The Family Secret
Disclaimer: Don't own the turtles,wish I did - they're very cute. enjoy.
Raph and Donnie were trying to keep themselves occupied on their last week of summer holidays. They were mucking around in their parents' room, as Leo was in their room nose deep in a book and had told them to shove off. They decided to move their persons to the room next door. Raph was jumping on the large bed and singing one of his favourite songs to annoy Leo, who was on the other side of the wall.
"I know a song that'll get on your nerves,
Get on your nerves; I know a song that'll get on your nerves
And it goes like this....."
Donnie was hunting around the desk looking for something he could fiddle with, when he came across an envelope with 'Mary Maurice' written on it.
"Hey look, who's Mary Maurice?" Don asked his younger brother.
"Don't know," Raph replied breathlessly between his song.
Donnie, being the curious young boy he was, decided to open the envelope. He spilled the contence onto the desk and chuckled.
"Hey Raph, check out this old photo of Splinter! Ha, love the seventies look!"
Raph jumped onto the floor with a loud Thud.
"Raphael!"
"Sorry. I fell, me okay, Charlotte, don't worry!"
Raph quickly looked at the photo and his eyes darted to a photo of his mother holding a baby.
"Hey, look, wonder if that's Leo! He looks like he's got a girly dress on! Ha, ha!"
Donnie looked at the photo of his mother holding a baby.
"Does look like Leo, hey! But do you really think Charlotte would dress Leo in a dress and put a pink ribbon in his hair?"
"Nope, but hey imagine the fun we can have with this! The perfect way to blackmail him!"
"Oh, Raph I don't think your evil plan would work, it's not Leo – see the date on the back. That's 11 months before Leo was born."
"What you mean?"
"I mean this is not Leo. Charlotte must have had another baby, before us, before Leo!"
"Na, don't be stupid! Charlotte always calls Leo her first baby."
"Then who is that?"
"Don't know, just a photo of our Mum with some baby. Big deal, maybe that's when she got clucky and got pregnant with us."
"Then how come there are more of these photos? Lots of them. Splinter bathing a baby, Charlotte feeding it."
"That's probably us, dope."
"Really then how come this baby has nothing between its legs."
"Donnie, you dirty boy! Stop perving on the baby. Besides – you've never seen a naked girl, so how do you know what girls look like down there."
"Raph – I know as well as you know that girls don't have willies!"
"What are you two up to?" Leo asked from the doorway.
"Shove off Leo!"
"What you talking about naked girls for Raph? I hope you're not got that rude magazine you found in the gutter a few months ago."
"Na, it's just a baby photo of you, where you have no wily," Raph snickered.
"Has he lost his Marbles?" Leo asked Don.
"No Raph, it's not Leo, as I said. Besides – you and I both know Leo has one."
"Okay, let's ask Big Brother! Who do you think this is?" Raph shoved the large photo in Leo's face. He noticed his mother holding a baby in a dress.
"How should I know?"
"Because you're the eldest," Raph spat.
"Um... guys, I think this could answer the question..." Don interrupted.
They both stoped to peer over Don's shoulders. There before them was a birth certificate.
They read the certificate to themselves and they each stared doubt founded at each other.
Leo was turning white.
"You know what this means don't ya?" Raph whispered.
There was a long pause.
"It means we had a sister......." Don broke the silence, he was shaking.
"It means Leo wasn't the first child......"Raphael breathed.
Leo could feel the heat of liquid in his eyes and a tiny trickle floated down his check, Don touched his older brother's hand. Leo flinched, as if he'd touched a hot iron.
He turned and ran out the door and stormed into the room where his mother was quietly reading a book.
"Tell me! Tell me the truth!" Leo yelled at his mother. He had never yelled at one of his parents before, and he was too shocked to notice that he caused her to jump.
"Leo! What is going on? Why are you yelling at me?" She was taken a back by her oldest son's dark face. Never had she seen Leo look her in the eyes with so much hatred.
"Tell me! Tell me about her!"
"Tell you about whom? Leo I don't know what you're talking about? Has one of the other's been playing a trick on you?"
"No! You're the one who's been tricking me. Both of you! Tricking me and my brothers, all these years! How could you! What did you do to her?"
"What Leo I don't understand? Who are you talking about?"
"Mary Maurice – your daughter! Your f... fir...first born child!" Leo sobbed, as he said the words that hurt.
Charlotte was doubt founded, how could Leo find out about this? She desperately wanted Splinter here, to offer support. The pain of the past was coming back to her, as the baby inside her did a flip flop.
"Don ... Don... and Raph found the photos and the birth certificate!"
"What?! Dontello! Raphael! What have I told you about keeping your nose out of things that don't concern you?" She yelled up to the top floor.
"But it is their concern! It's my concern and its Mike's concern! The fact that our parents have lied all this time to all four of their children. I mean how you could! How come you lied to me, to us?"
"Leo, Leonardo, please understand I did it in your best interest."
"What keep him from knowing that he's not the oldest?" Raph walked in with Don.
"Look if you three sit down I'll explain. Your father was going to explain it when you got older...."
"He, it's always when we're older, that's the lamest excuse under the sun!" Raph throw back, he was equally upset as Leo. More of the fact that yet there was the fact that his parents were trying to make their family look peachy-peachy normal on the surface.
"What about Mikey? You tell us, you tell him too!" Leo ordered his mother.
"I will, I promise, though I think I best explain to you three now, then I will tell Mikey when he gets up from his nap."
"Tell me what?" Mikey walked into the room, "Why's all the yelling?" He looked worried at his family.
"Because this cow has lied to all of us all our lives!" Raphael pointed at his mother.
Charlotte let out a sob, she has never heard any of her children swear before, let alone call her anything rude.
"Raph, I don't think you should call her that..." Don reminded his brother.
"Don, she's lied to you too."
"Leo, please I said I'll explain. Please all of you sit down!" Charlotte felt dizzy and took a few deep breaths, before she began.
"Yes, I'll tell you about baby Mary" Charlotte continues to sob, "She was the most beautiful thing in the world. And then one day, I went into her room and... and......"
Mikey crawled to his mother; he still didn't really know what was going on.
His brothers scolded him, he didn't care – his mother was hurting and he was the only one who seemed to care.
"Oh Mikey, I am sorry. I am sorry to all of you. I am the worst mother in the world!"
"No your not, you're the best Mummy in the world." Mike looked at his brothers. The three of them didn't stop staring darkly at their mother.
"No, Mikey, I have lied to you. I have lied to all of you. It is true; Leo is not my first baby. I had another baby, a baby girl about two years before you were born."
Mike began to understand what all the fuss was about. He pulled away from his mother, frightened at what must have happened to that baby.
"What happened to her?" Donnie whispered.
Charlotte took a great big breath......
"She, she never woke up." Charlotte broke down crying in her hands, as the four boys looked at each other, digesting what was going on.
"Why did she never wake up?" Leo asked.... He needed to know what had happened to his sister.
"You know about Red Nose Day and how it's for SIDs and babies who die in their sleep?"
"Yeah, Splinter gave us all a red nose for it," Mikey recalled.
"Well, Mary Maurice died of SIDs." Charlotte managed to stop sobbing to give her boys the information they craved.
"So she was a baby when she um... you know..." Raphael inquired.
Charlotte nodded.
Donnie got off the couch and went to his mother and hugged her.
"I'm sorry it's my entire fault. If I had just minded my own business and left the envelope alone." He cried into his mother's long black hair.
"No, I am sorry, Donnie, for never telling my boys of their big sister. I'm really very sorry..."
At this the other three boys went to their mother and continued to sob into her arms with her.