Chapter 4: Fatherhood

A/N: So, here's the next chapter in this tale. I'm having a lot of fun with this story because I can make up my own storylines and go from there since this takes place after the show has technically ended. Thanks to all of those who have read and reviewed thus far. Your kind words mean the world to me. Here we're going to discover what Tony thinks of fatherhood and get our first glimpse at April and Don's baby. On to the chapter.

Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. I only own the plot and nothing more.

"Where's Lucy? Wheeere's Lucy? There she is!"

Lucy giggled as Mikey took his hands away to reveal his baby blue eyes. He was so adorable with her, and I couldn't imagine anyone else I would trust to take care of her.

"She really likes you, Mikey," I said.

"Yeah, I'm good with kids," Mikey answered.

"Okay, Lucy, Daddy has to go to a training session with Uncle Leo, so Uncle Mikey's gonna take care of you," I said, tickling her stomach. She giggled again as I placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Uncle Mikey?" Mikey asked me.

"Well, yeah," I said. "Or did you want to be called something else?"

"I thought I would be more than the kid's uncle, Tony," said Mikey.

I realized the implications of his words. He still loved me even after all this time. "Um, okay, sorry about that, dude," I said. "Are you sure though?"

He nodded. "Dead sure, Tony."

"Okay then. You look after Lucy and I'll be back soon." I headed to the dojo where Leo was waiting for me.

"It's good to see you again, Tony," he said.

"Yeah, being a dad had cut down on my training time," I answered. "I'm so sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry about it, Tony. You have a responsibility now and you're doing a good job with it. Plus. it's no problem for us to take care of Lucy and I think Mikey really likes spending time with her."

"Yeah, he really cares about her," I remarked.

"We all do," Leo said. "Now, let us start training."

The session lasted for an hour and went well. As I watched Leo demonstrate the moves, I noticed that his movements were more graceful than they had been before.. I also noticed there was an intensity about him that was probably due to what had happened in Japan. When he corrected my form, his tone seemed sharper than it used to be, and though it unnerved me, I didn't call attention to it.

After the session ended, I went to Splinter's room just for old time's sake. The room hadn't changed that much, but there was another picture of the Turtles and Karai all standing together along with more pictures of the Turtles and Splinter.. I smiled to see them all together and smiling. It was great to see something like that.

"It looks like we'll have to add more pictures now that Lucy is part of the family," a voice said and I turned to see Raph looking at me.

I nodded. "Yeah, that would be great."

"So, how are things with you, Tony?"

"Pretty good," I answered. "The shop's doing well, and I really enjoy spending time with Lucy. I just feel bad that I'm leaving her with you guys while I work."

"It's no trouble, Tony, and we are a free service," he said. "If you had a babysitter, it would cost more."

"True. So, how are things with you, Raph? Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine," he said. "Just doing what I always do."

"That's good. How's Leo doing? He seemed pretty intense in practice today."

"He's coping, but it's not easy with everything that happened to him. He's been experiencing nightmares and I think that's why he gets so intense. It took him a long time to open up to us and even now, it's hard for him to talk about it."

"Oh, I see. Well, I hope he gets better."

"So do I," said Raph. "Donnie really likes his tech support job, and Mikey's having a blast with those birthday parties."

"What do you do?" I asked.

"I don't work," he replied. "Mutants ain't part of society yet, so I can't think of a job I'd like to do. I spend most of my time sleeping or going out with Casey to stop crime."

"Don't the others do it, too?"

"Yes, but not as much as they used to," Raph told me. "Leo spends most of his time either watching TV, training, and meditating. Did I tell you that Karai's starting her own dojo?"

"No, you didn't tell me that," I said. "That's cool. And I know mutants aren't part of society, but Don has that serum that can turn you human. You could always use that."

"Yeah, Donnie has been thinking of improving it so that it lasts longer than it does now," Raph mused. "I think he's pretty smart to have invented that."

"Would you use it, Raph?" I asked him.

"Nah, it's not for me," he replied. "But if Donnie perfects it, I think it will be a good thing for the others."

"I think so, too," I said. "You guys have come so far from where you were before."

"We all have," he replied.

I stayed with him a bit longer until I heard Lucy crying again. Then I went out and saw that Leo was holding her.

"I think she's hungry," he said.

"Yeah, it's time for her bottle," I replied. I prepared it and then came back. "You wanna feed her, Leo?"

"Would you be okay with that?" he asked me.

"Of course," I said. "You're family like anybody else." I handed him the bottle, and he stuck it in Lucy's mouth. She immediately took to it, sucking greedily.

"Man, look at her go!" Leo said.

"Yeah, she loves her formula," I mused. "So, how are things with you, Leo?"

"Pretty good," he answered. "If Donnie can make that formula longer, I might join Karai in her dojo to help out."

"That would be cool, and it would give you a way to do something," I said. "Maybe Raph could join you or start a fitness club."

"Yeah, that would be neat," he said. "We always said if we could start a dojo that Raph would help with that."

"See? It's a good idea."

"I''m not sure if he'll go for it, but we'll see."

"I can't believe Don and April are in Italy already. It's going to be so cool to see Gio."

"I know," Leo said. "I'm so excited to see him."

"Have you ever thought about maybe adopting kids of your own?"

"I don't know if it would be a good idea right now. I'm still not over what happened to me in Japan."

"But you're good with kids, Leo. I think it would be rewarding thing for you. You and Karai could live together and start a family."

"It's not like that with us, Tony," he reminded me.

"Oh, come on, Leo, you can't tell me you still don't have feelings for her. I see the way she looks at you, bro. She loves you and you love her. It'll work out."

"We're related, Tony. It can't be like that."

"But not officially. Yeah, she's Splinter's daughter, but you guys weren't raised together all of your lives. If she had never found out the truth, she'd be Shredder's daughter and it wouldn't be so bad."

"Yes, it would because then we'd be enemies," he answered. "I'm sorry, Tony, but I don't think it's a good idea. I know Sensei wouldn't have approved of it."

"I don't think Sensei would have minded at all. He probably already knew about you two anyway. If he was against it, he would have said something to you."

"I don't think it's a good idea. Can we please drop it?"

"Yeah, okay. Sorry, Leo."

"That's okay, Tony. I know you just care about me."

"Hey, Tony, you wanna challenge me to pinball?" Mikey asked me.

"You're on," I replied.

We played a few rounds of pinball while Leo watched Lucy. I won two games while Mikey beat me three times. I turned away and saw that Leo was schooling Lucy on Space Heroes.

"See, that's Captain Ryan, Lucy," he told her. "He's the greatest captain ever."

"Better not give her any ideas, Leo," I warned him. "She might just start slapping me."

"I think she'll be fine, Tony," he said. "Oh, and here's where he fights the Glagans and almost loses! I love this part!"

"Haven't you seen it already?" I teased him.

"It's always good to watch it again," he told me. "And the newer show is on, too, though I don't like it as well as the original. Watch this part, Lucy. This is where he tricks the leader into giving him the amulet."

I laughed and watched it with them. It was nice to see Leo becoming his old self again, something I hadn't seen for a long time. He had suffered so much at the hands of the Foot, and from what Raph told me, they feared that he'd never come back to them after that day. I smiled as I watched his face light up and as he explained to Lucy what was happening. She fell asleep midway through the show though, so Leo gently handed her to me and continued watching.

"I guess this is my cue to leave," I said softly.

"Yeah, but you'll come back, right?" Mikey asked me.

"Of course I will," I said. "Donnie and April are coming back, aren't they? I have to introduce Lucy to Gio."

"Yeah, that's true," he said. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, Tony."

"See you guys then," I said. I took Lucy and made my way back to my apartment. Lucy stayed asleep the whole way back which was a relief to me. I settled her in her crib with her stuffed turtle which had been a gift from Mikey. Then I sat and watched the news until it was time for bed. I was happy as anybody could ever be. Sure, things had changed, but they were good changes, and I was glad that I had my family with me. And soon our family was going to get even bigger.

22222

"Dude, when are they gonna get here?" Mikey complained.

"They just landed, shell brain," Raph replied. "It's gonna take them some time to get back from the airport. I just hope this kid won't be a trouble maker."

"With Don as his dad, I doubt that," I said.

"Don just texted me!" Leo shouted. "They're on their way!"

We all waited anxiously for April and Don to arrive. It seemed like hours before they entered the Lair carrying a small boy. He had dark hair and dark eyes and looked to be about two years old.

"Can I hold him?" Mikey asked.

"Hold on a second, Mikey," Don said. "He has to get used to you first."

Gio looked around at all of us, his eyes filled with curiosity. Then he pointed to Lucy who was in my arms.

"Yes, this is your cousin, Lucy, Gio," I said. "Can you say hi to her?"

"Hi," Gio said clearly.

"Whoa, he speaks English?" Mikey gasped.

Don laughed. "Yeah, they've been teaching him at the orphanage," he answered. "It's not perfect yet, but we're hoping to remedy that ourselves."

"How old is he?" Gia asked.

"He's two years old," April replied. "We wanted to get an older boy, and he was the best they had."

"He's great," I said. "I think he'll fit in well here."

"He nearly screamed bloody murder when Don changed back to his form at the hotel," April remarked. "I think Don wasn't prepared for that."

"He seems fine now," Raph remarked.

"Yeah, he's used to me," Don said. "But it will take some getting used to. I really want to perfect the formula so this becomes permanent. Think of all the possibilities it could afford us!"

"I think it would be great, Donnie," Leo said. "But you've got to look after Gio first."

"I know that, Leo, but I can work on it when he's sleeping."

"Just as long as you don't wear yourself out, too," Leo told him.

"I promise I won't, Leo," replied Don. "I'll do it when I don't have to work at my job and when Gio is napping. I think that will work out fine."

"Can I hold him, Donnie?" Mikey begged.

Don smiled. "Sure, Mikey," he replied. He took Gio and handed him to Mikey.

"Aww, he's so cute," Mikey cooed. "Gio, meet your cousin, Lucy."

I carried Lucy over to see Gio. She smiled and cooed as she reached out a hand to touch him. Gio smiled and took her hand, giving it a little squeeze.

"I think he likes you, Lucy," I commented.

"Baby," Gio said.

"Yes, that's a baby, Gio," I said. "Good job. He sure learns fast."

"Yeah, he definitely is a fast learner," Don remarked. "Well, I think it would be best for April and me to get home so Gio can get used to his surroundings."

"Aww, but he just got here!" Mikey complained.

"I know, Mikey, but this is important," Don told him. "I'll bring him back tomorrow, okay?"

Mikey sighed. "Okay. I guess I'll just have to deal."

"You can come home with me, Mikey, and spend time with Lucy. You can even spend the night if you want."

Mikey's eyes lit up at my offer. "Dude, that would be great!" he said enthusiastically. "I'm so in!"

"It's settled then," Don said. "See you guys tomorrow."

"See you, Donnie," I said.

After they left, I spent a little more time in the Lair before heading out with Mikey. I could tell he was happy to be spending time with me, and I was happy about that, too. We got home and fed Lucy and changed her before letting her watch some TV. When it was time for her to go to bed, I let Mikey sing her to sleep and put her to bed.

"Alone at last," I said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I guess we better make use of our time, huh?" he asked.

I smiled. "If you want. But we better do it away from the crib. I don't want Lucy to have nightmares."

"As you wish," he said as he guided me to the living room couch.

22222

"Waaaaah!"

"I'll get her," Mikey said sleepily.

"No, you fed her last time," I said. "It's my turn."

"Dude, you need your sleep," Mikey protested. "I don't mind taking care of her."

"You need sleep, too," I countered. "Don't you have to do a birthday party for that kid in Brooklyn tomorrow?"

"I'll be fine, dude," Mikey reassured me. "Just let me do this, okay?"

I sighed as he leveled me with the puppy dog eyes. No one could resist those eyes no matter what. "Okay, you win," I relented.

Mikey smiled, took Lucy out of her crib, and went to the kitchen to feed her.

I lay back in my bed, happy at how things had turned out. Mike was a lifesaver, and that was something I had never thought I would have in my life. Then again, I hadn't counted on befriending mutant turtles or even being a father either, and yet those two things had turned out pretty good. Sure, there were bumps in the road, but that was par for the course.

Mikey came back and set Lucy in her crib. "She's all good, Tony," he said.

"That's good," I said. "Thanks for helping out, Mikey."

"Any time, dude," he whispered as he kissed my lips.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face as I cuddled with the Turtle of my dreams, happy that everything was going my way. I wasn't sure how good it was going to last, but I was going to enjoy it while I could before something else happened.

A/N: So that's the end of another chapter. I really like writing this universe and weaving the story. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.