Michelangelo's ears were sharply attuned for any sounds the moment he walked into the Den. He hesitated at the bottom of the stairs for a few seconds before going to the second level. Everything was quiet. He didn't hear anything as he slipped past the room Raphael shared with Karina, and then that which belonged to Olivia.

He looked back to see his red-masked brother coming up the stairs, and waved good night to Raphael. Mike turned the doorknob to his bedroom as carefully as he could, and snuck into the room past the bassinet where the two-month old turtle was sleeping.

As he silently shifted into bed guided by the small nightlight, Rebecca stirred despite his best effort not to wake her.

"Mikey?" she whispered.

"Well, it's not the tooth fairy."

Becky raised her head to look at him. "How did you do out there tonight?"

"Good – we saw a lot of action…and Kelley tracked us down."

Her breath caught in her throat, and he held up a hand reassuringly. "It was okay, Beck. Leo doesn't think the guy means us any harm. Shell, he might even be our friend if things weren't so complicated."

"Then what did he want?"

"To see how Raph was doing, and to remind us to be careful."

She smiled faintly. "You can't be reminded of that too many times."

"How's Nate been?"

"He's been asleep the whole time you've been gone. He'll probably want to eat in another couple of hours or so."

Michelangelo nodded. "I'm here now, okay? Daddy's on duty."

Rebecca's fingers lightly brushed his cheek. "Did I tell you he was holding his head up again earlier tonight?"

"When did he do that? How come I keep missing it?"

The young woman giggled softly. "You're bound to catch it one of these times, Mike." She gazed at him quietly before going on. "You look tired."

"It's a good tired," he answered. "An 'exhausted but happy and satisfied' kind of tired. We did a lot of running tonight, more than I have since early last year."

"You've still got to watch it, don't you?"

"I am, Beck, I'm not gonna overdo it. Why don't you go on back to sleep? I didn't mean to wake you up."

The curly-haired woman brushed her lips over his before snuggling into the crook of his arm. Mike rested his head on his pillow, and the strong desire for sleep came over him in the blink of an eye.

Peace was a welcome companion as his body began to wind down, and his thoughts started to drift. Though he was physically tired, his mind wasn't ready to relinquish its activity. The last four months had seen more changes and more joy than he knew life could contain.

The orange-masked turtle thought he knew what to anticipate when Nathaniel was born. Despite his high expectations, the baby had exceeded them all. Mike felt like he'd been on a consistent adrenaline rush that made it hard to keep his feet planted on the ground.

He would have held the baby constantly if it wasn't necessary to share Nate with Rebecca and occasionally do other things, such as sleep, eat, and train. None of those things seemed as important as they used to. Being with Nate and Rebecca was more fulfilling to him than anything else he did.

Mike yawned as he felt Rebecca's breath evening out next to him. He gazed down at the woman as she fell back asleep, admiring her with silent affection. He was tempted to brush a stray curl from the side of her face, but knew that he'd probably disturb her if he did. Instead he exhaled deeply, marveling at the ease with which his chest performed the action.

Man, this time last year…I don't even want to think about how hard that was to do. I'm so glad to be here, instead of back there. I probably ought to get some sleep while the baby is settled down.

Mike grinned as he remembered one of Karina's first words of wisdom for Becky after Nate had been born. You sleep when the baby sleeps. Better advice has never been given.

Michelangelo kept his eyes closed as he cleared his mind, and let the peace overtake him.

Mike heard the baby turtle stirring, but by the time he was sitting up, Becky had already hopped to her feet from her side of the bed.

"Beck? I can go," he offered.

The young woman stopped by the bassinet to lift Nate out. "Here, take him, Mikey. I'll be back in a couple minutes with a bottle."

Mike nodded as he accepted the blanket-wrapped bundle from her, and glanced at the glowing numbers on the clock. It was nearly 4am. "You did pretty good, buddy," he told the fussing turtle. "Mommy's getting it, okay?"

He carefully supported the baby against his shoulder with one hand, as he turned on a lamp with the other. Mike continued trying to soothe Nate while Becky was gone.

"I know, it's hard being a baby and having to wait on everyone else. But you're okay, Nathaniel, Mommy's got your bottle covered, and I've got you."

Nate rolled his head toward the sound of his voice, and his eyes opened to look up in the picture of innocence that Mike couldn't resist. The perfect irises were the same color as Rebecca's, which could never completely decide to be either blue or green. Nate appeared to be studying him, and Mike swore he could see intelligence in his gaze.

I hope he takes after Becky in that department – that'd be cool.

Michelangelo was resting against the headboard with the baby cuddled tightly in his arms when Rebecca returned from the kitchen. As she handed him the bottle, he shook his head.

"The point in saying I was on duty was to get you to sleep," he mentioned.

The young woman smiled. "I can't sleep through him, Mike. Besides, I'm trying to enjoy Nate while he's this small. We know that won't last."

Mike grinned. "Not with me as his dad. He's gonna grow up big and strong, but right now, he's just our baby."

Rebecca leaned against the headboard beside him, and laid a hand over the back of Nate's head. "He reminds me of you already."

Mike met her eyes. "Really? I see a lot of you in him. He's got brains like his Mommy."

"You're smart too, Mikey."

"I'm not the one who knows like ten languages."

"It isn't that many, and that doesn't prove anything. I just have a good memory."

"Sure, Beck, that's all it is." Mike snorted, tapping the bottom of the bottle to keep Nathaniel interested.

Rebecca's arm came around his neck, and he turned his face to kiss her.

"He represents the best parts of both of us, Mike."

Mike nodded, smiling when Nate made a contented sound. "Could we get much luckier than this?"

She shook her head, focusing first on him, then on the baby. "I don't think so, Mike. I really don't."

Michelangelo felt a little sore as he traipsed down the stairs the next morning, but nothing could have wiped the smile from his face when he was greeted by an overeager border collie at the bottom.

"Look out, Noah, coming through!" he warned the dog.

On second thought he caught the dog by his collar, tugging him carefully out of the path of his wife who would be coming down with the baby in a minute. The appearance of the animal could only mean that Caleb had arrived early.

Mike's eyes roved the living area, until he spotted the man standing with Donatello. The orange-masked turtle hurried their direction, breaking the personal space barrier in less than five seconds.

The older man chuckled as he embraced the turtle in return. "You're the only person I've ever met who could match Molly and Noah's enthusiasm for a greeting."

"Get used to it." Mike laughed. "It's great to see you."

Caleb took a step back to scan the turtle from head to toe. "You look incredible. No one would guess what you've been through in the last year."

Mike shrugged. "I bounce back."

Donatello shook his head. "To put it mildly. You haven't seen anything yet, Caleb. Mike is usually our own living example of the Energizer Bunny." Donny's gaze rested on him judiciously. "You were moving a little slower down those stairs than usual. Are you feeling anything negative relating to our jaunt last night?"

"I'm sore," he admitted. "But we were busy. I didn't have any problems when we were caught up in the action; I'm just feeling it a little this morning."

Caleb nodded. "Your excellent physical condition has helped you recover more quickly than you would have otherwise. Many people take at least a year to recover from these kinds of stem cell transplants. You shouldn't hesitate to still take it easy somewhat."

"I'll make a point of not jumping off any buildings today," Mike returned.

"You'll what?" Caleb stared at the turtle like he was crazy.

"Just wait," Becky called from behind Michelangelo. "You're going to have a coronary when you find out what these guys actually do topside, Caleb."

The man was too distracted by the baby in her arms to laugh. "Is that your boy?"

Rebecca beamed. "This is Nathaniel Yoshio Hamato."

Caleb admired the little turtle appropriately. "He's beautiful. That's an interesting name. Does it mean anything special in Japanese?"

Becky chuckled as she exchanged a look with Mike. "It's kind of funny, because the names go together better than we could have planned, and it was a complete accident. He's named Nathaniel after my father, and when you combine it with his middle name, it means 'God has given joyful life'."

Caleb smiled more widely as he brushed his fingers over Nate's arm. "It's perfect. It suits the both of you, and I'm sure it will suit him."

"Would you like to hold him?" Rebecca offered.

"May I?"

"Mmhm. He can hold his own head up, but make sure you still watch it."

Caleb nodded seriously as Becky handed the baby turtle to him. Mike could tell the man was holding his breath as he gazed at Nathaniel in amazement. "Your children, Olivia and now Nathaniel, they're nothing short of miraculous," he asserted. "It's an honor to be here to witness, and share some small part in it."

Michelangelo's arm encircled the man's back. "A small part, sure. You just saved my life, and probably the rest of my brothers at the same time, but no biggie."

Caleb glanced up at the orange-masked turtle. "I'm only happy to be here, Mike."

"Yeah, early," Mike remarked. "What happened with your closing?"

"The deal went through in North Carolina faster than I anticipated. I can't get into the new place in Chelsea for another two weeks, but I was done waiting around to see this little guy." Caleb looked back at the baby, and Nate gurgled as the man spoke directly over him. "I haven't felt this way about a baby since…well, not since Luke was born."

Donatello motioned for Caleb to sit down. "What was Luke like as a baby?"

"He was laid back, for the most part. Didn't get ruffled too easily, and he was satisfied to play with his own little toys without someone being forced to entertain him."

Mike nodded. "Yep, that sounds like our Doc. So you're still gonna leave the dogs with us until you can get into the house, right?"

"I feel like it's an inconvenience—"

"We like having them around," Don said quickly.

"And Molly wants a proper reunion with Donny." Mike snickered.

"You know what? It wasn't funny six months ago, and it isn't funny now," Donatello said dryly.

"Maybe not to you." Mike snorted, and Nate's head instantly turned, searching for the source of the sound. "I'm still in the room, buddy," he volunteered.

Mike sat down on the couch beside Caleb, where the baby would be able to see him. Blue-green eyes were wide open now, studying the strange face that was above him.

"Is your kid making up his mind about whether or not he likes me?" Caleb asked.

"He's gonna love you," Mike assured him.

Tiger came tearing through the room at that moment, cutting off whatever Caleb might have said in return, with a barking Noah behind her.

"You're sure you don't mind them staying here?"

"That's nothing; they're just getting reacquainted." Mike chuckled. "We can handle those two, can't we, Donny?"

The purple-masked turtle nodded. "Without a doubt. Then you get to move in about two weeks from now?"

"That's the plan. I'm looking forward to it. Chelsea is a good compromise for the dogs, because I'll still have a bit of a yard, and there's a nice park down the street."

"Sounds like it'll be good for them." Donatello was currently scratching Molly's head as she rested it on his knee.

"Of course, they'll have to make field trips down here with me. They're going to need their 'turtle fix' as much as I do," Caleb told him.

Nathaniel made a disgruntled face as he suddenly squirmed in Caleb's arms.

"He's hungry," Becky spoke up.

Caleb offered the baby back to Mike. "I'll let the experts handle this. Besides, I think I need to see a certain lab I've heard a lot about."

Don smiled shyly. "C'mon, Caleb. I'll give you the grand tour."

Mike rubbed his hand against Nate's shell as he watched the pair adjourn to the connected lab, then he followed Rebecca into the kitchen. His eyes lingered on her figure as she reached into the fridge for another bottle. The pregnancy had taken a noticeable toll on her body, but the young woman had never looked happier.

When she turned around, Rebecca caught him staring. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"I just don't know how I ended up with you," he admitted. "Sometimes I have to remind myself that this isn't a dream."

Rebecca nodded. "I never realized how much I'd love this, Mike. I can't picture not having Nate…and I'm glad I don't have to live in a world that doesn't include you."

Mike held out an arm to gather in his young wife, and clutched Nathaniel protectively in between them. "I don't ever want to take any of this for granted. If I ever start to, smack me over the head, okay?"

Rebecca giggled. "I may have to hire Jenna for that responsibility."