DISCLAIMER: I don't own TMNT. I do own Viridania, and Jasper is my OC. If you would like to use them, just ask through a PM (Personal Message). I have no problem with anyone using my ideas, as long as you ask first! After all, plagiarism is the worst thing possible for us writers!

Side note: as turtles have thick green skin, their blush would not be red (well, they wouldn't have blush at all, but these are mutants/aliens, with different biological makeup, etc.); their undertones aren't pink/coral/red, so therefore their blush wouldn't be, either. It's a long, complicated explanation; I won't go into detail… (you can google it if you're really that interested).

Last Chapter

[Leo] closed his eyes, counted to ten slowly and took a deep breath. Then he read the text.

Dear Leonardo Hamato,

We leave this message to ask that you come to the SAP portal room within New York City to retrieve your child.

Sincerely, Terry Rosemond.

Chapter Twenty One - We're Off To See the Agents...

Leonardo couldn't help but feel nervous as he scooped Jasper into his arms. He breathed in and out deeply and glanced over his shoulder to see Splinter gently rocking Bonnie back and forth. Splinter smiled at him, and Leo returned the gesture. Mikey bounded down the stairs, wearing his orange shirt with the red dragon, his jeans, and his leather brown shoes that he had been given. He waved at Leo and grinned.

"I still don't see why we had ta wear these," Raph muttered and pulled at his trench coat.

"These aren't so bad," Mikey said, "I mean, if you came last time, and had these clothes, you'd know that."

Raph snarled and Mikey poked out his tongue.

"That is enough, both of you." Splinter said.

The two waited until Splinter started for the battle shell until they silently continued their bickering. Leonardo rolled his eyes and followed after his father and Donatello. Jasper was dozing off in his arms, his head tapping against Leo's soft, fleshy side. Donnie started up the engine, and Leo took a seat. Jasper mumbled tiredly when they started driving and squinted at his surroundings. Leo gently rubbed his hand into Jasper's shell and he slowly dozed off once more. In reality, it didn't take them long to get to the 'portal room', although – for Leo – it felt like forever.

They pulled into the bland, grimy underground carpark and Donatello pulled into a nearby park, as Terry had instructed them to do with a follow up text message. Everybody filed out, one by one, and they headed for the boxy room that stood out from the carpark with its pure white lights, instead of the flickering yellow that illuminated most of the area. Jasper reached out for a grimy column, and Leo pulled his arm back much to the child's dismay. Raph muttered under his breath and was glaring at his feet, which had an eery yellow substance sticking to them.

"Ya' couldn't have parked closer?"

"I was just following the instructions." Don threw his hands up in defence.

"Damn the instructions," Raph snarled and he scraped the suspicious substance onto the welcome mat.

"Well aren't you just a ball of sunshine today?" Donnie asked sarcastically.

"That was my line," Mikey pouted.

Leo rolled his eyes at his brothers' bickering and reached for the doorhandle. The walls inside had been painted in multiple colours which had dulled due to time, but Jasper and Bonnie reached for them all the same. The floor was mostly wooden, with a few corners sectioned off with carpet and half walls.

"Oh, c'mon, Leo. Don't start acting like your all above the fighting, just 'coz you're a dad now." Mikey said with a cheeky grin.

"I've always been 'above the fighting', Mikey." Leo replied.

"Not always." Mikey reminded with a teasing laugh.

"Leonardo?"

Leonardo's gaze fixed onto the figure emerging from a doorway. The man had curled, gelled down blonde hair, icy blue eyes and a stern face. Leo nodded, "That's me."

"My name is Terry Rosemond." The man said. He held out his hand, and Leo shook it. "I'm afraid I'll need you to sign a few documents before I can hand over your child. Just papers stating that you're legally taking parental ownership of him. Keeps people from coming back and trying to sue us."

"Why would I-?"

"You'd be surprised how often it happens." Terry said with a dismissive wave of his hand and an exhausted-sounding sigh. "Now, this way."

Leonardo glanced back at his family. Splinter nodded and Leo handed Jasper to Mikey before he followed Terry into an office. Being underground, there were no windows and subsequently no sunlight or plants. The walls were cream coloured with dark green vines painted on them, and there was a wooden desk with a thin sheet of marble covering the desktop. There were a few chocolate wrappers scattered atop of the piles of papers.

"Sorry about the mess." Terry sighed again and he rubbed his hands over his face. "This room gets shared by hundreds of agents, and everybody seems glad to leave their stuff laying around wherever. Just take a seat." He gestured to the black plastic chair, and Leo did as he was told. He instantly felt fidgety but forced himself to stay still as Terry sat at the larger, cushioned black chair behind the desk and bundled the piles of paper up, and chucked them onto the floor with a thump. Terry took out a cream coloured envelope. "This is your son's report. There's just some sheets you need to sign. Once that's done, you'll get 'im, and a copy of this. Understood?"

"Yeah." Leo said. Terry nodded grimly as he pulled out a sheet of paper. He sighed and put it on the desk, facing Leo. Leonardo frowned. "What happened to him?"

"We don't know." Terry said. "This sheet you just need to sign to legally state you had no doing in the boy's harm. It sounds strange, I know, but it's required."

His words were lost on Leo, who was squinting at the photographs. On the top right was a picture of a small boy with leaf skin a tinge darker than Leo's. He was wrapped in a black blanket and was trying to bury himself in it. The other photos were of his body; more specifically, of the boy's injuries. His left eye was bruised, and there was a cut down his leg. His skin was purplish and swelling. In each photo, he had his shoulders hunched and didn't look directly into the camera. He looked horrified.

"The sooner we get through this, the sooner you can see him." Terry prompted, sliding over a pen.

Leo forced himself to look away from the photos and nodded. He quickly scanned the words on the sheet. As Terry had said, it was just a paragraph clearly stating that he, Leonardo, the father of the child, had not inflicted the injuries. Leo pressed the tip of the pen on the paper and paused.

"I don't know how to sign it." He said, and looked up. "I just- I've never needed to sign anything before."

Terry nodded in understanding. "All you really need to do is write your name."

"Oh." And so that was how Leo signed the rest of the papers, most of which stated what would be expected of him once he took on the role of 'father'; making sure the child was fed, had a place to call home, was kept entertained, and was kept out of harm's way. "Is that all?"

"The ones left will need to be filled out in due time." Terry said, "And, perhaps when that time comes, you can fill them out for those other two of yours." When Leo gave him an odd look, Terry explained, "They are… They are birth certificates, in a way, I suppose. You will need to have found a name for the boy to fill his out, and since you have only just learnt of your… origin, I've been given the order to wait until you have had more time to adjust before having you fill 'em out."

Leonardo nodded. He ran his thumb over the edge of one of the papers. He didn't want to test his sudden burst of luck, but there was something nagging at him… "I thought when something like this occurs, that there needs to be a witness or lawyer to watch the signing of the papers?"

"Perhaps for legal papers. You see, these aren't so much legal papers as they are precautions." Terry said, "In case you ever… I don't know, decide that you don't need to feed the child. These papers are just evidence that you knew you were obliged to, so that we could send you to jail without you trying to claim that 'you didn't know'. The legal papers will come later."

Leo raised his eye ridge and looked up at the man, "People can do that?"

"Humans and terrapins are not the only species out there, remember," Terry said. Terrapin. So that was what their specie was called? "Some have certain… beliefs, when it comes to parenting, and they come from cultures that have different rules. Rules that are no longer seen as acceptable."

Leo nodded, "I see." He shook his head, "Still, though, I thought this was going to be a more formal, legal procedure."

"Maybe for humans." Terry said, "SAP used to work in a similar way, I believe, though I'm definitely no expert when it comes to history. That's more of my partner, Wave's, compartment. Speaking of which," he nodded his head at a door on the right, "he's with the boy now. As I said, the rest of these can be filled out in due time."

Leo got to his feet, "Thank you."

Terry nodded his head in recognition and started shuffling the papers into a pile. Leonardo hurried to the door and knocked twice. Then, he slowly pushed the door open, his heart rate escalating as his eyes scanned the room. The walls were pale blue and the carpet was overly soft. It was a small room, with nothing but a single bed and a bedside table with a lamp. On the bed was a man with bright blue eyes, inky black hair, a chubby face, an abundance of freckles and a scar running down his cheek – Terry's partner, Wave, no doubt. In front of him was a partly-complete puzzle and – and Leo's son.

The boy was as small as Bonnie and Jasper, his eyes the same bright sapphire blue, and his skin a tone darker just like the in photos. His scars stood out harshly from his skin, although his bruises seemed to be healing up nicely. Most of him, however, was hidden by a large, black, fluffy bathrobe. Wave sat up and swung his legs off the bed. He reached his hand over and gently squeezed the boy's shoulder.

"I'll be just out there with Terry, okay? You can just call if you need me." Wave looked over at Leonardo pointedly, "Maybe your dad might even help you finish the puzzle."

Wave had a thick accent like Nicholas', and Leo supposed that Wave came from Lignaria, too; unlike Terry.

Leo wondered if the child really understood the words, or not. Bonnie had already started speaking, so it wasn't completely impossible for his son to have started doing the same. It was something Leo hadn't considered, and curiosity began to nip at him. Wave walked out the door, and shut it behind himself. Leo looked back to his son, cowering in the bathrobe, trying to sink into oblivion. He felt his lips press together and the bitter taste of hate touch his tongue. Saki would pay for what he had done; Leo would make sure of it.

"Hi." Leonardo sat on the bed and smiled. The child sunk closer into the wall. Remembering the pointed stare, he asked, "Would you like some help with the puzzle?"

The child merely stared at him. Leo looked down at the pieces.

"It's easier if you do the sides first," he said, "You can find them better, because they all have straight sides." His son lifted his head to watch as Leo pulled a piece from the pile, and put it at the border of the puzzle. Leo tried to catch his gaze. "See?"

Slowly, the child leant forward, and he shuffled through the pieces, before finding the one he desired, and he put it next to Leo's, and clamped it into place. A smile flitted onto his face, and he continued his search for more border pieces. He didn't seem content with communication, and so Leo helped him with the puzzle silently. The pieces were large and bulky, and together they made up a picture of a murky pond with large, bright pink water lilies. Being a children's puzzle, it didn't take long at all to finish. His son leant back and sat crossed legged, and looked over the picture with mild interest. Leo's thoughts turned to his family waiting outside.

"You know," he said slowly, gently, "there are some others here to see you, too." The child visibly tensed, then slowly turned to face the door, before crawling closer to the wall. Leo's stomach wrenched. "You don't need to worry. They won't hurt you." The child stared at him for several moments before looking back to the door contemplatively. "They just want to say 'hi'." Leo said, slowly getting to his feet, "If you get scared, I'll just bring you back in here with Wave. Okay?"

The child waited several more moments before giving one definite nod. He reached behind his pillow and held something out. Leo took the fabric from his hands and unfolded it. They were clothes.

"Do you want me to change you?" Leo asked. His child nodded. "Oh, uh… Alright," Leonardo reached out and slid the dressing gown off him, and folded it neatly beside him. He paused and felt his heart stop as he got a view of his child. The photographs had hardly managed to show the damage for what it really was. A large brownish indent was splayed across his plastron. The bandages covered most of the damage, though the hints of blood had Leonardo's blood boiling to the point he could hardly hold it back. The boy shifted and looked down to his injuries, and tried to hide them with his bandaged arms. "You should never hide your scars," Leonardo said, and gently cupped his son's cheek, "they prove to the world that you're strong, and that you made it through something very, very hard."

The boy stared at him doubtfully. With a sad sigh, Leo leaned forward and kissed his son's head.

If only he had gone and saved his son when he had that chance; then he would be perfectly fine.

Leo dressed the boy in his hoodie and his pants, and the boy pulled the hood over his head, and reached for his father with both arms partially outstretched. "Can't you walk?" Leo asked as he picked him up. The boy shook his head. "But you can talk, right?" The boy nodded, but made no attempt to speak. Leo rubbed into his carapace soothingly, "You don't haft to be afraid anymore. You know that, don't you?"

The boy did not respond.

Leonardo carried him out the door, and noted that both Wave and Terry were still in the office. Terry sat in his chair, and Wave's arms came around both sides of him, his palms flat on the table. Wave glanced up, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." Leo said. Terry didn't spare him a glance, and kept his eyes strictly on the paper work in front of him. Leo noted that a tinge of pink was creeping up the man's neck.

Wave nodded and turned back to Terry and he let out a tired sigh. "No, no," he said, "That is all wrong." He jabbed the paper, "That, should be there."

"No," Terry said, and the pink quickly began to fade and his eyes narrowed, "if it was, that would mean,"

Not wanting to eavesdrop, no matter how impersonal their conversation, Leonardo continued for the main room. Mikey was sat on the floor with Jasper and Bonnie, with a wooden crate of toys beside him. He was in the middle of waving around a sparkly wand for Bonnie. Splinter, Don, and Raph were seated on the chairs lined against the wall. They all watched him as he entered, and Jasper squealed in the delight as he reached for the boy in his father's arms. The boy squirmed at the attention, and Leo kept rubbing circles into his shell to keep him calm.

"This is my father – your grandfather – Splinter." He began.

Splinter got to his feet and slowly approached. "Hello, little one," he smiled. The boy tried to hide in his hood. Splinter reached out and gently caressed the side of his head, but he whimpered and withdrew closer to his father.

"It's okay," Leo murmured. He nodded to Raph and Don, "and, look, those are your uncles," the boy peaked from his hood, "that one's Raph," Raph nodded in acknowledgement, "and that's Don." Don smiled and waved at him. "The dufus down there, that's Uncle Mikey." Mikey grinned. Leonardo sat down beside his children. "And these two here are your siblings. Your brother, Jasper," Jasper squealed at the mention of his name, "and your sister, Bonnie." She had promptly snatched the 'wand' from her uncle, and was trying to snap it with her small measly hands, and was taking no notice of them.

The boy slowly wriggled from Leo's grip. Leonardo let him go, and the boy reached over and gently brushed his fingertips against Jasper. Jasper giggled and tried to return the gesture, but he shied away from the touch. Leo kept rubbing the circles into his shell. Jasper was still reaching for his brother, and whinging as his hand was an inch too short. Hesitantly, Leonardo's unnamed son reached out and his hand met with Jasper's half-way. Jasper giggled and clutched onto his hand. The boy tipped his head to the side, and clutched the hand back.

Thump.

Leonardo turned his head to see Wave at the desk of the main room. He had dropped a reasonably large box onto the desk. "Mr Workaholic wanted me to bring this out." He said, "Just some stuff to help ya's with the kids, really. Has the reports, too." He stood back and rolled his shoulders, "It's a bit heavy but, uh," he glanced at their muscled arms, "it don't look like you all will have much trouble with it." He nodded at the door, "You all can leave when you're ready to. We'll be in touch again soon, to finish this whole mess up." He walked up and squatted by Leonardo's unnamed-son. He handed a purple box with a picture of a field on it to him, and he hushed his voice. "Don't tell anyone I gave you this, yeah?"

The boy took it with a large smile and nodded. Wave gently rubbed Bonnie and Jasper's head before he stood.

"I'll see the lot of ya' later, then." Wave smiled, and returned to the office.

Leo gently rubbed his son's hand and looked down at his face. "Well, what do you think? Ready to go yet?"

For a moment, it looked like the child was going to shake his head but in the last second, he clutched the puzzle box to his plastron and gave a hesitant nod.

"I'll go get the box, then," Raph huffed, getting to his feet.

"What's in it?" Don asked when the red clad warrior peeked into it.

"Eh, books… some… diapers? Formula… more books… envelopes… that's about it, I guess." He closed the lid and picked it up.

Leonardo turned back to his children, and picked up his unnamed son and Bonnie. Mikey leant over and picked up Jasper, while Don began to scoop the toys back into their crate. Leo got to his feet, gently cradling his children as he did so. Bonnie had apparently only just now realised that her brother had joined them. She squinted at him and seemed to be just as wary of him as he was of her.

"Well, then," Leo said, "let's head home."

… I hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter… It took ages to write. I had gotten to 6,000 words and realised I should cut it in half…
so here's the first half, and the second "half" will be up as soon as it's finished…

… Thank you to the people who reviewed the last chapter…

Created to Write, TMNTPRO15, luna eclipse15, Turtlecrazy714, Turtlefanforlife1982, tmntlover2013, Star, Guest