A/N: Oh, yes, D. Mike would be over the moon, but still go back and fourth between assured and scared. Kids are major changes/additions, no matter how much you look forward to them. :D

Gah. So much in store with these kiddies. Why, Muse? I haven't even gotten to "The Distance" yet. *flops on floor* Meh.

Meanwhile, have more scared first parent fluff. xD

November 23
3:38 A.M.

Damn his eye. Raphael hated it—almost enough to wish it no longer existed. Eye drops eased the sting for a time, but it always returned. Usually, late at night. Like now. So he rubbed it, wandering downstairs to look for the young woman who hadn't been at his side when he awoke.

He found her at the kitchen island, stuffing a wad of leftover mashed-potatoes into her mouth like her life depended on it. She didn't chew, just swallowed, and continued to stare at a paper. The sonogram of their twins, to be more precise.

"Didn't get enough at Thanksgiving?" he asked.

Nia set the sonogram on the granite top then scooped more potatoes from a clear container. When Raph sat at the barstool beside her, she looked at him then stuffed that wad in her mouth as well.

"Thought ya hated mashed-potatoes," Raph said, placing his palm against his cheek.

Nia gulped down the food. "I do; their texture makes me gag."

"So…why ya eatin' 'em?"

"Because I'm craving them." She looked pained to admit it and after a sigh, her forehead met the granite. "Whatever the kids want."

"Already givin' ya trouble."

"Blah. You already know by now; I woke up because I had to pee. And throw up. Again. It's amazing I'm gaining weight at all."

"Ya are."

Nia's head twisted, so her glare peered up from the island's top.

"Not that it's a bad thing. Yer boobs have gotten bigger."

"They're achy!"

"Which is why ya haven't let me touch 'em in a while," Raph grumbled.

"What was that?"

The Chūnin met his wife's stare with a smile. "Nothing. Now are ya gunna tell me what's really keepin' ya up? Or would ya rather choke down more potatoes."

Nia gave the container a hard stare then capped it, shooting it Raph's way. "They've had enough."

"An' ya?"

"Ugh." The young woman drew in air, raking her fingers through her shoulder-length hair like tugging it would keep her focused. "I can't stop thinking about Tobias."

"Ya were all about him when Hugh visited today. Well, yesterday."

"It just…" Her head fell. "Ever since we met him, the reality's settled in a little further, ya know?"

Raph did, so without asking for clarification, the mutant placed an arm over the mashed-potato container. "In a few months we'll have one 'a those. Two, actually."

"Are you still scared?"

Raphael tensed at Nia's whisper. Fuck yeah, he was. He would deny it, too, if it weren't for her empathetic nature.

"I'm sure ya felt it when Sensei handed him over, Ni."

"Did you feel like you were going to break him?"

"Worse. Make him cry."

"Crying is worse?" Nia lifted her head to rest it in her crossed arms on the island, mismatched eyes wide.

"Yeah," Raph answered. He hated feeling raw, like he had no cover, and his wife excelled in that field. At least her gaze no longer unnerved him; it just made him face the fact that with this one person, he had no choice except to be honest. "It sickens me. I've made others cry before just wit' the way I look. Sometimes act. What if our kids are…scared 'a me?"

"Why would they be scared? Raph, you'll do the opposite. I know it."

"How can ya be sure?"

"Did Tobias cry?"

No; the doe-eyed infant had spit up on him like he would on any other person.

"See?" Nia reached for Raph's hand, gripping it with clammy fingers. "You're already off to a promising start."

"Our kids might be different."

"Doubt it. Th—there's too much love growing in this clan to even think about being scared."

"I lose my temper." Raphael's eyes locked on the Yin-Yang wedding bands that touched. "What if…what if that's too much? I—if they aren't scared as babies, what if…they become scared 'a me later? O—or hate me?"

Now he understood where Hugh was coming from…

"You have every chance of being hated as I do," Nia replied, gentle. Her pale fingers interlaced with her husband's green ones, a strained smile on her lips. "Can we make a pact then?"

"What kind?"

"That if either of us is hated in the future, we would've done our best and still support the other. No matter what."

Raph shook his head. How could she make something heavy sound easy? His fingers tightened around hers. Fear kept her awake too; she was just trying to be strong.

So he returned her smile. "Deal. But ya got a better chance."

"Y—you think?" Nia laughed, although something felt off when her fingers trembled. "A—A temper is one thing. Me?"

The light above the electric stove flickered.

"I—I gotta think about keeping balanced. If I lose myself, I could hurt our babies. Th—they're small and fragile enough, li—like a light. What if they burn out like those do?"

"Oh, God, Ni." The mutant gathered his wife in his arms. She shook from fighting the anxiety, but he encouraged her to release it by rubbing her back through her nightgown. "I'm sorry, I…I never wanted ya ta…"

Nia sniffled against his shoulder. "One of us has to keep positive. Th—that's hard. It's so hard at times, I—I just…"

"Ya had a nightmare, didn't ya?"

She needn't confirm; her trembles spoke volumes.

"Alright"—Raph's voice steeled—"new idea: we'll both think positive. That's all we can do. As parents, that's…all we can do. Agreed?"

Now Nia nodded, albeit with effort. Raph hoped she would smile. Instead, she pulled back as if bitten. His eye ridges furrowed as her hands checked her stomach and the alarm tightened his chest.

"Wh—what's wrong, Ni?"

"One of the babies just kicked," she replied, breathless. "Or…maybe both of them. Mel said it would be like the hiccups, except stronger."

"I thought we weren't supposed ta feel that until next month."

"We?"

Raphael pressed his lips. "Ya know what I mean."

"Well, the babies don't care about estimates. Feel."

The Chūnin complied. He forced himself to ignore how high his wife hiked up her nightgown in favor of focusing on her baby bump that somehow didn't stop her from wearing tights. He waited patiently for what had she meant, but no movement happened below the warmth of her stretched skin.

"Yo—you don't feel the twitches?" Nia asked. Her happy expression fell, just like Raph's stomach.

"Guess they gotta get bigger," he replied.

"I wanted you to feel."

"Come on; don't cry."

"But they're moving!"

"I believe ya." Gathering the sniffling artist, Raph rocked her where they stood in the kitchen. "If ya say they're movin' then they're alright. That's good enough for me."

"But—"

Raph tightened his hold and set his sight on the twin's sonogram. "We still got a ways ta go, alright? I'll feel 'em move, one way or anoddah…"