Chapter 12

Another 3 months had passed, and everyone was preparing for the big day; the return of Master Splinter!

The last remaining data bits were finally gathered thanks to everyone's efforts, especially Mikey's, whose smart thinking during their mission to stop the Shredder from leaving Cyberspace, his gaming knowledge to win a bunch of data bits in one of his video games, and improvisation skills to help his brothers defeat the Shredder in a power plant, had helped his friends and brothers complete this task, despite only sitting and observing in Donnie's lab or in the Battle Shell due to his condition, which he didn't mind anymore.

Donnie double-checked the settings on the cyber portal to make sure that everything was ready and in working order before he went off to call for his brothers.

He got to Raph first since he was located in the TV area, which was the closest to the lab area, and his immediate older brother didn't notice him straight away when he came over due to being deeply interested in the wrestling match that he was watching on the TV.

"Raph?" Donnie called out, resulting in said turtle to jump a little and turn his head instantly to see his younger brother standing next to him.

"Geez, Don...! Give a turtle a heart attack, why don't ya!" Raph said in irritation.

"Sorry, but it's time to bring back Master Splinter, everything's ready!" Donnie said before heading off to find his other brothers, with Raph following him whilst wearing an excited look on his face.

They headed towards the dojo area where they found both Leo and Mikey there; both brothers were sitting on the mat with their legs crossed, facing each other with their eyes closed, and breathing slowly and evenly, with Mikey holding his now heavily pregnant belly with both hands during the process.

During the whole journey of Mikey's pregnancy, Leo happily offered to give him meditation and breathing sessions to help his little brother cope with any discomforts or fatigue that he might experience during certain stages of the pregnancy since he went through the same thing himself when he was pregnant with Kane.

A moment later, Don and Raph noticed the look of discomfort in Mikey's face and he was groaning slightly whilst slowly rubbing his belly due to feeling his baby moving further down inside him since he was getting closer to his due date.

"Easy, Mikey...take slow, deep breaths...and focus on relaxing...Don't think of anything else but that..." Leo instructed his little brother softly.

Mikey did what his brother told him and he soon felt better with the discomfort easing down because of the techniques he learned.

Leo then sensed his other brothers in the room. He opened his eyes and looked towards them with a smile before looking at Mikey again.

"Ok, little brother, that will do for today..." He told him before Mikey opened his eyes and smiled at Leo.

"Thanks, bro, this has really helped a lot!" Mikey replied before looking over to where his other older brothers were standing. "Hey, dudes!"

"Hey, Mikey. How are you doing?" Donnie said as he got closer to his mate.

"I'm doing fine, thanks to big bro and soon-to-be uncle Leo...!" answered Mikey as he looked at Leo with a grateful smile.

"Your welcome, little brother, I'm always here to help. You're doing great so far with the breathing techniques that I taught you..." Leo replied with a smile of his own as he got up and went to help Mikey stand up from the floor with Donnie on his other side since he was now finding it difficult to do so on his own with a heavily pregnant belly.

"Thanks…so, what's up?" Mikey asked after thanking his brothers for their help.

"Donnie says dat everythin' is ready ta bring Master Splinter back home from Cyberspace!" Raph announced before Donnie could say it himself.

Raph's words took a moment to sink into Leo and Mikey's heads before their eyes and mouths widened.

"Really?! Are you serious!?" Mikey gasped.

"We can really bring father home…?" questioned Leo.

"Yes. I checked everything twice and I can tell you for sure that we can bring Master Splinter back home safely!" Donnie answered them both with a heart-warming smile.

"Man…I can't wait to see dad again…" Said Mikey before his smile turned into a sad frown shortly after saying that.

Raph noticed this first and said, "Mike, what's da matter?"

"Is something wrong!?" Donnie said instantly, about to jump in to check over Mikey and the baby.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. It's just…Do you think Master Splinter…will be happy to see me like this…?" Mikey said anxiously with a nervous look on his face.

"What? Of course, Mikey! He would be thrilled to find out that he's going to be a grandfather again. Why would you ask such a thing?" Leo said with a confused look.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just scared that father might not approve of me being the one carrying the baby since I'm not as mature as you guys…" Mikey answered looking down with tears appearing in his eyes.

His three brothers stared at him with widened eyes and shocked looks on their faces as they couldn't believe that their youngest brother would say that about himself.

"That's not true, Mikey! Why would you think of something like that? He loves you, no matter what!" Donnie said in a firm but soft tone.

Mikey thought about what he just said about himself and then what Donnie just said after that, before placing a hand on his rounded plastron when he felt his baby kick him as if agreeing to what his/her father was saying.

"I'm sorry, I guess I need to stop thinking negatively about this, huh?" He said with a sniffle.

"You bet, Mike! Master Splinter is comin' back home ta us and will definitely be filled with pride and happiness ta see ya carryin' a new addition ta da family!" Raph said with a smirk on his face.

Donnie then approached his mate and kneeled in front of him to place his hands and cheek on his pregnant belly with his eyes closed.

"Thank you for agreeing with me, little one…" He said softly with a warm smile before giving his mate's belly a kiss and standing back up to see Mikey laugh lightly.

"Thanks, guys…sorry for spoiling the moment…" He said with a sad smile.

"No worries, Mikey, we understand. We're just glad to see you smiling again..." Leo said as he wrapped a comforting arm around his little brother's shoulders.

"Well then, guys, let's go bring our father home!" Donnie said before leaving the dojo to head back to the lab, with his three brothers following him. Raph, however, went straight to his and Leo's room to fetch Kane, who had just woken up from his nap, before resuming his walk towards the lab.

"Remember, Don, we're here for you and ready to do this!" Leo said supportively to Donnie before he, Raph, Mikey, and Kane placed their hands on top of Donnie's which was on the lever that will activate the cyber portal to bring Master Splinter home.

"Ok, here goes nothing…" Donnie said before pushing the lever upwards, activating the machine.