After dinner, everyone relaxed as they digested their food.
"Wow Rita, you're a really good cook." said Donny as he sat back in his chair in the kitchen.
"Yeah, I'm impressed." said Ashton. "And I normally don't like cooked food."
"Thank you." smiled Rita as she did the dishes. "I try."
Pidgina and Splinter quietly sat at a table in the corner playing chess.
"Its been a while since I played, no one here is ever as interested in the game as I am." said Pidgina happily.
"I usually play with an elderly blind man in Central Park, Andre." said Splinter, moving his piece.
"Oh how nice!" Pidgina then moved her piece.
Mikey, Shelly, Leo, and Venus absorbed themselves in watching television.
Cori was lifting weights in her gym room, when Raph walked in.
Cori glanced over at him, rolled her eyes, and continued lifting her weights.
"Is this room yours?" asked Raph as he looked around.
"It might as well be; no one else really uses it." said Cori.
Raph walked over to Cori, and took a look at the weights she was lifting. He chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
"Them weights you're liftin. Now I know you'll never be able to beat me." said Raph with a small smile on his face.
Cori glared at him for a moment, then walked off to another part of the gym with her weights.
Raph followed her over there. "What? No comeback? Earlier you seemed convinced you could fight, and beat me."
"I'm still sure that I could fight, and beat you." said Cori, then she dropped her weights. "But I don't feel like humiliating the crap out of you on the first day of meeting me." Then she walked away.
Raph watched her as she left.
"Oh yeah, and stop following me like some lost puppy dog." said Cori, then she left the gym.
Raph watched after her for a moment, and found that something about Cori intrigued him very much.
The next morning, after breakfast, everyone went back to hanging around the lair.
Leonardo and Venus went out to get their stuff from their temporary lair.
As they walked, Leo grabbed Venus' hand and pulled her closer to him, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Venus giggled.
"Finally I can be with you without everyone around." said Leo as he put his arm around Venus.
"Why shouldn't everyone else be around?" asked Venus, somewhat coyly.
Leo leaned in closer to her and kissed her. "That's why."
Venus smiled back at him.
At the lair, Rita was at her computer looking at the screen intently. Donny walked over to her.
"Whatcha doin?" he asked.
Rita glanced over at him. "Oh, just trying to set up a sort of blueprint for how I want my new lab to look." she looked at it carefully. "Something about just isn't right."
Donny looked at it. "Hmm . . . might I make a suggestion?"
"Go right on ahead." said Rita.
"Maybe if you move the main computer to be by the 2nd lab station, you can have a circular space around the entire lab."
"Hmm. . . " Rita changed the layout on the screen. "Eureka!"
Donny smiled.
"Thanks Donatello." said Rita with a smile.
"Please, call me Donny."
Rita smiled. "Okay, Donny, thanks."
"No problem."
Shelly made a huge bowl of popcorn topped with ketchup and mustard, then sat in front of the television where Raph and Mikey were. She stuffed a handful in her mouth.
"Want some?" she offered to the two.
"Cool!" said Mikey as he quickly dug in.
"Eh, I'll pass." said Raph.
Cori and Ashton were in the gym. Cori was lifting weights while Ashton ran on a treadmill.
"I've never seen anyone run that fast on that thing before." said Cori. "Its cos you're part cat isn't it?"
"Yep." said Ashton proudly as she ran. She then looked over at Cori. "You don't like Raph do you?"
Cori looked at her, somewhat surprised. "Why do you say that?"
"I dunno, I guess its cos you two almost got in a fight yesterday; I heard you two from across the room. And when Raph went in the gym, moments later you came out."
"He's annoying." said Cori. "He seems to wanna fight or somethin, what gives?"
"Its Raph's way of seeing what you're made of; if you're tough enough for him." said Ashton. She got off the treadmill. "Raph's a really cool guy, he's like my best friend. You just gotta get used to how he is."
"Maybe." said Cori as she put down her weights.
Ashton and Cori left the gym.
"Ya know, you and Raph are more alike than you think." said Ashton.
"Heh, I doubt that." said Cori as she and Ashton walked over to where everyone was watching television.
Later on that day, Leonardo and Venus came back with the stuff from the other lair.
"You two sure were gone a long time." said Ashton. "You left this morning."
Venus blushed. "Has it been that long?"
"I guess we lost track of time." said Leo, as he put some of their stuff down in the lair.
"Doing what is the question." said Mikey.
"Mikey, head, out of the gutter, now." said Leo.
Mikey chuckled.
