INVITATION

August 29, 1995

21 Hours, 53 Minutes

ANNA:

"They adore you," I observed, smiling as Michaelangelo tickled three-year-old Jenny mercilessly. Two of the older girls jumped on top of him, and he gagged as he was dragged backward.

I stepped forward, but Leo rested a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from interfering. "Mikey can handle himself," he assured me, a broad smile on his face.

"I just don't want anyone to get hurt," I laughed nervously.

"He won't hurt them," he promised. "He's careful."

"I was more worried about him," I smiled.

"Ack!" Mikey cried reaching dramatically toward his brother. "Leo! Save me!"

I laughed, unable to contain myself. So much for being quiet. We'd already had the nurses come in here twice to make sure everything was okay. Both times, Leo and Mike and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Leaving every one of us wondering where they'd disappeared to.

Leonardo crossed his arms over his plastron and grinned at his brother. "Sorry, Mike," he answered. "Mutant monsters, alien life forms... that I can handle. But you're on your own this time."

"Noooo!" he moaned dramatically. "Goodbye cruel world!"

I smiled as Abby wandered over to us. She was only two, and she had decided that the playing had gotten a little too rough for her. She wrapped her arms around Leonardo's knee and watched the "dying" turtle in the midst of all the giggling girls. "Hey," Leo greeted. She looked up, and smiled, but didn't try to talk. Leonardo crouched next to her. "What's your name?"

The little girl looked up at me, suddenly shy. "Well, tell him," I laughed.

She smiled and batted her lashes as she looked down, grinding the toe of her shoe into the tile floor. "Um," she stammered. "Abby."

"That's a pretty name," Leo told her, brushing her long bangs out of her eyes. She needed a haircut. "And you're a very pretty girl, you know that?"

She smiled broadly, but kept looking down. "How old are you, Abby?"

With some effort, she managed to hold up two fingers, while getting the others to stay down.

Suddenly the door opened. For a split second, I panicked. The nurses would not like this. But the nurses knocked first. It couldn't be them. At least, I hoped it wasn't. Because no amount of ninja stealth was going to get Michaelangelo out from underneath that mountain of girls in the second it took for that door to swing open.

"Oh, good heavens!"

I raced toward the intruder and pulled her inside. "Mrs. Collins, it's okay!" I assured, quickly closing the door behind her. "It's okay, really."

The girls climbed off of Michaelangelo and looked up at their much older caretaker, probably expecting a lecture. She said nothing for a long time. Then she swallowed hard. "Girls, it's time for bed," she said calmly.

A collective moan went up from the crowd. "Hey, hey," Leonardo interrupted them. They all looked to him. "If you don't all go to bed good, we'll remember that next time. We're not here to encourage whining and misbehaving."

His words had the desired effect. One by one the girls hugged and kissed the two turtles, then walked out of the room. Michaelangelo rested his head back on the tile floor and closed his eyes. "I've fallen," he moaned. "And I can't get up."

Mrs. Collins stared at him as if she still didn't quite believe her eyes. Leo walked away from the wall and offered him a hand, pulling him up easily. "You're bleeding," he informed.

Mike looked at his arm and the blood-soaked bandage. A much larger one was on his other arm, where I assumed he had the burn Leo had mentioned. "Nah, I'm okay." He turned to Mrs. Collins. "Hi," he greeted brightly, holding out a hand to her. "I'm Michaelangelo."

She shook his hand hesitantly. "Anette Collins," she answered slowly.

"And this is Leonardo," I gestured, realizing that he wasn't going to introduce himself. "He..." I hesitated, not sure I wanted to bring up bad memories right now. "...brought me out of the building," I finally finished.

The words granted Leonardo a new level of respect in Mrs. Collins' eyes. She shook his hand, and he bowed slightly. "We owe our lives to you," she said quietly. "But... weren't there more of you?"

"We got two brothers back at home," Mike answered.

Mrs. Collins smiled. "Well, you send my thanks to those two brothers of yours as well. And let them know how many lives they've touched."

Michaelangelo the turtle smiled as Michaelangelo the kitten curled around his legs, tail flicking slightly. "I'll do that," he said, more to the fuzzy animal than to Mrs. Collins.

Mikey picked up the cat and walked to Marie's bed. She looked tired, but she smiled. "Here," Mike offered, placing the kitten in her arms. Mrs. Collins smiled at them, and left, closing the door behind her.

Mike rested a hand on top of Marie's head as she closed her eyes and snuggled closer to the orange ball of fluff. "G'night Mikanalo," she slurred.

He smiled and stared at her for a moment, then looked up at Leo. "I'm gonna go," he whispered.

Leonardo nodded. Mike smiled at me and started toward the window, but turned back. "Oh," he remembered. "You think you could get us some kind of gauze wrapping or ace bandages or something? We're kinda... out."

"Oh, sure," I smiled. I considered where I might get it, and walked into the bathroom. In a clear plastic box under the sink were dozens of packages of gauze. I grabbed a handful and returned to Mike. "I'm not sure how you're gonna carry them, though, if you climbed up the wall."

He grabbed the pillow off the unoccupied bed and shook the pillowcase free. "I'll just have to bring this back," he mumbled to himself as I dumped the packages inside.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" I questioned. It hadn't even occured to me that they had no medical care other than what they could provide for themselves.

"Couplea cc's of morphine'd be nice," Mike joked. I smiled back at him as he tied the pillowcase to his belt. He turned to Leo. "You want me to tell Splinter where you're at?"

"If he asks," Leonardo replied.

"Alrighty then. You two be good. And remember..." He flashed a mischevious grin at Leonardo. "Abstinence is the best birth control."

I didn't know whether or not to be shocked by that. Leo grabbed the pillow off the bed and threw it at him. "Get outta here, you idiot," he smiled as Mike ducked and dove out the window.

LEONARDO:

Mike was gone. I looked at Anna. "I need to talk to you. But I think Marie needs to sleep. Will you meet me outside?"

"Where?" she asked.

"The roof?" I suggested.

"I don't know if I can even get up there," she smiled.

I tried to think of another place that was close by and didn't have surveillance cameras. "Um..." I struggled.

"Can it wait 'til morning?" she asked. "We could meet somewhere then."

I considered that. "I guess so," I answered. "I gotta talk to you about what happened. I was hopin' maybe you knew something I didn't. Or could find out."

"What do you mean?"

I cast a lingering look at the sleeping child a few feet away, and she reconsidered the question. "Okay," she whispered. "Tomorrow morning. How about in that alley near the site?"

I wasn't thrilled with that idea, but it was logical. "Okay," I agreed reluctantly. "We'll meet there. Eight?"

"Works for me."

She wrapped her arms around my neck, catching me slightly off guard. Hesitantly, I hugged her back. "Good night, Leo," she whispered.

"Good night."

She pulled away and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Be careful."

I nodded, and disappeared out the window.