They were arguing over the remote. The remote, of all things. Raph wanted to watch wrestling, and Mikey…well, who knew what he wanted? He probably just wanted to annoy his brother by watching some Princess show, or the one about ponies, if he could find it.
Moral had been raised considerably since they brought Leo home. To Raph and Mikey, it wasn't a matter of "if he wakes up," it was "when." As soon as he did, he'd tell them everything he knew, and then a plan would be formed and they'd kick the Dream Sequence in the butt, just like always.
All they had to do was wait. And fight over the clicker, apparently.
"Give it here, Mikey. I'm not watching some girly crap on my night off." Growled Raph through gritted teeth.
"Guess you shouldn't have taken the night off than, huh?" sings Mikey, dancing out of reach of Raph's wild swings. "Besides, I find these shows rather empowering. Do you think Master Splinter would let me get a pony?" He smiles a wicked grin, taunting his brother.
Mikey is facing the door to the lair, so he notices first that is opens. He was too busy trying to see who was suddenly coming to pay them a visit to notice that Raph lunged for the middle of his shell. Raph, not anticipating his attack would go unblocked, overshoots it, and they both end up on the floor in a heap. The remote flies from Mikey's hand and skids across the floor to rest underneath the couch.
While Mikey is busy lamenting the loss of the clicker, Raph gets to his feet, facing the door. In the doorway stood Emily and the white-haired girl. "Emily!" Raph yells. "Get away from her!" He's about to charge forward, when the girl steps forward and bows to him.
"We meet again, Raphael," she spoke to the floor.
Raph pauses, not sure how to continue. His gaze flickers to Emily for any indication that this child is dangerous. None comes.
"What's going on in here?" Donnie walks into the living room to inspect the sudden noise. "Oh –" he looks surprised, but pleasantly so. "Annabel," he finds Emily in the doorway. "I was getting worried."
"You knew she was gone?" asked Raph, putting two-and-two together.
Donnie looked uneasy. "It's hard to explain. Besides," he continues as Raph sighs loudly, "she's back now, and she brought Annabel, who can wake up Leo."
Raph eyes the girl suspiciously, as if wondering if this is a good idea. She's intently studying the floor, looking embarrassed. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Well, she woke up Casey, didn't she?"
"Only after putting him to sleep." Raph grumbled half-heartedly. He wanted Leo to wake up just as much as anybody.
"Then it's a agreed. If you'll come this way, Annabel."
Mikey looked at Emily, who had been keeping her distance. "Are you coming?"
"No, no. I think I'll step this one out," Emily smiles nervously.
Mikey nods. Without another glance back, he follows Raph, who was making his way to the lab.
She's nervous, and feels out of place. She doesn't like the feeling. Emily looks around the lair, and sees Casey knocked out on the sofa. She walks over, picks up a beaten, sad looking pillow, and hits her uncle square in the face.
Casey snorted and blinked a few times before stirring. He looked sleepy eyed at Emily.
"Good morning' kid."
Not even bothering to tell him it was still the middle of the night, she says, "I expected more of a jump."
"Please," Casey yawns and sits up. "With Mikey pile-driving you if you sleep too long, you get used to the surprises." He eyes the pillow in her hand. "A preferred weapon of his, as a matter of fact."
Emily smiles. She flops down on the couch beside him. "Hey, Casey?"
He yawns again. "Yeah?"
"We need to talk."
"'Bout what?"
She doesn't say anything for a moment. "Well, about David, and Helen…and us."
He pivots his body so he's facing her. "Okay," he says hesitantly. "What about them?"
There's a longer pause before she answers now. "You should know my parent's names were Isabel and John Wilson."
She looks into his warm, dark brown eyes. Obvious confusion shows on his face. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, you deserve the truth."
~*~
Annabel followed Donnie into the lab, where Leo was sleeping. He was on the table, and he was hooked to machines that checked his blood pressure, his heart rate, his body temperature. "Are all these wires really necessary?" Annabel asks him.
"No, probably not, but I wanted to be safe."
She nods, and watches as Raph files into the room, shortly followed by Mikey. "Are you going to get your father?" She asks.
"There is no need," Splinter says from the doorway. No one's surprised to see him there. "Now, Annabel," his eyes crinkle in a friendly smile. "will you please wake up my son?"
The girl nods. She walks over to the still body of the turtle, and places one hand over his heart and one hand over his eyes. Images of a home, of brothers and fathers, and the city at midnight pour into her mind. She's relieved; she was afraid there would be something horrendous playing before his eyelids.
Regardless, she takes a deep breath, and applies just enough pressure to wake Leonardo up at last.
~*~
