A/N: After a week of vacation and then a week of a lingering cold (that's still trying to hang around), I've finally had time for this.


Latency

Kimberly gazed at the monitoring equipment with weary eyes. Though she was a night owl who could stay awake well after dark, her limit had already been reached hours ago. Still, she couldn't admit defeat yet. Donatello's vitals looked good for now, but she was worried that could quickly change. This was only her first time in this capacity. She was still going to school for this, after all. Nearly two years of internships and her one time of assisting Donatello when it was Leonardo lying in that bed was hardly enough to be proficient. She laid her hand on the bed, not quite touching her brother-in-law's arm. 'Please be okay. Show me I did this right,' she silently pleaded.

"Kimberly?" Malakai called as he entered the room behind her. "How about you go and get some sleep? I'll keep an eye on things here."

"I can't leave!" She looked over at him in a start. "What if something happens?"

"I can handle watching over him for a couple hours, I assure you," He emphasized. "If anything changes, I'll make sure you hear about it. You can't go on forever, you know."

"Alright," she said with a yawn. "Thanks, Malakai."

Kimberly gave Donatello one last look before she stumbled out of the lab, her shoulders slumped from exhaustion. As she opened the door, she nearly ran into their new guest. Katarina quickly backpedaled, nearly falling over when she put too much weight on her injured leg. Kimi quickly helped steady the blonde. "I'm sorry! I didn't see you!"

"No worries!" Katarina grinned. "I was just wondering where my dad disappeared to." Kat peered around her into the room beyond and Kimi noticed her gaze quickly found the prone turtle.

"He's in there," Kimi assured her. "Uh, and Donny's not really up for visitors right now."

"Oh, I know," Kat glanced back at her with a smile. "I can just sit with my dad, right? I won't hurt anything. I promise!"

"Um…" Kimi ducked her head away from the other woman's eager look. "Yeah, I guess that's fine." Her averted gaze found Raphael walking over to her from the couch. She barely noticed Kat slip around her as she gave her husband a tired smile. "Hey, Raph."

"Ya look exhausted," he said, almost accusingly, but the look in his eyes portrayed his worry. "Is Don alright in there?"

"Yeah, I think he'll be fine." She leaned into his embrace.

"C'mon, ya need ta get some sleep." Raph pulled away just enough to lead her to the bedroom. He didn't say another word as they moved through the lair's darkened space.

When they finally stepped into the room, Kimi broke away to fall forward onto the bed, easily dodging the over-excited greeting of her smaller dog. "So tired…" She murmured. She felt the bed shift when Raph sat down next to her. "This was the longest night ever."

"Ya did alright fer yer first time solo," Raphael commented, lightly.

She shook her head against the blanket. "It was terrifying. I'm not ready to do this on my own yet. I still have so much to learn…" She propped herself up on her elbows and looked up at him. "Raph, seeing that bullet wound… It brought me back to that night with my dad."

Raphael immediately reached over to pull her into his arms. "Yanno it ain't tha same."

"I know. It's completely different. But still…" she buried her head against him, tears burning to be released. "This is why I chose to go into veterinary studies instead. Animals don't get shot like that. At least not as often…"

"I don't know what ta tell ya, Kimi. I've seen some messed up shit in my life, but I can't imagine what seein' yer dad like that musta felt like. It can't be easy."

"I don't know why it keeps coming back after all this time. I thought I was over it." She sighed. "And then that freaky alien thing last Halloween made it so fresh all over again."

"That shouldn't a' happened. That stupid squid shoulda been long dead. I wish ya didn't hafta go through all that." He shifted, nudging her chin to face him. "Still, ya did good, Kokoro. Ya kept my bro alive."

She shrugged. "I did what I could."

"Ya did better than that. By tha time ya graduate, I bet you'd be tha best vet in tha country wit' all this experience you're gettin'." He gave her a smirk.

She couldn't resist a smile back. "Maybe in a decade."

"Nah, sooner for sure. Trust me on this. I know tha woman I married."

She tipped her head. "Do you, now?"

"Yup. You'll knock 'em all outta tha park in no time."


Leonardo moved through his kata with practiced ease, even as his mind was wrought with the events of the last few days. He felt vexed from his missed chance to face Taipan. Though he understood why Raph cut the battle short, it still left him unsettled. Taipan deserved far worse than he got. The anger he felt for the man hadn't abated in the least. Especially after the way he gloated over Donatello's unconscious form.

Leo's blade sliced through the air with deadly precision as he pictured the despised man before him. Though his rigid training forbade such thoughts, he couldn't keep them at bay for long. The exercise was supposed to be calming his restless spirit, but it instead only allowed the rage to fester. As he moved into another form, he felt the presence of someone watching him. He didn't need to see his visitor to know who it was. The heightened awareness of the exercise made Melody's inner turmoil a physical force. With a soft breath, he sheathed his twin katana and turned to face her.

"You didn't have to stop," Melody said, shifting her weight with hands in her jacket pockets.

"I needed a break anyway." He walked over to the bench to grab the water bottle he had set aside.

"You looked so focused. I was trying not to disturb you."

"You're not disturbing me." He glanced at her over a sip of water. The sight of her slumped posture was a sure sign of her nerves. "What's on your mind, Melody?"

She bowed her head, creating a curtain of black hair that obscured her face. "I knew going in to rescue Katarina was going to end with one of you hurt. It didn't have to happen like that. I could've helped. Then Donatello wouldn't be fighting for his life…"

"Don's hurt because he disobeyed me and put himself into a situation he wasn't ready for." His frustration over his brother's action heated his assertion. "According to Kimberly, he's past the danger zone. He was lucky." He locked his gaze on her. "If you had gone in with your own injuries, you would have easily ended up in the same position as him. That wouldn't have helped anyone. As it was, thanks to Don's actions, we were in there longer than I wanted to be."

"…You saw Marcio in there?" She peeked at him through her hair.

Leonardo sat down on the bench, his free hand balling into a fist against his leg. "I saw him. We didn't have time. We had to get Don out of there."

"You left him alive?!" A flash of fear sent her back a step. "You can't let him live! He's a monster! You don't know what it was like dealing with him." Her fists raised as anger took over. "If you let him live, he'll only find someone else to hurt!"

Leo stood and walked up to her. "There's always the possibility that we may cross paths with them again. I'm very much aware they are still a threat to us. We will remain vigilant." He covered her balled up fists with his hands. "I can't imagine the life you led with that man, but I promise it will never come to that again. I won't allow it."

"You can't promise that." She shook her head. "You don't know Marcio like I do. You don't know Snake Eyes. You've already incited Krait's wrath just from interfering with the amulets. He will come down on you all with every resource he commands. No one escapes them for long."

"He's not the first and he won't be the last," Leonardo insisted. "Our lives will always be full of danger, but that doesn't mean we stop fighting. We survived through many impossible circumstances. It may be challenging, but when this clan works together, there are few that can take us on."

There was still doubt in her gray eye as she looked back at him. Leo couldn't resist brushing the strands of her hair off her face so he could see her better. The scar that marred the left side of her face and eye still angered him. He saw her frown at his change in mood and she reached up to cover the scar. "Don't," she nearly whispered. She pulled away from him and turned away. "Don't look at it."

"Melody…"

"No." Her free hand clenched as it shook slightly. "Don't you dare. I don't need your pity." With that, she stormed out of the room. Leo barely had time to contemplate whether he should follow her before Casey's head popped into the room.

"Hey," the man said, hesitantly. "Uh, hope this ain't a bad time…"

"Casey?" Leo straightened. "When did you get here?"

"Just now, actually. Brought Shadow wit' me. Figured you guys could use a distraction." He glanced out of the room. "Is tha lady gonna be alright?"

"Oh right, you didn't get a chance to meet Melody yet." He walked over to the door. "She probably needs some space right now." The sound of Michelangelo loudly conversing with a young voice drew his attention. "I see Mikey's already got first dibs on the kid."

Casey shrugged. "He practically ambushed me gettin' ahold a' her as soon as I stepped through tha door."

Leo shook his head at his first glimpse of Mikey's antics with the two-month-old. The baby seemed completely enthralled with the turtle as she cooed and squealed with delight.

"'Course he's already got tha kid squawkin'," Raphael grumbled from the stairs.

Raph moved to the side to allow his wife to dash around him and down the stairs. Kimberly didn't slow down until she was in reach to plop down beside Mikey on the couch. "Oh, she's so precious!" She squealed. "I want one!"

Mikey laughed. "Hear that, Raphy? Better get on that!"

Raph seemed to pale as he paused in his own, slower, trek downstairs. "Shut it, chucklehead 'fore I make ya regret it."

"Holding baby here," Mike teased. "You wouldn't wanna hurt little Shadow, now would ya?"

"Ya won't be holdin' tha kid forever!"

"Can I hold her?" Kimi glanced over at Casey for permission.

"Yeah, 'course," Casey allowed, immediately. "Ya gotta share, Mike."

"Awe, fine." Mike's grin never left his face as he handed the baby over to the woman.

Leonardo allowed himself a smile. "Looks like your plan worked."

"That's good. When I heard about Don, I had ta do sum'thin'." Casey glanced at the lab. "How's he doin'?"

"You'll have to ask Kimi for details, but she said he's out of the danger zone." His own gaze landed on the lab. "I'm hoping he'll wake up soon."

"I wish I coulda gone wit' ya like tha good ol' days."

"This mission required a bit more stealth," Leo said to Casey's chagrin.

"Yeah, I get it. It's cool." He looked over at his daughter. "Don't know if I coulda left her jus' yet. She's been my whole life since I first laid eyes on 'er. After her ma… It ain't been easy."

"I'm glad you came back, you know. It hasn't been the same without you and Raph going at it."

"Yeah, I'm glad, too. I really missed ya guys."

"Raph, get over here!" Kimi commanded with a laugh, drawing the two of them back to the rest of the room. "Shadow doesn't bite, you know. She doesn't even have teeth yet."

"I'm good ova here," Raph immediately objected. "Leo should see her first. He ain't had his chance either."

Leonardo gave his brother a look. "I'm totally okay waiting my turn, Raph. Your wife asked for you."

"C'mon, Raph," Casey laid a heavy hand on the stubborn turtle's shoulder. "Don't tell me yer scared a' my litter girl."

"I ain't scared a' no kid!" Raph vehemently denied.

Kimberly hopped to her feet and walked over to shove the cooing baby into Raphael's arms. "Isn't she just the sweetest little thing?"

Raph's grip on the baby was stiff as he stared at the delicate little child. "Kimi…" He grumbled. "I ain't good wit' kids."

Seeing his brother holding the baby like she was a bomb about to explode amused Leonardo. "It might help if you relax a little."

"Why don't you try it if yer so smart?" Raph snapped back, his gruff voice causing little Shadow to start fussing. "See? Kids don't like me!"

Casey stepped over to take the squirming baby just before she could really work herself up. Upon seeing her father, Shadow squealed in delight. "Don't you go scarin' my kid already." Casey said, softly, as he gently bounced his daughter in his arms.


A/N: Now don't forget to feed that review box before heading out. Maybe I'll write faster. ;)