The next day, Leo was glad that he had gotten some sleep, but he wasn't up for breakfast. He wanted to know as soon as possible that his baby was alright.
Don called ahead that morning to let Leatherhead know that Leo was coming over to his place to have his baby checked on by his sonogram machine.
The croc accepted that Leo needed to know because it was an emergency.
Once Leo got there, LH was ready to help him out. He guided the pregnant turtle to the sonogram machine where Leo lay down on his back on the sliding bed.
He would be going into the machine much like a CAT scan. A red laser line would pass over his body as he went through it.
Leo remembered when Don had to go through this machine at least a time or two. It was a little scary, but he was going to do this, he had to know how the baby was doing.
The bed he was lying on started to move him slowly into the machine. Once Leo was completely inside, it stopped.
"Now I'm going to start the scanning process, Leonardo." LH said. "Starting at your head and the line will make its way down your body."
"Ok, Leatherhead." Leo replied as he closed his eyes.
Leo saw a red light coming over his head now, even with his eyes closed. He was glad when it finally got over his head, but he still kept his eyes closed.
A couple minutes later, the process was done. The table slid out of the machine and when it began moving, Leo opened his eyes. When it came to a stop, he knew that he could get off the table now. He wanted to see what his results were. Leatherhead pulled Leo's body scan up on his computer so the turtle could see too. Leo came over to his side.
On the screen, Leo could see a much more detailed picture of himself. It was like a 3D image.
Leo could see his whole body, but he was more interested in seeing where the baby was. The croc moved to the belly area and took a look.
"There is your baby, Leonardo." LH said.
It was so hard to see its image on screen like that. "Wow. That's my baby?" Leo asked.
"Yes. You sound as if you have never seen it before." The croc said.
"Not like this."
"Ok, let's see if there is any sign of damage or distress." LH said. He looked over the baby very carefully. "Were there any signs last night?" LH asked.
"It's heartbeat was stressed, but Don couldn't find anything out of the ordinary." Leo said. "Probably just from the jab it took."
"I'm thinking that you may not have been jabbed that hard then. Your plastron and the uterus that I see it in seems to have protected it a lot more. I remember seeing the same with Donatello."
"Speaking of that, where is it in me exactly?" Leo asked.
"The uterus is down in your lower abdominal cavity, just behind your reproductive organs. So it's a good protected spot."
"But it won't affect them, will it?"
"No. The baby has grown above the organs, just slightly. And you are not showing that much." LH said.
"Maybe not, but the bulge shifted enough for the Foot to find out about it." Leo said. "I was wondering if the others were going to make it in time."
"You know they would always come for you, Leonardo."
"I know, but the Foot was just about ready to open me up and take the baby out by the time they got there last night. I was so scared that I was going to go home with a wound in my belly, and a dead baby." Leo said, nearly in sobs.
"But it was good that they got there when they did." LH said. "But as far as this scan is concerned, it doesn't show any problems with the baby being in any distress. It should be just fine, Leonardo. But I would suggest taking it easy for a few days just to make sure. You shouldn't have too much stress right now in this delicate time."
"It's not always that easy for me, considering how I have to look out for my family." Leo said.
"I know you have to deal with that heavy burden, my friend, but while you are in this condition, one of your brothers will have to step up for awhile, just until after the baby comes." The croc advised.
"That would be a long time for them to be leader." Leo said. "And I'm not sure who could do it. Don did show his leadership side when Akemi and Virgil were missing, but I don't think he could do it all the time. Raph would probably have to be it, but he also has much to learn about controlling his temper when he's out of the lair. And Mikey is still too childish."
"You did make Raphael the leader during that time that you had to go to Japan, right?" LH asked.
"Master Splinter advised it. I wasn't in my right mind then. And I also think at times that I'm not in my right mind now. But I'm not mad at the world like I was then."
"You could help your chosen brother along by encouraging him, and try to have him remember what you would do in a certain situation."
"Thanks Leatherhead. I'll think about it, but while I'm not that big yet, I still do want to go on being the leader, even out on patrols for as long as I can, before this pregnancy forces me to have to remain at home. Though at least with my time at home I know I can prepare more for fatherhood by playing with my niece and nephew." Leo said.
"That's good. But for the time being, take a few days off of training and patrols and just relax." LH said.
"Thanks again for everything, LH." Leo said as he was now leaving.
"You're welcome." The croc said.
...
Leo took a few days off to babysit Akemi and Virgil when his brothers went out on patrol and train. But he still did sit in on the training. He had told his family about Leatherhead's instructions for him, and he was following them.
As much as this relaxing could be good for him, Leo couldn't put up with laying around the lair for long. And after every patrol, he would ask his brothers how it went. It was always the same. Fighting thugs on the street mostly, but the Foot was also still patrolling too.
Leo still hadn't mentioned anything about one of his brothers going to need to step up as the new leader; at least when they would be out on patrol. But at home, Leo would always be the lead turtle. He was thinking very hard on who he wanted it to be. It had to be either Don or Raph.
But Leo was also worried about the Foot. He knew they were on the lookout for him most of all, as Karai wanted to kill him and his unborn child.
One night, Leo woke up screaming with the memories of Karai wanting to kill his baby. Don was just down the hall and he came running first to try to comfort his brother.
"Leo?" He asked as he turned on his light.
Leo was still dreaming and struggling in his sleep. Don came over to his bed and woke him up. "Leo!"
Leo sat up, panting. "Donny?"
"What's wrong? You were screaming in your sleep." Don asked.
Then Raph, Mikey, and Splinter entered his room.
Leo hated it when his family worried about him, and he rarely ever had such bad dreams that woke his family up like this. He looked down at his stomach.
Don saw this. "Worried about the baby?"
Leo looked up at him. "It was Karai. Just the things she said to me before you guys came."
"She's a bitch, Leo. Don't believe anything she said to ya." Raph said.
"But what did she say?" Mikey asked. "Ow!"
Raph had hit Mikey up-side the head. He knew that Leo wouldn't want to re-live those words.
"She called it a freak of nature." Leo said. He fell into Don's arms, tears falling.
Don knew how he was feeling. This was a very hard time for his older brother, who usually always had his act together, but it was the hormones.
"It's not a freak, Leo. It's going to be a beautiful baby turtle." Don said. "As we've all seen, it looks more like a turtle."
"But I feel like I failed him or her." Leo sobbed. "I already failed you once Donny. I couldn't protect your kids from Lavish."
"I'm still sorry for blaming you, Leo. But we've been over this. It wasn't your fault that she drugged you." Don said.
"And then I was drugged when the Foot caught Mikey and me."
"It was really cruel of them to do that to you, Leo." Mikey said.
"And LH said that the baby was stressed from what happened." Raph said.
"And we have gotten past that too. You and your baby have survived all of these stresses, Leonardo." Master Splinter now stepped in. "And we will continue to make sure that you do."
"Thanks, Father." Leo said. "But it seemed like you guys weren't going to make it in time."
"We're sorry that it seemed that way, Leo. We knew you could hold out on your own for a while. We had to make sure Mikey was alright too. And it didn't take him long for the drug to wear off. I had to make sure that he wasn't seriously injured, and when we were going to get you, he came out of it and wasn't taking no for an answer, since he knew you got caught." Don explained.
"I'm sorry that happened, Leo." Mikey said. "But your call did reach Donny and Raph, so you did save us. I was too busy fighting them off to call."
"I was just barely able to dial you. My phone was kicked out of my hand." Leo said.
Mikey had many more bruises and such from the Foot that night that were still healing. But he had done it all for Leo and his baby.
"It will always be a night that we'll not forget for a long time, my sons. But are you feeling better now, Leonardo?" Splinter asked.
"A little." Leo said. "And yeah, Mikey, you did save me from taking most of the beatings. Otherwise, I would have much rather it happen to me instead of you."
"But it would have been bad for the baby." Mikey said.
"I know. I have only accepted being pregnant for such a short time, and I have come to love this baby more than my own life." Leo said.
"But right now, your life means your baby's life." Don said. "And for me, I had two lives that depended on me."
With all the stresses involved with being pregnant for so long, Leo wondered how he was going to make it for 6 more months.
"Do you want one of us to stay in here with you?" Don asked.
"Huh?" Leo snapped out of his thoughts.
"You seem like you're feeling better now. But do you want one of us to stay with you?" He repeated.
"No thanks. I think I can manage on my own now." Leo said. He had finally stopped crying, and was much calmer now.
Leo said good night to his family as they left his room. He had to try to get back to sleep again. Though Leo was not wanting to see or hear those horrible dreams and words again.
...
The next day, Leo overslept a bit more. But it was his time of rest, so his family didn't want to wake him, especially after last night's bad dream.
When he came down for breakfast, he did feel hungry this morning.
"Leo, after you're done eating," Don began, "You should start packing your stuff."
"What? Why?" Leo asked.
"After we left your room last night, we all talked downstairs for a little bit, and we think it's time we got out of the city for awhile." Don said.
"The Foot goons won't give up on finding us and you. We just need a break from all this." Mikey said.
"Ok. I'll be more than happy to get away from all that for awhile." Leo said.
He finished his breakfast, then went to pack his swords and some books. Leo knew they were headed up to the farmhouse. "How long are we planning on staying away?" He asked.
"A month should do. It's just been a crazy few months." Raph said.
"I can agree on that." Don said.
"Are April and Casey coming too?"
"It'll be at least this weekend before they can come up. Right now, they have to work. We can take care of ourselves for a few days. We packed some of our food to go." Mikey said.
Leo nodded. He would need April to bring some pregnancy books up for him to read, and some 'female' company at times if the guys got too pushy or bossy towards him. A woman around to talk to would help, because though he would always be male, right now, his hormones made him act like a sensitive female.
The family was all packed up now and ready to get out of the city. Leo held Akemi, and Don carried Virgil to the truck. Everyone was all buckled in. The twins were now riding in baby carriers, for their own safety. And there were now special baby seats in the Battle Shell. The carriers were buckled up.
The whole family was ready for the quiet life of the country for awhile.
Edited by Darkunderworld.
Read and review please. There will be some added excitement out at the farmhouse too. It's not going to just be relaxing times, but just wait and see what happens.