By the time they got home, Splinter had woken up, and April was sleeping on the spare couch. Master Splinter had greeted his sons and friends with sure delight and relief that none of them got seriously injured. The two boys waited impatiently as they saw Leo carrying in Ebony who was still some what out of sorts. Selina and Delilah glanced at each other and then back at Ebony, who put on a fake smile when she crouched down to see her two boys smiling with joy.
"Ebby! We thought you were never going to come back!" Ebony laughed without any happiness, but the boys didn't seem to care, "I'll always come back for you guys, trust me. I always will." She planted a kiss on both of their foreheads, and hugged them tightly, relieved that they never got harmed in this whole ordeal. Mona Lisa came forward and bowed to Master Splinter respectfully,
"I, I'm glad you are feeling better, Sensei, but I... Raphael and I want to tell you-" A large rat paw was raised in the air, and pointed over to the spare couch, "April told me everything. Don't you know there will be no secret keeping in my house? I am a rat you know. I can hear almost everything." Mona giggled and blushed as she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, and warm lips peeking her cheek,
"Now, Raphael, you will be enduring the annoyance and prideful moments of having children and some. I didn't have to deal with a pregnant mutant, thank goodness." Splintered and the others laughed it off, when Mona looked over and saw Ebony, leaning against a pillar, looking so worn out. She looked at the other two girls, and they too seemed so drained. Delilah rested her head on the table while letting out deep breaths while Selina rested her head on Mikey, who rocked her back and forth. Mona instantly felt bad, and remembered the previous conversations of what happened at the laboratory, and figured that they were trying to endure the memories and horrible moments that happened to them in the past.
Mona leaped from Raph's arms and to everyone's surprise walked over to Ebony. Grabbing her hands gracefully and pulled Ebony into a long hug. Ebony was pulled out of her trance for a short time and returned the shocking hug, "Thank you." Ebony nodded and tightened the grip on Mona, but she pulled away first,
"Let's go get you cleaned up, you stink. And I'm sure Leo doesn't want to comfort a nasty smelling turtle hottie." Mona winked dramatically, which made Ebony roll her eyes and smile lightly. Mona lead the way and noticed Ebony limping after her. Leo was called over by Donnie to be inspected for his health when Leo tapped Delilah's shoulder,
"Are you all alright?" Delilah shrugged and rested her chin on the table with dull eyes, "Yeah, we will be. Give us time to grieve. We all suffer some form of traumatic experience from that place, and," Delilah sighed deeply, "It was hard to go back... for all of us." Leo nodded, not wanting to push the issue any more than they wanted. Donnie patted Leo's sore arm, which meant that he was fine and continued to patch up Mikey, just in case.
"The last time we were in the warehouse, they killed Kyle." Selina muttered and her voice cracked at the end of his name. Delilah tensed up and released a couple of tears that illuminated down her face. Master Splinter knew what it was like to loose a loved one, but he was curious as to who Kyle was,
"What was Kyle to you girls?" Delilah glanced up at the mutated rat with sorrow filled eyes, "Kyle was apart of our chapter in the orphanage... he was brutally injected with a chemical that had a negative reaction to his immune system and blood type. He died... with a fate worse than cancer. It was ... it was playing all over the TV's in the warehouse..." Delilah finished her sentence quickly and got up from her chair, wiping her eyes, and heading off towards Donnie's lab. Selina was so exhausted from crying she couldn't even muster the strength to cry more.
"Ebony and Kyle never liked each other... They fought a lot. But Ebony always felt guilty for not apologizing, one last time." Selina muttered as Leo sighed at the thought of seeing Ebony, totally crushed and devastated. Raph sat down next to Leo and placed his hand on his shoulder,
"You got yourself one brave, stubborn, and hard headed girl, Leo." Smirking at his comment, Leo gulped down a glass of water. "And you got yourself a truly reliable one, seems to me it's like we're dating our female selves." Leo and Raph sat in silence and suddenly busted out laughing with Donnie joining in, but returning to his lab.
"Have you decided on what you want?" Selina peeped up at Raph, who was a little confused, but caught on, "I dunno. I'll be happy with whatever my child is... lizard, turtle, boy, girl. I'll love them no matter what." Mikey started chuckling and lifted Selina up and held her bridal style,
"Let's just hope it has Mona's temper, and not Raph's." Raph rolled his eyes and Leo laughed. The two brothers sat in the kitchen with Master Splinter who began giving Raph stern lectures on parenthood, but also directed his concerns to Leo. Leo explained that he and Ebony haven't tried anything like that, stating that she was way to delicate right now, and he wasn't ready to commit to that. Raph coughed and muttered how much of a lie that was. Leo knew that Raph was only teasing but Leo was still standing firm on his commitment. He never wanted to hurt Ebony, and didn't even know if she would ever want that... who was he kidding. They both wanted it, but he knew now was definitely not the right time for either of them.
Mona was relieved to feel the warm water sizzling against her skin. Running her hands up and down her body, she grabbed the nearby soap and was humming to herself. Ebony waited outside the shower curtain, to nervous to strip her clothing off, and to embarrassed. Ebony truly wasn't comfortable with her own body, but she didn't hate it. Ebony ran her fingers up and down the bruising that was swelling her leg. Ebony sighed hummed along with Mona's song, but still felt off. She knew she had lost control like she use to back in that warehouse, it was written on everyone's reaction to her in the truck. She saw their concern, worry and slight fear.
"Ebony?" Ebony shot up and knocked the shampoo over, "What was that? You ok?" Ebony mumbled a 'yeah' and stood up to reach for the towel to hand to Mona. Mona threw the curtain open, expecting Ebony to be blushing and running away, hiding her eyes from indecency. Ebony stood there, holding the towel out for Mona, who gladly took it from her, and wrapped her body like a burrito. She stuffed a corner piece inside of her breasts and brushed her wet locks backwards.
"Come on Eb, lets get you out of your clothes." Ebony stared down at her bloodied clothing, a once favored night shirt that was large and baggy was now soaked in dirt and blood. Her brown thermal leggings were a dark maroon from her bloodied enemies. Her hair felt gross and sticky, and her body shivered under the grime that was now a new layer on her skin. Ebony watched as Mona helped her discard her clothing into the corner of bathroom, and finally reached her undergarments. Ebony blushed and shied away from Mona's teasing gaze, "And Leo hasn't seen this yet? Man, he's in for a surprise." She chuckled as Ebony giggled at the thought of Leo's face above her, taking her as his-
"Mona!" Ebony had clamped her hands over her B cup breasts, and glared at Mona who smiled cheekily at the tired turtle. Ebony pushed her friend around and continued to remove her undergarments and tossed them in the same pile as her clothing. Ebony felt relieved to take off her sweaty clothing, and stepped into the warm water that was spouting out of the head of the shower.
"I'm going to grab you some more clothes okay?" Ebony mumbled a 'sure' and continued to moan lowly at the warm water that grazed her skin. The sudden realization that Mona was going to shift through her drawers and find the most revealing clothing bothered her, and she groan in annoyance, only to smile at her new found friendship. Ebony reached for the shampoo and massaged her throbbing scalp. The lathered soap washing down her shell and her sore muscles brought Ebony pure joy, as she felt her body relaxing and not so tense. A humming beat came from her throat, as her feet continued the drumming beat that echoed in the bathroom stalls. Mona had came back already and was dancing to Ebony's beautiful song and her drum beat, not knowing what talent Ebony really had. The sound of the shower facet being turned cause Mona to stop her exotic dancing, and hand Ebony a large blue towel. Ebony smiled as she wrapped the warm towel around her soaking skin.
Donnie had continued to shift through papers trying to figure out the last portion of his x-ray machine which had recent mal-function awhile back and he had been pushing it off for days on end. As he knocked over everything that was not important, Donnie felt a presence in the room, and turned around to see Delilah swinging her legs back and forth from his arm chair. Donnie noticed that her jeans were illuminating with tear stains, like fireflies on a warm spring night. Donnie hopped on his roller chair and spun his way over to Delilah, and noticed her dull eyes.
"Delilah..." Donnie tried to lift her hung head to meet his gaze, but she flinched at his touch. Donatello sighed deeply and gave her colds hands a gently squeeze,
"You wanna talk about it?" Delilah shrugged, but after a few moments of silence, she nodded,
"I just, Ebony was different again. She was just the way she used to be. Cold, bloodied, distant, not mentally there... I thought she had regressed back into a primitive state..." Donnie noticed her body shaking as she let out a painful sob.
"She looked like Kyle before he was killed. Kyle's reaction to the chemical caused him to regress backwards and become violent and numb... I thoughtI lost her... like we lost Kyle..." Delilah held her head in her hands, and cried out loud with lightened tears pouring from the creases in her hands. Unknown to Donnie, his body had reacted to the cries differently than he had thought, and he pulled himself up and into the armchair, pulling Delilah down and onto his lap. She was to distraught to notice his affectionate action, and continued to just cry it out. Donnie move the recliner back and forth with his left foot and listened to Delilah's rambling. Eventually, Delilah's rambles had ceased, and were replaced by silently snores. Donnie didn't notice, as his eyes were betraying him and the two of them were asleep in each other's arms.
Mikey had shifted uncomfortably for the past 10 minutes as he watched Selina tremble and shake in fear. Selina was tearing up, but never sobbed. She was embarrassed to reveal her weakness in front of Mikey, who she really did adore. Everything he said to her, his cute little comments and nicknames, his bright baby blue eyes. Selina found herself blushing and smiling at the thought of her favorite turtle, and didn't realize he had left his room. After Delilah had left, Mikey offered to take Selina to his room, so she could sleep some where else besides the couch. Selina had flopped back on his bed and let out a loud sigh, obviously stilled bothered by today's events. Shuttering at the thought, Selina jumped forward and rubbed her face to maybe take away the thoughts. The wood door sudden creaked open, and Mikey's blue eyes dazzled against his tiny lamp light. Selina smiled brightly and wiped away any reminisce of her upset face. Mikey pulled something behind his back and held it in front of Selina's face, who was obviously shocked, but inhaled the sweet and wonderful scent of cold dairy.
"I figured an ice cream sundae would make you feel a little bit better...I'm not very good at comforting and making Leo speechs, but I'm good at making people laugh." A toothy grin appeared on Mikey's freckled face and Selina smiled, laughing heartedly and reaching not for the ice cream sundae, but Mikey's hands and pulled him down to her level on the bed.
"Thank you Mikey, I'm feeling better already knowing that you want me to feel better. Trust me, you don't wanna see me cry, or go through a Leo speech." They both laughed and Mikey pulled out two spoons, which Selina eyed at closely,
"So, it wasn't just for me then?" Mikey sheepishly grin and placed both spoons in her slender hands, and felt greedy, "No, just more for you to eat-" Mikey jumped and stared down at his mouth, which had a silver spoon hanging from it. He immediately melted at the sweet sugary taste of the ice cream with caramel and chocolate dressing.
"I can't let my hero go hungry after a long day of work can I?" Mikey's heart fluttered as he stared into those deep green pools that captivated him so much and picked off the cherry as the two love birds continued to down the Ice cream sundae in peace.
Mona felt herself stretch and wince at her sore back and arms. Having Ebony pull her around like that really took a toll on Mona's muscles. After returning from the showers, Mona entered the beat up door from Raphael's room, and peaked in. Mona smiled at Raph, who seemed to be busy fluffing up two large pillows and making a neater bed set. Mona crept in and leaned next to Raphael's ear
"Spring cleaning huh?" Raph jumped nearly three feet high as he heard Mona's giggle fill his room. Raph stared at his girlfriend with such love, he didn't know he could ever express. The way she said his name, the way she would kiss him, with so much love and passion, he could always find himself staring at her golden eyes and get lost in them.
"I love you." Raph was shocked at what he had just said. His mouth disobeyed him and now he was anticipating a response from Mona, who stood there, dumbfounded and smiling like an idiot.
"What was that, I couldn't hear you?" Raph grumbled under his breath, "I love you." he repeated it multiple times just to see Mona smile with such happiness and excitement.
"I love you too, Raphael." Mona leaned up and kissed him passionately. Raphael was more than ecstatic, he was soaring with happiness as he lifted Mona under her butt and spun her around, wanting hear her giggles more. Raph finally put her down, and waltzed her over to the bed, where he began to comfort Mona, tucking her in and kiss her tiny baby bump that was his child.
Ebony stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were still bloodshot, her skin was now a pale white, and her scales even seemed drained of life. Her arms were pulsating pain and her leg emitted more pain throughout her body. But no matter how many times Ebony tried to blink, she could only see herself stomping those men's heads in rage and with animalistic tendencies. It worried Ebony down the core, and her body began to tremble at the fear of herself, becoming who she once was.
Ebony collected her items and walked back to her bedroom, to find a cold sensation over come her. The two boys were tucked in already, and with two glasses of water next to them on their night stand. Smiling, Ebony was about to throw her cover's over her when she noticed a dark blue bandana hanging above her face. Caressing the blue fabric, she felt a small notecard pricking her finger tip.
When you want to talk, I'm here.
Ebony sighed deeply and contemplated. She herself wasn't sure whether or not she was ready to talk about it. Usually she would lock herself up, shut everyone out, and deal with it over a couple of days. But that was then, this is now; she has a boyfriend, two boys, and a whole family that she knows care about her. With hesitation, Ebony crawled out of her bed and grabbed the blue bandana tightly, and snuck out of the sleeping boys room.
Ebony shuffled her feet across the lair, and figured that everyone was asleep, for the most part. Reaching his door, Ebony lifted up a fist, waiting to gain the strength to knock. Without knowing, a tiny knock came from her fist against the door, and she waited patient, her heart pounding and her eyes grew tired. The door opened quietly, and Ebony lifted her face to see a turtle staring down at her. Ebony looked away shyly, knowing that her boyfriend could see her bloodshot eyes and tired expression. Instead of letting her come in, Leo leaned in, placing a small kiss on her damp forehead, and pulled her in gently. Ebony followed his lead as he sat down on the bed, still holding her cold hands.
"If you want to talk about it, that's fine by me. If you don't, that's fine by me too. I just want you to feel better the way you think is best. Ebony-" Ebony's tears busted through her eyelids as she leaped into Leo's arms and pushed him onto his bed, catching him by surprise. Ebony's wailing was muffled by his shoulder, but he could feel the dampness that emerged from her tear ducts. Ebony couldn't hold it in anymore and she realized that she was laying down on Leo but didn't care at the moment, in between short breaths, Ebony began rambling,
"I remembered everything when I was walking through there... all the needles, every single place they poked me and prodded me. The IV's flooding in my system. It all came back..." Leo cupped Ebony's face, which was now warm and flushed,
"I was so scared. I try to be tough, for you. For the guys, Selina and Delilah! Even Mona! I try to be tough for Cliffton and Demetri, for Clarence, everyone... I've always been the tough one, but I can't do it anymore... cause I'm so broken Leo! I'm sorry!" Leo had leaned up and wrapped his legs around her body, holding her closer. "I wasn't myself, Leo. I was scary. I was feared, I wasn't me. I wasn't your girlfriend, I wasn't Cliff and Dee's mother, I was... a monster." Leo continued to stare into her soft eyes as she looked everywhere but him,
"You have nothing to be sorry about, Ebby. Are you done rambling now?" Ebony stared up into his sapphire eyes, and felt a little hurt by his comment, but nodded, waiting for him to speak,
"You are tough. Tougher than most people I know. You ran into the same warehouse that was filled with horrible people that use to abuse you and experiment on you, just to save your friend and her baby. That's one tough mom." Ebony smiled and let out a little laugh at his joke, "You weren't yourself, and that's okay, because the real you wouldn't be scary, feared or a monster. But, the really you is scared, fearful, and is only a monster when someone pisses you off or takes your food. " Ebony smiled greater at his little peck on her nose.
"I was scared too, not because of you, because I thought I lost you Eb. I couldn't handle myself if I lost you. I don't just mean physically, but mentally, and emotionally... I... was so worried when I saw your shell fragment in the lair when we got back... I..." Ebony noticed small tears on the edge of his eyelids and felt her heart being ripped out. "I thought that you were going to be dragged back into the hell hole, and all I could think of was of how I never got to tell you..." His voice trailed off and Ebony held her breath, waiting for him to finish his sentence. Leo swallowed his tears away and took a deep, shaky breath, Come on, it's now or never, fearless leader...
"If I never got to tell you that I love you, I would've died inside." Leo closed his eyes and his heart was pounding, but his shoulders felt relieved from this weight he was carrying, "The day that I first talked to you, like a real conversation, I never realized how much I could adore someone. How I could adore your laughter, your sons, your messy bangs, your angry punches, your dancing, your beautiful sing-"
Ebony had crashed her lips into Leo's with a smooth passion. Leo scooped Ebony up and into his arms, and leaned back onto the bed. It didn't go farther then that, because it didn't need to. Leo was content with Ebony's actions and didn't want to push her tired body to continue, which he was right in saying because Ebony pulled away to catch her breath.
"I love you Leonardo." She smiled, her bloodshot eyes now danced with a new fire, one that sparked lust and love. Leo moved over on his bed and pulled the thin sheets over the two of them. Leo adjusted his grip on Ebony, who was now snuggling into the crook of his neck. She quickly went limp and was snoring lowly. Leo made one last attempt to move her bangs, and kiss her forehead, before retiring his eyes.
Sorry it's just a fluffy chapter, lol.