Disclaimer:  I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; they are the property of Mirage Studios, Inc.  I am only borrowing them for the entertainment of those reading this.  Please don't sue me, I assure you—I have no money.  The other characters are mine, please don't borrow without permission. 

Chapter 12:

Home Again

Athena:

Tomorrow was the deadline and not one of them had arrived yet.  I was trying desperately to play it cool in front of my sisters, but I was starting to really worry.  Leonardo was the only one who'd given me a definite yes and he hadn't even shown up yet.  Maybe this was a fashionably late thing--no one wanted to be the first one back.

I glanced at the clock again.  It was late.  I knew I should be going to bed, but I was too tense.  I crawled off my bed and headed over to my meditation corner.  A few hours of meditation would fix everything.

********

"Raphael requests entrance"

My mind snapped back into reality at the sound of the computer's voice.  "Entrance permitted."

The doors of my room slid open and Raphael walked in.  He grinned when he saw me sitting in the corner.

"Hey you."

"Hey yourself—where the hell have you been?!?"

I jumped off my mat and raced over to hug him.  He picked me up and swung me around before pulling back to look at me.

"Were you worried?"

"I prefer 'concerned'."

He grinned.  "So you were worried."

"Whatever makes you happy.  I'm just glad you're here."

"Yeah, well, I was getting tired of frozen dinners.  I figured I might as well come back here and have some real meals."

"Thanks—and here I thought you came back for me!"

"Yeah, well, you are a nice perk."

"I guess I'll take what I can get."

"So is anybody else here yet?"

"Not as far as I know."

"Let me rephrase: is anyone else going to be here?"

"We'll see."

Raphael:

I flopped myself down onto her bed.  I certainly hadn't expected to be the first one back, and it never even crossed my mind that I'd be the only one.

As if she were reading my thoughts, she said, "they'll be here."

"Hey, I'm not the one who's worried about it."

"I said I wasn't worried."  She was such a liar.  I really hoped for her sake that they would all be here.  I didn't want to know what it would do to her if they didn't show.

"So how come you're still up this late?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Yeah.  That's what happens when you're worried."

She glared at me and stuck her tongue out.

"Real mature.  So, how are you going to start training us tomorrow if you're all tired from not sleeping?"

"The same way you're going to work your ass off in training without sleeping.  Because you have to."

"Touché."

"So what exactly are we doing all night since we're not sleeping?"  I gave her one of my most mischievous grins.  She shook her head and sighed.

"We're going to go watch a movie down in the screen room."

"You don't just want to watch one in here?"

"No way, the screen's ten times bigger down there!  If we're going to stay up all night, we're going to do it right!"

"Well, actually, we could do that up here…"

"Raphael, I swear, you'd better knock it off.  I am your teacher, remember."

"That's what I'm saying—there are some other things you could teach me…"

"I will hurt you, Raph."

"Whatever turns you on, Athena."

"Will you just come on?"

I laughed and followed her out of the room.  This was shaping up to be a good first night back.

*****

I wasn't really surprised when I looked over halfway through "The Ring" and she was sound asleep.  She never did like scary movies.  She looked so peaceful all curled up around her pillow.  I gently brushed some stray hair out of her face and she didn't even budge.  Her slow steady breathing made me feel more tired.  I went back to watch the movie, but my eyelids were starting to get noticeably heavier.

"So this is where you're hiding."

I nearly jumped out of my seat.  I turned to see Michaelangelo standing in the doorway.  I couldn't believe I hadn't heard him come in.  I was getting rusty.

"Sorry dude, didn't mean to scare you."  He was obviously pretty proud he had, though.

"Good to see you, man."  I stood up and gave him a hug.

"Right back at ya."

"What did you do to her?"  He nodded his head in Athena's direction.

"I wore her out."

Mike just gave me a look and shook his head.

"Let's get out of here so we don't wake her."

"Yeah, and I'm starving."

Michaelangelo:

It was the strangest feeling as I walked to the kitchen with Raph.  Part of me felt like I'd just seen him yesterday and I was completely at ease.  The rest of me felt like I was walking beside a stranger.  He did look a little different, but I couldn't exactly say what it was or why.  I was glad when he broke the silence.

"So where did they ship you off to?"

"Australia."

"No shit.  How was it?"

"I loved it.  I never thought I'd get to go to anyplace like that.  It was great.  How about you?"

"Japan."

"Really?  I would've thought she'd send Leo there."

"Yeah, me too."

"So did you like it there?"

"For what I saw of it.  I really didn't leave the house too much."

"I can't believe that—I remember the days when we couldn't keep you in."

"Yeah, I remember those days too."

I started pulling cooking utensils and pans from the cupboards.  "So what'll it be?"

"You know, I could really go for one of your omelets."

"Comin' right up, bro."  I fished through the refrigerator until I found some eggs, cheese and assorted vegetables.  Raph had gone quiet sitting at the counter.  It made me a little uneasy.  I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"So how long have you been back here?"

"I only got here a few hours before you."

"Do you know if Leo or Don is coming?

"Not a clue, but Athena seems to think they are.  Those two are pretty punctual though and the fact that we're here before them doesn't bode well."

"I can't imagine they wouldn't come back though."

"Well, people change."

"You seriously think they would've changed that much?"

"Who knows?"

"You want peppers in yours?"

"You even gotta ask that?"

"Hey, people change."

I turned to see him giving me one of his 'Mike, you're hopeless' expressions.  I laughed.  I was glad some things didn't change.

"You know, I told Don we should've just checked the kitchen first."

I turned around to see Leo and Don standing in the doorway.  They were both grinning.

"So, Mike, what're you making there?"

"Omelets—you guys hungry?"

"You're kidding, right?  I haven't had your cooking in what feels like years, and after having to cook for myself all this time, I'll tell you I have a brand new appreciation for it!"  Don slapped me on the back.

"So everybody will just have the usual?"

"The usual would be great, Mike."  Leo walked over to supervise my progress.

"Hey, just remember, mine's first."

"Don't worry, Raph, everyone knows better than to steal your food."  Leo grabbed a carrot to munch on while he waited.

"So Raph and I were just talking about our little vacations.  Where'd you guys end up?"

"South Africa."

"South Africa?  Why the hell'd she send you there?"

Don laughed.  "Well, gee, Raph, I don't know.  I didn't really ask."

"How was it?"

"Let's put it this way—she wouldn't give me a computer."

"Ouch.  I'm sorry dude."

"Yeah, so am I.  So just appreciate the fact I'm in here with you right now and not up in my room on my computer."

"So how about you, Leo?"

"Mexico."

"Wait a minute!  She sends me to Japan—and you get to go to Margaritaville?!?"

"I can't believe she sent you to Japan!"

"Well not when she could've sent me to Mexico!  I'm starting to think she got a little confused."

"It certainly seems that way, but knowing her it was probably all part of her little plan."

"I can't believe you got to go to Mexico.  Wait until she wakes up!"

"She's sleeping?"

I couldn't resist the opportunity to pick on Raph.

"Yeah, when I showed up they were all curled up and cozy on one of the couches in the screen room."

"Shut the fuck up, Mikey."

"Oh, I think you hit a nerve Mike!"

"He did not—he just doesn't know what the hell he's talking about so he needs to keep his mouth shut!"

"Dude, I know what I saw!"

"You saw nothing."

"Whatever you say, man, whatever you say."

We all laughed at Raph's expense, but there was nothing too new there.  We talked about the last few months, even though as it turned out none of us really did anything exciting.  I made everybody's omelets and finally sat down with my own.  Raphael had already inhaled his by then.  He and Don were in mid-argument over who had the more depraved situation while they were gone.  I just laughed to myself.  It was good to be home.