Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT. I do own Lindy.
A/N - By the way, I don't know how everyone else's computers are, but mine doesn't show a second page for turtle fanfics. If I want to read them, I need to search by an author's name. This is just to say that I will not be taking this story down. If you can't see it, then look under my name for it. It will be updated. I plan on updating every few days, like I have been.
This chapter takes place right after the last chapter, actually, later that night. What happens when you put Raphael alone with a willful eight month old…? Be afraid. Be very afraid…
Chapter 8 - A Battle Of Wills…
Raphael stared glumly at the television screen. Leo had been ticked when he'd finally come home, he could tell, but had said nothing, which surprised him. While he'd been gone, he'd been delegated to babysitting duty by unanimous vote. They all went out to get supplies and he was stuck with an eight month old. He looked across the room at the playpen where he'd put her as soon as they'd left. She was staring back at him.
"Oh no, kid. I don't do no tricks like your Uncle Mikey. So just turn that Bambi- gaze away from me." He said, then turned back to the TV. She sighed and sat back down, grabbing a toy.
There. Raphael thought to himself. That's it. Show her who's boss. You won't get all mushy around her like the rest of them.
He could hear the sound of one of her favorite toys, something that made a different, awful noise every time she touched a different button. He turned up the TV. A few minutes later he growled softly. He could still hear it. It was there, right behind the sounds of the TV, annoying him. He got up and walked over to the playpen. She looked up at him, eyes wide, her face the picture of innocence.
"What do you want?" He asked, then stopped. Not that she'd answer him. She sniffled.
"Oh, no. Don't you go crying on me, now." He said. He didn't want to deal with a crying baby right now. "And I don't know when your dad's coming back, or your uncles, so you can just forget about crying about that."
She sniffled again, and he sighed.
"I have no idea what I'm doing. What are they thinking, leaving me in charge of her." He said to himself, then looked down at her as inspiration struck. "Are you hungry?" He asked her. "You want food? Uh, nummies?" He could imagine the lifetime of teasing he'd get if anyone ever heard him say that. Her eyes seemed to brighten at the word. Great. He thought to himself. She's hungry.
He lifted her up and swiftly carried her over to her highchair, strapping her in quickly. He then went up to the cupboards, looking for her baby food. Look at all this crap they feed her. Steak and mashed potatoes in the same bottle. Ugh.
He sighed, then picked a few things and carried them over to the table, pulling her chair over closer to him. He opened one of the bottles, then stopped. A bottle. They always give her a bottle. He stood back up, impressed that he'd remembered such a detail. Maybe this won't be so ba-… His thought cut off as he heard a crash.
He looked over to find Lindy looking at him, her eyes wide, and a bottle of baby food broken on the ground. He'd left it in her reach when he'd gotten up.
"Sh-…" He began, then stopped. He bit his lip, trying to calm himself. He concentrated on just cleaning up the mess, then went back over to the cupboard. He quickly picked out some purplish looking food and sat back down. He opened the bottles, careful to keep them out of her reach, and stuck a spoon in one.
"OK, kid. Here we go." He brought it up to her face, but she kept her mouth shut.
"What's the matter? Aren't you hungry?" He asked, then tried again. Her mouth stayed clamped shut.
"OK, look, you gotta eat something. Your dad'll kill me if I don't feed you. Not to mention your uncles." He got no response, just the small quivering of her chin.
"Oh, no." He said, trying to think of a solution to this quickly. "Here, look, it's good." He stuck a finger in the bottle then brought it to his lips. He coughed, almost choking. Good Lord, that's the most awful thing I've ever tasted in my life. And I live in a sewer.
He tried to keep a semblance of a smile on his face. "See?" He choked out. "It's good." She laughed, clearly delighted in his discomfort, and clapped her hands. He tried again with the spoon, and this time she happily accepted it. I think she just put me through an initiation to be able to feed her. He thought to himself, a little impressed. Not bad for a baby.
The rest of dinner went fairly smoothly, and Raphael soon got the hang of getting the food in her mouth.
"Grabby little thing, ain'tcha?" He asked her, after prying her hands off of the spoon again.
She made a face, suddenly, and he stopped. "You're not gonna cry, are you?" He looked at her warily. She sniffed, then smiled. He sighed, relieved. She made the face again, then suddenly sneezed, sending purple mush across her face, the table, and Raphael.
He looked down at his plastron. "Cute." He said sarcastically, as he began wiping himself off.
"Oot." She drawled. He looked up at her in shock. Did she just…
"Did you just say 'cute'?" He asked.
"Oot." She repeated, clapping her hands in delight. His mouth dropped open.
"Y- You talked." He said in amazement. She looked at him with a 'well, duh' look on her face, as if wondering why he was getting so excited.
"Oh, oh, Donnie's gonna flip." He said, running a hand over his head. "And I didn't catch it on camera."
She stared at him patiently, as he paced beside the table, mumbling to himself. He stopped and looked at her. She held her arms out, ready to get out of the highchair. He took the hint and grabbed her, lifting her out. He held her out in front of him and looked at her.
"You know, you're pretty smart, for a baby." He shook his head in amazement. "You were actually listening to me…" She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder, sighing contentedly.
"Let's see what's on the tube." He said quickly, setting her down on the couch next to him. He flipped through a few channels, then looked over at her. She was staring at his face, her eyes wide, as if just noticing who was sitting next to her.
"Yeah, I know, kid, you're used to watching TV with Uncle Mikey, supervised by your dad." He chuckled. "But they're not here right now. Neither is your Uncle Leo." She kept on staring. He sighed. "Look, kid, I know I don't spend a whole lotta time with you… It's not that I don't like you, or nothin' it's just…" He stopped, sighing again. "Why am I explaining myself to an eight month old?" He said to himself.
She leaned over, playing with his kneepad, trying to tug it off. "Your Uncle Leo's pretty ticked at me." He said. "He's probably gonna yell later, after you're asleep." He didn't know why he was telling her this, just that she listened. "It's not like I try and make him mad. Well, not all of the time." He grinned.
Suddenly, the communicator next to him went off, and he reached for it. He opened it, and was surprised to find Donatello on the other end of it. They hadn't really spoken since he'd got back after their fight, but he wasn't worried. Don never held a grudge.
"Hey." He sat up from where he'd been half sprawled. "What's up?"
"We're gonna be a bit longer than we expected, Raph." Don's voice came through the communicator. "I'll send Mikey home ahead, so you…"
"Why?" Raph stopped him in the middle of his sentence. Don's voice came through again, this time confused.
"Well, I know you don't exactly enjoy…" He started, but Raphael cut him off again.
"Don't bother sending Mikey. We're good here. Besides," He added hastily. "By the time Mikey gets down here, you guys could be home. Don't worry. We're fine."
"OK." Now Don's voice was more than surprised. "OK, well, thanks. And if you need anything…"
"We're fine." Raphael said again, getting agitated. What was he, five? "We're havin' fun. See you when you get home."
The communicator went off and Donatello turned towards his brothers.
"What'd he say?" Michaelangelo asked, sitting on the brick wall of the alley they were in.
Don closed the communicator. "He said they're fine." He said, as if in a trance. "Said they're having fun…" He looked at Mike and Leo, as if in shock.
Raphael closed his communicator. "Jeez, Lindy, the way they act, you'd think I was the…" He stopped when he looked over at her, and saw that she had fallen asleep, her head on his leg.
He sighed, shaking his head. "You really turned us upside down, you know that?" He said softly to the sleeping child. "You've messed us up more than you know." He grinned slightly, flipping through the channels again.
"Good thing you're not that bad of a kid." She sighed in her sleep, then gave a small grin. He grinned back, then turned back to the TV.