Chapter 19
I hadn't returned to the lair in almost a week. I refused to go to April as she would encourage me to get an abortion without anyone else knowing about the child I was carrying. I had taken to stealing food from markets to feed myself for the duration of the time that I was living on the streets. I made sure that I was getting enough fluids to keep myself hydrated and I was sleeping in the park on a bench. It wasn't really a life, but it was the best I could do considering my situation. I had taken to singing in the street for what little money could be made and I started going by the name Roxanne Winters to avoid detection from anyone I knew. It didn't take me long to get used to my new name; and soon I was using my new name for everything. It was only today that I had heard of a place that took in people with no homes and no money. I was making my way there, following another person that had no home or money either. I had asked him the night before if he knew of somewhere and he agreed to take me there, so long as I didn't move too far away from him when we left for the building. He took me to a large concrete building that looked more like a mental institute than anything else. We walked in through the front doors and I looked around. At the far end was a long table which had a large amount of foods on it and some people behind it serving the food to people. Scattered around the room were picnic tables and chairs, which could seat at least six people. Most of the tables were occupied by people, except for a few tables near the back. The man that took me along left to the food table to get something to eat. I made my way over and lined up behind a young child. I grabbed a plate from the edge of the table and shuffled along behind the child. The people behind the table, serving the food, were nice enough to ask me how I was going. I replied back with short answers, trying my best to be kind. I sat down at one of the empty tables and started to eat, barely making any eye contact. I covered the view from the corner of my eyes so I would be able to see anyone watching me. I finished my plate and stayed seated for a few moments longer. I was about to stand when someone spoke to me.
"Excuse me; are any of these chairs being reserved for anyone?" I looked up and saw a woman about the same age as what April was. I shook my head and held out a hand, offering the woman to sit wherever she liked. The woman set her plate down and sat down opposite me. I figured it rude to leave since she just sat down. I shifted so it looked like I was just getting more comfortable, instead of leaving. The woman stabbed a plastic fork into her potato and placed it into her mouth. She looked up at me with a smile.
"If you don't mind my prying, why is someone as young as you living on the streets like this?" she asked. I looked at her.
"I had a normal life, but everything just went wrong after meeting a few...er people and ever since then I could not really live normally," I replied.
"So because of these people you have had to endure the harshness of the street life?"
"No, according to them I lost my memory and apparently I told them my mother died and I sacrificed my normal life style to give my brother the life I could never have." The woman held a look of sorrow.
"That must have been tough; most people here have run away from home or were kicked out. You may just have the most complicated story here," she said. I nodded.
"Yeah, I know. But I can't let that stop me from being myself," I replied. The woman smiled again.
"So... uh... anything that I should know about?" she asked. I gave her a quizzical look. She pointed at my stomach that was hidden under the table. "I was just noticing your stomach. Is there any surprises on the way?" she asked.
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Your stomach was bulging; I just thought I should make sure before jumping to any conclusions," she said, before getting up. "Congratulations by the way," she said, as she walked away. I looked down at my stomach and frowned. The woman was right. I was bulging more than I should have. I stood up and walked back over to the food table to hand my plate back. I gave it to one of the people, before walking out. I headed in one direction, not caring where I went while I thought. Why was it that my stomach was already bulging after only one week after finding out I was pregnant in the first place? I stopped moving and decided to head towards the hospital for a check up. I walked through the doors and towards the front desk. I went right up to the man behind the desk.
"Hello," he said, "what may I do for you today?"
"I just want to have a scan to make sure my child is okay," I replied. The man typed away at his computer.
"Are you experiencing any painful symptoms or side affects?" he asked. I shook my head.
"No, this is my first child and I just want to make sure everything is okay," I replied.
"I can book you in for an appointment in five minutes, but it'll have to be very quick." I nodded.
"I understand; just as long as I am given the all clear."
"Please take a seat." I went over to the waiting area and sat down. I placed my hands together and started to fiddle my fingers together. The waiting room was quieter and I was trying my best to enjoy the peace, but my nerves wouldn't settle. It felt like a long time before my name was called. I stood up and walked over to the doctor, who led me to an examination room.
"Lie down on the bed please," she said. I obeyed and positioned myself on the bed so that I was comfortable. The doctor grabbed a tube of gel. "Can you lift up your shirt please." I complied and lifted my shirt so that it was just above my stomach. The doctor placed some gel onto my stomach then grabbed a scanner for the ultrasound. She placed the scanner onto the gel and moved it around. I turned my head to look at the images of my child on the screen. The doctor kept watching the screen clicking a mouse every now and then, before packing everything away and wiping the gel from my stomach.
"Everything seems fine," she said.
"What do you mean everything is fine?" I asked. She looked at me with a strange look.
"Your child is healthy for the four month mark," she replied. My eyes grew wide.
"Four months?"
"Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing. I have to go." I got off the bed and walked out of the hospital. I was speed walking towards April's house when I bumped into someone. I nearly fell backwards when a pair of arms caught me.
"You need to be more careful," said a man's voice. I looked up and saw a black haired man with blue eyes.
"Casey!" I exclaimed. Casey blinked down at me.
"Tristan? What are you doing here?" he asked. I smiled and stood up straight.
"I was going to April's; is she in?" Casey thought for a moment.
"I don't know. I can take you there if you want," Casey suggested.
"That would be great," I replied. Casey started to walk to April's apartment and I followed. The entire walk was quiet. By the time we got to April's apartment, there was some awkwardness between the two of us from the lack of conversation. I turned to Casey.
"Thank you for walking me here; I hope I didn't distract you from something important," I said.
"Na, see you around kid," he replied, turning and walking away; while giving me some sort of a wave. I walked to the front door of April's shop and tried to open it. The door wouldn't budge. I frowned then saw a small sheet in the shop window.
Gone for a few days, will be back soon.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
I turned around and wondered where April would go. My first thought was the turtle's lair. I sighed and started to make my way towards a man hole. I looked around behind me to make sure that no one was following me, before I went in.
My feet splashed on the small puddles lying around the concrete floors of the sewers. I kept glancing behind me every few seconds to make sure there was no one actually following me that I couldn't see before. I stopped at the wall that led to the lair and I stared at it for a moment. I was about to pull the lever to open the wall up, when the bricks started shifting to reveal the lair. Standing on the other side of the wall was Raph. He looked almost as surprised to see me as I was to see him.
"Tristan!?" he exclaimed.
"Hi Raph," I replied, looking down at the ground.
"Uh...what are you doing here?" he asked.
"I went to April's but she's not there; is she here by any chance?" Raph shook his head.
"Sorry, she was going to South Africa to collect some items for some guy."
"How about Donnie? Is he here?"
"He's in his lab. Did you want to come in?" I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it and nodded. Raph led the way inside and I followed. We walked towards the large room where Donnie's lab was. "Here is the lab, if he's not in there; I'll go and get him for you." I walked into the lab and found Donnie sitting at the table working on some paperwork; his back turned to me. I moved closer towards him, before stopping just behind him.
"Donnie?" I said. Donnie jumped a little and spun in his chair.
"Tristan!" he said, getting up from his chair and hugging me, "It hasn't been the same since you left. Raph has been moping for a while now and he hasn't had the same fiery temper he used to always have. How have you been?" he asked. I shrugged my shoulders.
"I've been alright. I came here because I need a... er test," I said.
"What kind of test are we talking about here?" Donnie asked. I turned back to the door to make sure no one was standing in the doorway, before turning back.
"I am...pregnant," I replied, mumbling the word 'pregnant.'
"Really? Why did you need a test; did you have an ultrasound at the hospital?" I nodded.
"But the thing is, I am only a week into it and when I went to the hospital; they said that I was four months into it." Donnie gave me a puzzled look.
"That can't be right. Are you sure you're only a week into the pregnancy?" he asked. I nodded.
"Positive. It was around the same time that I was in Alaska." Donnie looked at me.
"Wait, you and Raph?" I turned my head away and gave a slight nod. "Wow, I didn't expect that; any way, let's see what I can do." Donnie went over to the door and closed it. He went back over to the desk and pulled out a testing kit. He then pulled back a sheet of plastic, suspended from the roof. Behind the sheet was a bed with some sort of straps. "Please make yourself comfortable. Don't mind the straps, we did have some problems in the past concerning ourselves." I nodded and climbed up onto the bed. I lay down on my back and stretched out. Donnie got a syringe out and let all the air escape out of it. He walked over to me.
"Would you mind if I take a small blood sample of the child?" he asked. I shook my head and lifted my shirt a little. I felt a small prick in my stomach as the syringe entered my skin. It only took a few seconds for Donnie to get the sample he wanted. The syringe left my skin and Donnie placed a cotton bud at the small needle hole I had. He tapped it there and I sat up, fixing my shirt. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and watched as Donnie placed the blood on a glass slide and looked at it through a microscope. I stretched the front of my shirt to hide the obvious bump I had as best I could. I stood up and looked over Donnie's shoulder.
"Is there something wrong?" I asked.
"I don't know. I've never seen this kind of blood before," he replied, "Wait here. I'm going to get Raph." Before I could open my mouth to say something, Donnie had walked to the door, opened it and left. I turned, fear filling my body.
'He doesn't know. What should I do?' I thought to myself, my arms wrapped around my growing child. The door's hinges squeaked behind me and I spun quickly. Raph had come in, looking confused. Donnie grabbed a clean syringe and walked over to Raph, taking the safety cap off the needle.
"I need a blood sample from you," Donnie said, looking right at Raph.
"What for?" Raph asked.
"I just need to do a comparison between your blood and the blood sample I have now," Donnie replied. Raph looked at me.
"What's going on?" he asked. Donnie stuck the needle into Raph's arm and took a sample. He went over to the microscope and placed Raph's blood onto a glass slide and moved it under the scope. He kept moving each slid, comparing the two samples. "Donnie what is it?" Raph asked. Donnie either didn't hear him or just wasn't listening to anything to give a reply. Raph turned to me.
"Tristan, what's going on? Is there something wrong?" he asked. I turned to face him.
"Raph...I'm pregnant," I replied.
"What do you mean pregnant?"
"I am carrying a child and I think it's yours." Raph froze for a moment, staring at me blankly. I took a step towards him. "Raph, are you alright?" I asked. Raph blinked a few times before speaking.
"Are you sure?" he asked. I nodded.
"I am almost certain it's yours," I replied.
"Almost certain? Who else could be the father?" I shrugged.
"I don't know."
"Just as I thought," said Donnie, breaking the silence. Both Raph turned to look at him.
"What is it?" we asked in unison.
"Raph's blood sample has a gene that makes his offspring grow at an unusually fast rate," Donnie replied.
"Would it continue once the child is born?" I asked. Donnie placed a hand on his chin.
"It is a possibility, but I am not entirely sure," he replied. A slight gasp came from the door. We all turned and saw Michey and Leo standing in the doorframe, looking at us with faces that were a cross between surprise and happiness. Raph's face grew a light shade of pink.
"So, you're going to be a father?" Michey said, with an awkward grin on his face. Raph glared at him.
"Michey, I swear you tell anyone else and you are so dead," he snapped. Mickey's grin faltered a bit before turning his head slightly to look at me. I shrugged my shoulders slightly.
"What are we going to do?" I asked.
"We are going to have a meeting," Leo replied, kindly. We all filed out to the kitchen table and sat down.
"It's a good thing Splinter isn't awake. He'll have our hides," Raph mumbled, not looking pleased with what happened. I was sitting in a seat right next to Raph, regardless of the tension between us.
"Raph, what do you want to do with the child?" Leo asked.
"I want to get rid of it," he replied, "I don't want it around as it might be something that could be dangerous."