THIS STORY HAS BEEN ON A ROLLERCOASTER OF INSIPRATION, AND THAT (SADLY) MEANS SLOWER WRITING. SORRY, SHINIGAMILOVER2! HOPE YOU LIKE!

GOD BLESS AND GOOD DAY!

~THE LUPINE SOJOURNER

(Mikey's PoV)

It wasn't often that I go solo for a patrol, but tonight was an exception. I'd needed the space and no one argued.

After all, we were all dealing with the stress of...recent events differently. No one was over dad's death by any means, but I like to think we're slowly but surely getting there. To that end, I leap over rooftops and dive over oblivious pedestrians below, silent as a shadow.

Like dad always said I could be, if I just focused. So I do. I pour all my concentration into the leaps and jumps to distract myself from crying. All too soon, however, I need to stop and just let it out. Asami always said you felt better after crying. I've never understood why until now.

It feels like I hadn't been able to breath until right now, pouring all my pent up emotions into the act of grieving.

Eventually, I just collapse and continue sobbing, through with running, but without enough drive to go home. I just wanted to lay here and cry until I can't anymore. Eventually, I sit up, drying my eyes and sighing heavily as I pick myself up. Jodie would be waiting up for me. I didn't want her to worry. That girl is the best thing that's ever happened to me, I swear!

We have been dating for about a month or so now, and I can't help but want to scream for joy every time she kisses me and tells me she loves me. She is an angel in disguise, I swear, as well as super helpful in getting us all back on our feet. With all that said, there's a certain velvet container in my belt, burning a hole until I finally get the courage to ask her. It's been there for almost a week now.

Speaking of worried females in the Lair, Asami, too, has been instrumental in making sure we eat and train and keep ourselves going. Lupa watches a lot of YouTube, as usual when things like this happen. Asami watches with her sometimes, offering comfort in her mere presence. Jodie and I watch a lot of movies at night, when we're both wracked with nightmares and unwilling to talk about them. All in all, we're all pretty shaken (duh!) by what happened. It sucks, but there's nothing we can do about it, no matter how much it hurts.

Master Splinter would not want us to let ourselves be consumed by grief.

Just as tears refill my eyes, the sound of a puppy whimpering caught my attention. I whirl around and find a little Corgi puppy in a large cardboard box, trying to get out, but thumping onto it's back with every attempt. It sat still when I came into view, however, its tail wagging and barking happily. I smile despite the lingering tears and pick it up. It was far too cute to resist.

"Aren't you a cutie?" I tell him softly, letting him lick and sniff my face. I felt a bit better as I place him back in the box. "Wait til Jodie and the others see you!" I coo at him, scratching under his chin. I then pick the box up and make my way carefully down to the ground level, where I drop into the nearest manhole cover.

=#=#=#=#=

"Guys!" I call. "Guess what I found!" I add. Asami, reading one of her many Redwall novels in the tire swing, places her bookmark in the paperback and swings artfully onto the ground, striding over.

"Better not be a kitten." She warns with mock severity. I laugh.

"Nah, it's cuter than a kitten!" I tell her and her eyes go wide as she takes in the puppy, scooping it up gleefully.

"Oh, Mikey, he's adorable!" She coos, nuzzling his nose and he eagerly licks her face, sniffing her fur, as well. "You thought of a name?" She asks.

"Nah, not yet." I tell her, feeling a bit foolish. "I was gonna let Jodie name him."

"Okay. Well, most everyone's asleep, so you'll have to wait til morning. Let's put him in Don's lab, I guess. Up where he can't get into anything." I nod, yawning suddenly into my hand as I pick the box up again. "Goodnight, Mikey." She says, retrieving her book and heading toward her room. "Love you!"

"Love you, too, sis. Goodnight!" I call back, opening the lab door with another yawn and plopping the box on the nearest counter in my exhaustion. With that done, I close the door and head off to brush my teeth and slip into my 'pajamas' before cuddling up to a fast asleep Jodie and slipping into dreamless slumber soon enough.

=#=#=#=#= (Jodie's PoV)

"Alright, who brought the mutant in here?!" Comes an angry Lupa's voice. I groggily open my eyes, sitting up in sync with Mikey and walking up, as I open the door to our bedroom.

"What mutant, sis?" Asami was asking.

"This one." Lupa retorts and a second later, I hear Japanese cursing and footsteps stomping my way.

"Michelangelo!" Asami snaps. "I told you to make sure that dog couldn't get into anything!" I frown, pushing past her and my eyes widen as I take in the sight in Donnie's lab.

There was a tiny little dog mutant fast asleep on the ground, laying on the edge of a pool of glowing ooze. He looked about two or three years old, in human terms, his little tail curling around his body like a makeshift blanket. It seems he is Corgi, but can't really tell. The coloring is off, though, more like Asami's than any Corgi I've ever seen.

"Aw, geez..." Mikey groans, smacking his forehead, eyes widening comically. I laugh and turn to him. Honestly, after all the shenanigans these guys have gotten up to...this hardly surprises me.

"You brought a mutant home last night?" I ask. Mikey shakes his head.

"No! I found a puppy during my run and decided to bring him here. The little guy looked abandoned and I couldn't help it." I sigh.

"Okay. Um...what are we gonna do with it?" I ask. "What'd you even name him?" Mikey shrugs, grinning at me sheepishly as he scratches the back of his neck.

"I was gonna let you name him, Jo-Jo." He replies. I exhale as I think of what to call this little guy.

"Richard James, or RJ for short." I eventually decide. "I've always liked those two names." 'Personally, I thought you'd name him after me.' Aiden muses wryly.

Can it, you. I retort playfully.

Mikey beams. "Cute! I like it!" He cheers. Asami sighs.

"Fine, then." She grumbles, her eyes betraying the slight amusement she felt. "I'm gonna go make breakfast." And with that, the other Hamatos vacate the lab.

"So, where is he gonna stay?" I ask once we're alone. "That box is too big for him now." Mikey taps his chin.

"There are storage rooms in the Dojo we could use as his bedroom." He points out. I nod.

"That could work. We could maybe move in there, too, since we've been needing a larger room for a while." I sigh and turn to the little mutant before me. "Welcome to the Hamatos, little RJ." I announce, though he didn't hear in his sleeping state. It felt good to have something new, something challenging, to draw our attention away from the grief we all still feel.

"Maybe, Jo-Jo," Mikey concedes, coming to stand beside me and wrap his arms around my waist. "but maybe we should see how he handles things first." He points out. I crack a smile.

"Why, Michelangelo, is that a logical plan I hear brewing in that head of yours?" I tease. "I think I smell smoke." He scoffs, poking my side.

"Hey now, darling, I scooped you up before anyone else! I'd say that makes me pretty smart. Any guy would be lucky to have you." He replies. I then cock a brow.

"So, what, Ryan doesn't count?" I retort. Mikey laughs. Of course I'd confessed everything about Ryan to him. And I mean everything. He'd been a bit shocked, but then nodded and told me that didn't change anything, because that led me to Mikey and I find I quite agree with him. When the frick did he get so wise?!

"Well, he then made the mistake of letting you go again. I never plan on doing that." He says. His left hand leaves my waist, grabbing something from his belt. "That being said...Jodie, would you maybe want to officially become a Hamato?" He asks, and I can't help but gasp. The ring in the box is amazingly crafted, an almost braided-like pattern forming the band, with a large marquise cut sapphire in the center, more thin strands of silver forming an intricate frame of sorts for the jewel.

"I...I..." For some reason, I cannot, in my glee, get my stupid fricking tongue to work right now! I swallow. "I'd love to!" I tell him honestly. And I meant every word! He slips the ring onto my finger and I then kiss him so soundly, we nearly fall to the floor, tangled in each other. "There's nothing I want to do more." I then tell him. He grins.

"Sorry it took so long; you'd be amazed how few rings are thrown into dumpsters. Luckily, Asami suggested I look behind a jewlery store, and I found this one." I laugh.

"That's why Asami measured my fingers! She told me she was going to make fingerless gloves to go with the rest of my patrol outfit." I reply. Mikey chuckles.

"She is, but it also conveniently gave me your ring size, too." I roll my eyes.

"You're a goof." His eyes are playful and passionate as he dips me for a kiss.

"I'm your goof, Jo-Jo." He whispers reverently. I lean up and kiss him again, pouring my love and affection for him into the kiss.

"Yes, and I am your fiancee." I reply, leaning my forehead against his.

"You are. And I am the luckiest turtle in the world." We then kiss again.

=#=#=#=#=

"No, RJ! Don't touch the stove!" Asami cried as she holds the newest Hamato while making quesadillas. I come over, laughing, and take the little guy, who curls into my chest, sighing contentedly. "I think he's only bad so you take him away." She muses with mock indignance. I laugh.

"Nah, he's just getting used to what he can and can't do. He was, after all, a different thing altogether just yesterday." I point out. She nods.

"I guess Lu-lu and the boys came to be mutants before all the fiddling and touching and chewing started, so we could help them realize what's 'yucky' and what's 'okay' early on."

"Smart move." I reply, nodding. Asami's eyes dim and she sighs.

"It was all Dad. He was so natural and amazing at this." She mumbles. I sigh.

"Asami, so are you."

"No, I'm not." She replies heavily. "Not like dad. He just...knew how to deal with everyone. It was instinctive. Me? I can't even get through training them, much less parenting them all!" I hug her.

"Asami, I feel certain there were times your father felt this exact same thing. This is a natural part of parenting. Or so I'm told by a single mother friend of mine." I tell her. Asami sniffles.

"Thanks, Jodie. I just...this is too much sometimes, you know?" She mumbles, wiping her tears and runny nose on her sleeve. I nod.

"I get it, really. More than you know."