A/N: Look at me, Duckies! I updated quickly! I hope you're happy with this, it's on the shorter side but it's got a little bit of the excitement I promised earlier. So, enjoy my loves. I'll do my best to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. I have a bit of a busy week coming up. We'll see how it goes! Read and review, Duckies!

The days came and the days went and before Aanika realized it she was seeing Jeremy more and more. 3 months. 3 blissful months of goofing off the way a teenager was supposed to, but still refined enough to keep her and the family secret on the down low. But Aanika was steadily growing suspicious that Jeremy was onto something. These nights, whenever she called, he was awake and at his windows waiting to catch a glimpse of the silhouettes that were her father and uncles on patrol. She never lead on that she knew anything, just went along for the sake of him not feeling crazy. Although now, he was steadily catching on to whenever he'd see those silhouettes Aanika seemed more nervous. He knew she was hiding something. The girl never took off the beanie that concealed her ears or removed the long jacket that hid her tail. She also never showed up without those deadly katanas strapped to her back. And it bothered him. To the core. He'd told her just about everything there was to know about himself and Aanika seemed to just put up a high and thick barrier when the deep subjects of her family came off. But he'd wait. Whatever her secret was, she'd come out with it eventually. Or at least that's what he hoped.

Shiho on the other hand, was getting worse. Micah's voice in her head refused to let her have peace and it was slowly driving her to the brink of absolute insanity. Her sisters couldn't hear him, why he chose only Shiho to contact was a mystery. One that Leonardo was hell-bent on figuring out. His mate was snappy and more often than not, reclusive. Not at all like the warm and maternal Shiho he'd grown to love over the last decade. Fights between her and the others often broke out and she took off topside before they had the chance to get violent. All she wanted was silence in her mind. Micah spoke in riddles or just her name alone, no matter how desperately hard she tried to focus her thoughts, there was no blocking out the male fox. Leo was beginning to truly believe that not only was his mate not having a mental break down like he'd hoped, but Micah was actually alive. And now, capable of taking Shiho away for good.

Tonight was like many others. Leo allowed Aanika topside for a few hours with Jeremy as things in the lair were becoming heated once more. The stress of handling her mother often lead to the teen lashing out and ending up in deep trouble. It was best to just let her out; he knew where'd she be and that she wouldn't risk a moment with Jeremy to cause any mischief. Only Leo knew how to handle Shiho, he'd been the one to bring her out of The Madness after all. A patrol run with his brothers would give Shiho the fresh air she needed to calm herself. So out she went into the night to find Jeremy waiting for her on the rooftop of his apartment building.

"Jeremy!" The young vixen called, landing softly on her feet. He turned around with a smile that made her heart flip backwards and had her running to him. With open arms he caught her and swung her about dramatically before planting a big wet one right on her. "M'hmhmhm! I missed you."

"Hahah, seriously? It's only been 3 days, Aanika!" Jeremy teased, clasping her small hand in his. Aanika blushed with embarrassment, she felt so clingy. Both glanced out to the cityscape that stretched out for miles, each holding onto one another's waist. "How are things?"

"Oh..eh, could be better. My mom is seriously taking a flip off the deep end and none of us know what to do," She confessed. Jeremy pressed a kiss to her hair in an attempt to soothe her worried soul. It did little, but she still appreciated his effort and gave him a gracious squeeze with her arm. "What about you?"

"Ohh you know, working. Applying for scholarships to schools I don't want to go to after I graduate. But my mom, she's been riding my ass."

"That's good though. Going off and getting to do adult things," Aanika quietly added but felt she'd said the wrong thing when he sighed and let go of her. The air always felt colder when Jeremy didn't have his arms around her and she couldn't understand why. While yes, the summer had ended and the fall was already deeply set in, the nights were still decently warm for this time of year in New York. So why she felt this odd coldness, she'd never know. "What?"

"She just...I dunno, Annie. College just doesn't seem like the thing for me, y'know? I wanna go places, meet people, have experiences! But...she, my mom, thinks that if I don't go to college I'll wind up a loser like my old man. And part of me thinks she's right," Aanika's brows folded into a crease as a frown tugged down the corners of her lips. She didn't really know what to say, her parents had been nothing but good to her. The sense of abandonment, she could understand though. Jeremy sat on the ledge of his rooftop and released a heavy exhale, his hand running backwards through his dark waves. Aanika stood beside him with a hand grasping his shoulder.

"Jer..you're your own person, and your future is what you make of it. None of us have our lives figured out yet. But you..I know that you'll do great things with yourself. And you'll do great things with the world. Just, you have your whole life," She paused a moment to sit back down beside him. He glanced at her sideways and waited for her to continue. "All of that time. What will a few semesters of college hurt? You'll still meet people and have experiences just while learning knew things. Give it a shot and if you really don't like it then-"

"Then we'll run away together."

Aanika snapped her jaw shut and stared at the boy like he had a third eye. What was he talking about? Run away? She could never leave the family..that was suicide. Noticing her hesitation, Jeremy chuckled and waved his hand in the air as if to swat the subject away.

"I was just kidding.." The way Jeremy's voice dipped down in its tone, Aanika sensed there was really more to that aspiration than he was leading on. The idea made her hot in the face and she couldn't help but look away and clear her throat. The way his hand sliding along the small of her back and stopping at her hip made her look back at him with a nervous gleam in her eyes. Jeremy opened his mouth to speak when out of the corner of his eye he caught movement and snapped his head in that direction.

"What?"

"Annie look! It's the shadows I was telling you about!" Jeremy climbing to his feet and ran to the corner of his rooftop, his arm outstretched with a pointing finger up the street to the rooftops. Aanika looked where he indicated and felt all the blood drain from her face, it was her uncles and parents on another run. This was one of their routes and she'd completely forgotten. "See? I told you they were real, I knew I wasn't nuts! Who do you think it could be?"

"U-uhm..parkour nuts maybe. Wait.." Aanika rushed to Jeremy's side when she suddenly noticed that while there was a pack of 5, the 4 brothers and her mother, there was a 6th figure trailing far behind but definitely following behind them. She knew immediately what that was and panic surged through every vein in her body as she hurriedly strapped her weapons to her back and started to make a run for it. Now, Micah was following them. Jeremy's hand on her wrist stopped her from going any further. Aanika whipped around with a terrified expression.

"Woah, where do you think you're going?"

"I gotta go, Jeremy, it's an emergency. Please, just stay here, I'll be back when I can. If I'm not back by midnight, I'll call you. Please don't be mad," Swiftly Aanika pressed the hastiest of kisses to Jeremy's mouth and took off running after her parents before he could stop her. She had to warn them, had to get ahead of them somehow. Luckily she knew this particular route and knew a short cut through Central Park would have her cutting them off hopefully before Micah caught up with them. Unbeknownst to her, Jeremy was following her on his bicycle, determined to put an end to all of her secrets. Had Aanika not been in a full blown panic, she would have noticed Jeremy behind her in no time. But not tonight.

Jeremy barely dodged being hit by several cars in his attempt to keep his eyes on Aanika who was using rooftops. But once she landed on flat ground and took off into the darkest part of the park, pedaling as quickly as he could Jeremy did his best to stay behind her. Damn she was fast, like she was bionic. He knew she was physically fit but he never expected her to sprint this fast for this long. The way she moved was so unreal, and it was a few shades above pitch black in the park save for the spaced out lamps that lined the pathways. But when she threw on the brakes and came to a skidding halt, he had to do the same and slid right past her. His tires slid sideways and he almost ate it on the path. Aanika stood above him panting and dumbfounded.

"Jer...Jeremy?!...Wh-What are you..are you following me?!" The fear in her voice told him right away that he'd made a mistake, that she'd stopped for a reason. He found his footing and dumped his bike on the ground and approached Aanika while out of breath. "You shouldn't be here, Jeremy. It's dangerous. Go home!"

"No. Not until you come clean to me. What's going on?"

"Oh Jeremy you couldn't have picked a worse time to be the savior boyfriend. You're in danger here, please, go home," Aanika pleaded, her hands grasping his hands to pull him out of the park and into the public eye but Jeremy held his ground, too stubborn and possibly too stupid to move. The sounds of twigs crunching and boots stomping on the pathway sent her heart racing and she forcefully shoved Jeremy to run. "GO!"

"No!"

"Jeremy please, I'm begging you-AH!" Aanika screeched when a hand came out of the darkness and grabbed her roughly by the collar of her coat and lifted her up off the ground. Terror froze Jeremy in place watching his precious Aanika being lifted and a group of 8 or 9 gang members appeared from all around. The biggest one holding her up in the air. Aanika squirmed and kicked and thrashed, crying when she noticed the one thing that tied all the gang members. Purple dragon tattoos and jackets. Shit.

"Well lookie what we have here. A pretty little girl and a pathetic little boy all alone in the park. What do you say boys? Think we should show this guy how to treat a woman?" Aanika's blood turned to ice in her veins. She knew that voice. It was Hun. Suddenly the situation just became dire, horrifying when two grabbed Jeremy by the arms when he made an attempt to jump out and grab her. "Woah now, can't have you interrupting while class is in session now can we? Sit down."

Hun made an order and his hench men threw Jeremy onto the pavement. Aanika yelped and whipped all around as best she could.

"You're gonna be sorry, Hun!" Aanika knew Leo and the others were close. The route led them right through his part of the park for reasons like this. Hun froze, not expected some random girl to know his name. Aanika seized her opportunity. "Mom! Donnie! Help me!"

Hun panicked. And she kept screaming. "Raphael, Mikey!" Hun knew those names and was all too aware of the beating that would come in her parents came to her aide. In his attempt to shut her up, her shook her violently. But no, Aanika kept screaming. She wasn't going to stop until those turtles came to her rescue. Once again, Hun desperately tried to make her quite and slapped her across the face with his free hand. Hard enough that her beanie flew off her head and her fox ears came springing out and stood tall. Every Purple Dragon and Jeremy went deathly silent. Hun shook the teen fox once again and the force was enough to slip her arms out of the sleeves of her coat and she fell hard on her side, her tail now draping itself over her body. Jeremy was slack-jawed, barely comprehending what he was seeing. She was mortified and embarrassed but she opened her mouth once again and hollered.

"DADDY!"

"Oh crud.."

"Get away from my daughter!" A booming and powerfully masculine voice came from somewhere in the trees sending heads looking all over the place. Using the distraction, a body came slamming into Hun and sent the heavy thug flying until a tree stopped him with a loud UGH. Jeremy didn't have the chance to see much, except for blurs of weapons and Purple Dragons having the tar kicked out of them. It was over quicker than it started and what gangsters weren't knocked unconscious went running in all directions to escape.

"Daddy!" Aanika lept to her feet and ran straight into Leo's arms. He dropped his katanas with a loud clatter and held her desperately close. One hand firmly held the back of her head, the other arm wrapped securely around her waist. She wasn't just whimpering, she was sobbing. She'd been so careful and she swore that she was safe this time. And she almost...she almost...Leo couldn't bring himself to think about what would have happened to her if he and the others hadn't shown up in time. Her mother and uncles surrounded Leo and Aanika as Jeremy very unsteadily stood on his feet. What were these things? And better yet...

What was Aanika?

"Aanika..are you hurt? What happened? I thought you were at Jeremy's?" Leo at last held her at arm's length before she was snatched by Shiho and held to her mother's chest. Aanika didn't mind so much and clutched at her clothing. Shiho soothed her child by hushing and cooing, running her fingers through her hair.

"I was..I was. But then, I saw you guys on your patrol route. When.." Aanika paused, looking around them, she listened hard. She couldn't hear any sounds that indicated Micah was nearby, he must have split when the commotion started.

"What? What happened?" Leo pressed.

"Behind you guys, I saw him. I saw Micah. He was following you!" The teen cried, completely forgetting that not only was Jeremy standing close by but her secret was now out. Collectively, the brothers all exchanged worried glances, their worst fears had come to be true. Aanika wouldn't lie about this. Not something so important.

"Okay..I hate doing this to you Aanika, but until we figure this out, you need to stay home. We don't know what he wants or why he's back. He could be angry for what happened and dangerous."

"But Daddy-"

"Daddy?! THAT'S your dad?!" Jeremy's voice broke the family circle and they opened up to find him staring at them wide eyed and horrified. The way all humans looked at them. Defensively, Leo stood in front of Aanika, blocking her from Jeremy's line of vision. He could feel her shame suddenly overcoming her, the secret being thrust into the open. She wasn't ready to tell him yet and in her efforts to warn her family about Micah her secret was in the blaring spotlight. And for that, Leo felt guilty.

"This isn't how you were supposed to find out about us, about Aanika. But this-" Leo motioned to his brothers and mate, glancing back at Jeremy. "This is what we are. What she is. If you come back to the lair with us, we can explain it better."

"It's you. You're real! After all these years..I swore that I had just been dreaming it. But you're..real."

"What are ya talkin' about, kid? We ain't never seen ya before in our lives," Raph snorted, picking Aanika up into his arms. He noticed her not putting any weight onto her foot, she'd sprained it from the fall she'd taken after Hun dropped her.

"You guys saved me. When I was a kid.."

"Can we just get back to the lair? We're risking too much staying out in the open like this and I think my daughter has had enough for one night," Shiho interjected, growing visibly impatient.

In more shock than he'd ever experienced in his life, Jeremy swallowed harshly and nodded. Raphael carried Aanika back to the lair. Jeremy didn't say a word, didn't even look at her as she silently cried into her uncle's shoulder. The sound of his daughter weeping broke Leo's heart into millions of pieces as he led the way through the tunnels after they'd climbed down through one of the drains in the park. All of them were making their own silent judgments of the boy as they made their journey home, Splinter was going to love this. Raphael did his best to soothe the teen by making quiet conversation with her, but all she did was hold him tight and hide her face. She couldn't handle the shame. She felt so naked.

So exposed.

Getting over the initial shock that not only was Aanika a hybrid, but there was an entire family of mutants and hybrids living under the city. And they were the same mutants that he'd been watching for years after being rescued as a boy. He'd never understand why Aanika felt the need to keep this all a secret from him, he liked her before he knew what she looked like. But now, he couldn't help but feel an even stronger fondness now that all the cards were on the table. He just wished he'd been able to tell her that when they'd arrived at her home, she'd been whisked away upstairs by Donnie, Mikey, and Raph to not only tend to her injury but to just calm her down. By the time she'd reached her bedroom, she was a hysterical mess. Listening to her sob ate Leo up inside.

It took every ounce of control in Saundra's body to not sink her talons into the human boy. It was his fault that Aanika was feeling the way she was, at least, Saundra thought so. If he hadn't followed her, it might not have happened. Shiho confined her sister to the top of the stairs simply so her anger wouldn't off-set Jeremy any more than he already was. Shiho couldn't figure if it was the fear of nearly being victims of the Purple Dragons or being introduced to a mutant and hybrid family that had him on edge. Fiona kept the children tucked away in the dojo simply so the leaders, Splinter, and Jeremy could speak alone. Jeremy could see now why Aanika carried the katanas on her back after noticing Leo had the same signature weapon strapped to his carapace. She was a ninja.

"Jeremy..." Splinter spoke, directing his muzzle in the boy's direction. "I would first like to begin with expressing my relief that you were not harmed by tonight's incident. But allow me to follow that statement with a mild scorn; it was very unwise to follow my granddaughter. Especially after she so heatedly warned you to stay home."

"I...I just wanted to know..." Jeremy clutched at the hot mug of tea that Shiho had prepared for him, staring into the hot steaming liquid. "I like her so much, I couldn't handle the secrets anymore."

"We get that, but you still should have listened to her. You could have gotten yourself killed tonight. You're lucky she knew where she was going," Shiho had to stop herself, she was getting angry all over again. Leo clutched her clasped hands that rested in her lap to calm her as best he could. "Why don't we start with how you know about us."

Jeremy felt the weight of Leonardo's gaze bearing right into him, the glare of a wary father. Aanika wasn't kidding when she said she was adopted. Searching for the words to say in his dark tea, the boy sighed heavily enough to rise his shoulders.

"Years ago, just as my dad was becoming more and more scarce, my mom and I went to the bank to make a deposit. It stayed open late back then. That was when it was robbed by the Purple Dragons and they took me as a hostage." Leo and Shiho looked at each other with strange expressions, the memory was fuzzy. "They threw me in the back of this truck and took me to this big warehouse by the docks. That's when you came in, and told me to run."

Jeremy pointed at Shiho and she gasped. She remembered now.

"You're the boy we saved that night Shiho first fell into her Madness around us. That was you?!" Leo gawked in utter disbelief. He could have sworn that child was older than 10. "That was 12 years ago, there's no way. You should be in your 20's..."

"I was always big for my age. I'm 17 and 6'4". So.." Shiho hastily ran her hands through her hair. Her memory of that night had forcibly repressed itself because she'd killed one of the Purple Dragons that night. She'd slipped into her Madness and snapped his spine in front of all the brothers. "I told everyone that a woman with large ears and a tail saved me and a group of ninja turtles kicked the crap out of those Purple Dragons. But they all said I was just using my imagination to protect myself."

"So..you're not afraid of us?" Leo asked, scratching at the back of his neck out of nervous habit. Jeremy shook his head.

"No. I've been watching you guys from my bedroom window for years, I could only see your dark figures at night. But it was all I needed to prove to myself that you were real. That I wasn't crazy. And I was right!" Quizzically, Splinter rubbed at the fur on his chin. He studied Jeremy in silence, judging whether or not he could trust the boy with his family's secret. "If I had known that this was the secret Aanika was keeping..."

"You'd what?" Leo snapped. Jeremy closed his mouth. "Look, Jeremy. We may not be your typical family, but we are all each other has. And to my daughter, you don't know what your existence means. She's been living in this fear for months, how do we know that you'll keep us a secret? How is this relationship with her going to continue?"

Shiho couldn't ease her nerves and had to excuse herself. Jeremy couldn't stop his eyes from watching her leave, that tail of hers swayed with every step she took. Leo clearing his throat brought the boy's attention back from his mate. Even though he was just a teenager, Leo couldn't stand anyone looking at Shiho that way. Often times he believed his jealousy issues were worse than Shiho's. But even so, Jeremy wondered how Aanika was doing..he hoped she wasn't crying anymore. He hated seeing girls cry. No girl had ever cried over him like that before.

"Sir...Leo..I like Aanika. I like her a lot. And I've had these feelings since before I knew what she looked like or anything about her secret. I don't see them changing any day soon unless she tells me to hit the road," Jeremy mumbled, too afraid to look Leo in the eyes.

"My children are my priority. And your dumb move almost got her more than a sprained ankle tonight. I don't ever want to hear my daughter scream like that ever again. That's a sound I can't erase from my memory. No parent can get rid of the sound of their child screaming in fear. Do you understand me?" Leo warned Jeremy without having to really give many details. Basically it was a "If my daughter gets hurt because of you I'll tear your arms off" kind of promise.

"Y-yes sir..."

"Just stick with Leo."

"Easy, Shortstack yer gonna be fine."

"But Uncle Raph you didn't see the way he looked at me. Like I was the biggest freak on the planet," Aanika cried into her hands. Her uncles sat all around her room, Donnie and Mikey on her bed, Raph on her desk chair. Shiho had joined and was beside her.

"Annie, calm down. It isn't as bad as you think. Shh..." Mother foxed soothed, her hand affectionately rubbing Aanika's back. Mikey felt helpless, usually his stupid jokes or silly antics did the trick in making her smile but not tonight.

"God and Micah is out there. Who knows how long he's been following you."

"You let us worry about, Micah," Shiho's voice was gentle, but she was firm. So much happened tonight that she'd almost forgotten what sent Aanika after them in the first place. She knew that there was bound to be a long discussion with Leonardo about this one. A knock on the door frame captured the attention of the adults while Aanika forcibly kept her eyes on the ground, ears dropped to the side of her head in what appeared to be defeat. Jeremy nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot as each of Aanika's guardians slowly made their way out of the room but not without a bone chilling glare from Shiho. However, she closed the door once they had all left to give Aanika the space she needed.

Not sure how he should start the conversation, Jeremy instead looked all around her room at the random things that decorated her walls and shelves. So many pictures and books and toys that he guessed that she hardly ever threw anything away, that every trinket had its own precious value. He couldn't imagine what it was like living in obscurity like this every day. A disruption in the sheets of Aanika's bed turned his attention back to her; she was curled up beneath her comforter so only the very tops of her ears could be seen. Those ears were fascinating, and he couldn't help but stare. She must have sense his eyes on her and effectively slipped further underneath her blanket until she was completely hidden.

"Aanika..."

"I know what you're gonna say. So just...just go because I honestly can't handle being rejected by you," Her voice was small and muffled beneath the blanket and she curled up tighter when she felt the bed dip when he sat down. His fingers grasped at the fabric and pulled it down slowly. When he uncovered her up to her shoulders she whimpered.

"Annie...Why would hide this from me?" Aanika stared at him now through those bleary eyes. "Why didn't you think I'd be okay with this?"

"Jeremy, look at me. I'm a hybrid. A genetic test subject. Why wouldn't you be okay with it? Look at who my family is; they're not your typical Uncle Joe and Aunt Velma. We're mutants-"

"You're beautiful." Jeremy interjected. Aanika unexpectedly gasped and covered her mouth with her palm and fingers. She hated this. It felt like all he was trying to do was make her feel better when he was silently judging her on the inside. Shiho and Leo couldn't bring themselves to leave her entirely alone and stood just outside the door, his arms comforting his mate by holding her close. Shiho could hear every word that was said inside, Aanika had herself under such a scrutiny that she couldn't help but blame herself. Those ideas had been instilled in the teen's brain by the entire family. That the only decent humans were the ones already in their lives. But how were they to know that the one human Aanika stumbled upon happened to be one they'd saved years prior?

"Oh Leo.." Shiho sighed into the crook of Leo's neck. His arms tightened.

"It'll be okay."

"You think I'm beautiful? Even though I look like this?" Aanika finally sat up, Mr. Beeskers tucked securely in one arm. Her long tail flicked the blankets off her and her ears twitched open, motions for emphasis. Jeremy couldn't stop the blush that found the flesh of his cheeks. There was an ethereal beauty about Aanika, she was unlike the other hybrids that he had met when he'd first arrived. She wasn't exotic like Shiho, or fawn-like as Fiona was, he thanked someone that she wasn't nearly as fiesty as Saundra. She was just...Aanika. The girl he'd danced with on the roof and the girl who crash landed on his fire escape.

"I was into you before I knew what you looked like, Annie. It's okay, really, I'm not afraid of you or anyone else," He said softly leaning closer so he could ease her worries with a kiss. Instincts must have kicked in because just before Jeremy had the chance to breathe in her scent the door flew open and Leo marched inside. Aanika fell backwards on her bed laughing and covering her face, the scream Jeremy made was something she'd never forget.

"You should be afraid of Daddy. He is a ninja after all," Aanika teased. She lept out of bed and threw her arms around Leo's neck, Shiho stood by leaning against the door frame. The stone cold expression on Leo's face was enough to make his mate nearly piss herself laughing. Jeremy chuckled nervously and very slowly stood up from Aanika's bed and did what he could to walk past the visibly irritated ninja. His arm came tightly and possessively around Aanika which only made Jeremy speed walk out of the room. The last thing he wanted was to be on the Shit List of a very trained very deadly ninja. Even if his daughter was the prettiest girl he'd ever laid eyes on.

"Do you have to be so scary, Daddy?"

"Yes."

A/N: LOOK AT THAT SAPPY SHIT! Hahahaha I sapped again. I'm sorry, Duckies. I couldn't help it. I've been in a very weird place mentally and I guess it just showed up in my writing. This chapter, where Aanika and Jeremy have the run in with the Purple Dragons was actually going to be different. But I decided I didn't like that previous idea and scrapped it. So we have this one. I hope you enjoyed this one. Love you, Duckies!