A/N: Hello again everyone. I am back with yet another wonderful chapter of my TMNT fiction. I'm glad that you all enjoy it so far and am happy to hear that I am keeping at least most of the turtles' attitudes the same. Thanks again, and here is the next chapter.

Chapter Seven: Late Nights

"No Mikey, please no more," Donatello complained as Mikey started to jog around the room doing his Rocky impressions.

"Adrian!" Mikey shouted punching his hands and arms into the air.

The girls just laughed out loud watching the turtle as he jogged and punched at invisible foes all around him. They would never tell Mikey to his face, but they were laughing at him more then at his impression of the old movie boxer. Delaney started to lean over and completely fell over into Eros's lap in laughter. Eros propped her up on her shoulder and kept laughing it up.

"I don't see why you girls encourage him," Leo said looking at them as Mikey finished his impressions.

"Are we?" Delaney wiped her eyes and tried to catch her breath as Mikey came over a plopped himself right next to Delaney and put an arm around her shoulders.

"And that is what I call ten impressions in ten minutes," he smiled and leaned back to catch his own breath, "I leave it to you to carry me home, dudette."

"Yeah right, Mikey," Delaney pushed his arm from around her shoulders, "There is no way in Hell that I would make it that far."

"What, are you calling me fat?" Mikey looked down at his plastron and patted a few different places, "I thought I was gaining weight. But none of you believed me!"

"Mikey!" Delaney nudged his side and laughed a bit.

"All right," Amity spoke up from the other side of Eros, "So Mikey is the 'funny guy'. What about you, Donatello?"

"Resident genius," he said proudly putting his head up.

"Really?" Eros looked over at Amity and then back at the purple bandana-wearing turtle, "It so happens that we have our own genius."

"Stop it, Eros," Delaney waved a hand at Eros pretending she was referring to her.

"Not you… Amity," Eros smiled over at her and winked.

"Oh please, I am no where near genius status," Amity said rolling her eyes and drinking some more of the sprite that she had on the center table.

"Oh please," Delaney copied, "You are scheduled for what- five advance placement classes this next year?"

"Yeah, of which I will probably see none of."

"Well excuse me," Delaney crossed her arms over her chest. Mikey patted her head in a kind of comfort gesture and she smiled at him.

"Advance placement?" Donatello enquired.

"They're like college classes in high school," Delaney answered, "I did four last year."

"College classes? No sweat," Donatello leaned back in his chair, balancing on the two back legs and then fell back all the way.

"Way to go Einstein," Mikey called over to his brother. Eros walked over to him and helped him up off the floor.

"Lucky you didn't break her chair, Donnie."

"Yeah, April would have killed me if I did," Donatello rubbed his head. Eros stopped him and checked the back of his head.

"You'll be all right. Just don't be over confident anymore."

"Deal," Donatello gave her a shy smile.

"What about you, Leonardo?" Amity asked turning away from Eros and the beginning of her flirtatious behavior.

"He's the leader, hands down," Mikey butted in, winking at his brother.

"Am not," Leonardo said back.

"Hey, it's better than being named the teacher's pet," Mikey offered.

"That's true," Delaney added, "I'd rather be leader than teacher's pet any day."

"You only know that because you've been called both," Eros teased her.

"Shut up," Delaney threw one of the throw pillows at her friend, hitting her upside the head.

"Now, what about you girls?" Donatello asked toward the other two, "How should we classify you."

"Almost the same way," Delaney continued, "Amity's the brain, Eros is the pretty, flirtatious one-"

"Hey!"

"And Callista is the tough one."

"And what about you?" Mikey asked.

"The klutzy leader!" Eros yelled, tossing the pillow back at her hitting her square in the face. The two girls were about to go at it with pillows until Mikey and Donatello pulled them away from each other. All of them were laughing and trying to get to one another. Amity looked at Leonardo with another roll of her eyes.

"You deal with this daily?" he asked with a nervous tone of voice.

"Oh you should see them with Callista," she said with a smile.

"Okay well, the grand introductions are done with," Leonardo looked over at Delaney, "Did I hear that you want to become a detective?"

"You heard right," she took a sip of her own sprite sitting on the side table.

"I never understood why, Delaney," Eros said fixing her hair from the pillow fight they tried to get into, "You have a brilliant mind and a gift concerning biology and you want to look at bloody pictures all day. I wouldn't be able to handle it."

"It all depends on how you look at," Delaney drank the rest of her sprite and tossed it in a trash can at the side of the room, "You think about the work, you're not going to survive."

"So how do you look at it?" Donatello inquired still sitting on the floor from his fall.

"Well, how do you guys look at what you do?" she looked at each one of the three turtles, "You go out on the city every once in a while to help people and stop as much crime as you can. That's your motivation, right? To make the city a little safer? Well, that's your way of doing your part to keep it safe. I don't want to be one of the civilians doing my part by staying out of trouble. I want to get the scum who kill off the streets so they won't have a chance to do it again. That's how I can stand the gore and blood and the scenes. It's the only way to get these guys from killing again."

"I see your point, Delaney," Eros said, "but I still couldn't do what you want to do. Or what your dad did."

"Yeah, he was a piece of work, wasn't he?" Delaney gave a smaller smile and started to sink into her own little world away from the conversation. She leaned back into the couch that she was on and let the soft material cover her sides. Michelangelo looked over at her with a little worry. She wasn't letting it all out. She was keeping something from her friends. From herself.

"Well, Delaney could go for her detective job, I'm going into helping little kids and keeping them out of trouble," Eros stated proudly.

"I didn't know you were going into delinquent behavior studies," Amity joked from the side. Eros threw her last pillow in her direction and stuck her tongue out at her.

"Not delinquents! I want to be a daycare provider for little kids. Let the parents have a little time off and I get to play with kids everyday and take care of them. Make the kids feel a little safer than being home alone with a strange baby sitter."

"And how do you expect to do that?" Donatello asked from her side, "You would still be the stranger when they start."

"That's why I'm going into a daycare. They will have other kids, and even though they will undoubtedly love me, they will friends at an early stage in their life," Eros smiled brightly, "I also want to invent a system where the kids don't have to be scared of people, but they are still cautious of strangers. Also a few more toys couldn't hurt with some educational properties."

"You just said Donnie's magic word: invent," Mikey said finally facing away from Delaney, "He can't go a day without bringing out a new idea for our fight against crime."

"Really?" Eros turned to him.

"Yeah, maybe when we get back to the lair I can show you around the lab. I might even have something that might help with the toy department."

"A turtle interested in children toys?" she quirked an eyebrow.

"No, that's Mikey. I'm just a turtle interested in helping a fellow inventor."

Eros smiled and nodded her head in agreement. She looked back over at Amity and gave her a grin, "And then there is our own little brain. It seems as if Harvard is her only direction."

"Come on, I've thought of other schools," Amity sighed.

"What kind of lawyer do you want to be?" Leonardo asked leaning back on his chair.

"I was thinking international law, but now I am thinking of probably working with Delaney in criminal law, possibly special victim cases. That's what division you want to go into, right Delaney?" Amity looked over at her friend sitting next to Mikey and found her totally spaced out staring at the floor, "Delaney?"

Delaney shook her head and came back to reality, "Sorry Amity."

"Are you okay?"

"Just a little out of it, I guess," Delaney gave her a smile and got up, "I'll go get some fresh air."

"You're not going outside again are you?" Amity asked as she passed by her.

"No, I'll just go by the window. It's okay," she touched her concerned friend's shoulder and walked over to the window. She began to hug herself every so often and looked out at the moon and stars, which she found very little through all the clouds.

"What about Callista?" Donatello tried to pry everybody's attention from the girl by the window.

"She had already started on a clothing line of her own design, but it looks like she will have to start over from scratch," Eros smirked.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about the apartment," Leonardo scratched the back of his head.

"It's okay knowing her skill on sewing and ideas for clothes, she'll get it back together once she gets a hold of some cloths and material."

"Well, we should think about cleaning up anyway," Leonardo stood up and began to straighten up his side of the room and began picking up pizza boxes. As he passed by Michelangelo he nudged him in the shoulder and nodded toward Delaney.

Mikey took the hint and began to walk over toward her. Her eyes seemed glazed and focused on a far off point in the distance. It seemed like everywhere she looked she couldn't find the comfort that she so desperately needed. She had moved her arms from around her and began playing with a silver ring around her left thumb finger. She was still hurt. And she was right in thinking who wouldn't be? They were her parents, and they were treated like pawns in a board game that doesn't even exist. He walked close to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so tired of this, Mikey," she said softly, "A month is way too long to run. I just want this to be over."

"That makes two of us," he said squeezing her shoulder lightly. She closed her eyes and then turned around toward him. He finally saw the two streams of tears running down her face, "You want to talk?"

"No… I think I just need something to hold on to right now, but everything is changing so fast that I can't keep a strong hold… of anything," she sniffed and closed her eyes.

She stood so stiff in front of him. Her arms at her sides and her head down letting the tears fall to the floor. He didn't care anymore about how it looked; he just took her in his arms and gave her a tight squeeze. Her head fell right on his shoulder and her body fell against his. He leaned his cheek against her forehead and let her cry out all she needed. She needed it. He knew it. But he never knew that it could feel so right.

Leonardo cleared his throat as he stepped toward them, "You ready to get back to the lair? We have to get ready for tomorrow's drills."

"Yeah, in a minute, Leo," Mikey said and looked down at Delaney, "You ready to go?"

She wiped her eyes quickly and took a deep breath, "Yeah, let's go. I want to see how Callista's doing. I know she could get very bored at times."

"All right."

Back at the lair everything seemed quiet and peaceful. Delaney saw the files over by the couch resting against her bag. Callista must have gone to bed and waited until morning. It was getting late- or early depending on how you looked at it- and she probably fell asleep a few times reading over the write ups. Leonardo and Donatello said goodnight and headed up to their rooms while Amity and Eros began to get their own beds together. Delaney would keep the couch while they began to fix the beanbag and pillows into makeshift beds for the night. Delaney held back going to bed and stayed next to Michelangelo who hadn't made a move toward his room yet.

"You need a shoulder to cry on with no questions asked, you know the turtle," he pushed one of his shoulders forward and made her chuckle and smile.

"If I need it, you will be the first I call," she patted his shoulder and looked over at her friends who were watching them intently. Once they knew they were spotted they turned over in their makeshift beds and began to look for a bed for Callista.

"Wait a minute… Callista," Amity lifted her head and looked around the lair, "Where's Callista?"

"I guess where ever Raphael is," Leonardo came down to their level with a disgruntled look on his face, "Raph's not in his room."

"That's not unusual, Leo," Mikey pointed out.

"Yeah, neither is it for Callista, but she is a kind of an endangered person on a hit list," Delaney grumbled, "I'm going to stay up and wait for Callista. Go ahead and go to bed Amity. I'll stay up to wait for her."

"All right," Amity reluctantly headed back to her bean bag bed and got comfortable.

"I guess it's another sleepless night for me," Leonardo began to make use of what he could with the pillows and blankets left unused from the girls last night.

"Hey Leo, I can stand watch tonight," Mikey offered, "I bet that Raph will not be in the mood for a speech when he gets home if he did take Callista with him. The way those two get at it, he may be ready to kill. And we all know I'm too cute to kill."

Leonardo rolled his eyes at his brother, but nodded his head from exhaustion. Mikey winked at Delaney and watched his brother walk back up toward his room to get some sleep. Delaney went over and tried to make heads or tales of the mess that her friends left in the middle of the lair floor. Michelangelo soon came over to assist her in the task of untangling the blankets.

"You taking the couch again tonight?"

"Probably, no one's taken it yet," Delaney shrugged and tried to figure out where her hot tempered friend would sleep once she got back, "Callista is going to get an earful from me in the morning."

"Why wait?"

"You had a point. If she spent all night with Raphael with the way they go at it, I will need a shield just to keep her sedated. I don't want to be in the line of fire."

"I have my moments," he grinned and got one of the many blankets untangled, "We might actually have a couple of rooms for you guys by tomorrow. That would make two to a room."

"You guys don't have to do that, you know," Delaney gave him a sympathetic glance, "We can leave anytime. You don't have to-"

"But we want to."

Delaney gave him a thankful smile and then turned to the main entry tunnel as she heard voices coming down the tunnel.

"You have got to be kidding me. That scene where they blew off his head was way too fake. I couldn't even see the brain," Raphael argued with Callista as they made their way back to the lair from a midnight screening of the latest action/horror flick.

"You had to look at the detail. The brains were there," Callista argued back, "But I had to admit the whole car explosion was the highlight of the film."

"Yeah, they had some pretty nice fireworks going off of that thing."

"Ahem."

Both Raphael and Callista looked ahead of them to see Michelangelo and Delaney standing in the way into the lair with their arms crossed over their chests.

"And just where have you two kids been all night?" Mikey tapped his foot and tried as always to make a joke out of the situation.

"A movie," Raph offered and threw his coat and hat by the coat rack, missing the hooks completely. He walked back Mikey and leaned toward him a bit, "That okay with you?"

Mikey leaned back a little and let his brother have some room and patted him on the shoulder, "Glad to see you home, bro."

"You know I was worried about you, Cal?" Delaney used her nickname and tilted her head to the side, "You do remember that there are ninjas out there wanting kill you, right?"

"Oh don't be so paranoid."

"Paranoid? Do I have to be paranoid to worry about my best friend?"

"You're starting to sound like your mom."

"Good," Delaney nodded and stared Callista in the eyes. Callista finally caught on and remembered what she said and immediately regretted it. She looked at Delaney with an apologetic look and then toward the other two who were falling asleep or already asleep.

"Okay, I'm going," she put up her arms in defeat and took off her jacket.

"Me too, I've had a long day," Raphael twirled his Sais in his hands and put them back on his belt. Callista rolled her eyes at his attempt to show off.

"Good-night, Gack face," she called after him as she headed toward the other two.

"'Night, hag," he waved over his shoulder and headed off to bed.

Michelangelo and Delaney stood in the middle of the room a bit confused. They looked at one another and then back at the two, which they were sure, would be at each other throats.

"Did they just insult one another and were… not offended by it?" Delaney moved her finger between Raphael's room and Callista.

"Uh… I think that's what just happened."

"I need some sleep," Delaney shook her head and started to head toward the couch.

"Hey," Michelangelo called to her before she got too close to her friends, "The offer still stands."

"I know. Thank you."

He slowly made his way to the stairs and went into his room. She smiled to herself and then jumped on the couch, ready for a good night's sleep. It has been a busy few days and she needed the rest.

"So what offer was that?" she heard Callista ask from the side of the couch.

"I'll make you a deal. You tell me why you're all friendly with 'Mr. Manners' and I will enlighten you on my day of events."

"Not in this lifetime."

"Then I'll find out by prodding, like I always do," Delaney looked over the side of the couch at her friend on the floor.

Callista sighed, "I know. I will soon break down and you will know all. But I'm telling you right now, D. It isn't much."

"I highly doubt that," Delaney gave a knowing smile to her friend.

"Don't try to make this into a matchmaker game," Callista warned, "The hose brain and I only have an understanding. That's all."

"So do I and Michelangelo. There, now that wasn't so hard, now was it?" Delaney patted the top of her friend's head and laid back on the couch. Slowly thoughts of the past two days flooded her mind and sleep slowly overcame her.