*As I was making last minute changes to this chapter today, I had to turn on Skylar Grey's "Coming Home, Part 2." I discovered the song while I was writing Watchmen, and the lyrics fit the fic so well, that it became the unofficial theme song of the story. Look it up on Youtube if you want to complete the effect.
(Six Days Later)
The orange-masked turtle felt his excitement growing, the further they traveled up the mountain. He'd been so worked up over the journey that he'd barely slept the night before. Michelangelo didn't feel any effects from the lack of rest yet; only an intense eagerness to reach their home away from home, along with his wife and little boy. It had only been about a month since he'd seen them, but it felt infinitely longer.
Mike leaned his head against the window to gaze at the incredible scenery they were passing. As he stared at the sunlight streaming through the brightly colored leaves, he had a brief flashback of his first trip into the Blue Mountains roughly a year prior. It kind of felt like we might never get back here. He rested a hand against his plastron, remembering well how tight his chest had felt, and the difficulty he'd had with breathing.
"Mikey?"
Donatello's voice called Michelangelo back from his musing. He looked over his shoulder to see his purple-masked brother propped up on the seat behind him with Jenna.
"Yeah, Donny?"
"You haven't said anything in about five minutes," Don pointed out impishly. "Are you all right?"
"Mmhm. Ready to get there. How are you feeling?"
Donny grunted as he tried to sit up further to talk to him, but Jenna's hand protectively held him back.
"Quit trying to do too much," she warned him. "Doesn't it feel good just to be out of the dark?"
Donatello looked annoyed, but didn't disagree with her. He focused on Mike instead. "I'm okay, Bro. Tired. I didn't sleep last night, but neither did you."
"Yeah, but I'm not the one who's recovering," Mike argued.
Don drew one of his knees up defiantly. "The function is there, Mike. I just don't have the power to back it up yet. With Marc's help, I'll keep progressing."
Michelangelo shook his head in amazement. "That you're even here is still a miracle to me. Everyone's gonna want a piece of you when we get to Lotus Salvus."
"As long as I get to sleep at some point," he replied glibly.
"You'll sleep," Luke spoke up from the front passenger seat. "You'll rest like a baby when I'm through with you. That's the last time I'm leaving you unsupervised overnight for awhile."
Donny rolled his eyes. "You act like it's the end of the world, Doc. After everything we just went through, a sleepless night is the least of our problems."
"I'm making it my problem, Don, because that's my job," Luke said matter-of-factly. "If you can behave, I'll make sure you get to stay on the first floor, instead of sending you all the way upstairs to the Lab. Haven't you had enough isolation?"
Don made a scoffing sound. "Enough to last me a few years probably. How much further, Doc? I forgot to check what time it was when we left the airport."
"We've probably only got another half an hour or so," Greg volunteered from the driver's seat.
Mike peered over the seat in front of him at a sleeping Sayuri, curled up under a blanket. "We all could have had one giant slumber party last night," he mentioned. "I don't think anyone bothered to sleep."
"I did," Greg said dryly. "You wouldn't have wanted me flying the Gulfstream otherwise, especially without my trusty co-pilot. I missed you, Don."
The purple-masked turtle shook his head. "I'll be ready to help with 'Lola' on the way home, Heff. Whenever we choose to go back, that is."
"I could go for another six month stint," Mike joked. "I didn't get to enjoy much of the last trip."
Luke shot a sympathetic smile his direction. "You'd better be prepared to run your shell off and make the most of it then."
"I could run right now," Mike said emphatically. "I wanna get there so bad."
Greg chuckled. "We'll make it, Mikey, I promise."
Michelangelo turned around to look out the back window, searching for a sign of the rental van that the others were riding in. He was satisfied to see the vehicle a few yards behind theirs, and glanced up front again as Luke sighed.
"It feels good to be here," the blond man said quietly. "With everything that's happened over these last few weeks…all I want to do is hold my baby."
"Aw – you hear that, Heff?" Mike said. "Everyone's antsy. Are you sure you can't go any faster?"
The man waved him off. "I will get us there as quickly as I safely can."
The orange-masked turtle smirked and shifted to face Donatello. "So is it true, Don?"
"Is what true?"
"A little birdie told me that Brandon wants you to start searching for his dad again."
"Who said that?"
"I just told you. A little bird," Mike replied maddeningly.
Donatello nodded. "Yes, Bran asked me to resume the search. I guess he figures that after everything he went through, dealing with his father should be a cinch."
Michelangelo chuckled inwardly as a mental picture of the man appeared. It had been a lot of fun to watch the open development of Brandon and Jazz's relationship over the last few days. "I think Jazz is good for him," he asserted.
"She's good for all of us, Mike. I'm pretty sure it goes both ways. Jazz said it's been a long time since she's been able to fit anywhere." Donatello's gaze faltered like he was looking at something else. "It's funny how people makes snap judgments without knowing the whole story, isn't it?"
Mike released a soft breath. "And they never get to know the cool people who could be underneath the stigma."
"It's sad," Don replied. "But not everyone can get past the cover of a book."
"That's true," Mike allowed. "I'm glad we got to see what was underneath, even if we had to put Jazz through the wringer. It's kind of the opposite of our normal situation, isn't it? Usually we're trying to rescue the damsel in distress, not get her into trouble. I guess a disaster brings you together either way," he finished lightly.
Jenna's arm rested over the back of Michelangelo's seat. "It's more than that though, Mike. The disasters in our lives aren't the only reason we're united with you. The abuse I went through as a child didn't magically bring me to Donny. But the hard stuff does have a way of…tempering a person. It's easy to get broken down by those events. You either have to learn how to cope somehow, or give up entirely. The survival mindset helps prepare us to meld into this group. That's my theory anyway."
He grinned suddenly. "It's like, here's the bonus for all the stuff you've had to go through; you get to join the craziest club on Earth."
Jenna smiled at him. "I like the sound of that. The 'reward' for living through everything else is arriving at the point where you finally get to come home."
Mike discreetly looked the other direction when Jenna leaned over to kiss his brother, and pondered on what the young woman had said. Sometimes it feels like you have to go through the bad things just to get to the great stuff on the other side, but that's now really how it works, is it? More like the goodness is there in spite of evil.
A few more minutes of silence passed in the van as the sun rose higher in the late morning sky. Michelangelo maintained his composure until he noticed Greg preparing to make the turn onto the familiar access road. He barely resisted the urge to cheer, choosing to only pump his fist for a resting Sayuri's sake.
It would only be another ten minutes or so from the narrow road to reach the massive log house that had been Luke's family home growing up. Lotus Salvus or "Refuge" was an apt name for the location to which they'd fled to recover and find safety after the earthquake had driven them out of New York the year before.
Mike sat up straighter on the seat, finding it much harder to stay still now that they were this close. When he looked back he saw Jenna supporting an arm behind Donatello's back as he grimaced. "We're almost there, Bro," he said reassuringly.
His brother gave him a grateful smile but didn't say anything. Donny seemed content to watch the trees that appeared to be closing in on them on their steady climb.
When the house came into view, Mike reached over the seat to poke Sayuri's shoulder. "Hey, we're here," he announced.
The Asian woman rose with a jerk. "Already? That felt fast."
"That's because you rested, like some other people should have," Luke said meaningfully.
"We've got all kinds of time for that, Doc," Mike returned. "Can I get out, Greg? Please?"
The van was still a few yards out from the house, but the turtle didn't care. Greg pulled to a stop obligingly, and Mike jumped out the side door to unleash the torrent of energy that had been building in his muscles for miles. As he dashed toward the wrap-around porch, the front door flew open, and Rebecca came bounding outside.
In two steps she'd lunged off the porch, and Mike was there to catch her before she hit the ground. Becky laughed as he swung her around in a circle, a joyous sound that forced him to put off kissing her until the urge became too great. The young woman clung to him until he was so dizzy that he nearly collapsed on the grass.
Mike ran his hand over her slightly tangled light brown curls, marveling at the intensity of her blue-green eyes that almost took his breath away. He could hear others reuniting around him, but he was entirely caught up in the young woman pressing against his chest.
"I missed you," she said.
Michelangelo shook his head as joy made him feel like he could burst. "I missed you and Nate. I bet he's bigger and everything, huh?"
"He was asleep the last I checked, but I don't think he'd mind waking up to see his daddy." Rebecca shuddered as she laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm so glad you're finally here."
"The feeling's mutual, Beck. We've got a lot of catching up to do, and a ton of introductions to make." Mike suddenly recalled Jazz.
"That's right; we have a new member." Rebecca collected herself to look around at the other arrivals. "Where is she?"
Michelangelo surveyed the group and finally settled on the second van. A flash of color inside the vehicle confirmed the young woman's presence. "It looks like she's taking her time. Jazz is cool, but she might not be comfortable right away. You know how overwhelming it is to meet everyone."
She smiled. "Yes, I remember. We're all going to be really nice to her, Mikey."
While they watched Brandon got out of the car and hesitated by the door as he waited for Jazz to join him. The young woman emerged slowly, as though stepping foot on an alien planet.
"C'mon, Jazz," Mike called encouragingly. "Our girls don't bite any more than we do."
Becky smacked his shoulder lightly. "Take it easy on the girl, Mike. Don't embarrass her."
Rebecca strode off to meet Jazz, and Mike was ready to follow her until his niece's small voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Dada! Dada!"
Mike turned in time to see his red-masked brother scoop the little turtle off the porch, from where she'd fallen in her excitement to get to him. Raphael clutched Olivia to his side with one arm, while the other was extended around Karina.
"Dada…" Olivia's arms were wrapped around his brother's neck so tightly, he had to wonder if Raphael could breathe.
Mike grinned broadly as he trotted to catch up with Rebecca, where she'd already introduced herself to Jazz. He was relieved to see Jazz looking relatively relaxed.
"So…you're the girl who speaks like ten languages," Jazz remarked.
"It's amazing how they multiply when someone else tells it." Rebecca shot a look at Michelangelo. "But my guy likes to brag, and there's no stopping him sometimes."
Mike reached an arm around her waist casually. "I'm at fault for telling people how awesome you are?"
"Honestly, Mike. It's not all about me." Rebecca's smile was so shy, it almost seemed like she was the newcomer.
"I guess we'll need to do some talking of our own to work out the facts from the love-bird syndrome, won't we?" Jazz smirked.
Mike bit his lip to prevent himself from retorting about the way she was gripping Brandon's arm. "They're really not all stories," he protested. "Becky's the coolest, but then, all of you are. We've got the greatest friends on Earth."
Brandon offered him a half smile. "We feel the same way, Mike."