Disclaimer: I will never own the TMNT. I do own Lindy.

A/N - This takes place about two and a half months after the last chapter. Two and a half months… And you thought there was tension before…

Chapter 9 - Boiling Point

"Hey guys!" April called, after knocking on the door to the lair. She didn't need them attacking her as soon as she entered the room. She'd learned that lesson after a few too-close-for-comfort experiences. "Guys?" She poked her head in.

"No 'guys'." Michaelangelo walked in from the other room. She jumped. She hadn't even heard him coming, which was probably the point. "Just 'guy'." He continued. "I'm the only one home. Well, besides 'squirmy', here." He set down a wriggling Lindy, who'd been trying to free herself from his grasp.

"Where is everyone?" April asked. She reached down as she felt two small arms wrap around her legs. She lifted Lindy and hugged her. "Hey, sweetie." She kissed her cheek. "How's my cutie?"

"Un." Lindy replied, smiling. April looked to Mike questioningly.

"She's going to be one." He replied.

"In a month and a half!" April said, looking at Lindy, then back to Mike. "She knows that?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "Well, she can say it, at least. I've been trying to teach her how to say 'presents', too. You know how no one can say no to her." He grinned mischievously.

"Maybe 'gift' would be easier. Or 'gimme'." April grinned back.

"Yeah…" Mike looked suddenly thoughtful. "I could use that."

April set Lindy, who had become bored just standing there, down. "So where is everybody?" She asked again.

"Oh, yeah." Mike shook his head, as if just remembering she was there. "Well, let's see: Donnie's out on a quick patrol. Um, Raphael stormed out of here about, oh, three hours ago, and Leo left about a half hour after he did. And that leaves me. And Lindy, of course."

April sighed. "Did he leave after a fight?" She asked, referring to Raph.

Michaelangelo looked thoughtful. "Hmm. I dunno." He looked back at her. "Which one are you talking about?"

"More than one?"

"Oh yeah. Let's see, there was one at one, one thirty, three, three fifteen…"

"Another bad one?"

Mike nodded. "Kinda. You know, it's been getting worse. They never really fought before. Not as often, at least. It was more of a friendly… jab once in a while. Now, it's been getting more into actual fight territory, more often." He looked away. "You know, Raph's getting antsy, wants to go after them; Leo's being cautious, wants us to stay… Same old, same old." The tone was joking, but the expression on his face wasn't.

April nodded.

"To be honest," Mike continued, "I actually want to agree with Raph sometimes… Go after them, just to get it over with. Maybe they'll stop fighting so much then."

"Yeah." It was all April could think of to say. There was a few minutes of tense silence. "So," April said suddenly, and Mike looked up at her. "Have you guys planned anything for this party that's only a month and a half away?"

"Paty!" Lindy broke in, smiling.

April looked to Mike. He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I taught her that, too. I don't know if she knows what it means, but she likes to say it."

April smiled. "Mikey, it's almost two months away. You keep getting her excited about this, by the time her birthday rolls around, she'll be bouncing off the walls." she said, smiling.

"Oh, April, c'mon, she's having…" He stopped as the door came open. Don stepped through.

"Da da!" Lindy raised her arms, beckoning him.

"Hey, Angel." He grabbed her up easily and kissed the top of her head. "Hey guys." He smiled at Mike and April wearily. It was then she noticed the cut on his arm and shoulder.

"Don…" She cried, walking towards him. "Are you OK?" She saw him glance at Mike for a second, then looked back at her.

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm OK. Just a little scrape." He put Lindy down, then looked at Mike once more before looking at April again. "April, you mind watching Lindy for a moment while I clean myself up? Mikey, wanna help me?" He gave Mike another look, and he nodded.

"Oh, yeah." Mike said. He turned back to April. "We'll be right back." He grinned at her, and then turned to follow Don into the bathroom.

April sighed, knowing full well that Donatello could take care of those cuts himself. They just wanted to talk without her there. She looked down to Lindy, who was staring at the closed bathroom door, one hand gripping April's jeans, the other in her mouth. "Well, kiddo, looks like your daddy and uncle are having an impromptu meeting without us. Another one…" She broke off. "They'll be back soon, don't worry."

She noted the small frown creasing the child's face. Lindy liked to be within sight of one of the turtles at all times; besides being at a stage where she was grabby and super attached to them, they were the only people she really knew. And April didn't see her nearly as much as she wanted to.

"They're never going to tell us what's going on." April muttered.

******************

"So?" Michaelangelo shut the door after he got into the bathroom. "What's up?" He hopped onto the sink.

Don sighed, looking down. "I saw them." He said quietly. For a minute, Mike didn't know if he'd heard him right, he was talking so low.

"What?" He asked again.

"I saw them." Don's voice was louder this time, as he raised his head to look at Mike. "The Foot."

"Jeez." Mike said. "Where?"

Donatello began cleaning his wounds carefully. "They're about half a mile away."

"That's really close."

"Or really far, depending how you look at it." Don pointed to the medicine cabinet, and Michaelangelo handed him some disinfectant.

"How'd you see them?" Mike asked, handing him some band aids.

"I, uh… I practically ran into them." Don shook his head. "I don't know how I was so close to them, and didn't know. I must not have been paying attention." He muttered.

"Did they see you?" Mike was wide-eyed.

"No." Don shook his head. "I ducked back just in time."

"So, then how did this happen?" He nodded towards Don's shoulder.

"Oh." Don smiled, looking embarrassed. "I, uh… When I ducked back, I didn't realize there was a brick sticking out of the wall… I ran into it."

Mike hung his head. "And you call yourself a ninja." He smiled.

"Hey, I didn't get caught, did I?" Don shot back, smiling just as widely. For a moment, no one said a word. Then Don sighed again. "They seemed to be going the opposite way, though."

"Well, good." Mike said. "Maybe they passed over us."

Don nodded. "Yeah, but if they decide to backtrack… we're the only thing back here."

Mike nodded, too. "We should tell Leo."

"Yeah, I know. As soon as they both get back." Don said, then grinned, "That is, if we can all stay in one room together for more than thirty seconds…"

"Yeah." Mike said, his smile fading. "You gonna tell April?"

"Nope." Don said, then turned towards the door.

Mike jumped off of the sink, then joined Donatello by the door. "Ready to be questioned? You know she's been trying to hear us." He grinned at his brother, then opened the door.

April turned to the door as soon as it opened. Lindy crawled over to them as soon as she caught sight of them.

"So," April said, crossing her arms. "What happened?" She nodded towards Don's arm. He gave Mike another look, and she sighed.

Don stooped down to pick Lindy up, then turned to April. "I stopped a jewelry store robbery." He said simply, looking down quickly.

She sighed again. He was lying. I don't even want to know… She decided. "OK, fine." She said out loud. "That's the story you want to give me? Fine." She glanced down at her watch. "Oh, darn, guys. I have to go." She looked back up at them. "I've got an evening meeting to go to, and…"

"You mean a date?" Mike looked at her eagerly.

"Let's just call it as meeting." She looked at him. "You tell me about your meetings, and I'll tell you about mine." She smiled sweetly at him.

"Darn, she's good." Mike muttered. April turned towards the door. Don looked quickly at Mike, then walked forward, setting Lindy down next to Mike. He caught up to April before she reached the door. "Uh, hey, April. Let me walk you out?"

She eyed him warily. "Why?" She turned back to Mike. "What's going on?"

"Uh, nothing, nothing." Don put a hand on her back, leading her out the door. "Can't a guy walk a girl to her exit?" He said, then they disappeared out the door.

Mike sighed, looking down at Lindy. "Your Auntie April can be really evil sometimes. Let's just hope your dad doesn't crack."

Lindy simply patted his leg.

**************************

"OK, what's going on?" Leonardo leaned back against the wall. He looked at Don and Mike. Don was standing behind the chair, leaning against the back of it, and Mike was sitting on the couch. Raphael perched on the back of the couch, a few feet away from Mike.

"Well, I almost had a run-in with the Foot today." Don started. Raphael sat up, slightly. Leo looked at him. The look on his face was positively eager.

"Almost." Don said, noting Raphael's reaction. "They didn't see me. They're getting further away." He continued.

Raphael let out a breath, and Mike could hear him mutter a few words that he was sure glad that Leo didn't hear. Or Lindy. She repeated everything she heard now.

"But they didn't follow you?" Leo asked.

"No." Don answered.

"OK," Leo continued. "So, what do you think, Donnie?"

"Personally?" Don began. "I say we do nothing. Right now, they're going in the wrong direction, and they have no idea where we are. I say we keep doing what we've been doing."

Mike glanced up at Raphael again. He was staring at Don.

"You're not worried?" Raphael spoke suddenly. All eyes turned to him. That certainly wasn't what any of them had expected him to say.

"If I were worried, I'd say so." Don said, looking at Raph oddly.

"You didn't answer my question." Raph said, eyes still on Don.

"No, Raph. I'm not worried." He said, not breaking Raph's gaze. "I don't think there's any reason to be." He looked down at his hands. "The pace they're moving, in addition to the fact that they've already passed us up… I don't see any immediate danger."

"Alright, then it's settled." Leo said. "We'll just keep doing what we've been doing here, and…"

"What do you mean 'it's settled'?" Raph jumped off the couch. "You didn't ask me, or Mikey."

Michaelangelo cringed at the mention of his name. He was hoping not to get involved…

Leo sighed, then turned to Raph. "Raph, it's the most logical…"

"No, Leo. It's just what you wanted to hear." Raph snarled. "You ask Donnie? What, me and Mikey don't count?"

Leonardo sighed, turning to Michaelangelo. "Mikey, do you think we should go out and look for trouble, possibly getting ourselves over our head, or do you think we should just keep doing what we've been doing, and stay safe?"

Mike looked up. Both Leo and Raph were looking at him. Both had their arms crossed. Donatello was looking down at his hands.

"Oh no." Mike shook his head. "I'm not getting into this one." He crossed his arms.

"Ah." Raph growled in frustration. "For God's sake, Mikey, grow some backbone." He shook his head.

"Just because he doesn't want to get involved in this childish…"

"No one asked you, Donnie. So shut up."

Leo put a hand to his head. They could not go on like this. The near-constant bickering was enough. The actual fighting was almost too much to bear.

"Wait, just wait a minute." Leo put his hands up. They stopped fighting, and looked at him. "This is not what we came in here for." He continued. "We need to think about our options… Not fight."

"I agree." Don added.

"You'd agree with him if it meant jumping off a cliff." Raph grumbled.

"I never said that." Don looked at Raph. "But I do think this fighting is getting ridiculous."

"Yeah." Mike added softly.

Leo sighed.

"Fine." Raph growled. "So it's everybody against Raph now, is it?"

"No, Raph." Leo said, trying to remain calm. "It's not. And it never has been. But maybe if you'd just…"

"If I'd just what, Leo? Obey your every order? Hang on your every word? Sorry, I've got my own life. I can think my own thoughts, thanks, and just because you don't agree with them doesn't mean…"

"Will you guys please stop!" Mikey cried out. He'd learned long ago not to get involved in one of Leo and Raph's fights, but he'd had just about enough. They all looked at him.

"Y'wanna know what I think? Fine. I think we need to stop being so selfish and worry about what really matters. Not who's right or wrong. The only person that's wrong in this whole thing is the Foot."

"And they're getting exactly what they want." Don added softly. "By making us fight. Tearing us apart. Breaking up the team." His voice was so low now, that Leo could hardly hear him. But he did, and it hurt. Not what he'd said, but because it was true.

Leo groaned inwardly. How had he let it get this far? He should have been stopping the spats before they started, not adding to them. He wasn't leading them, he was condemning them.

Raph looked down. He ran a hand over his head. He sighed heavily. "I don't want anyone thinking I'm giving in to you on this, Leo, 'cause I'm not…"

"No one thinks that, Raph." Leo said. "No one. And I know that not everyone has the same idea of what we should or shouldn't do about this. But I think, I truly believe, that this is the best course of action, for all of us, in the long run."

"You really believe that?" Raphael asked.

"Yes." Leo said firmly.

It was quiet for a long moment before Raphael nodded his head slowly. "I told you before," He said. "I ain't waitin' forever on this." He took a deep breath. "But you just bought yourself a little more time." He said quietly, looking away.

Michaelangelo let out a breath he hadn't even realized that he'd been holding.

"Thank you, Raph." Leo said and Raphael turned to look at him, a look of almost disbelief on his face. Then he just nodded, and left the room.

Don watched him go, most likely to go to the practice room, and work off a bit of aggression. He'd been doing that a lot lately.

"I'm going for a walk." Leo broke the silence, and walked past Don.

Don grabbed his wrist. "Hey, you OK?" He asked him.

Leo opened his mouth once to answer, then closed it. "I need to go for a walk." He said finally. He grabbed a katana and stuck it in his belt.

"OK, uh, be careful." Mike called back to Leo as he left the room. Then he turned back and leaned against the couch.

Don looked at him, and sighed.

Mike shrugged. "Well, that went better than expected."

Don just groaned, burying his face in his hands.