Calli's Pov…
My hand gently caressed over and held my daughters hand as I stood beside her while Donnie was doing his daily check on her development. The last two weeks have been critical in keep Julietta alive, its been around the clock care in checking to make sure she was breathing, doing daily health checks, and monitoring her growth. It was exhausting but the fight was worth it, we couldn't lose her, not after everything we have fought through already. Julie whimpered as Donnie took a blood sample with a small syringe and began to squirm as I gently kept her still. "I am sorry peanut, I don't mean to hurt you, I know I don't like getting poked neither", Donnie said, soothingly, putting a small band aid on her leg "It's no fun at all"

"It's okay Julie", I said, hushing her softly and stroking her head, while Donnie took the sample for testing "You are doing great honey, you really are feisty aren't you?"

Julie began to slowly settle down once I let my finger rub against the palm of her hand and she squeezed it tightly, letting out little coos. "That's my girl", I said, softly "Is that better?"

Donnie came back over writing down a few things on his clipboard as I looked up to him. Hopefully there would be good news for him to share on Julie's progress, that we would finally get on the right track. "Any progress?", I asked

"Heart and lungs are still sounding pretty weak, blood count is the same as last testing", Donnie said "There hasn't been much really much improvement in the last two weeks"

I frowned and sighed softly and held my baby's hand a little tighter in my fingers. This wasn't the news that I was hoping for, it was the opposite of what I wanted, it felt like a kick in the stomach. "Is there anything more we can do Donnie?", I asked "There has to be something"

"There isn't really anything we can do sis, all we can hope for is that she will keep fighting the good fight and hang on, it's really up to her at this point", Donnie said, with a frown "As much as I wish I could do more for her"

"We have to keep fighting...", I said, softly looking down to my daughter sleeping "She deserves that chance"

I felt Donnie rest his hand on my shoulder giving it a squeeze. "I'll let you two have some time alone...and Calli, I know she will pull through, I just feel it", he said

"Hopefully...", I said, with a nod

As soon as Donnie left the lab shutting the door behind, I sighed softly, looking down to Julie. She slept peacefully with her little arm outstretched with the palm of her hand open, I reached in and let my finger with my ring on it gently stroke it. Slowly she began to let her little fingers grip on to mine with what strength that she had and I couldn't help but smile a little. "You really are a mama's girl aren't you?", I asked, softly "My little Sunflower"

I heard the lab door open again and I heard a knock on the wall. "Knock knock", a voice said

I slowly turned around and I saw April and Casey come in with April carrying a small bundle of flowers and a little white bear. "Oh hey guys, I wasn't expecting you to come by", I said, trying to rub the tiredness from my eyes

"We were near by and we have been talking about Julie today and we just wanted to check up on her", April said, with a sad smile

"Damn you look terrible", Casey said, with a light chuckle

I chuckled softly. "Good to see you too knucklehead", I said, with sarcasm

"How is she?", April asked, setting the flowers down by her bedside

"No improvements, still the same, it's been a long rough road so far", I said, turning my attention back to my daughter

April looked to Julie and her hand gently reached into the other hole in her incubator and stroked her plastron. "This brings me back to when I first saw Ellie, how small she was", she said

"I know, only just a little longer than Julie, and now she is getting too big for us to carry anymore", I said, with a slight giggle "Doesn't even feel like its been that long ago"

"I know your scared and it's okay", April said, placing her hand on my shoulder "But Calli you have very strong children, they get that from their parents. When we came to visit Ellie when she was in that coma, I was so scared for her, thinking I would never see her wake up again, I felt like a scared parent like you, but knowing how strong her family can fight, I knew she had that same strength and that she would pull through. And it was a miracle that she did, and I just feel that Julie will fight the same way"

"She will Calli, she will kick this right in the butt!", Casey said, shaking my shoulder, making me give a sad smile in return

"I appreciate what you guys have to say to this, I really do, I just hope you guys are right", I said, with a nod

I sighed softly, as hard as I tried to believe that everything would be okay, the fear was starting to sink in deeper and deeper into me. Later on, I was holding Julie in my arms giving her evening bottle, rocking her softly in the rocking chair with my foot. It was hard as a parent to see so many tubes attached to such a little baby that was the only thing that was keeping her living to the next day. An innocent baby never deserves to battle for their own life when they just entered the world, it should be a joyous time for them for taking that first breath, seeing their parents for the first time, and just loving life being the apple of everyone's eyes. It was highly unfortunate that she was dealt with a bad hand and I couldn't have felt more hurt inside to see my child in this state. I began to hum softly as Julie continued on nursing while continuing to rock us carefully.

Nen-nen yo okororiyo suya-suya to oyasuminasai
nen-nen yo okororiyo yasashi hito ni sodachimasu you ni
kami-sama arigatou, enjeru mo arigatou
nen-nen yo okororiyo mama no mune de oyasuminasai

Nen-nen yo okororiyo suya-suya to oyasuminasai
nen-nen yo okororiyo uruseru hito ni sodachimasu youni
kami-sama arigatou derai wo arigatou
nen-nen yo okororiyo mama no mune de oyasuminasai

As Julie finished, I gently wiped her mouth with a towel and she suddenly let out a little hiccup jumping a bit in my arms, and I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Hey honey", a voice said, softly

I looked up to see Leo giving me a soft smile come walking into the lab closing the door behind him. "Hey", I said, quietly

"I didn't see you this morning, was worried about you", he said, kneeling down in front of me letting his hand rest on top of mine

"I am sorry, I couldn't sleep the night before, and every time I tried, the same nightmare kept replaying in my head", I said "Just needed to be near her, at least I know I could see she was still breathing"

Leo frowned and rubbed the top of my hand with his thumb. "Calli, I have been worried about you for a lot longer than what I said, I can't let you keep being this way, it kills me to watch you be this miserable, you need to take a break", he said

I shook my head. "It's simply not an option Leonardo", I said, getting up with Julie

"What do you mean it's not an option?", he asked, as I moved past him

"I just simply can't do that Leo, Julie needs me", I said, placing Julie back into her incubator

"Callista I know you are afraid of what has been happening, but that shouldn't be at the cost of your own health, you hardly have eaten, slept or left this lab in weeks and you haven't been taking care of yourself"

"Do you honestly think I don't know that?", I asked, turning around to face him with a look of annoyance

"Well if you did, you wouldn't be torturing yourself like this", he said, crossing his arms over his chest "Your health shouldn't be in conflict with you watching Julietta like a hawk"

"We have a child whose life is on the line Leonardo! Do you not realize that?", I said, angrily pointing behind me "Do you think that these last two weeks have been good to me? No! It's been hell! Worse than hell if that is even possible! The fact that I can't eat anything cause every time I try, I just throw it back up from myself rejecting it and the fact that I can't sleep having the same nightmare for weeks that haunts me every time I shut my eyes! We had our eldest daughter nearly lose her own life and I am certainly not going to let our youngest be taken away from us! So call me a stubborn bull who hasn't been taking care of herself or been there for anyone for awhile! All that matters right now is that I can keep her going to the next day, that's all I do! I know its no excuse for my actions, but I will not take this lying down!"

I turned away abruptly letting my hands rest on the top of Julie's incubator, struggling not to cry for the millionth time that I have done so far. "Just go ahead and call me a failure, as a ninja and as a parent", I said, biting my lower lip sniffling

I heard soft footsteps come up behind me and I saw his hands entangle with both of my own and felt his head rest against mine, as he released a low churr from his chest sending some relief to my state. "I am not going to say you are, you are far from it, I was just worried about you, you have been so stressed these last two weeks, I just want you to have some relief", he said, softly "I hate seeing my wife be so hurt over something that wasn't her fault"

He wrapped his arms warmly and tight around me pulling close to where I felt his soft lips kiss my temple as tears trickled down my cheeks. "I am scared too, more than anything, but I am trying to keep that fear in the back of my mind, so I don't see what bad things could happen", Leo said

"When I said those words before I thought it work this time, but I just feel like I lost all that strength in believing it would happen with her", I said, wiping my tears away from my eyes

"You didn't lose it", he said, turning me around to face him "Grief is just trying to cloud your mind and take control, it just needs to cleared"

"Wise saying, did you come up with that yourself?", I asked, with a slight giggle

"Sort of", he said, with a chuckle

"I am so sorry Leonardo, it's not right for me to take my frustration out on you", I said, shaking my head with a frown

"I understand, your mind just wasn't in the right place at the moment but I know your heart always is", he said, stroking my cheek making me look up to him

"It's still no excuse", I said "It's not right, your my husband, not a punching bag for my emotions"

"Hey", he said, softly pulling me to where his forehead touched mine

"What are you doing?", I asked

"Shhhh just shut your eyes, I want to do another one of Ancient One's teaching to help", he said

"Um..alright", I said, letting my eyes shut

I felt his right hand gripped mine tightly in his own and his other grip my forearm. He let a soft breath escape from his mouth and I could start to feel strong vibrations start to come through my hand, all the way up to my mind till they reached my head. I opened my eyes slightly and I gasped softly seeing bright gold rings escape from Leo till they reached me and began to travel up my arm till they reached my head, making me jolt a little as each ring reached my head. As the last ring reached me, I was in shock as Leo pulled away letting his eyes open to lock with mine. "What just happened? What did you just do to me?", I asked, sounding starstruck

"I cleared your mind, how do you feel?", he asked

I felt different, better actually, better than what I have been feeling in the last two weeks being under all that stress. I felt much calmer and more relaxed, felt like I could finally breathe a little more. "Better, I feel better, but how did you do that?", I asked

"It was a healing technique that I was taught, its called Shinki Kaifuku, mind chi restoration", he said "When you give someone else your chi, it balances and clears the mind of any corruption"

"I had no idea that could even work", I said, surprised

"Neither did I, when I first arrived Ancient One used this technique on me to help me focus on training, I was just as shocked as you were", Leo said "And it looked like it worked my first try"

I quickly hugged him to me as his arms slowly wrapped around me tightly, soon we released and I gave him a grateful smile. The first smile I have been able to do in quite awhile. "What would I do without you?", I asked

"I am not so sure, what would you do?", he asked, with a sweet smile

"Surely not be balanced in the head that's for sure", I said, with a giggle

He chuckled softly. He then went to my side and let his hand gently caress over Julie's head as she cooed lightly in response to her daddy's touch giving her a warm smile. I couldn't help but feel my heart melt at the sight and my hand joined his inside resting it over Julie's heart, quickly to be followed by Leo's. "We are going to get through this Calli, together, your words have been proven true before and if it could work the first time, it will surely work the second", he said "Our little Sunflower is a fighter and she is stubborn just like her mama"

I smiled a bit more. "That she is Leo, I believe it too", I said, quietly

"That's my girl", he said, giving my head a kiss "Now why don't we get you taken care of and give you some rest?"

"I could definitely use some TLC right about now", I said, pulling my hand out, looking towards him "Do you think Julie will be okay by herself?"

"Don't worry Donnie will be in here to keep an eye on her while doing her next follow up", Leo said "She is in safe hands"

His hand joined to entangle with mine. "Come on, I have something waiting for you", he said

He started to lead me out and this time I didn't have to feel any panic or fear strike to having to be near Julie thinking anything was going to go horribly wrong, I was now feeling optimistic again at least a little bit. Leo lead us from the lab and into the bedroom and he stopped us just outside the bedroom. "Wait here", he said, giving my temple a kiss as he disappeared through the door

I looked in the mirror right beside me that was hanging off a lowered nail and boy did I look awful, I really did let myself go. Black rings were under my eyes even going past the edge of my bandanna from lack of sleep, my jade skin was pale barely having any color at all, and I could tell I had lost a bit of muscle in my arms and shoulders from lack of nutrition, I looked like roadkill. "Jeez, Casey was right I do look terrible", I said, rubbing my tired face

A few moments later Leo came back out and I could see soft glowing light shining from behind him. "What do you have planned in there?", I asked

"Oh you will see, come on", he said, leading me inside

I wasn't entirely sure on what Leo was planning but as I entered the dark bedroom, candles had been lit releasing warm vanilla scent to fill the room with its aroma. and give a delicate lighting. But as the light bounced off my body I could see that I had lost more weight and muscle in my once toned body as I faced the full length body mirror in the corner of the bedroom. But what caught my attention immediately was the obvious noticeable scar on my plastron from the cesarean that was in the process of healing. I didn't even realize that it was even that huge until now as my fingers traced how the cut was made. I could then see Leo come up behind me as he hand rested over mine. "You are still beautiful Calli", he said

"Even though I look like death and have a huge scar?", I asked cocking my head up to him

"That just makes you more beautiful than before, its a mark of your courage and love that you have for her", he said, kissing my cheek

I couldn't help but smile at his sweet words and he carefully turned me around to where we were facing the bed, except the comforter was gone and all that there was one small pillow by the headboard. "What is this?", I asked, looking to Leo

"You will see, just lay down on your stomach and relax", he said, gently pushing me forward

I slowly crawled on top of the bed till I let my head rest on the pillow laying down on my plastron. "What are you planning on doing Leo?", I asked

I didn't hear any answer come from him, until I heard the bed creak from him climbing on up till I felt him hoovering over me. I was about to say something until I felt something warm and wet being poured on my shoulders, sending a shiver down my spine. Then I felt Leo's strong skilled fingers kneading into the muscles of my shoulders releasing the scent of tea tree and lavender up into my nostrils. I couldn't help but moan in contentment as I could feel the aches and soreness being melt away from my tired body. "Leo", I said, moaning softly

"Are you okay?", he asked, softly into my ear giving my cheek several gentle kisses

"Mmmhmm", I said, moaning, it was pretty much all that I could say

His hands moved up from my shoulders till they reached the back of my neck and his thumbs kneaded on my stiff neck, making the tension start to melt away. "You are so brave", he said, letting his lips kiss the back of my neck as his hands ran down to my arms

I winced a bit as he kneaded the aches from my arms but the pain quickly faded after he stroked over where he did his work. I could then feel his hands move back up my arms till they rounded around my shoulders before going to my shell. I could feel some pressure with him pressing down, till I heard some somewhat loud cracks reach my arms making me groan, but also laugh in relief. "Oh honey that felt good", I said

"I bet it was, your back was really out of align", he said, pressing down on my lower shell creaking my bones back into place

"Yeah blame me for being hunched over for so long", I said, with a giggle and moan as I felt tension release "I didn't know you knew chiropractics"

"Learned a little bit while I was in Japan, Ancient One did this on me when I hurt my back during one session", he said

"Wow you certainly learned a lot while you were gone, you have learned well", I said

His response was a kiss to the cheek as I closed my eyes with content. With him finishing at my shell, his hands moved to my sides giving them light squeezes making me giggle and struggle slightly. "Leo!", I said, looking back at him with a cocked eyebrow

"What?", he asked, innocently

"You know what that does to me", I said, with a playful growl

"Just teasing you", Leo said, taking another kiss, this time sliding his tongue down my lip

I knew he wasn't here for something steamy to happen, he was here to take care of me, to ease the anxiety away from the unfortunate event that has been brought upon our family. I closed my eyes letting myself got lost in the sensation moaning softly in appreciation. "You are amazing as a ninja, as my partner, and as a mother", he said, humming softly against my lips

He pulled softly away after a few moments before letting his hands continue at his work, this time his nimble fingers working at my sides. Even though he wasn't tickling at it, I couldn't help but let a few quiet giggles escape. They worked their way down to my thighs down to my legs taking great care, even going down to my feet as I completely relaxed sighing softly, I could of fallen asleep if I wanted to. "Honey if I had a million bucks I would pay you right now, you are that good", I said, moaning into the pillow

"Free of charge, especially for my Precious Gem", he said

Once he had finished, I felt him turn me over carefully till I was on my shell, he crawled up till we were face to face. I gave him a small warm smile and Leo titled his head forward catching me into another loving and care kiss. That was one of the things I missed the most feeling his lips on mine, they were as sweet as honey and soft like sakura petals. "You may be stubborn, but you are still the love of my life", he said

I giggled and pulled him closer till he was laying on top of me, letting him curve perfectly against my plastron. Not wanting to lose any second of this love and care he was giving to me, I locked my fingers together as we continued on with our sweet kiss. Soon it was us settled side by side together on the bed, with some of the candles still lit giving us some light. "How are you feeling?", Leo asked, pushing my masktails behind my shoulder

"More calm, more relaxed, and most of all very loved", I said, softly "I thank you very much for doing this for me and I am sorry if I caused any trouble"

"No", he said, softly shaking his head kissing my snout "It's not your fault, none of it is, you needed it, this would have to most effect on you"

"You too?", I asked

"Very much so", he said "But you gave me that confidence and now I am returning the favor"

"But I didn't give you a massage", I said, with a giggle

He chuckled. "Don't worry about it, it was on me", he said, with a soft smile

"Thank you, I love you Leo", I said

"I love you Calli", he said

We kissed each other softly hugging each other tight around the shoulders before I could hear my stomach growl, ending the kiss with a laugh coming from Leo. "I take it you are hungry", he said

"Famished is more of the word", I said, patting my plastron "But I think now, being more relaxed, I can actually eat something"

"Come on, let's get some food into you before you get any thinner", he said, stroking my cheek

"Yeah before I get any thinner where I could hide behind a tree with no problem even with my shell", I said, rolling out of bed

We both laughed as Leo blew out the remaining candles with us leaving the bedroom. "Mama!", a little voice said

I saw Ellie come running out of her room with a big smile on her face. I couldn't help but laugh as she jumped into my arms as I picked her up. "Hey Green Bean, my goodness, did you grow three feet overnight? You are getting so big!", I said, rubbing her shell

"Uncle Mikey let me have some extra pizza last night for dinner, don't tell him I said that", Ellie said, giggling whispering the last part

"Oh did he know? Well I am gonna have to talk with him on that one, don't want my baby getting too big", I said, kissing her cheek

"She lives!", Mikey said, in a playful dramatic voice

"Oh hahaha you are such a card knucklehead", I said, rolling my eyes, setting Ellie down

"It's good to see you back sissy", Donnie said, with a smile

"You too little bro", I said, as we gave each other one arm hug

"How's the little squirt doing?", Raph asked

"She is hanging in there, still the same, as long as we keep our love and prayers going, hopefully a miracle will happen", I said, with a nod

He put his hand on my shoulder. "It's gonna be okay sis", he said, giving it a shake

I just nodded. Even though I was a little more optimistic than before, I couldn't help but feel a little fear still lingering inside of me. I put it in the back of the mind the best I could, so I wouldn't no longer see any tragic outcome that would cloud my mind and make me unbalanced again. "What did I miss? We got a lot of catching up to do", I said, as we went into the kitchen "Hopefully you got more pizza in the fridge"

Later on, with a full stomach for the first time in weeks, I was able to keep it down this time and boy did it feel good. After everything, I felt rejuvenated, sure I still needed to catch up on sleep, but at least I felt better than being achy, stressed and starving. It was really nice to be with the family again, especially from being cooped up in the lab most of the time and have their company, I missed the laughter, jokes, heck even the screams of Mikey being chased by Raph when he had put hot sauce in his soda bottle was a sweet sound to hear again. As I had myself some green tea settling down on the couch with Ellie painting on the coffee table in front, before I could take a sip I could hear heavy footsteps from outside the lair entrance. "What on earth?", I said, getting up and reaching for my katana behind my shell

"I bet its those scaly freaky dragons again!", Ellie said, pulling out her tessens

But suddenly we saw a long familiar snout peek in through the entrance and a head peek inside, looking towards us. "Callista!", Leatherhead said, looking like he was out of breath

"Uncle Leatherhead!", Ellie said, as she ran towards him

I came up quickly as he squeezed his huge body down into the lair crashing on to the ground. Ellie hugged around his face as I knelt down to him concerned. "Leatherhead? What's wrong? You look like you had just seen a ghost", I said

"This was no ghost my friend", he said, panting hard

I then noticed part of a shredded net entangled on the back of his tail along with some rope around his waist. "Leatherhead! What happened?", I asked

"Calli, what's going on?", Leo asked, coming out from the dojo with Raph

Mikey and Donnie came out from their rooms following them up to us as I helped Leatherhead stand to his feet. "You look like you were being at hunted", I said, cutting away at the net with my small knife

"My friends, I fear we are in danger, there are hunters here in the sewers", Leatherhead said

"Hunters?", Ellie asked, curiously "Who?"

"There is only person we know who could of done this", Leo said

"Bonehead!", we all said

"Who is this Bonehead?", Leatherhead asked

"A crazy whacko hunter who has been hunting for us for years", Mikey said

"Yeah a pro loony if you ask me", Raph said, crossing his arms

"What happened Leatherhead? Tell us everything", Leo said

"Near my home here in the sewers, I have been hearing people coming and going through the tunnels for the past week, and other strange noises each time these people come", he said

"Strange noises?", I asked

"Yes, they are often seen carrying large crates and cages that were covered", he said "I kept watch watching their every move, until I got closer to when I heard the sounds of distress coming from one of the cages that they had, one of them spotted me and I was attacked. In the struggle that ensued they had many dangerous weapons, but one in particular tried to catch me with a gun with a shooting net inside"

"That's the weapon he tried on using on us on our first encounter", I said

"I was able to escape before he and his assailants were able to capture me, but I fear that with him now knowing my presence, he will not stop until he has my head", he said

"Not on our watch he won't", Leo said, with a look of determination "We will stop this now"

"Don't worry Leatherhead, we have dealt with this hunter before and we know what he is capable of", I said

"That's not all, I have information for you", Leatherhead said "I was able to create this device from the Kraang parts that were left scattered after last encounter and caught footage of their activity"

He held out a metal cylinder piece in his hand and pushed his claw on the side and a wide beam of purple-pinkish light be shone from the top. What the beam had shown us was horrifying, the torture and cruelty was beyond anything I could of ever imagined. Animals stuffed in tiny cages, big cat cubs shoved into a wired mesh cage, huge tusks and horns with dry blood caked at the bases, and skins of various animals laid out on the concrete floor. I could heart quiet gasps from behind me sounding just as shocked as I was. "Oh god, this is the worst one we have dealt with", I said, covering my mouth

"This was just in this week alone, not only has this hunter of yours been doing this I have seen the many others have been smuggling into the sewers and once sales are completed they taken through a cover and into a van where I lose sight of where it leads to", he said

"Can you show us where you have been seeing these activities?", I asked

"Follow me this way", he said

We followed him through the maze of tunnels and taking the water slide down to a blocked off section of the sewers that had been broken into. As we got deeper into the tunnel,we could hear commotion being made up ahead. "Stick to the shadows", Leo said, softly "And be quiet"

We snuck quietly down the tunnel and I could hear activity being made as I lead up in front. "Donnie, Leatherhead on me", I said, quietly "Everyone stay here"

The three of us snuck ahead as Leatherhead slipped into the river disappearing under the water as Donnie and I crawled on to the walls up to the ceiling till we got over to where we saw Bonesteel with six men with covered cages at their feet. I saw Leatherhead appear on the surface in the darkness camouflaging against the debris in the water, he put the metal cylinder on the edge of the river right in front of the group as it viewed and recorded what was happening. "Meet at the piers at sundown and you make sure you bring my reward", Bonesteel said, as he stabbed a knife into a crate in between them "And don't let anyone follow, not gonna let this slip away from my grip"

"Don't you worry, we are ready for anything", one man said, revealing a gun from his waist

"More assailants and more weapons, this is gonna be a challenge", Donnie said, softly

Soon the group started to leave and head up to the surface climbing up a ladder with them lugging the cages behind them. "I got the footage", Leatherhead said, as he crawled out of the water

"Great, time for part two", Donnie said

"What do you got little bro?", I asked

"Follow me", he said, as he crawled ahead

Once we got up to the manhole cover after everyone had left I lifted up the manhole cover as we peeked out to see they were loading the cages up into a white van that was parked in the alley. Donnie had took something from behind his shell and slid a thin metal piece into the side of a small gun. "What is that?", I asked

"Got a small tracking device loaded and I will be able to track it on my tracker", Donnie said "Similar to our own tracking each one of us have"

We heard the van starting up as everyone loaded up inside. "Make this one count, they won't give you another shot", I said

"This gun can shoot just as well as a police revolver, fast as they might, there is no way they can get past this shot", Donnie said, taking aim

"The back of the bumper", I said

"Roger that", he said

As the van started to speed away out of the alley, Donnie took aim and the tracking device went zooming across the air and attached on to the bumper, the mechanical claws dug into the metal and began to blink green as the van disappeared on to the streets.

"Bullseye!", Donnie said, raising his fist

"Alright we wait till nightfall until we are able to make our move", I said, closing the manhole cover as we disappeared back inside "And we will stop this once and for all"

When nighttime had arrived, we were all prepping ourselves up for battle, we knew for sure that this wasn't going to be like any other encounter we have had with this nut case, this time it was going to be dangerous, now that there were accomplices. I had my katana sharpened, made sure that there plenty of ninja stars secured in my belt, and I made sure I kept a small knife was secured in my chest strap just in case. Soon as I was ready to leave with everyone, I made one last visit to Julietta before leaving. She was sleeping soundly swaddled up in a yellow blanket looking peaceful twitching lightly. I carefully reached in and let my hand gently let my finger stroke her fisted hand until she unconsciously gripped on to my finger. I smiled softly down to her as I took her out of her incubator holding her carefully into my arms. "You stay strong for us now, I believe in you, we all do, you are one stubborn little girl", I said

I could feel a hand touch my shoulder and looked behind me to see Splinter looking down to us both. "I will make sure she will be alright while you are out on your mission tonight", he said "You will be the first to know if anything goes wrong"

"Leo really helped me believe in what I believed in before, I know that it wasn't my fault for what happened", I said "Grief tried to take over my mind, but with love, assurance and healing I am starting to come back from it, even though some fear still lingers"

"Some will remain and that is normal but I am proud that you are trying for your daughter, I know this hasn't been easy for you", Splinter said

"It wasn't, but I know she is a fighter, and she will make it, nothing takes down a Hamato", I said "You be good for grandpa now and we all be back soon, we got a black market to be put out of business"

I gave Julie's head a deep but gentle kiss on the forehead before passing her over to her grandfather. We gave each other a bow of respect before I ran out of the lab to catch up with the others who were ready at the entrance of the lair. "Alright, I got the tracking on live, they are leaving from 21st and Brooklyn and heading towards our direction", Donnie said

"We will split up to surround them in case they have a change of course in route, we will stay in contact via cell phone", Leo said, holding up his phone

"Alright, everyone go into your designated groups and head out", I said "Everyone use caution and be careful, these guys will be armed and dangerous"

"Nothing a turtle can't handle sissy!", Mikey said, giving a thumbs up

We had split up into groups and left the sewers. I was paired off with Leatherhead and we made our way up to the rooftops, luckily Leatherhead was as skilled as the rest of us in rooftop jumping so it was easy for him to keep up with me. Once we came up to the edge of the block we had started on, we had stopped for a moment to rest while we waited word from Donnie. I silently watched the city life go on leaning against the edge and sighed softly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Leatherhead leaning up right beside me on the edge, looking concerned at me. "You seemed worried", Leatherhead said

"I am focusing", I said, keeping my face straight ahead

"I heard what happened, but at least she is still alive", he said

"I know, to be honest I wasn't so sure if she would of made it weeks before", I said

"Is that why I haven't seen you in the past weeks?", he asked

"I don't want you to worry about this, I am trying to get back on track, but I still have some fear inside me that something could still go wrong", I said "When you worry about someone else's life that's in the balance it does things to you"

"I understand, but I can be a friendly pair of ears, if you need to get something off your mind", he said

I smiled slightly, but it slowly faded to a frown again. "Donnie said there wasn't much more we can do to keep Julietta alive, pretty much the life support is keeping her going and that's it up to her to keep fighting, I only wish that there was something more that I can do besides praying, hoping, and giving her love that I am here", I said "There has to be"

"Maybe there is, maybe the solution is closer than what you think", he said

"Could be, but if it is, what is it?", I asked, looking up to him "I know she has the love and support of her family"

"What about all the family? I know you mentioned to me of your own family, your parents", he said

"They have been gone for many years Leatherhead, I don't know how that can help", I said, turning away

"I may not be the wisest gator that there is, but maybe having something from them can help her", he said

"What do you mean?", I asked, curiously

"When I told you my story and that I couldn't control my rage, you gave me the healing bracelet", he said

I looked down on his wrist and right above his wraps was a jade green stoned bracelet. Yani had told me of healing bracelets, they were made of crystals and beautiful stones to help with healing and help balance the mind, body and spirit. I don't know how I was able to find the stones that were washed down the drain on a walk in the sewers one day, but I sure glad I did. I made the bracelet for him because jade was known as the emotional healing stone. Also known as the dream stone, it released negative thoughts and irritability, soothing the mind, while also helping stabilizing the mind and body. I knew that it would be he needed in order to recover and build strength from the trauma that he had suffered years ago. "I didn't think there was anything that could be done more to stop what I wasn't in control of until you found something closer to your heart, that gave me what I needed to have that strength back"

"So are you saying that an answer could be closer to home?", I asked

"There just might be, maybe that's what your daughter needs, everyone to give her support and love", he said

As his words began to sink, I was going into thought, maybe he was right, maybe there was something closer to home that I didn't think of that might be what Julietta needs to stay alive and get stronger. But before I could say anything else I could hear the sound of a speeding van tearing down the road below us. "That's our guy! Let's go!", I said

We both took off running across the rooftops as I pulled out my cellphone. "Team alpha, we spotted the van heading towards the docks, head towards pier number 35!", I said

"Copy that team beta!", Mikey said

"Hey how come I have to be beta? I am one of the leaders of the team you know?", I asked, sounding a bit annoyed

"Hey I am the one who had the idea of team names, so therefore I think since I am the one who came up with them, I should be the alpha of it", he said

"More like lord of the dorks if you ask me", Raph said, with chuckle

"Hey dude! You are killing my vibe here!", Mikey said, sounding annoyed

"Stay focus you guys, Donnie, Ellie and I are almost there!", Leo said

"Very funny Raph, but Leo is right, get into position once you arrive", I said

"10-4 chief", Raph said

"Hey I like the sound of that, good one bro!", I said, with a laugh

Once we made it to the pier we could see the van had arrived at one of the huge cargo ships that was ported. We hid behind huge crates as we spotted Bonesteel and others leave the van and sneak into the ship with one of the men carrying in the small crate. "Spotted our visual, sneak in through any way you can, everyone meet below deck, that's where we will find what we are looking for", I said

Leatherhead and I took off from our spot and we snuck in through the entrance they went in as I crawled on to the ceiling while Leatherhead slid past on the floor. Once we made it below deck, much cargo was being stored there, everything from huge crates to large drums of oil. I crawled up on top of a stack of crates staying hidden as I gave Leatherhead a signal to move forward, he crawled swerving between cargo and the darkness and his camouflage made it easy for him to go undetected. Soon as we made it further down the deck, I could hear movement above my head and I looked up to see Donnie and Leo were up jumping across the metal beams and stopped right above me. I gave them a nod and I saw Ellie hanging on to the back of Leo's shell giving me a thumbs up as they continued on moving forward. As I followed behind, I saw Raph and Mikey were zooming past behind the drums oil and swinging across the large hooks dangling from off the ceiling catching up to all of us. We finally made it to the spot and we all kept hidden as Bonesteel and the six henchmen met up with four more men. There were many things and crates covered, that must be where they were keeping everything that they have trapped and smuggled. "We got the last of your critters, now cough up the dough!", Bonesteel said

One man stepped forward as the crate was opened and looked inside where the baby turtles were being kept inside. He looked for a few moments before he nodded and snapped his fingers. "Let's settle the deal", he said, as he started walking away

Bonesteel and the men started to leave the area and disappear into a room near by. As the vault door was slammed shut loudly, the vibrations made the crate tip over falling to the ground knocking the lid off and one baby turtle came bouncing out rolling over till it landed upside down on its shell. "Oh no", I said, softly

I couldn't help it when I saw the baby just laying there, that it reminded me of Julietta laying still in her incubator. I could start to hear her muffled cries in my ears as I continued to stare at the baby, and my heart was starting to race as the fear was starting to come back to me. But I then started to hear Leo's words echo softly in my head, "Your words have been proven true before, if it can work the first time it can work again". Hearing those words started to calm me down from my panic attack and I was able to shake that fear from my mind and refocus moving on in our mission.

As we started getting in closer, I saw Ellie peek out from the darkness from behind a crate then she started to run to the baby, picking it up in her hands. "It's okay I got you", she said

"Is it alright Ellie?", I asked

As Ellie looked at the baby, she gasped softly. "Uncle D, she cracked her shell", Ellie said, sounding worried

"Did she?", he asked, kneeling down to her "Here you nurse her and I will put some antibiotics on it so it won't get infected"

"Okay", she said, as Donnie went to work, pulling out a few things from his duffel bag

While they took care of the injured baby, I rushed over to help Leo stand the crate back up and I could see many of these babies crawling over each other trying to escape. "Oh my god!", I said, shocked at the cruelty

"Bonehead is going to pay for this", Leo said, sounding very upset

Raph and Mikey were tossing sheets off the things that were covered to reveal a couple of cages that had live animals inside containing, pangolins, tiger cubs, a komodo dragon, a few small monkeys, and a few exotic parrots all looking to be in distress. "Oh jeez Leo, Calli", Mikey said, sounding uneasy

I came over and gasped softly seeing some of these animals on tight chains around their necks and they backed up against the corner of the cages, clearly frightened and shaking uncontrollably. "Oh my goodness, the poor things are scared to death", I said "It's okay you guys, we are going to get you all out of here"

"These were the ones that I had seen being taken", Leatherhead said "But there is less of them this time"

"We need to find out just what happened to the other animals, I just only hope that we are not too late", I said, softly

"Mama, Sakura is feeling better, she is moving more", Ellie said, walking up to me, with the healed baby turtle in her hands

"Sakura?", I asked, curiously

"After the flower that grows in Japan, she looks pretty like one", she said, with a smile

I couldn't help but smile and rub her head affectionately. "Well I am proud that you helped her feel better honey, we will get her and her siblings out of here soon", I said

I heard the sound of creaking wood and saw Leo and Donnie were opening one of the crates and pulled out some long tusks, some big horns and bones. "What in the world?", Leo said, looking stunned "What are these from?"

"It looks like Siberian tiger bones, white rhino horns, and African elephant tusks", Donnie said, examining them with his goggles on his face

"And all those species are critically endangered!", I said

"You..you mean they killed them?", Ellie asked, looking scared

I nodded slowly and she gasped holding the baby turtle closer to herself. "That's awful! How could they?", she asked "We can't let them kill Sakura and the other animals!"

"And we won't, this ends tonight", Leatherhead said, with a confident tone

"The only problem is, we need to find out what they did what those missing animals and how to get them out of here", I said

"Hey!", a yell was heard

We could see five armed men come out of nowhere with guns drawn. "Shell! Look out!", I yelled

Shoots started being made as we scrambled to get out of the way of the flying bullets, some barely missing our heads by mere centimeters shooting through crates and bouncing off of metal poles. I rolled out of the way as I grabbed my daughter hiding behind the crate that had baby turtles inside as I ran for cover. "Mama!", Ellie yelled

I felt a small, quick and hard hit on the back of my shell as we skid behind metal drums as the bullets continued to fly. "Calli, Ellie are you okay?!", Leo called out

"We are fine! Got my shell but it bounced off!", I yelled

"What we do now chief?", Raph asked, as he hid a few feet away from us behind a crate, barely missing a bullet that nearly skimmed his arm

"He who dings the shell must pay!", I said

He smirked and he twirled out his sai's. "Oh you read my mind sis!", he said, as started to climb up the pole beside him

"Stay here honey! Let us handle them!", I said, pushing Ellie back behind the crate

I took out my sword as a bullet came out at me and sliced it in half before it could get to me and ran towards the assailant. He tried to whack at me with the gun like a baseball bat, but I was quick to duck and ridge hand his side before punching him in the face. The rest of us came out as we started to get the advantage taking out the gunmen with our best moves. As Leo swept one of his feet and dropped on his shell spinning around and coming back up to deliver a kick to the jaw sending him flying to me, I grabbed at his coat, and ridge hand the side of his neck, before dropping him to the ground, picking up the loaded gun. "AK-47? What hunter uses a AK-47?", I asked

"Welcome to my word of video games sis!", Mikey called out, as he somersaulted away from an attack before knocking him out with a punch up to the stomach

Out of the corner of my eye I saw two that were on the ground scramble to get to their feet and started to head back to where they first came out. "Guys we got two on the run! Don't let them get back to the door!", I yelled, as I blocked a bullet with my sword and slice down at the gun, before doing a spinning roundhouse kick, knocking the assailant out

But before I could even do my next attack, I heard the screams of men and thought it was maybe from one of the others my family had taken down, but the ones that were around us were knocked unconscious. "Mom! Dad! Over here!", Ellie called out

Leo and I rushed over to where we heard Ellie calling out and we could see she had two of the henchmen on the ground with one tessen and one katana in her hands pointing towards them. I noticed that each one of them was holding their leg and red had stained their pants, I knew from the looks of it Ellie had taken care of business. Leo and I held out our swords towards them to make sure that they didn't try anything stupid as they looked to three of us in fear. "Good girl", Leo said, quietly

We were able to get the henchmen subdued, luckily the two Ellie had gotten were still conscious and would be able to talk to give us some answers. So far neither one of them were talking about the whereabouts of the other animals, without warning Raph had tossed them on top of the others like rag dolls as they grunted in pain. "Told you, you ain't getting nothing out of none of us!", one man said, looking up from the floor

I stepped forward till I was just one foot in front of them, holding out my sword just right in front of them. "You criminals just don't get it, doing these kinds of shenanigans, it's never going to get you where you need to be in life", I said, shaking my head

"That's only one freak's opinion!", the other man said

"Language!", Ellie said, with annoyed look "There is a kid here you mook!"

Raph had snickered at her comment giving her head a rub. "Hey not a bad one there knucklehead, you made that one up?", he asked

"You like it?", Ellie asked, with a grin

"Look we are not gonna play around any longer", Leo said, stepping forward "Either you tell us where they took the remaining animals, or else we will have to resort to other means to make you talk"

Raph cracked his knuckles in his fisted hand, which made one of the men laugh. "What? You gonna beat us to death? Like that will get you any information then?", he said

Raph smirked and hummed in response. "I figured you would say that", I said, snapping my fingers "Oh Leatherhead!"

He crawled out towards the men hissing and started snapping his sharp teeth at them, before roaring loudly right in their faces, making their faces turn white as a sheet as they struggled to get out of his reach. "Okay! Okay! Okay! We will talk! We will talk! Just call off your gator!", one of the men said

"Good gator", Ellie said, walking up to the side of him petting across his head

"That was easy", Raph said, crossing his arms with a laugh

"Start talking", I said, with a stern voice

"Alright they got them in the back where we went in, they wanted what they had wanted from those critters on the spot and wanted to do it themselves", he said

"Well that is not going to happen while we are here, call your boss Bonesteel and the others to get in here!", I said

"Like we would ever do that for you?!", one of the men said, giving me a glare

"It's either calling them in or we let him eat you for dinner", Leo said, stepping beside me pointing to Leatherhead

Leatherhead left beside Ellie growling lowly as the men looked at him panic and backed up once more. "Alright! Alright! We will call them in!", they said, in fear trying to steer clear of Leatherhead's jaws

Leo and I looked to one another and we gave each other a nod. "Take them all and get ready", Leo said, walking away as I followed behind him "Calli and I have a plan"

Soon as we explained everything, we got ourselves ready in position and sure enough after a few minutes without them returning we heard the door open again. Bonesteel and the rest of the men came out and there were grunts and growls as we had taken the cages with the remaining animals leaving nothing but scattered sheets and broken in crates to show for. "What?! Why those fools?! Thinking that they can take what I had rightfully own! Too stupid minded to get out on their own!", Bonesteel said, angrily "Search for them!"

Three out of the five had left the group and started coming out pulling guns and loading them up with ammo, ready to kill, pointing them in our direction. I then did a hand signal ahead and Raph took aim at the power box on the wall and threw his sai through the air that it sent sparks flying and darkness to fall as soon as it hit the box. Even in the total darkness we had the advantage and soon as we felt the presence of one Leo and I snatched him out of nowhere knocking him out and taking the gun out of grip. I could hear the grunts and screams of the others, knowing that everyone else had caught who came near them. I heard a loud flicker of a flare being lit making a redish light lit the area as we each threw out the knocked out criminals at their feet.

"Show your faces!", Bonesteel yelled

We each came quickly out of hiding surrounding them all in different directions. "They have trapped us!", one of the men said

"Don't let any of them escape! Take them down!", Bonesteel yelled

And that's when the fight started. Bonesteel went straight towards Leo and I while the other henchmen went after the others. Donnie swung his bo staff blocking each attack and swung his staff again, using it as a support to walk up the man's body and locked his feet around his neck to flip him over as Mikey was roundhouse kicking another in the chest and knocking his jaw upwards with his tonfa, making them crash into one another. I heard the click of a gun and saw one of the men pointing a gun to the back of Mikey's head and I was quick to throw a ninja star at the barrel of the gun jamming it and Leo came in on a side attack doing a flip, kicking him away crashing head first into a crate. We gave each other a confident nod and smile before taking off in different directions. As I went towards one of the last assailants still standing, I had lost my footing causing me to trip and roll on to my shell, losing my grip on my sword as it slid a few feet away from it.

I tried to get up but my ankles were wrapped tightly with a bolas, before I could reach for my sword, the barrel of a gun was directly pointed at my face and I could hear Bonesteel's sinister laughter as he stood over me. "Any last words you freak of nature?", he asked

"Just two! Eleanora now!", I said

Ellie and Leatherhead came out from the darkness side by side. "Alright Leatherhead, fetch!", Ellie said, pointing to Bonesteel

He growled and came out running at high speeds and just as Leatherhead was about ready to shoot his gun at me, Leatherhead swung around knocking him away with his tail until he slammed right into a crate, losing the grip on his gun. But as Bonesteel tried going after it again, Leatherhead grabbed in between his sharp teeth and snapped it with his mighty jaws like a toothpick as the pieces bounced on to the floor. I almost thought the battle was over, but it wasn't to my dismay. He pulled out a long machete and started to slash at Leatherhead, but he was quick to dance out of reach from each attack until he tried attacking back and he accidentally tripped backwards on discarded animal bones that had fallen out from a busted crate. As Leatherhead tried to snap his jaws at Bonesteel, the machete slashed across his chest causing a gaping wound to be formed and a painful scream could be heard from him, clutching at his injury. "No!", I screamed

I slashed at the bolas and I took out my hidden knife from my chest strap and threw it towards Bonesteel catching it on his thick leather coat, stabbing through the material and going through a crate, knocking him back. Before he could try anything I held my sword just barely touching the skin of his face. I silently held back my anger towards the attempted murderer, as I kept my sword to his face before yanking him up to me. "You messed with the wrong species", I said, softly

After getting Bonesteel subdued along with the other men, everyone else was gathering the evidence of the crime while I was tending to Leatherhead's wound. Luckily the wound wasn't deep enough to require stitches, but it nearly sliced open at the deep scar that was on his chest years prior from his abuse as a lab experiment.

"Are you alright?", I asked, concerned, bandaging his wound

"I have had worse than this", he said, softly "Sometimes I can't even feel pain, when you have endured much of it, you lose feeling of it"

I kept silent as I finished tending to his injury, I was only thankful that if that machete had gone any deeper if it had, my friend wouldn't be alive right now and I wouldn't know what I would of done. "Calli, we found the remaining animals!", Mikey said, as he and Donnie walked up to us

"Guys, please tell me we made it in time", I said, hopefully

"They are alive, petrified but they are alive", Donnie said

"Good, call the police, tell them they got quite a case ready for them", I said, before turning my gaze to Bonesteel giving him a cold glare

After we made our escape, disappearing on to the next boat on the port, we saw many police cruisers come speeding up and many officers charging into the ship. Soon after a few minutes we saw them taking out each of the cages with the animals and Bonesteel and the men in handcuffs. "To think you almost got away with this", one cop said

"I will get those freaks and mount their heads on my wall! You haven't seen the last of me!", Bonesteel yelled out, struggling in the handcuffs

"Get this whacko out of here!", another cop said, as they shoved him in the back of a cruiser

"With someone who has all that skill, clearly doesn't have brains", Donnie said

"You could say that again", Mikey said "Hopefully we won't have to see that bonehead anymore"

"One can only hope little brother, but I have a feeling that this won't be the last time we will deal with him", I said, standing up "He maybe insane but patient, an important attribute for a professional lunatic"

"At least we stopped him for now from taking those animals' lives and will be in safe hands", Leo said, looking towards everyone then to me "We all did great tonight, especially you Calli"

I smiled towards him lovingly and I felt a tug on my belt, looking down to Ellie as she was leaning over the crate with the baby sea turtles inside. "Mommy could we release them?", she asked

"Of course", I said, with a nod and smile

We went down by the boardwalk that was near by the docks and we found an easy gentle spot to release the hatchlings out into the ocean. Getting into about knee deep and waist deep for Ellie as I held the crate in my hands and carefully titled it forward and we could see the babies starting to crawl out and swim out into the darkness. "There they go", I said, with a smile

"Do you think Sakura will be okay Mama?", Ellie asked, holding the baby in her hands

"I am sure of it, when you have support of those who love you as well having something close to home, it can get you far", I said, as the waves gently crashed into us "You will make it"

I knelt down as Ellie held her and I carefully let my hand rest over the babies shell. "To hai e, ima, anata ga inaito watashi wa mayotte shimaimasu watashi wa osoreru koto ga sekai ni hitotsudake aru to wa omowanai `watashi wa unmei o shinjite ori,`oso sugiru' koto wa arimasen", I sang softly, as Ellie's hand joined on top of mine "Sore de, mata aimashou to iu kimochi ni narimashita subete ga daijōbuda to kakushin shite imasu"

We gently released Sakura into the water and she started to swim slowly away from us both and quickly she began to pick up speed and disappear into the water with her siblings. "I hope I do see her again", Ellie said

"I am sure you will love", I said, stroking the back of her head

We started to make our way back up to the shore and I reached my hand out on to Ellie's shoulder to stop her. "Ellie, I want to tell you something", I said, kneeling down "I am so sorry I haven't been around in a little while, I was just-"

"I understand Mom", Ellie said, with a nod and smile "It's okay, you were just worried and trying to keep my sister alive"

"I know but honey it wasn't right for me to not be there for you, and I can't tell you how sorry I am for not being there and making sure you were okay throughout this whole thing" I said

"I was alright, Daddy told me what you said about when I was in that sleep, how to not take blame when you did not have control over it", Ellie said "And that all you can do is give love and support to bring someone back, and that's what I did, I wasn't scared, because if that could work for me it could work for my sister too, it's okay Mama"

I quickly brought her into my arms for a tight hug as she hugged me in return. "You have always a good heart even in the worst of times and I thank you for understanding", I said, kissing her head

"Of course, it's what you and Daddy taught me", Ellie said

I smiled and we gave each other a tight squeeze before making our way back up to the boardwalk to join the others to head back to the lair. After our arrival to home, I was thinking about what Leatherhead had said before right before the battle. If there was something closer to home that could maybe help Julietta, what could it be? When he mentioned all the family, he was referring to my parents, but if it were only that easy if they were still alive and could give her that love and support. I went into the bedroom and sat down on the bed in deep thought trying to think of what to do, but as soon as I did I noticed in the crib, the only thing that survived the fire many years ago facing me through the crib bars. I got up and carefully reached in grabbing my yellow cat in my hands that was tucked in the corner. I had planned on giving this to my baby when they arrived, like how Leo did with Ellie on passing a family heirloom I decided to do the same with mine. "Gattino, you are always there to help me", I said, softly stroking its head "But I think someone else needs your help too"

I left the bedroom holding Gattino in my arms as I made my way to the lab where Julie was staying. I entered and it was quiet, no one was about in here yet. I looked towards the incubator to find Julie swaddled in a soft yellow blanket with her arms out sleeping away peacefully.

"Hey pretty girl, how are you doing?", I asked, softly letting my hand stroke the side of her face

She cooed softly as she kicked her little leg and arm in her sleep making me smile a little, at least she was a little more responsive than earlier. "I was thinking about you all night and it was probably the hardest nights in my life, to leave you here. It hasn't been easy since the beginning when this happened and its only been harder since, I just don't want anything bad to happen to you. Everyone in our family have only given you the best love and support to help you make it past this and we hoped that would be enough, but I feared that it wasn't going to be enough. But I wanted you to know that there is someone else who wants to give you that support and love to help you get stronger", I said

I looked down beside me bringing my arms to look down at my favorite childhood stuffed animal, my yellow cat Gattino, with a soft smile. Even though it was over twenty years old, it still held strong as if it were brand new. "This was mine back when I was a baby, my mother gave it to me when I was born, she said it was hers back when she was born by her mother. This always made me feel safe and it helped me be stronger, whenever if I was sad, scared or alone, I could always rely on Gattino for anything. Maybe he can help you.", I said

I opened her incubator door and placed Gattino right beside Julie laying it down beside her, before closing the door again. Soon as the soft material touched her baby soft skin, Julie seemed to have sensed the presence and began to move more quicker, she tried to move from laying on her shell on to her side trying to reach for the cat. "Come on baby, use your strength, you can do it", I said, quietly

I leaned in closer to watch as Julie used her tiny body to shift her self on to her side and snuggle into the plush letting her little head reset on top of it and gripped the front leg with her hand in a tight grip. "Ada girl, do you like Gattino?", I asked

She cooed snuggling closer to Gattino hiding her face into his chest and I could see the corner of her lips slowly curve up into a little smile. "I'll take that as a yes", I said

She rubbed her face into Gattino's face cooing, but as she was able to move her little head up, what surprised me as her eyelids opened up slowly up to me revealing dark chocolate brown eyes, just like her daddy. "Oh my god...", I said "Julietta"

It was the very first time she had opened in her eyes in the weeks she had been delivered and I saw something. She looked more alive now than what she had been in the weeks prior as she held on to Gattino. Maybe this was what Leatherhead was talking about, having something passed down from family can help guide a soul back to its home. I reached inside with a shaky cry as I smiled down to my daughter holding my hand to her. She slowly reached up taking my finger into her own little hand holding on stronger than before and she cooed softly. I knew from then on she was going to make it, Leo was right, she is a little fighter. "You are going to be okay", I said, softly "You are going to live, my little stubborn girl. Everyone come in here!"