A/N: Sorry this took so long guys! Drea's got a new job so life with finding new daycare, getting settled into said new job and all the fun stuff with the winter weather has been hectic to say the least. Hope it was worth the wait!! Thanks to Mikell, my awesome beta reader. You're the best, even when you unleash the full editor on me…..that…sounded dirty.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of TMNT and make no profit from the writing of this fic. Nadia and Alex are both OC's of mine however should anyone get a wild hair and want to do something with them…someone besides Raph and Mikey. : )

Chapter Six: Trust

Screaming was something Michelangelo was used to. He'd heard enough of it from every other damsel in distress out there that they'd come across and saved when they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. So it wasn't the fact that Nadia was screaming that caused him to flinch. It was the pitch and volume of the offensive noise that caused him to jump back several feet and shrink away from the petite woman as if she'd struck him.

He wasn't the only one who did so. Leonardo, Donatello, Casey and Raphael who had been deep in their poker game all dropped their cards and covered their ears, staring at Nadia in stunned horror. Even April and Alex reacted, jerking away from the young woman.

Recovering quickly, Mikey moved forward and took Nadia's shoulders gently in his hands. It was the wrong move to make. His heart clenched and his throat tightened with emotion when she jerked away from him, her screams tapering off to a strangled whimper. He dropped his hands quickly to the side and ducked his head, but not before he caught Alex's look of pity as she stepped up to Nadia and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Nadia, please…calm down," Alex beseeched. "If you'll just let me explain-Nadia?"

The note of panic in her voice caused Mikey to jerk his head back up. He cursed softly and lunged forward in time to catch Nadia as she pitched forward, crying in pain and clutching her stomach.

"What happened?" he yelped, his fearful gaze meeting Alex's. His sister-in-law shook her head, her mouth working to make sounds that wouldn't come out. There was movement all around them – his brothers abandoning their game to rush toward them, April quickly skirting around the kitchen counter and moving to stand next to Alex.

"What's wrong with her?" Donatello asked. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, dude!" Mikey moved Nadia far enough away from him so that he could hunker lower and look into her face. He brushed her thick hair back. Those dark pools of liquid brown, filled with agony, met his and his breath caught. She had looked at him like that before. She started rambling in a mix of Spanish and English, one hand clutching his arm as the other splayed over her stomach. "The baby! I think something's wrong with the baby!" he said.

"Is that the girl you guys found in the alley?" Raph asked, hovering near Alex, his gaze moving between her and the newcomer.

Alex nodded. Her face had gone frighteningly pale. "And this is exactly how we found her." She stepped forward, moving around Nadia and going to her knees next to Mikey. "Nadia…you need to tell us what's happening. You need to tell us how to help you."

Nadia's eyes shifted wildly back and forth between Alex and Michelangelo. She was obviously arguing with herself, probably once again doubting her sanity. Pain sluiced through her once more and she closed her eyes against it, gasping. "Medi-cation….bathroom," she managed through clenched teeth.

"Find it," Mikey instructed.

Alex went to her feet and was out the door in a matter of seconds.

Closing out what was going on around him, Mikey focused on one thing – calming Nadia. She was still clinging to him and he considered that a good sign. At least she wasn't screaming and running away from him. Her eyes were wide and apprehensive, but there was a veiled lucidity there that told him her mind and judgment were not quite clouded by pain as they had been in the alley. Not yet, anyway.

"Nadi…babe, you have to do me a favor here, okay?" Her eyes locked on his and he silently congratulated himself. She was still breathing heavily, biting on her bottom lip to keep her screams at bay, he was sure. "I need you to calm down. You're freakin' out and I'm not all that in the know with the whole baby thing, but I'm pretty sure that's not good for them."

He brushed his fingers into her thick hair, cupping his hand around the back of her head. Again he congratulated himself. She didn't pull away. Instead she leaned into him, albeit reluctantly. "I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered. "None of us are."

She tensed and so did he, reacting to the sudden stiffness and preparing himself to pull away from her. He didn't want to. He wanted to be there for her, to hold her, to ease the pain she was going through. "I would never hurt you, Nadi."

She watched him a moment longer, then nodded – a tiny movement that he would have missed had he not been watching her so closely.

"Tortuga imaginaria….right?" he murmured with a gentle smile.

Recognition flashed in her eyes. He knew right away he'd won another battle. She trusted him. And then she laughed. It was so unexpected that for a moment, Mikey was completely dumbstruck. He couldn't help staring at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"You completely slaughtered that," she muttered, her voice still tight with pain.

"Yeah, well…my main language is reptile babe. Be lucky I speak English as well as I do."

That drew another chuckle which was immediately cut short when Nadia grasped his arms and leaned forward slightly, her arm tightening protectively against her swelling stomach and a hiss of pain forcing its way through her clenched teeth.

"Okay, we're gonna play this thing just like we did in the alley," Mikey coached. "Remember how I told you to breathe? Do that now…just concentrate on breathing. The pain's not gonna be that bad if you can just take your focus off of it."

Nadia nodded. She drew in one shaky breath, then another. "Can't…I can't…"

"You can Nadia." A tap on his shoulder had him looking up. Alex stood beside them, holding a bottle of pills and a glass of water out to him.

"They were the only ones I could find," she offered, her worried gaze flitting briefly to Nadia.

Mikey nodded. "Thanks sis." He set the glass of water on the floor between himself and Nadia, then held the bottle up for her to see. "These the one's you need?"

"Yes," she whispered. She watched, waiting as patiently as she could as Mikey opened the bottle and shook a pill into his palm. She was quick to pop it in her mouth and wash it down with water. With her eyes closed, she leaned forward. She ignored the tiny voice in her head telling her not to and rested her head against Michelangelo's shoulder.

"Deep breaths babe," he murmured. His hands drew slow paths up and down her back, stopping every so often to massage the tension from her shoulders. When Nadia was finally at ease and Michelangelo could no longer feel any tension, he took it as a good sign to start conversation. "So, you live across the hall, huh?"

She tensed slightly when he spoke and Mikey's heart sank ever-so-slightly with the knowledge that he'd caused that reaction. His heart ached until she let out a quiet sigh and relaxed into him again.

"Si. I mean…yes," she murmured, then braved her own question. "Do you…live here?"

With a smile and a shake of his head, Mikey replied, "No. We don't live here. Well, Raph and Alex do. They just moved in."

Nadia lifted her head, her gaze falling on Alex who stood leaning heavily against another turtle. This one was bigger, his muscles, size and gaze much more intimidating. He was a darker shade of green and had sharp amber eyes that probably didn't miss much. Beside him Alex was smiling kindly, her hand resting over the three fingered one on the swell of her stomach.

"You remember Alex, right? That's her husband and my big bro, Raph." Mikey dropped his voice to an intentionally loud whisper. "Personally, I don't think they should let big ugly pets stay in apartment buildings but Alex kind of has a soft spot for him-."

When Raph's eyes narrowed in threat, the most beautiful sound filled the room. It was Nadia laughing, quietly at first and then a little louder when Mikey joined her. "I guess he's more of a guard dog than a-." Mikey was cut off by a pretzel to the head. "Dude! Watch out. I'm holding precious cargo here-."

Nadia's infectious laughter died down to a soft chuckle which was quickly replaced with a pained gasp.

"Babe, you alright?" Mikey asked, his arm tightening around her.

"Yes….just no more laughing."

Smiling, Mikey helped her up, supporting most of her weight. He looked up, caught the surprised looks of his three older brothers and quickly turned away, feeling his cheeks burning slightly. With a little gentle coaxing, he led her over to the couch and helped her sit down on the small amount of space not taken up by boxes. The others followed at a safe distance. Once Nadia was composed and no longer in pain, there would be introductions. He was grateful that for now his brothers were keeping their distance.

He knelt down in front of her, resting a hand on her knee and murmuring gentle instructions – reminding her to breathe, to stay calm. Minutes ticked by and then her eyelids swept shut and she released a long, shuddering sigh.

"Done?" he asked softly.

She nodded, her shoulders dropping. "I think so. I hope so." She took an experimental breath and straightened, relieved when her entire body didn't object to the movement. The feeling was cut short when she lifted her gaze to the three humans and three giant turtles standing directly behind Michelangelo. She immediately shrank back, trying to hide her fear and failing.

Michelangelo glanced over his shoulder at his brother and rolled his eyes. "Leo…Raph. Quit glaring and come say hi. You too, Donnie." He turned back to Nadia, shaking his head. "Sorry babe, they're not exactly social animals."

She offered him a fleeting smile of understanding then swallowed her fear as the brother in purple approached and Michelangelo moved aside. She was fine meeting Donatello who seemed very kind. She was even fine meeting Raphael, as intimidating a figure as he was. With Alex standing beside him, who was a half a foot shorter than him and very pregnant made him look much more amicable. When Leonardo approached her, his eyes hard and calculating, she stalled in lifting her hand and drew it back, placing it in her lap. Without anyone having to tell her, she knew he was the oldest of the four. The oldest and most certainly the leader. He had an air about him that screamed Alpha male.

"You're afraid of me," he said, his eyes narrowing.

Nadia swallowed hard and nodded.

"Why?"

"You don't trust me," she stated evenly.

Something flickered in his eyes, something unreadable, and he knelt before her so that he was looking up at her instead of down. It made her feel less hunted – as if he were more on her level now instead of towering over her and trying to make her feel anxious. "Nadia, as Michelangelo said, we're not going to hurt you. But you're right. I don't trust you. I don't know you well enough to trust you. For all I know you could walk out of here and tell anyone about us. You could put our family in danger, a family I have protected all my life. I can't let that happen."

"I wouldn't." She sat up a little straighter, squaring her shoulders. She wanted to feel insulted that he would assume such a horrible thing about her. Instead, she felt the need to reassure him in no uncertain terms that their secret was safe with her.

"Why should I believe you?"

"Even if I wanted to, which I don't, I couldn't. My father," her voice caught slightly on the word. "My father is the Chief of Police in Costa Mesa, California-."

"That's not helping."

Nadia's eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. "Let me finish. My father is the Chief of Police in Costa Mesa, California. He wants nothing to do with me and I want nothing to do with him. I wouldn't do anything to draw his attention. He doesn't know where I am, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"You don't want anything to do with your dad?"

The disbelief in Michelangelo's voice drew her attention. She flinched at the look of pity in his eyes. She wanted no part of that. She'd been alone for too long, dealing with the pain of rejection and betrayal. She had hardened herself against it. "Why would I? My father was very quick to turn his back on me when I told him I was pregnant. I'll admit I wasn't very smart about the entire situation." She ducked her head, feeling the heat of mortification infuse her cheeks and wanting to hide it. "But it was his decision to disown me, not mine."

Their silence made her squirm with discomfort. She fought the need to run for the door and into the safety of her own apartment. A hand alighted upon hers where it rested on her knee and she looked up, startled to see Leonardo kneeling in front of her, not Michelangelo.

"I'm sorry. Truly, Nadia…I am."

"I'm not going to say anything to anyone," she vowed softly, her gaze meeting his steadily.

He watched her for a moment, his eyes searching hers. He was reading her, trying to find a flaw in her words, a trace of pretense. She tensed under his scrutiny but did not move away from him.

"I believe you. But-."

Nadia's heart sank. "But?"

There was a moment of silence, then Leo's mouth suddenly quirked up in a wry grin. "Let me finish."

The way he reacted to her interruption, the pure mundane quality of the conversational tone, it washed over her – relaxing her muscles, easing her anxiety. She couldn't help giving him a small smile in return.

"But, I need you to promise me that our secret is safe with you and you will do nothing…nothing to put our family in danger."

"I promise," Nadia agreed with a nod. "Not a word to anyone."

"Alright." Leo stood, then looked over at Michelangelo. "Why don't you go ahead and give her the history, Mikey."

"Totally!!" The youngest of the four perched on the couch arm beside her. Exuberance poured off of him in waves. "You want the full version or the abridged?"

"Um…" Nadia watched his brothers disperse back to their poker game, then turned to look at Alex and April, silently asking for help.

Still wearing her friendly smile, Alex rested her hand on Michelangelo's shoulder and looked down at Nadia. "You want the full version but we'll help out with that. Mikey here kind of tends to stray off in a million different directions. You hungry?"

Nadia thought about it for a minute. She hadn't had supper yet and her lunch had consisted of a bowl of clam chowder which she'd been re-introduced to later on in the day when morning sickness had chosen to kick in unexpectedly. The thought of food now quickly had her stomach rumbling.

"Um, that would be a yes," she muttered, rubbing her stomach and giving the other woman a sheepish look.

Alex chuckled. "Okay. Let me go grab some pizza and something to drink. Mikey, help April clear off the couch and chair?"

"On it babe," the orange masked turtle said with a quick thumbs up.

Within a few minutes, boxes were cleared from the couch and chair. Alex returned to the living room, casting an amused glace towards the poker game when a loud chorus of groans erupted, almost drowning out Casey's triumphant yelp. "They're going to be no help to us."

"Eh, we don't need em," Michelangelo said, settling down beside Nadia and snagging a piece of pizza from the box Alex had lain down on the table. "They'd just mess up the story anyway."

"Right," April muttered dryly. "They're the ones messing it up."

Once Nadia had a plate layered with a few slices of pizza and her hand curled around a glass of milk, Michelangelo started in with the story of their origins. Had she not been so hungry, she may have forgone eating all together until he was finished with the amazing story that was his and his brothers' beginning.

Alex took over when it came to her entrance into their lives, telling the story of a young woman alone in the world and cursed to fulfill a deadly prophecy. She had been saved by the four young ninja's, brought into their home and kept safe until a misunderstanding between her and Raphael had led to her leaving the lair. Eventually the four had gone after her and had been ambushed by Foot Soldiers. Only Michelangelo had escaped and had convinced Alex that she needed to trust them and they needed to save what Alex affectionately called "their family" though at the time they hadn't necessarily been family. It was only after the three older brothers were saved and Alex's curse was finally broken that she and Raphael had made their relationship official by getting married. Shortly after, Alex was pregnant.

"So," Michelangelo said, smiling brightly. "That's our story. Whadaya think?"

"I think," Nadia murmured after a while, "that I might benefit from checking myself back into the hospital."

"Was that-." Michelangelo watched her closely, feeling his tentative grasp on his hope starting to slip. "Was that a joke?"

Nadia looked up at him and grinned. "Yeah. It was a joke. That was just….that was a lot to take in a half an hour."

He laughed. "Yeah, the story keeps getting longer and longer every time we tell it. We used to be able to get it all out in like…ten minutes. Then April and Alex had to come along and demolish our efficiency."

"Oh whatever," April muttered, whacking him with a throw pillow.

"Seriously…what is with people and throwing crap at me lately…"

Nadia chuckled softly, then turned her attention to Alex. "So…you're really pregnant with…um-."

"With Raph's baby?" Alex supplied kindly. "Yeah. We were kind of amazed that it happened too. It was the last thing we were expecting. We're both thrilled though."

"Hey, more than you two are thrilled here, babe. Don't forget the uncles." Michelangelo leaned close to Nadia, lowering his voice. "I'm gonna be the cool one."

"Yes, yes, Mikey. We all know you're going to be the cool one," Alex said with a roll of her eyes. "All of her uncles are equally cool. No favorites, remember?"

"You know it's a she?" Nadia asked.

"Yup. Our little Sophia Marissa Hamato, due March fifth. Do you know what you're having?"

Nadia nodded once, unconsciously lifting her hand and placing it over her small baby bump. "Yeah. It's a boy. I…I haven't thought of a name yet."

"You know a good name?" Michelangelo said, leaning back against the couch and folding his hands behind his head. "Michelangelo. Solid, has the history behind it, easily abbreviated. You can't get much better than that."

"Hmm, yes…I'll keep that in mind," Nadia murmured, catching Alex's grin and hiding her own with her half empty glass.

The four talked for a while longer, mostly about Nadia. She could tell the two women were feeling her out. There was no malicious intent, just two women who were overly protective about their particular group of friends and who wanted to ensure their safety. Nadia admired them for it. They were dedicated to protecting those they loved, no matter how different they were. It was refreshing to know that there were people like that in the world.

Michelangelo on the other hand…he just seemed genuinely interested in her. His baby blues never wavered from her unless he was talking to Alex or April. It was a strange sensation – having someone's attention so focused on her, as if she were the only person in the room, having someone actually hear her speak. No one had ever seemed so genuinely engrossed in what she had to say. What Michelangelo was doing…it was nice.

"Hey babe," Casey interrupted them after a while, leaning over the couch. His hands landed on April's shoulders and started to rub them gently. "You ready to get going?"

April looked up at him, confusion furrowing her brow. "Get going? What time is it?"

"Bout 11:15."

"That late already?" she stood up, stretching the kinks from her back. "Yeah. We probably should go. Let Alex get some rest. Well, Nadia. It was really great meeting you. Alex, nursery shopping tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Alex yawned hugely. "Nadia, you want to come with us?"

"I…you…you want me to come with you?" she asked uncertainly. She wasn't used to people being so kind to her. Especially not people she had just met.

"Sure. It would be fun. And if you want to, you can pick up some stuff for yourself too."

"Better say yes," Raphael said, coming around the side of the couch and leaning against the back of the chair Alex was sitting in. "Alex doesn't know how to take no for an answer. And if ya try to tell her no, she'll argue with ya until you say yes."

"Oh, you hush," Alex muttered, elbowing Raph in the thigh. The smile she gave him was full of love though and for a brief moment, it made Nadia uncomfortable. She didn't know love like this. Her brief foray into the concept of it had not been filled with tender moments and sentiment. Her parents had never been prone to public displays of affection. To watch Alex and Raph interact was so much different from anything she had ever seen. She suddenly wanted to get out of the apartment and away from this foreign emotion that meant so little to her.

"If you don't mind me coming with, that would be nice." She stood, offering Alex and April a timid smile "I should probably get going. Thank you for the pizza and for…well, everything." Her gaze sought out Leonardo. "And again, I promise that I won't tell anyone about you and your brothers."

"Hold on babe, I'll walk ya out," Michelangelo said, nearly jumping off the couch in his haste and offering her his arm. She shyly slid hers into it and allowed him to lead her out of the apartment. At her door, she realized that she no longer had her keys and turned to go back to Alex's to get them, running into Michelangelo's chest.

"My keys….I dropped-."

"Right here, Nadi." He lifted his hand, displaying the ring of keys dangling between his thick fingers.

"Oh." She suddenly noticed how close they were and how she could feel the heat radiating from his body. Her pulse tripped, her mind worked furiously to come up with something intelligible to say. Just when she thought she had something, though that she could remove herself tactfully from the situation, Michelangelo leaned forward. Her eyes went wide and she felt a sudden excitement race through her. The excitement vanished as quickly as it had come though when she heard the sound of her keys grating in the lock.

"There ya go," Michelangelo murmured softly, pushing the door open for her.

"Thank you." She turned away from him, her entire body feeling strangely numb. The dark confines of her apartment weren't nearly as comforting as she thought they would be. There was no one waiting for her here. She was alone.

"Nice place," Michelangelo said from behind her, closing the door after letting himself in.

Nadia placed her keys on the kitchen counter. "Thanks. Did you…can I get you something to drink?"

"Nah, I'm good. I can just go steal somethin' from Alex and Raph if I'm thirsty." He looked around her apartment for a while, hands stuffed in the pockets of his hooded sweatshirt, eyes moving over the couch, the simple television, the lone bookshelf stacked with various books and her small collection of cheap knick-knacks art work that gave her apartment a homey feel. "I gotta say, Nadi. I'm really, really glad you live here. I was driving myself crazy trying to find you and then you end up right here. Talk about simplifying the situation."

Nadia frowned as she removed her coat and scarf and hung them over the back of one of the barstool chairs pulled up to the counter. "You were…looking for me?" she asked, feeling that rush of excitement again, though this time it was considerably less overwhelming.

He gave her a shy smile. "Yeah. I was looking for you." He closed the distance between them, boldly reaching out and taking her hand. "I've been thinking about you ever since the day we left you at the hospital. I wanted to know how you were, if you were okay. I wanted…I wanted to know you better, Nadia."

"You don't want to know me," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

"Now, why would you say something like that?"

She shook her head, closing her eyes against the sudden rush of tears. "You and your family are so nice. You've been so kind to me and…and I'm not worth all of that."

Michelangelo's brows furrowed. She wasn't worth all of that? That didn't make any sense. "What do you mean?"

"I'm pregnant Michelangelo." She looked up, her dark eyes glassy. "I slept with a friend of my father's…a married friend of my father's. I'm pregnant with his child. You don't want to know the kind of woman who would willingly sleep with a married man and end up disowned by her family for it."

"See, now that's where you're wrong." He took a thick strand of her hair between his fingers, rubbing it gently, loving the smooth-as-silk feel and the unique scent of her. "I want to know everything there is to know about you. The good…the bad. And when I know it all, I'm going to show you just how much worth you have."

"Why?" she asked, unable to stop the pitiable question from slipping from her lips.

His grin turned teasing and lop-sided. "Because I think you're hot."

The bluntness of his statement and the quirky tone he delivered it in startled a laugh out of her. "You're going to regret it," she muttered, brushing at the one tear that had managed to escape.

"Maybe." His grin deepened. "But I doubt it. Get some rest, Nadi. You're gonna have your hands full with those two tomorrow." He dropped the strand of hair and curled his hand around the nape of her neck, then dropped a soft, unexpected kiss on her forehead. "I'll be seein' ya."

Nadia stopped herself from leaning into him, from giving into the temptation of comfort. He made it all sound so wonderful – getting to know her, wanting to show her that what she thought of herself wasn't true. But she was wary. Instead, she smiled up at him and nodded. "Okay. Adios torguga."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I'm gonna guess that means 'goodbye turtle'. Sounds a lot prettier in Spanish." He moved away from her, releasing her at the same time. "See ya."

"Bye," she whispered, watching him go. With his absence came the ache of loneliness. She sighed softly, went to the door to lock it, then leaned against the solid length of wood. Life had just gotten much more complicated.