A/N: I don't think I'll ever own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Not for lack of trying though.

I received some fantastic reviews! Thanks to all of you who took the time! I got a particularly thought provoking review from an anonymous reader (You know who you are). And a few that gave me this niggling urge to write a Leatherhead/April story (not this one but another one... maybe if I can get my act together…)

Summary: April O'Neil has been dogging her boss for months to let her cover something more than just 'fluff' stories. Bernie finally throws her a bone. It's a lead in a fifteen year old cold case.

Cataclysm

Chapter 4

"April's missing." Two words had upended her whole world a few weeks ago. Her mother had taken a shuddering breath and elaborated, but Robyn barely heard it.

"How?" Robyn had breathed into the phone after a long agonizing moment where she couldn't breathe, well aware of her mother's own distress. No one had any answers; the police had come and gone, disregarding their testimonies that rebuked any notions of April being capable of homicide. Robyn couldn't bring herself to watch the news anymore, not with the pictures plastered everywhere, not with the fake blonde reporter staked out in front of April's apartment building.

Now it was the day before her son's birthday, and April's still missing. She was supposed to be there, she had offered to help decorate and wrangle the rascals. She felt tears roll down her cheeks and she stifled a sob.

"Mom?" Ryan called for her from downstairs.

Robyn wiped at her face quickly, thankful that she had foregone makeup that morning, "Just a minute sweetie!" she called out her voice just barely wavering. She took a moment to compose herself, she was a mother and her son needed her to be strong for both of them.

Master Splinter could proudly claim that he was hardly ever taken off guard. Michelangelo himself had deemed the act impossible, at the very wise age of five and a half, after many failed attempts to surprise his 'papa'. It took a lot to shock him, much more than tiny turtles jumping out from the shadows. But he couldn't claim that he was fearless. As a single father of four boys, he was bound to have instances that prematurely greyed his whiskers. Like when Leonardo had come down with a particularly bad case of the flu or, more recently, when their home had been attacked by mechanical monsters and he'd been separated from his children.

Today seemed to be one of the days that proved five year old Michelangelo wrong. He had been taken aback by the whirlwind of anxiety and grim faces his boys burst into the lair with, or more specifically the sight of Donatello. His second youngest son was covered in blood, making Splinter's heart leap into his throat before his mind registered that the girl in his arms was the one injured. He took a second to marvel at the sight of the slight female turtle cradled in his son's arms before Donatello whisked into his lab. He was quickly followed by a large bipedal alligator.

"Sensei." Leonardo greeted, bowing at the waist, "We found them in our old lair, the girl is mortally wounded-"

Michelangelo pushed past his older brother, unbalancing him in his excitement, "Can we keep her?!"

"Mikey!" Leo admonished, eyes narrowing on his youngest brother.

Raphael rolled his eyes at the orange masked turtle and cuffed him about the head. "Kanojo wa noranekode wa arimasen."

Splinter sighed deeply, closing his eyes as his children bickered. "Chinmoku." They stilled instantly and he opened his eyes again. "What happened?"

Beep Plop

The scent of antiseptic stung her nose as she shifted, all too aware of the dull pain rocking through her frame. The sound of water dripping somewhere nearby rung in her ears, harmonizing with the heart monitor.

Plip Beep Plop

She felt heavy, sluggish. Her eyes wouldn't stay open. "Where-" her voice was raspy and jagged. A rattling hiss sounded from nearby.

Plop Beep Plip

A firm grip on her hand startled her, "You are safe." She huffed a relieved breath, squeezing Leatherhead's hand back and clenching her eyelids together, trying to drown out the sound of the heart monitor, trying to push away her panic.

"What," she cleared her throat lightly, "What happened?"

"What do you remember?" He inquired.

She peeked at him, "I remember going to the supermarket." She started, brow scrunching, "Whistling. Explosions." A wiry man, thick black hair and eyes so dark they seemed to be voids. She looked down at the white swath of bandages wrapped around her shoulder, eyes still drooping shut every few seconds. "The hunter?" She gingerly freed her hand from Leatherhead's grasp to touch the area tentatively.

"Shot you." Her companion snarled, low and feral. April nodded remembering the sudden pain in her shoulder, then darkness. "He has been dealt with." April blinked blearily at him mind whirling, Leatherhead's anger drained out of him and he reached out to squeeze her hand again to reassure her. "Rest, April."

Plip Beep Plop

She didn't argue, gladly slipping into unconsciousness.

Leonardo took a deep breath in, eyes closed lightly. His features were illuminated by a single candle lit in front of him in the dojo. He furrowed his brow in frustration as the sound of Raphael tossing things around in the living room peaked into the dojo. It was a sign that his younger brother was nervous, though he'd never admit to it aloud. Finally the door to the lair slammed shut and silence descended on the room again.

He took a few more calming breaths trying to sink into a meditative state, but found his mind wandering to their unexpected guests instead. More specifically, the female of their species lying on the medical cot in Donny's lab.

She was dainty. Short compared to them, he estimated she'd come up to his chest. She was the fulfillment of several 'what if' scenarios he'd mulled over throughout his preteen years. Her existence was almost too good to be true.

And there inlay the problem. He was the leader, the eldest. He had to look out for his brothers, had to be mindful of threats. They couldn't afford to blindly trust her because she was like them.

His fists clenched tightly on his lap and he forced himself to breathe deeply again and relaxed his muscle groups systematically.

"Leo?" Donny called apprehensively into the dojo.

Leo jerked in surprise and stood to face his younger sibling. "What is it Donny?"

Raphael looked down at his bleeding knuckles, breath coming out in harsh pants. A few Purple dragon punks lay on the ground in front of him, broken and for the most part unconscious. "Jesus, Raph." Came a muffled voice from the mouth of the alleyway, "What's got your panties in a twist?" He turned to scowl at the masked figure. Donned in a tattered tank top, Hockey mask and some worn out jeans; the man sauntered into the alley whistling low at the carnage. He tipped the mask up, revealing his sharp jawline and a nose that looked like it had been broken a few times. Icy blue eyes met his and he raised a dark brow.

"Casey." Raph huffed, turning his gaze away with a frown, "You got any beer?" He inquired, finally turning back to Casey. His human friend grinned and slipped his mask over his face again.

Three beers in, Raph couldn't help but let his mind and the conversation wander back to the lair, back to her. She had been a shock to their system, this impossible thing come to life. They suddenly had a choice. They didn't have to live the solitary dangerous life of a ninja forever. She made it possible to settle down and start a family. Raph felt something ache, like something had gone down the wrong pipe, but deeper.

He wanted that, Raph realized with a start, he wanted someone to come home to, someone to start a family with. But it was more complicated than that. His brothers wanted it too, would be crazy not to. He was strong, sure, but not nurturing like Leo, funny like Mikey or smart like Donny. Truth was he didn't know how to even talk to a girl.

Casey glanced at him, taking a swig of his beer. "So this chick's been living with a giant alligator down there?" he inquired, and hooted at Raph's nod. "I knew there were gators down there."

"Yeah, they were stayin' in our old place." Raph fiddled with his nearly empty can for a moment.

Casey whistled, peering at his friend carefully, "That place was trashed last time we were there."

He knocked the rest back with a frown. "Not much better now." Raph snorted at that and snagged up another can. It wasn't, from what Raph had seen they were sleeping on piles of old blankets, rubble still blocked half of the rooms and had crushed most of the kitchen. It was no place for anyone to live in its current state. He cracked his beer open with a bubbling hiss. "Don's talked Leatherhead into lettin' her stay until she can move back with him."

Casey hummed, "Maybe we can clean it up a bit for em'? I've been itchin to do some renovation work."

"Yeah?" Raph cast a sidelong glance at his friend, hiding a small smile behind his beer can.

"Yeah!" Casey agreed crushing a can against the rooftop effortlessly, "It'll be fun, two bros and a giant alligator. What do you say Raph?"

Raph didn't answer, but then Casey didn't need him to.

Donatello quietly entered the lab, Leatherhead had gone with Raphael and Casey to the old lair an hour ago, it had taken some convincing to get the larger mutant to leave his charge in their care. But after a quiet conversation with Master Splinter and, strangely enough, Casey the old alligator had agreed.

He had hardly left her bedside in the twenty four hours following the surgery, and blood transfusion. Donny thanked whatever deity was listening that Leo's blood type had been a match.

The steady beep of the heart monitor reassured him that the girl was still stable. He checked her vitals anyways, swallowing nervously as he took her delicate wrist in his hand, the three digits easily engulfing it, her heart was steady. His thumb stroked the inside of her wrist once before he hastily dropped it. He felt blood rush to his face, and he peeked at hers to make sure he hadn't disturbed her sleep.

She had high cheekbones, and a beak much like theirs, but her frame was much smaller, less muscular. He wondered vaguely what color her eyes were. He shook his head, sternly at himself and left the lab, closing the door as quietly as he could.

"So?" Mikey's voice called out from across the room, the youngest brother's head poked up to peer over the back of the couch at him. "What's the deal?"

Leo strode in from the kitchen, brows drawn together and shoulders tense. Donny smiled tiredly, "Still out like a light but still stable."

Mikey let a dopey smile cross his face, "Rad."

The second time April woke up, it was to the smell of bacon. She pried her eyes open, unhappily realizing that her mouth felt like cotton, and her shoulder burned. She blinked around the room in confusion. She was obviously still in the sewers, though more than likely in another abandoned and sealed off subway station. The room around her held medical and scientific equipment. She shivered, sudden panic swelling in her chest.

"Leatherhead?" she called out tentatively, swinging her legs off of the medical cot, wincing as she jarred the IV wires connected to her arm. She tugged them free gently. She inhaled slowly, trying to calm her racing heart. "Leatherhead?" she called again, her voice wavering.

"Relax Donny." The door swung open a tall male turtle balancing a tray in one hand back through the doorway.

Her eyes widened in surprise. He blinked back then grinned, "Hey, sleeping beauty! Welcome back to the world of the living!" She made a strangled sort of noise as a second turtle entered; a purple mask covered the top half of his face.

"What are you doing out of bed?" the purple masked turtle inquired, tone slightly panicked. "You could aggravate your wounds!" He took a step forward and she staggered back two. He stilled, his companion set the tray on a nearby table.

"Alright, everyone dial it back a notch." He chided, plucking the piece of fabric from the second slightly shorter turtle's face. "See, nothing to be scared of. Just a mask. I'm Michelangelo, and this is my brother Donatello. What's your name?"

April looked from one brother to the other; they were taller than her by a head at least and twice as broad. As big as they were, they weren't nearly as menacing as Leatherhead had been. "Where's Leatherhead?" she inquired before she could stop herself.

Donatello shuffled a little closer, "He's at home, taking care of a few things, he'll be back by this evening." April crossed an arm across her stomach and nodded distrustfully. "Why don't you sit down and Mikey'll give you some food."

She reluctantly sat down; Mikey plucked the tray off the table by the door to set it down closer to the bed. "So what is it?" Mikey wheedled, as April eyed the glass of water eagerly.

"What?" she queried, blinking up into Mikey's baby blue eyes.

Donatello moved around Mikey's shoulder, holding a hand out towards her. "I'm just going to check your vitals and your bandages, Okay?" April nodded, he took her wrist in his hand, eyes trained on the stop watch in the other.

"Your name." Mikey grinned at her again, and she felt her shoulder's relax involuntarily at the expression.

Blood rushed to her face and she smiled back sheepishly. "Oh, April. My name's April O'Neil."

Donatello's head snapped towards her and Mikey's eyes widened almost comically.

A/N: dun Dun DUUUUUUUUN!

Sorry this took a while. Life caught up to me. In all honesty I had most of this drafted up already and I stumbled on it and decided to finish it up. I feel like it's a bit choppy but then again most chapters in this story seem that way to me. I was also extremely anxious to write the guys. Still wringing my hands over them and I'm not sure I got them down as well as I'd hoped. But at the same time I think I did better than I expected.

Please review! As always constructive criticism is met with hugs and snuggles.

Japanese Words and Phrases:

Kanojo wa noranekode wa arimasen. - She's not a stray cat.

Chinmoku. - Silence