A/N: I would like to dedicate this chapter to my uncle, who passed away and December 22. We love you Uncle John...

Also, my thoughts are with all my neighbors who were hit by the tornadoe in Garland.

Mikey rolled out of bed and followed his nose to the kitchen. He paused when he didn't spot his wife right away. He sighed, she was sure to show up in minute. He flopped into a chair and rubbed his eyes. "What's going on?" He watched Amaya set the last plate of food on the large table.

"I am quite capable of cooking breakfast, Michelangelo." Amaya sat down with a small smile beside Leo.

"I didn't mean…" He paused and grinned when he realized she was teasing him. He gave a little chuckle. "I just meant I could have helped." He glanced around again. "Where are Don and Sarah?" Leo sighed, before explaining the situation again.

Cat smiled a little behind the rim of her mug. The coffee she'd pilfered from Don's coffee pot was helping with the bit of drowsiness. "It's pretty bad that the only day she gets to sleep in is the day she's sick."

Mikey frowned. "You're right. I guess we've all kind of gotten used to waking up to breakfast and not thinking about it." He smiled. "I've got a great idea, how about we give her a day off once in a while and do breakfast ourselves."

"That would require you gettin' up early, numbskull." Raph groused.

Mikey snorted. "I can do that every once in a while, just not every day."

"Yeah, well, you managed to sleep through all that racket the boys were makin' this mornin'."

Mikey frowned. "No, I heard them." Then he smirked. "And who said I was sleeping?"

Leo glowered. "Aw, come on, Mikey. I'm trying to eat here!" He had no desire for that image to be bouncing around inside his head all day. Luckily two small distractions walked through the door. The two boys seemed to be getting along now. He raised an eye ridge at them. "Are you two sharing?"

They both nodded. Mikey frowned as he turned to his son. "Kaz, were you taking Yoshi's toys again?" Kaz started to fidget again and Mikey's frown deepened. "You have to be nice to him, Kazzey. He's smaller than you. And believe me I know how that is."

Raph snorted. "You make it sound like we were always takin' your toys."

Leo smirked. "There was no we in that. You were always taking his toys."

Raph snorted, but didn't say anything as it now appeared that the tide had turned for their sons. The main difference was that Kaz mainly took the toys to play and was a lot more tender hearted so would give in easily to his smaller cousin, whereas Raph had usually taken the toy out of jealousy or spite or maybe just to get a rise out of his baby brother.

Mikey grinned realizing the same thing. "That's alright, Raph. I forgive you."

Raph scowled. "Mike, don't make me smack you in front of the kids."

Cat chuckled as she pushed back from the table. "You guys are on a roll this morning." She pecked her spouse's cheek. "And I'd love to stay and listen to more but I'd better get upstairs. I may have to fight the garage door open again."

"You want me to come help?" Raph asked.

"That won't be necessary. I've already fixed it." Mira grinned as she and Kala entered.

Cat smiled. "Thanks, Mira." She gave the teen a hug. She smiled at Raph. "But I still need you to come up in a bit. I've got a shipment of parts coming in."

He nodded. "Sure, darlin'."

Cat bent and brushed a kiss on Yoshi's head before she left. The young turtle promptly climbed up into his mother's abandoned chair. Raph loaded one of the smaller plates and set it before him. He smiled as Yoshi started to gobble down his food. Mikey smiled as well as he saw his brother's gaze soften. The feeling of having children was amazing. They would always be the one perfect thing you did in life. Mikey's gaze fell to Kaz, who was sitting at the end of the large table. He'd filled his own plate and was gobbling it as fast as Yoshi was. Kala touched Mikey's arm warmly as she slipped into the seat beside him.

Mira smiled as well, feeling the contentment in her family. It was moments like these that reminded her just how much her family loved one another. She sat down beside Amaya and began filling her plate with her own breakfast.

"Mira, I know you had your heart set on taking your test today, but perhaps you'd enjoy learning some more miko skills instead." Amaya was trying to pass along the skills to Mira, as the child was so sensitive to others. And as she'd expected Mira had performed them well so far. But their time together was not near as much as it should be. Leonardo still monopolized a good deal of the teen's time with her ninja training. And Donatello often sequestered her in his lab with him, teaching her all that he knew.

Mira lit up at the idea. "Oh, yes, Aunt Amaya. I'd love that."

The family chattered a way for a while, until the plates were clean. Then Amaya took the two plates she'd set aside for Don and Sarah to their room. Donnie smiled gratefully at his sister-in-law. "Thanks, Amaya. I'll see if I can get her to eat some."

She smiled back. "I will look through the herbs to see if I have anything that will speed her healing."

His smile widened. "That sounds like a good idea." She left and Donnie carried the tray to the bedside table. Sarah opened her eyes to watch him with a small smile. He returned it, noting mildly that she didn't seem a sick as a few hours ago. "Do you feel like eating?"

She frowned for a moment. "No, not yet. But I am feeling a bit better."

"That's good. As Leo put it, maybe some of that magic Mazar healing power is kicking in." He looked at the tray and found he didn't really have much of an appetite either. So, instead he picked his laptop back up and settled back against the headboard of their bed.

Sarah crawled up to rest her head on his shoulder. "Magic, huh?" Donnie frowned as her hot skin rested against his. She still felt like she was running a slight fever. She yawned as she watched him work for a moment, not really paying much attention. "What are you working on?"

"I'm running a diagnostic of the security system. I've been putting it off, because it takes several hours and sometimes it causes the cameras or sensors to shut off. So, I was waiting for a day we would all stay home to do it, in case I need to shut the whole system down for a while."

She smiled mildly with her eyes closed. "So, you figured since you were stuck in bed with me, you'd run it today."

He chuckled lightly. "My love, I'd rather be stuck in bed with you any day, sick or not." He wrapped an arm around her, placing a kiss in her slightly damp hair. She melted against his side and soon was sleeping soundly again.

He watched the screen as he gently stroked her hair. Each individual sensor had to run a self-diagnostic and there were three dozen of the things. Each would take about ten minutes and then the eight cameras would start their diagnostic. All in all, it would take about ten hours for a complete security system analysis. Then the system would have to reboot to correct any internal corruption. The work could be tedious, but it had to be done at least once a year to maintain their safety.

Don wondered mildly if he should let Mira do it next time. He smiled to himself. Mira was brilliant and he couldn't have been prouder of her. She was learning herbs and remedies from Amaya, strategy and tactics from Leo, mechanics from Raph and Cat, and she absorbed everything Don showed her like a sponge. She still had her moments of teenage rebellion but she seemed to temper it with her growing intellect.

There was a knock on the door, drawing him from his introspecting and the numbers that continued to scroll across the screen. He gently shifted Sarah to the bed and rose to answer it. Amaya offered him two mugs. A quick inspection revealed one to be coffee. He smiled. "Thanks. I could actually use another cup right now."

She smiled warmly. "Is she feeling any better?"

He nodded. "Yes, I think she might even be well in a few more hours. But her fever hasn't broke yet." He glanced out the door. In the distance he could hear Kaz and Yoshi engaging in their morning training session. "Is everything going okay?"

Amaya continued to smile. "Yes, Mira fixed the garage door as you had asked her to. Cat seemed quite pleased."

He smiled. "Good. I know she was pretty disappointed not to be able to take her test today. I was hoping to keep her distracted."

"Not to worry. I am keeping her quite busy." Amaya winked and Donnie chuckled. He truly appreciated his sister-in-law. Especially in more recent years, as she and Mira shared similar skills. They could each read others emotions, Mira through her empathic powers and Amaya by seeing souls. The miko had taken his child under her wing and helped her through the tougher stages of feeling everyone around her all the time. She'd trained her to turn her senses inward whenever the world around her became overwhelming.

"Let me know if you need anything." She turned and headed down the hall, a smile still pressing her lips. Her smile only increased as she crossed the living room, finding Mira hard at work grinding herbs, while Kala watched some soap opera. She paused in the doorway of her and Leo's bedroom to gaze at the egg nestled in the moss. She wondered momentarily what her child would look like. If it would have brilliant blue eyes like her husband or if it would have the same skin tone as him. She wondered if it really was a girl and if it was, would she be like Mira. It didn't really matter, because no matter what she'd love their child with every breath of her being. She turned away from the door and down the short hall to the dojo. Raph and Mikey were leaning against the wall watching Leo train their sons. Kaz was practicing his balance on the balance board, while Leo was instructing Yoshi on a back kick. Amaya went to stand beside Raph as she watched her husband.

Raph gave her a small smile. "How's Sarah?"

"Getting better, I believe."

His smile increased. "Where's Mira?"

"She is grinding my herbs for me."

"That should keep her busy for a while." Mikey kept his eyes locked on Kaz, who was being particularly acrobatic today.

The young turtle did a summersault landing neatly back on the board without missing a step. Then he got an idea. It was something he'd never tried on the balance board before. He positioned himself just right and did a backflip. He executed the flip perfectly but the landing not so much. He missed the end of the board by about two feet and landed right on top of Yoshi.

Yoshi grunted as his larger cousin landed on him. He growled. "Get off me!"

Kaz complied. "Heh, sorry Yoshi."

Anger flashed in the little turtle's green eyes. "You did that on purpose!"

"I did not!" Kaz balled his fists at his side.

Yoshi growled again and then tackled Kaz. Although, Kaz was taller, he was also a lanky youth. While Yoshi was built like a cannon ball, small but already rippling with packed muscle. If it came down to strength, Yoshi could out power Kaz. Raph and Mikey were already moving to separate them. Yoshi got in one last blow, his little knuckles making contact with Kaz's snout.

"Yoshi!"

"Kaz!"

The two were separated but they continued to shout at one another, until Leo clapped his hands. "Enough!" The two immediately silenced, standing at attention. Leo's eyes locked on Yoshi. "We never strike each other out of anger, Yoshi."

Raph nodded, though he knew he'd broken that rule a few times himself. He knew it was wrong and Yoshi wouldn't get away with it any more than he had. "He's right, Yoshi. It's okay if we are training but not because you're mad."

"Are you okay, Kaz?" Mikey asked. The young turtle rubbed his beak, but nodded.

Leo turned his gaze to the older boy. "Good. Now there is a lesson to be learned here. You should always be sure of your footing before you leap. If you lose your footing in battle it could mean your death. And Yoshi, you must always be aware of your surroundings lest you are attacked from above."

"Hai, sensei." They responded in unison.

The day passed slowly and when Sarah woke again around lunch time, she was feeling a lot better. Her fever had broken and she even had an appetite. Donnie was glad. "Do you think you could sit through Mira's test?"

Sarah gasped. "That was today, wasn't it? Oh, I forgot all about it." She felt guilty for making Mira wait. She got up and started dressing.

He frowned. "It can wait a few more days, if you're not feeling up to it."

She shook her head. "No. This is Mira's big day. I don't plan on taking it away from her, if I can manage it." She paused to look at him. "It's not too late to start is it?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No, there's still plenty of time."

She pulled on her shirt and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you for staying with me all day."

He chuckled, running his fingers through her long dark brown locks. "Well, you did have to force me." He teased. She giggled and he kissed her softly. "Come on, let's get you something to eat and let Mira know."

They left the bedroom to find Amaya and Mira sitting on the couch with a book of herbs in hand. She looked up and grinned. "Mom, are you feeling better?"

Sarah smiled. "Yeah, just a little tired. But I couldn't wait to see you pass your test."

Mira jumped up and ran around the couch to wrap her mother in her arms. "Oh, thank you!"

Sarah chuckled lightly. "Let me get something to eat and then we'll get you started."

Amaya set down the book. "I will tell Leonardo."

Mira grinned and turned to her father. "And if I pass, I can go on patrol with you, right?" Donnie frowned and Mira blinked big brown eyes up at him, her hands clasped at her chin. "Right?"

"You did promise." Sarah commented, giving him a small smile.

"You're not helping." He told her under his breath. He sighed. "Okay but," Mira stopped in mid cheer to watch him, "only if Leo says it's okay too."

Mira grinned. She'd learned long ago how to wrap her uncle around her second finger. "He will."

Donnie frowned again. "We'll see." He gave his wife a nudge towards the kitchen. "I suggest you prepare for your test."

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes sir." She sprinted down the hall to get her tonfa from her room.

Sarah yawned as she settled at the kitchen table. "She has so much energy. I can barely remember having that much energy." She played with a strand of hair that was turning gray. "I guess I'm getting old."

Donnie snorted. "You're younger than me. And I don't plan on getting old for a long time." He poured a can of soup into a bowl and placed it in the microwave.

She laughed, still playing with the lock of gray. "Yeah, you'll probably still be young and handsome, when I'm gray and wrinkled." He turned to look at her and she felt worry pulse through the bond momentarily. She frowned as he approached. "Aw, love, I didn't mean it like that."

He reached out to touch the gray lock. "It's beautiful." She smiled, her love and adoration burned through the bond. She caught his hand, pressing it between hers.

"Hey?" They looked up to see Leo in the doorway. "You feeling better?"

"Yeah, a lot." Sarah smiled at Amaya as she stepped up beside Leo. "I think your magic potion helped."

Amaya laughed. "Ah, yes, the magic potion always works."

"I'm ready. Let's do this." Mira said from behind Leo.

He chuckled as he watched her twirl her tonfa. "We have to wait for everyone else. Mikey, Kala and Raph went up to help Cat with her shipment."

"I'll get them." She stepped to the elevator and hit the button. She glanced up at the security screen before stepping on, to be sure there were no customers up there she had to be wary of.

Sarah ate her soup until everyone was back downstairs. Then they headed for the dojo. The four women knelt to the side. Kaz and Yoshi ran over to sit with their mothers.

Mira stepped into the center of the dojo. Twirling her tonfa, she bit her lip nervously. She had no idea what the test would entail. And that was the point. Every final was different for every ninja. The four brothers circled her, making her bite her lip even harder. Leo finally spoke. "The most important tools of a kunoichi are her eyes and ears." He stopped in front of her and she bowed, giving her sensei the respect he deserved. "And this is why you will have to defend yourself…without them."

Raph stepped up from behind her, placing a blindfold over her eyes. Mikey stepped to the side turning on a radio at full blast. The noise it made completely blocked out any soft sounds the guys made as they started to circle her again.

"Now, let us begin…"

A/N: I want you all to know I really fought with myself over the next chapter, but I felt it was the right direction to go. It's very sad... Unfortunately, the guys can't have good all the time. That just isn't how life works.