Jenna left the Lounge a couple minutes later, and noticed that Raph and Leo had retreated to the kitchen. She'd run into Luke and April chatting in the living area, entering the room in time to see Splinter leaving the Lab with his kettle.

"Is it all right if I talk to Don and Mike a little more?" Jenna timidly asked the rat.

He nodded reassuringly. "Go ahead, Miss Richards."

Donatello looked surprised to see Jenna coming back in, and quickly set his cup aside. "Hey! How did the Lounge work out for you?"

"You guys have a great set-up. Do you all play?"

"Little of this, little of that. Ninjitsu can be a bit consuming. It's healthy to have another hobby that can serve as an outlet," he explained.

"I asked Leo where everything came from. He said you could explain it."

"Genius here is our source of income," Mike filled in."Pretty handy to have around."

"If I had the energy, I'd come show you how handy I am." Donatello cracked up.

"I'm game if you are," Mike shot back.

It made Jenna laugh as well - but she seriously wanted to know about what Mike alluded to.

"I kill bugs," Donnie offered. "Big, bad...computer bugs. I do free-lance work for some large corporations. I'm completely unattached; clearly, they've never seen me. Everything goes through April. They send in their issues, I fix 'em. I'll take whatever they give me, but uh...the badder the bug, the better the pay. With April's help, I seriously expanded over the last four years. Never pictured the opportunities that have come up."

"I'm impressed."

Donnie shrugged. "It pays the bills."

"So what do you play?"

"I started learning guitar from the game Rocksmith* about three years ago, believe it or not. The Rock Prodigy* app was a huge help too. Over the last two years I've also been using videos on the internet to learn keyboard. Mikey here can blow your socks off on the drums."

"I'd like to hear it."

"What's really fun is when we all get together. Raph's got a voice you wouldn't believe," Donnie told her.

"You're kidding."

"Nope," Mike backed him up. "But it is a closely guarded secret."

"I wouldn't peg him for a singer."

Don grinned. "There are a lot of things that still might surprise you about us."

"Tell me about it," she murmured, suddenly breaking eye contact.

"What about you?" Mike asked. "Do you do a lot of writing?"

"Fair amount, I suppose. I've never done anything with it. The music I write, I keep it to myself mostly. My parents have heard a couple of things but...I just like to keep it to myself," she repeated rapidly when her voice cracked.

"You don't have to talk about it," Don replied quietly.

"I get tired of not talking about it." Jenna mulled over opening up for a few moments, then took the plunge.

"My life was far from normal. When I was four years old, my mum killed my father, nearly killed me, and took her own life. My parents were basically modern-day gypsies the way they moved around - I didn't have any other family that I knew of. I became a ward of the government and spent ten years in foster care, shuttling from one place to another. I was...difficult. I supposed if I'd been a better kid, I might have been adopted. But I didn't trust anyone, I didn't love anyone, and I didn't want to rely on anyone. I made it as hard on people as I could, so I wouldn't get nailed down again." She blinked back tears while hesitating once more.

"I've never told anybody that before. You guys know what it's like to have to hide, to be unable to show who you really are. I've been hiding in plain sight for almost my whole life. Before the Richards came along, no one saw me. I made sure of it."

"They must be wonderful people," Donatello said carefully.

"They are, God bless them. They were so patient, and willing to accept me where I was without having to change. I love them dearly...but I still feel lost sometimes. I don't know who I really am, or who I'm supposed to be. Music is one of the only things that's kept me sane. It's where most of my emotion has gone, because I don't like for people to see my weakness."

She paused again, sniffing as tears took over. "You guys have it hard. But you're so lucky you have each other. Don't ever take that for granted." Jenns forced a half-hearted laugh, then smiled at them. "I'm sorry. I'm didn't mean to do this. It's dangerous to leave me to my own thoughts for too long."

"Don't apologize," Don said tightly. "You're right - things aren't always easy for us. But we do have our family, and we're never alone. Unless we choose to run off without the others," he added sardonically, before growing serious again. "I can't imagine what your life has been like. I'm sorry."

"Being here has stirred things up for some reason. I don't know if that's really a bad thing, but it's forcing me to deal with emotions I'd rather ignore."

Donnie shook his head. "Emotions are a funny thing. Do you know why I happened to be in Central Park at the exact time you were being dragged through there?"

"No...I don't."

"I was mad. I was trying to work some issues out. The kind of things which pale in comparison when you really think about it. Hiding emotion, hiding yourself, you understand it has far reaching effects. As painful as it is to force yourself to rehash events that should never happen to anyone...I think it's how you become a whole person."

"That's the kicker, Donnie. It's what I fight to be every day of my life, or sometimes choose not to bother on the bad ones. I wish it was as simple as just opening up to my parents."

"Well, I think you're on your way," Mike volunteered. "You sure sound real enough right now."

The orange-masked turtle had been so quiet, she'd almost forgotten he was there.

"You have...a real strength," Donatello said slowly. "I saw it the first time I laid eyes on you. You're a survivor, which is a good thing - it enables you to do things others wouldn't dream of. Like staying to help a strange mutant you've just met, instead of running. That's power. Courage. Sometimes...strength also means being able to let go of control. Like the way you put yourself into my family's hands with no guarantees of anything. You trust your parents?"

"Yeah, I honestly do. They're the first people I've opened up to since I was little."

"That's good. But have you told them everything you've explained to us?" Mike ventured.

"No. I haven't wanted to get into it, and they never pushed me. They only tried to make me feel safe."

"How did you meet them?" Mike asked.

"My mom, Victoria, she was part of a youth music program. She volunteered as a teacher of a summer session for kids inside the government system. It was their attempt to socialize and civilize some of us. She took an interest in me from the beginning. I already knew how to play the piano, but she got me started on guitar that summer, and began teaching me to read music.

"She treated me different, as if I actually mattered. I didn't feel like she had a reason to at the start. I'd just been released from another home late in the music program...when Victoria went to bat for me like no one ever had." She paused, and continued in a slightly wistful tone. "I never told her I was listening through the door that day- but the conversation I heard completely won me over."

"Mrs. Wilcox - I'd like to address the future of one of the students in the Songbird project," Victoria addressed the Head Mistress.

Mrs. Wilcox was an uptight woman who looked fifteen years older than her actual age. "Is this a matter of discipline that you can't handle?"

"No, Ma'am. You're aware that Michael and I can't have children of our own. Over the course of this summer, I've fallen in love with one of your fosters. My husband and I have been discussing it for weeks and we've decided we'd like to bring her to live with us in Sydney."

"You know it's a little more complicated than that."

"Yes, Ma'am, and we're willing to work inside your system."

"Which child are you interested in, Mrs. Richards?"

"Jenna Porter."

The woman made a strangled noise between a laugh and a cough. "You don't want Jenna, Victoria. Nobody wants that girl. She's been utterly blacklisted. Eight foster homes in ten years - and the one she's in now has thrown in the towel!

"Now there are many children that would be well-suited to you, both nicer, and younger. I have several files I could show you. But the last thing you need in a Diplomat's household is a surly fourteen-year-old who hates everyone and everything. You may think you have a connection with her, but take my word for it - nothing good will ever come of Jenna."

Victoria was silent for a long silent moment. "To you, she may be a lost cause. But she's still a person, Mrs. Wilcox - a girl who's been hurt worse in her lifetime than most people can even dream. I see something special in her, an incredible potential for growth. She has more to offer than someone with a limited imagination can grasp. I'm willing to take the risk that she could break my heart. Will you please prepare her paperwork? My husband will be here in fifteen minutes to go over the details."

"Victoria saw through me," Jenna continued. "All the facade I'd built to protect myself. I met Michael for the first time that day, and they invited me to come and get to know them, no strings attached. The rest is pretty much history, and the adoption was final last year. Some people called them crazy. I call 'em my parents," she finished wryly.

There was a light knock at the door, and Luke poked his head inside. "Am I interrupting? I kinda need to check these two over again."

"No, it's okay." Jenna rose to her feet. "I've been talking their ears off long enough." She cast Donatello a lingering glance. "I'll see you later. You don't mind if I use your Lounge?"

"Of course not. There's even equipment to record if you want to - Raph could show you."

"Thanks...and...thanks for listening, guys. Meant a lot to me."

*I don't own Rock Smith or Rock Prodigy.