Disclaimer: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios, Peter A. Laird, and Kevin B. Eastman. I use them without permission, and without monetary profit.

Chapter Seven:

A thought occurred to Chassidy as they slogged through ankle-deep sewer water on their way to Apri's apartment.

"Have you guys slept yet?"

"Nope."

"Aren't you tired?"

"Yep."

"Then... why are we going to April's and not sleeping?"

"I can't go to sleep until I find out what that NAMR building used to be." Donny explained.

Leo nodded and fell back so he could walk beside Chassidy who was lagging behind them, unsure of where they were going. "April is our friend, and it'll just insult her if Donny comes over by himself to use her Internet and leave. If we all go then we're visiting."

Chassidy nodded and scrunched up her face when she stepped into a particularly large puddle of sewer water.

"You can hop on my back if you want." Mikey offered. Chassidy was very tempted. She had lifted the borrowed trench coat so it wasn't splashed by the water, but her shoes and her jeans up to mid-shin were soaked. It was going to take about five or six washes and a bottle of Odor Eaters powder to get the smell out.

Before she could decline, Michelangelo had stopped and knelt in the water. Now she couldn't tell him no.

It was awkward because neither of them knew how exactly this was supposed to work. Mikey had carried his brothers around piggy backed, but their anatomy was obviously different. Chassidy was uncomfortable with straddling his back. There was so much shell, she wasn't sure she could get her legs around him. And it was definitely going to press certain parts of her body to a part of his, it didn't matter that it was something as non-sexual as his shell. But he was a turtle - who knew what was or wasn't sexual to him.

After a bit of mutual shuffling and hemming and hawing Mikey gave a chuckle and swept her up into his arms. She gave a shriek of fright and her body went stiff.

Suddenly holding an armful of unbending girl was a shock to Mike, and he almost dropped her. After struggling a moment, standing in a squat so he was more balanced he blinked down at her. "This would be a lot easier if you relaxed. A little. A lot. Completely."

Chassidy's eyes rolled to stare wide-eyed at Mikey, expecting him to drop her any moment now. She was too heavy to carry like this!

"Don't you trust me?" His voice was quiet and mildly curious.

Chassidy shook her head. "Please put me down. I'm too heavy for you to carry."

"No you're not."

Chassidy stared at him, completely unsure what to do with him, overwhelmed by him, by everything. She busted into to tears.

Now equally scared, Mikey put her back onto her feet and hovered around her, waving his hands at her, trying to sooth her tears away, but clueless as to how to do it.

"Oh, god, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry! I won't pick you up ever again. I won't even touch you, just please tell me why you're crying, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you? Doonnnyyyyy."

Donatello took three steps backward. "I know just as much about crying females as you do!"

Leonardo stepped forward and nudged Mikey backwards. Mikey gladly retreated to where Donny was standing.

"Shhh, it's okay." Leo crooned softly at Chassidy while she shuddered and sobbed, her face buried in her hands, shoulders hunched and knees bent, her entire body trembling. "It's okay, no one's going to pick you up anymore, Chassidy, it's okay." Lightly he touched her shoulder, then stepped closer. When she didn't turn or jerk away he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and guided her head to his shoulder. Her knees buckled and he switched his grip to her back, pressing her hard against his plastron so he could remain standing and she wasn't on the floor. She pulled her hands from where they were wedged between her face and his shoulder and clutched hard at his carapace.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled into the softer skin of his neck and shoulder. "I'm such an idiot. I don't know why I'm crying. It is just all too much, too sudden."

"It's okay." He murmured, running his free hand down her hair in a petting gesture. Slowly she settled down.

"Mikey's a bit much for anyone, really." Leo smiled and patted the top of her head fraternally. She gave a watery chuckle.

"Yeah." She agreed. "You guys scare me. Not, grr, scare me, but... I'm not used to people like you." She pulled away from him and he tucked her hair behind her ears and wiped away the moisture on her cheeks. "I don't know how to respond, what to expect. I've gotten a little rusty on my people skills."

Leo smiled. "We're not that hard. Treat us with respect and we'll respect you back."

She nodded slowly, keeping her bloodshot eyes averted from his face. She was too embarrassed by her outburst to look him in the eye. Gently patting her shoulder he let his hand continue to brush her as he passed her, the gesture meant to reassure her, a lingering sign of comfort. She had known that her new friends were a tactile bunch, they seemed touch each other in some way most of the time. Except for Raphael, but he was much different than the others. He was more of a lone wolf.

These brothers were the pack, constantly tumbling, nosing, and nipping at each other. Only... they were a little more human about it.

Mikey and Don followed Leo, skirting Chassidy like she was a ticking time bomb, though Mikey threw her an anxious, concerned glance.

She took a deep breath, hiked up the trench coat again and continued to slog through the sewers.

April's apartment was actually quite posh.

She had expected something a little less luxurious since she didn't think someone who could afford an expensive apartment would be a friend to - essentially - homeless accidental science experiments.

Learning that April O'Neal worked for a TV station as a top TV news reporter - she didn't watch a lot of TV and when Stone did, it wasn't the news - was doubly surprising because it was the media that the turtles were afraid would find out they existed.

Though it was a strategic friend for them to have because then she would keep the media off of their tails.

April was very nice. She was almost as intense and friendly as Michelangelo, and Chassidy could see why she got along with them. April was also just as tactile as the turtles were. She was one of their pack, a full member who touched, punched, smacked, and kissed whichever brother was closest. It was obvious that they loved each other, and they trusted one another, but it was never sexual. April was more of a human big sister.

Mikey, around April, paid less attention to Chassidy, instead trying to coax a loud laugh from April who was very free with her laughs. Nearly everything Mikey did made her laugh and he was nearly tripping over himself to make her laugh again. Donatello regularly came out of the room with the computer to join in the chatter and get affection from April. Chassidy began to envy the ease they had with each other.

Leonardo was very cool, Chassidy decided. She knew he knew why she had sat so far away from the others and so he placed himself in that gap between, acting as that bridge so that her self-exile wasn't so complete. For some reason he knew she was retreating because she felt out of place, not because she didn't want to be a part of the group. He kept her included in the conversation - though the others did so as well - and kept glancing at her cup and plate to make sure she had enough to drink or eat.

Mike was the first one to fall asleep. It was very noticible because he seemed to be the loudest of the bunch, and suddenly he wasn't talking quite as much, the jokes and impressions stopped, and he'd found a place to curl up on. Within moments he was sleeping at the mood of their visit dropped dramatically.

The conversation turned more relaxed mainly chitchat. April caught up with her turtle friends, demanding that they tell her everything that had happened since they last saw her. She knew her friends well and they were nine times out of ten, neck deep in adventure whether they wanted it or not. April was convinced this was because of their desire to not be seen, not be acknowledged, and their need to keep their existence a secret. Life had a tendency to give someone the exact opposite of what they wanted.

Chassidy, soon was left in the living room with only April awake. If she calculated it, she had had as much sleep as the others had, though hers was split up with a few hours in between. The nature of the silence that filled the room was dragging her eyelids down, and April grinned, giving Chassidy a friendly pat on the cheek.

"Catch some Zs, Chass, I've got some homework I need to tend to."

"Homework?"

"Hey, just because I work, doesn't mean I don't have 'homework'. You'd be surprised how much of my work I end up taking home with me."

Chassidy nodded and leaned back in the recliner she'd claimed. A soft snore was coming from Mikey and it made Chassidy smile. It was an oddly cute snore compared to the loud buzz-saw noises Stone made.

She closed her eyes and quickly sleep crept over her.

Mikey was still out like a light when Chassidy woke up. Leo and Donny were already awake and quietly chatting, again, with April. Their conversation was serious, though, because April had a small frown in between her eyebrows.

"...never heard of it before."

"It's pretty old. They shut down about seventeen years ago, and it was all very hush hush. The place was a research center - National Association of Military Research. Mainly it was a place where a bunch of smart people hired by the government met to think up and develop weapon ideas for the military. They lost funding, though, and while they managed to stay afloat on donations from a handful of wealthy people, those people quit helping too."

"Do you think they left anything behind? Weapons the public's never been informed of before stuff like that? Or did the Foot just stumble on it? Is there a reason why they chose that place other than convenience?"

Donatello shrugged. "You'd have to ask the Foot for those answers."

Leo sighed and glanced at the sleeping figures in the living room a few feet away from where they sat at a thick wooden table. "Do you want to wake them up, or should we leave them be? I don't know how long it's going to take Master Splinter to meditate on our course of action, but it's night, and it's best that we get to the sewers as soon as possible.

"I'm awake." Chassidy whispered.

"Same here." Mikey groaned, his voice muffled by the nest of blankets he had created in his sleep.

"April needs her sleep and soon it'll be morning. We need to leave."

My sleep schedule is so messed up, Chassidy thought to herself and she stood beside the recliner, working out the kinks and strains she had gotten from napping deeply on the recliner.

Though his eyes were half closed and his movements were sluggish, Mikey collected his blankets, folded them and placed them on the back of the sofa. Chassidy didn't remember him falling asleep with them, so most likely April placed them on him while she was sleeping.

As he continued to walk, the blood started to flow and wake Michelangelo fully. His body language changed the more awake he became and soon the loud, playful Mikey was back, chattering away.

Chassidy couldn't help but like Sleepy!Mike more than Awake!Mike. She could handle him much better when he wasn't trying to get her to interact with him. His vibrancy drew her eyes, but she felt most comfortable watching him than joining him in the fun he always seemed to have.

The four of them dispersed after they walked into the living room of their underground den and it was a bit of a relief for Chassidy to duck into the room that she had been given. Desperate for comfort and regularity, even the humble, borrowed room felt a little like home to her. She shook her head. This wasn't supposed to be home. She was currently homeless. She wasn't going to stay with the turtles for very long even if they begged her to stay, which she knew they wouldn't.

Still tired, she slipped her shoes off, took of her dirty socks and pants and curled under the blankets.

Four mutants were sitting cross-legged on the floor of the dojo.

"I have made my decision." Splinter began. "We shall monitor the Foot in their new headquarters. Only once we know our enemy shall we strike. You will rest this night. After tomorrow night Leonardo and Donatello will share monitoring NAMR. Michelangelo and Raphael will share protecting our guest. Remember that ninjas are silent and invisible. Do not allow yourself to be found."

"Master Splinter, I have found out the history of the building." Donatello bowed his head respectfully. Splinter nodded his approval as Donny relayed everything he had learned to the old rat.

"You have done well, my son."

"Thank you, Master Splinter."

"You may leave. Return to me tomorrow night for training."

The three turtles retreated to their rooms for some more serious napping.