Disclaimer - I don't own any of them but Lindy.
Chapter 14 - Just Along For The Ride
The ride out to the farmhouse was already the longest that Donatello could remember, and they hadn't even left the city yet. And not just because of the discomfort from his leg. He kept think of the night before, and what Leo had said in the kitchen. It had bothered him all night and even now, he wished he knew what to say to make his brother feel better about this. He also wished he knew what the others were talking about in the back of the van.
"Ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall. Ninety nine bottles of beer. You take one down, pass it around; Ninety eight bottles of beer on the wall."
Raphael gritted his teeth, as Michaelangelo began the next verse of the song. In the seat ahead of him, Lindy clapped her hands happily to the beat of the song. Beside her, Leonardo was staring out the window.
"Hey," Raphael leaned forward, putting an arm on the back of the seat, next to Leonardo. "So, how come you got the good seat, and I got stuck with the everlasting karaoke machine?"
"Hey!" Mike protested from behind him and Raph grinned. "Yo, Leo." He said, and his smile faded at Leo's lack of attention. "Leo?" He nudged Leo with his elbow, causing Leonardo to snap out of it.
"Hmmm…? Oh, sorry, I was just…" Leo cut off, then pointed out the window. "The Foot." He whispered.
"The Foot? What?" Raphael said, but stopped when his gaze hit where Leo's finger had pointed. There he saw the reason for his brother's shock. A moving truck, an empty building… They were robbing the store!
"April." He called roughly, standing up. "Pull over!"
"What?" She cried, pulling over quickly. But not fast enough for Raphael, who had a smile on his face. He was going to get them, once and for all.
After April pulled the van over, Raph jumped out of the car, Mike hot on his heels.
"No, Raph…!" Leo called out, but too late. Raphael had jumped out of the car and gone after the Foot. And Mikey, in his attempt to stop him, would be caught in the middle.
Leo sighed, then got up off his chair and left the van, going after his brothers.
April looked around. "What's going on?" She cried. Don shrugged, then pointed at the alleyway. "There." He said. "Right there. The Foot." He said, his voice full of amazement.
"Oh, no." April said. "They won't get away with that again." She got out of the car before Donatello could stop her.
Don looked back at Lindy, and she gave him a long suffering look. He sighed in response.
A few moments later, April came running back into the van, her hair messy, and out of breath.
"Where did you go?" Don asked. April simply shook her head, tucking some pieces of hair behind her ear. "Can you get their attention? We need to get out of here."
Don looked at her, then rolled down his window and, leaning out of it, whistled loudly. Mike looked over and Don motioned for him to come over. "You need to get back in." He called, and, without a question, Mike turned back and called out for the rest of them.
Leo ran back and Raphael turned to follow, but stopped. Grinning to himself, he picked up a piece of metal piping and stuck it in the door handle, trapping some of the Foot in the building. Then he, too, went back and got into the van.
"What's up, Don?" Leo asked, wiping his brow.
Don motioned to April. "She said to call you all back, that we had to get out of here."
"I couldn't have you guys getting caught, too."
Don turned to look at her with a confused look on his face.
Suddenly, they could all hear a siren in the distance. Raph turned to Mike and grinned. "Awesome."
"Why?" Mike asked. "They'll just get away again."
"Not all of them." Raph smiled, a glint in his eye.
"Why not?" Don half turned in his seat.
"I made sure of that." Raph's grin grew even bigger, if that was possible.
"Either way, we got some of them, right?" Mike said happily, leaning over the back of the seat to play with Lindy, who giggled.
"Yeah." Leo said, distractedly. "But there'll be more." He said slowly.
"There always are, bro. There always are." Raph said, clapping a hand onto Leo's shoulder. "But this time, it was April who kicked their butts!" He leaned forwards and gave April a high five.
April smiled slightly. "I only did what I thought could work. I wanted them to pay for what they did to you guys."
Raphael let out a small whoop and sat back in his seat. April laughed, then turned back to look at them. "OK, you guys. You ready for some rest and relaxation? Or are there any other people you'd like to beat up before we leave town?"
Raph opened his mouth to say something, but Mike quickly put a hand over it, effectively drowning out his words.
"Nope, April. We're good." He smiled.
"OK then," April said, turning back to look at the road as the light turned green. "Mikey, sit down in the seat. Farmhouse, here we come!"
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"Hey, April. The place looks great!" Donatello said, as Leo helped him into the living room.
"Yeah, well, like I said. This place just got… um… fixed up." She said, carrying in a box from the car, and set it down onto the ground. She stood back up, letting a slow breath out and wiping her forehead, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
"This is so awesome." Mike said, walking into the room with Lindy in his arms. "I so call the attic room."
April nodded. "And Don can have the room off of this room, since it's on the ground floor. You other two'll have to fight it out yourselves." She smiled. "Bad choice of words." She looked up at the clock. "Oh no. The store's going to close soon, and we have no groceries."
"No problem, April." Don smiled. "We'll get everything put away, won't we guys?"
The rest of them nodded. April laughed, reaching for her keys. "Why does that somehow scare me?" She said, grabbing her coat and walking towards the door. "I'm gonna get some groceries, OK? I'll be back soon." She disappeared from the doorway, only to pop her head back in a minute later. "Guys. Seriously? Try not to wreck the house for awhile, alright?"
"Yes April." They chorused, and she grinned grimly. "Yeah." She said. "Thanks. I'll see you guys in a bit."
"Ahh!" Michaelangelo set Lindy down and flopped down on a chair. "It is so great to be back here!"
Both Don and Raph glanced at Leo, who was staring out the window, looking distant.
Mike looked from Don and Raph to Leo. "Hey guys, what's…"
"I'm gonna go for a walk." Raph said suddenly. "Leo, you wanna…?"
"No." Leo said slowly, then shook his head, seemingly clearing it. "No, that's OK." He said, his voice brighter now. "I'm going to unpack."
Raph shrugged. "OK." He said, resignedly, then walked out the door.
Mike turned to Don. "Y'want me to watch Lindy?" He asked hopefully. "Because I can if you want me to. I'll just…"
"No, that's OK." Don said, then laughed as Mike's face fell. "It's nap time anyway." He said, looking down at Lindy, who was sitting on the floor, fighting to keep her eyes open, and yawning at the same time.
"Hand her to me, will you, Mike? For today, she can doze with me on the couch."
"Your leg bothering you?" Mike asked, leaning down to pick Lindy up.
Don nodded. "Yeah." He said. "More than before even. I think I may have done too much." He grinned as Lindy held her arms out for him. "Come here, my nibby little angel, you." He grinned up at Michaelangelo. "Thanks, Mikey. I think I may doze with her. If you guys don't mind, that is."
"Oh no, dude. Doze away. I'll wake you up for dinner." Mike grinned and turned to grab some bags. "I'll be upstairs if you need me. Leo'll probably be closer, though." He said, then turned, and walked up the steps to the attic.
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April put the bags into her car and shut the door. Then she hopped in and started on her way home. She'd gotten enough supplies for at least a week, hopefully more. But knowing the way those guys eat… She thought to herself, smiling. She flipped on the radio, and began looking for a station. Something caught her ear and she gasped, turning the radio up.
*… the five men were taken into custody today, after being caught robbing a store. In a twist to this story, the robbers were caught after police discovered the door was jammed shut to trap them inside. Others were taken in for questioning.*
April gasped. It was the Foot. She'd called the police on them. Oh, no. She thought to herself. Please don't mention my…
*An eye witness claims to have seen former Channel 3 reporter April O'Neil at the scene.*
April groaned. Great. Just what she needed.
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"When do you think April's getting home?" Mikey paced around the living room.
They were done unpacking, and Lindy had awaken from her nap. She, Don and Leo sat on the couch, watching Mike pace.
"She had a lot to shop for, Mikey." Don said again, trying patiently to answer his question. Again.
"Mike." Leo began. "We're all hungry. But April…"
"I'm late, I'm so sorry!" April rushed in, a blur of bags and groceries as she ran through the door and into the kitchen.
"There's four more in the car." She called into the living room. Leo and Mike got up and left to get the groceries.
After they walked back into the house with the bags and she'd put everything away, she walked back into the living room.
"So, I heard some news on the radio." She smiled as they turned questioning looks at her. "Five men were taken in today in a case of robbery."
They looked at her, confused.
"What… what do you mean, April?" Leo asked.
"I mean, the Foot. They caught them. The ones in the store. And a few more were brought down for questioning." April beamed. "That means they're gone!"
Don and Mike smiled, but Leo looked at April warily. "The ones from today? That you called the cops on?" He asked, and April nodded. "They caught them!" She said. "Aren't you guy happy?"
She was grinning but Leo looked worried. "They didn't see you, did they?" He asked, and April's smile froze on her face.
"N- No." She lied. "Nope." She looked down away from his gaze. "Not me. I'm stealthy." She looked up and grinned. "Some of my best friends are ninjas, you know."
Mike let out a whoop and clapped his hands. "This is so totally awesome." He cried, getting up off the floor. "I've gotta go tell Raph." He walked past April, and slapped her hand. "You are awesome, girl. Totally sweet." He grinned back at them before going outside to tell Raph the good news.
Leo looked at her a moment longer, then he, too, broke out in a smile. "For once, I totally agree with Mikey." He got up, walking over to April. "Thank you, April." He said, grabbing and squeezing her hand for a minute before walking into the kitchen.
April's smile wavered. She hoped they didn't watch the news that night.
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Later that night, April lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling. Luckily, she'd gotten them away from the television that night, so no one saw the news. She sighed. She didn't know how she'd hide this from them; and she'd lied to Leo. Now she'd have to go and probably testify… Not to mention that now the Foot knew she'd had something to do with it.
She sighed again. No use being scared over it, she decided, then closed her eyes and fell asleep.
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A/N - OK guys, just a little heads up, here. I have decided to end the first arc of this story in a few chapters. This in no way means I am quitting this story, far from it, actually. I am just breaking it up into different parts. This is but the first of many story arcs in my "What The Heart Wants" universe. I have much yet to write about Lindy and the guys. And as Lindy grows, so will the fun and adventure.
I'll let you know the name of the next arc soon.
By the way, if I haven't mentioned it in awhile - You guys rock! See you next chapter!