A/N: Two updates in one week! WOOT!
We are feeling generous. :)
Please leave us a review! Hope you enjoy! ~R&R
Chapter 7
They had to wait until it was dark before attempting to sit around and discuss names.
The babies had become restless as exhaustion had settled in, making them difficult. Donatello was forced to pull out an old contraption and set it up in the common area. It was large and had a huge light fixture attached at the top. Leo, Raph and Mikey understood and brought L2, R2, D2 and M2 over and placed the crying infants under the fixture. After a moment, Donnie turned the contraption on, coating the babies in a warm light.
Within seconds, they were asleep.
Donnie smiled. "Nothing like the good, old basking lamp to put four baby turtles to sleep."
"Dude!" Mikey turned to him. "How do you do it?"
Donnie smirked at his brother. "Science."
The youngest brother's eyes were so wide, Donnie was pretty sure that Mikey's brain exploded.
The seven year old turtles were keeping themselves entertained with Leatherhead, who had settled down to tell them a story, so Leo gestured for Donnie, Raph, Mikey, C3 and April to follow him into the dojo.
Master Splinter waited for them, kneeling under the tree, eyes closed in meditation. As the teens kneeled around him, he opened his eyes, smiling softly. "My sons and daughters, are the younger ones distracted?"
"Hai, Sensei," April said, returning the smile while Donnie pulled out his computer.
"I've pulled up a few name websites," Donnie said when his father turned to him. "Maybe that'll help us find a good number of names."
Raph, looking rather grumpy, crossed his arms. "What if we've already picked out names?"
His brothers looked at him with raised eye brows. "What names, exactly?" Leo asked.
"Brat one and Brat two."
April slapped the red masked turtle. "Those are not good names."
The green eyes narrowed even more and the frown deepened.
"Look, Raph, if you're gonna be a grouch, why don't you take a nap under the basking lamp." Donnie said. "We can work on this and you can have your input later."
The red masked turtle huffed, but didn't go anywhere. Understanding his brother's mood to a point, Leo shrugged and turned to April. "So, how are we going to do this?"
Thinking for a moment, April smiled. "Well, each of you have a girl and a boy, so let's start by looking for girls names. Then we'll regroup and discuss them."
The boys nodded and April looked at C3, "Then you and I can look together for a name for you."
C3 smiled slightly, feeling a tad bit uncomfortable. Even though C3 was the name that the Kraang gave her…it still was her name. But she was free now…so she reasoned, she should have a new name. "Alright, let's get started."
"How about this one?!" Mikey said, pointing to the fourth name on the page.
"Do you really want your girl named 'Angel' when your own name has 'Angelo' in it?" Donnie replied, trying to reason with his younger brother.
Mikey pouted slightly. "Probably not…"
Donnie patted his head. "It's hard to pick a name. Maybe you should close your eyes for a minute."
Mikey blinked at him. "Why?"
"I want to try something. Close your eyes and think about M2." When Mikey did as he was told, Donnie continued. "What's one word you would use to describe M2?"
Mikey thought hard, sticking out his tongue. It took him a moment, and Donnie hoped that this wouldn't cause his brother's brain to explode. "Sunshine!" Mikey's eyes flew open. "Could we name her Sunny?"
Donnie made a face. "Maybe, but I want to try something first." He typed Sunshine into the search bar, hoping more than one name would come up….he didn't get his wish. "Maybe something a bit broader." He thought for a moment. "What about light! That's sunshine related."
Mikey thought for a moment and shrugged. "Okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Well…naming things is kinda my thing…"
Donnie looked away from his computer and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Mikey, I just want to give you a wider selection of names. If you like Sunny after I show you these names, you can keep that."
Mikey, looking more serious than Donnie was sure he had ever seen him, nodded. "Okay."
Donnie smiled slightly and turned his attention back to his search. Typing in Light into the search bar, a list of names appeared. Mikey looked over his brother's shoulder, checking out the names before sighing "no…"
About half way through the list, Mikey stopped Donnie. "Wait. What does that mean?"
The word the green finger pointed out was "variant". "Variant means either a different spelling or different dialect of the same name."
"Oh…well, what's the original?"
"Let's find out." Donnie clicked on the name "Lucette" where Mikey had spotted the word variant. A name popped up. "Lucy," Donnie read. "Of Latin origin meaning Light."
"I think that's much prettier than Sunny." Mikey commented. "Lucy is her name!"
Donnie smiled at his brother. "One hundred percent sure?"
"Yes! It's cool and pretty, just like she is!"
"Then Lucy it is."
Several minutes later, the teens regrouped by Master Splinter. "What names have you chosen?" The aged rat asked, stroking his beard.
April looked at C3. "I still haven't settled on a name," The eldest clone stated, too which Splinter nodded.
"More time may be needed for you, my child, and we'll give you all the time you need. April, feel free to continue to assist her, if she likes."
"Hai, sensei," April replied. C3 smiled at the girl, grateful for her help.
Splinter turned to his sons. "Have you decided on names for your daughters?"
The word sounded funny to their ears, but they nodded none the less. Mikey, with a huge grin on his face, spoke up first. "I chose Lucy! Don helped me. He's the best."
Donnie rubbed his brother's head in appreciation of the complement. "I chose Gianna, and Mikey helped me with that one."
The youngest brother beamed. "It means 'God is Gracious'. Isn't that cool!"
Splinter's lip twitched into a smile. "Yes, Michelangelo, both of those names are very beautiful." He turned to his elder sons.
Leo was twiddling his fingers when he spoke up. "I chose Claire, it means 'illustrious'."
Raph scoffed softly, "Might as well name her 'Ms. Perfect'."
Leo gave Raph the look. "Well, if you have a better name, Raph, why don't you spit it out?"
Raph returned the glare, keeping his lips locked.
"Raphael, you will at least voice the name you chose." Splinter spoke up.
Raphael turned his eyes to his master and sighed. "Fine. Elizabeth."
Splinter stroked his beard. "Hm… 'God is my Oath'."
"It's beautiful." C3 said, smiling.
The group disbanded for sometime to reflect on boy names, before the turtles found themselves seated in a circle once more facing Splinter.
"Have you all decided on names?"
The boys and girls nodded.
Splinter smiled.
As the teens all headed to bed, Master Splinter touched Leonardo's, "Leonardo, may I speak with you."
His master's tone was neutral, and that sent a wave of fear washing over the eldest son. His father and he had been dancing around each other for weeks…and he knew that eventually his father may bring up…that…
"Hai, Sensei," Leo replied, ever the obedient son. Kneeling before his master, he could hear his brothers, sister and April leave the dojo. For several moments, the two mutants were silent, a silence that bothered Leo, but he wasn't brave enough to break it.
"My son, you seem distressed of late." Splinter began, his voice soft and kind. A kindness that nearly broke Leo's heart. "What troubles you?"
Leo felt like a child again. Granted, he technically was one still, but he had been forced to grow up a bit. "I…" The word comes tumbling out, broken from his lips. "I'm so sorry, Master."
Splinter is silent, and the words continue to tumble from Leo.
"I messed up. I should have stopped her, I should have done something. Karai should be here right now, n-not me. I-I failed."
Something collided with Leo's face. It didn't send him sprawling or leave a mark.
No.
Splinter's paw reached over and grabbed Leo by the chin, forcing him to look into his master's brown eyes. They were pained…causing Leo's eyes to sting with tears.
This was it. Splinter was going to send him away…
"My son, please," Hamato Yoshi's voice begged, tears swarming in the rat's eyes. "Please don't blame yourself for this. You have not failed me. You did not mess up. You did your best! You went against what I asked and you brought Miwa home to me! You gave me that gift, Leonardo. To have her in my arms again, and know she was safe and that she wanted to be with me….that is a treasure that not even Shredder himself can take away. Karai made her choice. If we had forced her to stay, we would have been no different than the Shredder."
Leo opened his mouth to protest, tears flooding his eyes. But Splinter stopped him.
"You bear the weight of the world on your shoulders, Leonardo. And as leader, that is admirable. But this is not your burden to carry. You tried to stop Karai. You planned how to rescue her. You attempted to save her when no one else could get to her. You did what you could, my son. It was the Shredder that placed her in that cage above the mutagen, and it was the Shredder that cut her down. There was nothing you could do to stop it."
Tears were now flowing freely down both of their cheeks and Splinter gave in to embrace his son. "Please, Leonardo, I forgive you. All will be well, I don't know when, but Karai recognized me, and that gives me hope."
Leo couldn't hold back the sobs anymore and clung to his father. "Arigatou, tousan." Leo whispered into his father's kimono, feeling the absolution from his father wash over him, taking away the weight that had hung over him for so many weeks.
"I love you, my son."
At dinner the next day, Master Splinter had an announcement. Beckoning his eldest son to his side, the giant rat stroked his beard.
"If everyone is sated, I'd like to have small ceremony for your names."
The babies all blinked at their grandfather, absolutely confused. The seven year olds all quirked the same eyebrow up. The masked turtles ushered the younger ones into the dojo.
April, who had joined them for dinner, smiled. You'd think they were siblings, not cousins. At her master's nod, she got up and joined them on their way to the dojo.
A/N: Annnnnnnnnnnd slight cliffy? Meh...
Hope your feels are ok from that Splinter and Leo scene!
Please leave us a review! ~R&R
