A/N: Hey everyone sorry for the long delay for this chapter. I've had a lot going on with my personal life right now and I've been an emotional wreck a lot of days and not in any condition to write. And unfortunately it'll probably be like that for a while for me. I know a couple of you know why but for those who don't I'm getting out of an emotionally and sexually abusive marriage and even though it is the best thing for me it is still hard especially after finding out some of the things I did find out after I left. And after this next week I am going to be working full time, which will seriously cut into my writing time because as much as I love my new job it is physically exhausting and I often come home absolutely tanked and can't keep my eyes open.
But anyway, in this next chapter you get an insight to how most of the turtles feel about Elizabeth's news. I promise that I'll update again as soon as I have time and whenever I feel up to writing emotionally. Right now it comes in random spurts for me but I promise I won't abandon the story. If I start something I will finish it! Enjoy the chapter.
Emshadow1- I am glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I am glad you are excited to see where it goes from here. Hope that this next chapter was worth the wait for you and thanks for the review.
Chapter 12
Leonardo rolled over on his mattress, glaring up at the dark ceiling above him. He was tired, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep, he didn't even know why he'd come in here. It seemed pointless to try to sleep when he had so much on his mind.
He had had no idea what Elizabeth had been hiding from all of them, none of them did. Leonardo had summed her sickness up to stress or a stomach bug, but he had never thought she was pregnant.
And of course the way that he and his brothers had found out about it had been quite a shock on its own. Raphael had been arguing with Casey about some parts for their motorcycles, something Leonardo couldn't begin to find interesting. He'd been concerned with Splinter's lack of appetite, but Splinter dutifully ate the pizza that had been cut for him. Leonardo knew that Splinter wasn't particularly fond of pizza. He tolerated it for them, but he preferred other things when he could get them. Of course over the years he had started to slow down. He wasn't quite as quick as he used to be, his body had thinned out quite a bit giving him an even more skeletal appearance because he had never been this thin. He didn't practice as often as he used to and the last time the battle nexus championship had been held he had chosen not to participate. So to see Splinter eat a whole slice of the pizza satisfied Leonardo, but he was distracted from Splinter eating his last bite when he heard Donatello yell from the hallway.
All conversation at the table had stopped and all their eyes had moved in unison in the direction of Elizabeth's room. Donatello had appeared seconds later, his face uncharacteristically angry, he didn't return to the table but instead disappeared into his lab closing the door behind him. April appeared moments later, looking rather agitated, her normally smooth hair looked rather ruffled.
She'd looked at them in a rather resigned way and had told them exactly what it was that had gotten Donatello so worked up. Leonardo wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to think at first, however, Raphael had been much faster to react. He'd been out of his chair and out the door before Leonardo could even blink, let alone say anything. Leonardo had let him go, there was no point in stopping Raphael when he was this upset – the only thing he'd get for his trouble was a few new bruises if Raphael was generous and Leonardo knew that Raphael wouldn't hold back.
April and Casey had left soon after that after promising them that they wouldn't go to Elizabeth's penthouse without at least Leonardo or one of his brothers to back them up. Dinner had broken up with all the brothers silently drifting off, none of them seemed too interested in eating anymore. Michelangelo had gone up to his room with a new comic book and Donatello hadn't come out of his lab until well after midnight. Leonardo had waited for Raphael to return but by the time three o'clock had rolled around he had given up and headed up to his room so he could try and get a few hours of sleep but after tossing and turning for the last three hours he had resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.
With a resigned sigh Leonardo rolled off his bed, pulled up his sheets and blankets until his bed was neat and smooth, the pillow sitting upright against the makeshift headboard Donatello had managed to put together. Picking up his sheathed katanas from where they sat in the corner and slid them over his shell, where they settled quite comfortably into their usual position. Quietly he made his way out of his room and down the stairs to the dojo, he knew that his morning training would help ease some of his tension. He just couldn't help feeling as if Elizabeth's secret complicated everything.
Elizabeth obviously couldn't stay down here forever if she was pregnant. And what if Graham knew that she was pregnant? Was that why he was so determined to find her? What if she had complications with her pregnancy, things that Donatello was unable to help her with? They had no right trying to bring a baby into the world down here in the sewer. Elizabeth belonged in a hospital where there would be doctors to help her should complications arise, not to mention it was much more sterile.
Leonardo frowned to himself as he pushed open the dojo door, and paused when he realized he wasn't alone in the dojo. A silent figure was sitting in the middle of the room, a box of tissues on the floor beside them, only silhouetted by a single candle that was flickering dimly in the otherwise dark room.
"Elizabeth?" Leonardo asked completely surprised by her presence in the dojo.
Elizabeth jerked, obviously startled by Leonardo's arrival. Leonardo was sure she hadn't heard him coming, he had been drilled for as long as he could to walk quietly and blend in with the shadows that he just did it automatically now, even in his own home.
Leonardo flicked on the overhead light, illuminating the room and diming the power of the candle even further. Elizabeth sniffed and dabbed at her red swollen eyes. She looked exhausted and from the bags under her eyes Leonardo guessed that she hadn't slept very much herself. A small pile of soiled tissues sat next to the box of tissues. Leonardo's expression softened at Elizabeth's devastated expression.
"Morning, Leo," Elizabeth's voice was so soft Leonardo almost didn't catch it.
"Were you up all night, Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth sniffed and wiped at her nose again but didn't bother to answer. She didn't have to.
Leonardo made his way across the room to where Elizabeth was sitting and sat down next to her.
"I'm sorry, Leo. I shou… should've told you guys the… the truth." Elizabeth whimpered as more tears splashed down her cheeks.
"Why didn't you?" Leonardo found that the anger he'd felt from the surprise of this discovery had evaporated. And although this tone was soft and there was no heat behind his words Elizabeth still flinched and pulled another tissue from the box beside her.
"I… I was afraid you'd… you'd make me leave. You were already so… so stressed about Gra… Graham and after Donny. I didn't want to cause anymore… trouble."
"Elizabeth," Leonardo felt something jerk in his gut in reaction to her words. He wasn't exactly sure what he could say to smooth this over. He knew that Elizabeth had a point, he had told his brothers that he would be willing to hand her over to Graham to save his brother. Elizabeth had not only risked her life but the baby's as well when she had gone after Donatello.
"How long have you known?" Leonardo finally asked, he was resigned again. He couldn't make her leave, he wouldn't make her leave. Elizabeth was free to go any time she wanted to but as long as she wanted to stay she had a home with them.
"I had just found out the day Raph saved me from those men in the park," Elizabeth admitted. "It was why I'd gone in the first place. Graham doesn't like me going to the park – he thinks it is a waste of time. But I like the park, I always thought it was a nice place to think when I needed to get away from Graham for a little while. I had been feeling sick for a couple weeks and when the doctor told me I was… well I was scared. I don't want to have this baby, Leo. I don't know what to do."
Leonardo frowned slightly. "You didn't try to do something to get rid of it did you?"
"Abortion?" Elizabeth's nose wrinkled and her face screwed up as if the word left a sour taste on her tongue. "It's not the baby's fault it's here. I'm not going to kill it. But I don't want Graham to know either. I'll just give the baby up after it's born."
"I promise, Elizabeth, we'll help you anyway we can." Leonardo promised, his eyes softening when Elizabeth's green eyes met his gaze steadily for a moment.
"I won't be able to stay here will I?" Elizabeth whispered, her green eyes shining with bright tears again.
Leonardo shook his head. "We aren't going to kick you out, Elizabeth. But we aren't going to force you to stay against your will either. You are the only one who can decide what's best for you and your baby."
Elizabeth dropped her gaze, sniffing as she began to tear the Kleenex in her hands to little squares.
"Elizabeth," Leonardo said softly, reaching forward and cupping her chin forcing her to look at him again. "You will always have a home here. And you don't have to decide anything right away."
"I don't want to be a burden… I don't want to trouble your family… you guys have already done so much for me… " Elizabeth tugged her chin out of Leonardo's grip and stared at her crossed legs.
Leonardo leaned forward, cupping her small face in his large hands. He couldn't help but notice how his hands seemed to dwarf her. Elizabeth jerked a little as if she wanted to pull away but then she went still, as if resigned to the fact that she wouldn't be able to pull away, even though Leonardo's hold on her wasn't hard.
"You are neither a burden or any trouble to our family, Elizabeth. You were willing to risk everything to save Donny. And for that you will always be welcome here." Leonardo said firmly. He felt Elizabeth's skin warm a little beneath his hands as she blushed slightly. Then Leonardo gently released her, stood, and left her alone, with only the echoes of Elizabeth's soft sniffling breaking the silence behind him.
Raphael knew that Leonardo was going to be angry before he even walked in the door. But right now he couldn't sum up the energy to even care. He wasn't in the mood to listen to one of his brother's famous lectures about being out until the sun had started to come up, the dangers of exposure. It was one Raphael had heard a hundred times before and he was sure that he would hear it time and time again from his older brother. He clenched his jaw as he pushed open the front door, hoping that Leonardo had gone out for a training run or was busy in the dojo so Raphael would have the chance to sneak past his brother and avoid the lecture for now. If he avoided the confrontation for a few hours it would give Leonardo a chance to cool down. Seeing that Raphael had come home in one piece usually helped keep Leonardo's temper relatively in check, but Raphael knew he'd still get a lecture from his big brother later.
The lair was brightly lit when he walked through the door, and the scent of warm food filled the air. Raphael growled low in his throat, knowing that at least someone was awake, which would make trying to sneak past everyone into his room almost impossible. He wasn't in the mood for a lecture though, he just wanted to sleep.
Moving across the lair on silent feet, Raphael was able to remain undetected until Michelangelo emerged from the bathroom and his eyes widened when he spotted Raphael at the foot of the stairs.
"Raph! Were you out all night?"
Raphael scowled at his orange-banded brother. He grabbed the handrail and started up the stairs only to be stopped again when Leonardo's voice echoed up to him.
"Raph."
Raphael squeezed his eyes shut behind his mask, feeling the irritation at the upcoming lecture already eating at his frayed nerves. But to his surprise Leonardo didn't start right in with a lecture. Reluctantly Raphael turned to look at his brother with wary eyes. Leonardo was studying him carefully his brown eyes slightly narrowed behind his mask, but for once he didn't look irritated or angry that Raphael had been out all night. Instead a look of understanding crossed his face and his expression softened a little. Raphael found his irritation licking at him again like a flame licking at a log. He didn't know why but Leonardo's expression irked him more than if his brother had simply started in on the lecture.
"Breakfast is ready."
"Not hungry," Raphael's voice was empty.
Leonardo nodded. "Well if you change your mind."
"I won't." Raphael said in the same dead tone. Then without waiting for his brother to say anything else and ignoring the worried expression on Michelangelo's face Raphael turned and ran up the remaining steps before disappearing into his room and slamming his door shut behind him. His brothers knew better than to disturb him here. He knew that he'd get the quiet and solitude he was so desperately craving.
After removing his sai from his belt Raphael collapsed into his hammock, throwing one arm over his eyes while he gently rocked back and forth on the netted cord.
He didn't know why Elizabeth's secret had bothered him so bad. He hadn't known her for that long and he had known she was married from the enormous diamond ring on her finger. But why hadn't she told them she was pregnant sooner? Why keep it a secret from them?
Raphael knew it really wasn't his business either way. But he couldn't help but feel as if Elizabeth had betrayed them somehow. That she had been deceitful in keeping this from them. That she had deliberately tried to hurt them, him, by not mentioning this earlier.
But why? Why was it bothering him so badly? Why did her being pregnant make him see her with different eyes?
The hammock slowly stopped its gentle swaying and Raphael felt his body start to shut down, exhausted from his nightly exertions and lack of sleep. His mind, however, continued to race with thoughts that had been plaguing him all night.
Elizabeth's being pregnant bothered him more than if April had told them she was pregnant. If April had announced that she and Casey were going to have a baby he'd be happy for them. So why was Elizabeth any different? Was it was because it was Elizabeth had hidden it from them? Or was it the fact that she was having Graham's baby that bothered him?
Raphael's lip curled as Graham's name crossed his mind and he knew he had his answer. He didn't like the fact that Elizabeth was having this man's baby, that after everything he'd done to her and how he'd treated her that he was still going to have the reward of a precious newborn to take care of. Graham didn't deserve that right – he had no rights to Elizabeth or her unborn child.
But would he have felt different about it if it hadn't been Graham's child? Raphael pondered that for several long minutes, not bothering to move at all as his body gradually became heavier and heavier around his still active mind.
No. Raphael finally decided. He wouldn't want Elizabeth to be pregnant with any man's child. No man would ever be good enough for her. Despite all that Elizabeth had gone through, despite everything Graham had done to try and tear her apart Elizabeth had pulled through and was still strong enough to open up her heart to a family of mutant turtles and their father. Raphael closed his eyes tighter, remembering the expression on Elizabeth's face when she first saw him.
There had been surprise and shock of course, but no fear. Instead her green eyes had soaked in every inch of his body, committing it to memory, the shock and surprise draining from her face the longer she stared at him. Raphael had felt a weird sensation while her eyes had been roaming his body. Although they never wore clothes he'd never felt more exposed than he had when Elizabeth's eyes had been on him. He'd never felt more aware of his own body than he had in that moment.
And then there had been that weird electric current that had passed through his body the first time she had touched him. Raphael remembered quite clearly how terrified Elizabeth had been of Donatello and how she had trusted him in a way that she hadn't trusted his brother. She hadn't even wanted Donatello to touch her unless Raphael was with her.
The corner of his mouth twitched a little as he remembered the warmth of her hand in his, the color of her cheeks when she blushed. How soft and fragile her body had felt beneath his grip.
Raphael dropped his arm from his eyes and stared up at the black ceiling above him. What the shell had gotten into him anyway? Was he seriously falling for this girl that he'd just met? What was it about her that had this strange hold on him? Something so strong that the thought of her having a baby, someone else's baby made it so hard for him to even look at her. That the thought of her having anyone else's baby but his own was just wrong.
Raphael shook his head and rolled over onto his side, settling until he found a more comfortable position to lie in. He had no right thinking these things – he knew that. Why would Elizabeth want to be with a mutated turtle, let alone carry his baby? And even though Raphael really didn't like her husband and the thought of seeing him torn apart by ravenous dogs made him smile, all that Raphael really wanted for her was to be happy.
Letting his eyes drift closed again Raphael's breathing soon slowed and he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
Elizabeth was staring at the cup of water cradled between her hands with more intensity than was really necessary. She could feel Michelangelo's eyes land on her occasionally but she couldn't gather up the energy to care.
Breakfast had been an unusually quiet affair, and Elizabeth had been glad when it was over. Donatello had once again disappeared into his lab, telling Elizabeth to let him know if the anti nausea pill he'd given her, after much research about the effects it would have and knowing it wouldn't affect her baby, helped her keep down her breakfast for a change. Elizabeth almost wished that it wasn't working. The scrambled eggs she'd eaten for breakfast were weighing her down, settling about as well in her stomach as a small pile of rocks would. She might as well have eaten rocks. She hadn't tasted the eggs at all and she'd only spoken when someone had addressed her directly at breakfast.
She was dying to go talk to Raphael, but after he'd come home he'd made no effort to even look at her, let alone seem interested in talking to her. Leonardo might have forgiven her, but she had a feeling that Raphael was more bothered by this than all of the others were put together.
Suddenly the chair next to her scraped against the rough floor, startling Elizabeth from her thoughts. Her eyes snapped up to Michelangelo's face, who looked a bit amused that he'd caught her unawares. Her eyes automatically darted to the sink where he'd been washing dishes a few seconds ago but all trace of the breakfast dishes were gone, the counters empty of any leftover crumbs. She looked back at Michelangelo who was studying her carefully.
"So… " Michelangelo said with all seriousness.
Elizabeth fought back the urge to flinch, knowing that this had to come sometime. She hadn't expected it to be from Michelangelo though.
"What's the little fella's name gonna be?" Michelangelo suddenly asked, Elizabeth felt her eyes widen in surprise and her mouth pop open in shock. Michelangelo's eyes were twinkling as he grinned at her and his hand reached forward to rub her flat stomach gently.
This hadn't been what Elizabeth had expected. But as she watched Michelangelo's hand gently caress her stomach she wondered exactly what she had expected from the orange-banded turtle. Anger? Resentment? Frustration? Elizabeth had a feeling that it was rare for Michelangelo to really show those kinds of feelings around others. He always seemed so laid back and content with the way things were, and he seemed so sure of who he was.
Although, Elizabeth mused, he had no reason to really stress about the major things in life. Even though she'd only known them for a short time Elizabeth had quickly learned that Michelangelo was quite comfortable being the youngest of the four turtles, Leonardo especially seemed to shield his brother as best he could when Michelangelo got himself into trouble – usually with Raphael. But even then Raphael's anger never lasted. Being the youngest also had other advantages, Michelangelo did things that would be completely unacceptable if the other turtles did them. Like Michelangelo's obsession with action figures and comic books. Michelangelo had proudly showed her his entire collection of each, Elizabeth couldn't imagine any of the others with such a collection. It would seem strange to walk in and find Leonardo playing with action figures or reading a comic book. With Michelangelo's happy-go-lucky personality and child-at-heart spirit those things suited him perfectly. So for Michelangelo to react with excitement over Elizabeth's pregnancy Elizabeth realized that she shouldn't have been so surprised.
"I'm not going to name the baby, Mikey," Elizabeth said running her own hand over her flat belly as Michelangelo's eyes snapped up to her face, his mouth turning down in a frown as he stared at her with an intensity that didn't belong in those baby blue eyes of his.
"Why not? You aren't going to call it "it" it's whole life are you?" Michelangelo inquired sitting back in his chair and grinning smugly as if the idea was one Elizabeth hadn't considered.
"No, but I'm not planning on keeping the baby either," Elizabeth muttered. "I hadn't planned on this, Mikey. This isn't something I wanted."
The grin slid of Michelangelo's face quickly, replaced instead with a rather puzzled twist of his mouth as he stared at her quizzically. "You don't want to have the baby?"
Elizabeth sighed, staring down at her cup once again, running her fingers up and down the condensation and then rubbed her wet fingers together before rubbing them against her pajama pants.
"Why not?" Michelangelo pressed.
Elizabeth shook her head and got to her feet, walking to the sink and dumping the contents of her cup down the sink. She leaned against the sink for a minute, fighting down a handful of emotions she'd been feeling ever since she'd discovered she was pregnant.
"Elizabeth? Are you ok? Should I get Donny?"
Elizabeth sucked in a sharp breath fighting back the tears, and jumped when Michelangelo's hand rested on her shoulder.
"How do you guys do that?" Elizabeth asked looking at Michelangelo over her shoulder.
"Do what?"
"Move without making any noise."
To her surprise Michelangelo grinned rather widely. "It's a ninja thing."
Elizabeth smiled back at him, unable to help herself. Michelangelo's grins were contagious, it was hard to hold onto those miserable feelings inside her when Michelangelo smiled at her.
"Do you need me to get Donny?" Michelangelo repeated.
Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm fine, Mikey. I'm just a little tired."
"You want me to help you back to your room?"
"Actually," Elizabeth said slowly turning around so she was staring at Michelangelo head on. "I'm kind of tired of being confined to bed. You have any cards?"
Michelangelo's face lit up with delight. "You want to make the biggest card house in the world?"
Elizabeth chuckled a little. "Actually I was thinking of something else. You ever play canasta?"
Leonardo emerged from the dojo for the second time that morning, although this time he'd actually had the chance to work out. Covered with sweat and with his muscles aching with the stress of his workout Leonardo wiped the sweat away with a clean towel and headed for the kitchen to grab a cup of tea before he'd go to the bathroom and grab a shower. He hoped by the time he was done Raphael would be up so he could talk to his brother. He'd known from experience that when Raphael had been out all night he wasn't in the mood to listen to reason, but by the time he'd gotten some sleep and some food in him he was usually much more reasonable.
"Aww… come on," Michelangelo groaned as Leonardo approached the kitchen.
Leonardo's eyes narrowed marginally behind his mask as he came around the corner and the kitchen table, along with Elizabeth and Michelangelo came into view. To Leonardo's surprise it looked like Elizabeth was playing a card game with his brother, and from the looks of it she was winning. Hiding a grin Leonardo made his way across the kitchen to the tea kettle and filled it with water.
"Something wrong, Mikey?" Leonardo asked not bothering to turn around to look at his brother, not willing to give away how funny he found the fact that Mikey was losing for a change. Michelangelo took pride in the fact that he usually smoked his brothers in every game they played. To see him losing for a change was a nice change, it took Michelangelo down a peg.
"Gettin' my shell kicked," Michelangelo grumbled.
Elizabeth chuckled as she drew two more cards from the small deck on the table, adding a couple cards to a few piles she had spread out in front of her before discarding a black three.
Michelangelo groaned again as he drew two cards and scowled at them before his blue eyes darted at the many piles spread out in front of Elizabeth. His shoulders sagged a little and he discarded a queen. Elizabeth snatched up the queen and added it to her pile, counted the cards, the placed a red queen on top of her pile pushed them together until they were in a neat pile and set them aside before picking up the rest of the cards from the discard pile she distributed cards amongst her many piles and then discarded a black three again.
Michelangelo huffed, irritated, and drew two more cards from the pile. His eyes lit up as he set a joker down onto one pile and counted up the cards.
"Now you said if the canasta wasn't a natural it was a red one on top?"
"Black," Elizabeth corrected.
Michelangelo put a black card on top of the pile and set the pile aside.
Leonardo watched in silence for a couple more minutes, watching as Elizabeth played the game with the air of an experienced player, easily taking advantage of Michelangelo's inexperience in the game. Finally Elizabeth discarded her last card and grinned triumphantly at Michelangelo.
"Count up the points in your hand, Mikey, and subtract that amount from what you have on the table before you add up your points."
Michelangelo dropped three cards onto the table, while Elizabeth counted silently in her head pointing to each of her neater piles and screwing up her brow in concentration while she added the points in her head.
The kettle whistled, drawing Leonardo's attention to it. He turned and poured the hot water into a teacup and adding his teabag. When he turned back Elizabeth had finished counting her points and was helping out Michelangelo.
"Sorry, Mikey, you lost this round. Pay up." Elizabeth sat back with a grin, holding out her hand expectantly.
Leonardo watched, bemused, as Michelangelo handed Elizabeth a candy bar and Elizabeth quickly tore off the wrapper and stuffed the chocolate into her mouth.
"It's your deal," Elizabeth said around her mouthful of chocolate.
Michelangelo rose from the table. "I'll be back in a minute, Elizabeth. Bathroom break."
Elizabeth nodded her understanding and picked up the cards, shuffling the cards expertly in her hands.
"I'm impressed," Leonardo said with a grin, and Elizabeth's eyes darted quickly to him before focusing on the cards again. "Not many people can beat Mikey in something."
Elizabeth chuckled. "It's all about strategy and learning the way your opponent plays his cards."
"Not always Mikey's strongest attribute," Leonardo said his grin widening.
Elizabeth laughed as she shuffled the cards again. "I wouldn't underestimate him, Leo. Mikey picks up on more than you'd think. I saw the way he was studying me this last round, learning my moves – I don't think I'll have it so easy next time."
"This I've got to see. You mind?" Leonardo asked, gesturing to an empty chair beside her.
Elizabeth shook her head. "Of course not."
Leonardo sat down next to her just as Michelangelo reentered the kitchen, practically bouncing up and down in anticipation and Leonardo could see from the look on his face that he hadn't taken his defeat well.
"Ok," Michelangelo said sitting down opposite of Elizabeth and taking the deck of shuffled cards from her, dealing them out fifteen each before pick up his pile. "Double or nothing this time."
Elizabeth shared a knowing look with Leonardo, then picked up her pile of cards with a smirk. This was going to be fun.