Cute giggles and not-so-hushed whispers were what woke Leonardo up. The noise came from just outside the bedroom door, and he could hear Mikey with them, trying to shush them with a giggle of his own.
Smiling involuntarily Leo closed his eyes again, nuzzling the muscular arm his head was resting on and squeezing the olive turtle's body in front of him as he pretended to be still asleep when the door opened.
He loved Sundays. He was relaxed enough to actually sleep in. So relaxed he hadn't noticed his pregnant mate getting up. The deep breaths of Raphael and Don indicated they were still sleeping peacefully. Judging the excited pats of small feet coming their way that was about to change very soon.
A grin appeared on his face when he felt the first weight on the bed, undoubtedly Ky. Two other weights joined and moved; Leo could feel one of his children climb onto him and had to keep in a pained gasp as one knee dug painfully in his side.
He felt Raph stir behind him as he too was being climbed at. Squinting his eyes open subtly he could see Amy's tongue sticking out as she positioned herself by Donnie, grinning at her siblings and probably at Mikey.
"Ssh. On three." Mikey said in a stage-whisper and counted off slowly for his children. The toddlers had troubles containing their giggles as they counted with him.
"One..."
Leo noticed the breathing pattern of Donnie and Raph changing, indicating that they were waking up.
"Two..."
Subtly shifting as they realized the situation.
"Three!"
The skylight opened and their kids shouted excitedly.
"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"
Donatello groaned at the bright light coming from the skylight, but couldn't help a grin when Amy pressed a wet kiss to his cheek and hugged him tight with her small arms around his neck.
Raphael endured the rather rough pats on his plastron with a chuckle as Nix kept laughing and wiggling, trying to get him to get up.
Ky was also hugging Leo with cute chirps as he nuzzled his plastron.
"What happened to just cuddling in the morning?" Raph groaned with humor as he rubbed his eyes.
"Today is special day!" Nix explained with wide eyes.
Leo blinked, wrecking his brain to find out what day it could be. No birthday, that was for sure.
"And what day would that be?"
"F... Fah-dah-pah's Day!"
"What? Do you mean Father's Day?" Donnie frowned at Amy. They never celebrated Father's day since coming here. The traditional date for Father's Day back home was used for visiting their improvised grave. They were way too late anyways. Not that it mattered in a dimension without holidays.
"Yeeees, kind of." Mikey said from his place sitting on the bed by the switch for the skylight. "Our own customary holiday to celebrate you. FaDaPa's Day, since we have a Fafa, a Dada and a Papa." Mikey grinned at his invention.
"What a sweet idea..." Leo praised, eyes glinting with happiness.
"You have to get up!" Nix urged, pulling on Raph's head as if he could pull him upright like that. "We did bweakfast!"
Raph grinned and sat up, holding Nix' shell so he wouldn't fall with the motion.
"Did you now? Well I guess then we have to get up."
"Please tell me there's coffee too..." Donnie mumbled through a yawn.
Amy giggled and nodded. "Mommy make coffee. I help."
"Aw good, that means it's even better than usual." Donnie joked as he got up, Amy still clinging to him.
Ky climbed on Raphael's shell with Leo's help and wrapped his arms around his head, sitting comfortably on top of his daddy's shell and shoulders.
"Daddy go! We did bay-con!"
"Oh wow! Then we have to hurry!" Raph held onto Nix with one arm and used the other to secure Ky as he got up and hurried after Donnie.
Leo crawled over the blankets and pillows to where Mikey sat and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"You really like the surprise?" Mikey had a small blush on his face as he asked, nuzzling into his oldest mate.
"Of course, baby. It really is a sweet idea..." Leo rubbed his hand over the pregnant belly lovingly.
"I just thought... you're great dads. You deserve a special day. I just wasn't sure if you would approve, because of-"
"Mikey," Leo interrupted, pressing a kiss to the sea-green neck with a smile, "It's okay."
They sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying their closeness.
"We should get going before Raph and Ky eat all of the bacon." Mikey giggled at Leo's pretend-shocked gasp.
The slightly taller turtle got up and helped his mate up, leading him to the kitchen.
xxxxx
"Is that melon? Can I have some? Here, have some of my nachos."
"Oh, that'd go well with my vanilla pudding! Raphie, can I have a piece of your pizza?"
Raph wordlessly pushed his plate of meat-lover pizza over, burying his face in the top of Ky's head so he wouldn't have to see Mikey dip the pizza into his cup of vanilla pudding. Kion helped himself, dipping some of his nachos inside too, also adding a cube of melon to the mix.
Even Leo with his iron control wrinkled his beak, rather concentrating on their kids, who enjoyed their food.
They had decided to go out for lunch. Telon insisted on inviting them, doing his best to get back in their good graces. He and Bogen were chatting with Donnie about something, blissfully unaware of whatever Mikey and Kion were eating.
Amy paid rapt attention to whatever they said, comfortable in her papa's lap as she nibbled on a piece of pizza.
"Didn't you say tomatoes made you sick?" Leo asked, wiping some sauce from Nix' cheeks.
"The smell of tomatoes." Mikey corrected as he and Kion kept trading their food and mixing it in various combinations that had Raph feel queasy.
"Mommy, when's babies out?" Ky asked from his place on Raph's lap, curiously eyeing Mike's belly.
"A little more than three months, sweetie." Mikey automatically rubbed his swell with one hand, using the other to bop Ky's forehead, making him giggle.
Ky couldn't wait for his new siblings. He loved his brother and sister, his whole family, and soon there would be even more family to love.
Amy was so proud every time she was praised for her intelligence. Donnie was her role model. He was so smart, and she noticed that every time someone wanted to know something, they came to ask her papa. She wanted to be smart like him. And her siblings could come to ask her everything. She would teach her new siblings everything she knew.
Nix, on the other hand, thought entirely different. At first he didn't really care or understood the implications of more siblings. He loved Amy and Ky, sharing mommy with them was easy as Amy stuck to papa and Ky was glued to Leo and Raph mostly.
What if his new siblings took his mommy away from him? He loved cooking with him, or when he bathed him after. When they cuddled before he brought him to bed. That was their special alone time, like papa would play with Amy in his lab or would read with her. Or the special training fafa and Ky would do, or when daddy and Ky played for hours outside.
That was fine with Nix. They had together time, and their separate alone times. If the others would share their alone time, fine, but Nix didn't want to share his mommy-time.
The mention of his soon-to-be siblings made him frown. Wiggling out of Leo's lap he slipped under the table and squeezed up between Raph and Mikey.
Another thing he didn't like about the new babies. When mommy was sitting there was barely room for him to cuddle up on his lap. There was always this huge belly in between them.
"Mommy." He requested, patting the free space on his thighs.
"Just a second, honey." Mikey said, wiping his fingers on a napkin. He started to bend forward a little to pick his younger son up when Raph pushed him back by his shoulder.
"Wait." Raphael shifted to pick Nix up and place him on Mikey's lap instead. Mikey rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his son, who clung to him.
"I could've done it, Raph."
"They're getting heavy, you're not lifting any of them."
Mikey let out a sigh while Nix glared at his daddy. He snuggled his face into mommy's belly as he couldn't get anywhere else.
"So, have you thought of a name yet?" Michelangelo asked to get a better conversation going.
"Kind of." Kion swallowed his bite. "Elia wanted to get a say in it too, so we told her a few names and she was allowed to pick one for a boy and one for a girl."
Hearing her name, Elia perked up from her place on Bogen's lap. "I chose!" She beamed.
"Oh really? Well, what names did you choose?"
"I really really hope I get a sister." She started, "Lenara."
Leo smiled as he rested his chin on his hand. "What a sweet name. And what if you get a brother?"
"Taro. A brother would be okay too... but he has to play dolly with me."
"I bet he would love to."
xxxxx
"Donnie?"
Donatello put down his tools and hurried to the door of his lab.
"Yeah?" He called up to Mikey.
"C-Can you come up please?" A small frown appeared on Don's face as he complied, climbing up the stairs.
"I thought you and the others went for a walk with Bogen and Elia?"
"No... I told them to go alone..."
Mike's strained voice made him take the rest of the stairs faster. When he reached his mate his concern grew at the paleness of him.
"What's wrong?" Donnie asked and supported Mikey from where he was bending over, a hand on his belly.
"Cramps." Mike hissed, leaning against his taller brother and took deep careful breaths. "They're really bad, Donnie..."
The olive turtle helped Mikey to the couch and made him lay back.
"Did you drink enough?"
"Yes..." The younger sniffed, holding his belly with one hand and rubbing at his eyes with the other. "I just drank some water. The ache was only really dull this morning, and now it's like shards sticking out of the eggs..."
There was a huge glass half-filled with water and ice cubes on the table, showing Donatello that he was speaking the truth about drinking enough.
That was indeed very concerning. Don's first thought was to call Telon, but he didn't know any more about the drug than Donatello himself.
The genius grabbed a shellcell from the coffee table and cupped Mikey's cheek, wiping a stray tear with his thumb.
"It's okay," he assured, trying to get his own heartbeat under control. "I'm going to call Dr. Dreon, to make sure everything's alright."
Mikey nodded and rubbed his belly to somehow soothe the ache.
The doctor appeared worried at the news, which did nothing to calm Don's nerves.
"Sweetheart, we have to go to the hospital, can you get up?" With Donnie's help Mikey managed to get up from the couch and leaned against his brother.
"Do you think something's really wrong with them?" Mike asked fearfully. He's been scared that something could happen to them, that their hearts would stop beating and would not start again.
"I'm sure it's gonna be okay. We just have to stay calm." Don tried to assure his mate and himself.
To tell the truth, he was freaking out. Ever since they learned about the drug, the poison, he was worried that something could happen. That there could be complications, that they could loose the eggs, that it would hurt Mikey, or worse.
It was a sick and twisted experiment for the mayor, after all. Nobody knew what it would eventually do to the body.
On their way to the hospital Donnie briefly thought about contacting Leo and Raph. In the end he decided against it. They would freak out and that in turn would freak out the triplets. Worst case was that they would finally snap and attack Telon for bringing this on them. Honestly, Donatello would go berserk on him himself if something was wrong with their babies.
No, Don would wait for the doctor's explanation, he would wait for some good news to tell their mates, so they wouldn't worry their asses off.
There was no need to scare everyone as much as he was at the moment.
Don's musings ended when the hospital came in sight. "We're almost there, sweetheart, just a little more." He coached, heart bleeding when Mikey gave a whimper as an answer when the cool autumn breeze washed over them.
They hurried to the hospital, where Donnie snagged a nearby empty wheelchair and helped Mikey to sit on it. A turtle nurse at the front desk guided them to a room, where Dreon was already waiting with some familiar equipment.
They helped Michelangelo to lay down on the hospital bed and Dreon hooked him up on a machine that constantly checked his vitals. Then he concentrated on Mike's bulging plastron.
Donnie could hear their twins' heartbeats, both a little faster than they should be. When the cool jelly for the ultrasound device touched Mike's belly, the pregnant turtle hissed, and soon after they could see their babies on the screen.
From what they could tell, it looked like they were squirming rigidly in the eggs, as if having a seizure.
"Mh. Blood pressure's a little high." Dreon commented, checking Mikey's vitals. "That seems to be the problem. They react to Michelangelo's stress."
Mikey averted his gaze, burying his face in Don's shoulder as Dreon inserted an IV needle into his arm. Donatello watched the doctor with narrowed eyes.
"I'm hooking him up with something that should lower his blood pressure, the pain should lessen in a few minutes." He explained, selecting a bag from a cabinet, filled with some liquid medicine for Mikey.
When none of them answered, Dreon pulled the blanket out from under Mike's feet and pulled it over him, up over his belly. "It's gonna be fine. Get some rest, I'll check on you in about an hour. The drip should be through by then."
Dreon seemed in a hurry to leave. As soon as he left their sight, Mikey poked Donnie.
"He's lying."
"I know. There's no way that's the reason." For all their lives, Don had always been taking care of his brother's health. He knew their bodies inside and out. And while Mikey's blood pressure really seemed a little high, it was quite in the normal range. "He's keeping something from us. Probably about the drug."
"I bet he's calling Voron right now... you could go spy on him."
Donnie craned his neck to kiss the top of Mikey's head. As much as he wanted to find out the truth, he didn't want to leave his pregnant mate alone.
"I won't leave you alone."
"Dee, come on. I wanna know what's wrong with our babies. It's getting better already."
Don bit his lip and sighed, but complied and hurried out the door to find the doctor.
In a mostly empty hallway he found him, leaning against a wall next to a supply closet with a phone in his hand.
The olive turtle slipped into the hallway, finding a good hiding spot by a vending machine. He pretended to play with his own phone, but his ear-holes strained to pick up the voice of the medic.
"... I'm not entirely sure, Voron. It seems they have a severe reaction to the cold. When I applied the jelly the pain seemed to intensify, and it looked like the babies were having a seizure."
There was a short pause as Voron spoke.
"Of course not. I told them it was high blood pressure, the stress. He's getting a warming solution right now, we'll see if the cramps lessen."
Donatello clenched his fists. His mate and their unborn babies were not some lab rats to experiment on!
"... I don't know. We'll have to wait until they hatch. Though there could be certain risks..."
Another pause.
"Well, it looks like Michelangelo's body isn't really adapting well to the pregnancy. His plastron is stiffer than it should be at this point, if the eggs grow bigger it won't give much more, it's probably gonna be really uncomfortable.
And the birth... I'm not sure if his body is even realizing its really pregnant. Look, I don't have the time for lengthy explanations. I'm concerned that the uterus won't open properly when it's time to pass the eggs."
Mahagony eyes widened at this information.
"We'll have to wait and see, Voron. We just have to think of something if it's the case. Maybe another small dose of the drug to open it. There could be quite the complications, like the eggs being stuck inside or Michelangelo could be seriously hurt when he tries to force them out..."
Donnie covered his mouth with his hand as he listened, heart rate picking up. He couldn't believe it. Rage knotted his stomach, sharing the space with worry.
"Unfortunately I don't know if Kion is experiencing the same problem. You're gonna have to ask Telon about it..."
…
"I'm not sure what would happen if they aren't warmed up when they have a seizure. Could be their hearts could stop. You should warn Telon."
Don bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to taste blood. It took him everything he had not to just grab the doctor and let out his inner Raph.
He looked down at his shellcell. Right, he had to call them and let them know.
"Voron, I have to go now... Relax, I'm gonna keep him overnight to keep an eye on him... Yes, I'm gonna call you immediately when something happens..."
Donatello could practically hear the eye-roll of the doctor and took the goodbye as a clue to leave.
In front of Mikey's room Don took a few deep breaths and schooled his expression as not to scare and/or worry his mate. Even if that wasn't the reason for Mike's cramps, stress wasn't good.
"Did you find him? You heard something?" Mikey immediately asked, struggling to sit up from where he was laying on his side.
Donnie hurried over and gently pushed him back down, making sure the blanket was covering the baby bump. With a smile that he hoped was reassuring he sat down on the bed and pulled his mate close, nuzzling his head.
"We're probably gonna have to stay the night. Are you feeling better?"
Mikey gave a tiny frown, but snuggled into his big brother, carefully resting his hand on his belly without pulling the needle from his arm.
"Yeah. Though I'm a little tired now. And warm." A small yawn accompanied his words. "You're gonna tell me what you heard? You look like you're gonna pull a Raph any second."
Of course he couldn't hide his emotional state from Mikey. Donnie sighed.
"Apparently our babies don't like the cold. Looks like they're cold-blooded too... in an extremer way." Donatello shrugged his free shoulder.
"And it could be they're gonna push harder against your plastron than the triplets did back then, because it's stiffer than last time."
"Because of the drug?" Mikey asked, biting his lip as he rubbed his belly through the blanket.
"I'm afraid so, yes."
"Are they gonna be okay?"
Donnie smiled as he pressed a kiss to Mike's head and pulled him closer. For now it was better not to tell him of any risks.
"We're gonna make sure they are okay. Just take it easy and everything will be fine." He promised, relieved when Mikey believed him and purred as he snuggled even closer.
"... We're gonna have to call Leo and Raph... they're gonna be worried."
"They're worried anyways. I'd be surprised if there was a second they aren't worrying about something."
Still Donatello fished out his shellcell with one hand and dialed Raphael's number. As much as it surprised all of them, when it came to their babies Raph tended to keep a clearer head than their typically stoic leader.
Not that he could tell them right now with Mikey listening. They're gonna have to talk about that when they were back home.
"Babe? What's up?" Raph sounded out of breath, apparently they've been running.
"Uh..." Suddenly Don's vocabulary left him. "Don't freak out?" He started, resisting the urge to facepalm.
He could practically hear Raph's face crinkle to a frown. Mikey giggled at Donnie's soundless sigh.
"Why? What happened?" In their minds Mikey and Donnie imagined Leo stopping in his tracks now, worrying his tail off already.
"Before I tell you, let me say: Everything's okay. Mikey and the eggs are fine." Sadly there wasn't a relieved sigh. "But well, we're kinda at the hospital."
"The hospital?!" Raph hissed, and Don could hear him walk a few steps away. Another set of steps followed him. "Donnie, what happened?!"
"Mikey had cramps, his stomach was hurting. Look, I can't talk about the real reason right now, but it's because of the drug." He said the last part quieter. "Apparently the babies don't react too well to the cold. That's all I can say for now, the doctor is coming to check up on Mikey soon."
"We're coming over."
"No!" Donnie blurted a little louder than intended. "No, don't. Mikey's hooked up on an IV and looks pretty worn, I don't want the kids to see him like that. You know how they are."
"... We can have Bogen watch them for a while."
"Seriously Raph, it's okay. He's already fallen asleep. Just try to act normal around the kids so they don't worry."
There was a hard sigh on the other end of the line. "Fine. When are you coming home?"
"Uhm. Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"I overheard the doc. He wants to keep Mikey over night to make sure he and the eggs are fine."
"... How are we supposed to act as if everything was okay when you two aren't home?"
"I don't know, Raph... Just tell them we're on an important trip or something. I could pick up the bracelets we ordered before we come home, tell them we're out to get their birthday presents."
"Their birthday is two months away."
"Shell Raph, they don't even know when their birthday is yet." Donnie was grateful Mikey had indeed fallen asleep with his head resting on Don's shoulder.
Raphael seemed to have picked up on his mate's unusual agitation.
"... What's wrong?" He asked after a second, his heart beating up to his throat.
Donnie rubbed his forehead, tired out from the stressful events.
"I'm gonna tell you tomorrow when we're home. I can't explain right now."
"That's not really making me feel better, babe..."
"It's not that bad. And not even a hundred percent sure... look, please, let's talk about this tomorrow."
"Why don't you come home and Leo or I stay with Mikey?" Raph offered, noting the exhausted tone.
Don's arm tightened automatically around Mikey.
"No, it's fine. I'm gonna see if I can find out a little more tonight... Just make sure you guys don't die of worry." A smile tugged at the corner of Don's mouth. "And cuddle the kids for us."
Raph sighed, probably feeling helpless because he couldn't do anything to help his younger mates right now.
"Alright, we will. Call us immediately if you hear something... Love you, and kiss Mikey for us."
"Sure... love you too." Donnie already felt tons better. He had a stupid grin and a blush on his face as he ended the call.
No matter how long they are together, or whatever they did together; it felt so special to hear the L-word from any of his mates, especially from Raph.
Mikey mumbled something in his sleep, snuggling his face more into Don's shoulder. Donnie smiled and laid down properly to take a small nap before he'd go information hunting.