Happy Sunday everyone. Hope everyone has been enjoying their day so far. Anyone seen the new TMNT movie yet? Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend. I'll be back Wednesday. Thanks to those who take the time to review.

The Potatoe One: If someone is willing to take the time to review, I will always do my best to respond to it. It's nice on both ends I know. I don't have a lot of time for reading but when I do I leave reviews for things I like and it's nice to know the author appreciates what I have to say. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter - Akemi is a handful sometimes but most kids her age are a handful. :) Thanks for the review.

Chapter 21

"Don?"

Don pushed out from underneath the truck. Splatters of oil and smeared greasy finger prints were smeared across his plastron.

Elizabeth came into the barn, holding a bag for him. "Man down at the auto parts shop called, your parts came in. I went down and picked them up for you."

Donatello smiled as he stood up, wiping his fingers absent-mindedly down his front, smearing more greasy finger prints over his plastron, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Great, should be able to get her truck finished by tomorrow night now that I've got the parts in," Donatello took the bag from her and opened it so eagerly it reminded Elizabeth of Akemi searching through grocery sacks looking for candy.

Elizabeth chuckled softly as Donatello began to pull out some odd looking parts. He seemed to know exactly what they were, though to Elizabeth they just looked like random odds and ends. It never ceased to amaze her how incredibly talented her brother in law was.

"I'll just leave you to it," She smirked and turned to leave the barn.

"Thanks, Elizabeth," Donatello glanced up at her as she walked through the barn doors.

"No problem, Don."

Elizabeth put her hand on her stomach as she headed up the drive to the house. Honestly it was nice to get away for just an hour now and then. Raphael had offered to keep an eye on Akemi while she'd run into town, as if he'd sensed her exhaustion. She wouldn't be surprised if he had. Raphael might not show it all the time, but he was incredibly tuned in to how his family was feeling. Usually he became more sensitive with her when she was tired or upset.

Elizabeth opened up the heavy wood door and stepped into the cool farmhouse.

She heard Akemi's voice coming from the kitchen and headed that way automatically, knowing that was where she would find Raphael as well.

The sight that met her was almost comical, except for the fact that this was becoming more and more common these days. Akemi was sitting on the counter in a pull up, a giant jar of cheese puffs in her hands, her fingers covered with the cheesy powder residue that always clung to one's fingers when they ate them. Her hair was in a sloppy ponytail, obviously she'd given Raphael a hard time when he'd tried to pull her hair back to keep it out of her face. As if that wasn't enough cheesy fingerprints covered her bare chest, and a ring of cheese powder circled her mouth as if she'd picked one up and tried to use it as lipstick.

A glass of milk sat next to her, cheesy finger prints were smeared up and down the sides of it and Raphael was leaning against the opposite counter, looking bored out of his mind, and exasperated with Akemi at the same time.

"Hard morning?" Elizabeth smiled at him as she walked into the kitchen, setting down the last bag she'd been carrying.

"She's bein' a little disagreeable today," Raph grumbled as he watched Akemi eat her cheese puffs. "She don't wanna go use da big potty, she 'ad an accident on purpose, an she won't keep no clothes on."

"So you rewarded her by putting her in a pull up and giving her cheese puffs?" Elizabeth asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

Raphael shrugged. "She ain't goin' outside unless she puts clothes on. She jus' got finished wit' time out fer 'er temper tantrum, said she was 'ungry an' wanted a snack."

"Why didn't you give her an apple?"

"She wanted da cheese puffs. Got dem out 'erself."

"Go figure," Elizabeth sighed. She walked over to her husband and wrapped her arms around his middle, leaning into him, resting her face against his plastron contentedly. "It's just a phase, Raph. She'll grow out of it."

After a few long seconds Raphael's arms wrapped around her back, gently rubbing it.

"Ya, I know. Jus' 'ard sometimes."

"I know it is, we'll just have to be patient. After all, they don't stay this little for long." She smiled looking up into his face. "She'll be four next month. And I think we've gotten past the worst of the temper tantrums now."

"Yeah, maybe… " Raphael sounded very tired suddenly. "Did ya get da parts fer Donny?"

"Yeah, he's out in the barn so I just ran them over to him before coming in. He thinks he can get the truck finished pretty fast now that he has the parts he needed."

Elizabeth pulled back from the turtle's embrace and smiled up at him, one arm snaking up to grab the back of his neck as she pulled him in for a soft kiss.

"EW!"

Elizabeth laughed and looked over her shoulder at her daughter. "You little scamp," she teased as she grinned.

Akemi grinned and happily put another cheese puff into her mouth.

"How about we get you cleaned up?"

"No!"

"Akemi, you've made such a mess with those. Don't you want to go outside and play?"

"No! Want cheese puffs!"

"Ok, just a few more minutes. I don't want you filling up on just junk before you eat lunch."

"Ya got 'er? I tol' Leo I'd go out wit' 'im fer a while."

"Another training session?" Elizabeth frowned as she met her husband's eyes.

"T'ink he jus' wants ta go fer a run. Donny still ain't lettin' 'im do more den dat wit' dat arm. Leo's gettin' restless. I honestly t'ink he is ready ta sneak off an' do some katas where Don can't watch him." Raphael smirked.

Elizabeth shook her head. "I swear your brother is more stubborn than you are sometimes."

"I ain't stubborn."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Raph, you know that's a lie."

He smirked. "Ok, maybe jus' a little."

Elizabeth chuckled and pushed playfully at his plastron. "Go, keep Leonardo out of trouble. Maybe a run will chill him out a little."

"Ya know he's jus' worried, 'Lizabeth."

"I know, Raph. But he's worried about the wrong thing this time. And I think it is bothering Don that Leo isn't trusting his judgment."

"Well once da truck is fixed Leo won't gotta worry about 'er no more."

"Hmm," Elizabeth frowned as she looked away from her husband.

Raphael rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck a bit as if they were stiff. "Ya don't t'ink so?"

"Honestly, no. I think Donatello enjoyed spending time with her yesterday. But I could be wrong. You could be right, Don could finish her truck and we won't see her again for the rest of our stay here. You never know."

"Yeah, well fearless is ready ta go back ta da city. He still ain't sure if it's a good idea ta stay 'ere."

"I'm sure if she was going to do something, she would have done it the first time she'd seen Don, Raph. Leo just needs to get over himself."

"Uh oh," Akemi interrupted. But Raphael and Elizabeth ignored her, for now. Akemi usually liked to drop things on the floor to watch people pick them up. It was all a great game to her. But Elizabeth and Raphael had learned if Akemi didn't get attention from it she'd stop.

"An' get da stick outta 'is shell. I know," Raphael smirked and leaned in to give her another quick kiss. "We'll be back in time fer lunch." He hurried for the back door, as if Elizabeth would change her mind and ask him to stay and help clean up the mess Akemi had made.

"Have a good run," Elizabeth just barely had time to get the last word out before the back door shut behind the turtle.

"Uh oh," Akemi announced again, and Elizabeth turned to look at her daughter.

Akemi was pinching something between two fingers, it was long, nearly invisible from where Elizabeth stood, if it hadn't been for the particles of cheese puff on it, she never would have seen the hair her daughter was holding.

"Uh oh," Akemi said again as she held the hair up for Elizabeth to see.

"Oh yuck," Elizabeth made a face, not at all sure if that was one of her daughter's hairs, or a hair that Akemi had found in the jar itself. The thought of a hair being in the jar made her stomach turn. There was nothing worse than taking a bite of food and pulling a hair out of your mouth.

"Cucky!" Akemi agreed as she lifted her hand up higher, showing it off proudly.

"That's right a yucky hair," Elizabeth said as she put a hand to her churning stomach. "Go throw it in the garbage."

"You… " Akemi squealed as she held out her hand for her mom to take the hair from her.

"No you," Elizabeth said shaking her head.

Akemi seemed to study her mother for a minute before shifting her arm and threw the hair down to the floor.

"Akemi, don't just throw it down!"

Akemi laughed, as if she'd just done something clever. She looked at her hand, and with an astonished look turned back to her mother. "Uh oh! Gone!"

Elizabeth put her hand to her eyes and shook her head, but couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. She could hear Splinter's voice clearly in her head, she'd heard him say it often enough when Michelangelo and Raphael got into a friendly wrestling match, or made rude noises at the dinner table, teaching Akemi bad habits. Kids. Elizabeth had to admit, he had a point.

Sabrina hesitated as she approached the farmhouse, two jars of jam in her hands. Domino walked casually along beside her, sniffing at the weeds here and there and giving one a taste, just to be sure it really wasn't something edible.

She really didn't want to bother Donatello, or his family. But he did say she could come by and watch him work on the truck. He had seemed to mean it as well. She gazed up at the aged old farmhouse, biting her lip, tucking her long bangs behind her ear, though they promptly slipped free once more.

She wasn't sure if she really wanted to go to the house. What if Donatello wasn't in there? What if she saw one of his brother's instead? Were they like him? Did they know that she knew about them? What did they think if they did? Or what would they think if they didn't?

"This is a bad idea," Sabrina said softly though she took another step or two forward before coming to a stop, looking at the armored truck and the car that was parked behind it. Well they hadn't gone back to the city. Not that she thought they would have. She was sure that Donatello would have at least dropped her truck off by her house if they had.

Glancing at the house, and swallowing down the uncomfortable lump in her throat, Sabrina glanced at the barn.

The door was open, allowing a cool breeze to flow inside. The heat of the day hadn't quite hit yet, and though the air was mostly still, a soft breeze would blow now and then, stirring up the long grasses and allowing the bugs and birds to fly around on its currents.

Maybe Donatello was already working on the truck?

Sabrina worried her bottom lip for a minute. Debating. She watched as Domino stuck his long nose into the grass, sniffing eagerly. He surprised a baby rabbit that had hidden in the grass, it took off, straight towards the barn. Domino went after it with a joyful bark.

Sabrina groaned and hurried after him. The bunny darted here and there, shooting towards safety as Domino charged after it. It darted to the right, desperate to make an escape into the nearby field, but Domino blocked its path, his tail wagging eagerly. The terrified baby darted into the open barn door instead, with Domino charging in after it.

Sabrina heard something clanging, the sound of metal hitting the ground and someone letting out a cry of surprise.

Sabrina jogged up to the barn door just in time to see Donatello catch Domino by the collar.

"How did you get here?" He asked the dog shocked, as if he really expected the dog to answer him.

"Sorry, Don, he needed the exercise."

Donatello's surprised chocolate brown eyes snapped up to her face, but she saw him smile after a minute and he let the dog go. Domino sat, head hanging low as if expecting to be scolded.

"Sorry, I didn't call first… I don't have the number, and you did say I could come by today," Sabrina apologized. "I brought the jam I promised."

She entered the barn, surprised by how good it felt in there, with the door open it was still warm, but not too hot.

"Oh, no, you're fine really. I just got to work on it sooner than I thought I would today. Thought I'd answer client e-mails later this afternoon. Get what I could done on the truck while I was thinking about it. Man from the auto shop called as well, parts came in early. Elizabeth has already picked them up. Shouldn't take me too long to get your truck running now."

"Really?" Sabrina asked as she set the jars of jam down on a low bench. "You don't mind if I watch do you? I really would like to learn if you'd be willing to teach me."

Donatello smiled. "Sure. As long as you don't mind getting dirty. Best way to learn is to do."

Sabrina met his smile with one of her own. "I don't mind getting dirty," she said easily.

"Why don't you grab the crankshaft that's over there for me?"

Sabrina looked at the assorted random car parts, frowning. What the heck was a crankshaft?

She heard Donatello chuckle behind her and then an olive green hand snaked out and picked up the part Donatello had asked for. He smiled at her, but it wasn't in a way that made her feel embarrassed. It had the same calm expression she had often held for her students when they were having trouble understanding what it was she was asking from them.

"Come on, I'll show you how this works," he offered.

Sabrina felt herself relax as she followed the turtle over to the truck.

Sabrina had no idea where the hours had gone. It didn't seem possible for the shadows to be stretching, like reaching fingers into what little sunlight remained in the barn. Donatello had already turned on the lights so they could see better.

Sabrina never thought she would enjoy learning about how an engine worked so much. Maybe it was Donatello's enthusiasm for the subject. Maybe she was still lost in the unreality of him even being here and time seemed unimportant when she was with him. No matter what it was Sabrina never would have imagined herself, leaning over the hood of her brother's truck and actually enjoy fixing it.

She still wasn't sure if she would be able to do this herself without Donatello's help. But she at least had a good idea of how the basics inside the engine worked.

As the hours had passed, and Donatello's explanations had trailed off a bit once he'd actually gotten to work the conversation had turned casual.

Sabrina found herself sitting next to the front right tire, with Donatello lying underneath the truck, with nothing but his green legs showing, occasionally she'd hand him whatever tool he asked for.

"Can you hand me that 5/8's, Sabrina?" Donatello's three fingered hand snaked out from underneath the truck, held open expectantly.

Sabrina glanced at the wrenches in the box for a minute before finding the appropriate one and handed it to him.

"So when will Jensen be home?"

"He keeps extending. Last time I talked to him it was two years. He's not in a huge hurry to come home."

Donatello grunted softly and Sabrina heard the unmistakable sound of metal on metal as he worked.

"I suppose I don't blame him. Home has a lot of memories he doesn't want to face."

"Can't run away from things, they'll always be there no matter where you go." Donatello grunted again, louder this time.

"He knows that. But it beats him drinking himself to death. Least this way he feels like if something goes wrong, at least he did it for a good reason."

"You think so?"

"To be honest," Sabrina sighed as she drew her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them in a hug as she rested her chin on her knees. "I think he signed up for this because he knew there was a chance it could get him killed. He's not suicidal, but he's not afraid to die either. In some of the letters he sends sometimes. I get the feeling that he wants it. He mentions Katie now and then. In one letter he sent about a month ago he told me he hopes that there's an afterlife, so he can be with Katie again someday."

"You believe in that?" Donatello asked, his tone careful now.

Sabrina shrugged, though Donatello couldn't see it.

"I'm not sure, I find it hard to believe in myself. It's hard to imagine anything beyond what we have right now. Katie used to believe in the afterlife. Got Jensen to go to church with her a few times. She told me once that the creator of the earth knew who I was personally. But how can there be such a being when so many bad things happen to good people and so many bad people walk free?"

Donatello shifted, he grabbed the edge of the truck and pushed himself out from underneath it. He grabbed a rag, wiping his hands on the soft material. Personally Donatello didn't believe in a heavenly force. Though he knew that there were spiritual presences. Even though he struggled with meditation, he had felt a few unfamiliar presences of these spiritual entities brush past his psyche when he was able to clear his mind long enough to allow himself to slip into the deeper plains of meditation. He had been confused at first when he'd first felt these presences and had consulted Splinter about them. But Splinter had warned Donatello not to pursue unfamiliar spiritual beings in the spiritual plane. Such things could feel harmless at first, but if pursued were not as harmless as they appeared. Donatello had heeded his master's advice and had not pursued the matter further.

Religion, on the other hand, was interesting. He'd looked into some of the basic beliefs for few when he'd been in his late teens. Several of them seem centered on Christianity. Donatello had never looked into this too deeply. The thought that a man born of flesh and blood was the son of God confused him. But he had never dug deeper into exploring it. Science had always been a more powerful influence to him, and explained more clearly how the world was created, rather than the thought that a heavenly figure had created it.

"Still… " Sabrina sighed as she looked at him. "I suppose it's comforting to think that there could be something out there after this life for us. That we somehow still exist after we die. Maybe if we do… maybe if there is something, then what we do while we're here matters on some level."

Donatello met her eyes and smiled. He was amazed by how the color of her clothes seemed to make her eyes change colors. He liked it. They were always different.

"Do you believe in the afterlife, Don?"

"I'd like to believe that what we do here counts for something. I even looked at some of the beliefs of religions when I was younger. They had some interesting theories, but all religions seem to have the same foundation of faith in a higher being. That's something I can't personally wrap my mind around. It just doesn't seem possible. I do believe there is something else out there besides just this… I'm not very good at meditation but some of the things that my brother Leonardo and my Master Splinter have seen as they meditate leads me to believe there is something more for us after this life. But I wouldn't know what to expect."

Sabrina shifted trying to get more comfortable. "I worry about Jensen. He's my brother. I love him. But it's his life. I just hope he'll come home, and not in a pine box when he does."

Donatello wasn't sure what to say to that. How to comfort her. The thought of her brother dying out there fighting for his country obviously upset her, not that he could blame her. There had been times when he'd been afraid that he'd lost one of his brothers. With what they did on a daily basis there was always the chance that one of them could be seriously wounded. It was something that was always in the back of his mind. It was why he had thrown himself into learning as much as he could about medicine as he could, hoping that it would be enough if his worst fears did happen. Of course, now that Elizabeth was pregnant he would have to extend his knowledge into some other fields, knowing full well that Elizabeth wouldn't be able to go to a hospital this time. She would need him.

"I should go… it's getting late." Sabrina stood, dusting some dirt off her pants.

Donatello scrambled to his feet as well and walked around to the front of the truck, moving a few rags and closed the hood.

"Thank you, Don, for teaching me about the truck. I probably won't be able to fix it myself… but at least I'll have a good idea of what to look for next time something goes wrong."

Donatello smiled at her. "Your welcome."

"You going to work on it again tomorrow?"

He nodded. "Was planning on it."

"Mind if I come watch?"

"No. Probably start about the same time tomorrow. If you want to plan around then."

"Sure, Don. I'll plan on being here around ten."

Donatello tossed a wrench into the tool box and picked up a rag to wipe off his hands as Sabrina turned to leave only to nearly run right into Michelangelo.

Michelangelo's bright blue eyes widened behind his mask when he saw her. Obviously surprised.

"Oh… " Sabrina took a startled step back, completely taken by surprise.

Domino growled beside her and pulled back his lips exposing his teeth.

"Eeep!" The orange masked turtle took a step backwards. "Nice doggy… nice big doggy… "

Sabrina grabbed the dog's collar, holding it firmly.

The dog looked at her and then sat, watching Michelangelo warily, but stopped growling.

"I'm sorry… " Sabrina's voice was breathless as she looked at the other turtle.

"Yeah, sorry didn't mean to scare you, dudette."

"Sabrina, this is my brother Michelangelo. Mike, this is Sabrina."

The turtle's face twisted from one of surprised confusion to a warm welcoming smile.

"Sabrina?" His grin made Sabrina's initial feelings of apprehension melt away and she found herself meeting his smile with one of her own.

He held out a three fingered hand for her to shake.

Sabrina hesitated for only a second before she took it. His fingers closed gently around her hand and Sabrina found that she liked Michelangelo already. There was just something about him that was impossible not to like. She wasn't sure if it was his dazzling smile or those soft blue eyes.

"Michelangelo, it's nice to meet you."