The first hotel they came to was small, but clean. As they started for the door, Kala caught Mikey's arm. He looked down at her, frowning. "What is it?"

"My Neutrino may be a bit rusty, but I'm pretty sure that sign says 'No Mutants Allowed'." She looked up at him with big damp eyes. And he felt frustration begin to pool in his gut as he pulled her into a tight embrace.

Don and Sarah had stopped a few paces ahead of them. Don dragged a hand down his face. Things were not going nearly as well as he'd hoped. "I'm beginning to feel rather unwelcome here."

"I don't get it. We've been friends with the Neutrinos for years." Mikey shook his head. "What do they have against mutants now?"

"We haven't been here in decades, Mikey. Things have obviously changed." Don was hurt by the idea as much as Mikey was, but it was evident that mutants were not welcome anymore.

"I don't understand what's happened?" Kala half buried her face in Mikey's neck, seeking shelter from the world she thought she knew.

"Excuse me. But what are you doing here?"

The four turned to find an old woman, leaning heavily on a cane. Sarah glanced towards the hotel and frowned. "We were looking for a place to stay, but…"

The old woman frowned. "Oh, you won't find a place in the capitol that will accept mutants as guests."

"And why is that exactly? Mutants used to be welcome on Neutrino." Don prompted.

"Not for a very long time." The woman sighed, a distant look in her eye. "I suppose we have grown hard to them after Krang has taken so many of our people and experimented on them."

"Krang." Mikey half growled under his breath.

Kala stepped back to fully look at the woman. "Do you know of any place we might be able to stay?"

The woman blinked at her. "Aren't you Kaz and Nala's daughter? Kala, isn't it?"

Kala frowned. It had been many years since she'd heard her mother's name. "Yes. Do you know me?"

"Yes, but you were very small at the time. I doubt you'd recall me. But I used to babysit you." The old woman smiled and Kala strained her mind to remember.

"Riza? Mrs. Riza?"

The woman's face lit up. "You do remember me! That is amazing considering how long it must have been."

Kala smiled. "You lived next door. I remember you used to give me cookies and let me play-." She was cut off by a coughing fit.

Mrs. Riza took a step forward. "Is she alright?"

Mikey half cradled Kala, patting her on the back and whispering reassuring words in her ear. Donnie shook his head. "No, she's not. She's sick. That's the reason we're here. We went to the hospital, but they refused to help."

Mrs. Riza gasped as Kala coughed up a clump of blood onto the ground. "That's terrible!"

"We have friends and another doctor that might be able to help." Sarah explained. "But right now, we'd just settle for somewhere to stay and a meal."

"Yes, yes! Of course! Come with me!" Mrs. Riza turned and began to walk up the sidewalk.

Mikey exchanged a look with Don, before he gently lifted the now exhausted Kala into his arms. "It'll be okay, babe." He kissed the top of her head as she struggled to take deep breaths.

The group followed Riza to a small house. It was shaped to look like a large rock and was the same color as the surrounding terrain. It was an obvious attempt to camouflage the place in case of attack. "This is my home." Mrs. Riza opened the door. "You are welcome to stay here as long as you need. I live alone these days. My children have long since joined the military."

She turned to look at them as they stopped a few paces inside the front door. Kala, who'd finally recovered from her episode, had Mikey let her down. "Thank you, Mrs. Riza. I'd like you to meet my family though." She smiled up at Mikey. "This is my husband, Michelangelo. And this his brother Donatello and his wife, Sarah."

Riza smiled, though she could tell Kala still didn't feel well. "You may call me Dyna. We are all adults here now." She gestured up a set of stairs. "I only have one spare room, I'm afraid. I hope you don't mind sharing."

Donnie chuckled a little as they followed her up. "We don't mind. We're used to tight quarters."

She opened the only door at the top of the stairs and stepped inside. It was a decent sized room that had two single sized beds in it. Donnie set his and Sarah's bags near the foot of one bed, while Mikey did the same near the other. "Make yourselves at home and when you're done, come down. I'll make you some lunch." With that she left them by themselves.

Kala sat heavily on the side of the small bed. She felt so drained these days. At home she could take breaks and rest when she needed to, but she had yet to be able to do that here. Her muscles ached and her chest hurt. She rubbed a hand idly across her ribs. The action did not go unnoticed by Mikey though. "I think you need to lie down for a while." She frowned, but allowed him to lay her back on the soft pillow.

Don and Sarah exchanged a look and he unzipped his duffle, pulling out a small box-like device about the size of a large box of tissue. Hooked to one end was a mask. Walking over to their bedside table, he set it down and flipped a switch. "Here. This may help some. It pulls oxygen from the air and concentrates it. It'll help you rest better." He'd spent several hours the previous night building the compact oxygen pump, knowing there was a high likelihood it would be needed.

Kala frowned, but took the offered mask. She didn't put it on right away though, which drew a frown from Mikey. "Come on, babe. It'll help." She slipped it on and drew in a deep breath. It did indeed help some. She could feel her body soaking up the extra oxygen like a sponge. Mikey half smiled. "That's better." He squeezed her hand and prepared to settle on the floor beside the bed.

Kala caught his hand. "No. Lie down with me."

Mikey hesitated. The bed was small and she wasn't feeling well. He might make it harder on her, if he tried to climb in there beside her. Don put a hand on his shoulder and leaned in close. "I'm sure it'd make her feel better, if you hold her. Besides, you need to keep an eye on her for now."

Mikey nodded. He stepped around the other side of the bed and slipped in behind her, wrapping an arm snuggly around her waist. As soon as Mikey touched her, all the anxiety drained from her features. She melted into him, every muscle relaxing and sleep quickly tugging at her. She hadn't realized just how tired she was until she'd felt his strong familiar arms wrap securely around her. His breath was warm against her neck and she knew nothing in the world could harm her as long as Mikey was beside her.

Donnie gave the couple one last glance, before taking Sarah's hand and leading her from the room. She pulled the door softly shut behind them. He stopped on the step below her and slowly looked up at her, confirming what he already felt through the bond. Unshed tears shimmered in her eyes as she stared at the closed door. He squeezed her hand, making her look down at him. Grief and worry were thick between them as she slipped her arms around his neck and took in a shuddering breath.

"I know." He murmured softly, running his fingers through her long hair. He knew she understood everything that was happening. She'd seen the x-rays at home and the scan at the hospital which had been even more revealing. He eyed the closed door, not wanting to alert his brother. There was no need to upset him. Quietly he turned them and headed down the stairs. When they were at the bottom, he turned to her and brushed away the tears. "There's still hope."

She gave a shaky nod. "I just feel so bad for them."

He let out a heavy sigh. He knew exactly how she felt because he shared that feeling. Although they were nearly sixty, Mikey was still his younger brother and the desire to protect him was still there. He feared, however, this was something no one would be able to protect him from.

The shuffle of feet and tap of a cane alerted them to Dyna entering the room. She frowned at them. "Is she resting?"

Don nodded. "Yes, Mikey will keep an eye on her."

Dyna nodded as well. "Come, I've made you something to eat."

The couple followed her into the small kitchen and took seats at the little round table. Dyna set a plate of what appeared to be some type of sandwich and fruit in front of them. Sarah smiled sadly. "Thank you. You've been very kind to open up your home to us."

Dyna settled into a chair with her own plate. "It's the least I can do. I cared deeply for Kala's parents. It was very sad to hear that they were killed all those years ago." She frowned. "She is very ill, isn't she?"

Sarah bit her lip to keep it from trembling and Donnie took her hand. "Yes." He frowned. "And based on the scan we saw earlier, it appears even worse than what we thought originally."

Dyna's expression seemed to drop even more. "I'm sorry. I wish I could do more."

Sarah pulled the slip of paper from her pocket. "Obviously Dr. Ziffry didn't work out, but he did seem to want to help. He gave us this name."

She handed it to the older woman and Dyna read it. She smiled. "Ah, yes. I know this doctor. He is very good." Her frowned returned. "But…"

Donnie's expression turned slightly hard. Had Ziffry given false help? "But what?"

"He is a doctor for children. I have never known him to handle adults." Dyna handed the paper back to Sarah.

Relief filed Don. "Oh, well, perhaps he will make an exception in this case."

"Perhaps." Dyna agreed.

"Could you tell us where to find him?" Sarah was worried. Kala's condition seemed to be worsening even as they spoke.

"Yes. I can give you directions to his office."

Sarah inclined her head. "Thank you again."


Mira frowned at the calendar on the computer. Her father was nothing, if not organized. His entire day was listed out in front of her with time allotments beside them. She decided that some things could be put off though, as a new chore had to be added in - April's therapy. It was something that would take at least an hour, possibly more depending on how chatty her aunt was. And because of all the recent craziness, she figured April would be pretty chatty today. Sighing, she decided that should probably be her first task.

Pushing back from the desk, she started for the stairs, only to meet Ona coming onto the floor. "Hey, how's it going so far?"

Ona shook her head. "I've been running around since this morning. I don't know how your mom manages all these chores at once plus teaching Katsu."

Mira smiled sadly, thinking of Kala. "She usually has help."

"Well, I guess we do have Star helping out."

"Yeah. I'm sure she'll be okay keeping an eye on Katsu. K-three and I can always make sure he stays on track with his lessons and isn't charming his way out of studying."

Ona smiled. Katsu knew he was a charmer and played the card often. The smile faded as she remembered her conversation with Kaz the day before. She wanted to hold her own child and see them smile up at her with her husband's smile. She sighed and Mira put a hand on her shoulder, concern in her deep brown eyes. "How are you doing? I mean…after last night?"

Ona shook her head again. "I don't know. I'm still angry and hurt that Kaz kept my past from me all this time." She bit her lip, averting her gaze. "But in some strange way, it makes me feel good too. He's known all this time and he still loves me, still looks at me the same way he always has."

Mira's hand tightened on her shoulder and Ona looked up at the older girl. "That's because it doesn't matter to him. He loves you for who you are now, not for who you were or what might have happened to you." She paused looking over her shoulder in the direction of the garage. "But I can tell he's still pretty upset about, you know, everything."

Ona nodded. "I know." He hadn't slept well the previous night for obvious reasons. She let out a heavy sigh. "I think I'll go check on him, once I'm done putting away the laundry."

Mira smiled a little. "I think that's a good idea."

Ona gave a her a small smile in return and shifted the laundry basket in her arms to hug her. "Thanks."

Mira hugged her warmly. "Any time, little sister." Ona's smile grew at the soft endearment. Mira gave her one last squeeze and stepped back. "See you in a bit. I've got to go take care of Aunt April." She rolled her eyes. "I hope she doesn't talk me to death."

Ona chuckled as the petite female turtle started to climb the stairs. Then she moved on to lay Sarah's clothes on her bed and K-three's spare jeans on his. She laughed when she made it up the stairs to the next floor and could hear April jabbering away. Depositing Jamie and Star's clothes, she glanced at the clock. It was still early enough that she could go out to the garage before starting lunch.


Kaz twisted a bolt into place, going mechanically through a routine repair. His mind was so full from the last twelve hours that he just couldn't keep it on task. Not to mention, he wanted to know how Ona was doing. He didn't like leaving her alone after what she'd found out last night. He knew she was still upset about it, because she'd barely talked to him that morning. A hand landed on his shoulder and he jumped. Looking up, he saw both his cousins and uncle watching him.

"You okay, Kazzey?" Raph squeezed his shoulder, worry darkening his already dark eyes.

"Huh? Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Because we've been trying to talk to you for like three minutes." Yoshi wore an expression very similar to his father's.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." Kaz looked away, not wanting to burden them with the turmoil he was feeling.

Raph frowned. "Hey, why don't you go watch the front? Your head's not in this right now." For once, Raph's tone wasn't scolding in the least. He understood his nephew's position. After all, those were his brothers and sisters-in-law over there in Dimension X, and he didn't like it one bit.

Kaz gave a heavy sigh, laying down his tools. He stood slowly, head still down. "I guess."

Raph gave him a pat on the shell. "Go on. I'll finish this."

Kaz didn't have it in him to fight, so he just gave a nod and headed for the front of the shop. He only paused briefly to take a holo from a work bench near the door and turn it on. Opening the door, he started down the L shaped hall. They had built the hall so that no one could just see directly into the garage by accident and spot the motley group of giant turtles. The door at the end locked, preventing the occasional snooper or runaway toddler from getting inside. The lock like the ones in the lair could only be accessed by thumbprint of family members.

Kaz settled onto one of the stools and stared at the neat desk area. They were lucky to have the girls around. They kept the front of the shop clean and organized. Mira tended to keep the books, but Ona had started helping out with that a lot lately. Which Mira appreciated as it allowed her to spend more time in the back working with her hands.

Kaz smiled lightly. Ona had become a true asset to their family over the years and it hurt to think she might think otherwise. None of them had meant to hurt her by not telling her about her past, but it seemed that was exactly what they'd done.

His thoughts were cut off by the bell on the door chiming as someone entered. A young man approached the desk. "Hi, I came to pick up my bike."

"Do you have your ticket?" The man handed over the red slip of paper with his claim number. Kaz typed the numbers into the computer and a picture of the bike came up followed by its status. He nodded. "It's ready. I'll be right back." The man nodded and Kaz left to return a few minutes later with his bike.

"Oh, wow! She looks fantastic!" The man gave his bike a critical look. "You even got that old dent out of the fender!"

"Yeah, we got her purrin' like a kitten. Just don't take her muddin' again. She's not built for that."

The man gave a nervous chuckle. "I guess I knew that. How much do I owe you?"

"Two fifty."

As Kaz took the money and began printing the receipt, the man looked around the office. "So, where are those cute girls that usually work here?"

Kaz looked up. "What?"

The man didn't seem to notice the death-glare he was receiving. "Yeah, the spunky blonde and the cute brunette with the pink highlights."

Before he knew what he was doing, Kaz had reached across the desk and grabbed the front of the man's jacket. "You stay away from her!"


A/N: Uh, oh! I think the pressure is getting to Kaz! Don't forget to review!