DISCLAIMER – Well, this is the last chapter before the epilogue. I've done it, I've finished something:0) Well, I've finished many things, but they are few and far between, my friends. At the very least, I can get the epi done and then move back to other ventures that were unfortunately sidelined while the muses had fun with my life and the TMNT's.

I don't own nothin', other than Gabby, Mindy, and Jordan. Oh, and Tricia, too, and this story.

Chapter 11 – Revelations

As the paramedics tended to Gabby, Tricia was overwhelmed with her friend's family. Although still concealed within their hooded coats, they had already introduced themselves to her.

Initially, she had been completely mesmerized with the fact that The Enchantress was one of them. Yet, to be surrounded by so many, now, and knowing her own part in Gabby's deceit at the nightclub, she felt herself in a most uncomfortable position.

In other words, she was scared half out of her wits.

"So, let me get this straight," Don asked her as he eyed the girl, sensing her fear, "you were Gabby's assistant at the club, yet you didn't have a clue that my niece was one of us?" He smirked a little, quite unwilling to believe such drivel.

Nodding nervously, Tricia answered, "Y-yes, sir, that's correct." She swallowed a bit, knowing how ludicrous it sounded. She was currently standing in the midst of them; not surrounded, per se, but their posturing indicated they were keeping their guard up with her.

"How can that be? Are you – blind?" Don asked derisively, eliciting a chuckle from Devon.

Tricia was insulted, "Of course not!" She gathered her resolve and stood a bit straighter as she replied defensively, "Gabby came to work covered up in a hooded coat. Her face already had the white foundation on and she always wore her gloves. We never really saw her because she would duck into her room to get ready. When John first hired her, Gabby had made specific requests about her privacy. When she would leave to go home, she did so in the same way she arrived."

The girl felt four pair of eyes studying her, with the other two pair busy seeing to Gabby's recovery. They belonged to Seth and Raph, who Tricia had learned moments earlier to be Gabby's husband and father. The remaining four pairs of eyes belonged to her friend's three uncles and a brother named Devon.

However, both Devon and Seth were the strangest creatures she had ever seen. She had never heard any of them having long tails or blue hair, or even looking like lizards, the way those two did. She had heard of the turtles, that much was true. She remembered the DVD of the movie made about them, she herself equally as taken with their life's portrayal on screen as the rest of the country had been back then. Although she hadn't even been born at the time, her mother's fascination influenced her quite a bit. However, the movie was now considered passé, where it was touted mainly as a blend of fact and fiction.

Still, at the very least, to be standing currently in their presence was unnerving for Tricia.

Just the same, what Gabby had told her back at the nightclub about how clever and smart they were, the girl was now a believer. She had the eeriest feeling that they were doing a whole lot more than just looking at her. She felt that had she lied in any way, they would have figured it out almost immediately.

"Maybe that movie wasn't so far fetched after all," she wondered nervously.

The truth of the matter was, Tricia was already out of a job, as was her friend, and if there was one thing she wanted, it was an excuse to move to a more temperate climate. The girl knew that at least two of the turtles had businesses. Maybe if she 'played her cards' right and remained above reproach, they might give her an opportunity.

Or not. Either way, Tricia felt that with Gabby so severely injured, lying to her family now would only be a waste of breath.

Nevertheless, her mind was still on her friend. A noise behind Tricia told her the paramedics had already placed Gabby on the stretcher. As she turned around to join the rest of the family to watch, she saw the EMT's carry her friend up out of the snow-covered brush to the awaiting ambulance. She quickly noted the deep concern etched upon faces of the husband and the father. Both followed closely behind the paramedics and then stopped as the men loaded the gurney into the back of the medical transport. Seth wasted no time and climbed up inside, forcing Raph to return to the rest of the clan.

As he joined up with the others, he shot a menacing glare at Tricia, commenting gruffly, "So, this here's the imposter singer?" as he noticed the makeup on Tricia.

Don nodded, saying, "Yes, but she's okay, Raph. She was only helping Gabby based on what limited information she was told."

"So, you her friend?" Raph asked sarcastically as he sized Tricia up.

"Yes, sort of, I mean, I only know her through work, not personally." she answered.

"Didn't her appearance indicate to you that maybe she didn't belong up here?" Raph asked angrily, clueless that Don had already breeched that topic.

However, instead of defending the girl, Don turned to see how she would answer this time, curious to know if Tricia would trip herself up. Although he and the others were quite certain that she had been truthful with them, there was always the one person who managed to slip under their 'radar'.

"I didn't know what she looked like until this evening." Tricia replied irritably, "She always had herself covered up and with make up on, like what I have on now," Then, with hands on hip, she pointedly asked, "And why would she run away from her family in the FIRST place? What did you do to her to make her leave?" She looked around at the others as she continued bravely, "Considering how different she is, one would think she would be a little more hesitant to just race around the country they way she did, especially with children."

Don smiled a little, somewhat taken aback with Tricia's sudden change in attitude. Yes, she was definitely frightened of them, but just as concerned for Gabby as any good friend should be.

However, before Raph could verbally pounce on the poor girl, Don raised a hand to stop him and then said to her, "My brother is only concerned for his daughter. She means a lot to us. As for her reasons for leaving, it's rather complicated. Let's just say," he paused as he glanced over towards Leonardo and then back to Tricia, "that there was a difference of opinions. We did nothing to her or her children; they are quite precious to us, as you can rightly imagine."

Tricia nodded, still a bit miffed and unnerved, but she commented anyway, "A clash of opinions is hardly an explanation or a justification for running away like she did."

"Exactly, yet to put it bluntly, my dear, it is truly none of your business," Don said softly and smiled, yet there was a subtle warning for her to cease and desist all inquiries edged his expression.

Tricia knew when to drop a topic, and this was one of them. She decided that whatever the reasons her friend had to fear for her children, Tricia was sorely outnumbered and – in the area of debate – hugely outclassed by those surrounding her. She could tell this Don, Gabby's uncle, was no lightweight in that category, either.

And, it seemed to her as if she had greatly offended them, which put to rest any hope of possibly procuring a job, too.

Then, Don casually suggested, "I am sure that Gabby would enjoy seeing you once she awakens." He looked up at Raph and asked, "Did they say anything more about her injuries beside the two broken legs and the one hand?"

Raph replied, "She's suffering from a concussion, as we suspected, and there may be some internal bleeding as well from when the car rolled. She's just lucky she was able to crawl as far as she did. And the way that door landed, it virtually protected her from the blast."

Leo then commented as he saw the ambulance pull away, "I think we better get going. I don't want her reawaking without one of us being there. She'll need our support to pull through this."

As the seven figures turned around and walked back up the ramp towards the top of Mitchell Highway, Don gently graced Tricia's shoulder with a hand, saying to her, "Do not misunderstand my words or intent, Tricia. I appreciate the fact that you befriended my niece and tried to protect her. Not many would. For now, you are welcomed in our presence."

Tricia smiled a little, glad for that, but still a little perplexed that Gabby would feel a need to run away from what seemed to her to be a caring family.

Gabby sat weeping on the bench and still within the embrace of the natural wooden sanctuary. She was feeling severely chastised. Although done in a way that did nothing more than to reveal her deepest fears and wrongdoings, she was overwhelmed. Only her behavior had been questioned, not her being, not who she was, not even the occasionally bratty way she could be. The truth was, Gabby had looked full at her reflection, which was a mere account of the past five years, and in that way witnessed the heartbreak she had caused her family.

Now, with her memory fully recovered, she had watched as each scene played out before her. Either Splinter spoke in a very descriptive way, or, in some strange fashion, he had actually presented it to her in movie form.

Regardless of which it was, by the time he was done talking to her, Gabby had witnessed the very events that unfolded during her absence from the family.

To 'watch it' seemed to take as long as the time she had been gone, yet in fact, only a few minutes had passed.

Still, the images haunted her.

To see her beloved husband reduced to a mere shell of his former self made her gasp aloud. It was as if she had been one within his spirit, to see and feel the destruction she had caused him by her selfish actions. As if in illustration, she saw a literal river of tears flow around her, his tears that seemed to deepen with each passing day. She saw him in the natural sanctuary deep in the woods behind their home, how he would pray for hours, Bible in hand, for the Lord, her Lord, to bring her back.

Then, Gabby seemed to be apart of the chase as the family systematically crisscrossed the country, if not the world, looking for her.

Next, she heard every argument that Mike and Rahab had since Gabby had left. She heard the ugliness of each word exchanged between them, and then she bore witness to the affect that it had on Riahna.

Poor Riahna, her autism in full force again, she had stopped caring for her garden and for herself. She would sit for hours, staring, mumbling words repeatedly, or walk the edges of carpets while humming nothing in particular. She argued over small things, such as the wrong vegetable on her dinner plate or coming in on the family watching something on television that she did not want to watch.

At one point, Mike's youngest daughter had torn up the 'paper trail' the family had collected. She ripped every article from the wall and then either stomped on all the new reports or tore them up by hand.

"I HATE GABBY, hate her, hate her, hate her," she had yelled repeatedly.

Then, Gabriella witnessed Devon's personal decline. She had never seen him drunk since she had become part of the family. She knew about his earlier tattoos, but then to see him carousing around town inebriated and adding to his collection of 'skin art' saddened her.

"He loved you enough to engrave himself with your name, Gabriella." Splinter had spoken softly. "Everyone loved you enough to risk their very livelihood and their own peace of mind, just to try and find you."

Yet, what saddened her the most was missing her mother's wedding ceremony with Don. Don, of all people. Who would have thought, Gabby wondered to herself.

"He's now my – father?" she looked at the rat in amazement. It was rather ironic that her father's brother' was now her stepfather. Although the relationship between the two was only through the female turtle who bore the eggs while they were still in their natural state, it was a thought that would give most people a raging migraine to figure out. She smiled a little until the gravity of the situation hit her – Don was more than an uncle, to her, now. He had more authority over her than before.

Groaning miserably, Gabby could only sit there on the bench and shake her head. Yet, in a way which seemed more cathartic than troublesome, she was relieved. Wasn't there a time when she thought that Don was her biological father?

"Maybe this is a weird form of justice coming full circle for me," she had thought, which caused Splinter to chuckle; proving he was as much in her mind as he was sitting next to her.

Now, the rat had his left arm around the girl's shoulders as she cried, allowing his granddaughter to cleanse herself from the realization of what she had truly done.

Gradually and with each scene that passed by, he had allowed her to regain her memory bit by bit of what transpired before arriving 'here'.

"Now, my child," Splinter's soft voice implored, "you will be returning to them, although not in the same physical state as when you left. Sometimes important changes in ones behavior cannot be made unless something is taken away."

"I – don't understand, Grandfather," Gabby sniffed, wiping her eyes dry with the back of her hand.

He sighed as he hugged her, "You will be challenged by more than the anger of my sons and their families. Yet, you are quite fortunate to a part of such. Let your experience here remind you of what you could have lost had certain events not have happened." He smiled then, cupping her chin with one hand as he looked into her reddened eyes, "Remember what I have showed you, remember my words that you are part of the greater whole; removed and you will weaken the bond. You are as important to them as the sun is to the moon, without which the dark of night would be unbearable."

"I am uncertain what you are saying, but – I will try to be better than I was." Gabby promised.

"No, my dear Gabby, you must decide here and now to change and change for good. Any other attempt is only a half-hearted attempt. To succeed, you must give your full heart to the matter," the rat admonished kindly. "Just remember that love will prevail and the truth will gird you with the strength of a thousand men."

The next thing Gabby was aware of, her mind whirled with the force of rushing water. As she watched, her vision swam with unfocused confusion within the vortex of swirling images, images from the past five years and which represented her family's heartache.

Then suddenly and abruptly, the wail of a siren filled her ears.

COMMENTS –

TBREADER – LOL, goodness I really pushed your buttons, didn't I! LOL Well, no, I don't like characters that are all sweet and nice, either. Very nauseating. The kind of sheltered life that Gabby led however, at no fault of her own, makes it difficult for her to not be afraid, though, or to listen to authority. She has a lot of baggage, enough said. And, yes, it's okay not to like someone. However, we are commanded to love. Enough said about that one, too. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.

PACPHYS – Glad to hear Gabs is not an MS. My worst nightmare, believe me. I honestly thought I was making her into one in YD. Sings great, she's pretty (for a mutant), has long and curly red hair, speaks nine languages, learns martial arts rather quickly, memorizes books, yada yada. Didn't have a clue at the time. Glad I made her a brat! LOL Ah, so, the out of body worked, then, eh? It seemed like the right way to go. I had a lot of fun with it, too. Splinter could be whatever entity, but for me, he represents authority, wisdom, love, grace, and easy to give respect to. Gabby needs someone like that right now. So, whether it's really Splinter or God making himself easy for her to accept, it's entirely up to the reader's imagination. Don is dead regardless, this is true. As for the others' opinions, it was a good plan that went awry. They had to get the kids from her, they had to discipline in some way. Everything they tried to do up to the time she left five years earlier fell on deaf ears. Sometimes, tough love is the only way. It doesn't always work out, though. For that, Don will be seeing an awful lot of that living room couch for the next couple of months, methinks! BTW, I used Globexplorer(dot)com to determine if there was a stop sign between Mitchell and Steese. There isn't. Looks like a normal freeway interchange with transistion ramps leading to and fro. I did have the angle of Gabby's crash wrong, though and have made the adjustments in the preceding chapters to reflect that. She should have rolled downhill. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.

RAMICA – Hopefully, you do know that I was just teasing about not being able to update until I had your review. :o) Well, Gabby is in a place where she is forced to listen. Splinter will indeed impart something to make her wise up. Where he is currently, he's far more wise than he ever was (a true trick to write when one is not, lemme tell ya!). Poor Don; he is forced to suffer so much in life. He's either injured so badly that he's near death, or has his cushy life interrupted by would-be assassins and kidnappers, or his good fortune includes inheritng a bratty niece that drives him literally up the wall. Either way, good times between him and Cassie, to be sure! LOL Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.

LUNAR-NINJA – Naw, Splinter's not God, neither in heaven or anywhere else. However, angels can be whatever God needs them to be. So, with that said, that could be true here as well. Then again, this may well be just her subconscious mind giving her 'what for', as the time to 'pay the piper' draws nigh. Action, confrontations, realizations, and revelations. All is on the upswing, maybe. There is a line in chapter 11 which hints about what is to come for dear Gabriella. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.