A/N: This chapter answers Second Daughter of Eve's question stated in reviews. She is sure that Nick will exist once his parentage has been revealed.

Not exactly...

Also, big sorry to all my readers for the last chapter. I went over it and noticed some glaring stuff, so I will probably go back and fix that. Fanning is a real turtle thing that they do, though there is no real reason for it. 'Gnomeric' for my non-WoW readers is from Gnomerian, which is a town and instance in the game. Most players just call it 'Gnomer' or as I call it, "That place of evil/hell to which I will never return, I don't care if the axe I want is there. I will buy one!"

Last thing - trying out the poll thing, so go check that out on my profile. Read this first, then go check ;)

運命が割り当てれば

Yuku Sue Unmei

CHAPTER TEN

The lair was silent after the stunning announcement from Nick, despite the fact that the knowledge he provided was somewhat known. It was still a shock to Don, who had never considered the possibility that the time travelling turtle could be his son. He had retired to his room once he realized the truth, closing the door tightly and sitting in his desk chair, thinking of all that had happened.

It made sense now; the way Nick had hovered in his lab, why he was so protective of them…the reason he couldn't exactly tell them everything. But it still worried him somehow. If Nick was the product between him and Dell, how exactly did he come about? Nick had said they were happily married when he was born; but they hadn't been together for months. Could…could one of their…interludes together have gotten her pregnant?

She would've told him, right? He was fairly sure she would have mentioned that he had fathered their son.

Right?

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. While he wasn't in the mood to fix anything, perhaps it would be a good distraction to avoid thinking of what he was now. "Come in," he said, turning to focus on his computer screen. He heard the door open and close, the visitor standing and waiting for an invitation. "Whatever the issue," Don continued. "Just put it on the desk and I'll take a look at it later."

"There may not be a later," came the whisper. Donnie turned sharply, surprised at seeing an unmasked Nick leaning against his door. "I'm sorry to disturb you."

"Oh!" Don said, standing from his chair. "Hello."

"Hi."

The two stared at each other for a moment before Nick took a few steps forward. "I wanted to apologize," he whispered. Donnie tried to speak, but the teen stopped him before he could open his mouth. "I'm sorry for disrupting your life like this; I never meant any harm, you must believe me."

"I…I do."

Nick walked around the turtle, coming to rest against the wall next to him. "I'm sorry for my reaction that you and my mother…" he began. "That you and the princess are no longer together. I was so certain that I was in the right time period, I didn't bother to check my facts. It never occurred to me that in another world the two of you were never together. I've probably gone and ruined the rest of your life, by revealing my relationship to you."

"No," Donnie whispered, putting a hand on the teen's shoulder and turning him to face him. "Don't ever think that. While you may not be from my time period, you are still the son of Hamato Donatello; no matter the dimensions or timelines, you are still my son."

Nick was surprised by the forcefulness that Donnie's words had on him. He was speechless.

Don took Nick's silence as a time to fully look upon this boy who would, maybe in some life, be his son. He could see straight away the resemblance to Dell from his face, the cheeks were hers and the shape of the eyes. "You look like your mother," Don replied.

Nick chuckled. "Most people say I look like you," he said, before realizing what he had indeed said. "I mean…"

"I told you," the brainy replied, a small smile on his face. "Different place, different time, but I'm still your father. You have my eyes."

"I hope you don't want them back," the teen joked. "I kinda need them to see."

Donnie smirked at that. "Not sure if that's my sense of humor or Mike's." Again, he looked at the younger turtle, this time just amazed that this was his son – his son! – abet from the future, but still… "I'm guessing that it was your idea to make a trans-dimensional transmat."

The teen blushed, a bit embarrassed at being scrutinized by his father. "I had help!" he defended. "LH and the Professor said they always liked me. And Benji helped! That kid's always getting me in trouble."

"Is Benji…your…brother?" Could it be possible? Was Donnie the father of two sons?

"He's my cousin," the teen muttered.

Donnie smirked, knowing who the father probably was. "Let me guess," he chuckled. "Mikey's kid, right?"

Nick shook his head. "Leo's."

The brainy turtle's eyes went a bit wide. It was one thing to learn that he himself would be a father one day, but to find out that one of his brothers was a father as well was a bit of a…well, happy shock. "That's…" Donnie murmured. "That's incredible. I mean…really, really…great. Do you…have a lot of cousins?"

"I have six," Nick replied. "I guess…there's no real harm in telling you."

Donnie just looked at him.

"I know, I know," Nick sighed, though he had a smile on his face. "It's…odd, but…you know…in a good way."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Nick nodded. "Even if…even if I'm not supposed to be in this timeline, I'm…I'm glad I came. To finally meet you."

"I can't imagine how life has been for you."

"It wasn't all bad," Nick insisted. "I mean…Leo and Raph and Mike and Master Splinter were all there to take care of me. And Mom…Mother is the best. They all told about me, from the time I could understand who you were. Don't…don't think that I haven't gotten to know you. I have…I just have stories, but here…"

"Here you have the real thing," Donnie finished. "Well then…tell me about yourself. You've heard stories about me, so…I'd like to hear stories about my son."

"You…you wanna know about me?"

"You're my son, Nicky," Don replied. "Of course I want to know about you."

Nick was…stunned. He had realized, after telling his story to his uncles, his father, and grandfather, that he was obviously in the wrong time period. In his time, his parents had never been apart; they had gotten married after eight months of courtship. But here, his parents were not only not married, but apparently weren't even dating any longer. Days that had been wonderful to him, were now accordingly wasted, as he was trying to save someone who probably wasn't in any danger what so ever.

But now, Donatello – his father in another lifetime – was seeking to learn more about him, his supposed son. Nick had convinced himself the turtles wouldn't want anything to do with him, he had wasted their time and had butted into their lives, but making them put aside their normal routine in order to hunt down his story. So to hear that his father wanted to know more about him, actually wanted to know what was going on in the life of someone he would probably never see again…

"Well…" he began, feeling surprised, but…elated. "Um…I like science, as you discovered. In my time, advances have been made with nanotechnology, but nothing they actively distribute yet to the masses."

"Fascinating."

"It really is!" Nick agreed. "Um…oh, well, I'm an only child, for…obvious reasons. But I grew up with a lot of cousins, so I was never alone."

This information made Don think of something from earlier. "You knew," he began. "Or rather, you know the Joneses."

The statement caused the teen turtle to blush slightly. "We're…very close."

"I assume you're talking about Michele," Donnie replied, raising an eye edge. "Just how 'close' are we talking?"

"She's my girlfriend," Nick said, rolling his eyes slightly.

"She's more than that."

"I'd…" Nick found approaching this topic with his father was more difficult that he had ever dreamed. "I want to marry her, one day."

"Congratulations."

"I haven't asked," the teen interrupted. "I just…I really like the idea and I'm gonna wait till I get back, obviously."

"Aren't you a little young to get married?" asked Don.

"I'm only a few years younger than you," Nick shot back.

"I don't have to have a talk with you about…stuff," Donnie said. "Do I?"

"I know about the birds and the bees, Dad."

Donnie looked at him. "Wow," he whispered.

"Sorry," Nick said. "I shouldn't have…"

"Nick, it's okay," Don chuckled. "I just...I never thought I'd hear that. It's…it's still seeping in, that I'm going to have a son one day."

"But not with my mother," came the whisper.

"Hey," the engineer replied, shaking his son's shoulder a bit. "Never think that your mother and I don't love each other."

"Then why aren't you together?"

"Oh Nicky," Don sighed. "You're old enough to know and understand sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to. Your mother is a princess in this time; a princess who has a duty to her family and to her people and lands. We weren't happy about splitting up, but it…just had to be. Nick, I love your mother very, very much. And…I think, I'd like to believe that a part of her still loves me as well."

"So," Nick sighed. "You'll probably never get back together."

"I didn't say that."

"But…"

"No buts, Niccolo," Donnie said, firmly. "I said that, at this moment in time, your mother and I are no longer together. It doesn't mean we'll never get back together and it certainly doesn't mean we aren't friends. You may still be born to us or just born to me."

"And possibly be Niccola."

"I wouldn't be opposed to having a little girl," Donnie joked.

"Not funny, Pop."

"On the contrary," Donnie said. "It's very funny. I bet you would look cute in pink."

"Remind me again whose humor I have?"

"Pretty sure it's mine."

"I beg to differ."

"Well," the scientist shrugged. "You could have your uncle's sense of humor, though I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

"How Aunt Ren can stand it, I'm amazed."

Don once again looked at the teen. "How many of their kids are your cousins?" he asked.

"Five."

"They have five children together!?" Donnie exclaimed. "I don't know if I should be excited or scared."

"Scared," Nick chuckled. "Those little monsters are prank nightmares. I'm just happy I'm on their good side. Or rather, I was."

"I'm sure you'll be fine."

A knock on the door alerted them and Donnie gave the call to enter. Raph poked his head, his face unreadable, but a sense of urgency could be felt. "Hey," replied the red banded turtle. "Think you guys might want to come out here." The two turtles looked at each other before following Raph out into the living room. The feeling of the area was the same as it had been earlier, with anxiety and uncertainty hovering in the air. And there was a reason for it.

There, in the middle of the room, stood Hamato Renet.