I...have no words. This took a little longer than expected to write, I'll say that. Not much else though. Nope. So...time for reading.

Prologue: Part 2
Getting Used to It…

It felt like it was only a second before I woke up again, but I didn't open my eyes. It was just a dream, I told myself. I didn't meet four turtles and a rat. When I open my eyes, I'll be in my room again. Knowing I would regret it, I opened my eyes, expecting to see my usual small, dark bedroom. What I saw instead was a small, old TV sitting a few feet away, and a table that had a few comics laying on it. I blinked a few times as I shifted my arms, and I felt a soft, heavy blanket that was covering my frame. I slowly and carefully tried to sit up without moving my leg. I pushed the blanket off and cool air hit me like an electric shock. I shivered slightly.

"Good morning."

I gasped and whipped my head around. Splinter was standing there, arms folded behind him. I blinked several times before I felt myself smile. It wasn't a dream!

"I see you are awake, Lavinia," Splinter said as he walked over towards me. "Did you sleep well?"

I nodded. "Yes, very well."

Suddenly there was a yell.

"I think I got it, Sensei!"

It was Mikey. I craned my neck to see what looked like a room far away that was covered by a curtain.

"Um, what's Mikey doing?" I asked.

"He insisted on making breakfast this morning," Splinter turned his head slightly. "Be careful with the stove, Michelangelo."

"I will!" Mikey called back.

Splinter turned back to me. "How are you feeling, Lavinia?"

"Much better," I admitted. "That was the best sleep I've ever had."

"I'm happy to hear that. How's your leg?"

I looked down at my bandaged left leg. I tried lifting it and pain shot through it. I winced, grabbing my leg tightly.

"Still hurts…"

"I thought so. It'll be a while before you are able to walk on your own again. Which is why I have this."

I glanced up and saw Splinter was now holding a wooden crutch. He walked over to the couch and kneeled in front of me, holding his hand out to me.

"Come, child. There's no better time to start getting stronger than right now."

Knowing he was right, I nodded. It took me a moment to get both of my legs over the couch without hurting my bad leg. Splinter handed me the crutch and helped place it under my left arm. Taking hold of my hand, he slowly helped me up.

"I think I can go by myself," I told him.

It wasn't like I didn't appreciate his help, I just didn't want to be more of a burden on Splinter. I mean, I probably already was now, and I wanted to cause as little trouble as possible. I tried to take a step forward on my own, but my 'good' leg wobbled horribly and I started to fall. Splinter quickly caught me in his arms and gently helped me back up.

"S-sorry," I stuttered.

"Healing takes time, child," Splinter said calmly. "You will need some help moving around until your leg is healed."

I hung my head, feeling my face start to flush. "I just… don't wanna be any trouble…"

I felt something large and warm touch the back of my head and I knew it was Splinter. I looked up at him and saw he had a kind smile on his face.

"You are not a burden in any way, Lavinia," he lifted his other hand and offered it to me. "And there is no shame in accepting help when it is needed. And I can tell you've needed help for a long time."

I had a feeling he meant something more when he said that, but I chose not to question it. I looked down at his hand for a moment, then looked back up at him. He had a kind, encouraging smile on his face. Those were 2 expressions that I had never been given before now, and I wasn't sure what to do about it. But even so, I felt myself nod as I grasped Splinter's hand.

Splinter lead me into the room where the kitchen was. I could see Mikey moving around by the stove, and I could hear something sizzling in the pain in front of him. Smells like butter. Splinter had already helped me into one of the stool chairs before Mikey turned to look at me.

"Hey, Nia!" he said happily.

"Morning, Mikey," I said quietly. "What're you doing?"

"Making breakfast! He stated boldly. "Master Splinter says it's okay for me to use the stove by myself now! I've been practicing for months, and now I can make breakfast by myself," he clapped his hands together. "So, what do you want?"

I blinked. "Wh-what?"

"Yeah, what do you wanna eat? You name it, and I'll make it."

"Don't be over confident in the kitchen, my son," warned Splinter, who was grabbing a jug of orange juice from the fridge. "It could cloud your judgment, and you could get burned."

"Yes, Sensei," said Mikey, then whispered to me, "Seriously though, whatcha want? I can already make a lot of things, just name one."

I bit down on my bottom lip, fiddling with my fingers. I wasn't really sure what to ask for. Daddy almost never let me have breakfast, usually waking me up so I could immediately go do some chores. No matter if it was washing the dishes or doing the laundry, I usually didn't get a chance to eat until lunch. Sometimes I'd even wake up earlier so that I could eat something before he woke up.

"I don't really eat breakfast," I said finally. "I'm not sure what to choose…"

"Say no more!"

At once Mikey stood away from me and started running around the table excitedly. He circled the table about three times before skidding to a halt in front of the refrigerator. As he swung the door open and started rummaging through it, I turned my gaze to Splinter. By now he had poured five glasses of orange juice and was now filling a sixth. After filling the last one he picked the glass up in his hand and walked over to the table. He then se the medium sized cup down in front of me. I blinked, surprised at what I had been given. Daddy never gave me juice… I looked up at Splinter and he was smiling at me.

"Thank you."

He nodded. "You're welcome."

I looked down at my cup for a moment before slowly reaching out and grabbing it. I brought it close to me and gazed down at the orange liquid inside. After a few seconds I brought the cup up to my lips and took a small sip- a sip that soon turned into a big gulp when I realized how delicious the juice actually was. I can't remember ever having any juice in my life, and this was amazing.

After what felt like a few second I finally lowered the glass from my mouth, licking my lips to get any that might've been left. A small smile grew on my face as I turned my gaze to look at Mikey, who was busying himself over the stove. I watched as he took four eggs I his hands and broke them over the pan, the yellow yokes plopped onto the black surface, and the sizzling increased.

"Now, how should I make these eggs…?" then he snapped his fingers. "Duh! Scrambled!"

At once Mikey reached into an open drawer and took out a large spatula. He kissed the instrument before using it to chop and stir the eggs. Then…he started humming. It wasn't any particular song I had ever heard of, more like a random cluster of notes. But he continued to hum as he went to work with breakfast. He grabbed a near by bottle of pepper, plopped the lid off with his thumb, and started sprinkling it onto the eggs. Leaving the eggs to cook for a moment, he walked over to the counter were a loaf of bread and a small toaster sat. Mikey grabbed several slices and popped them into the toaster. Then he grabbed a nearby bag that said "Bacon" on it. He took out several slices of the meat and dropped them into a second smaller pan that was on the stove.

"No way! Mikey's making breakfast!"

I whipped my head around and saw Leo, Raph, and Donnie had all entered the kitchen. As soon as I looked at them they all looked back at me, and I was happy to see them all smile at me. Even Raph did(though his was smaller that Leo's and Donnie's).

"Good Morning, Nia," said Donnie as he took a seat next to me.

"Morning," I replied, then paused. "Wait, did you just call me 'Nia?'"

"Mikey said that's what we can call you," said Raph as he took the seat across from Donnie. "He said he called yah that last night and yah liked it. Is it cool that we call yah that?"

"Oh, yeah," I said, nodding. "I don't mind. I…I like 'Nia,' anyway."

"Told you guys I'm good with naming stuff!" Mikey called as he flipped the bacon strips over. "You should let me do it more often."

Leo finally came up to the talbe. He looked at all the remaining places before taking a seat across from me. He placed his hands on the table as he looked over at me.

"So, how's your leg?" he asked.

I glanced down at my bandaged leg. "Still hurts," I told him. "But Splinter said that it would be fine after a while."

"Will you be able to walk soon?" asked Donnie?"

"She will be fine, my sons," said Splinter, who was sitting in a chair at the end of the table. "Lavinia needs time to heal, but she will walk again. She may need some help moving around for some time, though."

"I don't mind helping her," piped up Donnie.

"Me neither," said Leo.

I blushed slightly when the guys acted so egger to help me. It was so sweet of them. I looked over at Raph, who seemed to be looking down in his lap. He glanced up at me and blinked when he saw me staring. He gulped, and gave a small nod.

"I can help, too."

"So can I!"

I turned just in time to see Mikey drop a big bowl full of scrambled eggs in the middle of the table. A second later there was a plate of bacon and a plate full of toast with jam.

"Dig in!" Mikey shouted, hopping into the empty seat next to me.

"Impressive, Michelangelo," said Splinter. "Considering this is your first time making breakfast by yourself, this looks very good."

"Thanks, Sensei."

I stared, awestruck and jaw open at the sight laid out before me. I had never been presented with this much yummy-looking stuff in all my life. Daddy hardly gave me any breakfast ever, so of course, this was all so surprising to me.

"What is the matter, Lavinia?" I heard Splinter ask. "Are you not hungry?"

I blinked and glanced up at the table. By now all of the others had filled their plates with eggs and were now going for the bacon. Even Splinter had some toast on his plate.

"Yes," I said quietly. "But…I don't know what to take…"

"You can take a bit of each thing, if you want," said Leo.

"I can?"

"Totally!" Mikey reached over and grabbed the bowl of scrambled eggs, bringing it over towards me. "C'mon, Nia! Have some eggs!"

I gazed at the bowl full of egg, then looked up at Mikey's face. He had an excited, but patient look on his green, freckled face, and as I looked around I saw that the others had the same waiting look. I looked over at Splinter last, and I waited for some kind of response to what was happening. He smiled at me, and nodded, gesturing to the bowl Mikey was offering.

"Please, have some breakfast, Lavinia," he said. "You must be very hungry."

I turned back to Mikey, who was still pushing the bowl, little by little, towards me. I stared off, thinking about all that had happened in the pass couple of hours. These people had brought me into their home, taken care of my injuries, let me sleep on their couch, and they were now allowing me to eat their food. How can these people have so much kindness in them? Why was I being treated so nicely when I had been treated so poorly all my life? Why me?

But instead of asking these questions, I reached forward for the large bowl. As I grabbed a spoonful of egg, I felt a smile grow on my face.

"I'm starving," I admitted.

(3 days after arrival)

Mikey's P.O.V.

This is the coolest thing ever! Nia's been down here with us for three days now, and it is awesome! It's so cool having someone new around here. Don't get me wrong, I love my bros and my Sensei, but everything was started to get a bit…dull. And dull is not cool! But now we got this awesome girl staying with us, and what's more, she's not afraid or freaked out about us at all! She treats us like we're completely normal! It's totally awesome! What's even more awesome is that she's a super cool sweetheart. No, seriously, she's like, the nicest person you could ever meet. She hasn't complained, had any issues, caused any problems, and me and the guys all like her already. She's still a little shy around us, but that'll ware off after a while.

I was in the living room playing with a small toy truck I found in the sewers a while back. It was small, small enough to fit in my hand, and it was dark blue. I was just rolling it around the floor when I noticed Nia sitting quietly on the couch. She was just sitting there, staring off into space. She was like, zoned out and stuff. She didn't look uncomfortable or anything, but I could tell she was bored. I mean, how could she not be? She's basically stuck on the couch until she can walk again, and that won't be for another week or so, at least.

I glanced down at the truck in my hands, then back at Nia's still form. Then a smile grew on my face. Idea! I turned unto my stomach and started to army crawl towards the couch. I placed my truck on the ground and rolled it around as I crawled on the floor, making loud driving noises. As I got closer and closer to the couch Nia slowly turned her head to look at me. She smiled and giggled when she saw me.

"Hi, Mikey. What're you doing?"

"Fun stuff," I told her as I crouch next to the couch. "Watch…"

She turned a little more and waited for me to do something. I smiled as I brought my truck back up to the edge of the couch, directly next to Nia's shoulder.

"Ahh! It's a giant girl!" I squealed, making my voice high pitched, and I shook the car a little. "Where did she come from? What will she do to us?"

I glanced up at Nia, hoping she would catch on. She stared at blinked at me a few times, then her mouth fell open slightly as she gave a small "Oh…." She smiled and raised her hands up in the air above my truck.

"Grr! I'm a mean, old giant!"

"Oh no, someone save us!" I squeaked again. "Please, don't let the giant eat us!"

Nia paused. Then she waved her arms around a little and reached for the truck, making more growling noises. I squealed and wailed as I pretended to be the poor guy that was going to get eaten. After a bit of swaying, Nia reached down and grabbed the car. I let go of it and placed my hands on my head.

"Oh, no! She's got us! She's gonna eat us!"

Nia lifted the truck up to her face and pretended to take a bite out of it.

"NO! She's eating us…!" I rolled onto my back and threw my arms in the air. "We're doomed! Doomed…!"

Nia finally stopped role-playing to lean her head back and laugh. I smiled at her as I rolled onto my stomach.

"Ah-ha! I knew you knew how to play!"

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked. "I got to play a little at home. I just never had anyone to play with."

I folded my arms on the ground and rested my chin in them. "Well, you do now."

Nia blinked, smiling widely. Then she looked down at the blue truck in her hands and examined it closely.

"Cool truck," she said. "Where'd you get it?"

"Found it in the sewers a while ago," I told her. "It was super cool and Sensei let me keep it. There was another one next to it, but it was broken. I couldn't keep it. I wish I did, though. I'd love to have another car."

"Maybe you'll find one someday."

"Yeah, maybe."

We sat still for a few moments. Things were very quiet with not playing going on or anything. It was weird, and I didn't like it too much. Nia must've been thinking the same thing because she nudged me to get my attention.

"C'mon, you be the giant this time."

I beamed at her. This was going to be fun! I knew having her here would be awesome.

(1 week after arrival)

Donnie's P.O.V.

I had just walked out of my room, reading one of my books. I had basically been locked in my room all day with nothing else to do. I was planning on just reading in there, but Sensei said that I couldn't stay locked in my room forever. So I had taken my book with me when I walked out.

I heard and excited squeak and I looked up from my book. From here I could see Mikey sitting next to Nia on the couch. They appeared to be watching another one of Mikey's cartoons. Even from this distance I could see him clutching onto Nia's arm, shaking her slightly.

"Ooh! I love this part!" he squealed.

I heard Nia giggle, and I rolled my eyes as I looked back down into my book. Though I wasn't looking, my feet were guiding me towards the kitchen. Maybe I could read peacefully in there. I mean, Sensei only said I had to stay out of my room, he didn't say anything about not going somewhere else.

"Hi, Donnie."

I froze and whipped my head around. It wasn't Mikey who had spoken my name. It was Nia. She had turned around and was looking at me, a small smile on her face.

"Oh, hi Nia."

"Hey, bro!" Mikey called when he relized I was there. "We're watching cartoons, come watch with us."

I gave a small shrug. Eh, why not? I walked over and sat down next to Nia. For a few seconds, I looked at the silly cartoon the other two were watching before sighing and looking back down into my book. So much for reading in peace.

"What're you reading?"

I blinked and whipped my head around to stare at Nia. She flinched slightly at my fast movement. Was she actually more interested in what I was reading than what Mikey was watching? He was practically gazing at it with drool coming down his chin. And yet, she had completely turned away from the screen to look at me. I glanced down at my book, then turned to completely face her.

"It's just a book I found in the sewers a few weeks ago," I told her.

I closed the book and held it up to show her the blue cover with yellow polka-dots all over it. The title was labeled "Tales of Dinosaurs." It was a small children's book filled with different descriptions of dinosaurs and their lifestyle. Nia eyed the book with what looked like a curious gaze.

"You like dinosaurs?" she asked.

"Yeah, kinda," I admitted. "A while back I started watching this science channel, and everything on there is so cool! They showed a couple episodes on dinosaurs, and they were awesome! And I wanna know as much as I can."

I smiled slightly as Nia gave a small nod. She didn't seem to be as fascinated with this as I was, but she seemed genuinely interested, all the same. She was definitely more interested than my brothers, that's for sure.

"Well, what's in the book?" she asked, sounding even more curious.

"Loads of stuff!" I leaned in a little as I opened the book so I could show her where I was reading. "There's all kinds of stories about dinosaurs. What kinds there where, how they lived, what they ate, and how they disappeared! Look! That's my favorite one!"

I pointed down at the picture in the middle of the book. It was a painted image of a huge dinosaur, with a huge body and an extremely long neck.

"It's a Diplodocus," I explained. "A longneck dinosaur, and it's the longest one ever. It eats stuff like bushes, tree leaves, and-"

"Donnie, I'm watching TV!" Mikey whined.

I frowned at him before looking back up at Nia. "Yeah…it's a really cool book. The others don't really like this stuff, but…I do…"

Suddenly feeling nervous, I lowered my head down. My face started feeling really warm, I must be blushing. Geez, why did I have to do all that? She probably thinks I'm a big nerd now, just like the others…

"Well, I think it's cool, too."

I must've blinked several hundred times before I snapped my head up. "You do?"

Nia smiled, and nodded. "Yeah, I do."

I felt nothing but complete shock in that moment, but that was instantly replaced with joy, and I could tell that it showed on my face. Nia's smile seemed to widen as happiness filled me up. None of my brothers were ever interested in the same stuff I was, they just thought I was being a boring nerd. Sensei liked listening to me ramble about the stuff in my books, but he did have the same fascination I had with them. Now, this girl who I've only known for a week tells me she likes some of the stuff I do. I mean, it's only one of the many things I like, but it was enough for me!

"Um, Donnie?" Nia spoke up a little quietly.

"Yeah?"

She bit her bottom lip. "Can… Can you read it to me? Please…?"

If it was possible I felt my smile widen even more. I nodded quickly, and Nia smiled, too. I scooted over to her a little more as she rested her arm on the back of the couch. I flipped the small book to the front, cleared my throat a little, and began to read.

I ended up reading the whole book to Nia, and Mikey didn't interrupt us even once.

Aww! Super cute, right? Now, don't worry. The next chapter is gonna have some bonding stuff with Raph, Leo and Splinter in it, so do not fret. Also, at this point it looks like there's going to be two more chapters of this prequel stuff before i actually get to the season 1 stuff. I hope that's not a problem.

Welp! I got stories to write! Chow, yall! :)