Chapter 25

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

Don felt like he had just won the lottery. They had just left Winter's building, with Mikey still grossed out about breathing in Winter particles. Don looked around at his family. April and Casey were running, hand-in-hand, smiling. This display of affection would have hurt him years ago. But, not now. He was happy for April. And, even though Casey was still a bonehead, he was good to April and them. His crush had blinded him to that fact. Now, he understood. The looks that Casey gave April were the same looks he seen himself gives Anya.

As Don was jumping over a drain pipe, he noticed that his shell cell was vibrating. He slid to a stop, opening the phone. He listened to the voice mail of Julie's frantic voice. Don saw Mikey walk up to him. "What?"

Don flipped it close. "I have to go." He turned. "Anya's in the hospital." Don didn't wait for anyone's reaction and disappeared down the sewer tunnel.

Leo crossed his arms. "Mikey, what happened?"

Mikey turned, rejoining the group. "Anya's in the hospital. That's all he said." Mikey turned in the direction Don went and said, "Should we go too?"

Splinter shook his head. "Donatello shall call us when he knows Anya's condition. I'm sure it is nothing."

Raph grunted. "He was making a lot of soup the other night."

Leo sighed. "Is he really that attached to her?"

Mikey frowned. "Dude, that was cold."

Leo threw his hands up. "Does anyone else think that Donatello having a relationship with a human is a bad idea? He's going to get caught or worse - Anya will get caught and he'll be destroyed. And, he said there is a baby involved. What crazed mother would allow her child to be subjected to us?"

Raph poked Leo's plastron with a thick finger. "As usual, you don't know jack shit about what they mean to us. Anya is annoying but Lydia is an angel. Don't forget, fearless, Don met Anya because of you. If anyone's to blame, it's you."

Splinter shouted. "Raphael that is enough."

Raph turned, expression softening, towards his father. "Yes, Sensei."

Leo grunted. "Master? Do you really approve of this relationship?"

Splinter began to move towards the lair. "Let us talk about this at home."

April and Casey looked at Mikey, who shrugged sadly and continued to head home. Somehow, their victory didn't seem as important.

Don walked into the hospital, nervous. No one was looking at him strange. He felt naked and vulnerable in his "human" form. He had decided on a young man who passed away forty-two years ago. He was 5 foot 3, just like Don, he was of Italian descent with brown hair and eyes with light olive skin. What made Don like this individual the most was that he had been a medical student before his death with no family still living today. Don never looked at the names of any of the candidates. If he saw the name, it put a name to the face, literally. Don wasn't able to think of the form correctly when it had an identity. In some way, he hoped he could live up to his form's past life to pave the way for his own similar dreams.

He saw Julie and immediately went to her. "Julie?"

She looked at him, hard. "Do I know you?"

Don smiled. "It's me, Don."

Julie's face relaxed. "No way. Anya said you found a way to change forms…but damn."

"What happened to Anya?"

Julie frowned, placing her hand on his arm. "Damn, even feels real." She shook her head. "She blacked out. Scared the crap out of me." She sighed, letting her hand drop. "She needs to tell you, Don. It's not my place."

"Where's Lydia?"

Julie pointed. "She's in the room with her. There are some perks to being a nurse." She grinned but Don noticed that her eyes were sad. "I don't blame you, but if Anya suffers, all bets are off. I will hunt you down." Don saw tears forming in her eyes. "Got it?"

Don nodded. "Got it."

Julie swallowed hard. "She's in Room 113." She pushed past him, trying to hide the tears.

Don felt his heart tighten with fear. Cancer. She had cancer. She was going to die on him. He nearly broke down right there in the hallway. He moved slowly to her room. She was in bed, sleeping. Lydia was next to her in a crib, looking at her mother, silently. Her little face looked older than it should be.

Don moved to the crib, looking down. "Lydia, baby. Dada's here."

Lydia looked up at him, confused. Don looked around quick, before hitting the gem. He returned to his original form and Lydia immediately reached for him. He picked her up, hugging her. He missed her. It had only a little over two weeks…but it was a long two weeks. He moved Lydia so she could see Don hit the gem and his form change. He did it three times before Lydia relaxed against him in his human form. She understood now. She was a smart kid. He moved to Anya's bed, sitting on the edge.

Anya slowly opened her eyes. Don could see they were red and puffy. She'd been crying. He took her hand, kissing it. "Anya. What's wrong?"

Anya sat up, hugging him tight, careful not to crush Lydia. Don let tears fall from his face. "Please tell me you are not dying."

Anya pulled away, wiping the tears from his face. "I'm not dying, Don."

Don pulled her closer. "What's wrong? Julie said you blacked out." He stood, placed Lydia into her crib. She was fussy at first but then settled down. Don returned to Anya's bed, holding her hands. "Are you sick…because of me? "

Anya wetted her lips, tears falling unchecked down her face. "Don, I'm pregnant."

Don froze. Coldness seeped into his veins. "You can't be…we used protection."

Anya shook her head. "Hugh Jackman didn't."

Don dropped her hands, running his hand over his head. Shit. He was in such a hurry to try his new form and fulfill Anya's fantasy…that he had forgotten to use protection. Don felt angry and stupid. "I'm so sorry."

Anya smiled. "Don't be. I'm happy. I'm scared shitless, but I'm happy." She shifted on the bed. "I fainted because I was dehydrated. I do have a cold, too."

Don sighed, not able to look her in the eyes. "Is the baby…"

Anya nodded. "I'm six weeks along and so far everything looks fine." She lifted Don's chin. "It looks human so far. Granted, it's the size on a pinhead, but there wasn't anything abnormal to flag the doctors."

Don grinned. "I guess Lydia won't be an only child after all." He wiped her tears away. "Why are you crying?"

Anya held his hands. "Because I know you didn't want this. And, even though I'm happy, I feel like crap. I admit it, I didn't want this so soon."

Don shook his head. "No, no. I want this too. We're going to have to be careful…but I want this too. I have someone, Dr. Perry, a friend who can help us. Anya, I love you." Anya choked on a sob. Don hugged her close. "I won't let anything happen to you. But, are you ready for this?"

Anya smiled. "I was so scared that you would be upset with me."

Don rubbed her back. "Why would I be upset with you? We were careless. Yes. But hopefully something wonderful will come out of it." He lightly touched her stomach. "A healthy baby." He looked up at Anya. "A mutant baby." Don could feel himself beginning to hyperventilate.

Anya sat back, looking into his eyes. "You're freaking out." She rubbed his arms. "Calm down."

Don cleared his throat. "I'm okay." Don felt his shell cell vibrate. He took it out. It was Mikey. He looked up at Anya. "I'm going to go home, pack a bag and then come back."

Anya shook her head. "No, go home. Talk to your family. We're going to need their help, too." Don stood, nodding. "I'll take Lydia with me." Anya agreed. They said their good-byes. He left, heading down to the lair, Lydia securely in his arms.

Don, in turtle form, entered the lair to find his family silent at the table. April and Casey sat on the couch, whispering. The only sound was Lydia's baby babble.

He sat at the table, turning Lydia so she was facing the table. "Ok, what happened?" Don noticed Leo staring at Lydia with a mixture of rage and awe. Don turned to Raph. "Raph?"

Raph grunted. "Fearless has a problem with you dating."

Don frowned. "What?" He looked at Leo. "I thought you were ok with it."

Leo stood, crossing his arms. "Well, maybe I'm not."

Don gave Lydia to Raph, who immediately smiled and kissed Lydia's cheeks. "Hey, princess. You miss me?" Lydia's response was to kiss Raph's snout and baby babble that sounded like 'Daf." Raph laughed. "She's really trying to talk, huh?"

Don smiled weakly. "Very much so. So far, she can identify us, her food and her toys." He stood, standing in front of Leo. "I thought you understood. Last night..."

Leo interrupted Don. "Last night, you showed me that you failed as a Leader to your clan. You put them in danger. You ignore their needs."

"Ignore," screamed Don. "Everything I do is for my family, both of them." Don pushed Leo, catching Leo off guard. He didn't fall but he faltered. "Anya wants me to move in with her. To live with her and Lydia. I haven't said yes because I can't leave my family. And, I want to. I want to be with her."

"Then, go."

Mikey stood. "Dudes. Hold the hormones. We can talk like rational turtles."

Raph snorted. "Right." He stood, bringing Lydia to Leo, who backed up. "What's wrong fearless? Afraid of a baby?"

Leo stared at Lydia. "No." He looked at his family. "She will never truly love us. She's a human. She will grow up to fear and hate you, Don. Don't you see that? We are not meant for that world."

Don shook his head, raising his voice. "You're wrong, Leo."

Raph extended Lydia so she was face-to-face with Leo. "Look at her. Tell me, she won't grow up to accept us."

Leo looked at the child in Raph's arms. She was smiling at him, chewing on her fingers, letting drool drip down her arm onto Raph's hand. Leo's shock that his hot-headed brother was not "freaking" out about the drool said something about Raph's tolerance. The child then reached for him. He froze, eyes wide. No human, excluding April and Casey had reached out to touch him in an affectionate manner. He looked at Mikey, then Splinter and finally on Don, who had a smug look on his face.

Lydia sighed, realizing this new person was not going to hold her, she attempted to turn, saying, "Dadda."

Leo watched as Don took Lydia into his arms, hugging her close. She kissed his snout, calling him "dadda" again before settled into his arms, yawning. Although Leo did not approve of this relationship, he couldn't deny the fact that this little child was attached to his family. Even Splinter was baby talking Lydia from Don's arms. She patted Splinter's snout, giggling.

Leo seemed to regard Lydia a bit closer now. Don could feel Lydia kiss his beak, hugging him. He smiled at Leo. "Do you want to hold her?"

Leo seemed to back up. "Uh, no."

Mikey laughed. "Ha! Fearless IS afraid of a little baby."

Leo cleared his throat. "I am not. I just don't want to hold her right now."

Don smiled. "Take her."

Before Leo could protest, Don plopped the baby into his arms. Lydia giggled and hugged Leo. She made baby noises. "What is she saying?"

Don shrugged. "It sounds like she's telling you about herself."

Splinter turned to Leo. "This family has changed since you left, Leonardo. It has not changed for the worse. We are expanding."

Don frowned. "In more ways than one."

April and Casey moved to the circle. "How's Anya?"

Don sighed. "Dehydrated. Weak." He paused. "Pregnant."

The occupants of the room seemed to freeze except for their eyes, which darted back and forth to each other. It was Mikey who smacked Don's arm in anger. "Idiot."

Raph chuckled. "That's one way to put it." He frowned. "Are you serious?"

Don nodded, rubbing his arm. "Like a heart attack."

Splinter sighed. "Donatello, I am very disappointed in you."

Don nodded. "So am I, Sensei. You cannot believe the sick feeling in my stomach I've had since she told me. I'm so afraid."

April placed a hand on Don's shoulder. "Is she...going to end the pregnancy?"

Don shook his head. "I don't think so." Don took Lydia back from Leo, noting Leo's obvious relief. Lydia was yawning in his arms within seconds. "I'm going to call Leatherhead and Dr. Perry tomorrow. We need to start planning for the worse."

Casey shrugged. "How do you know it's going to be bad? This could be the first child in the next generation of the turtle clan." He saw the glum look on the faces around him. "Well, I think it's cool."

Mikey frowned. "What is Anya going to do?"

"I don't know Mikey. She's going to come down tomorrow after she's discharged to talk about it." Don saw the hard look Leo was giving him. "Don't look at me like that, Leo. I know I screwed up."

Raph took the sleeping Lydia from Don's arms. "I'll put her in her crib."

As soon as Lydia's little body left Don, Leo decked him. Don grunted, wiping blood from his lip. Leo pointed at him. "You bring shame to this clan."

Don laughed, he couldn't help it. "Me? What about you? You left us to believe you were dead, Leo. Nothing I could ever do could hurt that much."

Mikey jumped in between the two feuding brothers. "Dudes, can't we all just get along? You two are acting like Raph and Leo, not Don and Leo. This has to stop."

Leo nodded, looking hard at Don. "You're right Mikey. This has to stop now." Leo walked away, leaping up the balcony, slamming the door to his room.

April sighed. "I'm sorry, Don. I know you didn't want this to happen."

Don plopped down on a chair. "No, I didn't. But, now that it has...I'm really happy."

Mikey scratched his head. "You are? I thought it was, like, one of your top five nightmares."

Don nodded, as Raph re-entered the room. "It is. But, the baby is fine so far. Maybe it won't be so bad."

Raph sat next to Don. "Well, buddy, better you than me."

Don looked at Raph. "Could you watch Lydia tonight? I'm going to go back to the hospital."

Raph nodded. "Of course."

Don slowly rose, feeling like Atlas, carrying the weight of the world. Then, he realized, it wasn't the weight of the world. It was the weight of the next generation of his family hanging in the balance.