Chapter 34

"Mimi!"

Lillian turned at the small voice that came from behind her. Immediately, she fell to her knees and held out her arms when she saw her little brother running to her. "Tony!" She gathered him in her arms and held him tightly.

Over the past couple of days, Lillian did nothing but worry herself sick just thinking about how her parents, mostly her father, would react to her pregnancy. Not only that, but she was still wondering how she was finally going to leave Luis for good. It felt like she was in an enclosed room and the only way out was to marry Luis. That was not going to happen! She was with Raphael again, and although it felt so terrifying to already be engaged to him, it was the only thing that kept her grounded when she was on the verge of panicking.

First things first, however... She had to come clean about everything.

"Oh Tony, look at how much you've grown!" She laughed, groaned as she picked the child up. "You're so heavy."

"Were you here this whole time?" The small child asked. "Mommy said you had to come to New York to dance. I missed you."

Lillian fixed her brother's light brown hair before kissing his cheek. "You missed me? I'm sorry. I missed you too."

Tony nodded, "When are you coming home, Mimi?"

"Oh...," Lillian swallowed a lump in her throat that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Soon, baby..."

Tony looked behind Lillian squealing when he saw Ian. "Didi!" He yelled reaching out to him.

"¡Chavalo!" Ian laughed, grabbing the kid and throwing him up into the air. "You put on some muscles! Come here!" He said, blowing air against the child's cheeks to make him giggle.

"Ian, you know I don't like it when you throw him in the air like that."

Lillian took a deep breath before approaching her mother, "Mom," her heart was in her ears. "How have you been?"

Lillian's eyes widened when her mother suddenly threw her arms around Lillian and held her close. "You look beautiful." She whispered, kissing her cheek. "Barry told me you were in trouble. Are you okay? Is it that fucker?"

"I'm fine...and yes." She answered nervously, pulling away from her mother to go and hug her father when she saw him. "Hi, Dad,"

Barry scooped Lillian up, "Hi my love," he kissed her head. "You okay?"

Lillian sighed, "I'm great now that you're here."

Lillian's mother frowned at the both of them. Instead of saying anything, she just turned to grab Tony out of Ian's hands. "So where are we staying?" She asked.

"You can always stay with me and Christine." Ian offered.

"We're staying at my father's condo so we're okay." Barry wrapped his arm around Lillian's shoulder. "Where are you staying, Lil'?"

Lillian looked at Ian with wide eyes, "Ian hasn't told you guys yet?" She asked, receiving nothing but silence as an answer. "I'm staying with April."

"April?" Her mother suddenly gasped. "Wait, so you're in contact with everyone now?"

Lillian nodded, "Yeah mom. April and the guys are in my life again. That's why Leo contacted Barry."

Barry cleared his throat and squeezed Lilly's shoulders to stop her from continuing. "We'll catch up later. Let's settle in and talk about it later? Okay?" He said with a flat smile.

It was obvious everyone chose to keep Lilly's mother out of the loop for whatever reason. Lillian wondered if their marriage was still rocky or if her mother was still going to therapy to help with whatever was wrong with her but these were just passing thoughts. Now that they were all here, everything was bound to come up sooner or later and that's what had Lillian struggling to breathe.

What a mess this all was.

It was weird being back at the condo when the last time she was there was to only get laid. As much comfort as the thought of almost sleeping with Raphael brought to her, it did not affect her now whilst she was sitting at the edge of the bed watching her mother take clothes out from her suitcase to hang and place them in her closet complaining about someone at her work. The act her mother was putting on, as if the last time they saw each other didn't end on a bad note, was annoying Lillian more than anything. Her mother was acting.

Lillian didn't want to act, she wanted to confront the problem head-on.

"Mom," she said.

"So then Gina said that her husband said that his doctor said that bump was not supposed to be there." Her mother continued.

"Mom," Lillian pushed. "Can we talk about something other than your coworker's husband's bumps?" She rubbed her forehead in frustration.

Her mother sighed, resting a hand on her hip. "I'm sorry," she said.

Lillian's eyes widened at the sudden apology.

Her mother rubbed her forehead in thought, "So you're friends with April and everyone... Does that mean you're talking to Raphael or are you still engaged with Luis?"

"I am..." Lillian sighed, rubbing her legs nervously. "I am trying to cut Luis off completely but it hasn't been working."

"And Raphael?"

"He's..." She hesitated. Why was she hesitant. "We are actually-"

"Mimi!" Tony squealed before running straight towards her, attempting to jump and sit next to her on the bed.

Lillian lifted him and sat him in her lap, "What's up, sweetheart?"

"Can you please tell daddy that it's okay that I go with you guys?" He whined, resting his head in her bosom. "I don't want you to go and not come back again."

Lilly blinked, cradling his head. "I'm not going anywhere without you ever again, love." She kissed his forehead.

"Where are you going?" Her mother whispered.

Lillian shrugged, "I have no clue."

Tony pulled away, "Didi says you have a baby in you."

Lilly felt her blood go cold. Leave it to Tony to just blurt it out. "He did. And you are just a little parrot aren't you?"

Lillian's mother shook her head, "You're pregnant."

She held her brothers head, "I was going to tell you, but-"

Barry suddenly came bursting into the room, "Lillian, why is Ian saying your pregnant?" He panted.

Lillian felt a little terrified by his expression, "I honestly don't know, it wasn't his secret to tell." She growled.

Ian followed Barry, his expression already apologetic. "I'm sorry, I thought that was the reason they came. To help you and your baby get away from Luis."

Lillian groaned and rolled her eyes, "Jesus Christ, Ian..."

"Lillian, how could you let this happen?" Barry asked disappointedly.

Instead of yelling at her daughter, Aniya thought about it for a moment. Lilly was an adult and she knows the consequences that come with making adult decisions. She took a deep breath and went over to sit next to her daughter. "Is it Luis's?"

"Yes," Lillian scoffed. "But...after we found out we got into an argument and he..." She looked at Barry and Ian. "He put his hands on me and kicked me out, which is why I left."

Barry sighed, feeling regretful for asking such a stupid question. "Lil...you're keeping it?"

"I am..."

"Does this mean you have to leave again?" Tony asked softly. "I can't see you anymore?"

Lillian smiled, shaking her head. "No, Tony. I'm not leaving you. I'm not going anywhere without you anymore." She playfully touched her brother's nose, though it didn't seem to make him feel better. "Don't you want a baby cousin?"

Tony shook his head, "I just want my sister again."

Lillian sighed, looking back at Barry. "Where are we going?"

"I have to meet with Leonardo. He gave me directions to his home. We're going to talk about everything, come up with a plan and deal with it in maybe a week or two." Barry explained, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You being pregnant adds more urgency to this whole situation."

Ian sighed, "Barry caught me up on things, and no offense but I can't believe Raphael was that careless to put his family at risk."

Lillian felt the urge to defend him, how was Raphael supposed to know someone was following them? Let alone taking pictures to then later use as blackmail?

Barry shook his head, "I have a bone to pick with Raphael. But I will wait until we go to their home."

Tony whimpered, latching on to his sister once again. Lillian sighed, "Tony is coming. I don't feel comfortable leaving him here like this."

Barry looked at his wife, "I'm going to hear shit about it at work but what do you think?"

Aniya shrugged, "I don't mind. I think he'll be more than safe if you, Lilly, and Raphael are all going to be in one place."

Lilly nodded, "Okay..."

Aniya gave Lilly a tap on the knee, "I'll call Christine to see if she's free."

Ian nodded, "She should be."

"Ok then, let's get this over with," Lillian stated.

"So..." Raphael said slowly, playfully pushing his brother's arm.

Leonardo narrowed his eyes, "Don't start."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help but notice it took you at least three hours to check on your friend and then come back home last night." He teased. "What were you talking about?"

Leonardo set his jaw, glaring at his brother in annoyance. "I don't want to talk about it with you."

"Oh come on!" Raphael groaned.

"Raph," Leo shushed. "Lower your voice."

"What? Leo, April introduced this girl to us as your girlfriend. Even if she's not, we don't care." Raphael comforted or attempted to comfort at least. It seemed like the last thing Leonardo wanted was to talk about this girl...ever. "She's a pretty lady."

Leonardo narrowed his eyes at his brother's choice of words, "Pretty lady?"

"I mean...she's not like Lillian, but she's pretty."

Leo crossed his arms over his chest and relaxed his posture a bit, amusement mixed with pride bubbled in his stomach. "I'm sure if Lillian were here she'd give you the cookie you want for thinking she's the most attractive woman."

Raphael bit the inside of his cheek at the tone his brother was giving him. "Why are you so defensive with this girl? She knows you, she knows your family...what is the big deal?"

"The big deal is that another person knows about us. It could be-"

"Oh shut the fuck up! Come on, Leo! It's not like she's going to tell everyone." Raphael frowned, "Are you still hung up on Karai?"

Leonardo pressed his mouth into a hard line, rolling his eyes. "She told me she didn't like me like that. That's okay."

"Is it?" He poked.

Leo shifted in his seat, "I can't do anything about it."

"Do you want to do something about it?"

"I don't..." Leo sighed, "I don't know." He looked around to see if any of his other brothers were near. Mikey was still in his room probably reading comics and Donnie was in the lab. Finally, after a long pause, Leonardo let out a deep, heavy sigh. "Bell kissed me...and it just confused me because I don't know what she wants from me."

"What do you mean? She wants to kiss you."

"Yeah but...I purposely never talk about myself with her. I go out of my way to not talk about myself and talk about hers and she still...says she likes me." He shook his head. "Karai...I used to think about her all the time...especially after sensei died, we got closer and closer...then..."

"She lost interest?"

"I guess so..."

Raphael tried to think of something sensei would say. Or maybe something even Leonardo would say if he were ever in this position but...it seemed like Leonardo was upset over nothing. Karai losing interest in Leonardo didn't surprise anyone. They were never official, it was just a casual flirt as far as Raphael knew. Now, there was this nice, attractive girl who seemed to be okay with everyone and still liked Leonardo and now that was a problem? He shrugged, "Who do you like more?"

"I don't know."

"Who kissed you first?"

Leonardo scoffed, "Does it matter?"

"Who did it better?"

He glared at him in disbelief, "That's how we're going off of? Who kissed me better? Not who do I like more."

"Well, who do you like more?"

Leonardo shot off the couch, his hands in the air. "I don't know!"

Raphael grunted, "Well, then that's the only thing I can think of is who did it better?"

Leonardo sighed, opening his mouth to answer even though he didn't know what it was. He was interrupted by the sound of a car engine pulling up in front of the entrance to the lair. It was Barry, arriving at the time he said he would.

As soon as the car shut off, Donatello came out of his lab with a smirk on his face. "Ooh, someone's in trouble." He teased.

Raphael scoffed, "Shut up..."

Leo gave Donnie a nod, "Go get Mikey. He's been in his room all day."

Donnie sighed, "Why do I have to get him?"

"Just do it," Leonardo ordered, walking towards the entrance.

Barry turned his body so that Tony could see his face while in his little car seat. "Tony, I need you to be a big brave boy for daddy today. Can you do that?"

"Yes," he said with an excited smile.

Lillian reached over to unbuckle him, "These guys are going to look scary, my love. But no one is going to hurt you. Okay?"

"Okay," he said, helping his sister unbuckle him faster.

Lillian laughed at his excitement, "Everyone is nice."

Barry nodded, "Yeah, and remember, this place is a secret."

Ian inspected the abandoned train station with awe, "¡Hijole! This..." he unbuckled his seat belt and turned to look at Lillian. "So when you said you were hanging out with Raph in high school, this is where you'd be?"

Lillian nodded, opening her car door with her brother in her arms. "It's huge in there." She said.

As she exited the car she wrapped her arm around her brother's head to prevent him from bumping it. She groaned, "Sweetheart, I don't think I can carry you. Can you walk and hold my hand?"

Tony nodded, "Yes. Didi can pick me up."

Ian exited the car, still staring with wide eyes at where they were. "Yeah bud, I got you."

Barry exited the car, going over to the trunk to pull out a backpack and a fanny pack, clicking that around his waist.

Lillian snorted at the sight of him, "Holy shit, you look like a dad."

Ian furrowed his brow in confusion, "What's in the bag?"

Barry nodded over at Tony, "I always come prepared when it comes to my child. Oh and some documents for all the guys. Rough drafts and blueprints and whatnot."

"Rough drafts of what?" Lillian asked. Her brother's yanking of her hand and whimpering caught her attention.

"Mimi..." he whined the nickname he had given her.

Lillian crouched down before looking in his direction to find Leonardo walking towards them. "That's my friend I was telling you about. Remember, he's really nice."

Tony shook his head, "I want up, please."

Lillian let out a puff of air, deciding to give it a try and pick up her brother. "Come on, baby. You can be brave."

Leonardo stopped upon seeing the little frightened child. He blinked, "Is that who I think it is?"

Lillian nodded, walking through the turnstiles and towards Leo chuckling at the way her brother was attempting to hide his face in her hair. "Tony, this is my very good friend Leonardo."

Tony peaked for a moment, not saying anything before quickly going back to hide his face in her neck.

Raphael immediately stood as soon as he heard Lillian's voice. His breath hitched for a moment when he saw just who she was cradling. Surprisingly, seeing the child made him excited. So much so that he fought the urge to run to her and hold him. The only thing stopping him was the look of fear on the boy's face. Nonetheless, he still, slowly, went over to Lillian. "Is that Tony?"

Lillian nodded, "This is my little soldier." She nudged the child a bit with her shoulder. When she felt him slipping, she shifted him as best she could, feeling a sharp pain in her lower abdomen in response. "Ouch... Ian,"

Ian rushed to Lillian's side, quickly grabbing a hold of the child. "Come here, big guy."

Tony whimpered in response, reaching out his hand towards Lillian. "No, Mimi."

Lillian grabbed her brother's small hand, kissing it. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Why does he call you Mimi?" Raphael asked, placing a hand on Lilly's hip so he could pull her close.

"He says it means second mommy. And Ian is his second daddy. He's Didi." Lilly explained, her other hand going up to cup Raphael's cheek to kiss him. "Hi," she hummed.

Tony looked at his sister, watching and relaxing slightly when he saw how affectionate she was to this creature. When he locked eyes with Raphael, he flinched.

Raphael smiled, "That is the cutest thing I've ever heard." Raphael waved at the boy. "Remember me?" He asked softly. "You and I used to be really good friends."

Tony let out a small noise before shaking his head.

"No? I remember you. How old are you, kid?"

Tony gave him these big golden eyes, "I'm 7 years old." He muttered slowly

"7 years? You're practically a grown-up now." Raphael joked. He gave Ian's should a pat, "How are you doing, man?"

Tony watched Raphael intensely, before smiling. "I'm not a grown-up. Mimi says I'm still a baby."

Lillian nodded, "Yes, you are."

"A baby? Nah, you're a grown-up now."

Barry extended his hand to shake Leonardo's, "Leonardo, I hope you don't mind my little guy. I know it's kind of ridiculous to bring a stranger to a place like this when I'm about to yell at your brother for getting caught."

Leo chuckled, "I think a child gets a pass. You know kids and their imagination." Leo looked back at Raphael, who was holding out his hand so the little boy could give him a hi-five. "I think I got through to him about being careful."

"Well, sorry, but I didn't," Barry stated with a smile. "Also have some paperwork for you and your brothers. Remember when I asked you all that information about your father a while ago?"

Leonardo thought for a moment, nodding slowly. "You never told me the reason why it was so important for you to know where my father was born."

Barry shook his head, "It'll spoil the surprise." He said with a cheeky grin, nodding in the direction everyone was in. "Let's have a little chat."

"Hey, Lil! Whoa..." Mikey said, stopping in his tracks when he saw the little boy. "Did you already have the baby?"

Lillian rolled her eyes, "Mikey..."

Donnie, who was standing behind Mikey, smacked him in the back of the head. "Mikey," he growled. "Hi, Lilly,"

"Hi Donnie," Lilly chuckled. "Guys, this is my baby brother. Anthony."

Mikey went up to the child, but first, he smiled at Ian. "Hey Ian, is this your first time in our crib?"

Ian snorted at his term, "Yes,"

Mikey turned his attention to Tony, poking the child in his ribs to see if he'd giggle. "Hey, there little guy. Wow, he's huge compared to the little mushball I held a long time ago. What's the matter, are you scared?"

Tony looked at Lillian before he answered, "A little..."

"A little? Is it because of Raph?" Mikey said pointing at Raphael. "Yeah, he looks scary huh? I know how you feel."

Lillian smacked Mikey's chest, "Don't be mean."

Mikey held out his arms, "Do you want to come with me? We could go get some pizza far away from him."

Lillian smiled at Mikey's rashness, "I don't think-"

Tony stunned everyone when he reached out to grab a hold of Mikey. Mikey quickly grabbed him and headed to the kitchen. "Come on, I got every pizza flavor you could think of. Anchovy, garlic, pepperoni-you name it little buddy, uncle Mikey's got it."

Ian, Raphael, and Lillian all stood stunned at how quickly Tony had trusted Mikey.

Lillian watched as they walked into the kitchen, "Um...I know Tony's a weird kid but I did not expect him to just practically jump into Mikey's hand."

Ian shrugged, "Kids know pure souls."

"Pure? That man would kill me in a second if I were to leave Lillian." Raph scoffed.

Barry came up behind Lillian, resting a hand on her shoulder. "I got two questions." He started. "Where is my child? I talk to Leonardo for barely a minute and now he's gone."

"He went with Mikey into the kitchen. Can you believe it?" Ian laughed.

"Yes, he's an angel and trusts everyone very quickly," Barry said seriously. "Next question, you two," he grabbed Raphael's shoulder yet unlike the one he had on Lillian's, this one was rough and careless. "Why are you holding hands? You back together?"

Raphael suddenly looked like he had been caught red-handed. All the blood drained from his face at the tone and look Barry was giving him. He opened his mouth, to tell him, yes but Lilly beat him to it.

"Yes, dad. What's the problem?"

Barry smiled, "Oh we'll talk about them. Don't worry." He pointed at the couch. "Sit down." He demanded.

Lillian pushed Barry's hand off of her shoulder, "Don't talk to him like that. He's an adult."

Barry laughed, "He is? Well then, he can handle a little scolding can he?"

"Scolding? What-"

Raphael sighed, he knew what was coming. "Lil'... it's okay."

"Yeah, Lil... it's okay." Barry mocked with a confident yet smug grin. "Shall we start then?" He asked. Receiving no objection, Barry went to sit on the couch, digging into his backpack before pulling out a folder. He cleared his throat when he opened the folder as if he were about to make a speech, but stopped when no one moved from their place. "Everyone sit," he commanded softly.

Slowly, everyone sat on the couch, all seemingly having the same idea to not sit anywhere near Barry.

He cleared his throat once again, "Let's get the first thing out of the way. Oh," he jumped, digging into his fanny pack and pulling out small glasses. "Old eyes, you know."

"A fanny pack and glasses. You look like a dork, dad."

"Hey, keep making fun of my fanny pack and that will be the only thing you get when I die." He threatened playfully before finally reading the pieces of paper in front of him. "Okay... 'Mysterious and almost alien-like creature has become the Batman of New York, fighting crime in areas where the public feels the police have lacked.'" He quoted, glaring through his glasses at Raphael. He flipped over to the new page. "Creature roaming New York, dubbed by the public as 'Nightwatcher' has apprehended multiple suspects in multiple cases of robbery, assaults, and other crimes committed which would otherwise be considered 'trivial' by police'."

Lillian blinked for a moment, "Nightwatcher? You fight crime in that thing?" She asked Raphael but received no answer.

Barry cleared his throat to draw attention back to him, "'Police accountability on taking small crimes seriously has increased out of fear more people will follow the footsteps of New York's guardian, the Nightwatcher, thus putting their own lives in danger and becoming vigilantes'."

At this, Raphael sighed, "It's not that I go out to fight crime as this Nightwatcher. It's that I go out for the privacy of just being able to walk on the streets and I happen to run into some bad people along the way."

Barry set the folder down then took off his glasses. "Raphael, I understand the feeling of wanting to fit in, but you can not. You are putting your family at risk."

Leo interjected by raising his hand before he spoke, "I am not defending my brother in any way, but we all patrol the city and do the same thing."

Barry frowned at this admission.

"Leo, shut up." Raphael groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"I appreciate what you've done for this city, the world! But you guys putting yourselves at risk for discovery is just setting my work and Bishop's work, back. And he's been fighting for you guys more than I have." Barry shook his head. "You can not risk revealing yourself to anyone right now. Whoever knows you now is where the line is drawn."

Lillian squinted in confusion, "What is your...what are you working on?"

Barry sighed, "I'm trying to start a pathway to introducing society to mutants. There are...hundreds of mutants out there. Everyone has already warmed up to Muckman, so we're nearly there. Unless someone is careless, decides to put on a cape and cowl, beat people up and then take off his helmet in public!" Barry snapped. "I am trying my best to give you guys a sense of normalcy, and I know it's taking a long time, but I don't need any more articles! I don't want to have to track down everyone that has gotten a picture of you before we can go public."

There was pin-drop silence after Barry finished his sentence. Raphael decided to be himself, crossing his arms over his chest and huff in annoyance, "I don't wear a cape." He muttered under his breath, receiving glares from both his brothers.

Barry shook his head, "Lillian is the only reason I am going easy on you, Raphael. Thank her. Because if Bishop were here, he'd be kicking your ass and you know it." Barry spat aggressively. "I don't want to have to tell you that you have to wait another 10 years for citizenship. I really don't."

Lillian bit her tongue. Whether or not he did something bad, Lillian would defend her love. But as sour as it tasted to admit, Barry was right.

"Now, moving onto Lillian and Luis," Barry said, with a sigh. "This man...has gotten on my last nerve." He stated, pinching the bridge of his nose. "A department of the EPF is investigating where and how he obtained these photos. The first thing we need is a warrant to confiscate all technology we think he may be keeping any information that may point toward where he got these pictures. I have my people taking care of that at this moment. Lilly, what can you tell me about what exactly these pictures were?"

"Um... Raph and I went to this restaurant."

"The owner knows our family and is blind." Raphael quickly said. "Just want to put that out there. Murakami is a friend."

Barry pressed his lips to form a hard line, "Okay...continue."

"When he was going to open the door, Raphael took off his helmet and I put mine on his head but that's when the picture was snapped," Lillian answered as truthfully as she could, trying to ease the heat off of Raph.

Barry nodded, "How many pictures?"

"I was given 4 documents, three of them were pictures the other one...just to piss me off."

Barry took a mental note, "Did all of them have the same picture?"

She shook her head, "That was the only one that was really incriminating. The rest were pictures of me on the bike with him and when we parked"

"What was the fourth?"

"A blank marriage license sheet." She said with a roll of her eyes.

Barry nodded, "I was going to have you come with me when I storm the building and get what I need...but you're pregnant. I don't think it's a good idea."

Lillian shook her head, "I want to be there."

Barry shook his head, "Lillian, when is the last time you went to the doctors to have an ultrasound?"

"What the hell does that have anything to do with-"

"Because stress is not good for a baby. How far along are you?"

"I don't know...15...16 weeks. I'm fine."

"Oh really? Before this happens, because it's going to take a week maybe two, I need to know everything is okay. This man put his hands on you when you found out you're pregnant, you moved in with April, lost everything, he's forcing you to come back to him. No. I need to know everything is okay. You could have an underweight baby or go into labor prematurely."

Lillian groaned, "Fine. I'll make an appointment. But I'm fine."

"I'll agree with you when I see the doctor's report." Barry scoffed. "So, if everything is okay, Lillian will have one last supervised visit with Luis going over the legal implications he could or could not have. Either end with him still being the father, or just send his ass to jail for assault or joint possession of classified information."

"I'm sorry," Raphael chuckled sarcastically. "Remind me why you have to see this man again?"

Lillian blinked at the question, "I don't have to I just-"

"So, then why do you want to?" He asked, sounding angry and a little betrayed.

"I just want to-"

"Give him another chance?"

Lillian narrowed her eyes into dangerous slits at his accusation. "Give him another chance?"

Ian was about to snap at Raphael for the question but Lillian, without even looking at him, held up her hand and stopped him.

"Just what do you think I want from him, Raphael?"

Raph straightened at her vicious tone, "I think, Lillian, that you're trying to give him another chance instead of completely cutting him off from your life."

"Another chance at what? A relationship? He's the father of my child, what, you think I'm going to keep that away from him?"

"I think you've given him chance after chance, and you're constantly expecting him to be an okay person. Three days ago you were defending him!" He yelled.

"I was not defending him!"

"You told me you'd think he'd be a great father. Do you listen to yourself? Do you know how that sounds after all of this? And I know you! You are going to tell him he can see his child, give him another chance and he's gonna fuck it up." Raphael argued, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Don't talk about him like you know him."

"See! You're defending him!"

"He has the right to see his child!"

"Why? So he can fuck up another life?"

"You don't know that! You don't know Luis like I do." She pointed at everyone. "Nobody does."

Raphael scoffed, "Yeah, well, he put his hands on you, left marks on you, kicked you out of his home, and threatened to kill you if you so much as did what you wanted to do with your body. I know enough."

Everyone stared at the two as they bickered back and forth. The more Raphael spoke, however, the more sense he made. It seemed like Lillian was going out of her way to give this man another chance at being a decent person. Everyone knew how that would end.

Barry pressed two fingers into his eyes at the two, "Okay, you guys, enough bickering. I'm having flashbacks to my childhood." He joked, trying to lighten the mood just a little bit shaking his head when it didn't seem to work. "Lilly, you have to admit, Raphael is making a good point. Sooner or later you'll have to realize that...he's just not a good person."

"I know he's not one with me but with this child, I think he'd be different."

Donatello sighed, "Lillian, you are doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." He told her in a calm tone, unlike Raphael. "It is...insanity."

Lillian wasn't the one to normally do this, "But you don't know him like I do. You don't hear him talk about this baby... He has a horrible father when he was younger and-"

Raphael let out an exaggerated groan, running his hand over his face. "Oh, boo-freakin'-hoo! Your mother's ex-boyfriend used to beat the shit out of you. You think that's an excuse-"

"It's not an excuse it's an explanation! He already loves this baby and-"

Ian grabbed a hold of Lillian's hand, "Mija, men like this do not change. You've gotten him sober. But it seems like his demons run deeper than just alcohol and you are not his therapist. You can not base his parenting on a 'what if'. This is a life and if you are not completely sure he'd be a good father, which he won't because good fathers start by respecting the mother, then I think you should limit his interaction with the child."

"Or like, I don't know, stop seeing him." Raphael spat.

Lillian glared daggers at Raphael, "Just what the hell are you insinuating, Raphael."

"What do you think I'm insinuating, Lillian?"

At that moment, Lillian wanted to take her shoe off and throw it at him, even if she knew he'd dodge it. "Are you suggesting that I'm still in love with this man?"

Raphael shrugged, knowing this wasn't going to end well for him but unable to bite his tongue. "If the shoe fits, sweetheart."

Michelangelo handed the small boy, who was sitting on the counter, a piece of pizza. "Do you like this one?" He asked, waiting for the boy to take a bite out of the cold pizza. When the child nodded Mikey laughed, "You and I are going to get along just fine! You even have the same tastebuds I do! That was chocolate and anchovy pizza. April says it's the most disgusting thing she heard of but at least I'm not boring. Right?"

Tony nodded. Once finished chewing, he titled his head like a confused puppy. "Who was that man Mimi was kissing?"

"Who's Mimi?" Michelangelo asking, blinking in thought. "Your sister? Why do you call her Mimi?"

Tony laughed, "My mama is my mama and my sister is my Mimi. She's mama number two." He explained holding up two fingers.

Mikey smiled softly, "That is the cutest thing I've ever heard." Mikey went back to the fridge to pull out a water bottle. "Mimi...was kissing my brother, Raphael."

"I thought Mimi was husband and wife with Luis."

Mikey shrugged his shoulders, taking a swig of his water. "Not anymore."

"Can I tell you a secret?" Tony asked shyly.

Mikey nodded, reaching over to pinch Tony's cheek. "Of course, little dude."

"I don't like Luis and I don't want Mimi to be with him anymore." The little body admitted softly.

Mikey cocked his head to the side, "Did he do something to you?"

Tony shook his head, "He didn't like me but he would always yell at Mimi and push her, and then he took her away."

Mikey frowned, hiding his anger perfectly behind his frown. "I'm sorry you had to see that little dude. Luis isn't going to do that anymore." He promised.

"I hope not. I missed Mimi a lot."

Mikey opened his mouth to comfort him again but shut it when he heard the commotion coming from the living room. He focused his hearing on what was being said when he heard Raphael yelling at Lillian and Lillian yelling back.

Tony frowned, suddenly looking sad. "Is Rafel like Luis? Is he mean?"

Mikey looked at Tony, "He can be a dick." Mikey slapped his hand over his mouth, "I mean, no, he's not like Luis."

Tony whined, "I don't want him to take Mimi away from me again."

Michelangelo's heart broke for the boy, the separation between him and his sister seemed to still be hurting him. Mikey reached out for the boy's legs, shaking his head. "No, Raph won't take Lillian anywhere, little dude. I know he seems mean, but he cares a lot about your sister and you."

"He said we were friends but I don't 'member him..."

"Yeah, when you were a baby, you used to always want to be with Raph. You were always in his arms." Mikey handed him the bottle of water, carefully helping him take a sip.

Tony swallowed, "Are Mimi and Rafel in love?"

"Oh yeah, big time. But..." Mikey shook his head. "I'm not going to get into explaining what that's like. That's a mommy and daddy conversation." Mikey nodded towards the commotion as it grew louder. "Come on let's go see what's the noise?"

Tony held out his hands as Mikey picked him up from the counter and brought him out to the living room.

Lillian was standing and glaring at Raphael, "How dare you insinuate something like that? After all that we've been through!"

"You're having a child with this man! I can't compete with that!" Raphael scoffed.

"Compete? What you think this is some sick competition?"

"That's not what I said."

"That's exactly what you said!"

Barry stood, "Both of you need to stop. Don't look at me like that, Lillian. I was going to stay out but you guys are no longer having a logical argument. Just petty nonsense."

Tony leaned close to Mikey and whispered, "Are you sure they're in love?"

Mikey chuckled and shook his head, "I'm not sure anymore, little dude."

"Can you put me down, please?" Tony asked.

Barry shook his head and sighed, "Alright, look, Lillian. The decision is in your hands. No matter how much we argue about it, Luis is still the father of this child and you are the mother. I suggest you start with supervised visits and move from there. Arguing with Raphael on whether or not you still love Luis can be done...another time."

Lillian walked back to her seat, suddenly feeling a bit light-headed, "I do not still love him."

"Yeah sure," Raphael growled under his breath.

Donatello's eyes widened in annoyance, "Dude, would you shut up!"

"I wouldn't have taken your ass back after all that you did if I was still in love with Luis." Lillian huffed, resting her hand on her stomach as it turned a little. Her comment shifted the feeling of the room, and definitely shut Raphael up, but she honestly didn't even realize what she said or just how much it hurt Raphael in that moment. Her point was made, though pretty harshly.

Barry, after closing his open mouth and blinking away from Raphael's hurt expression, cleared his throat. "Um... Let's um...talk about what exactly is going to happen when we go get-"

Tony had managed to get down to where they were all at and whined, "Where are you going, Mimi?"

Lillian shook her head and shushed him. "Come here, let me listen." She reached out for him, he slowly walked to her but not before turning to stare at Raphael in fear. Lillian lifted him and sat him next to her, Tony never stopped looking at Raphael, his eyes filling up with tears at his anger.

Tony whimpered, "Lilly,"

Lillian rested a hand on his head to calm him. Unbeknownst to her, it did not work.

Barry pulled out another folder from his backpack, unfolding the big paper that was stuffed in it. "Ok..." he looked over the blueprint. "What floor is Luis's office?"

Lillian thought back to when Luis lead her to a conference room. She was never really in his office, "I...18th floor. I was only in a conference room though. I wasn't in his office."

Barry hummed in thought, "We'll get the information we need. But floor 18 is what we're going to be looking at. So, here's the plan." Barry pulled out a pen and drew a circle on the blueprints, "If you really wanted to go and say whatever you have to say to Luis, at least get something out of it. Get him to confess to putting his hands on you or get him to tell you where he got the pictures. It would be helpful when we take his ass to court. But I need to see those doctor's notes before you go."

Lillian rolled her eyes before nodding, "Fine."

"Now, do you want me to be in there with you or-"

"No,"

"Yes," Raphael answered at the same time as Lillian.

She shot him a glare, "No!"

Raphael shook his head, chuckling despite all the ugly looks he was getting from everyone. "I'm not backing down from this, sweetheart. You are not going in alone. He goes or I go and we all know I can't."

Lillian groaned, "Oh whatever, Raphael."

Barry shrugged slightly, "I mean he has a point. Luis is...unpredictable at this point. But it may not give us the results we want."

"Exactly," Lilly bit out.

Michelangelo, instead of saying anything that even remotely sounded like he was siding with Raph, which he surprisingly did, his eyes were fixated on Anthony, who was increasingly growing more and more distraught. Eventually, Mikey had to raise his hand and clear his throat to stop everyone when Tony attempted to hide his face behind his tiny hands.

"Guys, can we all stop arguing for a second pay attention to the child that's crying?" Mikey snapped, his tone annoyed.

Lillian blinked, letting a small gasp escape her mouth at the sight of her baby brother. "Tony? What's wrong?"

Barry sighed, "He's never liked yelling and he's very perceptive at people's emotions. He probably knows you all what to kill each other right now."

Lillian gathered Tony in her arms, placing him on her lap so she could check his arms and legs just in case he was crying for something else. "¿Que te pasa, mi amor?" She asked softly, wiping his tears.

"I don't want you to go anywhere." He whimpered softly, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. "Luis is mean, Mimi. I don't want you to go to him."

Lillian furrowed her brow, "I'm not, sweetheart. I'm not." She kissed his head.

"How come everyone is talking about you going to him?" Tony pointed at Raphael. "How come he's yelling at you?"

Lillian, along with everyone, looked at Raphael in slight shock.

Raphael let out a disappointed sigh, shutting his eyes at the little boy's words. They stung him more than Lillian's outburst. Leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, his angry demeanor completely dissipating into an apologetic one. "Tony, I didn't mean to upset you."

"You upset Mimi," Tony mumbled. "Mikey said you were different."

Lillian shook her head, grabbing ahold of Tony's hands. "Tony, it's okay. I'm fine."

Barry pressed two fingers into his eyes as they began to sting slightly. He was only running on a couple of hours of sleep after all. He looked at his watch and sighed, "I think we should take a break, maybe put Tony down for a nap." He said before closing the folder he had open. "I will make him a bottle if you all don't mind."

Leonardo stood up, "Let me show you where the clean water is."

Donnie sighed, "Sorry, the filtration system broke and I haven't fixed it yet."

Barry shook his head, "As long as you have clean water, it's okay."

Lillian held onto Tony, gently rocking him back and forth, ignoring the stare she was receiving from across her way. She could feel Raphael was still angry, still doubtful over her loyalty, or perhaps confused as to if and why Lillian still had feelings for Luis after everything he's done to her. Lillian wasn't going to go back with Luis. She just wanted to say goodbye, as the father of her child, he deserved that much. Or did he? Or is it because of their child that it'd be best to leave without a word? One thing she was certain of, she was still in love with Raphael. She didn't want to be with anyone but him.

But she just couldn't see herself completely cut Luis out of her life. Not anymore. This child needed its father. Or did it?

Raphael waited for Lillian to look at him, glared at him, snap at him! Anything! Just so he'd know...Luis was out completely and he was in. It did feel like a bit of competition not just for her love but for her attention. What if they fought and Lillian was to immediately go back to Luis just for one night of... Lillian was not like that! Well, Luis and Lillian had a fight and the next thing you know, she's trying to sleep with Raphael! But she'd never betray him. Then again, why was he special? He was afraid to push her in the wrong direction; pissing her off so much she was just going to go back to Luis.

But Lillian ignoring him made his heart plummet. Instead of continuing the argument in front of everyone, even Tony, Raphael stood up and left for the dojo. It was either work out or have a beer...

Whoof. Hello, hi, it's been a month! I have a couple of weeks before summer classes start so this next chapter should be out, it's just gonna be a part 2 to this. I'm almost done with the fic actually, I just have to adjust and redo a couple of things. and then it's over. I think I may make like a small 3rd part but it's just going to be like 5 or 6 chapters, maybe less.

This chapter seems like a rather boring one. Lil' and her family are back and tensions are taut! Please let me know what you think, seeing your reviews really motivates me to continue this fic. I'll see you guys soon!