Leonardo had never experienced a problem with staying focused, yet aware of everything else around him. He'd gotten to a place where he could even tune out several of the minor annoying behaviors his brothers had picked up through the years. In the midst of training and exercises it wasn't unusual for the insignificant noise to fade into the background, only for something important to draw him back to awareness. It was a fine line to walk between shutting out distractions, and still being able to hear that which was necessary.
Getting caught up in watching Calley, however, was a different experience altogether. Leonardo had found that he could get lost in her dancing, to the point that nothing else registered. She had never failed to move him, but there was something else behind the performance tonight that seemed to cause time to stand still. It was too easy to forget where he was, and the hundreds of other people in the theater. The rise and fall of the accompanying instrumentation barely impacted him. The notes only existed to drive the dance, or to slow it down.
It was the applause that finally drew him back to reality, with an overwhelmed sigh that resonated from deep within him. Leonardo turned his head to see his younger brothers, and found Raphael smirking at him.
"If I didn't know better, Fearless, I'd think you had a crush on the lead or something."
"And I guess a certain choreographer has never had that effect on you, right, Raph?"
Leonardo didn't wait for a response before looking wistfully back at the stage. There was a part of him that wished they didn't have to wait so long for the madness to die down before the girls could be reunited with friends and family. There would be photos and endless conversations first.
His purple-masked brother nudged his shoulder suddenly.
"C'mon, Leo. Marc's text said they'd wait back at the car. You're not going to be able to see your girl for awhile, so we may as well get out of here."
Leonardo wasn't interested in arguing with Donny's logic; he was simply trying to shake off the tingling feeling from legs that had probably gone to sleep a long time ago without him noticing. Leo nodded his head at Raphael for the red-masked turtle to go first. His brother had several more months of experience with sneaking into this building, from watching Karina's practices with the Company before Calley had ever come into the picture.
The three brothers silently made their way above the auditorium and the still thronging crowd. They exited from the roof onto an adjoining building, but Leonardo hesitated another moment before breaking into a run. They made their way swiftly over the neighboring structures, their shadows barely visible to anything besides each other.
Leonardo could feel his brothers' eyes, even if they weren't saying anything yet. The next time the blue-masked turtle pulled up short, his gaze flicked between Raph and Donny.
"What, guys?"
Donatello smiled shyly. "It's nothing, Leo, we don't need to stop."
Leonardo's glance automatically panned back to Raphael.
"He's right, bro, everything's fine," Raph added.
"Then why are you two acting weird?"
"Don't misunderstand me, Leo, but your girl was from some other planet tonight," the red-masked turtle confessed. "I ain't never seen a room look so..."
"Captivated," Donny supplied.
Leonardo nodded. "She was breathtaking; I just didn't realize everyone felt it as strongly as I did."
"I doubt that's possible." Donatello grinned more freely. "But she probably managed to convert a couple of those guys who were dragged to the show against their will tonight."
Leonardo leaned against the ledge of the building on which they were perched. "The only thing that makes it better is knowing how much she loves it too."
Raphael clapped him firmly on the shell. "Well, our girls will be following soon enough, Fearless. Let's catch up with the others in the meantime, before they send out a search party."
Marcus' dark blue Avalanche was parked near the back of a parking lot, closer to the Battleshell than they'd been expecting. They approached their friend's vehicle first, and discovered that they'd beat April, Marc, and Kat back there.
The turtles departed to wait in the shadows for the humans to show up, never stirring as they saw other figures filtering through the lot to pick up their cars. The three familiar forms were easy to distinguish, even in the semi-darkness. Leonardo whistled to let their friends know that they were close by, and he watched while they got into the car. After verifying that the coast was clear, the turtles slipped between vehicles to meet them.
April smiled fondly as Leonardo ducked his head into the Avalanche. "Hey, guys. Hope we didn't keep you waiting long."
"Is everyone still coming back underground?" Leonardo asked.
"If Calley won't go to the party, we have to take the party to her," Kat offered, as she scooted over to make more room for the turtles to hang out temporarily.
"She was pure magic tonight," Marcus commented. "It's too bad this was the last performance."
"For this program," Donny pointed out. "Calley could still have a career ahead of her, if she wants it."
Kat shook her head. "I can tell you that Karina has worked with a lot of dancers through the years between teaching and choreography...and when she says that Calley has something very special, it means something."
Leonardo sat back against the seat with a strong sense of satisfaction. "We all knew she had it in her - Calley just needed to prove it to herself."
The blue-masked turtle shifted as his phone vibrated. He reached for it, expecting to see Calley's name pop up, but it turned out to be his absent brother.
"Hi, Mikey. Are you guys holding down the fort okay?"
"Aye, aye, Cap'n. No lads will penetrate the defenses while I hold the walls." The orange-masked turtle put on a fake accent that made Leonardo smile.
He has to be feeling better. That, or he's getting good at faking it.
"We're still waiting on the girls to get finished. It could still be another hour or so before we join you."
"I hope they hurry," Mike said jokingly. "Someone needs to stop Bran and Heff from killing each other. Was it a good night?"
"Calley was the best I've ever seen her."
"Glad to hear it, Fearless, I want you guys to tell me all about it."
Leonardo detected a soft click on the line, and Mike spoke up again a moment later.
"Beck is trying to get me, so I'm gonna let you go, okay, Leo?"
"Sure, go talk to your girl, Mike. We'll be home as soon as we can." Leonardo focused dark eyes on Marcus when he hung up the phone. "So, Marc, about Mike and training..."
The doctor turned around to face Leonardo straight on. "Luke, Donny, and I discussed this, Leo. If he feels up to training, it's better for him to work out than stay idle."
"But if it's complicating him getting better-"
Donatello's hand on Leonardo's shoulder interrupted him. "None of us want to see Mike struggling, bro. All of this could simply be related to his white blood cell count, but there are other possibilities too. We think one of the best ways to get to the bottom of this is to try and proceed normally. In this case, Mike's training would become sort of like a stress test."
"You mean like the kind of procedure where you push someone's heart really hard, just to see what happens?" Leo asked.
"This isn't simple curiosity, Leo, and we're not taking things lightly. The three of us agree that we need to allow thing to progress naturally, until we get some more understanding," Marc replied.
Leonardo shrugged. "You guys know what you're doing, but I still think we ought to be watching him closely."
"No doubt there, Leo," Raphael said gruffly, a hint of protectiveness coming out in his tone. "We can't let him pull one over on us, that's for sure."
Raphael was one of the first ones back in the Den, with Karina's arm hooked through his. The red-masked turtle paused at the sight of his seven-month-old cradled against Michelangelo's plastron.
Shell, he looks so happy with her.
Raphael forced a smile down, and gave his youngest brother a stern look. "You would let her stay up. Didn't I tell you not to spoil the kid, Mikey?"
"She's asleep, Raphy. No harm done, right?"
Karina bent over Michelangelo on the couch, and the orange-masked turtle held up Olivia for her to take.
"You certainly got her relaxed, Mike. Maybe she'll sleep through half the night," Karina said wryly.
To Raphael's dismay, the little turtle whimpered the moment she was airborne.
"Guess she was too dang comfortable," Raph mumbled.
"Lemme have her a little longer, and I'll get her back to sleep," Mike said. "I'm the babysitter after all."
Raphael started to object, but Karina tugged on his arm.
"It's okay, Raph. I need your help with something real quick anyway."
The red-masked turtle was confused. "You do? You didn't say any-"
"Just come with me, and I'll explain."
Raphael trailed behind his wife as the Latin woman headed down the hall, and couldn't help staring at the way her hips moved under the fabric of her dress. Karina ran her fingers through her burnished hair, removing the clips that had held it properly in place for hours.
"Okay, Kari, what were you trying to tell me?"
Karina leaned against their bedroom door to shut it behind them, then she spun around to catch Raphael with a deep kiss. After the instant of surprise passed, the turtle eagerly returned it.
"This was all you wanted, huh? I'm not too good with subtlety, Kari. Sometimes you just need to beat me over the head."
Karina kicked her shoes off, and settled down on the edge of their bed.
"Not to kill the mood or anything, but with everybody here..." Raphael faltered, and she put a finger to his mouth to motion for silence.
"This isn't about seducing you, Raph, as much as I'd like to."
He couldn't hide his disappointment, and she laughed freely.
"But it does have something to do with it," Karina added. Her green eyes had been twinkling mischievously, but now they seemed more serious. "I miss you, Tortuga. You've been taking so much of the responsibility for Olivia lately. You're a good father, Raph, and I don't think anyone could love her more than you. But you're also not supposed to be doing this alone. You should be able to rely on me and even the others sometimes. Your brothers and the girls get a lot of enjoyment out of Olivia too."
"But they shouldn't have t-" Raphael stopped himself when she sighed.
"They want to help, Raph, and it's not a bad thing to accept from time to time. Don't you miss me?"
Karina's smile suddenly felt electrifying, and there was nothing he wanted more than to take her.
"I miss ya like crazy, Kari. I'm having a hard time controlling myself right now."
"The sooner we get our rooms moved around the better, huh?"
"How long will it take you to pack?"
Her laughter peeled out more clearly than he'd heard in weeks.
"I'm sorry I've been so busy, Tortuga."
"Kari, I'm glad you went back to work. You love doing this, and you're really good at it."
"I love you too, Raph."
"I know you do, Chica."
"Then I'm going to make you a deal. You 'let' your brothers and their wives take Liv occasionally, and I can guarantee I'll make all the time for you that we need."