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April POV

I never would have imagined Molly needing my help. We have always been emotionally supportive of each other but she was the strong one. She blamed it on her strict upbringing. In a way, her mother reminded me of Splinter in forms of how strict she was when it came to discipline. Here, I thought I was helping the turtles when it turns out she's getting something out of it, too. I'm not sure who this other woman is but I fear that her presence could spell trouble. Careful Molly risking it all? I think it's time, I stay close and Casey's grandmother's farmhouse is the perfect place. Let's just hope Casey doesn't stir up Molly's disdain for my boyfriends.

The sound of dishes clattering woke Molly abruptly. She oriented herself to where she was. It was clear she fell asleep on the suitcase while packing. Fortunately, it was near completion. She folded the last shirt, placed a few more various items in and zipped up the suitcase. Once satisfied with her work, she made her way to the kitchen. A waft of pleasant smells reached her nostrils. Pancakes, maple sausages and eggs. Though she had all of the ingredients, she barely took the time to cook. Lexa, on the other hand, kept with their old tradition of making breakfast.

"Finally decided to wake up?" She grinned, placing a plate and a cup of coffee on the table. Molly smiled in gratitude as she drizzled syrup on her pancakes. A warm feeling spread through her body, from her heart. A reminder of the good times they had.

"What time is it?" Molly asked, taking a bite of the delicious hotcake.

"5:45." Lexa replied, nonchalantly. 3...2...1 it sank in and Molly flew into a panic, shoveling food in her mouth and nearly burning herself trying to wash it down with piping hot coffee. The brunette flew into a storm of spouting how she HAD to at least fit a shower in but calling April was on the list as well as finding extra toiletries for Lexa and tore off into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Lexa tried not to derive too much pleasure from watching her go from zero to frantic. Perhaps it was a little bit of revenge for last night. She casually sipped her coffee.

Following a five-minute shower, Molly threw on jeans and a shirt before calling April. As the phone rang, she stooped down to rifle through bathroom cabinets for extra toothbrushes. Part of her wanted to stick one in the toilet to reward Lexa for not waking her earlier. She suspected it was done purposely as her blonde friend was not one to take kindly to be rejected. Ever. Add that to the list of why it didn't work out...

"Molly?" April's voice came one the other end of the phone.

"April." She sat back on her heels. "The boys are going to be taking us to a 'safe place' in Massachusetts."

"The farmhouse." April replied. "Casey's grandmother had a farmhouse there. Don't worry, they filled me in last night. We're coming along, too." A wave of relief washed over her.

"Can you bring extra clothes for Lexa.?" She asked sheepishly. "I'm not sure how much of mine she'll fit in or like, for that matter."

"Sure. Maybe we can talk later about your...romance?" The red head inquired. "You've never mentioned her before."

"What was there to mention?" Molly grumbled. "'Hi, April! I'm messing around with a co-worker because my job is so stressful that I find release in a prohibited affair with a deadly woman!'"

"It's not the first time you haven't shared about your relationships. Like the lawyer from Jersey."

"He was a control freak."

"Or the cellist from the Manhattan?"

"She was a narcissist."

"What's wrong with this one?"

"She's secretive."

"Gee, that doesn't remind me of anyone."

"I'm hanging up now, April. I'll see you soon." Her friend chuckled in response before she hung up. With a sigh, she grabbed a toothbrush and some shampoo. She could already hear some angry voices from the living room. Toiletries packed up, she lugged the suitcase out of her bedroom. The brothers were standing in the living room. Raphael and Lexa were staring each other down. Glass pieces of a broken vase laid on the floor. Raphael was covered in water and his sais were out. He looked livid.

"Dare I ask what happened?" The brunette inquired.

"Your little green friends gave me a scare. They crawled through the window and I threw the first thing I could grab my hands on. I threw the vase."" Lexa explained herself. "Then that one took out his forks and broke it."

"How rude of me." Raphael growled. "I guess we'll take the front door next time. I'm sure the neighbors won't mind four giant turtles walkin' down their hallways. That's New York for ya, right?" He stuffed his sais in their rightful places and began to swipe the water off his skin.

"Don't take him personally!" Michelangelo grinned. "Raph, here, scares everyone! He doesn't mean to be ugly. He was just born that way."

"I'll give you ugly!" The elder turtle roared.

"Enough, you two." Leonardo interjected. "We didn't mean to startle you. It is a habit to come in quietly. We are trained to move under the shadow of stealth."

"Except old mouth breather, here." Raphael gestured toward Michelangelo.

"Hey!" Michelangelo frowned.

"Charming." Lexa rolled her eyes. "Are you sure about this, Mol?"

"Did I mention they're teenagers?" Molly dragged the suitcase with her to the middle of the living room. "This kind of behavior is normal. They're pretty mature for what they have gone through. You don't need to worry about them. April can vouch for them."

"Your redheaded friend?" Lexa snorted.

"Show some humility. They're offering you a safe place to stay until we can figure out our next option." Molly snipped. Silence was her answer and she knew she won the argument. She turned to the terrapins. "I just spoke with April and she will be on her way. We can head out when she gets here." The brothers nodded in response.

"We will need to take separate vehicles." Donatello stated. "We can take the turtle taxi, given the amount of passengers we have. I expect Casey and April will be taking the truck."

"Perfect. Then you boys won't mind me riding with you." Molly places her hands on her hips all business. "We can have a nice group session on the way there." The turtles groaned.

"What about me?" Lexa inquired.

"You will ride up with my redheaded friend and her..." She struggled with the word for a moment. "Boyfriend...You're better off with some human company given the discomfort you have expressed last night." Both women eyed each other in silence.

"Well, this isn't awkward!" Michelangelo piped in. Molly took his interjection as reason enough to step out of the living room and into the kitchen to grab a broom.

"Uhm, hello, Allie?" Leonardo approached Lexa. "I'm not sure you remember me but I'm Leonardo."

"The one from that time." Lexa spoke monotone, running her finger across the scar on her collarbone. "Yeah. Thanks for trying to save me, then. The truth is, I probably would have been better off if you didn't." She stepped away from him and sat on the couch.

"What is your problem!?" Raphael growled.

"Cut it out, all of you!" Molly barked entering with a broom and dust pan. "We're all under a lot of stress. Let's try to play nice until we get to the Farmhouse."

"Farmhouse?" Lexa deadpanned.

"I bet it's nice and spacious." The brunette swept up the glass. "Perfect for you. Fresh air and access to nature." As she stood, Lexa picked up a piece of glass from the floor and brought it to the other woman.

"All I'm worried about is having plenty of alone time with you." She murmured, barely above a whisper as she dropped the glass with the others in the dust pan.

"Will you stop that?" Molly hissed, brushing by her to return to the kitchen. Her cheeks burning with a blush. A knock on the door saved her from the topic. "That must be April. Donatello, do you mind?" The turtle obliged, looking through the peephole before opening it for their human friend. She walked in with Casey right behind. Molly re-entered the living room and made a beeline for April. Giving her a crushing hug and speaking so that only she could hear. "Just in time." They smiled at each other before it was back to business. "Alright, let's get going!"

Molly sat in the passenger seat of the turtle taxi. She had to admit that Donatello's ingenuity was constantly impressing her. Were it a different kind of world, he would have his pick of any top university. Her heart sank a little as her thoughts went to how all four of them were missing out on their true potential due to their not being human.

"Why so deep in thought, Molly-O?" Michelangelo asked from behind her. "Are you thinking about the 'alone time' that Allie wanted?" He started making kissing noises.

"Can it, shell for brains!" Raphael swatted his brother.

"Why don't we discuss something more productive?" Molly shook her head. "Leonardo, you have been quiet all this time."

"Every since that bitch told him she was better off not bein' saved, he's been poutin'." Raphael said as the eldest brother glowered at him.

"She's right. If I didn't drag her into the helicopter...Was that scar from when she fell? How bad is it?" Leonardo looked at Molly.

"I'm not sure. I haven't asked." She replied. "Don't take what she said to you to heart. She is in a dark place right now and I can't figure out why yet."

"I'm sure she'll let you explore her dark places!" Michelangelo joked.

"MIKEY!" The three brothers shouted in chorus.

"I'm not sure how productive of a group session this is going to be." Donatello sighed.

"To be honest, I was using that as an excuse. We can't have a constructive group discussion until I figure out a plan for Lexa." Molly confessed. "Actually, Donatello, I think you may be able to assist me. She is going to need medical treatment but I can't take her to the hospital. If the agency is looking for her, it's too risky."

"I'm not sure how much I can help." Donatello stated with a frown. "Cancer isn't my expertise..."

"You don't have to do it alone. I have a couple of doctor friends who wouldn't mind working side by side with you."

"I think, I know someone who would be better suited to help me, if you don't mind. We'll need to take the battle shell for this." He turned down the street to the garage. "Mikey, call Leatherhead and have him meet us at the lair." The blood ran cold in Molly's veins. "Molly, could you let April know we're making a little stop and we'll meet them at the farmhouse?"

"Sure..." Molly swallowed and pulled out her phone. What did she just get herself into?"

Leonardo and Molly sat in the front of the battle shell while the other turtles and their alligator friend rode in the back. She felt a bit irritated with herself for not making eye contact with the larger creature. He was nothing but polite and pleasant. They rode in silence, hearing muted chatter from the back. Leonardo concentrated on the highway with a solemn look to his face.

"Her discomfort for your kind is nothing personal." Molly spoke. "She was nearly killed by a Triceraton when they invaded and she was on a task force to contain some of the mutants during that outbreak the following year. Her brother was mutated and killed before they came up with the cure. By that point, she hated all things alien and mutant." Leonardo listened in silence. "Give her time. I think she will realize all the good you boys possess."

"I'm not so sure about that." He finally said. "You didn't see the way she looked at me."

"Don't let her behavior affect the way you see yourself. You did not fail her." She assured him. "Even if she left with you that night on the helicopter, she would not have changed so easily. I know how her mind works..."

"I've been meaning to ask you," Leonardo glanced in her direction. "Why are you doing all this? Trying to psychoanalyze us for free while working with a government agency that seems to have a thing against us, why?"

"I'm dreaming of a world where we can have different kinds of life forms living at peace together." She winced a little thinking about how her actions around Leatherhead spoke different. "I was assigned a prisoner Triceraton that we somehow managed to capture. Don't ask me how. He was proud and would not speak with me for the longest time. I saw him every day for three and a half months before he started opening up to me. Whether he agreed with his leader or not, he was willing to die fighting for his people. I think it was loneliness that eventually broke down his wall. He had no one to talk to but me for a couple of hours a day. We spoke at length about his family, his life when he was home. I realized he wasn't a monster. Just a soldier following orders; not so different from our earth soldiers. I recommended that we send him home somehow. By that point, the Triceratons had left. I know that the government was collecting pieces of the technology they left behind when they invaded. I figured we could somehow find a way or perhaps he could...Then E.P.F got involved. A man, Agent Bishop, took him away. I have a few friends on the inside that told me he was used for experimentation. I don't know if he is still alive or not. Part of me hopes he has passed to end his suffering."

"You know Agent Bishop?"

"I wouldn't say I know him." Molly replied dryly. "I find him to be an unsavory person. Especially after he took Zog away."

"Zog!?"

"You knew him?"

"We thought he died in an explosion..." He explained. "He gave his life for us. He fought with honor."

"They found him barely alive on a beach before the Triceratons invaded. When they came to earth, was when our sessions started. He knew nothing about them being here." They sat in silence for a moment. "I am finding the world freakishly small..."

"No too long ago, I learned that fate has a purpose for everything."

"Let's just hope it doesn't lead us into a bigger mess than we are already in...

It was afternoon when they pulled up to the farmhouse. The stops to grab the battle shell, Leatherhead and some salvageable equipment from the local landfill took a couple of hours. The farmhouse was large enough to accommodate everyone, to Molly's relief. When she jumped out of the battle shell, April and Casey came out to meet her."

"Your friend just went down for a nap upstairs." April informed her.

"Yeah, little Miss Sunshine spent the whole ride diggin' in to April." Casey shrugged his shoulders. "Did ya run over her cat or somethin'?"

"No. I honestly don't know why she's so unpleasant." She responded, choosing her words carefully.

"Jealousy." Molly answered. "She thinks you and I had a thing."

"That's a riot." April shook her head.

"The perks of being bi." Molly sighed. "Every friend is considered a possible past lover. I told her gingers weren't my type."

"That wasn't what you were saying when we were nineteen and you drunkenly declared your love for me." April elbowed her friend with a laugh.

"Then a proceeded to vomit on your shoes." The brunette chuckled. "I was quite the romantic."

"You had a thing for April?" Michelangelo approached them from the back of the battle shell with Raphael behind him.

"I was at an experimental age and she was an easy target to fall for." Molly grinned. "Oh, she turned me down so quickly, I think I got whiplash."

"That was a hard month. You gave me the silent treatment for three weeks."

"I was embarrassed! I didn't know how to approach you after that. Then you decided to pull that scene from that movie. You blared that 'Why Can't We Be Friends' song on a boombox in front of my house." April put her arm around Molly as they both doubled over in laughter. "I thought my mother was going to murder me. 'Stop being stupid and make up with her already before the neighbors start talking!'" Molly imitated her mother's Korean accent.

"Whew!" April wiped a tear away and straightened up as the rest gathered around. "Let's go inside."

"Ah, Miss O'Shea. I believe this is yours." Leatherhead approached Molly with her suitcase. "I can help you carry it to your room if it's too heavy for you."

"Yes." Molly took this as an opportunity to make up for her past behavior. "That would really help me out a lot." April directed Molly to an empty room and she and the alligator mutant headed that way. "I owe you an apology." She stated as they entered the bedroom.

"Pardon?" Leatherhead placed her suitcase down.

"I'm so embarrassed for how I treated you when we first met." Molly explained. "I was startled by your appearance in spite of the fact that I promised myself I would not judge anyone, creature or human, by their appearance."

"Miss O'Shea, I understand your fear." Leatherhead shook his head. "Alligators are not known for a friendly disposition."

"Well, I am grateful that you have come here to help my friend even though I was rude the first time we met." She held out her hand. "I hope that we, too, can become friends." Leatherhead gingerly took a hold of her significantly smaller hand and shook it.

"Of course. I would be delighted." He smiled. "Speaking of your friend, I will need a detailed explanation of her condition before Donatello and I start to work on finding a way to send the cancerous cells into remission."

"I will see if she is awake." Molly nodded as they walked out of her room. "Again, thank you for coming."

"Anything for...a friend."

They parted at the hallway. Molly walked upstairs and knocked on the door of the room her friend occupied. When there was no answer, she entered. Lexa laid curled up on top of the sheets. Her back was to the door. The brunette approached her and sat at the edge of the bed.

"Lexa..." She spoke her name softly. No answer. She gently brushed a strand of hair from the sleeping woman's face. As she turned to leave, the blond grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her down on to the bed. Once Molly's back hit the mattress, she straddled her with a triumphant smile and pinned her arms above her head.

"Try getting out of this one." Lexa whispered.

"This is getting old." Molly growled. "Get off of me."

"Don't wanna."

"Lexa, you're making me angry."

"Since when has that ever scared me? What are you going to do, break up with me? Oh! You already did that. Or you could kick me out. Nah, that means we came here for nothing. Guess you have no choice but to talk."

"About what?"

"About why you broke up with me. We had it good, Mols."

"Hiding our relationship was good?"

"That was your choice."

"That was the only choice. We could have lost our jobs!" Molly cried. "I couldn't afford that."

"Sure you could have. You could have found another job in an instant!"

"That wasn't an option."

"No, not if you want to continue your stupid crusade for making people accept alien freaks. You liked being on the inside, didn't you? Do you honestly believe people will change there mind and accept these monsters?"

"Maybe if you were more accepting, you wouldn't have shot your brother the moment he changed." Molly spoke the hurtful words softly.

"Ouch, Molly." The blonde shook her head. "You're that desperate to escape my clutches, huh? I know your game. Tell it to me straight. Why did you break it off?"

"I didn't love you." Was the reply. "Not the way you wanted it. Your constant need for my attention was wearing me down. Every time I brought up April's name, you flew into a fit. I couldn't even introduce my lover to my best friend for fear of a fight. After your brother...You changed. Became more possessive, more violent."

"Never to you! I would never hurt you!"

"I wasn't afraid of you laying a hand on me. I was afraid of you smothering me."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You wouldn't have listened. The only time you were ready to listen was when I left you and by that point, I had no desire to go back to you." Molly murmured. Lexa kissed her on the lips, sliding her hand up her arms to hold on to her hands. She pulled back and gazed into the brown eyes of the older woman before moving off of her.

"You'll want me back eventually." She whispered. Molly quickly stood and strode to the door. Her hand hovered over the doorknob.

"Go see Donatello. They need details of your diagnosis to work on finding a way to fight it." She said not looking back. "He has a giant mutated alligator with him. Try not to be a bitch." She opened the door and slammed it behind her before heading down the stairs. Stepping into the kitchen, she found the group talking and laughing amongst each other and her anger broke down a little, however, not enough.

"Raphael." She called out to the hothead of the group. "How about a spar?"

Author's note: The alternate name for this chapter is "Exposition." I'm excited about writing a sparring scene for the next chapter. Stretching out those unused action scene muscles! I'm hoping to write more on the turtles, too. I mean it's a TMNT fanfic for Pete's sake! If I can't get it together to take the focus off Molly, I might have to do it in another fic. More Leatherhead to come, too. I am dying to explore a deeper relationship with him and Molly. He could use some female energy in his life.

Thanks again, for the reviews and follows. Let me know what you think. I can't fix anything if I don't know it needs fixing.