Title: Destinations – Sequel to 'Moth and Flame'

Author: Jayde

Summary: This picks up a couple of months after 'Moth and Flame'.

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever, owned the turtles. No harm intended.

Credits: To Magda, for listening to me ponder this story for weeks. To ReluctantDragon, for your patient beta reading, and excellent critiques. To everyone who came along to read and/or review – I can't begin to thank you enough.

Chapter 9:

Leaning against the frame of the open doorway, Mike had to fight down a smile. If Rachel caught him grinning while she was teaching class, she'd be affronted. So he hid it. But really, he wished Raph were here to see this.

Rachel was leading her group of little kids through some basic katas. The oldest kid in the class was nearly seven – this was an introductory class that he, himself, typically led. But now that he was teaching every other class, Rachel taking on the beginners was keeping him from total exhaustion.

A gentle hand closed over his bicep, and Mike looked around to see Juliet beside him. She held out a bottle of his favorite soft drink. He nodded his thanks, not wanting to interrupt the class, and accepted the refreshment. Juliet turned away, heading back to the office. Mike returned his attention to the class, but his mind was wandering.

It was weird, being this happy. Not that he wasn't grateful to have Juliet, Rachel and Noelle all at home and doing fine … It was that he remembered how close they had been to throwing it all away. "Prosperity makes friends. Adversity binds them." Fortune cookie logic, but still … Maybe they were all tougher now. Taking on the school had been a lot of work, but everyone had stepped up. No one was complaining, not even him. Mike fiddled with the cap on his soda.

Everyone had been cautious at first, when Juliet came home. The separation had been hard, coming right on top of their problems. He had wondered if their relationship could be saved. Jules had never shown any doubt. She had thrown herself back into it – their family, their marriage -- with everything she had.

It was a sea change. The kind of thing that only happens to people when they see or hit rock bottom.

And he was right there with her. Mike looked down at the bottle in his hands, feeling the familiar echo of guilt. It was weaker now, and he no longer felt physically ill when he thought about what he had done … How he had betrayed Juliet with Noelle's piano teacher. Juliet had forgiven him. They had forgiven each other – completely. Someone had once said that forgiveness was something you had to do all at once. You couldn't forgive someone in little bits – you had to let it go.

Mike had done just that. He had come to the decision before Juliet returned. It was either forgive her for basically abandoning their family, and let her back into his heart (where she had never truly left), or … He took a long swallow of his soda. Mike didn't like to think about the alternative. He didn't even want to consider what his life would be like without all three of them.

Shaking it off, Mike returned his attention to Rachel's class. It wasn't like him to drop into a somber and reflective mood – that was Leo's thing.

Across the heads of her little students, Rachel caught Mike's eye and smiled at him. The last of his dark thoughts slipped away, and Mike beamed back, giving Rachel a nod of encouragement. She was doing fine – they all were – that's all that mattered.

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Parking his suitcase just inside the front door, Don took a deep breath and looked around the apartment. Nothing here appeared to be different, but something had definitely happened in his absence. The door shut softly beside him, and he heard the click of the lock turning. Sam kicked off her shoes and padded over to the couch. Don's eyes followed her, his expression reflecting his disquiet.

She had picked him up at the airport a scant two hours ago, and she had barely said a word to him. Sam had greeted him enthusiastically enough with a fierce hug, but then she had been uncharacteristically quiet on the drive home. He had noted that her eyes were red – like she hadn't been sleeping well. Like something was weighing on her mind.

"Don."

He looked over, realizing he had just been standing by the door and woolgathering. Sam was near the sofa, and she looked … nervous.

"Would you come and sit down? I need to talk to you," Sam said in a rush. Her palms were damp, and she rubbed them on her jeans. Picking up the tension in the room, Don walked over to the couch and sat down cautiously. Sam didn't join him, but remained on her feet. "Wait here, okay? I'll be right back." Don nodded, and Sam turned and headed in the direction of their bedroom.

Waiting, Don felt a tingle of real fear. What could have happened in the last couple of days to upset Sam to this extent? Had she been fired? Had something happened to one of his brothers? Sam reappeared, and Don braced himself for whatever was coming next.

"Here," she said, holding out a piece of white paper. Don took it gingerly and turned it around so he could read the form. It was test results, neatly printed by a lab computer. His eyes scanned the paper, paused, and then returned to the top to read again. Inside his chest his heart began to hammer, and he had to swallow around a sudden lump in his throat. He turned his head to look at Sam as she sat down next to him on the couch. "Pretty shocking, huh?" she said softly, striving to keep a neutral tone of voice and failing miserably. She took the clinic pregnancy test results from his fingers, and stared at it for a moment. "I've had a pre-natal exam," she explained quietly, striving to fill the silence. "The baby is fine … as far as they can tell. The doctor has some concerns." Sam glanced up at Don's face, and then away to look out the windows of their apartment – she took a deep and steadying breath. "Because the fetus is not human, the doctor thinks I'm at some risk. He wants me to have an abortion." The words had tumbled out as she loathed saying them. She didn't agree with the doctor at all. "Say something," she begged, losing her composure all at once.

"I … Sam …" Don gave up and abruptly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. He spoke into her hair, his voice muffled. "I don't want to lose you."

"I'm not going to get rid of the baby," Sam said firmly, shaking her head. "I want a second opinion from a doctor who knows more than that small-minded quack."

Don smiled and kissed her hairline. "Of course we'll get a second opinion. And a third, if necessary," he reassured her. "There must be specialists in London …" Don, holding her shoulders, shifted her away so he could see her face. "We're moving to London, and we're getting married."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Don, we don't need to …"

"We're getting married," he reiterated. Sam read the hard line of his jaw and the stubborn light in his eyes.

"We're getting married," she conceded, a smile breaking across her face. God, she thought, I really love him.

"And you're quitting the department today," Don said firmly. The smile vanished from her lips. "Sam, it's dangerous."

"It's always been dangerous," Sam pointed out, holding her temper in check. He didn't get to dictate to her!

"I think I get a say," Don disagreed, his tone gentle. Sam felt her brief anger dissipate like the air flooding out of a balloon. What were they arguing about? She had to quit to make the move – what difference did it make if she resigned now instead of later? Don moved his hands from her shoulders to her face, brushing her hair back. "Sam?"

"I'll turn in my resignation today." Sam laughed at the hint of surprise in his brown eyes – he hadn't been expecting an easy victory. "As for what I'll do when we get to London … Well, I'll figure it out later," Sam said, shrugging.

"Maybe I could find you a job in my lab," Don offered, knowing the moment he said it that it was an absurd idea.

"No," Sam refused, grinning. "One genius in the family is enough, although …" Sam rested a hand on her stomach. "Maybe two would be okay."

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The hotel room door slid quietly shut behind them, and Leo went straight for the bed. He went down on one knee and tugged a long package out, wrapped in a large piece of worn leather. Standing, he unrolled the objects carefully. The low light from above his head caught the edges of his katana, making them gleam.

Raph adjusted his sai, tucking them back just far enough that his coat covered them. Leo stripped off his own coat, and began putting on the sheathes that would hold his weapons. The strap across his chest would be noticeable, as well as the hilts sticking up, but it would have to do.

"No message at the desk, and no sign that she came back here," Raph stated, watching his brother. "We've got an address from Haven, but …" Raph paused. "That place has gotta be guarded."

"They can't stay indoors all the time. We'll fake a fire alarm or something," Leo said, making his plan. He lifted his coat up and prepared to fit it over his weapons. Both brothers turned as, on high alert, they sensed a presence on the other side of the door. The light knock didn't surprise them, and Raph moved up to the door silently. He leaned back on one side as Leo took the other.

"Who is it?" Leo called out. His answer was a volley of laser fire that ripped through the door. Leo and Raph both dived back. Leo came up from a roll with both katana in his hands. The door was charred, and whoever did the shooting had backed off. Raph approached the door and gave it a shove. It was fried shut. Using a sai, he pried the edge open enough to get his hands in and wrenched it to one side.

Stepping out cautiously into the smoky hallway, Raph turned towards the elevators. Three figures stood there. Leo slipped out the opening behind Raph, and they approached the standoff.

"Okay, let's all just take it easy," Haven instructed shakily. The laser weapon in her hands was wavering back and forth. She had followed the turtles, expecting some kind of trouble. But she was clearly in over her head. The two Maorans moved simultaneously, the taller one diving for Haven and the shorter one turning back to deal with the turtles.

Leo ducked the first flash of laser fire, and deflected the next with his blades. Another leap and he was on his opponent who clearly had no experience in close combat. The Maoran's eyes widened with shock as the laser was sliced to pieces and fell to the carpeted floor. He spun, intending to flee, and Leo knocked him flat with a high kick to the head. Further along the hallway, Raphael had flung a sai at the one who was heading for Haven. The weapon struck home and the Maoran collapsed in a heap at her feet.

Haven retreated a step, and her back hit the elevator door with a soft thump. "Damn. Um, you guys are fast," she said weakly. Raphael stepped over, his expression thunderous. He plucked the laser from her hands before she could even blink.

"You ever used this before?" he demanded. Haven shook her head as Leo joined them. "Then put it away before ya shoot us," Raph ordered. Agreeing readily and still astonished, Haven did as she was told and tucked the laser into a holster under her skirt.

"Those are … Those are Lady Taka's personal bodyguards," Haven explained, waving to the bodies in the hall. "You guys just make friends everywhere you go," she quipped nervously.

Leo frowned at their would-be attackers.

"What are you going to do?" Haven asked, wondering if she really wanted to know. Leo's face was as hard as stone.

"Return the favor," he said, returning his swords to the sheathes on his shell.

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