Michelangelo stirred, raising his head from the pillow that was propped up against the window. He opened his eyes to the sight of a green valley, dipping below the curving road they were on. Small traces of red and yellow were fixed in with the foliage, indicating that Fall was encroaching upon the mountainside. Tall slopes rose in the distance, completing the panoramic view that almost took his breath away.
The orange-masked turtle turned to look at Becky on the seat beside him. The young woman was engaged in taking furious notes on a pad of paper, and didn't appear to notice him gazing at her. "Beck?"
Rebecca was so startled she almost dropped the pad.
"What are you doing?" he asked, an amused smile creeping onto his face.
"Making lists," she answered. "All of us girls are trying to come up with individual notes of what we're going to need to finish setting up house. Then we'll compare, and come up with one Master list."
"Shell, you guys are so organized. I'm over here sleeping the day away, and you're well on your way to conquering the world."
"I wouldn't put it that way, Mikey." Rebecca managed a faint smile. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay. Still tired."
"You haven't had that much sleep. We've only been on the road for about 45 minutes."
"I'm kind of glad it isn't dark," he said. "This is pretty amazing out here."
Rebecca bobbed her head, some excitement finally bubbling over. "You can say that again. When all the leaves change, it's going to be incredible."
Becky sounded like herself, but there was something slightly off in her tone. Michelangelo didn't ask about it right away, studying the way her posture was slightly hunched over. The young woman got tired like anyone else, but seeing her sit that way was a rare occurrence.
"Beck, do you feel all right?" he asked softly, not wanting anyone else to hear the question. Leonardo and Calley were wrapped in blankets on the seat in front of them. They didn't appear to be waking up, but Mike didn't want to tempt fate.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she whispered back. "It's just that nauseous feeling again."
Mike cocked his head. "Again with the motion sickness? You never told me you have to deal with that."
"That's because I've never felt it," she clarified.
"Are you sure that's all it is?"
Rebecca shrugged. "I've heard some people develop things like that when they get older."
"You mean now that you're entering your mid-20's?" He snorted.
"It isn't a big deal."
"If I can repeat something you've said over and over, I don't think you should ignore it."
"Why didn't I know those words would come back to bite me?"
"You walked right into it, Beck." He grinned, leaning his forehead toward her.
Rebecca rested her head against his, and he felt warm and content once more.
"I'm so looking forward to falling asleep, and not worrying that an aftershock is going to kill me," she remarked.
Michelangelo backed away, surprised. "Have you been having trouble sleeping?"
"I'm shocked anyone could sleep," she said dryly. "Half of me is desperately relieved to be out of New York, and the other half..." Rebecca didn't finish the thought, as a troubled look overtook her features. "I hope everyone will be okay," she continued. "And that the city will get through this."
"It'll take more than some earthquake to do in New Yorkers," Mike said confidently, though the thought of Brandon back in that military hospital was bothering him too. He still had yet to speak with the man.
"We could look at this a couple of ways," Mike said. "We could see ourselves like refugees running from some awful disaster, or we can make the most of this cool place we're going to hang out in for a while. Sensei used to say that everything we go through is an opportunity to learn something."
Rebecca nodded. "My Mom always liked a quote by Harry Truman. He said a pessimist is someone who makes difficulties out of his opportunities, and an optimist is one who makes opportunities out of his difficulties."
"I think we're gonna be okay here, Becky. We've already got everything that we really need." Mike pulled the note pad out of her hands, dropping it on the seat between them.
"You won't be saying that when you're living off canned Spam."
He chuckled softly. "That's better than some things I've eaten."
"Oh brother, would you lay off the antelope jerky already? It was better than starving in the rainforest, wasn't it?"
Rather than responding to her, Mike cupped her chin in one hand and guided her lips toward his. Rebecca tipped her head in surrender to the orange-masked turtle and let out a contented breath as he released the kiss.
"I'm glad you're an optimist, Mikey. I'm going to try harder to be one too."
He nuzzled her cheek softly. "It's not as hard as it sounds. We're always gonna have stuff we could be worried about, but you just need to change your focus. I've been thinking about Brandon like crazy, and I'd do about anything to talk to him. But on the other hand, he didn't die in the Civic Center. He got out safely and my bros did too, for the most part.
"Raph is hurt, but the docs and Donny can fix him. I know they can. I saw what Don went through with his knee, and Raph's situation may be different...but he's not a quitter either. He won't accept defeat any sooner than Donny did. It's easy to find some reason to be anxious - we don't even have to look for them. Worry happens automatically. The trick is to shut it off, and think about the positive stuff. That's what it all comes down to, Beck. I figured out how to be grateful for what we do have a long time ago, and it makes me appreciate other things even more now."
"Like what?" she asked coyly.
Mike detected the blue-masked turtle moving on the seat in front of them. "If we're ever alone again, I'll let you know," he teased.
He was surprised when Rebecca impulsively pushed him into the window and kissed him in a way that left him feeling a little dizzy.
"What happened to the shy little 'Jungle Girl'?" Mike grinned.
"She's trying to be optimistic."
Leonardo glanced back at them, trying to hide his own smile. "You guys all right back there?"
Translation...am I okay?
"Yeah, Leo, just tired," Mike replied.
"Is anyone getting hungry?" Katherine called. "We could probably pull over and grab some things from the back."
Mike saw Rebecca shake her head, and spoke up for everyone. "I think we're cool. It's not like we have to be in here all day, right?"
"No, we're a little over half way there," Luke answered. "It'd go faster if you got some more rest."
Michelangelo leaned back against the window, but couldn't keep his eyes closed. The views that turned up around every corner of the winding road were practically spell-binding, not to mention the anticipation that was building with every mile.
I can't wait to see this place. Even from Luke's description, I'm still having a hard time picturing it.
It was a good feeling to have some of the stress and anxiety of the last few days melting away, even though the thought of Raphael in the other van was enough to bring him hurtling back to earth.
He'll be okay, Mike thought fiercely. He has to be. Marcus sounded confident. They just need to pull everything together, and Raph will get through this.
The orange-masked turtle drew an arm around Rebecca to pull her close, and she relaxed against his shoulder. As the miles wore on, he heard her even breathing, and didn't so much as move, lest he accidentally disturb her. Several more minutes had passed when Luke suddenly directed Greg off the Blue Ridge Parkway and onto a narrow access road.
"It's pretty hairy to get up and down this road in the middle of the winter," Luke mentioned. "We sure wouldn't want to do it very often. The Parkway itself isn't even maintained."
Mike sighed inwardly. I guess we are settling in for the long haul, huh?
"This is the only way for a vehicle to get up to the house," Luke was saying. "It would be easy to set up some surveillance on this road, just to keep an eye out. There's no reason for anyone else to be using it."
"We'll get that set up," Greg agreed. "On the property itself too, I'd think. I imagine you get the rare hiker or adventurer up here."
"Not often," Luke replied. "There's a lot of mountain country to be covered."
"What was it you called the house again?" Calley asked.
"Lotus Salvus. Roughly translated from Latin, it means 'safe place', or 'refuge,'" Luke told her. "It was my parents' dream. They were in love with each other, and their work. They appreciated their privacy, and became a bit like hermits that respect.
"I've had people ask me if I think I missed out on anything because I was raised here, away from a normal city life. I'm probably kind of weird because of it, but I don't regret my childhood, or wish that my life had been different. I was happy; I loved living here. It felt like being on top of the world, partially removed from everything happening outside."
"Your parents followed you when you transferred to Med School in New York, didn't they?" Rebecca asked.
"Yes, and no. It was a pivotal moment of change for all of us. As much as I appreciated the work my parents were doing, I wanted the chance to treat living, breathing patients with my own two hands. At the same time, my Mom and Dad were moving into a new phase of research, that was going to require a lot of traveling."
"The vaccines?" Rebecca filled in.
"That's right. They took several trips to Africa over the course of two years, around the same time I was finishing up my residency. I hadn't been on any of the missions. Around the time I was getting established at St. Joseph's, they were about to make another trip to Zaire. I managed to get clearance from the hospital to go with them, but another required clinical came up.
"It was only supposed to last for two weeks or so, so I decided I would take a later flight to join them. No big deal, right? Only their plane went down in the rainforest, and broke apart upon landing. There weren't any survivors, and the rest is history." Luke turned forward to face the road. "The idea of coming back to North Carolina at that time wasn't even plausible to me. I couldn't have faced the empty house. I couldn't even handle our place in Chelsea. I had to start fresh, with something completely different."
"He just didn't realize how different," Mike cracked, and enjoyed the sound of Luke's laugh.
"I didn't know what I was getting into when I met April. It's ridiculous to think about how isolated I'd become to that point. I don't know what that feels like anymore," Luke joked.
"You don't know what boredom feels like either," Greg added.
"Isn't that the truth?" Luke smiled.
They were passing through heavy trees on either side of the vehicle, setting Mike into imagining about all the games they could play out here.
If I wasn't a sickling and Raph could walk that is. Man, this stinks for him. I wish there was something I could do. I don't feel like I've been able to do much for anyone lately. Still, the extra rest might be what I need to kick this bug...or whatever it is.
The van continued climbing, and the irritating sensation indicating the changing pressure twinged in his chest. The orange-masked turtle took deliberately shallow breathes that Marcus had taught him, and noticed Becky watching.
"I'm okay," he told her. "It's just a little tight."
"Yeah, that's how it starts," she said pointedly.
Michelangelo's attention was drawn to the front of the car as light filtered in through the windshield, and he realized they were emerging from the tree-line. "Beck, look," he urged.
"You're not going to distract me that easily."
"No, Becky, look."
Rebecca finally turned her head, and gasped as the house came into view.
"Wow." Leonardo whistled. "Is that one house, Doc?"
Luke looked back over his shoulder. "It was several years in the making, and you could call it almost a self-contained city unto itself."
What Luke referred to as a house looked a lot more like a full scale lodge to Michelangelo. Wrap around decks added to the scale of the structure, and the mountain peak that rose behind the dwelling completed the awe factor.
"Hey, Doc. How come you wanted to leave again?" Mike asked.
The blond man shrugged. "If paradise is the only thing you know, how are you supposed to be a well-rounded person? Welcome to Lotus Salvus, guys."