I stood out in the yard after the sun set, carefully watching my children as they moved through their paces. Waiting until the cool of night to set in so they wouldn't over heat trying to force their bodies into movements that seemed harder for them to do today. This was their first time actually trying to train since their whole ordeal and I wanted to make sure they didn't over do it so soon yet. There was still a stiffness to their movements but for the most part they seemed back to their old selves.
Ellen and Peter were watching from the back porch as they sat in their favorite chairs, Cris was watching over the sleeping Marina and David, once again both knocked out. Marina at least grudgingly took her meds, David still hadn't figured out that he was being drugged to sleep.
Raph was standing out there with me as he coached them while Mikey was on watch duty. The others hadn't made it back yet but we were expecting them, soon hopefully.
"Bring that blocking arm up higher!" Raph snapped at Amy after she almost got nailed by her brother.
She just growled as she blocked another swing. "Better." Raph rumbled in approval.
A full day and half a night of sleep really didn't seem like enough to me as they already seemed to struggle to keep up their pace. Exhaustion still marred their features a little as they ducked and dodged around each other. Raph's eyes narrowed as he caught on to it too. "That's enough." He told them as he moved between them.
For once Amy didn't argue with him about it as she moved towards the porch with Dennis walking next to her. "I usually like training," She sighed as she sat down tiredly on one of Peter's bench swings. "but I'm glad that session is over with."
I chuckled as I followed them up to the porch then went to the mini fridge and opened it, tossing them both a bottle of water. "It's going to take you a few days for your body to get itself back in shape. I think Raph understands that, might be why he's been so easy on you today."
"Easy?" Ellen asked me. "That was easy? It looked like they were trying to kill each other!"
"You think that looked hard..." I grinned at her. "You should see my training sessions."
"Speaking of." Raph looked at me as he crossed his arms. "Your turn. Not getting of the hook just because Leo isn't here."
I groaned. Me and my big mouth.
"Oh, this is going to be gooooood..." Dennis grinned at me. "I love watching you and Raph go at it."
"Probably because you know he'll kick my backside all over the place." I mumbled and he grinned even wider.
"Come on! Burning daylight here!" Raph snapped as his sai spun in his hand. I sighed as I went looking for my asps.
"He's not really going to use that on you is he?" Ellen asked me as I stepped off of the porch.
"Oh yes he will, and get a kick out of it too." I walked over to meet my doom for today.
"Ready?" He grinned at me.
"No." I told him and he laughed.
I warily watched as I wondered which out of the many various ways I was going to end up on the ground today. We started to circle each other, waiting. I had learned from experience not to move first. His patience would soon give out and he he would make the first move. His eyes did that telltale slight narrowing and I knew he was about to move in on me, right at the sametime a water balloon landed right upside of his head. He stood there, staring in shock as his face was dripping before his amber eyes flared.
"Dr. Prankenstein strikes again!" Mikey hollered from on top of the roof as Raph slowly turned his head to his younger brother. Mikey caught the look. "Uh oh..."
"Mikeeeeeey!" Raph roared and charged, completely forgetting about my training session now. Raph leap up to the roof and, laughing, Mikey leapt over him in a forward spin and hit the ground. He underestimated Raph's speed though and the big turtle crashed into him just a moment later and they went rolling across the yard.
Dennis and Amy were cracking up over the scene we had witnessed so many times it was normal for us. Peter and Ellen didn't know whether to laugh or be scared for the smallest turtles. They followed the teen's lead and bust out laughing too as Raph dunked Mikey's face into a barrel of rainwater Ellen used to water her porch plants.
I rolled my eyes as I walked over towards them and smacked Mikey upside the head when Raph let him back up again. "Aren't you supposed to keep watch?" I asked his grinning face, then wondered why in the hell he was grinning at me like that. He better not try to dunk my face into the water...
"No point to it anymore." A very familiar calm and quiet voice said from right behind me.
I spun around to see Leo standing behind there. Needless to say I wrapped my arms around him real quick.
"They're back." Mikey chuckled. "Did I forget to mention that?"
Casey came walking out of the house with a grin as he tossed the keys back to Peter. "Tanks full and not a scratch on her."
"Dare I ask how it went?" Peter asked.
"Very well actually, for once." Donnie said as he came down from the roof. "Found them pathetically easily. Leo trashed the hell out of the loan office then we went to go see the back manager. Made his point very clear...all three of them."
"Played bad turtle routine again?" I asked him with a grin as I looked up at him.
"No. Honest turtle. I let him know what would happen if he didn't leave all of you alone." He shrugged.
Donnie chuckled. "His argument was very effective at getting him to change his mind."
Raph let out a nasty grin. "Sorry I missed it."
"It's...over?" Ellen sounded like she really couldn't believe it herself.
Leo's calm gaze met hers. "Yes, it is. We will stay here a few days to make sure, but I seriously doubt anything else will happen."
"Overall, these guys were pathetically easy." Mikey told them as he sat on the porch, leaning on one of the pillars.
"This is my world Mikey." I reminded him as I smiled. "Remember, there are no genetically altered humans, rogue mutants or crazy secret agents running around over here. Just normal everyday thugs."
"Sounds boring." He yawned.
"Stupid is up!" Came Cris' call from inside and the turtles slipped off into the darkness again.
"Will you stop calling me that?" David snapped at her right before he barged outside, almost running into the door frame because his depth perception was still off due to one eye being swollen shut.
She snorted as she followed him out. "Seems to me you earned the name fair and square."
"I'm getting real tired of your mouth!"
"Feel free to try and do something about it." She growled back as she crossed her arms.
He just glared at her, his fist clenching at his side. Her eyes narrowed when she caught sight of it. "Go ahead." She told him quietly. "I fucking dare you..."
"David!" Peter's voice snapped then, but it was Ellen who acted this time.
She got up out of her rocker and squarely placed herself between Cris and David, her usually calm demeanor was gone and I got a good look at a pissed off mother. The porch grew quiet as they had their little stand off. "That's not how you were raised." She almost hissed at him. "You were not raised to be so self centered, you were not raised to be a mooching bum and you were definitely not raised to believe hitting women is ok! Until you remember those things you are no longer welcome in my home!"
My eyes grew wide. That was one thing I really wasn't expecting, her kicking her own son out...
"Mom..."
"No! I meant it!" She snapped back at him.
"Don't you see what's going on here?" He almost yelled back at her. "She's managed to turn all away from me! And look who she has the children hanging around! No wonder Amy has a mouth on her, with examples like this placed in front of her!"
Peter just shook his head in frustration. "Still blaming others for your mistakes, even after this..." Now he stood up. "Boy, we've tried to be there for both of you. It broke our hearts when you and Vicky split but we tried to see both sides. And honestly at least Vicky pulled herself together and did what she had to do for those kids. What did you do? You ran and hid from the responsibility. You may not like it David, but those kids are part of our family, and so is Vicky. We weren't going to just cut them completely out of our lives just because you couldn't handle the burden anymore!"
"So I end up getting pushed out of my own family? Got strangers raising my kids and now my parents turn against me." He spun around and glared at me. "This isn't over! I will take you to court! I'll sue you! I'll sue your boyfriend and I'll do my god damn best to take custody of my kids! You fucking homewrecking bitch!" Again his fist clenched and this time his hand came up as if he was going to hit me.
Before I could even respond, David's eyes grew wide as he noticed something behind me before I was gently pushed out of the way. Leo strode past me, his eyes blazing and he didn't even try to hide this time. I didn't have to look to know the others were gathered behind me.
Snarling, Leo reached out and nailed David in the face again. He hit the porch and stared up at Leo who was hovering over him, his eyes still hard as he glared down at my ex. "You will do no such thing!" Leo snapped down at him as the other three came onto the porch. "You will leave them alone, that is what you will do."
David was by now scrambling backwards as he fully took in what was standing in front of him. Leo didn't give him the chance to scoot back any further as he reached over to pick him up by the front of his shirt. "I'm sure your little pea brained mind can figure out who are are...right?" Leo growled at him.
David's eyes were so wide they looked like they were about fall out of his sockets as he quickly nodded.
"Then you know exactly what we can do...right?"
David was squealing a bit as he nodded again.
"I meant what I said." Leo growled again. "You will do nothing to bring them more grief. You will sit in your miserable hole you find yourself in and stay away from my family!" He threw David and Cris just smoothly sidestepped out of the way as he went crashing into the wall behind her.
"Now you went and did it." Cris smirked at him.
"And if you even think about trying to tell anyone about us..." Raph growled, right as he launched a sai that stuck into the wall beside his head, and his other one buried itself into the porch between David's legs, a few inches shy of some very important equipment. Raph then just calmly walked up and leaned over David. "Get my point?" He asked as he ripped the sai back up from the porch, then waved it under David's nose. David just nodded stupidly before Raph ripped the other one out of the wall and backed up.
"David, I think it's time for you to go." Peter told him. "Before you do something stupid enough to end up in the hospital."
He stood up on trembling legs as he stared at the four turtles in front of him, then looked at his dad. "I have no where else to go!" He was almost crying now, and I actually felt pity for him. He was as low as he could go, and he didn't know how to climb back up.
Leo sternly watched David as he stood shaking in front of him. "I think it's time you took a good, hard look at what brought you where you are now. I meant what I said. The children have expressed their feelings towards you, and their desire not to see you anymore, and I will enforce that. That doesn't mean you can't change. Do something with yourself, turn into the man you want to be, not the poor excuse of one standing here now. I will be their guardian until they turn eighteen. You have until then to prove to them that you aren't a worthless piece of shit, and if you convince them you might be able to win their trust again. But until then, stay away from them!" Leo reached out, grabbed the front of David's shirt and drug him close. Putting his snarling face right into David's. "And if you ever badmouth my wife again I will personally defend her honor."
"Your...wife?" David looked to me and back to Leo again.
"Yes, my wife." Leo said through clenched teeth as he let him go and pushed him away and David stumbled backwards. He didn't fall this time, but he did look at Leo before he swallowed hard.
"David," I gently began as I laid a calming hand on Leo's arm "he's given you a chance to start over. Please, just for once, put everything that did happen behind you. None of us wanted this to go as far as it did, and I did love you at one time. Remind us all what is was that I fell for, the father you used to be."
He just looked at me quietly, then let out a sad sigh as he sat down in one of the chairs. He covered his face with his hands, then began to cry. I sadly watched him as he finally realized just how much he had messed up over the years and what it had cost him.
Leo remained unbending as he watched. "You have two years until Dennis turns eighteen, use that time wisely." Then Leo placed his hand over mine that was on his other arm, gave it a gentle squeeze then he led his brothers out into the yard to leave David to come to terms with everything.