Chapter 3: Good News and Bad News
A/N: So I know I haven't updated this in a while, but I figured that since the show's going on a short break I would update this story and concentrate on it until new episodes come back. I want to thank all of those who have read and reviewed thus far. It means a lot to me that you're enjoying the story.
Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. I only own the plot and any other characters not associated with TMNT.
The next day's training session went better than I thought it would. I managed to beat Leo in our sparring match which made me feel good. As we relaxed after the session Donnie nudged April and she cleared her throat, silencing us from our conversation.
"We have some good news for you," she announced. "Donnie and I are going to have a baby."
Mikey gasped. "You're pregnant?!
April laughed. "No, we didn't want to do a natural birth because of my Kraang DNA. I don't want the kid to be part Kraang too. We're going to adopt a little boy from Italy."
"That's amazing!" I said. "Congratulations, you two!"
Donnie smiled. "Thanks, Tony. We're very excited for the news."
"But how can you adopt?" Gia asked. "Don't you have to go through interviews with prospective parents and a home inspection?"
"Yes, and we've done that," Donnie said.
"But you're a mutant," Casey pointed out. "How could you go for an interview?"
Don smiled at him and reached into his pouch on his belt to produce a small vial of blue liquid. "With this," he answered. "It's a substance that will turn me human temporarily. One sip will make it last for twenty-four hours and if you drink the whole thing, you'll be human for at least a week."
"Whoa!" Mikey breathed. "You invented that, D?"
"I did," Don replied. "It took me some time to do it, but I finally figured it out, and here we are. I can now walk among the human populace for one full day or for a week."
"Can you give us some?" Mikey asked eagerly, his blue eyes lighting up.
"I plan on doing so if you want it, but you have to be careful and not abuse it, Mikey. I would only advise using it only if you really feel the need to, such as wanting to adopt a small boy from Italy."
"Can you show us how it works?" Leo asked him.
Don nodded. "Just give me a minute to change into clothes afterward," he said.
"But I wanna see you change, Donnie," Mikey whined. "Why can't we see it?"
"Because I'll be naked when it happens, and I doubt the ladies here would want to see that, with one exception of course." He winked at April as he said those words. "Don't worry, I'll be right back." He hurried into the farmhouse and we waited for him. When he emerged he was a human man with brown hair to match his brown eyes. He was tall and lanky, but he was still the Donnie I knew along with the mask around his eyes, which he took off and tied around his wrist.
"So, that's it?" Leo asked.
"That's it," Don confirmed. "Pretty cool, huh?"
"It's awesome!" Mikey said. "Now we can go out in the daytime without having to worry about humans getting mad!"
"That's a really awesome thing you did, Donnie, and it will help us out a lot," Leo commented.
"I think it's stupid," Raph grumbled.
"What are you talking about, Raph?" Mikey said. "Don't you want a chance to go out and have fun without worrying about what people will think of you?"
"Not with all those clothes on," he answered. "Seems like too much of a hassle to me."
"It's only temporary, Raph," Don reassured him. "You'd be back to your normal self in twenty-four hours at the shortest."
"I think I like myself the way I am, thank you," Raph replied.
"Dude, we all like being Turtles, but think about what it would be like for one day to just go out and be a normal human."
"Yeah, you've always complained about how the humans don't understand us," Leo pointed out. "Here's a chance for you to right that wrong."
"I don't want it, okay?" Raph grumbled.
"Your loss, dude," Mikey said.
"So, when are you going to Italy?" I asked them.
"In a few days," April said. "I really can't wait to meet him."
"What's his name?" Karai asked.
"Giovanni," Donnie responded.
"That's a pretty name," Leo said.
"I thought so, too, and it goes with the artist theme that Splinter started," Don added.
Just as we were about to talk about something else, my phone rang. I sighed and picked it up. "Hello?" I said.
"Tony, some chick came over here," Hector said. "She was holding a baby and gave it to us."
"Anyone we know?" I asked.
"She didn't say her name," said Hector. "She had blonde hair and blue eyes."
My heart stopped after he said that. It was clear that Stephanie had come to the shop, but what was she doing with a baby? "Okay, so what did she want?"
"She said that she didn't want the baby anymore and that it was your problem now," Hector said.
Okay, that wasn't good. "Thanks, Hector," I said. "Looks like I'll have to come back." I hung up the phone and turned to my friends. "I have to go back. There's an emergency."
"What's wrong, Tony?" Leo asked.
I sighed, wishing that I didn't have to go into it. "I was dating this girl named Stephanie," I began. "We broke up because she was talking to a guy online and she eventually moved in with him. Apparently, she got pregnant and is now saying it's my kid."
"Did you have sex with her?" April asked me.
"Yeah, but she said she was on birth control," I said. "I guess she didn't take it or something. I'm going to call her and see what this is about." I turned away from them and dialed Stephanie's number. She picked up after the second ring.
"Hello?" she said.
"Steph, what the hell is wrong with you?" I demanded. "How could you abandon your child like that?"
"Because I don't want kids," she answered.
"I thought you were on the pill," I told her.
"I forgot to take it the night we had sex," she replied. "I thought maybe she was Kevin's, but we had a DNA test done, and it was discovered he wasn't the dad. So I knew you had to be the father."
"So, you just want to dump the kid on me?" I asked her.
"You can give her a better life than I can," she said. "I'm not fit to be a mother."
"You're just going to walk out on your responsibility and dump her on me. You really are a horrible person, Steph. Are you even going to be in her life?"
"No, because I don't want to be a mother, and she needs at least one of her parents in her life."
"But I run a pizza shop! I can't take care of a kid!"
"Well, you have no choice unless you want to give her up for adoption," she retorted. "Be thankful that I gave her to you and didn't just dump her somewhere. I have a new life now, and a kid isn't part of it. Goodbye, Tony."
I was about to protest but she hung up.
"So what's the verdict?" Mikey asked.
"Looks like I'm going to be a single father," I said.
"Are you serious?!" Gia gasped.
"Yep. Stephanie abandoned the kid and passed her to me, so I've gotta go back now and take care of her."
"Maybe you could bring her back with you," April said. "I still have my old crib here, and we can always go and get supplies for you. You deserve this vacation, Tony. Don't let what Stephanie said force you to go back and stay there."
"Yeah, you're right," I said. "I'll go back and get her and bring her here."
"I'll go with you," Mikey offered. "Donnie, can you give me some of that liquid stuff?"
"Sure, and I have some clothes that'll fit you, too," Don said. The two of them went into the house so Mikey could make the transformation. It was a good thing that Donnie had invented that stuff.
After Mikey was set, we used Gia's car and left the farmhouse. I still couldn't believe this was happening to me. How could I be a dad? I had no experience with kids and I was running a pizza shop. Stephanie was such a bitch to do this to me, and I really wanted nothing more than to find her and wring her neck for walking out on her daughter. Mikey tried to distract me by talking about all the fun the baby would be and that he would help me take care of her.
"But you don't know anything about raising a baby, Mikey," I pointed out.
"Dude, I work with kids all of the time," he answered. "I know enough. Just chill, okay? We'll figure it out."
I knew he was right, but I still couldn't help but think about how this was all going to go wrong. I looked at him and smiled, glad that he was here with me. As a human, Mikey had blonde hair and combined with the freckles on his cheeks, he looked adorable.
We arrived at the pizza shop and Hector met us with the baby in his arms.
"Glad you could make it, Tony," he said. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Mikey Hamato," I said. "Mikey, this is Hector Garcia."
"Nice to meet you," Hector said as he shook Mikey's hand.
"Likewise, dude," Mikey replied.
I looked at the baby in Hector's arms and saw that Stephanie was right. She had my dark curly hair and brown eyes. As soon as she saw me, she cooed and held her arms out.
"It looks like she wants you to pick her up," Hector noted.
I smiled and took the baby from him. She cooed again and tried to grab my hair, which I prevented. "So, did Stephanie say what her name is?"
"Nope. She just said that she wasn't taking care of this baby and that it was your responsibility now."
"Hey, don't sweat it, dude," Mikey said. "I'm awesome at naming stuff so can I name her?"
"Well, I'm the dad, so I have to be okay with it first," I pointed out.
"Okay," he said. Then he looked at the baby closely. "Well, she's Italian, so she needs a good Italian name. What about Teresa like that chick on the Real Housewives show?"
"Nah, that's not what I was thinking," I said.
"Then do you have a name picked out?"
"Well, I was thinking maybe Lucia after my mom and Andrea after my grandmother on my dad's side."
"Then why did you say I could name her?" he asked indignantly.
"I just wanted to see what you would come up with," I replied. "Do you like the name I picked out for her?"
"Yeah, it's cool. Won't you have to get her a birth certificate?"
"I'll deal with that later. Let's just get her back to the farmhouse."
"Um, Tony, I think you need a car seat for her," Hector pointed out.
I slapped a palm to my forehead. "Shit, I forgot about that," I groaned. "Looks like we'll have to make a trip the store for some stuff."
"We can do that, dude," Mikey said. "It was nice to meet you, Hector."
"Nice to meet you, too, Mikey," said Hector. "Have a safe trip."
"Thanks," I said. "Let's go get some supplies."
We drove to a department store and bought a car seat, some diapers, some formula, and a baby bottle. I knew we'd need to get more things, but for now, this would do. We buckled her into the car seat and drove away from the city. She immediately fell asleep, and that made me feel better. Mikey kept glancing back to check on her.
"She's so cute," he said. "Being a human is awesome, dude. I wish it could last forever."
"I do like you as a human, Mikey, but I like you better as a Turtle," I said. "Don't change who you are."
"I guess you're right, but I still like it," he said.
We arrived at the farmhouse, and everyone immediately gathered around Lucia.
"She's so sweet!" April cooed. "What's her name?"
"I named her Lucia Andrea Salini," I answered.
"That's a nice name," Donnie said. "Lucia and Andrea were also names of artists from the Renaissance period."
"Yeah, I know, but I named her that in honor of my mom and grandmother."
"It's the perfect name, Tony," commented Leo. "I think you'll make a great dad."
I took Lucia out of the car seat and carried her into the house where everyone took turns holding her except for Raph and Karai who weren't the biggest fans of kids. Lucia whined and held her arms out for Raph, but he stubbornly refused to hold her.
"Get that kid away from me," he said. "I don't do well with babies."
"But you're her uncle now, Raph," Mikey said. "You gotta love her."
"I didn't say I don't love her," he protested. "I'm just not good with kids is all."
"Then the best way to combat that is to learn," I answered and before he could protest, I put Lucia in his arms. He seemed reluctant at first, but he got the hang of it as I showed him how to hold her.
"Aww, this is so cute!" Mikey cooed and snapped a picture with his T-Phone.
Then Lucia began to cry.
"Oh, crud, what am I doin' wrong, Tony?" Raph asked, his green eyes going wide in panic.
I laughed. "Nothing, Raph," I reassured him. "I think she's hungry. I'll go prepare a bottle for her."
Mikey took Lucia from Raph while I went and prepared the bottle according to the directions. Then Mike handed her to me and I began feeding her. Lucia took to the formula well and greedily began sucking on the bottle.
"I think Lucia and Giovanni are going to get along great," Don said with a smile.
"Yeah, I think so, too," I said. Once Lucia was done, I burped her.
"Why do you have to do that?" Mikey asked me.
"Because she has air bubbles in her stomach and she needs to burp them out," I answered.
"Oh, you mean like what I do when I eat too many beans?"
I laughed. "Yeah, kind of like that except she can't burp on her own."
"For someone who says he doesn't know a lot about kids, you're doing a good job with her, Tony," Leo said.
'I only know enough from what I've seen on TV," I told him. "I know there's a lot more to it though."
"You seem happy, Tony," Gia said.
"Well, I don't think this was the best thing to happen, but I'm going to do what I can to take care of her since she's in my care."
"We'll help you as much as we can, Tony," Leo said.
"Thanks, Leo," I said.
When night fell and we were ready to go to bed, April moved her old crib into the room I shared with Gia and Abby, and I put Lucia into it, covering her up. With a sigh, I settled down to sleep, happy that the day was over and that I could now rest.
22222
"Waaaaah!"
Lucia's cry pierced the silence. I groaned and rolled out of my sleeping bag to check on her. She was crying hysterically, and I had no idea why. I picked her up and checked her diaper and noticed she needed changing. I put her on the changing table and changed her diaper, but she continued to cry.
"What's the matter?" I cooed. "Are you hungry?"
She continued to cry, so I went downstairs and prepared a bottle for her. After I gave her the bottle, she settled down to sleep again. I figured that would be the end of it, but two hours later, she woke up again. I walked her up and down the room, soothing her, but she continued to cry. Leo walked in and took her from me.
"Go back to sleep, Tony. I can take care of her."
"No, Sensei, I'm not going to pass her off to you. She's my daughter, and I need to take care of her no matter how tired I am."
"It's no trouble at all for me to look after her, Tony," Leo said.
"But it'll look like I'm not a responsible father if I let you look after her," I protested.
"I can help take care of her," Leo said. "I learned a thing or two from Sensei when he was caring for us and the stories he would tell. You need your rest, Tony, and you won't be much use to her if you can't sleep."
I knew he was right, so I stopped protesting and let Leo take her. Her eyes closed as Leo sang a Japanese lullaby Splinter used to sing to them when they were younger. She also fell asleep and didn't wake up for a few more hours. This was the price I had to pay to take care of my child, but I was willing to show Stephanie that I could take care of our daughter and be a good father to her. As long as I was alive I was going to make sure Lucia was taken care of and that she had love in her life from at least one of her parents because I owed it to her to do it. She wasn't going to be an orphan as long as I was around.
A/N: And that's the end of another chapter. I bet you didn't see that coming, did you? I had fun with this chapter and I can't wait to write more. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.
