Denim's phone rang right as she walked through her old apartment door. Assuming it was someone inside her place, and with her hands full of pizza boxes, she opted not to answer it.

Lifting one foot to kick the door shut put her off balance and she tipped too far right, catching a head rush as she corrected herself. Her skin pricked with sweat, and she panted from the mild exertion. All were symptoms that reminded her she was cutting it close for her injection. As she leaned against the wall for support she balanced the boxes in one arm then fished through the purse strapped across her torso in search of her phone. What time was it? Her heart quickened as she glanced at the device, seeing the missed call was from Phoenix.

I hope Alli is okay.

A check of the time showed her running more than an hour late for her appointment with Donnie. He'd be calling next. That is if he wasn't already there.

While waiting for the dizziness to pass she listened for sounds of a Hamato, expecting the usual family banter. "Hello? Anybody here?"

She looked around the room, expecting a reply but not immediately getting one. Her living room was bare save for the well-worn carpet that she would need to vacuum before turning in her keys. She assumed the bathroom and kitchen could probably use a wipe down as well.

She eyed the dips in the carpet where the feet of the couch had left their

mark. Gradually the indentions blurred out of focus, replaced with images of a baby Allison, her hair just coming in. Denim had thought she'd be bald forever. Her tiny tot had first crawled around that very living room, chubby arms and legs pumping like she was off in a race once she'd figured it out. Then later she'd learned to walk with one hand on the couch cushions for support. It had been the two of them for so long, and although tiny, the apartment had served them well.

Before Allison was born it had been Denim, alone, in South Carolina. Her one tiny little girl changed her whole world in so many ways. Most of Allison's journey in life so far had taken place in that very living room. The two of them had been their own little family. But while Denim loved being a mom, she couldn't deny missing her best friend and husband with every passing breath. For every milestone Alli reached and he didn't get to see Denim had relived his death. Her sweet baby girl was a constant reminder of her loss.

Though Connie had forgiven her for Kyle's death it didn't mean they were on the best of terms, and Denim found she couldn't talk to her about him or anything else she was going through.

Not that there was time for mourning when one was pregnant, then giving birth, then raising an infant, then toddler, and now child. In all that time there was no one for her to confide in, to listen to her, to try to figure it out with her. Everything Alli needed began and ended with her and in her moments of exhaustion there was no relief. There was no shoulder for her to cry on or someone to say, 'hey I got this, go take a break.'

There. Was. No. One.

Then came Michelangelo.

Visions of a baby travelling along the couch shifted into Denim coming home late, many a night, to find Alli asleep on Mikey's shell while he drooled on her throw pillow with one arm dangling off the side. Sometimes it was the other way around, and he'd come home finding her asleep with Allison on her chest.

Depending on what time of night it was he'd do one of three things. If it was really late he'd put a blanket over them then sleep in the armchair beside the couch. If it was sorta late, he'd risk waking either of them by accident when he'd move Alli to her toddler bed, then carry Denim to theirs and he'd slip in with her for a snuggle. If it wasn't late at all, he'd take Alli to her bed then come back to join Denim on the couch, waking her with carefully placed kisses in all the right places. She loved all of those options.

She loved how he made her laugh, let her cry on his shoulder, knew when to talk and when to listen. He gave her breaks. He tried hard, and he loved harder.

And she loved him.

She loved what they were becoming and in many ways it had all began there.

It had been a good home.

A melancholy ache blossomed in her heart, which she tried quickly to shrug off. Those feelings were seldom helpful and lately led her straight to tears.

Damn hormones.

Her body flushed with heat and the warm pizza boxes weren't helping her comfort level any, serving to keep her even hotter than she already was. She crossed the small room, making her way into the kitchen.

Which had already been cleaned.

They really are amazing.

She placed the boxes on the counter, tugged at her dress for the hundredth time and wiped her brow. "I brought lunch," she murmured, apparently to no one.

The front door opened and Leo's voice filled the room. "I'm back. Mikey's place is done. But I still have no idea where he is. Guys? Anybody?"

"I'm in here, Leo. I just got here." She turned with a start, finding him already standing there.

"Sorry," he frowned as he looked her over. "I didn't mean to scare you."

They all had taken to giving her a full visual scan upon seeing her for the first time on any given day. There were lots of head to toe, glances, lingering on her face then drifting down to her abdomen. The girls would flat out ask how she was. But the guys would do what Leo was right then, and look away. Mikey was the exception of course. He'd taken to talking to her belly anytime, and after a particularly embarrassing trip to the grocery, apparently anyplace.

Before Leo could say anything else she flipped open a box and handed him a slice of pizza. "I'm almost certain you haven't stopped to eat. So dig in. Oh, and Mikey picked up a delivery shift at work. I think that expensive outfit he took the liberty of buying Alli about broke him." She picked up a slice for herself, taking a bite as she turned to face him again.

Leo gave a disapproving shake of his head. "Well he could've told me. He left with the-"

"I have the tape and scissors. And he tried to text you, but accidentally sent the message to Woody instead." She rooted through her messenger bag.

Bumping her phone she noticed a second missed call from Phoenix. She grabbed the tape and scissors and handed them to Leo. "I'm sorry, Phoenix has called twice and she was the school's contact for Alli today. I just need to make sure-"

"I told you I heard somebody out there!" Raph yelled, his voice coming from down the hall. His proclamation led to a cacophony of voices from Denim's old bedroom.

"I know that Raph. But I swear I heard something in the closet, too." Zoe refuted.

There was the sound of a closet door opening. "That would be me." Karai announced.

"Ack!" Raph shrieked then cleared his throat before grousing. "What the hell, Karai! Were you listenin' in on our conversation?"

Karai snickered. "Yes, I heard all about Anton punching that punk kid messing with Alli. And don't the two of you give him a hard way to go about it. If you ask me Anton let him off easy."

Denim's heart picked up an erratic rhythm as she locked eyes with Leo then looked to her phone. What happened? Was Alli hurt? Her hands were shaking as she fumbled, trying in vain to call Phoenix back. The thin device slipped from her fingers as if she were incapable of forming a grasp. She lunged forward to pick it up, sending a field of black spots before her eyes.

Dipping badly to the left, she was grateful when Leo's fingers curled around her bicep. "Are you okay?"

TSOTCTSOTC

The door opened loudly, the sound of children's laughter drifting in from the hall.

"Ooo," Anton's unmistakable gruff broke through. "I smell pizza!"

Phoenix walked into the kitchen, a child on each of her hips. The muscles on her arms were straining, but she made no move to put either child down. "Hello all," she stopped abruptly, seeing Leo clutching Denim. "Are you OK?"

Leo pulled out his phone and dialed Donnie as Phoenix quickly set down the now frightened children and rushed forward to help Denim sink slowly to the floor, leaning against one of the now bare walls.

"The trucks loaded and..." Arcos's voice trailed off as he and Medusa caught sight of Denim and Phoenix, having just come in from the stairwell. Medusa moved to coil around the confused children and Arcos stepped forward uncertainty. "Is she...?"

"Donnie, it's Leo. Denim's in the apartment. Get up here now." Leo ended the call and began to pace as he often did when there was a crisis that was completely out of his hands.

Moments later, Donnie and April burst into the room, Donnie digging a small case out of his messenger bag. Snapping it open, he plucked out one of several, small syringes, filled with a shimmery, clear fluid.

Rushing over to Denim, he knelt down at the side Phoenix wasn't occupying in stalemate as her powers kept Denim's symptoms from worsening.

"Too long. Too long. It's impossible to tell what a rogue immune system will attack when everything's a potential target. Dangerous." Donnie muttered to himself as he injected the fluid into the vein at her elbow.

"Her muscles aren't working right." Phoenix murmured, only partially present as she seemed to be seeing a world none of them could.

Donnie nodded. "Diaphragm, abdominal, intercostal. The spasms could be harming her internal organs and if this keeps up she won't be able to breathe soon. It will take too long for the serum to rein in her immune system."

Phoenix took a breath, placed her hands on Denim's mid section and focused. Slowly, Denim's breathing returned to normal and the room let out a collective sigh of relief.

Donnie started to close and tuck away his injection case.

Phoenix caught his eye as he stuffed it back into his messenger bag. "There have been others asking about the treatment."

Donnie cringed. "It's not ethical to test new technology on people."

"More ethical than letting things take their course or you wouldn't be using it on her." Phoenix gestured to Denim who was still coming gulping in lungfuls of fresh air while trying to look completely normal as she did so.

"It's not safe to self administer." Phoenix stared him down and he threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine. I'll review Denim's data and see if I can come up with a protocol for determine required dosage based on an individual's unique physical stats." Before Phoenix's smug expression could take root, he added "I don't have the set up for large scale production, though."

"The basement you rented out in our building has the space to set it up. We can relocate everything to the not haunted warehouse for now."

Arcos and Medusa shared a distressed glance that only April seemed to notice as she eyed them thoughtfully.

"We are gonna get in so much trouble." Donnie muttered.

"Only if we get caught." Phoenix pointed out matter-of-factly.

The extended range walkie-talkie crackled to life with Aries voice. "Is anyone planning on coming back here to help me unload, or am I doing it all myself?"

TSOTCTSOTC

Denim rubbed her face with trembling fingers. It had been the worst episode she'd had yet and her heart was still hammering. She worked hard at playing it down, but a near total loss of muscle control had left her suffocating inside herself. Pretending she was okay, and not completely freaked out, was getting harder to do.

Aries voice pierced the heavy silence, "Is anyone planning on coming back here to help me unload, or am I doing it all myself?"

"I'm okay. Please, go help him." She forced a smile to her lips, straightening a bit, finding her muscles achy from the seizure. "I want to get us moved. So we can start to unpack by the time Mikey's shift ends."

Phoenix frowned. "You already know what you need to do. You can rest at our place. We'll call you when it's time to unpack."

Denim would usually argue with her. But the episode, paired with the bad news from her work had left her drained. In truth she wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep. "I feel like one of us should be there though."

April offered her a hand, helping her off the floor. "We've got this. That's what family is for."

Denim glanced around the room from Leo and Donnie's nods of approval to Raph's affirming, "We're on it. Come on guys."

With that he, Leo, Arcos, and Donnie headed for the front door, leaving a lingering but quiet Karai, April, Phoenix, and judging by the serpent tail in the kitchen entry, Medusa.

Then she remembered Phoenix had called and Karai mentioned something happening to Alli and Anton at school.

Turning to Phoenix she asked, "Is Alli okay? I'm sorry I didn't return your calls. Stuff kept happening."

"I see that. She's-"

"I'm here, Mommy!" Alli squealed, bounding in from the living room while holding her shirt closed in one hand.

Denim's heart clenched at the nasty tear across the mermaid, most of the sequins gone from her tail. The fabric wasn't thin, someone would have to pull hard to rip it. "Oh, sweet girl, what happened to your shirt?"

Alli's eyes filled, and her lip trembled. "A big kid ripped it all up. He was gonna hit me but Anton stopped him."

"He was going to hit you!" Denim repeated, appalled.

Anton who was still in the living room had nothing to say to this, but Denim and Zoe exchanged worried looks. Denim pulled Alli in for a fierce hug, then guided her back at arms-length to look her over, before yanking her close again. "Are you hurt anywhere? What happened?"

"It's a long story," Phoenix replied. "I'll tell you on the way to my place. I want to make sure you get there in one piece."

TSOTCTSOTC

"Mom, I smell pizza, and I'm starved!" Anton announced, weaving around Denim, Alli, and Phoenix, on their way out the front door.

"Ahem." Phoenix stopped in the entry and Anton ground to a halt before wheeling around to face his Grandmere. "Remember what we discussed."

Anton set his mouth in a flat line and gave her a solid nod. Phoenix smirked as one of her strawberry blonde eyebrows lifted a bit. It was all the prompting Antonello needed to march forward and give her a firm hug, before she left.

Although she loved her son's relationship with his grandmother, Zoe watched this exchange with an ever growing knot in her stomach. He may not realize it, but she knew that the events of the day, whatever the details might be, were far from over for him. Alli on the other hand, a human child, would come out of this occurrence, hopefully, with no more than a torn shirt.

Zoe stopped herself, changing her mind. There was a sound chance she'd be reprimanded harder than a human girl without a mutant parent. That is if the school even considered Mikey her father. She knew Denim had him listed as an emergency contact, but he and Denim weren't married, and even if they'd had a mutant wedding ceremony, New York wouldn't consider it legal. So he really had no rights in regards to Alli.

She recognized the concern in Denim's eyes. And knowing how much the only two humans in the family had endured so far, maybe she shouldn't jump to the conclusion that this wasn't as big an issue for Alli. It was clear from Denim was bracing for the worst.

April placed a hand on Zoe's shoulder, interrupting her thoughts. "What else is there to do here?"

"It looks like all the rooms are empty, except for these last two bags." Medusa held up a duffle and a carry case in her skinny arms. "This one reeks of the oil Michelangelo uses on his chucks, so I'm guessing it's his weapons bag." She smiled at the rifle bag in her other hand. "And this one's obvious."

Karai snickered. "Hamato's through and through. Let's go to the new place and start moving boxes to the right rooms so it's easier for them to unpack."

"I'm just going to be sure the bathroom is wiped down then we'll head out. I already did the kitchen." April motioned to Zoe. "Maybe give it a quick once over again?"

Zoe loved April for her intuition, paired with her empathic abilities they made a good team. She had some parenting to do in the kitchen. "That's the perfect job for me. You girls go ahead. I need to speak with Anton."

She didn't wait for a reply. As she made her way into the tiny space part of her wondered how so many of their family members had fit in it.

She stood behind her son, watching him drag a slice around inside the pizza box then begin picking off the toppings. When he turned toward her, his eyes on the floor, there was no telltale sauce around his mouth.

Her heart begged her to snatch him up, shield him from the blows of his day. But he was his father's son, and had to be permitted to make the first move. She pointed to the pizza. "I thought you were hungry, Antonello."

He shrugged, keeping his eyes down. "Kinda," he grimaced as he put a hand over his stomach. "Stomach kinda hurts though."

Zoe reached around him, picking up a slice and taking a bite. "It's good. You might feel better if you eat." She leaned in close to him, struggling with the urge to kiss his perfect emerald cheek. "Want to tell me about today, while we eat?"

He shrugged again, his chin lifting a bit as he turned his head, stealing a glance at her before looking away again. "Depends."

At this Raph-like response she struggled not to smile. She enjoyed raising her mini-Raph, as it brought her already keen understanding of him to an even deeper level.

She straightened, taking another bite of her pizza and steeling herself. This was serious parenting. She couldn't turn to mush, wanting desperately to smother her little boy in kisses and shield him from the world and all of its ignorance and nastiness. But she wasn't going to scold him for protecting his cousin either. He'd enforced their family's unspoken code, to help those in need and protect their family at all costs.

In fact it seemed he was in danger of being the one found at fault, the one paying the price. Not that anyone had said anything beyond what Phoenix had told her, the twisting and churning in her gut promised it wasn't over for her mutant son. Not as easy as just being sent home. That would be too good to be true.

Trying to sound as indifferent as she could, she laid it out straight, the same way she would for Raph if he thought he'd messed up. "Anton, I need you to tell me exactly what happened. You already know, if you followed the rules, you aren't in trouble."

He let out a little grunt, but peeked at her again. "I ain't in trouble?"

Oh her heart, the way it hurt to look in those familiar green gems of his, flickering with the vulnerability he and Raph both struggled to keep hidden. "Anton, if you were protecting Alli-" she shook her head, "your dad and I already discussed it, and no way are you in trouble. But I don't want you thinking it's suddenly okay to beat people up either."

His pupils widened, his head lifting as he looked her square in the eye. "Oh, no, I don't, I swear. It's just there were like four or five of them and that one kid was hurting her." He scowled. "I tried not to punch him as hard as I wanted, Mommy, I swear."

Zoe pressed her lips together desperate not to giggle at the honesty of him. He was a good boy. And it wasn't funny, he had hurt another kid and for that she was worried. In fact she should be terrified for him. She could see the headlines now. "Mutant boy beats up human child. Dangerous!"

She broke her own rule as a lump rose to her throat, throwing her arms around him and yanking him to her. How would he feel if they blew this up? What would that do to him?

"Uh, Mom." Anton grunted.

Zoe swallowed hard, blinking furiously. "Yeah, baby?"

"I ain't a baby, and yer' squashin' me."

TSOTCTSOTC

Karai poured the bubble bath below the running tap, while Leo adjusted the settings on the TV that Mikey and Denim had given them. Mikey said they had two and they liked his better than hers and didn't want it. Since it was bigger than the one in their living room they accepted.

Leo had just finished setting the old one up in their parents room. As Karai dipped a toe in the water, she half wondered if they'd ever see Phoenix or Splinter again for the way they were already glued to it, watching soap operas from their bed. Poor Yuuta.

She could hear the news broadcaster, on the set Leo was toying with, from all the way in the bathroom. "Better turn that shit down," she mumbled, sinking deeper into the jasmine scented water.

Her muscles uncoiled, one by one, the heat making her drowsy as she let the day's hard work fade away. "Hopefully he won't get a wild hair and want to patrol tonight. I'm ready for bed."

Her eyes closed as she wished she'd lit candles and turned off the overhead light for full relaxation effect. "Mmm, and a glass of wine. Damn I'm slipping."

She almost dozed off when she heard it.

"Good evening, I'm Carlos Chang O'Brian channel 6, news. Coming up we have your local sports and weather but first the pro-mutant video that is going viral..."

She sank under the water blub-blubbing, "Oh shit."