Chapter Two

"Oh my God! What is up with this traffic!"

Linda Okasana yelled as she tighten her grip on the steering wheel of her Toyota Camry. She glanced over at her cousin Christina, was applying liner and mascara on her eyes.

"Tell me again why I moved back to this hell hole of a city?"

Christina smiled, not turning her face away from the visor mirror above her "So you could sit in the morning rush hour traffic and whine about it."

Linda glared at her cousin. " Shut up." Then, Linda let a small laugh escape.

"Anyway," Christina continued as she put her makeup back into her purse. "I needed a roommate. Who else would be stupid enough to pay the rent in this city and put up with me at the same time?"

Linda's mouth dropped. " You are on fire today. You know that?" Linda tapped her short, but well manicured finger nails on the steering wheel as she watched the traffic around her. "Your brother."

"My brother?" Christina asked while running her fingers through her blond hair. " What does that idiot have to do with anything?"

"He is the stupid one," Linda laughed. " You should have asked him."

Christina joined in the laugher. " You got a point there, but I had enough of him in California!"

Linda continued to laugh as she gazed out of the side window. Looking across the street, she noticed a young couple. The man was Asian, the woman was white, and in-between them grabbing on tightly to their hands was a child. Her long black hair whipped around her as the made their way up the busy sidewalk and crossed the street in front of Linda. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she looked away.

"Lin?" Christina glanced at her cousin.

"I'm sorry," Linda wiped at her eyes. " This city just holds too many memories for me."

"Aw, Lin! Don't cry!" Christina reached over and wrapped her arm around Linda's shoulders. Linda shook as the sobs became stronger.

"I can't help it, Chris!"

"Well, you have to." Christina smiled and pointed to the windshield. "The light just turned green."

Laughter began to break up Linda's tears as the sound of honks and screams from the cars behind her poured through her open window. She quickly wiped her cheeks and put the car in drive.

"So," Christina began. " Have you made up your mind about going to The Icon with me tonight?"

"I don't think so," Linda shook her head. " I'm just not a club person, or a going out person for that matter."

Christina sighed. "Oh, come on. I can't go by myself. What if I meet a great guy who wants to meet my sexy Japanese-American cousin?"

Linda laughed again. " No. Sounds good, but no."

Christina crossed her arms. " How long have you been here? Six months? Have you even been on a date with a guy since you've been back?"

"No, and I don't plan on it." Linda stated, as various memories from the past flooded her head as she spoke. "I'm not man crazy like you are."

Christina sighed again. " What happened to you that was so bad that you are refusing men?"

"I'm not refusing anything!" Linda snapped. " I told you, there was only one man I would ever love, so drop it! I'm not talking about this anymore!" Linda stopped as she heard her words echo in her head, and she glanced at her cousin. Christina's eyes were wide open.

"Geesh, okay. No need to yell."

Linda suddenly felt ashamed of herself. "I'm so sorry, Chris. I didn't mean to do that."

Christina nodded her head. " It's okay. So, are you going to-"

"Don't press your luck." Linda stopped her. "Maybe some other time. Now, where am I supposed to drop you off at?"

Christina pointed ahead. " Turn down 9th street. I'll walk from there."

"Walk?" Linda asked, feeling puzzled.

"Yeah, someone is waiting for me there." Christina reached into her purse and pulled out a package of Tic Tacs and popped several into her mouth.

"Like who?" Linda soon found her answer as she turned on 9th and saw a mutated cat looking creature dressed in jeans, and a white shirt with the New York University Logo across the chest. Linda stopped the car and shook her head.

"Now you're into mutants? What happened to Frankie?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest.

Christina waved at the mutant, then glared at Linda. "Frankie is old news. And, no, I'm not into mutants. Barry is just really nice," She glanced back at Barry and watched as he ran his claws through his dark hair. "Okay, and he's extremely sexy."

Linda placed her hands on Christina's back and pushed her towards the door. " God, would you get out already!"

Christina laughed at Linda as she jumped out, then turned back around. "Are you sure you don't want to go out tonight?"

"Yes, now go. I'm going to be late for work, and your new fling is getting impatient." Linda shooed her cousin away, then stepped on the gas so she wouldn't have to witness her cousin shoving her tongue down another man's throat. She shivered with disgust, wondering why Christina could be so carefree and basically careless with everyone she met. Linda knew from experience that not being careful with someone would leave you cold and brokenhearted. Linda shook her head, not wanting to go back into her memories again.

Five years ago after leaving New York, Linda told herself that when she reached Japan, she would repress all memories of her old life, and concentrate on her martial arts studies. Linda kept that promise to herself for a long time, until one day, a letter arrived at the temple she was staying at. It was from Splinter, wondering how she was doing and how her training was going. Linda was shocked, not knowing how Splinter knew she was there, and she hesitated about writing back. Finally after five months she did, asking how he and the Turtles were, but not once did she mentioned Leonardo. They continued to write for three years, and had even had a few phone conversations, all of which was kept a secret from Leonardo. But in all, she was extremely happy to know someone out there still cared for her.

Then out of nowhere, her young cousin Christina(related from Linda's mothers' side), someone whom she hadn't talked to in forever, calls and asks Linda to come back to the States to share an apartment while she attended school at the University. Linda knew how spoiled her cousin was, for her father was a movie producer out in Hollywood, and she also knew Christina couldn't comprehend the meaning of the word "NO." So, without giving it any thought, Linda agreed and returned to the States. Her only fear about coming back was running into the mutant she once loved so dearly and having to go through the hurt all over again.

Linda pulled into a parking garage, parked her car, then crossed the street to a small bookstore and coffee house. The bells above the door rang as Linda crossed the threshold and she made her way to the counter, waving and saying hello to all of the regular customers she knew so well. A young girl from behind the counter looked up from the Anne Rice novel she was reading and smiled as Linda joined her.

"I know, I know," Linda said as she tied her on her black work apron, which read 12th Street Books and Brew. " I'm late again."

The girl smiled and brushed her brown hair out of her face. " It's okay. I covered for you."

"Thanks, Angie. I appreciate that."

Linda then looked towards the large window of the store, then suddenly froze. A mutant turtle was standing across the street, and Linda could have sworn the turtle was holding the sword her father had given her. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head, then looked back at the sidewalk, this time seeing it was empty. Linda sighed, but felt a sudden swelling in her throat and the warm rush of tears in her eyes. Then she finally thought, maybe leaving Japan really was a bad idea.

Leonardo was so sick of the traffic in Queens. It made him think of the term Raphael had used several times before: They all got their licenses out of a Cracker Jack box! After an hour long commute, then another half hour of trying to park, Leonardo felt like going home and crawling back into bed.

He opened the door to his dojo, hearing the calming chimes ring out, then yawned once again.

"Nice to see you finally made it in, Leo!"

Leonardo turned his attention to the back office where a mutant red fox sat at the desk, her hands flying over the computer keyboard and the phone resting between her cheek and shoulder.

"Morning, Vanessa," Leonardo walked towards her as she shoved a pile of mail towards him.

"Here," Vanessa continued typing. " More fan mail."

Leonardo chuckled as he sorted through the mail, tossing most of it into the trash can beside of the desk. He waited until Vanessa hung up the phone before talking again.

"Are you coming over tonight? We're doing a little something for Raph, even if he doesn't want it."

Vanessa stared blankly back at Leonardo. " What! Oh, God. Today's Raph's birthday?"

Leonardo raised his eyebrows. " Uh, yeah."

"Aw, shit." Vanessa smacked her hand on the desk. "I have to go buy that guy something. What does he want?"

Leonardo laughed suddenly. "You don't want to know."

Vanessa cocked her head sideways. " All right, what's the gag?"

"Raph told me the only gift he wanted from you was a lap dance." Leonardo busted in fits of laughter as Vanessa's mouth dropped.

"What a pig!" Vanessa growled as she tighten up her fists. "Oh, that guy is going to get it!"

Leonardo calmed down his laughter and wiped the tears from his eyes. "So, I'll see you tonight then?" Vanessa's only response was a smug smile complete with an eye roll. Leonardo started to walk away when he remembered something else.

"Oh, Vanessa. I'll tell him myself, but Jerry is taking over my noon class today."

Vanessa became puzzled. " How come?"

Leonardo sighed. " Just call it personal reasons."

He watched Vanessa nod and resume her work, then turned his attention to the large open doorway in front of him. A group of children, aging from six to nine, sat in the middle of the floor, quietly talking amongst themselves. Leonardo smiled, then erased it as he walked into the room. A hush fell as the children watched their master enter the training room and stand before them. Leonardo eyed them all, then threw his hands up and smiled.

"Okay, first one to knock me down gets to be Ninja Master for a day!"

All the kids happily screamed as they jumped up and ran towards Leonardo. The shouts startled Vanessa, making her rise from her desk and walk over to the main training room. She peered around the corner and saw the kids climbing over Leonardo like he was a mountain. She laughed as the kids finally knocked Leonardo down to the ground and jumped around victoriously. Then Leonardo rose to his feet and ran in circles, with the children chasing close behind. Vanessa shook her head and laughed again, then went back to her desk to answer the phone.

A few hours later, Leonardo found himself sitting in the office of Dr. Pamela Foster, waiting patiently on the brown leather couch that he and his brothers had spent so much time on. Dr. Foster was specialized in postwar depression and was highly recommended by General Lee. The doctor had treated all of the Mutant Militia, but had spent most of her time working with the Turtles.

Leonardo's eyes wondered from the window to the baize walls covered in various nature paintings and back to the couch he sat on. His eyes traveled along the rim of the couch to the side table, where he stopped at the small holes that were embedded into the top of the table. He laughed to himself, remembering the day when Raphael lost control and fling his sais into the table. The incident scared Dr. Foster so much, she asked for Leonardo to come with Raphael to every one of his sessions, just in case of another outburst.

Her treatment with Donatello was short, for he didn't seem to have any real problems. Michelangelo on the other hand, was a complete wreck from witnessing all of the death that had gone on around him. Dr. Foster said it had a lot to do with Michelangelo's child like state of mind. The war had pushed him into growing up faster than his conscious mind had wanted to, which is also why Leonardo believes Michelangelo prefers to stay home instead of working.

The door to the office creaked as the doctor stepped in. Dr. Foster smiled at Leonardo, then shut the door behind her.

"Hello, Leo," Dr. Foster walked over the brown leather chair that was sitting across from the couch and sat down. "How has your day been?"

Leonardo straighten his posture. " It's been okay, I suppose," He then let out another yawn, covering his mouth out of courtesy.

"I see you haven't been sleeping well." The doctor pointed to the dark circles under Leonardo's eyes.

"I don't understand it," Leonardo sighed. " I haven't had any nightmares or anything in so long. But now I'm having these visions in the daytime!"

Dr. Foster pushed up her thin framed glasses up her small nose. " In the daytime?" She grabbed a pen out of the holder on the table beside of her and began writing in Leonardo's file. After she was done, she looked back up at Leonardo.

"I have a question."

Leonardo felt uneasy. " Which is-?"

"Have you seen Linda recently?"

Leonardo felt his body cringe at the mention of Linda's name. " God, no, and I hope I never do!"

Dr. Foster shook her head. " Leonardo, you have got to let go of this. Five years is too long a time period to be holding onto this grudge of yours."

Leonardo crossed his arms and turned towards the window, tired of hearing the same old lecture from everyone. "Do you know how hard I have tried?" He looked back at the doctor. "Do you think I want to live with this?" His voice was starting to become shaky.

"I know you don't, Leo, or you wouldn't be here. I know you have tried everything you can." Dr. Foster sighed and leaned back into the chair. "Something deep down in your subconscious is refusing to take part in this." Dr. Foster suddenly leaned forward. "Is there something you haven't told me about your relationship with Linda?"

Leonardo's eyes grew. "No. I told you everything."

Dr. Foster pressed on. "Where the two of you romantically involved?" She looked into Leonardo's eyes, seeing a few tears begin to build up, and she knew she had found the answer.

"Oh, Leo, why didn't you just tell me that in the first place?" Dr. Foster reached back over to the table, pulled a tissue from its' box, and handed it to her patient.

Leonardo wiped at his tears, then held his throbbing head in his right hand. "I don't know. I was just so hurt." He looked back up at the doctor, feeling a little embarrassed.

Dr. Foster smiled at Leonardo. " It's all right. Love is a very powerful emotion. It can make you feel like you are floating on air one minute, then it can break you into a million pieces the next. And from the looks of it, you would be the latter of the two." She reached over, grabbing Leonardo's hand and patted it gently. "I can also see you were deeply in love with Linda."

Leonardo's cheeks became flushed. "Yeah, I was. She was- she was everything I could have ever asked for." He smiled as he remembered the snowball fight they had in Central Park, all the times he watched her sleep, and their first kiss.

Dr. Foster also smiled as she watched Leonardo's face. "See, now you're floating on air again, aren't you?"

Leonardo snapped out of his happy memories as he began to think of the encounter with Linda later on, when he discovered she was with The Foot. His facial expressions changed instantly and he withdrew his hand from Dr. Foster.

"No, I'm not. She betrayed us. She ripped my heart in half."

Dr. Foster watched as Leonardo buried his face in his hands. "Okay, Leo. Since I now know more about this, I'm going to move your appointment to next week. Is that okay?"

Leonardo nodded, not removing his hands from his face. Dr. Foster rose from her chair and moved to the couch, taking a seat beside of the turtle.

"Now, for some personal advice, go out and enjoy yourself."

Leonardo moved his hands. "Enjoy myself?" he asked feeling a bit confused.

"Yes! Get out of your house! Go meet people! Have some fun!" Dr. Foster exclaimed. "It will do you a world of good, I promise."

Leonardo sighed, knowing the doctor was right. "I will, and tonight's a good night to do it too."