Leonardo woke up when Calley shifted on the other side of the bed, with the groggy sensation that it was too soon for her to be getting up. The blond woman's soft smile met him, right before she rolled over to rise out of bed.
"It's early, isn't it?" he murmured.
Calley nodded. "I'm sorry, Leo. It's an important day, and Karina and I have a lot to do on the surface."
Leonardo popped up on his side to gaze at her. "You're still nervous about this media stuff, aren't you?"
Calley smoothed hair behind her ears. "There's no hiding anything from you, is there?"
"I know someone else like that," he scoffed. Leonardo reached over to scoop up his phone, and check the actual time.
4:30? I can only think of one reason she'd be up this early.
"Do you want to loosen up?" he asked.
Calley drew her hair off her neck, as she wrapped it up in a ponytail. "It would help with the nerves."
Leonardo couldn't help but smile. She can dance on a stage for hundreds, but the second a camera comes into the picture...
"Are you going to come watch?" Her own smile was a mixture of teasing and bashfulness.
"I'd rather watch you than do almost anything else."
"You have to say that," she said matter-of-factly. "You're stuck with me now."
The blue-masked turtle impulsively got to his feet, and caught Calley by the wrist. The young woman fell into his embrace and brushed her cheek against his as she kissed him.
"I like being stuck with you," he said breathlessly, and took a couple of seconds to drink in the sight of her. "The real question is, how long is this hair going to stick around?"
Calley snorted. "The stupid extensions are coming out tonight. You know I only got them for show; I'd forgotten what a burden long hair is. It doesn't even feel natural anymore."
"Will you try to rip them out the minute you're offstage, or will you wait for the Cast Party to finish?"
She shook her head. "I told you, I'm not going to that party, Leo."
"I can't understand why. Just because I can't take part in every aspect of your life, doesn't mean you shouldn't be involved in anything else. You're practically the star of this thing, Calley, I know people must want you to be there."
Calley's brown eyes clouded over slightly. "It's a strange feeling to have one foot in their world, and one in ours, Leonardo. Dancing in this show has been one of the greatest thrills I've ever had...but it's the art I love, not the attention. That's the reason I'm not looking forward to these interviews this morning. But it comes with the territory, and I shouldn't be complaining. I sure wasn't expecting to get the part that I did."
She still doesn't believe she's as good as she is. "You deserve that part, Calley. I've seen you live. The hype is no myth," he added lightly.
"You're coming tonight, aren't you?"
"I think we were all planning on coming. My brothers and I sure know our way around the rafters by now."
"I'm glad," she told him. "It means a lot to me...and to Karina. She's been so happy being involved in the training and the choreography with the dancers again. You would never know she's been gone for months. Karina has been such a huge help to me. I don't think I could have done this without her."
"Karina didn't get you the part, Calley," he reprimanded gently. "You won't consider going to the party?"
"Leo, I've thought about it. I'm just not normal, and it can be too much pressure sometimes. People see a certain woman when I dance, and it's awkward when I can't magically reproduce her in social settings. I don't want to fink out on the whole cast, but I'd rather spend time with them in smaller groups than be thrown into the upheaval of a giant party."
Her expression had turned anxious, as though she were seeking his approval for her choice.
"Calley, you've taken a lot of strides in the last few months. There's no rule that says you have to attend all their social gatherings. I only wanted to make sure that you're not holding yourself down because of me."
Her fingers lightly traced his neck, setting off tiny goose bumps. "You don't hold me down, Leo. You never have." Calley hesitated in his grasp a moment longer. "I guess I should start moving."
"You go ahead and get changed," he offered. "I'll get some tea on downstairs."
To his knowledge, Calley had never been a tea drinker before meeting him, but it had become a ritual they now shared almost daily.
"I won't be long," she assured him.
Leonardo quietly made his way down the hall, pausing for an instant to listen at Mike and Rebecca's door. The blue-masked turtle had heard Mike coughing the night before, but had chosen not to insert himself in the midst of it. He was disappointed, if he was being honest with himself. Michelangelo had seemed like he was getting back to normal, with even the persistent cough fading after months of hanging on.
Maybe I should have said something to him last night, but Mike's not a kid anymore. He doesn't need me coming around to hold his hand. But if he doesn't say something to Don today, then I'll have to talk to Donatello myself.
Mike and Becky's room was quiet now, with no evidence that his brother or sister-in-law were awake. Leonardo silently moved on, trotting down the stairs without making a sound. He had seen the flickering of light from the shifting picture of the TV screen from the top of the stairs, but had to stifle a chuckle when the entire scene came into view.
Raphael was snoring in his customary chair, Donatello was asleep with his head pillowed on the arm of the couch, and Olivia was murmuring something unintelligible from her nearby playpen. Leo had no sooner entered the living area, than Donatello's head lifted off the couch.
"Leo? What time is it?"
"It's almost morning," he whispered. "Was this slumber party by invitation only?"
Donny laughed softly. "It just kind of happened. Liv has been keeping Raph up, and I offered to help with her. Next thing I know, he's sacked out."
"Did she wake you up too?"
"No, we had some kind of tremor. I had a hard time settling back down for some reason."
"We did, didn't we?" Leonardo recalled. "I almost thought I dreamed it. I guess it wasn't serious or anything, huh?"
"I couldn't find any information about it last night, but I thought the morning news might mention something. It's possible the city didn't even feel that shaking. We're closer to the source after all."
"So if we were to experience a real quake..."
"Technically, we'd be safer underground than the people on the streets of New York, at least during the duration of the quake."
"But if there was a lot of damage, we could be in trouble too."
"Would be," Donny corrected. "Think cave-ins, floods-"
"I'd rather not." Leonardo shook his head.
Before Donatello could say another word, Raphael came awake with a snort. The red-masked turtle appeared to be a little startled.
"How long was I asleep? Where's-"
Donatello sat up from the couch, and pointed at the playpen. "Olivia is fine, Raph, she's been asleep for hours."
Raphael rubbed his forehead. "Dang, Genius, what'd you let me sleep for?"
"You were tired, bro."
Leonardo cast a probing glance at Raphael. "You're not getting enough rest, are you?"
"'M fine," he answered stiffly.
Donatello gave Raphael a sharp look, and the red masked turtle relented.
"It's just been a little rough," Raphael allowed. "I'm trying to keep the noise down for Karina."
"Is there something I could be doing to help?" Leonardo asked.
Raphael hesitated as Calley came downstairs to join them, and Leonardo saw him swallow.
"My, aren't we all up early this morning." Calley grinned. "Is there some special occasion?"
Raphael's hand grazed the back of his head awkwardly. "What would the two of you say to switching rooms out with Kari and me? Olivia's been so restless, and Donny thinks she would do better in her own room. We could put her in the empty room upstairs, and still hear her from nearby."
Leonardo cast Calley a swift look, and the young woman readily nodded. "Well, sure, Raph. It makes sense; I don't know why it didn't occur to me before."
Raphael shrugged. "I figured it was a phase that wouldn't last, and I didn't wanna make any trouble."
"It's not any trouble, Raph," Calley insisted. "Everyone can bend. That's what family is about, isn't it?
Leonardo nodded firmly. "I'm sorry I haven't been aware of you, Raph."
The red-masked turtle crossed his arms. "It ain't your job to know everything, Fearless. There have been other things to occupy you mind." Raphael shot a small smirk in Calley's direction, but then got serious again. "We've all been walking around on eggshells because of this stuff going on with Mikey anyway."
Leonardo exhaled sharply and looked back and forth between his brothers. He'd planned on giving Michelangelo the opportunity to come forward on his own first, but now that the subject had been broached, it was too hard to hold back.
"I heard him again last night," Leo confessed. "It was that same wheezing as before."
Donatello's face fell considerably. "I really hoped that he'd kicked it. I need to test his blood again."
"Don, I've heard you talk with the docs about his white blood cell count, but I still don't understand the significance of it. What are you checking his blood for?" Leonardo asked.
"You understand that our white blood cells are the body's best defense against germs and diseases," Donatello said slowly. "That being said, if there's a serious drop in them, we become much more vulnerable to viruses and bacteria. Mike experienced a heavy loss of white blood cells after his bout with Yellow Fever in the Congo, and his count never recovered. It never returned to what could be considered a 'normal' range.
"We've assumed that Mike has become more susceptible to sicknesses because of it, things that we can't fight except by addressing the symptoms, and waiting for them to blow over."
"Is this really serious, Don?" Raphael asked. "It just seemed annoying at first, but the way it hasn't quit..."
Donatello's eyes bore the weight of his unknowing. "The docs and I haven't seen anything that indicates a life-threatening illness, or anything more than an 'annoyance' as you put it."
"Then why are you so concerned?" Leonardo asked evenly.
Donatello leaned more heavily against the couch. "It's a frightening spot to be in, without having a true understanding of his condition. I've explained it the best way that I know how to, but the truth is that we're still trying to figure things out. His blood count should have recovered by now."
The purple-masked turtle only allowed for a beat of silence, before forcing a more encouraging smile. "But there's no one better at what they do than Doc and Marc, and we're staying on top of it. I'll talk to Mike later on, see how much he'll volunteer about how he's feeling."
"He won't wanna talk about it," Raphael commented. "He just got his shell back into training."
"Which I hope didn't contribute to this," Donatello said ruefully.
Calley's hand reached for Leonardo, and the turtle could sense tension radiating off of her. He put an arm around her, and gave his brothers a hopeful look.
"You said you're on top of it...so we'll stay on him too, whether he likes it or not."