*I do not own TMNT. Just a fan, thus the writing of fan fiction. ;-)

Chapter 3

Complete and utter chaos. That is the conclusion one would arrive at if they were an outsider looking in at the Lair of the Hamato clan. The four brothers were quickly organizing and cleaning their home after their long hiatus in the Battle Nexus. They had not been there to compete, since that time had come and gone and only occurred every few years. They had been undergoing specialized training with the Daimyo's son. Unfortunately their training was cut short when something terrible happened causing the loss of someone very dear to them. It was a shock to everyone there when it happened and just as much of a shock to those they called family back in New York. Right now the brothers were dealing with the shock of sudden loss by distracting themselves with mundane things and executing them in extraordinary ways. Michaelangelo and Donatello had made a game of organizing recyclables using their respective weapons to launch the objects into their specific piles. While the youngest turtle swatted a soda can with his nunchaku behind his shell Leonardo and Raphael effortlessly bobbed and weaved their way around the room amongst the flying debris straightening and dusting the furniture.

To an untrained eye it would seem that the ninja were not paying attention to the objects whizzing through the air yet at the same time their lightning fast reflexes allowed them to get out of the way at the last second. Mikey's cat, Klunk, observed all this with interest. His head flicked back and forth as he tried to follow the cans and paper products with his feline eyes. He would occasionally reach out a paw to bat at some crumpled object, sometimes even standing on his hind legs, but the stuff was moving way too fast for him. Every now and then Leonardo would casually deflect a can or two into the pile with the flat part of one of his katana blades without even turning his head from what he was doing. Just to give his brother's a little challenge, Raphael picked up one of the recycling bins to catch some of the debris. Michaelangelo smirked as he aimed for the now mobile bin dangling from between his brother's feet. With a quick flick of his ankles Raph tilted the container forward and smirked right back at his little brother as the can landed with a metallic clunk.

As the young males took on an even more playful mood they got a little careless with their aim. Donatello had batted a can just a little out of range, but it didn't matter since a delicate green hand caught it before it hit the ground.

"Venus! Welcome back, sweetness!" Mikey greeted cheerfully before executing a front flip over the couch. He flinched when Raphael slapped him on the back of the head. Venus snickered to the sight.

"Quit showing off for her. It's getting annoyin', Mikey." He then gave Venus a curt nod of acknowledgement before going back to his work of gathering the recyclables. Leonardo put down his dusting rag to greet the female turtle for himself.

"Hey, Mei. It's good to have you back. How's April?"

"She is doing well. She sent me back with some fresh fruit and plenty of tea." Donatello had already made his way over to her to take the plastic bags from her right hand as she chucked the soda can into the bin with her left.

"Nice shot," the purple masked mutant complimented to which Venus responded with quiet thanks and a small smile.

"I am sorry I didn't get back sooner to help with the pre-spring cleaning," she apologized as she casually swiped a finger over a nearby piece of furniture. She looked her finger over before giving a satisfied nod and sitting on the couch. Klunk quickly settled on her lap. Venus stroked him from head to tail and she giggled when he let out a happy 'brrt'.

"Hey, Klunk-ster, are you trying' to make moves on my girl?" Mikey commented with feigned annoyance as he sat next to Venus, draping his arm behind her. He didn't notice the small frown that formed on Leonardo's face as he stood next to the couch.

"Mei, you don't have to apologize for not being here. You do more than your fair share around here. Besides, I'm sure April appreciated your company the past couple days." Leo rested a hand on her shoulder as Venus smiled brightly up at him. Raphael 'coughed' into his hand to barely disguise his muttered words 'butt-kisser', causing his older brother to give him a sharp look. That only lead to the other younger brothers to succumbing to a fit of giggles. Leonardo sat next to Mei Pei Chi with a grunt of irritation and brushing Michaelangelo's hand from the back of her shell.

"Nonetheless I still feel there is much I can offer this family, Leonardo," the female responded as she settled deeper into the couch cushions. Mikey noticed she scooted just a bit closer to Leo.

"You're talking like you're an outsider, Venus," the youngest interjected as his brow crinkled with concern. "You do know you're part of this family, right?"

"Of course I do! It's just that lately...I've been dealing with certain...concerns." She bowed her head and began to stroke Klunk behind his ear.

"What kinda concerns?" came Donatello's query as he returned from the kitchen. The other four waited for Venus to provide an explanation. She hesitated a few moments before letting out a nervous laugh.

"Oh, it's nothing that can't wait until we have something to eat. I'm famished! Now where is that fruit?" No one bothered to stop her as she headed towards the kitchen leaving the others with their curiosity piqued. Raphael shrugged his shoulders and followed the female to the food. He was a bit hungry after several hours of cleaning. The rest soon followed suit and within minutes each of them had fixed whatever they had a taste for. Leonardo had some green tea with honey with some spring greens. Raphael was in the mood for some boiled bratwurst with sauerkraut. Donatello had a hankering for a grilled cheese sandwich. Michelangelo had a microwaveable chicken cheese steak with a heaping pile of popcorn shoved into it. They had all learned not to question Mikey's taste in food.

They spent their meal making light conversation mixed with a bit of teasing. They all avoided the subject of the loss of Master Splinter. None of them wanted to be the first to bring it up. Toward the end of the meal Venus spoke up to get the guys' attention.

"Um...if it is alright with you all and you have nothing else pressing I would like to discuss something with you after breakfast." Everyone stopped in mid-chew then all the younger brothers looked over at the oldest then at Venus.

"Well, since we're all here why don't we discuss it now?" Leonardo responded, in effect asking what was on all of the guys' minds.

"I think it would be most proper to have this conversation in the dojo." She then quietly bowed her head and resumed eating her apple. The rest did the same while Leo didn't take his eyes off of Venus for the rest of the meal. She seemed uncomfortable about something but he couldn't put his finger on it.

After breakfast all five of them met in the dojo. They settled down on the tatami floor in a circle. Leonardo sat next to Michelangelo who was flanked by Donatello. Raphael and Venus completed the circle respectively. With a nod of his head towards her Leo gave Venus the go ahead to speak her mind. With a sigh she began to speak.

"For some time now I have been pondering many concerns regarding this family, and even more so since...our great loss." Her vague reference to the painful event caused a ripple of emotions to pass on each of the Turtle's faces. "That happening has me considering things such as our mortality and even the future of this clan. I know you all understand that adjustments in our relationships will come in order to hold our family together. That will take care of the present. But what about the future? How will we establish a legacy? Who will carry on after we cross from this life to the next?"

She paused to gauge they guys' expressions. She noticed some confusion and a bit of apprehension. She cleared her throat and continued.

"I feel very strongly that we shouldn't let this generation of our family simply fade away ending our existence in this world...so I propose that we should make preparations to...ahm...procreate in the near future." She paused again in order for her words to sink in. The first one to speak up was Raphael.

"Wait a minute. Why the hell are you telling all of us this? I mean, shouldn't you be talkin' to your boyfriend over there about this?" He jerked his thumb towards his older brother, who now had a look on his face like he wanted to pull into his shell.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Leo snapped.

"I'm saying we don't need to hear about you two finally getting' down and dirty!"

Venus could sense an argument brewing so she brought their attention back to the issue at hand with a loud clap.

"I am not just referring to Leonardo! That in itself is a whole other issue. What I'm suggesting is, for the sake of the future of this clan, that I...mate with all of you."

By now her voice was barely above a whisper, and it got so quiet in the dojo you could hear a feather land on the tatami mat. She looked down at her hands to avoid the shocked expressions on the others' faces.

"You do realize what you're saying, Venus?" Donatello asked, sounding a bit unsure himself.

"Of course I do! If you think it's not a good idea I will accept that." She still wouldn't look up, she felt so weighted down with embarrassment and shame.

"Actually, what you're suggesting makes a lot of sense. In order to have some variety in the gene pool for the next generation you'd pretty much have to go that route," came Don's response in that most thoughtful manner of his. Mikey slowly and sheepishly raised his hand to put in his two cents.

"I kinda agree with Donny on this one, so..." He was cut off by a sound coming from one of his brothers that was a mixture of anger and frustration. Moments later a flash of green and blue stormed out of the dojo. "Looks like Leo's not takin' it well, huh? And I thought it was Raph's job to storm off in a huff leaving a trail of pissed mist. By the way, what do you think, Raph?"

The red masked mutant just sat there slack jawed for a moment staring at the meek looking female. He wondered if he was trapped in some weird Twilight Zone moment. Venus didn't know if she should be happy or afraid of the smile slowly forming on Raph's visage.

"Well now, turns out the perfect little princess had a fuckin' freak just itchin' to get out," he smirked. Venus turned three different shades of green as she took great offense to that comment. "Leo, you got yourself a live one here!" he called after his brother. When he turned his attention back to Venus he noticed her balled fists and narrowed eyes. "Oh, did I hurt your feelings? Well, guess what? Da truth hurts!"

"You want to know what else hurts?" Venus hissed through clenched teeth. Before the guys knew what was happening she reached over and slapped Raph hard across the beak. She then made a quick exit leaving a stunned and slightly annoyed Raph with two of his brothers giving him dirty looks. With an irritated grunt he got up and stalked out of the room.

"Damn, Raph was really harsh," Mikey muttered after Raph slammed the dojo door behind him. "I mean it took a lot of guts for Venus to speak her mind like that. He didn't have to insult her!" He could feel anger swelling up inside him and took a deep breath to keep violent thoughts at bay.

"I know, Mikey. She's only trying to contribute to our survival as a species." Donatello just hoped this whole incident didn't end up tearing their family apart.

*Next chapter: What's really bothering Raph? Also, Leo confronts Venus about her suggestion.