There were better ways to wake up, Mikey decided. He loved waking up to one of his horny mates fondling his tail, for example. Or cuddled up between all of them. He'd even prefer waking up to yelling for him to get his lazy ass up. Everything was better than this.

Leo was still asleep, so that meant it couldn't be 6 yet. That was the only thing Mikey was able to register before he realized he woke up to a horribly queasy feeling. His belly felt like someone twisted his insides repeatedly and he had barely time to run to the bathroom before he fell to his knees to empty his stomach.

Ever the light sleeper, Leonardo arose quickly to the sound of his retching brother.

"Baby? Are you okay?"

Mikey spat generously into the toilet when he felt he was done vomiting and glared at the leader, who winced and came over.

"Stupid question, sorry."

The blue-banded turtle knelt down next to Michelangelo and pulled him against his plastron, feeling his forehead in the process.

"You feel a little warmer than usual..."

"I don't feel sick... and not even nauseous anymore..." Mikey yawned. "I'm just tired." Leo wore a frown as he lifted his brother's face by his chin to look in his eyes.

"Mh. Maybe it was something you ate yesterday..."

"Don't care, Leo... I just wanna sleep a little more. I'm fine."

With a sigh, Leo hefted up his youngest mate and carried him bridal style to the bed. There he made him drink a glass of water before he allowed him to snuggle back into Raph's plastron.

xxxxx

"Can we take a break?"

"Already? We barely started..." Leo, Donnie and Raph watched their youngest brother in mild concern. They were in the middle of training, when Mikey leaned against the wall, wiping sweat from his temple.

"What's wrong?" Mikey sighed.

"Nothing... my limbs just feel like lead. And I just need to catch my breath for a few minutes." He slid down to sit against the wall, vaguely aware of his brothers kneeling next to him.

"You feeling nauseous again?" Leo asked, making Don and Raph look up in surprise.

"Again?"

"Yesterday morning I found him vomiting... aside from feeling a little warmer he seemed fine afterwards." Don narrowed his eyes and laid his hands on both Leo's and Mikey's foreheads for comparison.

"Hm... He is a little warmer than you..." Mikey tilted his head away and shrugged.

"I don't have a headache or anything. It doesn't feel like when I'm sick. I'm just tired."

Raph scooped him up bridal style and looked at Donnie for directions.

"Put him on the couch, I'll check him out there and then he can take a nap."

About twenty minutes later Leo pulled a blanket over the dozing Mikey, while Donnie stood back with a frown on his face.

"I don't get it." He started quietly. "He seems completely fine. His lungs are free, his temperature is only a tiny bit above normal and he doesn't have any other symptoms..."

"Maybe his nightmares are back." Raph had his arms crossed, eyes on his baby brother. "Remember when he couldn't sleep because of them? He was tired all the time."

"I would have noticed if he had nightmares. I even wake up when he ever so much as turns around."

"Well... I didn't find anything unusual. I'd say we wait and see. If it gets worse we can take him to a real doctor. One of the benefits of this dimension."

xxxxx

"I can't believe they have pizza here. They're way closer to our dimension than I thought. Fascinating." Donatello shook his head as they stood in front of a food truck that sold pizza.

"I'm just glad we don't have to eat nasty alien food." Raph rolled his eyes while reading the menu.

"Everything okay, Mikey?" Leo eyed the sea-green turtle with worry. He was paler than usual. Ever since the vomiting episode a few days ago the leader kept a close eye on the youngest. Aside from getting tired more quickly he didn't act unusual... except for now.

Leo's words brought the others' attention to Mikey too, who rubbed his stomach uneasily.

"Uh yeah..." he took a deep breath and quickly covered his mouth and swallowed. "... I think some of the ingredients are bad. This smells like rotten eggs..." Raph sniffed and frowned even more.

"That's the tomato sauce. What's wrong with-" In an instant he was at Mikey's side, who was bent over a trashcan. The ordeal left him a little shaky on his legs, so his brothers guided him over to a stone bench. Raph left to get him some soda to wash the taste down while Donnie gently rubbed his shell.

"Feel better? Are you dizzy? Headache?" Mikey shook his head and rubbed his stomach.

"A few days ago he was vomiting too. Afterwards he was fine... No idea what's wrong with him."

"Hm... if it was a stomach bug he'd have at least a slight fever. But he feels normal." They were silent when Raph brought the soda and helped him drink.

"Thanks Raphie." he sighed. "I don't know. The smell just set me off I think. And my stomach cramps up from time to time."

"Are your nightmares back, sweetheart?" Donnie asked straight to the point, a concerned look on his face.

"No... Ever since we sleep in the same bed I don't have them anymore. Actually I slept pretty good last night. But I still feel so exhausted."

"I think a visit at the doc's is in order. No complaints." Raph watched his brother sternly when he opened his mouth to protest.

"Yeah, I want to know what's wrong with you. Maybe it's some specific illness in this dimension. You're way too susceptible."

xxxxx

"Dudes, don't be so nervous. I'm sure it's nothing." Mikey tried to assure his brothers with a chuckle, sipping from his water. They were waiting for the results of his tests in the small exam room. "Like, seriously, he seemed amused, not worried."

And yes, that had been weird. They had listed Mikey's symptoms, and the doctor had nothing better to do than ask them about their sex life. Donnie, with a blush on his face, had told him about their mutation and what came with it. And the doctor had actually chuckled.

"If he tells us we fucked ya too hard we're gonna have a problem."

"Raph! Language!" Leo was a nervous wreck. If that was the problem he'd make sure personally there was only vanilla sex in the future.

"Chill, bro. You're acting like he's dying."

"We don't know what's wrong and until then I'm preparing for anything!"

"Mother hen Leo strikes again. Ya need a good fuck to relax?"

Leo's hiss was interrupted by the door opening. In an instant the leader stood straight. The doctor took a look at his face and laughed.

"Good news I guess?" Raph said and rolled his eyes, annoyed by the medic turtle's mood.

"You could say so." He sat down on the edge of Mikey's bed and pressed on his stomach again. "Okay, Michelangelo, was it?"

"Uh, yes. I'm not dying, am I?" Again there was a laugh, making Raph snarl.

"Could ya just finally tell us what's wrong with him?!"

"Raph!"

"Don't worry, I became a father a year ago. I'm used to tantrums." The doc winked at Leo, who looked ready to bite his own lip off with anxiety. "You will understand in about 8 months."

Raph and Leo looked at each other with confused gazes, while Donnie choked on his own spit.

"What's that s'posed ta-"

"That's not possible! He's male!" Apparently the genius knew what's going on already, while the gears of the older Hamatos were still working over time.

"Ah, but a submissive male."

"Still, it doesn't make sense! We've been doing it for years now and he never got pregnant!"

"P-Pregnant?"

"PREGNANT?!"

-thud-

Four pairs of eyes turned to Leonardo, who had actually fainted at the news. Raph and Mikey were still too shocked to move, while Donnie fixated on the doctor again. Sometimes his big brothers, as much as he loved them, were really useless.

"It's three weeks after mating season. Didn't you know that-"

"Oh my god. Are you telling me the hormones during that time changed his sex?"

"Not exactly. You don't really know much about his anatomy, right?" The doctor didn't wait for Donnie to answer and pulled out a few diagrams and documents from a folder he brought along.

"Submissive males are built just the same as the others. But right here," he pointed at a sort of opening about five inches from the anus, "is an opening leading to the uterus." The doc motioned at said part. "Usually it's closed. During mating season it opens, allowing the seed to enter and impregnate him." Don watched the diagram with wide eyes and mouth. "Didn't that ever happen during your mating cycles?"

Donatello swallowed and shook his head. "Uhm, no. We didn't have mating cycles back then. Here in your dimension was the first time..." he trailed off, still trying to process the news. He looked up when Raph moved to the bed.

Mikey's eyes were wet, but he didn't cry yet, while Raph seemed unsure as he approached his baby brother. Careful, as if he were trying to touch a broken winged bird, he reached out to touch Mikey's flat stomach. Then he started to smile, so slowly, but so brightly, so unlike Raph.

"We're having a baby!" Mikey was just as shocked as Donnie at that reaction, especially when Raph pulled their youngest mate in a tight embrace.

At least he seemed happy about it. Donatello didn't know how to feel yet. And Leonardo's reaction will have to wait till he woke up. Mikey was still speechless. The genius knew he had to pull himself together now.

"So... what... what's going to happen now?"

"Well, since he's a male he'll need special vitamins. The strain of the pregnancy will make him more exhausted all the time, so he will have to take it easy. Make him take a nap in the afternoon." The doctor shifted through the documents. "The baby – or babies – are in eggs that grow along the months. The womb fills with water to keep them safe. When it's time to pass the eggs, the water flows out and the opening gets wider to make the laying easier. The babies will crack the eggs within the next twelve hours then."

Donnie blinked at the mass of information. As interesting as it was, his mind was still a jumble of thoughts. The doctor gave him a kind smile and a book.

"Here. You can read it all when you get over the shock. Here's a prescription for the vitamins. Go home, talk about it, and if you have questions just call me. The number is inside the book cover. Make sure to come back in two weeks so I can make sure everything's okay." The genius nodded, lips in a tight line. Yeah, talking about it seemed like a good idea.

So after they were able to wake Leo up and convince him it wasn't a dream, they headed home. There, Mikey and Raph sat on the couch while Leo paced in front of them and Don stood next to the window with crossed arms.

"This shouldn't be possible. Pregnant... Babies..."

"Fearless, it is what it is. We got him pregnant, so what? We're gonna be parents!"

"I know, Raph! And... And I guess I'm happy too... but there's so much that could go wrong!" Leo rubbed his temples with both hands. "He could lose them if he isn't careful. We're going to have to keep an eye on the babies when they're here 24/7. We'll need a bigger apartment. Our whole lives will change!"

While Leo was having a major freak out, Donnie watched the streets below with a frown on his face. Now that the shock wore off, he wasn't too happy about the outcome. Leo was right, their whole lives will change. And their lives were awesome at the moment. They didn't need babies.

"Our lives change for the better. And we can turn my weight room into a nursery. My stuff can go downstairs too."

"Donnie? What do you think?" Mikey had been quiet the whole time. He hasn't said a word since the revelation. And now his first instinct was to ask what Donnie thought about it? The genius sighed and turned to look at his mates.

"I'm not happy. A baby would make everything more complicated than it has to be." Raph frowned while Leo seemed thoughtful.

"They don't make it complicated."

"Managing our time here is hard enough without having to think about children too! They need so much attention and constant supervision, they're bothersome." Raphael stood up and got into Donnie's space.

"Are ya worried you won't get enough attention anymore or what?! Yer just being stupid, Don!"

"I'm not! It's my opinion and it counts just as much as yours. I don't like the idea of having children."

"A little too late for that, isn't it?!"

"It's not like we planned this, Raph!"

"Mikey!"

The genius and the hothead whipped their heads around to where Leo was following a sea-green blur out the door. With a sigh they followed, only to find Leo outside the main entrance with a puzzled expression.

"He was out the door so fast... no idea which direction he went. Great job guys."

"Yer the tracking pro. Do yer job, oh fearless leader, before something happens ta him."

Mikey's heart was bumping hard against his chest as he ran through the streets. He was exhausted, but wouldn't stop. Not until he was sure he lost his brothers.

Donnie was right. This was a stupid situation. They had a wonderful life. They had each other, a huge apartment, they didn't need to hide. They didn't need a baby. It would make things complicated. It would destroy everything. And it was all his fault.

His stupid mutation.

Tears were blurring his sight enough that he had to stop running. With shaking legs he sat down on a park bench and buried his face in his hands.

"Sssad?" A young voice asked, the owner touching Mikey's knee. The ninja sniffed and wiped his eyes before looking down at a turtle. She couldn't be older than a year. She wore a flower headband and had huge brown eyes, forehead in a frown. Mikey chuckled and wiped his eyes again.

"A little, yeah." The girl struggled to climb the bench to sit next to him. She reached into the small pink bag she was carrying and retrieved a cookie.

"Has tookie! Tookie no sssad!" With a beaming smile she held it out for him to take. Mikey couldn't help but smile back, even if it wasn't as bright as usual.

"Thanks." Mikey took a small bite. "Mmmh, really yummy. Did you make it yourself?"

"N-no. Mommy make. No sssad?" The sea-green turtle grinned and nodded.

"Yes, I'm not sad anymore. What's your name?"

"Elia."

"Hi, Elia. I'm Mikey. Where is your mommy?" He had noticed he was close to a playground, but there was no adult turtle close by. When the toddler only shrugged Mikey got up to look for the mother, when a turtle about his height ran towards them.

"Elia! What did I tell you about running off on your own?!"

"Mommy! 'Ikey sssad. Tookie no ssad." The turtle, male, looked at Michelangelo and the cookie in his hands. The hard look in his brown eyes softened when he realized Mikey seemed no threat.

"The cookie is awesome, thanks for it. I... I'm just going to leave now. Your daughter's really nice." During talking he remembered why he ran away first place and cursed inwardly when his eyes filled with tears again.

"Hey, are you okay?" Automatically Mikey smiled and nodded, even as tears ran down his cheeks.

"Of course. Just peachy." The other turtle tilted his dark head before sitting down on the park bench and patting the place beside him. Mikey shook his head.

"I have more cookies here." he offered with a grin and shook a box of cookies. Mikey couldn't help but chuckle and sat down. He smiled when Elia climbed into his mother's lap to grab for the box. "I'm Kion, by the way."

"Mikey. So... you're her... mother?" Mikey wasn't sure if it was okay to ask such things, but Kion smiled widely and cuddled his daughter close.

"Yes. Gave birth to her last year. You got kids too?" Mikey's smile faltered as he averted his eyes and put a hand on his belly absentmindedly.

"Oh, sorry... sensitive topic?"

"Kinda... I... We just found out a few hours ago. And my mates... well, one of them is not happy at all."

"I know how you feel..." Kion admitted with a sigh. "I have two mates, and they fought constantly when I got pregnant. One of them has a bad temper, and he got pretty vocal about not wanting the baby..."

"What happened then?"

"It took him a while to come around, to be honest. He buried himself in work. He's a cop, you know, and we were really worried most of the time because of his reckless tendencies. And then, one night he came home late, and he was crying. He wasn't talking to us at all the whole night, just cried himself to sleep. The next day he told us that they were called to an emergency. A guy shot his wife and strangled his children. The cruelty... it hit something in him. And slowly but surely he got used to the idea of having a baby. And he loves Elia just as much as we do now."

"That's good... but I don't think Donnie will come around that fast. He says it will change our whole life together and make it worse. And he's a genius, so he's right, isn't he?"

"My other mate is a doctor and thinks he knows everything, but he isn't. He's just one big mother hen." Kion waved him off. "Of course it changes lives. My mates work less, and we grew closer together."

"But what if this drives us apart? Donnie and Raph argued pretty bad, and we only found it out today..."

"I'd say just give him time. Is he the type to just dump you all?"

"No... he wouldn't."

"See? Just let him think about it in peace. He will come around, just have a little faith." Mikey laughed and wiped some more stray tears away.

"Sounds like a good idea. It's not like I have anywhere else to go. Thanks for cheering me up."

"No sssad!" Elia clapped and laughed, making the adults laugh too.

"Mikey!" The ninja looked up when he heard his name called and smiled when his three mates ran up to him. Mother hen Leo pulled him in a crushing embrace first.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt? How are you feeling?" Mikey exchanged a glance with Kion and both grinned. Mother hen indeed.

"I'm fine, Leo. Sorry I ran away. I guess... I guess the fight got to me... I don't want you to fight because of me." Donnie sighed and rubbed a hand over his head.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. It's just a little much for me..."

"I know... It's a little much for all of us..." Mikey admitted. "But it's not like we can reverse it... and I... I think I really want that baby. Don't you think we could give it a shot?" Donnie smiled and hugged Mikey close.

"Give me a little time. We'll figure this out somehow." At that, Raph smiled too and wrapped his arms around both of them.

"Okay, good. Now let's get back home. It's getting colder and I don't want Mikey to get sick!" Mikey laughed and nodded before turning to Kion.

"Thanks for your help. I hope we meet again..."

"We're here every tuesday afternoon." Kion grinned. "But you have to bring the cookies next time." he winked while Elia clapped again. "Tookies!"

With finally a good feeling Mikey left with his mates. They would figure things out eventually. They always did.