A/N: Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. This chapter doesn't have a lot of action, but keep that tissue ready. Things are going to pick up pace in the next chapter.

Kala pulled away from Mikey to step around the others. She cupped her son's face. "It'll be alright, honey. I'll be fine." She could feel it was a lie, but one she was willing to give him.

He watched her, his expression tight. "But Uncle Donnie just said-."

"There was a lot of advanced technology on Neutrino when I left. I'm betting there is a lot more now. That's why we have to go there."

Mikey stepped up behind her with a sad expression and set a hand on Kaz's shoulder. "We'll fight this just like we always fight – as hard as we can and together."

Yoshi didn't realize he was trembling until Star stepped up beside him and slipped her hand in his. He looked down at her to find concern reflecting in her pale blue eyes. He swallowed. His gaze traveled back to Kaz, who looked like he might have a panic attack. Yoshi could imagine what his cousin was going through. He knew the helplessness that he'd felt when he'd seen his own mother in the hospital bed, and the shock and anger when he thought his father had died. Seeing the troubled look on Kaz's face brought all those emotions back.

Leo stepped close to Mikey and put a hand on his shoulder. "We're here to help any way we can." He met Kala's gaze with a gentle one of his own as he squeezed her arm warmly.

Mira had been leaning into K-three trying to drive away the storm of emotions from her family. She started to step away from him. "I need to check on Katsu."

"He's fine. He was sleeping when we came downstairs." Sarah reassured her.

Mira frowned, mulling over what had been said. She knew her and Kane were about to be loaded down with new duties. She sighed, glancing up at her mate. "We should get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

"Wait." Leo held up a hand stopping them. "There is one more thing we need to deal with."

Shinta frowned. "What's that?"

Leo looked from one brother to the next. "Ona and Kaz were spotted tonight by Ona's step-father."

"Damn it!" Raph muttered.

Cat's brow furrowed. "What step-father?"

Sarah frowned, her gaze shifting to Donnie. He put up his hands, but couldn't suppress the wave of shame that hit her. "I never said I didn't find anything on her. All I said was that I didn't find much. It wasn't. It was one article that was all. Everything else must be in hard copy somewhere."

"An omission is the same as a lie." Sarah mumbled, looking away. Her words hurt less than the sting of betrayal that hit him in return.

Jamie frowned at Leo. "Well, at least I wasn't the only one out of the loop."

Kala looked up at her spouse. "Mikey, what is he talking about?"

Mikey opened and closed his mouth several times, then lifted his eyes to meet his son's. Kaz was shaking, panic filling his blue depths. The younger turtle turned back to Ona, who was staring at her hands. She wasn't sure what to feel at that moment. She was worried about Kaz, but felt hurt by him too. In fact, she felt hurt by the four brothers as well. They had lied to her.

"Everyone calm down!" Leo said as murmurs began around the room by all the women. "Let me explain our reason for not telling you. Especially you, Ona. In the article that Don mentioned it gave details of the abuse Ona suffered at the hands of her step-father." He shook his head with a distraught expression. "What that man did was nothing short of horrific. And she was just a child."

"I want to know where that bastard is, so I can kill 'im!" Raph growled, gripping the handle of his sai so tight his knuckles turned white.

"Not that I'd stop you," Leo said calmly, "but it's probably not wise to go hunting him down. He could just leave town and that would be the end of it." He turned back to Kaz, who'd sat down on the sofa beside Ona again and was squeezing her hands in his. "As for you two, don't leave the lair until we're certain he's gone."

Kaz gave a small nod, his chest too full of emotion to bother trying to speak. But Ona's head came up. "I want to see the article." She stated firmly.

Mikey's eyes grew wide and he released Kala to kneel beside his daughter-in-law. "Trust me, squirt, you don't want to see that. You don't need that kind of stuff in your head."

Ona's jaw trembled. "Yes, I do! It's my life! I have a right to see it! None of you had a right to keep it from me!" Her gaze sharpened on Kaz and she pulled her hands away. "None of you!"

Mikey frowned, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be mad at Kaz. He was only trying to protect you. We all were."

"Was it that bad?" Kala asked softly.

He looked up at her with a mixture of pain and anger. "In some ways, worse than what Kassic did to you."

A small gasp left Kala, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as tears pooled in her eyes. Several feet away, Don felt the shock wave of horror pass through Sarah at the new information. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, but her expression hadn't changed.

"I still want to see it." Ona demanded quietly.

Sighing, Don pulled up the article on his phone. Yoshi saw the title over his uncle's shoulder - Man Arrested After Assault on Twelve-Year-Old Girl - and his grip tightened on Star's hand. She had only been twelve! A part of him wanted to read the article himself, but another part knew it had to be bad the way his father and uncles were reacting. Donnie moved around the couch and the others moved aside as he handed his phone to Ona. The room was deathly quiet as she slowly scrolled through the article, reading every single stomach turning word. She began to shake the closer she got to the end. At last, she dropped the phone in her lap and began to sob. Leo motioned for everyone to leave so they could have some privacy.

Don picked up his phone, but Kala yanked it from his hand. "Kala, don't!" Mikey pleaded. But she'd already seen enough.

"Oh, god!" She sat on the other side of Ona and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Oh, sweetheart. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She rocked the girl back and forth, tears streaming her pale cheeks. Her breaths were harsh and heavy.

Don frowned, afraid she might cause herself more harm. "Mikey…"

However, Sarah was already moving around the couch and tugging at Kala's arm. "Come on, Kala, we have to go pack for tomorrow." She couldn't let Kala get so worked up, plus she could tell that Kaz wanted desperately to hold his wife.

Kala began to cough and Ona sat up, staring at her with wide watery eyes. "Mom?" She whispered softly as Sarah and Mikey pulled the Neutrino to her feet. Kaz frowned, not at the endearment she'd been calling his mother for years now, but the pain in her voice. He'd forgotten that his mother was the only mother Ona could remember having. He wanted to reach for her, but waited until the others had left the room.

When they were alone he tried to take her hand. She jerked it back. "Don't touch me!"

Pain shot across his features. "Babe, please…"

"How could you…" Her voice broke and she stood, not daring to meet his eyes. "How could you even look at me after what he did to me?"

Kaz was on his feet, his hands around her shoulders. "What!"

"I'm damaged, Kaz! How could you want me, knowing what he did!"

"Of course, I want you! I've wanted you every day for the past five years! You are my wife, my reason for living, my reason for breathing!" She stared up at him with dark uncertain eyes. How could he convince her? "Ona-."

"Malani." She said flatly.

Kaz's expression turned hard. "No! You are Ona! You have always been Ona to me! Even when you were living on the streets mute from your trauma, begging for money and food." His gaze softened. "I still wanted you then." He cupped her face. "You were beautiful and kind and genuine. And," he said softly, "you weren't scared of me. And when Lanius took your memories, I was terrified that you would be frightened of me, but you weren't. You accepted me for what I am." There was awe in his blue eyes and Ona could feel the panic that had gripped her a moment earlier wash away. She stared at him for a long moment, until tears began to pool in his eyes.

Then she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Kaz…"

He trembled, dropping his head to her shoulder. "I love you, babe, and I don't know what I'd do without you." His voice choked and he let out a small sob. "I need you right now. I need you so bad."

Her arms tightened around him. Although her own mind and heart was in turmoil, she knew his was worse. His mother was very sick and by the way the others were acting possibly dying. "I know."

Her fingers caressed the back of his head and he shuddered. "I can't do this without you. Please stay with me." His voice was an almost inaudible whisper.

"Always." She kissed his cheek. "Always."

Sarah and Mikey eased Kala down on the side of the bed. "Take slow deep breaths, Kala." Don advised her gently.

After several moments, she was able to catch her breath. She turned her gaze on Mikey. "How could you not tell me what happened to her! After what Kassic put me through! You should have told me!"

Hurt rolled across his features. "Babe, I'm sorry. But I couldn't. I could barely stomach it and it nearly destroyed Kaz when he read it. If Ona had found out…" Mikey bit his lip, not sure how to say what he wanted.

"It was something we all decided." Don glanced at Sarah, feeling the prickle of betrayal again. "We all thought it was for the best. The fewer of us that knew, the less likelihood someone would say something to her." He sighed, dragging a hand down his face. "Maybe we should have said something before now. But we were all hoping it would never come to that. I mean the guy was in Hawaii, the chances of him showing up here and finding her were so slim."

"It doesn't matter. We should have been told." Sarah didn't look at him. "What if Ona had been out with one of us? What if none of you were around and that man approached us? We would never have known and he could have hurt Ona or one of us."

Don's jaw hung open as she lifted her brown eyes to his. What had they done! What had he done! He shook his head, taking a step back. "No…" He was vaguely aware of his mate approaching him.

His panic blazed through her as his understanding dawned. The guys had unknowingly put them in danger. She cupped his face, forcing him to look at her. There was sheer unadulterated terror in his eyes as they darted around in a frenzied state. "Look at me. We're okay. We're safe." Pushing down her own hurt, she pressed love and forgiveness towards him through the bond.

Finally, he seemed to truly focus on her. "Oh, Sarah, I'm sorry." He wrapped her in strong arms, pressing her tight against his chest. "If anything had happened to you…"

It had taken Mikey a little longer to realize what Sarah had said. When he did, he turned pale, dropping to his knees and wrapping his arms around Kala's waist, half burying his face against her chest. "Oh, babe, I'm sorry! I swear I'll never keep anything from you ever again!"

Kala felt the anger in her fade and she slipped her arms around him. "It's okay. But you see why you can't keep secrets from us?" He leaned back nodding and she pressed a hand to his cheek. "We're partners. We need to make decisions together." He gave another mute nod. She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck again.

Sarah slowly stepped back from Don. "Do you need me to help you pack?"

Kala lifted her head and shook it. Before she could say anything, Mikey was getting to his feet. "I'll do it." He went to the closet and began rummaging for a suitcase.

Don looked down at Sarah. "We need to be packing too. I don't know how long this trip may last."

"Do you need me to help you pick out suitable clothes?" Kala asked.

At that Sarah actually laughed. "Kala, you have seen my closet, right? All I have are jeans and t-shirts and a few sweaters."

Kala chuckled. "That sounds perfect."

Sarah just shook her head in amusement as they left the room.

A few doors down, Cat paced back and forth across her and Raph's bedroom. He stood watching her from just inside the door. He could tell she was about to pop, the vein above her left eye was bobbing up and down.

"Look, I wanted to tell you. But you know how Leo gets. He said it was for the best. He didn't think Ona should know, and at the time I had to agree. That bastard treated her worse than an animal. He kept her tied up and gaged in a closet for close to a year! And he did stuff to her." His fists balled at his side, the anger returning with a vengeance. "She was a baby! She was his to protect and he did that!" His voice broke and Cat turned to look at him.

Her shoulders slumped and she took the few steps between them to take one of his large hands in hers. "I understand none of you wanted her to remember that stuff. But Kala, Sarah, Jamie and I, we should have been told. How can we protect Ona, if we don't know what we're supposed to be protecting her from? Ona has gone out with us a lot of times without any of you. How would we have known the guy was bad news, if we were never told?"

Raph stared at her for a moment as his guts began to twist and churn. If that bastard had laid his hands on Cat… "Stupid!" He pounded the heel of his hand against his temple. "We're so stupid!"

Cat frowned. She hadn't expected him to do that. She'd expected him to say she was right and then apologize. This made her worry. "Raph?" She reached up to catch his hand.

He suddenly pulled her against him, burying his face in her neck. "What was I thinkin'! I've nearly lost you twice! I should've told you!" He clutched her a little tighter. "I'm sorry." He shuddered, digging his large fingers into her short blonde and gray locks. "I can't go through that again. Don't worry, I'll never keep nothin' from you ever again."

Cat frowned. As usual, she hadn't been thinking of herself, only Ona. But Raph's words made her remember the night after Kala had arrived and that evil Neutrino Kassic. She remembered the pain and heartache she'd put Raph through. She had never regretted her own actions, but she had regretted seeing him so broken and lost. And now she had Yoshi to consider. What would happen to her boys if something happened to her?

She swallowed hard, not wanting to think of such things and knowing exactly that scenario was going through Kala's mind at that very moment. It was a possible future that Mikey and Kaz might actually face. She trembled, her arms tightening around her love. Right now, all she could do was cling to him. Here within the circle of his arms was the safest place in the world. And so she allowed him to shelter her from the turbulent emotions the night had brought.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jamie paced to the window and back.

Leo shook his head. "I couldn't."

"Yes, you could."

He shook his head again. "I made the guys promise not say anything. So, neither could I."

Jamie paced back to the window. "This is not something you should have kept from me. And you certainly shouldn't have kept if from Ona."

Leo frowned. "So she could suffer with that knowledge for the past five years?"

It was Jamie's turn to shake her head. "No, so she could have protected herself for the past five years. So we could have protected her, when we were out with her. I know it's pretty rare we go out without you guys these days, but-"

"You could have been with her when he spotted her." Leo felt guilt wash over him like a tidal wave, followed quickly by fear.

"Yes, and we would have never known it." She paused to look at him and saw that he had finally gotten it. It wasn't often that she had to point something like that out to him – in fact, she couldn't remember ever doing it - and she could tell it wasn't sitting well with him. He'd turned a funny shade of yellow-green. She sighed, pushing her glasses up her short nose and stepping up to him. He looked down at her with guilt-ridden eyes and she cupped his cheek. "This time nothing happened. But next time, how about asking me, if you're not sure? Get my opinion on it." She smiled softly. "We are a team after all."

He sighed, covering her hand with his. "You're right. It was wrong and dangerous not tell you all. I was only trying to spare Ona the pain of her past."

"Ona's a lot stronger than you give her credit for." She leaned up and pecked his lips. "Besides, the women in this family are pretty good at keeping secrets."

At that he chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you would have to be to live in a house full of mutant turtles and not tell a soul."

A/N: Man, there is some real tension in the Hamato house right now.