When they got home at 4am Tracey was exhausted and it was all Casey could do to stay awake long enough to get back to the Lair. Artemis was napping on a pallet next to the couch and Splinter slept in his recliner nearby; Donnies condition didn't seem to have changed. Leo was sitting on the couch with a stack of manga's next to him and one in his now human hands while he read. He looked up when they came in and nodded to them, his dirty blond hair a counterpoint to his almost unreal blue eyes; Casey staggered off to lay down on one of the other couches as Tracey transformed and got dressed. When she came out Leo was waiting for her. "Artemis asked me to give you an update if she was asleep when you got back. Donnie's condition hasn't changed and she's going to stay here with him when we go up later but she's asked for something with more caffeine in it." He glanced over at the couch while he spoke softly. "She won't tell me anything about him. Tracey, he's my little brother please, I need to know." He wa pleading and looked on the verge of tears with the anxiety and stress.
Tracey's heart went out to Leo and admired how much dedication he had to his brother, all his brothers in fact, he cared for them deeply even though he didn't quite know how to express it. She looked at Artemis who was sleeping peacefully and then to Donnie, who was sleeping, but every once in awhile she saw his body twitch and sweat perspired on his forehead. Taking a rag, Tracey wrung it out and dabbed it across Donnie's forehead, trying her hardest to avoid Leo's beautiful blue eyes, but to no avail. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, Tracey set the rag back in the bowl of water and pushed hair from her face as she contemplated what she was going to say. A tired breath of air left her lips and she crossed her arms over her chest. "I know this must be hard for you and your brothers Leo, but you must realize that we're doing everything we can to understand what's happening to you guys." She started, taking a blanket from the pile near the couch and shivering a little while she wrapped it around her body. "Artemis and I have a few other concerns now that everyone is human, the most concerning one is you and your brothers' health. When humans are born they get a series of vaccinations to keep them healthy and so their bodies can fight against infections. You've never had to worry about that since you all were turtles, but now you're human and we don't know how you're going to be affected now."
Tracey stopped, took another breath, and looked at Leo again, memorizing every inch of his handsome face. She walked to his side and touched his hand gently, trying to do anything that might comfort him. "We have to be strong and hope that Donnie will get better soon. You've been changed and stripped of your identities and I'm going to try my hardest to help you get it back... I promise you that."
He nodded slowly and after a moment he went back to the couch and his manga while Tracey went to get some sleep. When she woke up at around 11am she could hear music and what sounded like Mikey laughing. When she got up and went to look she saw Artemis dancing the Waltz with Mikey. He was better at it than anyone would have expected and he spun Artemis in a theatrical twirl when the song ended passing her to Leo when the next song started and Artemis started talking Leo through the steps of a Jitterbug. He was grinning, all three boys were grinning while Artemis taught them to dance. When that song ended Leo passed her over to Raph who suddenly looked nervous but Artemis simply took his hands and showed him when to rest them for a Charleston twostep. Tracey found herself mimicking the steps a little but the song ended before she had figured out more than a handful of them. A timer went off and Artemis went to check on Donnie while the boys talked animatedly with each other. "Mikey… I never knew you could waltz." Leo was saying.
"Like who was I gonna dance with?" Mikey replied and rubbed the back of his neck, his lighter blue eyes on the ground. "I learned by watching old movies."
Leo patted him on the back. "I still should have known, you were great."
Mikey grinned and puffed up a bit with pride. Leo looked at Raph and gave him a teasing smirk, Raph crossed muscled arms over his chest narrowing his hazel eyes. "What?"
"You looked pretty happy to be dancing with Artemis." Leo teased.
Raph bushed dark red and scowled. Mikey looked between his brothers and groaned."Oh come on! Why do you two have to like the same girl?"
Leo looked surprised. "We don't."
Mikey blinked. "But…"
"Mikey, don't think so hard, I can hear your brain overheating." Raph said gruffly and started to walk away from his brothers.
"I think Tracey's pretty hot." Mikey said suddenly and Raph stopped to look at him; Mikey flushed and continued. "She's smart, she's pretty and she listens to what I have to say. She's really chill, I mean Artemis is cool but scary cool ya know, Master Splinter cool. She just knows stuff and she saved Donnie…" He trailed off not sure how to finish the thought. "But Tracey is really relaxed and she makes me feel like I'm normal."
Leo nodded. "Yeah, she's got that kind of vibe, like she gets it, whatever it is she understands."
Raph shrugged. "I dunno, Tracey feels like a sister, like I've grown up with her and can't imagine kissing her. Artemis on the other hand is…" He didn't get to finish the thought because Artemis was calling for them to come into the living room. Donnie was finally conscious.
All throughout their conversation, Tracey kept behind the corner, but stayed within hearing distance. A blush sprang to her cheeks instantly when she heard the boys talking about her and Artemis and couldn't help but giggled a little on the inside. She smirked a little for Artemis, if only she could have heard what the boys had said about her, but then again she would soon enough from Tracey. She ended up waiting for a moment before leaving her hiding place and following the boys to the living room where she saw Artemis with her notebook and Donnie, eyes open and mouth slowly working to form words. "You gave us a scare, my dear." Tracey said, giving him a smile and nod. "It's nice to see that you're awake though. How are you feeling and can I get you anything to eat or drink?"
She knew Donnie would need time to get himself back on the mends, but at least now they could start feeding him soft foods and help him regain his strength.
"Thirsty…" He mumbled and Artemis was helping him sit up so she could check his mobility.
Leo was keeping Raph and Mikey at a distance until Artemis gave the go ahead but once she'd given them the thumbs up all three brothers were hugging Donnie gently but enthusiastically. Artemis stood by Tracey smiling, the notepad in her hands totally forgotten. "It's a minor miracle you know? The odds of him coming around after heart failure are dismal and he's got full cognition. Know's his name, his brothers names, our names, what date it was when he was shot… Gods it's like a huge weight is gone." She sounded relieved and Tracey saw her wipe her eyes.
"I know what you mean my sweet." Tracey replied, wrapping an arm around her and giving her a gentle squeeze before whispering in her ear. "You'll never guess the conversations the boys were having about us, but you're very light on your feet." She smirked and left to get Donnie some water for starters and then she'd get him something with a little more protein to it. Tracey returned to the couch and applied a little pressure to Raph and Mikey to get them to scoot over a little before she had enough room to give Donnie the glass of water.
"Start with this and then I'll get out something that will settle your stomach in a few minutes, it's really good to have you back Donnie." Stepping back out of the way before she got mauled by the boys again, Tracey stood back and smiled.
Casey and Master Splinter were standing nearby while the boys talked to Donnie filling him n on what was going on and teasing him by calling him Sleeping Beauty. When Artemis disappeared into the bedroom no one really noticed until Donnie asked to see her notes which she seemed to have taken with her. Tracey tried to shush them so they'd leave Donnie alone, threatening to knock them all out if they didn't and then she'd draw on their faces and take pictures of them. She let the devilish smirk rest on her lips even went she went into the kitchen to prepare something soft for Donnie. "I think Artemis went to our bedroom, I would knock if the doors closed." Tracey suggested, coming back to the couch with a glass of instant breakfast. "In a day or so, when you're feeling better I'd like to go over the information I found in the ghost file... by the way, I love the password you chose." She gave Donnie a wink.
He flushed a little, Leo patted his shoulder and went to get the notepad from Artemis. He opened the door quietly and slipped in and had to smile at the sight of Artemis passed out on the bed. She had barely slept the entire time Donnie had been out and what little sleep she'd gotten hadn't been very restful. He saw the notepad on his desk and picked it up glancing down at her notes on all of them. She stirred in her sleep and muttered a name before subsiding and he leaned over to pull a blanket up over her. He was very careful when closing the door, he handed Donnie the notepad before looking over at Tracey. "Hey Tracey… who's Iolaus?"
"Hm?" Tracey made a noise when she looked up at Leo as he came back into the living room and entered into the kitchen where she was wiping down the counters so she could start up the stove for grilled cheese and soup. Instantly she stopped and looked over her shoulder at him and then at the bread she was about to butter. Tracey cleared her throat and put her thoughts in order before speaking.
"When did Artemis say something about him?" She asked quietly, spreading butter on bread and cutting the cheese.
He shrugged and sat down on one of the stools. "She said it in her sleep."
Raph came over and sat down beside him. "Who are we talking about?"
"Some guy named Iolaus, Artemis said his name in her sleep." Leo replied.
Tracey continued to work, pulling out cans of various soups to heat heat up for herself and the boys. And she let out a sigh but on the inside she was worried about Arty. "Iolaus was a guy we met in Ancient Greece, he and Hercules were the heroes that we hung out with while we were there for a few months. They got close and had something between them, but unfortunately we were sent here next and we had to leave them, our friends behind." Tracey replied, starting the first grilled cheese sandwich. "I guess this is going to be the down side to our new adventurous life... we leave the friends we make behind."
As she started to think about it, her heart started to throb painfully and she let her hair fall into her face to hide it from view. She wasn't entirely surprised when Leo put a hand on her shoulder before wrapping one arm around her waist and giving her a hug. Raph spoke quietly from his seat. "Master Splinter says that you never really leave people behind, you always carry a little of them with you. If that's true you guys aren't gonna have room in those bags of yours for all of the bits of us you'll be taking with you."
Mikey had wandered up at some point and felt compelled to add his two cents. "You guys can take our HipHop Christmas Album! We finally finished it."
A small smile bloomed on her lips and Tracey smiled, looking to each of them and nodded. "I'd like that Mikey and I'm grateful that we were able to meet you guys. You four are so much fun to hang out with." She answered before letting out a light laugh. "Yeah I think it would be a little difficult to put the four of you in our satchels and carry you around, a little awkward too. Anyway, how many grilled cheeses to you guys want?"
They all opted for two each and Tracey was just pouring the soup when Donne spoke up. "Hey do you know when Artemis will be awake? I want to ask her about some of her notes."
Leo walked over and took the notepad and lightly tapped him on top of the head with it. "Relax Donnie, you just woke up, and Artemis just got to sleep after nearly four days."
Letting out another light laugh, Tracey shook her head at Donnie and handed him the first of the grilled cheese sandwiches and a large cup of soup. "Please eat first Donnie, you have to regain your strength. She'll probably wake later tonight and then you and Artemis can go over the notes, but not before then. Even Raph knows better than to wake her now and she is exhausted. Perhaps when you're all finished we can go up topside and I can show you guys what the city looks like when its day... we might even say hi to April too, she'd flip."
Tracey went back to flipping the sandwiches and serving up hot soups to the boys as they sat down at the table. Splinter accepted a cup of soup but declined the sandwich and watched his sons joke and laugh while they ate. He could see vestiges of the turtles in their faces and for all they were human in form they were still themselves, Mikey still goofed around but subtly tried to gain his brothers approval, Raph was still impatient and a little abrasive but ultimately still trying to prove his worth, Donnie was still the absentminded professor of the group who saw more than was probably appropriate and Leo was as always the stalwart warrior who questioned himself more than anyone else. But as Splinter looked around the table his eyes rested on Tracey, a woman out of her own element with a fierce protective streak who was trying to reshape herself to be stronger, braver and more vital to her partnership with Artemis.
His thoughts strayed to Artemis, she was a puzzle to him more than anyone else at the table. She was self assured, more so that anyone else he'd met, he knew there was suffering in her past but she'd turned that suffering into a core of steel and made of herself a force to be reckoned with. But he had the feeling there was something lurking under the surface, he didn't know what it was but it worried him. Leo said something that drew Splinters attention back to him. "Master Splinter? Did you hear me?"
"I am sorry my son, I was preoccupied." Splinter focused on Leo who smiled slightly.
"I was asking what you think of Tracey's idea to take us to the surface since we're human now." Leo was toying with his spoon spinning it between his now human fingers.
Turning off the stove, Tracey set her own cup of soup and sandwich down on the table and sat down to eat. She loved cheese, almost as much as Mikey, if not more so. Having put enough velveeta cheese on her sandwich, Tracey had to pinch the bottom of the bread to stop the cheesy goodness from slipping away from her before she could eat it. "Haw haw hot!" She made a noise and sucked in some cold air to cool her burnt tongue and then licked the cheese that had melted onto her fingers.
After Tracey finished her sandwich and started with her soup, she listened to Leo and Master Splinter's conversation without interrupting them.
Splinter considered it for a moment while he sipped his soup then spoke. "I think it would be a good idea. I have often wished you could see the city during the day without fear of recrimination. I would prefer that you wait until Donatello has had some time to recuperate and Artemis can go with you though. The Foot Clan is still at large and I would feel better about your safety with them both there."
Quietly sipping her soup until it was all gone, Tracey set it down on the table in front of her and looked at Leo and Master Splinter before running different scenarios through her head before nodding at each potentially dangerous situations and then she looked down at her hands. "Hm... you have a point Master Splinter and I should have thought about that before I suggested going up top. I'm sorry Leo, perhaps there's something else you guys would like to do? Oh I know! I think I could take you on now, I have been practicing Boken and I believe I can take you now."
He raised an eyebrow and Mikey laughed. "Oh this should be good. I've never seen anyone but Master Splinter beat Leo."
"Hey!" Raph protested.
"With a sword." Mikey clarified. "Beating him up in Judo practice doesn't count."
"Then it's settled!" Tracey stated rather confidently, taking her plate and soup cup to to kitchen sink and washed them. "Take care of your dishes and then go to the training room, we'll take a few minutes to stretch and prepare."
Putting her dishes in the drying rack, Tracey dried her hands on the dish towel and left the kitchen. Mikey hurried to finish his food and cleaned his dishes before following after her and they chatted lively till they got to the training room and Tracey began her stretches. About ten minutes of stretching, Tracey was ready and just in time too for Raph, Leo and Master Splinter arrived and Leo began his stretches, making sure that he was through and completely flexible. Tracey took a deep breath and knuckle-bumped Mikey as he gave her a thumbs up and she took two Boken swords from the rack and tossed it to Leo. He caught it and twirled it in his hands before preparing himself, sword pointed at Tracey until he sheathed it by his side and waited. Taking a deep breath, Tracey smiled and held her sword at her side and bowed respectfully as Leo mirrored her movements. She took another deep breath and struck a pose, watching Leo's every movement to see how he would proceed.
"Shall we have a wager just to make things interesting?" She asked, starting to circle Leo. "It could be fun."
"What's the wager?" Raph asked before Leo could refuse.
"Loser will make whatever the winner wants and will clean up the kitchen by themselves, no matter how dirty it gets, for an entire week." Tracey said with a smile. "Any objections?"
"What if you're gone before the week is up?" Leo asked tapping the boken on his foot.
"Well we were in Ancient Greece for several months so the likelihood of us going anywhere within a few weeks that we're here isn't very high." Tracey said with a shrug of her shoulders as she spaced her hands on the Boken sword and prepared herself.
Leo shrugged and slide effortlessly into a stance. "Sounds fair."
"Excellent." Tracey replied with a smile and prepared herself. "Let's begin."
Having studied Iolaus and his erratic fighting style in Ancient Greece, Tracey could still pick out his moments of hesitation and that's when she would strike. It soon became apparent to Leo that Tracey wasn't going to make the first more and so he decided to test her. She said she had been practicing so now was a perfect time to see how much she had advanced since their first lesson. Taking a step forward, Leo gripped the sword and swung down, preparing to tap her shoulder with the end of his wooden sword. Tracey had seen his arm muscles twitch and she was impressed with how fast Leo brought down his weapon, it was almost to the point that she panicked and went blank. Instincts kicked in and she diverted his sword by stepping bringing up her own, about shoulder height, and angled downward, making his sword slide over her own and off to her right. 'That was close.' Tracey thought to herself, her heart racing with the rising adrenaline. 'He is a master swordsman after all, stay on your toes.'
Next she advance forward and together they exchanged blows after blows. It became a dance and they moved quickly, darting out and in, Boken swords smacking against each other sharply. Without really knowing how long they had been dueling, Tracey could feel sweat starting to perspire on her forehead and a few drops were rolling down her back. She eyed Leo to see how he was holding up and was happy to see that he too was showing a few signs of exhaustion. Her hands were going numb from gripping the sword, but was determined to out last Leo. She smiled and was rewarded with a confused look from him and then she saw it, the opening she was looking for. Making a move as if to strike him from above, Leo was prepared to counter, but suddenly Tracey dropped low and swung her leg out and swept his feet out from under him. Now that he was off balance, she brought her Boken sword around and rapped his hand, causing him to drop his own and fall back, stunned. Tracey moved in quickly for the 'kill', straddling his waist with her knees and poising the sword above his chest. There she stay, breathing heavily and shaking from the adrenaline. Master Splinter clapped his clawed hands and caused Tracey to look up at him with a smile. Looking back down at Leo, she smirked and blushed a little before standing up and helping him up.
"You have gotten better." Leo said quietly, exhaling heavily and drawing in another breath and allowing her to help him to his feet. "We should do this again."
"Agreed, but for now..." Tracey breathed, giving him a bow. "I think for dinner I'll be in the mood for stir fry and rice."
"You go girl!" Mikey laughed, congratulating her on a job well done.