"We won't need that."
"How would you know? We're going to be there for a week. I'd rather be prepared."
"Exactly, it's a week. And it's not like we have to be there 24/7. If we forget something one of us can come get it."
"I don't know about you, Raph, but I'd rather be there when our babies come."
"Of course I wanna be there! Shell, now you're losing your mind, we're not taking water bottles with us! They have more than enough water!"
Mikey let out a sigh from his spot at the kitchen door as he watched his two oldest mates bicker. His mouth twisted as he rubbed his big belly. He was due in two days, and Telon thought it would be best if he stayed at the hospital until the babies were coming. He'd have to stay a few days afterwards anyways, for his and the infants' sake.
Donnie was there already with Telon, preparing a room for him and his mates. Of course the three of them would stay with him.
Anyways, ever since waking up this morning he felt weird. It was like his stomach was shrinking, compressing the eggs. Like a cramp. It would come and go, and it wasn't bad enough to alert his already high-strung mates.
Mikey was irritated enough with his cramps, and Leo's and Raph's constant bickering wasn't helping at all. His babies didn't like it either, if the mad movements were anything to go by. He took deep breaths until the cramp passed, leaning against the doorframe.
"This is ridiculous! There's enough food too! Are you nuts?!"
"You heard the rumors about hospital food!"
"That's it, you've officially lost your mind, Leo!"
The pregnant turtle was about to tell them to shut up, when another cramp made him bite his lip. His eyes grew wide when suddenly liquid gushed from his entrance, running down his thighs.
"Uh... guys?"
"You'll thank me when they serve tasteless mush!"
"We'll just use salt! That's what it's for!"
"Guys..."
"Please, as if you'd be satisfied by that!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, mighty Leonardo, I wasn't aware you were a chef now!"
"Maybe-"
"GUYS!"
"What?!" Leo and Raph yelled in unison.
"I think my water broke..." The eyes of his mates widened.
"Are you sure?"
Mikey's face turned into a deadpan. His brothers, usually all tough and smart and collected, could be so clueless sometimes.
"No, could be I just pissed myself." He hissed and doubled over at a specially painful cramp. "Oh shit..."
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod." Leo cursed under his breath as he rushed over to support him. "Okay, breathe, like Kion showed you." Leo took deep breaths himself, trying not to freak out, while Raph called Donnie as he grabbed the bag with their essentials.
"Donnie and Telon are setting up the birthing area, let's go." Raph was just as giddy as Leo, though he seemed more happy than anxious.
The taller turtles kept Mikey in between them, supporting him on the way to the hospital. They had to stop twice on the two-minute-walk when the contractions got too painful. The hospital was already in sight when Mikey whined again, lungs working over time to get the right breathing technique.
Leo and Raph exchanged a look before hefting Mikey up between them, carrying him the rest of the way.
"You're doing great, baby, just a little longer." Raph encouraged, relieved when they reached the doors. Donnie was waiting there with a wheelchair, biting his lips in excitement.
"They're early." Leo said, eyes wide as he helped Mikey sit down. Donnie grinned, pressing his lips to Mikey's head before he started taking him to the direction of the birthing area.
"That's normal. That's why Telon wanted you to come in a few days before the due date... Oh my god I'm so excited!"
"Good, then you can press them out of your ass! Holy shell it hurts!"
Telon was waiting for them by a door. The room's ground was littered with several pillows and blankets, covered in fabric that was easily cleaned.
He seemed rather amused by Mikey's yelling.
His mates helped him into the room and lowered him on the padded ground, on all fours after Don's instructions.
In the corner was a large incubator, and the devices for listening to the heartbeats and the ultrasound machine were there.
"Just breathe through the pain, baby, just-" Leo was cut off by Mikey pulling on his mask roughly.
"Breathe yourself, Leo! I swear to god, shut the fuck up!" Leo gulped with wide eyes, exchanging an intimidated look with Raph.
"It's okay sweetheart, in a minute it will be easier." Donnie pacified as he gave Mikey a shot. Then he looked at his older mates.
"I'm gonna help Telon with the birth. There's a rag and water, wipe his face and try to... well, try to calm him."
Raph yelped at the sudden crushing grip Mikey had on his hand as he panted. Leo nearly fell over himself as he hurried to get the bowl of water and rag, gently dabbing away the sweat on his mate's face.
"Shell, Mikey, ease up a little!" Raph cursed as his hand was crushed.
"I'm gonna shove a watermelon in your ass, let's see how you ease up then, asshole!"
Raph ground his teeth, but shut up and endured the torture on his hand.
Donnie smiled sympathetically before lifting the swollen tail of his younger brother.
Clear lube was oozing out, the muscles twitching and clenching as the contractions wrecked through the pregnant body.
Telon was calm as he settled next to Donnie and prodded with gloved hands on the entrance. He explained a few things to the olive turtle as he did.
"... He's lucky it's going pretty fast for him. Some turtles have contractions for a few hours before they're ready." He chuckled, earning a glare from Raph. Telon cleared his throat but kept his smile. "Uh yeah, sorry. Okay Mikey, when the next contraction starts I want you to push, alright?"
Mikey bit his lip, sobbing as Leo wiped more sweat from his face. He dug his fingers into Leo's thigh in a vain attempt to hold on, groaning when the next wave of pain started.
"Push!"
Raph's and Leo's hisses of pain were barely audible as Mikey shouted his pain as he pushed. Donatello would've laughed at the pained faces of his older mates, but he was captivated by the spreading entrance.
"Very good Mikey, you're doing great." Telon encouraged, grabbing a towel when something white started to appear.
"Shit I can't do this!" Mikey wailed, grip on his brothers easing up a little. Leo let go of the breath he's been holding and quickly wiped his face again.
"You can and you will, honey. Come on, just think of our babies. You're doing so well so far." Leo smiled despite the bruises on his thigh and kissed Mikey's face to calm him. Raph used his free hand to pat his shoulder.
"Sweetie, you have to push, I can already see the first egg!" Donnie exclaimed, eyes wide with excitement.
Mikey screamed again as he pushed more, drowning out simultaneous groans of pain from Leo and Raph.
"That's it..."
More and more of the egg was showing, and Donnie couldn't help but wince in sympathy when he saw how far the poor hole was stretched. Mikey will definitely be sore for a while
"Oh god, oh holy shit, just kill me!"
"Just a little more, Mikey, it's almost out!" Telon coaxed, holding the towel under the heavily stretched entrance to catch the egg.
With another roar Mikey pushed again, almost falling forward in relief when the egg dropped free. Donnie grinned widely at the sight of it.
Telon wiped the egg dry and placed it in the incubator, taking a few seconds to place the sounding device over it. The tiny heartbeat was a little faster than normal, because of the stress from birth, but the sound was just a thing of beauty.
With a pen the doctor wrote a big '1' on it, smiling at the newly parents before settling down behind Mikey again.
The youngest turtle was still panting, the contractions a little less pressuring at the moment, but still there. Donnie was still staring at their first egg in amazement, only brought back to reality by a whimper coming from his mate.
"Your first baby is safe and sound, Mikey. Come on, only two more to go. You can do this."
Michelangelo took a few deep breaths, grip on his mates never ceasing. Then he nodded to himself, determined, before pushing again. He felt the next egg going through the small passage. A scream escaped him when he slowly pushed it down to his entrance. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this.
It was easier now that the first egg was already out, still it hurt as he forced it past his ring of muscles. His voice cracked from all the screaming, stopping abruptly when it plopped safely into the doctor's arms.
"Sweetheart, you're doing so great!" Donnie praised, using a soft towel to wipe at his drenched thighs.
"We're so proud of you..." Raph nuzzled his brother, using the momentary calm. He couldn't feel his hand anymore, but that didn't matter at the moment. He couldn't help but grin widely at the second strong heartbeat coming from their child.
Mikey smiled weakly, resting his head on Leo's shoulder now. Telon sat down again, after marking the second egg as such. He grabbed another towel, smiling encouragingly.
"Okay Mikey, one more time."
The sea-green turtle was surprised at how easy the last egg seemed to get out. As soon as he felt it leave his body he collapsed completely against Leo, letting himself be snuggled and pampered and kissed.
He waited with closed eyes for the heartbeat of their third baby... that never came. His own heart started jumping to his throat. He ignored his protesting muscles as he pushed away from Leo to see the incubator.
His mates watched with wide eyes as Telon frowned as he moved the sounding device over the egg.
"Telon...?" Donnie choked out, covering his mouth already as tears jumped in his eyes.
The doctor sighed.
"I... I'm sorry but-"
"NO!" Mikey interrupted him as he scrambled over to the incubator using Telon to get to a standing position. Tears were streaming down his face. "You're not doing this to me!" He screamed at the egg.
Raph got behind him, holding him upright as he wept. His own eyes were wet as he looked at the still egg.
Leo held Donnie close as the latter cried into his shoulder.
"Mikey..."
"No, this can't be!" Mikey cried again, latching onto the incubator, knees shaking hard. "If you're our child you're too stubborn to just give up on life! You belong to a family of fighters, now fight!"
He collapsed in Raph's hold, sobbing at the thought of one of his children being dead.
Telon watched them with pity, about to turn off the sounding machine, when...
Thump... Thump... Thump...
Eyes widening he moved the device over the egg, smile splitting his face when the slow heartbeat got stronger and stronger.
"This is... it's a miracle!"
Hope was evident on all of the turtles' faces. The heartbeat was steady even after a few minutes, and now the parents were crying in relief. Telon turned off the machine and grabbed the pen with a smile, writing a big '3' on it.
"I can't believe it..." Donnie muttered, standing together with his mates now.
"It's true, he or she is a stubborn little shit..." Raph said, voice thick with tears, but a grin on his face.
Telon eyed the exhausted family and patted the incubator.
"How about we get you settled in your room? Mikey needs to rest, all of you do."
"No, I wanna see when they hatch." Mikey protested, though he was barely strong enough to keep his eyes open, let alone carry his own weight. Raph scooped him up easily enough now that he lost his extra pounds.
"It's gonna be three hours until they usually start to move and try to break through the eggshell. You can set an alarm, or I can wake you up if you want, but you need to sleep. I don't want any complications to arrive because you don't allow your body to rest."
Telon's voice was stern, and the mere possibility of that happening was enough to Mikey's mates on board.
"Come on, our room is just at the end of the hall." Donnie had a tight grip on Leo's hand as he began walking. Mikey's gaze was fixated on the eggs, shoulders slumping in relief when Telon moved it along to follow them into their assigned room.
"It's moving!"
"They're all moving."
"No, 2 is moving more. Look, it's cracking!"
It was six hours after Mikey laid the eggs, and right now they all were gathered around the incubator, Telon included, waiting for them to hatch.
Indeed, the second egg was starting to crack. A piece of the white shell fell as a tiny olive green fist broke through.
The adult turtles held their breaths with big smiles as more of the shell was worked open by the fists until all of the top half was off.
The baby made a soft noise, eyes still closed, and started to wiggle in the lower part of the eggshell until it fell over. It started to wail.
Telon chuckled and extracted it from its prison, carefully laying it on its carapace and pressing on the lower front of the plastron. A tiny penis came out before retreating again when the pressure was gone.
"It's a boy." The doctor announced with a grin. Donnie grabbed the blue blanket they bought back then and carefully wrapped their baby in it, smiling when it calmed down in his arms.
Mikey leaned against his brother, using a finger to gently stroke the side of the tiny face.
"Hey little Ky..." he cooed with a smile. As if on cue the baby blinked a few times until his eyes stayed open, revealing a deep cerulean color, somewhere between Mikey's and Leo's shade.
"He's so beautiful..." Raph whispered, mesmerized by the little wonder.
"Duh, he's our kid." Mikey chuckled.
"Aw look, he's looking for Mikey!" Leo exclaimed. Kyanite was indeed turning his little head whenever he heard his mother talking.
"He's used to his voice the most." Donnie laughed, transferring their firstborn into Mikey's arms.
"Hi baby..." Mikey greeted him as he cradled the child, heart jumping in joy when Ky's mouth tugged into a smile. "He recognizes me!" His eyes were already filling with happy tears again. Telon had mentioned his hormones would be all over the place for at least two more weeks.
"Of course, you're his mommy." Raph laughed.
Mikey handed Ky to Leo after a few more moments of cooing at him and wiped his eyes with a smile.
Telon handed the oldest brother a bottle filled with formula, which the baby happily accepted when Leo held it to his mouth.
There was another crack coming from the incubator. Instantly they gathered around it again, Leo staying a little behind to Kyanite wouldn't be squeezed between his parents.
The egg with the big '1' was cracking. Tiny emerald feet were moving as they kicked at the eggshells. The fists were soon helping too as the infant wiggled until it had crashed the whole egg and remained laying on its plastron.
It was making protesting sounds that turned into a wail when its little face was pressed into the terrifying white fabric.
Telon hurried to turn it on its carapace, repeating the procedure of pressing on the lower part of the plastron. Nothing came peeking out, so the doctor examined further before announcing.
"This is your daughter." He smiled, handing her to Raph who held the lilac blanket.
"Our little Amy." Donnie cooed as he helped adjust the blanket. The girl fussed in Raph's arms pouting as she fought to open her eyes. They were of Donnie's color, a reddish brown. "She has my eyes!"
Amy kicked her legs under the blanket, tongue poking out as she frowned.
"Yeah, and Raph's fire." Leo chuckled as he fed their first son.
"Psh yeah, she's gonna need that to kick her bros' asses."
"Raphie! Don't use such a language!" Mikey scolded, frowning at his hotheaded mate the same way their baby girl did. Donnie couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"She definitely has your face, Mikey. Look, even your freckles!"
They looked at their girl, noticing the light dusting of freckles. It was barely visible on the dark emerald of her skin, but they were there.
Raph grinned and handed her over to Donnie. Amy used the temporary loosened blankets to fight her arms free. She looked at her hands with another frown before putting one in her mouth, eyes widening as she looked at Don's face. Her free hand grabbed Donnie's finger, squeezing it as she sucked on her own finger.
Mikey laughed and placed the bottle Telon gave him so Donnie could feed her comfortably.
Meanwhile Ky was falling asleep, bottle empty. Leo carefully put it on a side table, cradling his baby boy. They had hospital cribs, but he didn't want to set him down yet. Kyanite didn't protest, comfortable in his father's arms.
Donnie had a tender expression on his face as he fed their daughter. She had a curious expression on her face, as it was slowly relaxing when she was fighting the impending slumber.
Mikey watched the incubator again, biting his lip anxiously. They had almost lost their last baby. Their second boy. But the egg was still moving, showing that he was alive.
Raph's arm came around his shoulders and he leaned into the offered comfort of his big brother's body.
"Mal is fine. I'm sure he'll hatch soon." He said quietly reassuring.
"I know... I just can't believe we almost lost him. He was dead... but he came back like..."
"Like a phoenix from the ashes?" Leo offered with a small smile. Mikey nodded with wide eyes.
"Yes!" He licked his lips, looking at the wiggling egg with a thoughtful expression. "Do you think... I mean... I thought we could give him two names. Phoenix Malachite."
"What about treating all of them equally?" Donnie teased with a smile, chuckling when Amy burped after he pulled the empty bottle away. "Though it has a nice ring to it."
"We're not treating him differently... but he's special. I want to honor that..." Mikey shrugged with a small sniff.
Raph smiled and pressed him closer, kissing his temple.
"I like it. Little Nix." He chuckled, managing to make Mikey giggle.
"He's hatching!" Leo exclaimed, keeping his voice down to not wake their sleeping infants.
They all returned their attention to the egg that was now falling over. A forest-green broke through, tentatively moving his fingers. From the small opening they could see him fussing around, the egg only slowly opening more from the hole. The wailing was highly audible when little Phoenix couldn't free himself.
"Can we help him?" Mikey asked Telon, worried for their youngest.
"Just a little..." Telon mumbled, reaching in to take stubborn piece of eggshell away. He smiled when the baby managed to get out the rest of the way, still wailing. After making sure it was indeed a boy, the doctor pulled out his stethoscope. "I just have to make sure his heart is still okay." He reassured the hovering parents.
Leo and Donnie placed the babies in the cribs when they saw Mikey paling.
"He's fine, isn't he?" Donnie wrapped his arms around his little brother, accompanied by Leo.
"His heart sounds good. And his lungs work just fine." Telon smiled a little at seeing how worked up Mikey was. "Don't worry, it looks like he's completely healthy."
Seeing their baby brother was quite unsteady on his legs as he breathed in relief, the older ones made him sit on the bed, ignoring his protests.
Donnie went to wrap Phoenix up in the apricot colored blanket with Raph while Leo pulled the cribs closer so Mikey would calm down at the sight of his other two babies.
"Ssh... it's okay, Nix..." Donnie bounced the still wailing baby, blinking at how the baby wouldn't calm down at all. He handed him to Raph, who tried to calm him by holding him upright against his plastron and shoulder, also bouncing him slightly.
"Calm down baby, everything's alright." The boy kept crying fussing in Raph's arms.
"What's wrong with him?" Leo asked with wide eyes, taking Phoenix from Raph when he saw his other two babies begin to stir too.
Mikey gently moved the cribs to calm the waking babies as he anxiously watched his youngest work himself into a full-blown crying fit.
Telon just watched them in an amused fashion from where he was tidying up his stuff.
Leo was exchanging helpless looks with his mates as they desperately tried to calm their baby.
"Give him to me." Mikey said from his place on the bed. They all joined him there and Leo placed Phoenix in his arms.
Mikey smiled as he laid back against the propped up pillows, resting the baby against his plastron right where his heart was. The wail was reducing to an unhappy whimpering.
"There there. Mommy's here." He soothed, relieved when Phoenix finally calmed down.
"How...?" Raph asked from his place next to Mikey, who shrugged.
"Kinda makes sense. He's used to Mikey's heartbeat and voice." Donnie explained, smiling now that Nix was finally calm, snuggling his face into Mikey's plastron.
"When Elia began teething only Kion was able to calm her down. You could call it maternal instinct." Telon smiled as he handed Mikey another bottle with formula. "Get used to the crying, there's gonna be lots of it in the next few weeks."
Mikey leaned his head against Raph's shoulder as he began feeding the infant.
The doctor dimmed the light and took the incubator with him, happy for the family on the bed.
"I'm gonna check on you this evening, make sure he gets some more sleep. If anything happens just press the red button." Donnie and Leo nodded with soft smiles before turning their attention to Raph and Mikey as they cooed at little Nix.
The bottle was half empty when the baby started blinking. His eyes were the same electric green as Raph's, and the hothead couldn't help but beam.
"Aw, aren't you a pretty little thing?"
"They are all pretty." Leo laughed softly.
Donnie leaned over and nuzzled Mikey when he yawned. He wasn't prepared for the baby in between them to start fussing until he pulled back. A frown was on Phoenix' face, directed at Donnie, who raised an eye ridge.
Raph chuckled, reaching out to take him from Mikey's arms so the smaller one could get some sleep now that the excitement wore off. But as soon as he started to lift him Nix started to whimper again, getting louder until Mikey took him again.
The baby snuggled into his mother again, yawning.
"Seems like he wants to stay with mommy." Leo chuckled, settling on Mikey's other side and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
Phoenix made a sound of protest, kicking his feet and frowning at Leo. Donnie giggled as he settled between Leo's legs, resting against his plastron.
The baby frown was directed at Raph when the muscular turtle wrapped his arm around Mikey to cuddle him, to coax him closer to sleep.
Mikey's eyes were only half open as he tilted his head. Phoenix was kicking like crazy and fussing. He only settled down when Mikey put him up to lay on his plastron again and kissed his head.
"I think he's jealous..." He chuckled sleepily, snuggling into Raph's shoulder. Shortly after his breath evened out, along with Nix'.
"That's ridiculous. He just hatched." Raph whispered with a frown, pulling the blanket over their bodies without jostling the sleeping form of their youngest mate.
"Yeah, I'm sure that's gonna settle in the next few days." Donnie agreed, snuggling to Leo and purring when a kiss was pressed to his head.
"Let's all catch up on some sleep..." Leo smiled, watching his other two babies in their cribs sleep peacefully before he joined them in dreamland.