Mikey spit into the sink and took another gulp of the tap water, this time to swallow it. With a short glance to the toilet he straightened to look at his reflection in the mirror.
He's been fine the whole morning. They had shared a nice breakfast together before Donnie and Leo left for work. Raph and Mikey had played a little game of hide and seek with the toddlers, until the freckled turtle decided to start making lunch.
Raph took Ky and Amy outside, while Nix stayed with Mikey to help, as usual.
Phoenix was sitting on the ground in a safe distance, stirring with a wooden spoon in a plastic bowl. When the noodles were done Mikey let one cool down by the side and fed his little chef with it, giggling at the way Nix exaggeratedly "Mmmmh"-ed and rubbed his belly.
"Now it's time for the tomato sauce." Mikey announced, smiling at his son as he opened a box with tomato paste to make the sauce with it.
When he emptied the container into a pot, the scent hit him full force. The next thing he knew was himself retching into the toilet.
He didn't feel sick. Not even a tiny bit queasy. Only when he smelled the tomatoes. It was ridiculous.
"Mommy sssick?" Nix hesitantly wrapped his arms around Mikey's leg, looking up with a worried frown that made him look like Leo.
"Aw, no baby. Mommy's tummy just didn't like breakfast."
That had to be the reason. It was the only logical explanation.
"Come on, let's finish lunch before fafa and papa come home."
It was Friday, so Don got off at lunch time and got home around the same time as Leo after his course.
Holding his breath, Mikey got rid of the horribly smelling tomato paste and whipped up a cheese sauce instead. The paste was probably expired, that's why it had this awful stench.
xxxxx
It was around three in the afternoon when the doorbell rang. Leo went to open it and all the way to the living room they could hear Elia's happy squeal.
With her parents in tow, she skipped into the living room, going straight for the playpen, where her best friends greeted her happily.
The adults exchanged a few greetings themselves. Their move to The Heights was about three weeks ago, just a few houses down the street.
"Mikey, I just have to show you something. There's this great new shop." Kion was tense, Mikey could tell. Getting the hint that he wanted to talk to him alone, the sea-green turtle cleared his throat.
"Sure. Guys, we're out of eggs anyways, Kion and I will go get some on our way."
The Heights had a few simple shops so the habitats wouldn't have to walk all the way to the city for simple things such as eggs or some fruit, for example. Since this part of town was more sheltered, Raph, Leo and Donnie were pretty relaxed when Mikey wanted to go out on his own here.
As soon as they were a few feet away from the house, Kion exploded.
"I think I might be pregnant!" His voice was panicked, but hushed.
Mike's eyes widened and he gulped.
"Uh... Oh. Why would you think that...?"
"Morning sickness. Yesterday was the first time, so I brushed it off, but today again, already two times..." Kion bit on his knuckles in nervousness.
"Oh shell. But it's not possible! Mating season was two months ago! There's no way we're pregnant!"
"We?" Kion stopped in his tracks to stare wide-eyed at his friend.
"Yeah... uhm. Last time I was pregnant I reacted pretty violently to the smell of tomatoes. When I tried to cook tomato sauce today I threw up at the smell..." Mikey wrapped his arms around himself as they kept walking. "And the exhaustion. I thought it was just because I was running around with the kids so much..."
"... This can't be a coincidence. Heck, we can't be pregnant. It's just not possible. We took preservatives." Kion shook his head, rubbing his upper arm with the other hand.
"I know. I even took a test three weeks after mating season to be sure. It was negative."
For a few minutes they both walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Do you think it could be...?" Kion whispered.
"I have no idea. Maybe it's just the symptoms? Hallucination? Phantom pregnancy?"
Kion bit his lip. They reached the small shopping mile, coming to a stop by a drugstore.
"We could do the test... just to be sure..."
"Didn't you tell Telon and Bogen? I mean, Telon could've tested it immediately with his lab at home."
"Are you crazy? I was freaking out enough. Did you tell your mates?"
"No. Until you started this pregnancy talk I was still telling myself it was something I ate. Because technically it can't be possible."
They looked at each other, and then at the drugstore. In a way it was ridiculous. It couldn't be. And yet they both knew what the first symptoms felt like, having been through it one time already. A test would give them clarity, and at the same time they were afraid of the results.
"It's just so weird we're both experiencing it... at the same time too." Kion mumbled as they walked through the aisles, straight towards the baby section.
"I didn't take any weird medication or stuff... did you?"
Kion shook his head. "Not even headache medicine. But even if I had, it never had pregnancy as side effect."
When they reached the shelf with the pregnancy tests both of them hesitated. Finally pushing themselves, they grabbed a few, along with a big bottle of water. The test stripes were easily hidden in a paper bag. The last thing they needed was nosy turtles thinking they've gone crazy and spreading rumors.
"Let's go to my house." It was the logical decision, since it was closer and everyone was over at the Hamato household.
The two subs split the bottle of water and only had to wait about ten minutes until they felt the need to relieve themselves. Kion went first with Mikey short after. Both of them peed on three stripes, leaving them in the bathtub of the upper bathroom and sitting on the carpet in front of it.
A kitchen timer was ticking away, and each second that brought them closer to the answer made them more nervous.
"What if they're positive?" Mikey mumbled.
"Then I guess we're having more babies."
"Do you think Telon will find out why it happened?"
Kion shrugged at that question, playing with the strings of the carpet.
"I've never heard of subs getting pregnant outside mating season. Could be a defect closing mechanism of the uterus or something..."
"But it would be a really big coincidence if we both had it. At the same time." Mikey finished the thought and let out a deep sigh.
"I wonder what the guys would say."
"Bogen and Telon would both celebrate. Despite the weirdness of it all." Kion grumbled leaning his head back against the tub to look at the ceiling.
"I guess, yeah..."
"I think Leo, Donnie and Raph would be happy too."
Mikey shrugged. "I don't know, Kion. I have this stupid gut feeling that our dear mayor has something to do with it. And if I got that feeling, my super suspicious and over-protective mates will worry their tails off."
"Do you really think Voron is responsible? I barely even heard of him, not even when we moved in."
"Neither did I," Mikey admitted, "But it would fit with what you told me back then. Well, I just don't like him. And blaming him is easy."
Kion chuckled, until a ringing sound made both of them jump.
Taking deep breaths to calm themselves, the two turtles turned around and got up to see the results.
"... Fuck."
xxxxx
"Damn Mikey, what's wrong with you?"
Said turtle blinked himself out of his daydream when Raph's hand waved in front of his face.
"What?"
Donnie reached over to grab his hand, one eyeridge raised in concern.
"You've been spacing out a lot since you came back from your shopping trip with Kion today."
"And you even forgot the eggs." Raph added, lifting Amy up to his lap when she tried to climb into it.
"Eh yeah. We weren't really shopping. We just went for a walk and talked."
"Should we tell them? What am I thinking? Of course we have to tell them!"
Kion was gripping his own head and groaned as he let it fall forward against the tiled wall of the bathroom.
"I don't even know how to start explaining." Mikey was laying face-down on the carpet in front of the bathtub, trying to come over the shock at the sight of the green stripes.
"Talked about what? Kion seemed just as dazed. Bogen and Telon were really worried."
"Oh. Uh... it's kinda hard to explain."
Mikey didn't elaborate, not even at the pointed stares of all three of his mates. He rather concentrated on Ky as the little guy climbed up on the couch on his own and crawled straight onto his mother's lap. There was a proud expression on his little olive-colored face as he got comfortable.
It really wasn't so bad. He loved his babies. They were still so young.
"Do I have to pound the explanation out of you?" Raph asked, trying to suppress a laugh when he saw Nix wagging his finger at him with a typical Leo-frown.
"No hit-ting mommy!"
Donnie outright giggled and pulled their youngest son on his lap, cuddling him. "Aw, we would never hit mommy. Daddy was just joking." He explained, leaning back against Leo's plastron.
"Mommy sad?" Amy asked, tilting her head with a pout on her lips.
"No sweetie, I'm not sad." Mikey chuckled, rubbing a hand over her head. The mahagony-colored eyes of his daughter closed at the caress and she let out a few content purrs.
When Nix yawned, they decided to put them to bed. After bidding each of them goodnight, Mikey let out a yawn of his own.
"I think I'm gonna hit the hay too. It's been a long day."
Despite it being way too early for them to go to bed, his mates followed him.
"Sweetheart, come on, what's on your mind?" Donnie asked worriedly, his hand resting on his baby brother's freckled cheek.
"It's just something Kion and I talked about. I think I'm p-..." Mikey sighed, trying again, "I'm... p-probably over-thinking things again."
At the concerned stares directed at him he chuckled nervously.
"I promise you it's nothing bad. I just have to figure this out on my own first."
That didn't really settle his mates' nerves, but their youngest brother sounded honest. He would tell them what was bothering him when he was ready.
As Mikey fell asleep, his last thought was that he hoped Kion had more courage than him.
xxxxx
As it turned out, he didn't. Two days later they met up again. There was no big party of Telon announcing the pregnancy.
"I couldn't tell them. I really wanted to, but... ugh."
"Yeah, me neither. Heck, I know they would be happy, but still I'm... I don't even know. Not scared... I just can't explain."
"Tell me about it. Doesn't help Telon is freaking me out. He keeps asking me how I was doing five times a day. One time he almost caught me vomiting."
"Shell yeah. You're lucky your mates aren't trained in stealth and all. They know something's up and I pray every single time they won't hear me barf over the sound of the shower and my music."
"... Well... We have to tell them at some point. Telon has to make sure everything's okay and we have to start taking those vitamins." Kion sighed. "And hey, there's always the chance we're not pregnant."
"Eh, I think the dozen pregnancy tests we took over the past few days are proof enough..." Hiding them had required all of Michelangelo's ninja skills, and he even had to sneak out at night to pee on another test stripe. Just to be sure.
Kion shrugged. "Maybe it's a side effect of the suppressants. The hormones and all."
"You think that's possible?"
"I'm grasping at straws here."
"Whatever. We use the weekend to tell them, and on Monday I'm coming over to have a check-up..." Mikey sighed.
"Fine... I'm going to wait till Sunday though. To think of the best way to break it to them."
xxxxx
Saturday afternoon Mikey found himself standing by the door to the living room. The happy squeals and laughter had drawn him from where he's been cleaning the kitchen.
Donnie was sitting in the playpen, leaning against the wall with Amy in his lap, reading a book to her. He had a proud smile on his face when she pointed at different figures on the pictures, sounding out their names and asking after every sentence what's what.
Raph was building a few towers with blocks for Nix, who highly enjoyed playing "monster", growling between laughs and throwing them over, clapping when he managed to "destroy" the whole city.
Ky was doing a baby workout with Leo. The toddler followed his fafa's every move eagerly, even if clumsily. Leo helped their firstborn with a few moves, laughing along with Ky when they both fell over.
A really warm feeling filled Mikey's chest at the sight of his mates spending quality time with their babies. They were such good parents. Absentmindedly one of Mikey's hands rubbed over his flat stomach with a soft smile on his face.
"Tummy ow-ow a-gen?" Nix' voice jerked Mikey out of his thoughts.
"Again? What is he talking about?" Raph asked with a frown. Leo and Donnie looked over too from their respective positions. Was Mikey sick? Was a stomach ache the reason for his strange behavior?
Mikey knelt down to hug his youngest and nuzzled his face. "No sweetie, I'm fine." He assured Nix, tickling his chin. The tiny forest-green turtle giggled and wrapped his arms around his mother's neck.
"Michelangelo." Leo used his leader-voice. It was rarely in use these days, but sometimes he would go back to old habits.
The freckled turtle sighed and picked Nix up when he stood, carrying him over to the couch.
"Come sit with me." He said, gesturing for his mates to join him.
When the whole family sat on the couch together, Mikey placed Nix in Raph's lap and scooted back so he could watch all of them properly. Come on, dude, he encouraged himself, nothing to be afraid of.
"What's going on, sweetheart? Does your stomach hurt?"
"No, not really." Mikey took a deep breath. "Okay, I know it sounds weird, and technically it shouldn't even be possible. I'm not even 100% sure, Kion said it could-"
"Mikey." Leo cut off his babbling.
Mikey looked down to where his hands fiddled in his lap.
"Uh right. The thing is... there this teeny weeny little chance that I am... pregnant."
A few seconds ticked away in silence.
"That... uh. Hm." Donatello blinked, a dumbfounded expression on his face. "It's not mating season."
"I know, Donnie. That's why I said it shouldn't be possible."
Leo shook his head, his brain still trying to catch up. "Why do you think you're pregnant?"
"There are a few symptoms... like, morning sickness, the exhaustion... and at least a dozen positive pregnancy tests. You know, the usual."
"Wait, you're serious? You're pregnant?" Raph asked, wanting to be sure before he'd allow himself to celebrate.
"I think I am. Kion too, by the way. We just don't know how."
"What? Kion too?" Donatello shook his head. "Well, that rules out the possibility of an accidental secondary mutation..."
"Does it really matter? It is what it is, right?" Raph couldn't stop the grin that started to tug on the corners of his mouth.
Donnie chuckled. "Yeah... still I wonder how it's possible. I mean, the pregnancy tests are very accurate here. And the chance of twelve stripes being defect is really low."
"Maybe Telon can find out why." Leo supplied, smiling down at Ky in his lap.
"Papa." Amy demanded Donnie's attention.
"Yes, princess?"
"Wha's p... peg..." Donatello grinned.
"Pregnant?"
Amy nodded enthusiastically and watched Mikey with wide worried eyes. "Mommy sick?"
"No, sweetie." Don giggled at Amy's confused expression. Raph scooted closer to Mikey with a grin and put an arm around his shoulders while Nix climbed into his mother's lap.
"Mommy's pregnant," Raph explained, "That means you're going to have a new brother or sister soon." His grin never faltered as he nuzzled his youngest mate's face.
"Or both." Donnie suggested, also coming closer, along with Leo.
Ky's tongue was sticking out as he squeezed on Mikey's lap next to Nix. Amy was satisfied to pat her palm on her mother's knee.
Mikey frowned. "Don't you think we should wait till we're completely sure it's real? I don't want to give them false hopes..."
"B-ruh-da?"
"Yes. Nix and Ky are your brothers, and you are their sister. They're family. And maybe you're going to have more brothers or sisters." Leo explained to their daughter.
The babies turned their heads, looking around the living room as far as they could see. "Whe'e?"
Raph laughed at the cute question, and Mikey found himself giggling too.
"Here." Mikey patted his stomach. Ky gasped cutely.
"Mommy eat n-ew buhder an' sissah?" He asked in shock, resting his little hands on Mikey's plastron.
Leo would deny it, but that was definitely a squeal coming from him.
"No. They are very tiny and weak right now. They have to grow bigger and stronger in Mommy's tummy, and when they are ready they come out. You three were inside there too." Donnie explained as simple as he could, an amused smile on his face.
"We be bi-g family? Li-ke Eno?" Eno was a cute little kid's show their toddlers loved, about a little turtle named Eno with eleven siblings and four parental figures.
"Not as big as Eno's." Mikey answered quickly, eyes wide. He couldn't even imagine having twelve babies.
"Yet." Raph joked in a low voice, earning an elbow to his side.
"Not as big as Eno's, but yes. We're a big family." Mikey reached over to rub a hand over Amy's head. "Would you like to have a little brother or sister?"
The answer was a few shrugs and "Dunno"'s. They probably didn't really understand it completely yet, anyways. They were more interested in going back to playing then, with Ky and Nix building with the blocks while Amy sat next to them, telling them a made-up story while looking into a picture book.
"We're gonna go over to Telon and have him check you out first thing tomorrow." Leo picked up their conversation again. He wanted to make sure they were having more babies, and that everything was okay with their mate.
"No, I told Kion I'd come over for a check-up on Monday. We agreed to tell you guys this weekend."
"... Are you telling us you knew this for almost a week now and you only told us now?"
Mikey blushed and averted his gaze, but nodded.
"Look, I know you like the idea of more babies. I wasn't a hundred percent sure, and I guess I partly didn't want to get your hopes up for nothing."
Donnie gently tilted Mikey's head up so he could look at him.
"And the other part?"
Mikey sighed. "I don't know..."
Raph's grip on his shoulder tightened, and Leo reached over take Mikey's hands.
"Listen," the oldest spoke up, "We talked about this. We said we would wait until we're ready... but maybe this is fate's way of telling us we are ready."
"You think? I mean..." Mikey freed one of his hands of Leo's grip and put it on his stomach. "I guess I don't mind having more. The triplets are fine, we're doing a good job with them. It's just this stupid feeling that something's not right..."
"With the baby?"
"No, not really. I can't really explain, guys."
"Whatever it is, we won't let anyone or anything harm you or any of our children." Raph promised with determination, hugging Mikey close and resting one of his hands on the flat stomach.
From left and right Leo and Donnie joined the hug, tightening their hold.
xxxxx
"Fascinating..." Telon had yet to stop grinning. According to Kion he'd been grinning ever since he told his mates about the pregnancy, and it was freaking him out.
The medic cleared his throat when he realized he's been spacing off. There was still this tiny piece of regret and shame in him, but the happiness overshadowed it.
"The blood test confirmed it, you're definitely pregnant too."
Mikey gave a weak smile. Well, he's been expecting that outcome. Especially when Kion told him about his official results as soon as he opened the door.
"Eh, alright..."
Donnie had taken the day off to be there, and since he, Leo and Raph refused to leave Mikey's side for the examination, Bogen and Kion were playing with the toddlers and Elia in the girl's own playroom.
"Do you have any idea how it's possible?" Donatello asked his friend, smiling as he squeezed Mike's shoulder.
"Oh, I've been going over a few scenarios actually." Telon quickly said, hoping to appear normal. It wasn't a direct lie. He's been thinking over a dozen different answers to give.
"I was able to rule out most of them. My best explanation is that their bodies adapted. A reaction to the suppressants is my guess."
Leo and Raph seemed satisfied with that answer. Donatello on the other hand frowned slightly. For having heard the news only a day before, Telon was pretty far with his explanation. And so sure. It could be written off as excitement over his own mate's pregnancy, but still...
"Whatever the reason, we're going to have more babies. That's a reason to celebrate!" Raph's grin split his whole face. He couldn't wait to have another child.
"Exactly! We could go to that great new restaurant by the flower shop!"
While his mates and Telon made plans for celebration, Mikey rolled his eyes and got off the bed in the medic's home office. Donnie followed him when he went to find their kids.
"Surprise surprise, I'm also carrying." Mikey announced with a chuckle as he settled on the carpet next to Kion and Bogen. Donnie pulled him against his side by his shoulders and waist.
"Congrats." Kion let out a small huff of laughter. Now that they had real definite proof and their mates knew, they were relieved.
"You know what's weird?" Bogen said as he frowned at thin air. "Telon barely checked you over, just took your blood. And still he seemed pretty sure you were about four weeks in."
Kion nodded while Donnie and Mikey mimicked Bogen's frown.
"When I said I wanted to talk to them, he was ecstatic before I even got to the point. He didn't seem all that surprised, now that I think about it."
Something in Donatello's stomach felt heavy all of a sudden. That, combined with his own suspicion couldn't mean good news. "His explanation was kind of... I don't know. It felt staged."
Mikey bit his lip, his mind connecting the lines.
"... Do you think he has something to do with it?" He asked the three other adults.
Bogen shrugged. "I wouldn't know how. Sure, he's pretty smart... but I'm not sure he could find a way to change nature. And why would he do it to Mikey too?"
"Okay, Telon's been wanting another child pretty badly, but he wouldn't go as far as doing this to us." Kion defended his mate. "He didn't give us anything, there's no way he poisoned us or something. He would never do this."
Mikey's gaze found their playing children as he thought. He twisted his fingers uneasily.
"... Unless there's someone else pulling the strings..."
Three pairs of eyes turned to look at him. Kion sighed, a hand rubbing over his stomach.
"Do you really think our mayor has nothing better to do than bribing my mate to make us pregnant? And Telon wouldn't let himself be bribed with anything."
"... I don't know, babe." Bogen sat up straighter, a hand on his chin in thought. "I found it really strange that Voron gave him the promotion after turning him down so many times. The old platinum level doctor is still here, there's been no need for another one yet."
"Well, maybe Voron finally realized what a great medic our mate is." Kion kept defending, though he's been having the same thoughts.
"We're not saying he's not." Donnie pacified. "We're just going over possibilities. And now that I think about it he's been hanging around my desk at work way more often than usual. And kept asking how my family was doing."
Kion leaned against Bogen with a frown. "Telon's been just as insistent the past week..." he said thoughtfully.
"But even if they worked together," Bogen sighed, "There's still no logical explanation to how they did it."
"Maybe we should just ask him? You're his mates, and we're his friends. He would admit it if we confronted him, right?" Mikey finally said.
"If he's really poisoned us or something behind our backs I'm not so sure." Kion's frown deepened. "I swear, if I find out he did this to us for a stupid promotion I'm gonna rip his dick off and shove it up his ass so far he can chew on it."
The thought that the doctor would really do something like this to his own mate was so unrealistic, even if he begged for another child daily. And to betray his best friends, and lie to all of them...
"We're only assuming here. There's no reason to jump to conclusions." Donatello rubbed Mike's shoulder. "When I see Voron tomorrow at work I'm gonna tell him the news. His reaction will give him away if he's somehow involved in this."
"Alright. And if you find out he's behind this, we're gonna corner Telon."
"... And what if he's not? What if Telon's right with his theory about it being our bodies' reaction to the suppressants?" Mikey asked.
Bogen shrugged. "Then Kion and I will find a way to subtly make it up to him."