DISCLAIMER – Well, as before, I only own Gabby and Mindy. Everyone else is borrowed. I do promise to put things back once I'm done playing with them, though:0)
Also, thanks to Pacphys for educating me on the Alaskan experience. I do try to do exhaustive research when I include real places, but I was too eager to post this story. With that said, Fort Yukon is now Fairbanks, Marie is still an Inuit Indian but from the western coast of Alaska, and there are certain makers of extreme weather outerwear that I've included in chapter one. That first chapter is augmented to fit the changes above, too.
Chapter Three – So Close and Yet, So Far!
As they waited in silence for the show to begin, Don recalled how confident Leo was when they first found out that Gabby had been in Vegas. At the time, his brother believed that, where she was almost nine months along, this would force her to stay as close to a medical facility as was possible, just in case. Gabby might have been smart enough not to check herself in, but she wasn't stupid, either. She would not put her unborn child in jeopardy by having it far from any emergency help.
Moreover, if she did have the baby, she would have to manage an infant by herself, as well as a toddler. Consequently, Leo was certain she would not be able to move around as quickly as she had before.
The only problem, however, was the informants did not know where she was staying. They knew Gabby was in Vegas, only because the bus driver that the tracker interviewed remembered them. He clearly recalled the 'shrouded woman and child', and how they scurried onboard at the last departure point in Barstow. He had shared how quiet they were and how well behaved the child was.
"We usually hear them once or twice along the way, but that little one was a perfect angel." he had said, "Believe me; most toddlers are anything but quiet on long drives. That's why Greyhound has this rule about no children under the age of thirteen allowed on drives longer than five hours!"
When told of what the driver said, Leo worried. Although he loved his granddaughter with a fierceness that was almost frightening, he knew Mindy all too well.
"That girl would be chattering away like a magpie, Mike!" he grumped angrily when the informant shared with him what he had learned, "I'm certain Mindy was drugged in the same way as Seth was."
Anger did not even begin to describe, then, how he felt about his daughter-in-law.
After speaking with the bus driver, the sleuth went on to interview the cashiers, giving them a story about Gabby to enlist their help. As far as what he told them, Gabriella was suffering from delusional episodes brought on by her pregnancy that only medication could control. According to the story, she had stopped taking her meds, thereby bringing on her most recent episode and which was why she had run away.
Leo, although a bit unhappy that the informant said so much, had to agree with the man's reasoning. If anyone other than the family did see her and they involved the authorities, there wouldn't be any uncomfortable questions to answer. Made decades ago, the movie about the turtles promoted their life in the sewers of New York City as a fanciful mix of fact and fiction. Therefore, Gabby's 'psychosis' would make suspect any claims she might have in reference to the clans' ninjitsu heritage.
In the end, no one would believe for a moment that the girl was telling the truth about them.
Yet, after a week of waiting and without any further word from the bus depot, the detective was certain the girl had stayed in town. Just the same, the family didn't want to jet off to Nevada until they could ascertain that she was close to having her baby. As much as Seth wanted to rush to get there, Leo's plan was to catch her at her most vulnerable.
When another two weeks went by and as Gabby's due date loomed closer, as soon as they were able to, Leo and Raph - with Mike, Seth, and Devon - took off for Vegas. They flew out on Don's private Lear Jet and, within two hours, were scouring The Strip as well as the outlying areas.
However, after three days of checking out all the hotels and motels closest to all seven hospitals, they came up empty.
Could it be that she had slipped out from under their 'radar' once again? That was Leo's worse fear and he was not alone in the thinking, either.
Raph was anticipating the same and, as a result, was close to punching someone out.
"So help me, Leo, if that girl slips through our fingers again, I'm gonna pop someone."
That was when Mike suggested that they all stop to get something to eat. As it was, no one had taken the time for much food and all were on edge from lack of sleep, as well. With July temperatures in the desert community warming up considerably, they chanced going inside a local diner for lunch rather than using a drive-through.
As luck would have it, though, when they were waiting for an available table, they happened to draw the attention from one particular middle-aged woman. The comment she made under her breath, about the area 'overrun with walking lizards', was what caught their attention. Although she had not intended for them to overhear her, when Mike approached her, she was mortified.
"Goodness, I'm so sorry I said that, sir. But, well, if I had known there was a convention in town, I would'a just minded my words a bit better!" she hurriedly apologized.
"No offense taken, M'am…we're sort of used to it. All things considered, we do tend to draw a bit of attention to ourselves." Mike replied reassuringly and chuckled, which helped to relax the woman a bit more.
That was when Leo cryptically explained to her their situation. When he finished, she eagerly told them where she had recently seen someone fitting his description of Gabby.
It turned out that the woman was a housekeeper for a small, nondescript motel, far off from the main boulevard. Apparently, over the previous couple of weeks, she had seen Mindy. Then, just the day before, saw the child, again, and then the mother for the first time, minus her all-too-familiar cape.
"I was doing m'normal rounds and followin' orders to avoid her room like she wanted. I'd leave her beddin' by the door outside. Guess she's kind'a private an' all. Even ordered her meals in." The woman explained to them, "Never saws what she looked like when she first arrived with her chil'. She was all covered up with a hooded coat, include'n that lil'one, jus' like ya said." She paused a bit to reflect as she studied the five mutants as they studied her back and she wondered, then, how much to tell them.
Leo finally encouraged, "M'am, I can tell you know more," sensing that the woman was stalling.
Smiling, she remarked, "Usual'y, I'd want a little 'extra' for sharing inferma'shun like this, but I can tells yer'all desperate, plus I sort of insulted ya, so this one's on me!" She smiled a little and winked, "Might take a while, too." More than anything, she loved to tell a tale and this one was one for the records, as far as she was concerned.
Leo waved her over to sit down in the waiting area of the restaurant, which she did. Mike and Devon sat on the other side of her with Raphael and Seth standing in front of her, blocking the other patrons' view of the group. Although they did so to avoid anyone 'listening in' on the conversation, it almost appeared as if they were surrounding the woman.
As far as Raph was concerned, they were, but more importantly, he did not want anyone else eavesdropping in on their discussion. Of course, both Seth and Raph were too antsy to sit down, as it was.
However, Raph kept clenching and unclenching his fists in impatience, hoping that the housekeeper would be quick about it. He had an uneasy feeling that time was of the essence. Yet, as the woman began to speak, it became perfectly clear to him that it was going to be a long-winded story. He sniffed once in impatience and softly huffed; he wanted his daughter and Mindy, and he did not want to waste time for a long-winded female to get around to telling him where he could find the two.
However, one look from Leo quelled any verbal objection and complaint that Raph was planning on making.
The woman then began to explain, "Yesterdays I was mak'n m'rounds, like I said, and I noticed the 'forbidden' door's wide op'n. The momma must've been in the bathroom I guess. But, her lil' daughter was just stand'n there at th'threshhold, looking outside likes she's never seen the outside before." She smiled a little, "Cute lil' thing, with them curly locks of 'ers and that sweet lil' face; almost human." The woman blushed. She was suddenly afraid that she might have offended the group of mutants. Yet, Leo smiled at her and nodded, not the least bit miffed with the housekeeper's assumed insult.
The lady looked at all of them, her expression as serious as she could make it. Then, she gyrated her shoulders and waged her head around to emphasis her next words as she described the following scene, "All of a sudd'n, her momma comes out of that bathroom and sees her lil' girl wit the door open and she hollers, 'Min, close that door, right now!'"
The housekeeper then straightened up on the bench, almost as if she had the very same door slammed in her face, as she continued, "Wail, I'll tell ya, that lil' girl just about knocked the door off it's hinges the way she shut it; like the devil's behind her an' all." She then huffed a bit, "Darn lucky she didn't git her fingers caught in th'door, too."
She shrugged as she finished, "No offense, gentl'men, but even tho's this town here can bring in some mighty differ'nt folk, ya all have to be about the most differ'nt folks I've ever seen. An' that sweet lil' girl'n her momma ain't no differ'nt!" Then, as an afterthought, she added, "But y'all seems nice 'n nuf. Oh, and I think that momma had a baby, too. I heard it hollerin' a bit later on and I know newborn cry like the back of m'hand. After having six of m'own, I can tells ya how old any new baby is and that one wuz born recently, you can be sure!"
Seth nearly popped a blood vessel in excitement and almost scared the woman half to death as he stepped towards her, "Do you know if it was a boy or girl?" The pleading in his eyes told the woman all she needed to know. If it were not for that, then his tail most certainly did, as it lashed excitedly in response.
"Ya must be th'father, then?" the woman asked, smiling kindly at him.
Blushing, he replied, "Yeah, I am…so…do you know?"
"Son, a baby's cry is non-genda, so I can't tell for sure. But I do knows one thing…" she paused as her words caught the attention of the five mutants her, "They was gone this mornin', first thing, too."
Leo leaned towards the woman as he asked, "Do you know how and what time?"
Snickering a bit, she smiled, "I do. Eight-thirty this mornin' and she took one of them buses."
"Greyhound?" Raph asked through clenched teeth, his anger mounting again as he wondered why the authorities there had not alerted them yet.
"No, no, it wasn't one of them," she remarked, "one of those off-site shuttle buses." She tapped her finger alongside her mouth as she thought and then, "Ah, I remember now, it was from Saint George, Utah and they was on the return from Vegas! Yes, that's th'one, I'm sure of it. It has a picture of a settin' sun along th'side with th'name Saint George runnin' through it with white mountains underneath. But, they run those shuttles pretty fast," she then eyed Raph, who's impatience was clearly noted by her, "so if ya want'n to catch up with yer offspring, ya better git!" It didn't take a rocket scientist for her to figure out that he was the father of the little girl's mother. The way he and the young husband fidgeted around said as much to the housekeeper.
Leo thanked the woman profusely and slipped her a hundred dollar bill. Then he and the team rushed out the restaurant door, their lunch break completely forgotten.
Seth was so dazed by the news that Leo literally had to steer him back to the car, telling him, "Need to remember who and what you are and where you are, my son," he chided. "I don't doubt the woman's sincerity, but there are other 'ears' that were present. All we'd need would be for someone less reputable to catch wind of our situation!"
"Sorry, Father…it's just that – I'm a DAD!" Seth grinned and then, almost as suddenly, frowned, "Only – Gabby's taken the baby."
"Well, you were a dad before with Mindy, but I understand what you mean," Leo said as they all piled into the suburban, forgetting about their lunch and how tired they were, "Before we start chasing after her, though, we need to check out the motel room first. Maybe Gabby left behind some clues."
"Leo, if she left this morning, this means she has at least a four hour jump on us!" Raph complained, "We need to get on the road, not check out some backwater motel."
"Look, it's already a done deal that, by now, she's in Saint George. If we don't check for clues, we might take a wrong turn. It won't take more than thirty minutes to do this. While we're at it, we can call the tour bus company and alert them."
That seemed to placate his impatient brother, keeping Raph more focused on the task of finding his daughter, rather than on getting angry.
When they found the motel that the maid told them about and then talked the manager into letting them into the room Gabby had used, they made a very startling discovery.
She had indeed given birth.
It was obvious room service had not cleaned the room since she checked out that morning, where, in one corner, they found sheets soiled with what looked like afterbirth. Along with the umbilical cord tucked inside, they found the scissors that severed it from the baby. Inside a small trashcan that was nearby, they found a small disposable lighter that she probably used to sterilize the scissors.
Horrifying as it seemed to them, it was obvious Gabby had given birth alone with only Mindy for help.
As they inspected more of the room, the condition of it suggested Gabriella had fled under duress, more than likely sensing that they were closing in on her hide out. It was possible that she had seen them, maybe even from the motel room window. Where it faced the little-used street that the motel was on, they had actually driven the day before, not giving it much importance considering how far it was from any of the hospitals. Where it was in the worse part of town, too, they had disqualified it from what they assumed she would use.
Yet, it was becoming obvious to the clan that they were underestimating how far Gabby would go to hide herself. In that moment, Leo realized he would have to think more creatively regarding what Gabby would do, that is if they were to catch up with her.
Nevertheless, by Leo's and Raph's observation, the age of the stain on the sheets told them the baby was, at most, a day or two old.
"Damn!" Raph hissed, "We were so close, Leo. How could she have known we were coming? How? She shouldn't be running around after having a baby so soon." He angrily paced the small motel room, throwing his hands up in exasperation as he ranted. His actions forced Seth and Devon to clamber onto the bed lest the raging turtle trample them as he raged.
"I know, Raph, but there's little we can do right now." Leo tried to console him, making sure not to get in his brother's way. "At least we know she's had the baby and that she's able to get around." Leo then tried to console, "We also know what direction she's going in, too.
"We need to get to that bus depot, Leo, and find out what one she's on." Raph exclaimed hotly, "That lady gave us the time she saw her board, so that helps considerably." He shook his head, "Maybe we can't catch up with her, but we can at least track her if she's taking buses." With a brightening expression, Raph added, "Bus drivers always make mental notes of anything unusual."
Mike commented dryly under his breath, equally as frustrated as his brothers were, "And Gabby is certainly that!"
COMMENTS
RAMICA – Yeah, gremlins keep things interesting with Fan Fiction, don't they? LOL Ah, but then Raph is probably right; Leo did press the issue a bit hard with her. Leo's observation about doing so when maybe allowing her a bit more time to think about things might have been better. Hindsight can be cruel, at times. As for Musha and his death, I'm not even going to go there. I want this fic done in under ten chapters. Maybe, another time I can explore that story, though. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.
PACPHYS – What makes you think that things could even remotely go wrong? Oh, right, I did rate this as a drama/angst, didn't I! Although what I now have planned for this fic, I may have to change the 'drama' part to 'tragedy'. Hmm…'something this way wicked comes'. Well, Don is very resilient, but to delve into his personal psychy (or, however that word is spelled) would drive mine up the wall right now. Cassie is his anchor, but is also the wind in his sails, too. LOL I've been wanting them together since the end of YD. Everyone thinks Musha is still out there. Maybe he is, but – as mentioned to Ramica – I'm not even going to go there with this fic. I loved your 'mental picture' of Raph and Leo on dual rockers. I just may use it and – so – here's my shout-out to that little plot bunny. Thanks! I'll just blame you for any negative feedback from the readers. LOL Well, don't read too much into that affection thing. Gabby's not crazy enough to hurt her kids just to keep them from Seth and Leo. Thanks for the info on Fort Yukon and other fun Alaskan stuff. I have changed FY to Fairbanks, just to keep the nightclub idea going a bit. FY is more of a village than a town and Fairbanks – with the gorgeous university that's there – has a bit more to offer as far as nightlife is concerned. Yeah, I'm still convinced that Gabby would not do anything high profile like singing in a club, but when one is desperate for money, one will do just about anything – almost – which is why she is now singing for a living. I also used your insight to 'dress' the TMNT's a little better, too. Thanks! See disclaimer above for the formal 'high five'. Well, as errors pop up, correct as you will. If I find I'm getting deeper into the Alaskan experience, I just may send you whatever chapter I'm working on to beta read it for accuracy. I've checked flights from LAX to Fairbanks and they do run the airlines in winter, amazing as that sounds to me. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.
LUNAR-NINJA – Don and Cassie did more than kick. They hitched and are very happy – for now. Give this story a chapter, or two or three, and – well – angst doesn't even come close. Everyone will be suffering in one way or the other. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.