A/N - This strays just a bit from the storyline. It's just a bit of behind-the-scenes, day-in-the-life kind of story. I figured I'd been writing angst, angst, just-one-thing-after-another chapters, so here's a nice little back story. I'll get back to the regularly scheduled story next chapter. Enjoy.

Nursery Rhymes

"Why are you being so stubborn?"

Michaelangelo could hear the fight before he was even fully awake. But it wasn't between who he expected. That was April's voice, he realized dimly.

When he finally dragged himself down the stairs and into the living room, he had heard a bit more, all of it April's voice. He walked into the living room to see April standing over Donatello, hands on her hips, looking down at him. Well, that explains the one-sided argument. He thought to himself, smiling.

He looked over to see Leo sitting in a chair, watching the exchange with a look of unhidden amusement on his face.

"Uh, hey guys." Mike started. "What's…"

"What's up?" April turned on him. "What's up is your brother here is as hard headed as a brick wall sometimes."

Leo snickered in the corner.

"Oh, don't think you're out of this." April shot over his way, and he instantly sobered up. Mike grinned. Despite the situation, it was nice seeing Leo laugh again. He'd been so quiet since they'd gotten up here…

"What is going on?" Raphael came down the stairs. "Good thing the neighbors are a few miles away." He came into the room and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms in front of him.

"I think she should have a room of her own." April said.

"Who?" Mike asked, confused.

"Lindy." April said, exasperated. "I cleaned out the room off of Don's and I thought that we could paint it and make it a baby room." She glared over at Don. "And he said no."

Don leaned back in the couch. He groaned. "All I said was, I didn't want you to go to all that trouble…"

"What trouble?" April asked. "She should have a nursery of her own at least once. And that's the perfect room. Don't you want your only niece to have a nice new nursery?" She turned to Mike. "Mike?" She turned again. "Leo?"

Leo held a hand up, signaling he wasn't getting involved, holding in a smile.

"Give it to her."

All four of their heads turned to look at him.

"What?" Raphael shrugged. "April's right. She should have her own room."

A moment passed without anyone saying anything. Then April sighed. "You're only saying that because that puts another room in-between you and her!"

He shrugged again. "I didn't say…"

"Alright." Don grinned. "We'll paint the room."

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

"You shoulda bought pink!"

April sighed, for what felt like the millionth time that day. "Mikey, Don specified no pink. So I didn't get pink."

"But she's a girl." Mike protested.

"And she'll know that even without what society has deemed gender appropriate wall color." Don argued from his place on the rolling footstool, where he was taking care of the bottom of the wall.

"But, can't you just see it: a cute little pink girl's room, with dolls and stuffed animals…"

"Mikey." Raph interrupted, looking down at him from his place on the ladder. "If you want us to paint your room next, you only have to ask."

Don snorted from his corner, and Mike turned a pained look to Leonardo.

"Leo…"

"It's Don's choice, Mikey. And this is a nice color. Yellow really brightens up the room."

"I agree." April said. "It looks wonderful."

"Plus, it would make a nice reading room, if you wanted to…"

"Don't even start." April grumbled.

"Well," Don tried again. "I'm just saying…"

"This can be her room when she comes to visit when she's older, too." April said, in the voice that meant 'conversation over'.

"A nice, sunny room." Leo mumbled from his place in the room.

"Bah." Mike growled lightly, flicking his paintbrush in Leo's direction, realizing too late that it was too hard.

Leonardo didn't even flinch when the yellow splatters splashed across his shell and arm.

"Uh oh." Mike mumbled.

"Oh, Mikey." April groaned.

"You'd better not get any of that on me." Raph growled.

"Mikey…" Leo said, trying to get at the spots on his shell.

"Here, let me…" April moved forward, paper towel in hand, trying to help wipe the spots off.

"I'll get it." Mike said, walking up to Leo, but tripping over the paint can.

"Mike! Look out…!"

April's shriek cut short as Michaelangelo's hand came up to stop himself from falling onto her. She jumped away, and put a hand up to her face. It was wet. She pulled her hand away and looked down at it. It was bright yellow.

"Oh, Mikey…" She groaned. Then she picked up her own brush and flicked it towards Mike. He ducked, and April put a hand up to her mouth.

"Oh, oh my gosh, I'm so…"

Raphael turned, one half of his face covered in bright yellow spots, and her apology dissolved into laughing.

Leo and Don joined in, and April tried her apology again as Raph tried to wipe the paint off of his face.

"Oh, oh Raph." She gasped, an arm around her stomach, leaning against an unpainted wall. "I'm really, I mean I didn't mean to… I'm sorry--…"

She burst out into giggles again when Raphael only succeeded in putting a large streak of yellow across his face.

Leo turned back to the wall, trying to hide his smile, and Don shook his head, laughing as Raph tried to look angry.

"You know, Raph?" Mike began. "Yellow's really your color…" Raph jumped down off the ladder and advanced on him, holding his paint-roller out like a weapon.

"Funny guy." He said menacingly, then lunged forward. Mike jumped back easily, but he landed with a big sloshing sound.

Everyone stopped for a second, until Don looked down at himself.

"Aww, man. My shell!"

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

Four hours, two cans of paint, and enough paper towels to make up the pages of an encyclopedia later, the four turtles sat in the kitchen, waiting for April to come back from her shower.

"I am exhausted." Mike sank back in his chair.

"You?" Don stared at his brother. "Who's the only one who came out of this thing not totally yellow?"

"That you started." Leo added.

Mike shrugged and put his arms behind his head. "Well, my foot was yellow for a little while…" He said.

"But most of that ended up on me, anyway." Don mumbled.

"And I can't believe we finally got all of you cleaned off enough to walk into another room." April came into the room, drying her hair with a towel.

She sat down at the table and looked at them. Some traces of yellow still stood out on them. She grinned. "So, who's next?"

"I'll…" Raph began, but Mikey jumped up and sprinted out of the room. "Dibs!"

Raph just stared at the doorway for a minute before groaning and slumping back against the counter.

Don chuckled quietly and Leo smiled.

"You guys don't want to go?" April asked them.

"I have no illusions." Don said, smiling. "I know I'm going to be last." He shrugged. "That's OK, I'll probably take the longest anyway." He gestured to his cast.

April shrugged. "OK. That's probably smart, anyway." She stood, wrapping her hair in the towel. "I guess we'll get take-out for supper. I don't feel like cooking." She reached up onto one of the shelves and pulled out a stack of take-out menus. "OK, guys. What'll it be?"

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

April came into the living room, and sat down in a chair, a mug of hot tea in her hands.

"It's starting to get cold at night." She commented, wrapping her hands around the steaming mug.

"You're telling me." Don said.

"I am exhausted." April said, then yawned, as if to emphasis her point.

"Me too." Leo said, standing up and stretching. "I think I'll follow Mike and Raph and go up to bed." He grinned. "But first, I'll make sure that Raph's not hiding out behind Mike's door."

Don and April smiled.

"Good night!" They both called to him as he went up the stairs.

"I think they have the right idea." April said, standing up. "Maybe I'll drink this in bed." She walked up to Don. "Need a hand?" She asked, offering to help him up.

He shook his head and struggled to get up himself.

She grinned. "You're more hard headed than I ever knew. Must be hanging out with Raph too much."

He grinned back. "Oh, please…"

She turned to go up to bed.

"April?"

She turned and walked back up to him. "Yeah?" She looked at him.

"Thank you." Don said. "For… well, for everything, but today…" He looked down. "I never thought I could give her something so normal as a nursery before." He looked back up at her. "That… that means a lot to me. Thank you."

She smiled and put an arm around him. "Today was fun, huh?" She asked and he nodded. "Good." She continued. "Thank you for letting me."

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. "You guys deserve it." She said. "Good night."

He watched her go up the stairs, then hobbled over to his room. He stopped, looking inside the now cheerful, yellow room off of his. Then he sighed and smiled, getting into bed, happy for once to be exhausted at the end of the day. They had so much more to do tomorrow. Moving furniture, setting the room up. Something so normal. He couldn't wait.

He started to close his eyes, then opened them again as he heard a small thump.

Leo trying to be quiet. Don frowned. Then that was followed by a louder thump and the sound of liquid spilling across the floor.

He closed his eyes, trying not to laugh as he could hear muffled grumbling coming from the other room.

Leo trying to clean up the mess he made before April finds out and kills him.

He heard a few more muttered curses, and then the paper towels being pulled off of the roll. Then he turned over, reminding himself to get up early enough to see Leo let Mike know he figured out where Mike had left the extra bucket of water they'd used to clean the brushes off with.

Don closed his eyes. He really was tired. But a good tired. He tried to get to sleep. Just before he fell asleep, Don could hear Leo kick the empty bucket, and he heard Mike's name mentioned a few times in this round of muttered curses.

He grinned, and turned over.

Tomorrow is definitely going to be a good day…