Time to answer your questions! ^^
First, I need to apologize to RozenMaiden7. I really thought I had already answered your question, but it turned out, I was wrong. Really sorry for that!
RozenMaiden7 asked why I decided to name the little girl Madelyn. Well, when I was looking for a name, "Madelyn" just somehow popped up, and then I decided to go with it, because it provides two really cute nicknames. And I was looking for two nicknames, one Madelyn's father would use and one Leo would use. So I decided that Mr. Dearing would call her "Lynnie" while Leo would go for "Maddie" – although he only tried to call her that once, but there's more to come, I promise. ;)
Just Call Me J asked if Leo is going to find out that the thing with Raph wasn't a dream. Hmmm, not sure yet. Maybe. ;)
Moth165 asked if Madelyn knows what a hiatus is. Of course she does. And if she doesn't understand a word, she asks her father for help. :)
tmntfan4ever asked why the design of the turtles for the new movie bothers me. I think it's ugly, that's all. And I have to disagree with you. Them being mutants doesn't necessarily mean that they have to be a little ugly. I think Mikey looks like Shrek and Donnie like JarJar Binks, and that's just…wrong, somehow. Sorry. Besides, the Nick-cartoon shows that even mutants can be rather good-looking. ;)
Okay, I hope I haven't forgotten anything. On with the story!
Chapter 54: Thoughts
Dear Mr. Turtle,
Thanks for writing me a letter! I was missing our tradition, but it's back now.
You're welcome, Mr. Turtle, and I'm happy you're feeling better.
Yes, 'Unicornia' is on hiatus, and there won't be any new episodes before September. It makes me a little sad, too, but April is coming over tomorrow evening, and I hope we can start writing the first chapter of our fanfiction. I have it all in my head, it just needs to be written. I hope you are going to like it.
So no, we haven't written the first chapter yet. But we will tomorrow! And I hope there are some new chapters of this fanfiction you found for me. Last time I asked, April said there weren't any new chapters. I hope this fanfiction and our own can help us kill time before the new 'Unicornia'-episodes. I really miss the show. Summer breaks are stupid.
Daddy is doing fine. He spends a lot of time with Mr. O'Neil. They are friends now.
Mr. Red and Mr. Beam brought me your letter yesterday, and they stayed for a tea party. It was so much fun! I really enjoyed it. I just felt a little sad because you weren't there, but I drew you a picture of it. I hope you like it.
How are you doing, Mr. Turtle?
Yours,
Madelyn
Leo put the letter aside and looked at the picture that had been in the envelope with the letter. And he couldn't help, but chuckle silently. The picture showed Madelyn with Raph and Mikey at her tiny table. The picture was drawn in Madelyn's childish, but super-cute style, and there was one little detail that had caused Leo's chuckle. While Madelyn had drawn herself with a big smile and Mikey with a grin that nearly consumed his face, Raph was giving the smallest smile one could think of. It was amazing how well she had caught Raph's and Mikey's personalities. She had simply nailed it.
Good job, Madelyn!
He then reached for the print-outs April had handed him earlier today together with the pink envelope. It was the first chapter of their fanfiction.
Okay, he had promised April, he wouldn't read it before she had gone home again, and she still was in the lab with Donnie, working on an essay on which she needed Donnie's help. She was so afraid that what she had written wasn't good, although Madelyn loved it, but Madelyn was a little girl that adored April to bits, so April was afraid she might be a little biased when it came to her writing. Leo on the other hand was honest. And this was her first piece of writing that wasn't a post on her message board or an essay for school, so she was a bit anxious.
But Leo couldn't help it. He was so curious what the first chapter was like, he simply couldn't wait. And sitting around on the couch all day except for his one hour of training truly hadn't contributed to his patience. Before April had arrived this evening, Leo had watched his favorite "Space Heroes"-episodes for what felt like the hundredth time. He still loved the show, but hell, he already knew all the episodes. He needed something to do!
So April's arrival with Madelyn's letter and the first chapter of their fanfiction had been the highlight of his day. As his one hour of training had been this morning. But now, reading the first chapter of this fanfiction was the most compelling thing to do. He would tell April about it tomorrow. He could keep his mouth shut until then. But first, he needed to read this fanfiction.
It was a warm and sunny morning and Morning Dew decided to go for a little walk. She needed to kill time before the grand opening of her and this other artist unicorn's exhibition at the gallery this evening, and she thought the fresh air would take a little of her anxiety away. She never had shown her pictures in public before, so she felt a little uneasy.
Leo smirked a little. Sounds like someone I know…
When April left Donnie's lab two hours later, she found Leo sitting on the couch again, nearly in the same position as she had left him. He was watching TV, but when he heard her approaching, he lifted his eyes to look at her.
April smiled at him, and he smiled back.
"Done with your essay?" he asked.
April nodded and let herself slump down on the couch next to him.
"Although Donnie edited the whole thing," she replied.
"Yep," Leo said. "Sounds like something Donnie would do."
"I mean, it is so much better now than what I had originally planned, but that made the one hour at school I already spent on this essay pretty useless."
Leo chuckled. "Well, now you know better than starting to do your homework before Donnie helps you. Although I thought you had learned that by now."
April sighed. "Well, I thought my concept was good, and it was. Donnie's was just better."
Leo chuckled again.
"On the bright side," he started then, "your fanfiction is awesome. And I don't think Donnie would edit that."
April turned to Leo in a flash, her eyes wide with surprise. "You read it?"
Leo squeezed his eyes shut for a moment in embarrassment.
What was that about waiting to tell her until tomorrow?, he thought. Stupid, Leo, stupid!
"Uhm, yeah," he admitted as he opened his eyes to face her. "I know I should have waited, but I was so bored! And it is so well-written, April, and it perfectly fits the canon of the show, so please, don't be mad!"
He decided to give her his cute puppy dog eyes-look. "Pleeeeeeeaaaaase?"
April looked at him for a moment, twisting her mouth. So he thought of going the extra mile and tilted his head to the side, trying to turn his cute puppy dog eyes-look into the cutest puppy dog eyes-look one could muster up.
April pressed her lips into a thin line, but only for a second, before the serious look on her face faded away, as she gave in to the cuteness.
"Okay, okay, I'm not mad!" she said quickly, gesticulating with her hands. "Now stop looking like that or I might go all 'awwwwwwww' for the next thirty minutes, and you know, if Raph hears that, he might get angry."
"You have a point," Leo said as he turned off his puppy dog eyes-look with a chuckle.
"So you really liked the first chapter?" April asked after a moment of silence.
"I did," Leo confirmed. "You should publish it on this fanfiction-site I showed you."
April's eyes widened again. "Really?"
Leo nodded. "Really."
She frowned a little. "I'll think about it. And I have to ask Madelyn about it. After all, we are writing this together."
"Sure," Leo said. "Oh, and speaking of which…" He retrieved a green envelope from the pile of paper next to him and handed it to April.
She put the letter into her bag. "I'll give it to Madelyn as soon as possible."
"Thanks, April."
"You're welcome."
It was in the middle of the night when Donnie left his lab, stretching his back and yawning. But when he looked at the couch, he was surprised to find Leo there, watching TV. He had been so sure he, again, was the last one to go to bed. He looked at his brother for a moment who kept his eyes glued to the TV, and something about the look on Leo's face made Donnie shuffle over to the couch and have a seat next to Leo.
"You're still up?" he asked.
"Apparently," Leo replied, without turning away from the TV.
Donnie heaved a sigh. "Leo, what's wrong?"
"Why should there be something wrong?"
Donnie gestured to the TV. "Because you're watching a documentary about Greek mythology, and you aren't into this stuff."
"Maybe I've changed my mind," Leo pointed out, but that only made Donnie twist his mouth with a frown, looking at his brother with piercing eyes.
"You really think I'd buy that?" he asked. "I'm not dumb."
"Never said something like that."
Leo still wasn't looking at him, so Donnie thought he should haul out the big guns.
"Tell me, or I'll go get Raph, telling him you're acting strange and you could be suffering a relapse, and you know how Raph would react to that."
A few moments passed in silence before Leo took a deep breath.
"I just…need to keep myself busy," he admitted. "And that's rather difficult when there's nearly nothing I can do. But I just need to prevent myself from thinking too much, or else I might spend all my time thinking…" He paused.
"…about Karai?" Donnie suggested, and Leo finally turned to him.
"How do you…?" he started.
Donnie just gave a little shrug. "Raph mentioned your feverish dreams. And to be honest, I don't see why you shouldn't be thinking about her. Your dreams have brought back something you've buried deep in your subconscious mind. We all know the truth about Karai, only she doesn't see or doesn't want to see it. And while we others can deal with an unknowing Karai pretty well, you somehow feel responsible because of…whatever has been going on between you and her." He looked at his brother earnestly. "Don't fight it, Leo. It had needed some feverish dreams to make you realize, but you still care about her, and you want her to know that the truth. That's okay. If you want to think about her, do so, because if you keep fighting these thoughts, they'll come back to you double the strength. And I'd say you have more than enough time to think things through now. Raph might be a little angry when he finds out, but I won't. And neither would Mikey."
"I guess you're right," Leo said.
"Heh, I'm the brainiac of this team, of course I'm right," Donnie said with a grin as he got up again. "And I'll talk to Master Splinter in the morning about the extension of your training time. I think you should be able to handle two hours of training by now."
"Thank you, Donnie!" Leo said.
"Don't mention it. Now try to get some sleep."
"I will," Leo muttered, but Donnie was already too far away to hear.
"But first, there are some things I have to think about," Leo said to himself.
The next day, April and Madelyn were at the park. Madelyn was seated next to April on a bench. April was trying to figure how this fanfiction-site worked and how she could upload the first chapter of their story. She had decided to publish it after Madelyn had nearly burst in excitement when April had told her about it. Madelyn yanked the green envelope open April had given her earlier and started reading.
Dear Madelyn,
That's too bad that there won't be any new episodes of 'Unicornia' before September. But we now have our fanfiction to kill the time until then. I just read the first chapter and I really, really liked it. Your ideas were awesome, Madelyn, and April's writing is very good. I have to talk to April what she thinks of publishing it on that fanfiction-site I know. If that's okay with you, of course.
April told me about her father and your father being friends. I'm glad they get along so well.
I really love the picture of your tea party, and Mr. Beam is still talking about it. Mr. Red on the other hand doesn't talk much about it, but that's how he is. I still think he enjoyed it, although he would never admit it. But I know him long enough to be able to say that he really had fun.
I am a lot better, but not back to normal yet. But I started training again. However, I still have to rest a lot, so I spend nearly all my time watching TV and reading. I even looked up the fanfiction you like so much on this site, but there aren't any new chapters out yet.
And I have an idea for our fanfiction. Well, you know, Lorenzo is a martial artist. So can we have him save the city from a dragon or something like that? I think he could do that. He would make a good super-hero, don't you think?
I hope to hear from you soon!
Yours,
Mr. Turtle
Madelyn had just finished reading, when she heard someone call her name. She looked up and found Roger and his sister approaching. Roger was running ahead of Cindy, waving a dark blue envelope in the air.
"Madelyn, look!" he called out. "I got a letter from Batman!"
Madelyn smiled and held her green letter up. "And I got another letter from Mr. Turtle!"
And they both started laughing in excitement.
April looked up from her laptop to look at Cindy. And Cindy looked back to her with a knowing smile. And although April knew that in contrast to Batman, Mr. Turtle really existed, she couldn't help, but smile back.
