Happy Sunday everyone. Hope that everyone has had a good weekend so far. Thank you again for those who take the time to review, it is always greatly appreciated. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend. I'll be back Wednesday.

Vickie C: Thanks for the review. I'm trying really hard to keep ahead of this story so I can post consistently. As long as I have readers interested in it I will continue to post. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. :)

Chapter 11

"You want anything specific from the grocery store, Don?"

Donatello looked up from his laptop. It had taken everyone less than an hour to settle in and then everyone had gone off on their own ways. Donatello had seen Master Splinter heading upstairs to meditate while Leonardo had gone off into the back yard to do some training exercises, running through some basic katas he could do with one arm. Michelangelo had offered to take Akemi on a walk through the woods surrounding the house so she could pick wild flowers, and he'd seen Raphael setting up his hammock and relaxing in the shade, where Elizabeth had soon joined him.

"Mikey suggested we do a hot dog roast with s'mores for dinner tonight, " Melinda said grinning. "I thought it sounded like fun. And I figured we could use some other things while I was out too. Was there anything you wanted?"

"Could you get some coffee?"

"I could have guessed that one," Melinda teased with a wide smile.

She's pretty when she smiles, Don thought to himself. He gave himself a mental shake.

"I can't think of anything else, Melinda. Anything you want to get is fine."

"Ok, Don, if you think of anything else just give me a call."

"Actually I think they have a hardware store in town, would you mind stopping there for me and seeing if they have some of these?" Donatello held up the destroyed wires from the broken security camera he'd brought with him. He might as well try and get some work done while he was out here.

"I really don't know that much about this kind of stuff, Donny," Melinda said doubtfully. "I don't want to get the wrong ones… "

"I'm sure there will be someone there who can help you," Donatello pointed out.

"Ok, I'll try, Don," Melinda said as she took the wires from him.

"Thanks, Melinda," Donatello shot her a grin before his eyes snapped back to his computer screen.

Melinda sighed and added coffee to her growing shopping list before she left him to his work. Getting Donatello to stop working when there were things that needed to be fixed was like asking Michelangelo to stop playing online video games when there was a big challenge coming up. It was impossible.

Glancing at her list and mentally checking to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything Melinda picked up the keys to Elizabeth's car, stepped over a contentedly purring Klunk and softly shut the door behind her so as not to disturb the rat upstairs.

Donatello frowned at his computer screen. How could the internet signal be lost? He'd expanded the range of it so he'd always be able to use the internet out here. Tapping a few keys he tried again, but without success. Frustrated he tried expanding the range out further, hoping to pick up a signal, but the wireless signal continued to be frustratingly unobtainable.

With a frustrated sigh Donatello closed his laptop. He'd try it again later. There was always the possibility that there was a glitch in the system itself and not his computer. He stood, stretching, feeling his muscles loosen and his joints pop and slide back into place.

Had he really been working on his computer that long to feel a little stiff? He hadn't even noticed until now. He glanced outside. The sun had started to sink down towards the horizon. Though wasn't very low in the sky yet, the temperature cooling a little, he could feel the breeze through the window Melinda had opened to help air out the place.

He could hear Akemi and Michelangelo laughing in the front yard, probably playing some kind of game. There wasn't anything either one of them liked more than a good game, and Akemi was obviously having a blast if her high pitched squeals were any indication anyway.

Perhaps he would go for a short walk out in the woods. He wouldn't be gone too long, and it would be nice to stretch his legs. Maybe he could even find some wild spearmint to help calm Elizabeth's nausea.

Grabbing his bo staff Donatello slid it into place on his shell and slipped out the back door. He could see Leonardo was meditating now, sitting quietly under the shade of a tree on the other side of the yard, away from the distracting sounds of Michelangelo and Akemi's game. He knew his brother would probably object to him wandering off alone, but he wouldn't go too far. He'd be back before Leonardo realized he was missing.

The canopy of trees was cool, and the temperature had dropped a little now that the sun had fallen from the middle of the sky. With the birds chirping and the sound of small animals skittering across the dry leaf litter it made the late afternoon peaceful.

No wonder Leonardo liked coming out here to meditate whenever they visited. It was hard not to feel as though one really connected with nature here. It was so different from the city, so different from the noises they were used to. But it was nice.

Donatello paused touching the worn bark on one of the older trees. The bark was rough against his finger tips, with a few imperfections here and there made from tiny claws as squirrels had raced up and down the trunk of the tree as they had gathered up their supply of nuts for the winter.

Donatello chuckled as he recognized one tree in particular. It was where he and Michelangelo had hidden from Dr. Abigail Finn when she'd come out here searching for monsters and had ended up hunting Michelangelo thanks to Casey's neighbor's video tape of him. Donatello knew they'd had to get that video tape away from her. Michelangelo had contentedly eaten pistachio nuts while Donatello had strained to hear what Dr. Finn had been saying to her associate.

In the end they had discovered a real "green man monster" out here in the wood and had saved it from the doctor's containment unit, setting it free and using Casey as a replacement for it had destroyed what had remained of Finn's reputation.

He chuckled at the memory. It had been so funny seeing Casey walking out of the woods covered in Michelangelo's idea of a disguise.

It didn't seem like it was that long ago, but so much had changed since then. Everything was different now.

He walked further into the trees, stopping occasionally to examine some of the wild growing mushrooms. Fascinating. There was always so much to explore out here.

His eyes scanned the soft undergrowth. He knew he'd seen some wild spearmint growing out here somewhere… he knew he hadn't passed it. He was sure he'd seen it not too far from the house the first time he'd seen it.

The sun was creeping lower in the sky now, and the temperature felt cooler. He sighed. Perhaps he'd come look tomorrow when he had more time to search. He knew that he should head back. Leonardo was sure to have noticed his absence by now.

He sighed as he turned back for the farmhouse. As he got closer to the edge of the woods he saw the flickering light from the fire and heard the wood pop and snap as the fire ate away at it.

As he got closer he could see Raphael was already sitting on a log by the fire, Akemi on his lap. She pointed excitedly at the fire and said something that Donatello couldn't hear.

Raphael nodded, his amber eyes seemed lit themselves as he watched the fire burn. His eyes snapped up as Don approached.

"Bout time ya got 'ere, genius. Fearless was 'bout ta go look fer ya."

Donatello flinched as he sat down across the fire from his brother. "I guess I lost track of the time."

Raphael smirked. "Least ya got back before Mike could eat everyt'ing."

"I heard that," Michelangelo piped in as he, Melinda and Elizabeth joined the two of them, carrying plates of food and cans of soda.

Melinda laughed softly as she put the plate she was carrying down. "He does have a point, Mikey. I've seen you devour a whole pizza by yourself in under fifteen minutes."

"Well I have to save room for the s'mores tonight," Michelangelo said with a cheeky grin.

Melinda rolled her eyes but grinned.

"Hey, Elizabeth you got onions right? I love onions on my hotdogs."

Melinda made a face. "Iew, Mike… onions give you the worst breath… "She complained.

Michelangelo grinned wickedly and grabbed his girlfriend around the waist. She gasped startled. "Better kiss me now because I'm eating a lot of them." He wiggled his eye ridges teasingly.

Elizabeth smirked as she watched the couple. She set down her plate and sat next to Raphael, leaning against him. He shifted, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She rested her head against his shoulder, content.

"Stop it, Mike, you're going to knock something over," Melinda wiggled in Michelangelo's grip.

"After you give me a kiss," He grinned wickedly.

She frowned and reached for his sides, finding the soft sensitive skin and tickled. Making him jerk and let her go. "HEY! No cheating!"

Melinda laughed as she wiggled away from him. She grabbed a soda and sat down on a log. She popped the can and took a long drink. "Serves you right."

Michelangelo smirked as he grabbed a soda himself and sat next to his girlfriend.

It only took a couple more minutes for Leonardo and Splinter to join the group and before long several hot dogs were roasting over the open flames.

Melinda swatted at a mosquito and rubbed at her exposed arms and looked up at the sky, it was so different here from the city. The stars seemed so bright. They sparkled in the black sky.

"You cold, Melinda?" Michelangelo asked as he pulled back the poker he was cooking the hotdogs on to pinch one, seeing if it was ready yet. The outside was blackening steadily, but he obviously wasn't satisfied with how it felt since he put the hotdogs back over the fire.

"No, I'm ok, Mike," Melinda promised as she leaned against him. He wrapped his free arm around her.

"Where did you go on your walk, Donny?" Elizabeth asked as she looked across the fire to her brother-in-law.

"Just a couple miles inside the woods, there's always a lot of interesting plant specimens to study. I found some wild mushrooms. "

Michelangelo snorted. Trust Donatello to make nature boring. Where Donatello liked to stop and study every little thing he encountered, Michelangelo just enjoyed the beauty of it as a whole. Taking Akemi out with him today had made it all seem so new to him all over again. She had been fascinated by everything that had moved and had picked as many flowers as she could carry for Elizabeth. Michelangelo had joined her when they'd come across a big patch of different colored wild flowers, making a mixed bouquet to take back to Melinda. She'd been thrilled with the surprise and had found a couple vases for both bouquets of flowers that Michelangelo and Akemi had brought back.

Akemi had happily helped her fill them with water and had carefully arranged the flowers the way she wanted them before she'd taken them to show to Elizabeth, while Melinda had taken the flowers Michelangelo had picked for her up to the room she and Michelangelo was sharing. He'd seen them sitting on the dresser and had beamed. They had brightened up the room, and he had seen how excited she'd been at the gift.

Michelangelo couldn't wait to come back here someday, when he and Melinda had a child of their own, he couldn't wait to share the excitement with them like he had with Akemi this afternoon.

Melinda shifted next to him getting more comfortable.

"You think April and Casey will come up too, Raph?" Mikey asked as he flashed a grin at his brother.

"They ain't sure if dey'll be able to, Mike. April 'as a lot she's gotta get done in da shop, an Casey don't wanna leave 'er 'ome alone."

Leonardo pulled his poker out of the fire and tested his hotdog. He seemed satisfied with it as he pulled it off the poker and slid it onto his waiting bun. "Well we can definitely work on some stealth training while we're up here."

His brothers groaned in unison.

"Come on, Leo, we jus' got 'ere," Raphael grumbled as he pulled the three hotdogs he was cooking back and slid all of them onto buns.

"Just because we aren't in the city doesn't mean we shouldn't train, Raph," Leonardo said with a frown. He squirted some mustard and ketchup onto his hotdog.

Elizabeth picked up the ketchup bottle and squirted a fine line along the length of the hotdog for Akemi before handing it to her daughter.

Raphael grabbed the mustard, relish and onions for his hotdog, almost burying it under all the toppings.

"Hey, save some of the onions, Raph," Michelangelo protested.

"No please, help yourself," Melinda urged.

"Dere is still plenty left, shell head," Raphael said as he passed the bowl of onions down to his youngest brother.

Melinda made a face as she spooned some chili onto her own hotdog and sprinkled some shredded cheese on top. She took a bit and chili spilled over the edge of the bun. Automatically she held her free hand under it, catching the extra before it could fall onto her pants.

Michelangelo chuckled as he handed her a napkin before he spread ketchup, mustard, onions and relish on his own hotdog and took an eager bite.

Donatello pulled his own hotdog out of the fire and slid it onto his bun. He paused though seeing Elizabeth looking at her hotdog in distaste, her nose wrinkled a little.

"Aren't you hungry, Elizabeth?" Donatello asked.

Everyone stopped eating and looked at Elizabeth. Even in the dull lighting Donatello could see Elizabeth's cheeks go a little pink.

"Um… no not really," Elizabeth said at last.

"Can I eat yours then?" Michelangelo asked eagerly.

Raphael growled and reached over, smacking Michelangelo upside the head.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Sure, Mike… " Elizabeth said as she passed the hotdog to the younger turtle.

Raphael shot her a worried glance. "Ya want somet'in else?"

"No, really I'm ok, Raph." Elizabeth sighed.

Akemi took her last bite of hotdog and licked some ketchup off her fingers. "More hotdog please."

Raphael automatically picked up a poker and stuck a couple more raw hotdogs onto the end before sticking it over the fire.

Donatello spread a bit of mustard onto his hotdog, watching Elizabeth worriedly as he bit into his own hotdog.

Elizabeth shifted feeling his gaze and finally looked at him. "Don, I'm fine."

Donatello's eyes narrowed a little. "Are you sure?"

"If I wasn't I would say so," Elizabeth was getting irritated. She hated being constantly hovered over.

"Drop it, Don." Raphael warned as he finished his hotdog.

Donatello frowned but dropped his eyes from Elizabeth.

"You want to try cooking the next batch?" Michelangelo asked Melinda as he pushed more hotdogs onto the poker.

"You want to eat charcoaled hotdogs, Mike?" Melinda asked uncertainly.

"Aw, come on it's easy. All you do is turn them when they start getting dark on one side," Michelangelo coaxed as he handed her the poker.

Melinda sighed but leaned forward, holding the hotdogs over the fire.

"Did you get enough to eat, Sensei?" Leonardo asked as he picked his own poker back up.

"Yes, my son," Splinter reassured him. "What time do you intend to start your training?"

Leonardo thought carefully about this for a minute. "If we go while it is still dark it'll give us better cover."

"Whoa, you mean we have to get up early?" Michelangelo protested.

"Or we could start tonight if you'd like, Mike," Leonardo said easily. "We should probably do some practicing while there's light out as well… "

Raphael grumbled something that Elizabeth didn't catch as he checked the hotdogs.

Elizabeth squeezed his arm and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Or we could stay here and tell ghost stories," Michelangelo grinned. "I've got some good ones… "

"Don't you think that'll scare Akemi, Mikey?" Raph asked pointedly.

"Actually, Raph," Elizabeth pointed at their daughter, who was fast asleep her head tilted to one side on Raphael's plastron. "It seems to me she's pretty worn out."

Raphael chuckled. Elizabeth reached for her and Raphael allowed Elizabeth to take her from him.

Akemi frowned a little, opening her eyes briefly before she closed them again. Cradling her daughter gently, Elizabeth slowly stood up so as not to disturb her daughter. "I'm going to go put her to bed. "

Raphael nodded, knowing Elizabeth wouldn't be coming back either. She wasn't going to leave Akemi alone in the house, but he could tell she wasn't feeling very good despite what she had told Donatello.

"I'll be in later… " he promised.

She smiled at him and headed for the house.

She could hear laughter as she reached the house and smiled, looking back at her family. It was so nice to seem them all so relaxed. She even caught the warm sound of Leonardo's laughter. It had been a long time since he'd laughed like that.

Coming out here had been a good idea. She looked down at her daughter, brushing a curl away from her daughter's face and headed into the house, the door shutting softly behind her.