"I need to sit down," Mikey said, looking stunned.
"Come, this room is too small for the five . . . six of us," Master Splinter said. "We will discuss this turn of events in the kitchen."
His sons trailed out of the lab after him, with Don bringing up the rear. The infant he was holding continued to wail, showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Master Splinter, Don, and Leo took the stairs up the kitchen, but Raph and Mikey remained at ground level. Mikey sank onto one of the plastic chairs near where the garbage truck was parked, but Raph paced, staring at the crying baby in Donatello's arms.
Leo pulled a chair out for his brother and Don sat down. He continued to cradle the baby in his arms, cooing softly and gently bouncing him. Nothing seemed to calm the infant, who continued to wail and wave the one little arm that Don hadn't succeeded in swaddling.
"Does that thing come with an off button?" Raph asked, giving Don a frustrated look.
"It's not a thing, it's a baby," Mikey said, wearing a bewildered expression. "A mutant turtle baby. Just like us."
"Ya' really stepped off in it this time Donnie," Raph said. "What the hell are we gonna do with a baby?"
"I asked myself the same question when I found that I was tasked with raising you four," Master Splinter said. "We do what we must. It is clear that this child must now remain with us."
"Dad, we have an advantage that you didn't have," Leo said. "There are five of us to care for the baby and April can help us get the things that a baby needs."
"Somebody want to tell me what it needs right now?" Raph asked irritably.
"He's hungry Raph," Don said. "The first thing we need to do is feed him."
"So what do they eat?" Raph asked. "I'll go out and get it right now."
"We need to call April," Leo said. "She'll know what to buy and where to find it at this time of night."
"Please do that, Leonardo. We will concern ourselves with other essentials after we have seen to the child's hunger," Master Splinter said.
Leo left the kitchen to make the call. Master Splinter sat down opposite Don, leaning forward to examine the baby.
"He looks exactly as you did at this age," Master Splinter said. "The spine, has the defect been cured?"
"He's got a carapace now," Don said. "He's moving his arms, legs, and head, so it appears that the limitations of that particular defect are gone. I'll need to do a more extensive examination once he's calmed down."
"Ain't nothing wrong with its lungs," Raph said, his attitude surly.
"The baby is a 'he', not an 'it'," Mikey corrected him. "A baby boy. Our baby boy."
"Ya' mean Don's baby boy," Raph snapped. "Why do ya' keep repeating the same things like this was some miracle? Even I could have guessed what might happen if we pumped some of our blood into a baby."
"It is a miracle," Mikey insisted, looking up at his brother. "What are the odds that we'd be the ones to find a newborn who was in such bad condition?"
Don opened his mouth and Raph spun on him. "That was a rhetorical question. We don't need to hear the numbers."
"What is it about the child that angers you, Raphael?" Master Splinter asked.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that our lives are dangerous enough without having a baby to worry about," Raph said, sounding sarcastic. "Nobody knew we existed when ya' raised the four of us, but we've got enemies now. People who'd like nothing more than to find this lair and blow it up like they did the last one."
"I've enhanced our security measures," Don said. "This lair is much more fortified than the last and we've got multiple exit points."
"We've also got friends," Leo said, rejoining his family. "April had a million questions but I convinced her to table them until she arrives. She's going to get Casey to give her a lift to one of those twenty-four hour super stores and then come directly here. She said something about bottles and formula and diapers. I hope that stuff comes with instructions."
"That's where the internet comes in handy," Mikey said. "All of our answers are a keyboard away."
"I don't get you guys. You're all talking like this ain't a big deal," Raph said. "It's a damn big deal."
"What do you propose we do about it now?" Leo asked. "Don made a choice and we're obligated by it. I can't say I would have done anything differently if were in his place."
"Me either," Mikey said. "There's no way you'd have let that baby die, Raph. Admit it."
Raph rolled his eyes and stopped pacing, though he shifted his weight from foot to foot, the way he did when he was agitated.
"Just how exactly are we supposed to patrol the city when we're saddled with that?" Raph asked, pointing at the baby. Turning on Leo, he added, "You're the one who's always preaching that we're a team and we've gotta stay together."
"We'll adapt," Leo said. "Life is about challenges and learning to overcome them."
"Fortune cookie crap," Raph griped. "I ain't babysitting, ya' got that? I don't do babies."
"Is it the prospect of caring for a baby that upsets you, or the change this child will bring to our lives?" Master Splinter asked. "Change is inevitable. It does not matter how much you may dislike it, but time progresses and alters our reality."
"Ya' wanna know what upsets me?" Raph demanded. "I'll tell ya' straight. You're all gonna get attached to that kid and then something's gonna happen. Maybe Don's blood didn't cure it, maybe it catches a cold, or somebody drops it on its head. Next thing ya' know, we've got ourselves a dead baby and a whole lot of fucked up family."
Master Splinter did not bother to admonish his son for his foul language. It was better to allow Raphael to speak what he was feeling than to force him to quash those emotions.
"Those thoughts haunted me as well," Master Splinter said. "Caring and protecting the four of you was a daunting task. There was no waking hour that I did not worry about losing one of you to all of the things you mentioned and more. What held me, what kept me with you, was the immediate love I had for each of you. Rather than dwell on what might happen, I pushed forward and did the best I could to keep you all safe."
"That's what we've gotta do too," Mikey said as he stood up. "It'll be okay, Raph. We can take care of the baby together. You don't have to ever watch him by yourself 'cause one of us will always be there."
"When have we ever encountered something we couldn't handle, Raph?" Leo asked, looking at his brother. "We'll raise this child as a family. Together, just like Mikey said."
"We can do this," Don said.
"Ain't like we got a choice," Raph grumbled. "So where's he gonna sleep? Do we watch him in shifts or what?"
"He can sleep in my space," Don said quickly. "The plastic box will do for a bed and we can use a cushion to support his carapace. We don't want to put a bunch of blankets in with him because he could suffocate."
Raph waved a hand in the air. "See? It's stuff like that we gotta always be thinking about. We're gonna need a user manual to go with this kid."
"We have something better," Master Splinter said. "Experience. I will guide you through this. It is not as overwhelming as it seems."
"When he is old enough, he will learn ninjitsu just as we did," Leo said.
"Wonder if he's gonna be smart like Donnie," Mikey mused.
"I am sure we will all love him whatever his natural proclivities," Master Splinter said.
Don's gaze remained on the baby, his expression filled with awe. "I already do," he murmured.
"Be better if he wasn't crying," Raph groused. "How long did April say it was gonna take to get here?"
"She was going to place the order online because she said everything would be ready for pickup when she and Casey arrived at the store," Leo answered. "Shouldn't be long."
Mikey went up onto the kitchen platform and kneeled down next to Donatello. Being very careful, he stroked a thumb across the infant's brow and for a brief couple of seconds, the child stopped crying.
"We have to name him," Mikey said softly.
"We'll find a suitable name," Don said. "Maybe we could leave that to Master Splinter to do. He didn't get to name us, so it seems right that he name this baby."
"I would be honored to select a name for my . . . grandchild," Master Splinter said, smiling. "That is certainly something I never thought I would say."
"We're here!" April sang out as she and Casey entered the lair. Both were laden down with bags, each bulging and obviously heavy.
"Did you buy out the store, girl? Let me see what you got," Mikey said, jumping down to relieve April of some of her burden.
"I want to see that baby," April said, setting the rest of her bags on the plastic chairs and going up to where Don waited.
"You okay, Raph?" Casey asked, stopping alongside the large turtle.
"I ain't decided yet," Raph said. "Ask me again later."
TBC…..