Chapter 17 - Lies and Consequences

April drove slowly down the street. She couldn't wait to see the guys, and Lindy, but she had to make sure she didn't give anything away. She needed her story straight. They'd been questioning when she had to leave early and talk to the police. She'd told them it was something for work. And she hated lying to them, but she had already told them that the Foot hadn't seen her. And at first, to be honest, she wasn't sure either. But now, she was almost positive that once her name had been mentioned, they'd known.

She pulled into the driveway, and got out of the car slowly. She knew that they'd heard her car coming probably a mile away, and were waiting for her. So she put a smile on her face, straightened her shoulders, and walked to the front door.

The door flew open a split second before she was about to knock.

"Hey, April." A flustered looking Leo said.

"Hey." She replied, taking her jacket off and entering the room. "What's going on?"

She looked at the other occupants of the room. Mike was pacing back and forth, holding a screaming, red-faced Lindy in his arms, trying to sooth her. Don sat in a chair a few feet away, slumped down, a hand on his head.

"She's been teething forever."

April jumped at the voice. "Raph?" She asked, looking over the back of the couch. He lay there, an arm over his eyes.

"And she did good with that. Until she got the cold." He sighed. "And now she won't shut up!"

April looked over at Mike and Lindy.

"She have a fever?" She asked.

Leo nodded. "Yeah. It's not too bad, though."

"Did you give her the baby aspirin?" April asked.

"Yes." Leo said.

"How long has she been crying like this then?" April asked.

"Since she was born." Raph mumbled from the other side of the couch, where he was now beginning to sit up.

Leo shot Raph a look.

"All day." Mike answered, swinging back and forth with her.

April walked up to them and put a hand onto Lindy's red forehead. She definitely has a fever. She bent down to take a look in Lindy's mouth when she opened it for another wail.

"Well, it might be the teeth, but I think it's the cold, really. You want me to go out and get some more medicine?"

"No." Don stood finally. "You want me to take her, Mike?" He asked.

April looked at him. He looked awful. He looked nervous and weary.

She walked forward. "Here, let me take her." April held her arms out for her.

"No, April." Don started. "I don't want you having to deal with her."

"Nonsense." April said, wiggling her fingers impatiently in a 'give me' manner. "Now come on. And then you guys'll go take a breather. You all look terrible."

Mike handed April Lindy, then walked out into the kitchen.

Raph followed suit, and April sat on the newly vacated seat.

They all sat in silence for a few more minutes, then Lindy's cries began to soften, then she stopped, and fell asleep.

"How in the world did you…" Don began, looking like he couldn't decide whether to be happy she was sleeping, or hurt that he didn't comfort her.

"It's a woman's touch." April said softly.

Leo nodded, then got up. "I'll go tell the rest of the guys the good news. Thanks April." He said, and then walked into the kitchen. A few seconds later, they could all hear Raphael's booming voice.

"Halleluiah." He peeked his head into the living room.

"So it is true." He said. "She's asleep. I thought maybe I'd finally gone deaf when I couldn't hear her screamin' anymore."

"Raph, if you don't shut up, you'll wake her up, and then you'll be the one putting her back to sleep." They heard Leo's hissed whisper from the kitchen. A moment later, Raphael disappeared into the kitchen, too, leaving April and Don alone with a sleeping Lindy.

"Do you think she'll be OK?" Don asked April quietly.

"Yeah." April replied. "I think she's just cranky. She's got a cold, and she's sick and miserable and she just couldn't get comfortable. Although," April smiled. "I would like to think that it's just my presence that made her feel better."

"Maybe it was." Don answered quietly.

April turned a shocked look to him. "No, it's not, Donnie." She said.

"Well, either way, thank you." Don said, standing up slowly. "Do you want me to take her and put her to bed?" He asked. "It's just about lunch time."

April shook her head. "No, that's OK." She said. "I'll hold her for a little while longer." She said. "I just wanna look at her. She's grown so much." April moved a few damp curls from Lindy's forehead. "Then I'll put her in her crib."

"OK." Don said. "Oh, and April?" He turned back to her. "Thanks again." He said, and then went into the kitchen to join his brothers.

April looked down at the sleeping child. She smiled. She'd missed her so much. April stood, then took Lindy into her bedroom, the sun shining through the window, and placed her into her crib. She looked down at the sleeping child. April blinked as a few tears filled her eyes. She wiped them away quickly, and stood, straightening her shirt. She wiped her face once more before heading out to the kitchen. Can't have the guys asking too many questions.

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

"So, what did they need at work this time?"

April looked up at Leo. "What do you mean?"

"Well, isn't that why you said you couldn't come up for the past two weeks?" He asked.

April's eyes widened. That's right! She'd told them she couldn't leave work because they needed her.

"Uh, it was nothing. Just stupid stuff they could've done without me." She mumbled.

She looked up to see Leo still looking at her. She groaned inwardly. He was going to figure out that something wasn't right. Time to change the subject.

"So." April began, her voice stronger than before. "Did you hear? Those Foot members they caught are going to jail. I guess some of them had some other stuff they were wanted for, too, so they'll be in jail for a little while, at least."

"That's great." Don said, then looked at Leo.

"It sure is." Mike said, then turned to look at Lindy, who'd been much more sociable since her nap and another dose of medicine.

"Isn't that a great birthday present?" He asked her, then turned back to look at April. "You are coming back up next week, aren't you?" He asked.

"Yeah." Don added. "It wouldn't be that same if you weren't here for her birthday."

April smiled, both in relief because they weren't questioning her about where she'd been anymore, and because she was genuinely excited about Lindy's upcoming party.

"Well, I'll be sure to be here." She said. "Work or no. I'm coming back up on Wednesday, to help get things set up and visit for a few days."

"Cool." Mike said, then dug into his food. Lindy took one look at him, then at her own food, then stuck her hand into her bowl, and shoved her food covered fist into her mouth.

Leo and April laughed. Don groaned. Raph grunted in what seemed to be a held in laugh. Mike kept on eating, oblivious to the sounds around him.

"Oh no." Don groaned, putting his head in his hands as Lindy continued to shove food in her mouth by the fistfuls. "Of all the people to emulate."

"Maybe we can get them matching bibs." Raph said, grinning.

Everyone at the table let out a laugh then, except for Mike and Lindy, who turned confused looks at first to the others, and then to each other.

April laughed as she pushed off from the table and stood. "Well, all this excitement aside, I'm going for a walk, guys. Enjoy the sun and the fresh air. See you in a bit."

"Bye April." They chorused, and went back to their food. Leo glanced up as April passed the window, pulling her coat tighter around her. His eyes narrowed in thought. She was still hiding something.

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

April sighed, opening the door to the kitchen. A nice hot shower, then a steaming cup of tea and then she'd head up to bed.

She'd just put the teabag into the water when a voice startled her.

"What is it?"

She jumped, spinning around to find out who was there.

"L-Leo?" She gasped, almost panting. When had she become so jumpy?

He walked slowly out of the shadows, his arms crossed. "What is it, April? You're hiding something. I know it."

"No." She shook her head. "No, no I'm not, I…"

"Why are you lying to us?"

"I… I'm not. I'm not." She backed through the door, and into the living room.

But he followed her.

"We know something's up, April. Now tell us what it is."

Raph and Don looked over from where they were watching TV, and Mike looked up from the floor, where he was playing with Lindy. Don shut off the television.

"We can't help you unless you tell us." Mike said softly.

"You guys all think that I'm hiding something?" April asked.

Raph and Don shared a glance. Raph nodded, and Mike did reluctantly.

"Fine, don't help me." April cried. "You don't always tell me everything, you know. You don't have to know every aspect of my life." She looked down, blinking back tears.

Her outburst silenced them, and when she looked back up a few moments later, they were all looking away from each other. She caught Don's eyes, and was despaired to see the hurt in his eyes.

"We can't help you unless you tell us." Leo repeated softly.

"It's nothing alright?" April said. "It's over."

"Not if it's still bothering you this much." Raph said, standing.

She sighed, turning away from them. Raph growled in frustration.

"She doesn't want our help? Fine." He said, sitting back down.

Don stood timidly. "April, if you don't want to tell us, that's fine. But if you do, we won't be mad."

She looked over at him, and her resolve broke.

"OK, it's really nothing guys, I…" She looked away, sighing. "The Foot knew it was me that turned them in." She could see them all visibly stiffen, and she continued on hurriedly. "But it's OK, because they're all in jail now." She smiled, a small smile. "See? No biggie."

There was silence in the room for a few moments, with the exception of Lindy's babbling. Finally, Mikey's face broke into a grin. "Right." He said. "No biggie. They're all in jail. No worries. Right guys?" He turned to his brothers, shooting them a look.

"Right." Donatello said slowly. "And we're not gonna make a big deal out of it, are we?"

Leo looked down, clenching his jaw for a moment, then looking back up. "Nope. Not gonna say a thing."

They all looked at Raph. He was glaring at April. She felt her face grow hot under his gaze.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Fine." He said. "Just don't expect us to help you with every little thing anymore. "

"Raph!" Leo protested.

"What?" He turned to Leo. "We can choose not to help her all the time." He turned to April. "But you don't pick and choose what we deserve to know."

"Raph…" Leo began again.

"We needed to know that. That was important." He turned to face April. "And she didn't tell us!"

"I… I didn't mean to…" April began, but was cut off.

"It doesn't matter if you meant to or not." Raph spat out.

"I'm sorry." April said. Tears welled in her eyes, and a few slipped down her cheeks. She hated when he got like this, not stopping until she got really upset.

"Sorry doesn't always cut it…"

"Will you stop it?" Raph and Leo both turned a shocked look to Don, who had takes a few steps toward them. "She said she was sorry. What else do you want from her?" He put a hand on April's shoulder, squeezing it sympathetically.

"From her? Nothin'." Raph said. "What I need is for the rest of you to stop babying her."

"Babying her?!" Don said.

"Yeah, Don. She was wrong. So let her deal with the consequences…"

"What we need," Don said, speaking carefully. "Is for you to go and cool off."

Mike drew in a breath. Raph's eyes flashed dangerously. But he said nothing, just stormed out, slamming the door as he left.

April wiped her eyes furiously.

"I hate when he does that!" She said. "He just knows how to push all my buttons. I hate crying."

She looked back up when she felt Don's hand leave her shoulder. He moved to stand next to Leo and Mike.

"You really should have told us, April." Don said softly.

"I know. I know!" She rubbed a hand over her face and then through her hair. "But they are in jail." She continued. "Please believe me when I tell you that."

Leo sighed, rubbing a weary hand over his forehead. "We do, April, OK?" He said softly. "It's just… Raph doesn't like being lied to. And to be honest, I don't either."

"I know… If I had ever thought that…"

"That's the problem, April." Leo interrupted. "You didn't think. Some of the littlest details are the most important. They're the ones that we need to know." He sighed, rubbing his neck. "God, I'm sounding like Raph." He muttered. He looked back over to April. "Look, it's OK. Like you said, nothing happened, right? So your hunch was good." He grinned at her. "And with that, I'm going to bed."

April walked forward, grabbing his arm. He looked back up at her, surprised.

"Leo, I… I'm sorry for keeping it from you for so long."

He smiled, a small smile. "And I'm sorry for pressuring you for so long."

She grinned back. "No you're not."

He simply smiled, then turned to the others. "Night guys."

"Night!" They called after him.

Mike walked up to April, taking her by the arm. "C'mon, April. I've got your room all ready for you."

"Thanks, Mikey." She said, then turned to Don. "Night, Don."

He smiled and nodded his 'goodnight', then Mike took her up the stairs.

She got to the door and took a few steps inside, then stopped, and turned to face Mike.

"Mike?"

"Yeah?" He looked at her, his smile faltering at the look on her face.

'Maybe… Maybe it's not a good idea for me to stay the weekend." She said, and looked up at him. He frowned, and she continued. "I'll give some time for Raph to cool off, and just… get out of your way for awhile."

Mike nodded. "If you want…" He said. "But you are coming back up, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Wednesday." He grinned and she finally grinned back. "You guys have your… thing on Thursday in the morning, then her party's later that night."

He grinned and nodded. "Yep."

"Thanks Mikey." She hugged him, then turned to go into the bedroom. "I'll see you then. Tell the others that I said I'm sorry again, and that I'll see them on Wednesday."

He nodded, then left, going back down the stairs. April sighed, leaning back against the wall. She may have really done it this time. They were mad, all of them. Not that she could blame them, of course. She sighed again, and sat down on the bed, her head in her hands, waiting for the last of them to go to sleep so she could leave. Wednesday was going to be an interesting day…

To be continued….