Author's Note: It's time for a new baby! The next chapter will be the last. Probably going to write it this weekend. :)
Rating: K
"Hey, pass that wrench."
Raphael accepted the tool from Donnie and crouched, green eyes ticking over the broken pump on the Shellraiser. "Think I got it," he told his brother with a grunt. A few feet away, his t-phone suddenly gave a sharp ring, but he was covered in oil and so he only spared it a glance.
"Don, can you pick that up? I think it's Aniyah," he yanked a piece out from under the Shellraiser and blinked at it. "Oops."
Rolling his eyes, Donnie wiped off his hands and picked up the phone. "Hey Aniyah, Raph's in the middle of breaking the Shellraiser. Can you -" he paused, and then the next thing he heard was Donnie's high-pitched shriek.
"What do you mean your water just broke?!"
"Dude," warned Michelangelo. "You're gonna wear a hole in the fire escape."
Raphael's pacing continued. As if he had a choice – what else could he do? Here they were, waiting on the fire escape on the north wall of the hospital. Waiting and waiting and waiting. Eight hours! Eight hours she'd been in labor, and here he was, waiting outside a fifth story window with his brothers.
Leonardo stood and looped an arm around his brother's shoulders. "She'll be fine, Raph. Take deep breaths."
Raphael halted, his expression pained as he forced himself to inhale. It last all of three seconds before he burst out, "Do you know how many things can go wrong in childbirth?" He flailed his arms, nearly knocking Donnie off the railing. "Damn it, Donnie! Why'd I read those books?"
"I told you not to," his brother replied in a sing-song voice.
"Why didn't I listen?!"
"Because you never do?"
Raphael growled and dragged his hands down his face. He wanted to pound something. He wanted to rip something to shreds. Anything to make him feel like he had at least a tiny bit of power in this situation, because Aniyah was giving birth just a wall's distance away and he couldn't help.
"Even if you were allowed in the delivery room," Donnie told him plaintively. "There's really nothing you can do. Plus, she's got her parents in there."
"I know," Raphael scowled, frustration threatening to take control of his temper and send into a flurry like a Fourth of July fireworks show. "I know, alright? I just – I'm so afr -" He stopped, the word nearly leaving his lips. Afraid. He'd almost just said he was afraid, outloud. Good god, what was he becoming?
His brothers stared, a mixture of shock and disbelief coloring their features.
"Wow," Mikey said after a long moment. Then he stood and pulled Raphael into a hug, which he held steadfast on to when Raphael resisted. "It's okay, bro. Let it all out."
"Mikey," Raphael deadpanned. "Get offa' me before I give you a real reason to go to the hospital."
"Soooooothing thoughts," whispered the orange-banded turtle. "Think of babbling brooks... rainforests... uh," he paused thoughtfully. "Rock... gardens..."
Raphael glared into Mikey's shoulder. "Killing you in five... four... three..."
"Raphael!" The four turtles turned at the shout and spotted Mel's curly head hanging out of one of the windows a floor below them. Her face lit up in a beaming smile. "She did it! She wants to see you first – Fourth floor, second window from the right!"
Raphael looked to his brothers, his eyes wide with delight. "Guys, I -"
"Just go!" Donnie exclaimed, and his brothers ushered him off before Raphael leaped off the fire escape and clambered to the window. He stopped on the edge, pulling back sharply when he heard a nurse crack it open a little.
"Thanks," he heard Aniyah's voice. "I was just feeling a little stuffy. That's all."
"Sure thing," said the nurse. Raphael waited until her footsteps had faded away and the door had closed behind her before he reached under the cracked window and pulled it all the way open, dropping hesitantly into the hospital room before his eyes found her.
And there she was, sitting up in the hospital bed and smiling tiredly. Aniyah.
Raphael closed the window behind him and edged in quietly, and even though he had almost broken a leg scrambling to the window, he now moved with painfully slow steps. "Hey there," Aniyah murmured, her head falling to one shoulder, her features tingled with exhaustion.
Raphael came to a stop next to the bed, his eyes moving to the wrapped bundle in her arms. He couldn't really see past the blankets, but it didn't matter. Turning his eyes away from it, he leaned down and kissed Aniyah's forehead, relaxing only when he felt her hand move up to grasp his. Her grip was as strong and sure as ever. She was okay.
"How ya feelin?" he asked softly, unable to contain his wonder and awe. She'd given birth. He couldn't help but feel impressed. Aniyah's answering kiss to his hand helped to reassure him.
"Sore," she said honestly. "But I'll live."
Moving her hand from his, she shifted the bundle in her arms and reached up long fingers, gently tugging away the blanket. What Raphael saw there took his breath away.
A tiny face, eyes closed like a newborn puppy. The tiny infant's face was scrunched, but the telltale signs of Aniyah were certainly there. The baby was much lighter than Aniyah, as were the small swirls of hair on top of his head, but that face was all her. As Raphael watched, the baby mewled, clicking toothless gums together. After a few moments, the little boy blinked warily and opened his eyes.
Raphael had to sit down, and thank god the bed was there, because he might've just dropped to the floor.
Aniyah moved the baby better into view, her expression peaceful and content in a manner that reflect Raphael's. "Little Roman," she whispered, reaching up a hand to brush back a lock of smooth tiny hair. "Isn't he beautiful?"
Raphael finally managed a facial expression other than wonderment, an amused twitch on his lips. "Looks like you," he told Aniyah, reaching up a hand to brush through her hair. "So, yeah. He is."
Aniyah leaned into the crook of Raphael's arm and immediately relaxed, her body practically sagging against his. Raphael reached behind her and adjusted her pillows and blankets more comfortably around her before returning his hand to her shoulder.
As he stared at the small face, a sudden fear crept up inside of him. A dread so overwhelming, it nearly knocked him on his ass. Aniyah sensed the change in his mood and she blinked up at him, bewildered. "What is it?" she asked.
Raphael inhaled sharply, his teeth grinding as he pushed against the growing anxiety.
"Aniyah, what if – What if I don't do right by him, huh? What if he spends his whole life wishin' for his human dad?" Green eyes briefly disappeared behind clenched lids. "I mean, I wouldn't blame him. I just – What if he resents having mutants in his life? Having," he swallowed tightly. "Havin' me around." Raphael could feel the desperation mounting inside of him. He wasn't good enough for this little tiny baby, not ordinary enough to be a part of the life of a human child. What had he been thinking? Why would this kid want him at all?
Aniyah's hand snatched his wrist and Raphael forced himself to meet her gaze, even though he knew every insecurity he'd ever had was rising to the surface in one horrible, uncomfortable moment of self-doubt and panic.
"Raphael," Aniyah said, her tones quiet and firm. "Listen."
He kept his gaze on her.
Aniyah continued, "If there is anyone that can teach this little boy to be loving, loyal and proud of his family, it is you." Shifting her hand down until their fingers laced, Aniyah pressed his large hand to her cheek. "You're the one who can teach him that it isn't blood that makes family. It's finding someone who's worth your time and your sacrifices. Someone you don't even have to think about putting before yourself, because that's what you'd do no matter what."
Tugging him down, Aniyah tilted her head up and their lips brushed, the motion causing Raphael's body to slowly, slowly relax. When they parted, Aniyah brushed a fingertip at his jaw.
"You love Master Splinter even though he doesn't look like you," she reminded him gently. "And Roman will love you like that, too. Just..." her smile grew. "... be exactly who you are. And you'll be perfect for him." Her hand dropped to his plastron thoughtfully. "And me."
Raphael finally smiled a bit, his fingers finding her arm and smoothing over her skin.
"You're my best friend, Raph," Aniyah told him, moving her head until her lips brushed his again. "And my partner. And everything else important in my life..." she kissed him once more, a gesture Raphael followed with his lips when she pulled away, leaving her with a grin. "And believe me," she whispered. "Once I am done being pregnant sore, I will show you."
Raphael turned that pleasant idea over in his head. "Sounds good," he responded with a smirk. Then he added, "But you'd better be plannin' to take me out to dinner first. I'm not easy like all those other turtles."
Aniyah laughed, poking at his shoulder before sleepiness settled in once more and she found a comfy spot tucked under Raphael's arm, Roman in her arms. As she drifted off to sleep, Raphael reached forward a tentative hand and, ever so gently, brushed his fingers over the baby's warm cheek. He responded with a wiggle, yawning before he too fell into a slumber. Then Raphael let his cheek fall against the top of Aniyah's head and he watched them both until he heard the nurse come back several minutes later.
He couldn't wait for his family to come home.
Author's Note: And yes, Roman and Raphael have an amazingly bro-tastic awesome father-son relationship when he gets older. Seriously, I have 20 years of headcanon on this kid.