*Danni sneaks in to chap* *takes a bow* Thank you thank you. It was indeed an honour to update this fic in the absence of the delightful Mary/Mikell. *glances at exasperated Mikell* What? Your reviewers are saying I rock. You gotta let a girl bask in her 15 minutes of fame. FYI, Danni=Diva Danielle ;-) You know, the crazy English one, which is apparently how I'm known *looks pointedly at Mary* Now without further ado, I will step aside and hand the reigns back over to the brilliant and talented author, Miss Mikell. Take a bow darling. And now...LIVE FROM NEW YORK IT'S SATURDAY NI... erm I mean...HEROES AND FRIENDS! *blushes* Always wanted to do that.

Chapter 7 ~Phone~

Karen made her way into the now-empty kitchen and put on a pot of water to boil, rubbing her temple with her fingers, trying to fight off the impending headache.

Coffee's not going to cut it. I need a cup of tea. She began assembling the ingredients for the French toast, though she didn't feel much like eating anymore.

The boys will need to eat something. Hardly any sleep in two days, and I'd bet they haven't eaten either. I can't imagine Luke going for two days without eating or sleeping.

Karen sighed. Oh Luke. I wish your Dad was really the man you think he is. I wish he could be your hero, the way he was when you were small. I wish you never had to realize the reality of life, that sometimes people just can't live up to your expectations. Sometimes people, even the people who mean most in the world to you, can let you down.

The tiniest noise behind her made Karen whirl, startled. Michelangelo was leaning on the doorframe, grinning.

"Hiya, Karen," he said.

"Geez, Michelangelo. You scared me half to death," she said. "Did you need something?" She turned back to the cupboard, reaching for a teacup.

"Naw. I'm just supposed to talk to you while Donny does somethin' to the phone wires."

"What? What is Donatello doing to… what on earth is he doing? Where is your brother?" Karen turned on the young mutant, stalking toward him, glaring.

Mikey backed away. "I… what? No, Donny's not doin' anything, honest," he said, shaking his head. "I… I was kidding. Yeah, that's it, kidding." A nervous chuckle escaped him. Karen advanced until Michelangelo's shell brushed the wall.

"Where. Is. Your. Brother?" she asked again, glaring into his blue eyes.

"Umm, Raph made Leo go back an' lay down for a while, 'cause he was lookin' kind of pale. Leo didn't want to, but Raph said he'd sit on him if he had to…"

"Your other brother, Michelangelo," grated Karen.

Mikey met her furious glare with wide blue eyes. He held up his hands in surrender. "Ok, ok… Donny's on the roof disconnecting your phone so you guys can't call in, you know, like the National Guard or somethin' to come get us," said Michelangelo. "Don't be mad, he's not gonna break it or anything. He'll fix it when we leave, ok?"

"I'll break him," threatened Karen, turning and hurrying toward the front door. "Donatello!"

Her forward progress was impeded by a dark green mountain. Or rather, that's how it seemed. Raphael seemed to appear from nowhere in her path. She crashed into his plastron and fell backward, landing squarely on her bottom. Karen glared up at the red-banded Turtle.

"Sorry, Lady," he said with a small smirk. "You're not goin' anywhere."

"Get out of my way," she snapped, scrambling to her feet. "I have a bone to pick with your brother."

"Not gonna happen. Why don't you just relax? We'll get Master Splinter, and in a couple days, me an' my bro's will be outta here an' you can get back ta yer normal, non-mutant lives. How's dat sound?"

"It sounds like we're being held hostage in our own home!" yelled Karen, leaning menacingly toward Raphael.

He met her glare with one of his own, but Michelangelo clapped a friendly hand on Karen's shoulder, cutting off his reply. She turned, startled.

"Oh, come on, Raphy," said Michelangelo. "We ain't holding them hostage! We're the good guys, remember?"

"Good guys don't disconnect other people's phones!" Karen said, shrugging off his light grip.

"What's going on in here?" Donatello came through the front door, brushing snow off his shoulder. His brown eyes went from Raphael's stance with his arms crossed over his plastron, to Michelangelo's uncomfortable shifting, to Karen's furious glare.

He groaned. "Mikey! You were supposed to distract her. Not tell her what I was doing!"

"Yeah, nice goin', Chucklehead," added Raph with a smirk. "It's done though, right, Donny?"

Donatello met Karen's eyes. He sighed and nodded. "Yes, Raph, it's done. I'm really sorry, Karen. Please try to understand. Our lives are at stake here. We can't risk you, or Luke, calling someone who might give us away. We'll be out of here as soon as we can, I promise. As soon as Leo's well enough to travel."

Karen glared at him, unrelenting. "We were trying to help you," she said. "We were trying to do what was right. We trusted you, let you into our home, and this is how you repay us? By taking us prisoner?"

"No, Karen, it's not like that," said Don.

Karen shook her head. "I don't want to hear it. It's obvious you're not going to let me take my son and leave."

Raphael's snort answered her unasked question.

"I trusted you," she said to Donatello. Her gaze landed on Michelangelo. He looked back at her, his blue eyes pleading. Karen turned away. "Clearly that was a mistake. Some heroes you turned out to be."

She walked back into the kitchen and turned off the burner under the teapot.

I'm going to need something stronger than tea to get through this, she thought.

"Mom?" Karen turned to face Luke as he came into the kitchen. "I… you were right. I… I still want to tell Dad, but… but maybe we could… have him come out here? He could meet them in person, and they'd see he's ok, you know?" Luke looked at his mother, pleading. She gave him a tired smile and his face melted into a relieved grin. "He'd never believe me anyway," he said.

Karen shook her head. "Sorry, Luke. You're not going to be able to call your Dad."

"What? Why not?" The boy scowled. "Mom, you said you wouldn't interfere!"

"Not me. Your 'heroes'," she said, holding up her hands. "Donatello saw fit to disconnect our phone. Luke… I know you think these guys are movie characters, but they're not like they are in the movies. They're dangerous."

"Mom, Donatello would never…"

Karen shook her head, interrupting him with a look. "Donatello did, Luke. And they're not going to let us leave, either. We're trapped, unless we can sneak out somehow…"

"Please don't do that, Karen." Leonardo's voice startled Karen so badly she whirled to face him, furious. "We'd just have to track you and bring you back again. Believe me, you wouldn't get far."

Karen watched, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Leonardo was trying to stand straight, but she could see a slight tremor shaking him. He was still weak, but there was a determined look in his dark eyes.

Luke backed away from the Turtle, disbelief and fear showing clearly in his face. "You… Donatello… cut off our phone? Why would he do that? Why are you doing this?"

Karen moved instinctively to shield her son.

Leonardo shook his head. A flicker of what looked like regret passed over his features. "Luke, I'm sorry. Don says you think of us as heroes. That's very flattering, but I'm just trying to protect my family here. We don't mean you or your mother any harm."

"Leo!" Donatello's voice was sharp with alarm and annoyance. "Leo, what are you doing up? I asked Raph to get you back to bed…"

"I'm not going to bed, Don," snapped Leonardo. "We've got to find Splinter."

"Leo, I…"

"Don, did you really shut off our phone?" Luke interrupted the argument.

"Luke, I know this seems unfair." Donatello looked imploringly at Karen, but she returned his look with a hard glare.

"It's just a day or two," said Leonardo. "We'll try not to inconvenience you and we'll leave as soon as we can. Please try to understand."

"Oh, I understand all right," snapped Karen. "I understand you guys are all about honor and honesty, when it's convenient for you. You expect us to trust you, but you don't trust us. You're not guests." She turned away, gripping the edge of the counter so hard her knuckles turned white. "And you're not heroes. You're terrorists."

"Karen…"

Donatello sounded hurt, but Karen continued, whirling to face them. Leonardo was standing straight, returning her glare. "You broke into my barn. You came into our home under false pretenses, pretending to need our help."

"We do need your help." Don's voice was quiet, pleading.

Karen was having none of it.

"Get out," she hissed. "Take your brothers and your weapons and get out of my house."

"Mom!" Luke's eyes opened wide with shock.

Donatello was shaking his head sadly. The look he gave Karen caused her heart to twist.

"Leo," he said softly. "She's right. We can't do this. We can't hold them hostage."

Leonardo looked startled. "Donny…"

The purple-banded Turtle met his look steadily.

"What would Splinter say?"

Karen saw pain flash across Leonardo's face. His shoulders slumped. Suddenly he looked very young and very alone.

"You're right, Donny," he said softly. Turning to the humans, he gave another of his short, formal bows. "I'm sorry. We… we didn't mean to… to cause you trouble. We'll go. I'm sorry for all this."

"No!" Luke grabbed Donatello's arm. "You're not leaving. Mom, you can't do this. You can't just kick them out. Leonardo's hurt. They don't have anyplace to go!"

"They can't stay here," snapped Karen, still glaring, though Donatello's chocolate brown eyes were enough to melt her heart.

"You're mom's right, Luke," said Don quietly. "We can't hold you prisoner. It's not right. It's not honorable. We'll just… have to take our chances. I'm really sorry, Karen." He turned away and left the kitchen without a backward glance.

"Mom…" Luke turned to his mother with wide eyes. "You can't. You can't send them away like this. What if Leonardo dies?"

Karen's eyes were still on the purple-banded Turtle's retreating shell. She saw his shoulders twitch at Luke's words.

"He's not going to die," she said, but her conviction was half-hearted.

Donatello pretended not to hear, disappearing out the door.

"Mom… please. Don't. Don't make them leave. Please."

Karen glanced at her son. The tears streaming down his cheeks startled her. "Luke…"

"He was just protecting his brothers, Mom," said Luke softly. "What would you do, if I was hurt and you were in their place?"

"Well…"

"So they can stay?" He gave her his best puppy eyes.

Karen shook her head. "That hasn't worked on me since you were two and wanted a second helping of ice-cream," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So, they can stay?" asked Luke again, expertly deciphering the crack in her armor.

"I… guess so," she relented. "But they've got to understand, I'm not going to be held here against my will. They can stay as guests, if they behave themselves."

"Great! I'll go tell them," said Luke, his face splitting into a grin.

"I just know I'm going to regret this," Karen muttered.