A/N: Suffering from writer's block at the moment so we'll see how this chapter goes. Let me know if I said exactly what time of the year this is supposed to be in cuz I think I wanted earlier than I had originally planned. Don't like this chapter very much. It's really short.

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT

Melanie opened her eyes, but quickly slammed them shut against the sharp sunlight. Sunlight? She shot up and knocked her head against a shelf. She blinked and looked around. She was in the back of the van, surrounded by blankets, pillows, and coolers. But no large animals. She was alone. Confused and disoriented, she lay back down and listened. She couldn't hear anything but the faint wind whistling past the van. Minutes passed, and Melanie had just begun to doze when the back doors swung open.

"Happy birthday, Mel-bell!" Mikey shouted. Melanie shot up and squinted as Mikey climbed in the car and hugged her, but she pushed him away.

"Mikey, what's going on?"

"You'll see." He said as he tied a bandana around her eyes, picked her up, and hopped out of the car. The wind blew through her hair and she shivered. She caught the smell of pine trees and wet earth, as well as the unmistakable smell of propane.

"Mikey," She said sternly after several seconds of silence, but he just shushed her. He suddenly stopped and set her on the ground, and she tugged off the bandana. Her jaw dropped. She was standing barefoot on the beach of a small lake. She was surrounded by pine trees and meadow grass that reached her knees and swayed in the chilly breeze. A small flock of ducks was crossing the lake, and birds were singing in the branches above. Her eyes watered and she quickly wiped the tears away as she caught site of a tire swing.

"Mel? Are you mad?" Mikey's big blue eyes stared down at her.

"Michelangelo, why on Earth would I be mad?"

"I dunno…" he starter, but he was cut off when she tackled him in a hug. Donnie, Raph, Splinter and Leo suddenly appeared from the trees and she rushed to hug them all.

"I love you guys. So, so, so much!" She said as she hugged her father.

"Happy birthday, my precious daughter." He said as he stroked her hair.

"Now," she said after she had hugged each of them. "where the hell are we?"

"We are in the mountains." Raph said slowly.

"I get that Raph but the mountains where?" She asked.

"That's for us to know and you to not to." Mikey said.

Raph gently bopped him on the head and Donnie shook his head. "That's not correct grammar, Mikey. And we are in Tennessee."

"What if we're seen?" Melanie asked, and Leo noticed how she said "we" instead of "you".

"Don took care of that. We're in the most secluded place on the planet." Mikey whined. "No computer, no video games, no tv, no cement…."

"Shut it Mikey. It's good for us to be out like this. We're cooped up in the sewers all the time." Leo said.

"Don't go having a panic attack on me, Mike." Melanie said teasingly.

"Anyone hungry? 'Cause I'm starving." Raph butted in and began to walk back into the dark woods. Everyone followed and Melanie watched as all her brothers began to make breakfast, but Mikey soon took over and the other three sat down in the grass with her. They watched the clouds and picked out shapes they saw. Melanie couldn't have been happier. Being stuck in the city her whole life, she had never been out in the sunshine with her brothers without having to be hidden in shadows. It made her stomach hurt how happy she was that she could be away from the city and all the problems in it and just enjoy the nature and being with her family.

Mikey soon called for them, and a large mound of pancakes sat on the blanket Master Splinter was sitting on. They all sat down and dug into the pile. Half the mound remained and their breakfast was interrupted by a sharp ringing sound. Mikey reached for his cell and opened it up.

"Hello?"

Soft mumbling was all that could be heard from the other line, but Melanie got nervous went Mikey's eyes went wide.

"Uh, yeah just a second."

"Wow, we have service out here?" Donnie mused as Mikey passed the phone to Melanie, the grin on his face splitting it in half.

"Hello?" she said softly. Mikey mouthed the words "It's your boyfriend" just before a smooth male voice spoke.

"Um, hi? Is this the alley girl?" Melanie's stomach dropped to her toes and all of the turtles started laughing. Raph, being closest to her, got a slap on his arm, but they only laughed harder.

"Um, yeah. I guess you could call me that." She muttered.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't know your name. What is it by the way?" He stuttered.

"Melanie."

"Oh, that's a pretty name. My name is Sky Chandler."

"Nice to know, Sky."

"So, um, I was calling to say thanks again, and I was wonderin'" He paused for a moment. Her brother's teasing had resumed and Master Splinter looked at them curiously as they acted out the events of that night. "If you wanted to get coffee or somethin' sometime?"

Melanie refocused on the voice on the phone. "Um, I don't drink coffee." She felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Oh, then hot chocolate? I know this great place downtown. Would tonight around 7 be alright? I'll come pick you up."

"Actually, I'm out of town at the moment. I'll be back Tuesday, though."

"Oh, well how about Wednesday afternoon then?"

"Sounds great. I'll just meet you at your store."

He was quiet for a moment, and Melanie freaked out even more. "Sounds good. See you then, Melanie."

"Bye." She whispered, and se couldn't hide the smile on her face as all five of them stared at her.

"So?" Donnie said after a moment of silence.

"So?" Melanie responded, determined to hold out as long as possible.

"So, what did your boyfriend say?" Mikey said.

"First of all, he's not my boyfriend." She said harshly, then smiled. "Second of all, I'm going on a date with a rich guy." She squeaked.

"I thought you were just going to get hot chocolate. That doesn't sound like a date." Mikey whined.

"Same diff." She said. "So what are we gonna do for the next four days?"