, and Problems, I always spelled out Donatello's nickname as 'Donny'. However, the new TV series and TMNTpedia have informed me that the canon spelling is, in fact, Donnie. Personally I don't really see a big difference, but I will bow to canon. Plus, it's nice to know one way or the other what it actually is.

So this is actually a pretty long chapter. But hopefully it was a quality one. I know the story is starting off slow, but like I did with PPaP, I'm trying to lay down the groundwork for the main plot. Be patient, we'll get to the exciting bits eventually.

If you'd like to show support, or you have some constructive criticism for me, please let me know in a review! I always appreciate it when people point out mistakes I've made (in polite, respectful ways), because it helps me look out for them in the future.

See you guys next time!