Hugs Fix Everything

The Next Day, 3:28 pm…

"You mean she's been asleep all day?" Donnie asked, looking down at the squirrel mutant as she lay curled up on the seat across from the TV, a box of leftover pizza on the floor beside her. She had used a bunch of pillows to cushion herself on the seat, and as she slept her shoulders rose up and down as she took in air.

With her body being part squirrel now, her breathing was a faster rate since she now had a higher metabolism. Her rapid heartbeat pumped blood through her body faster, using up nutrients and forcing her to eat more food. But ever since yesterday afternoon, she had been asleep curled up on the couch, only waking up to use the bathroom or eat a snack.

Mikey nodded. "Yeah, dude. She's been out like a light. I think this is the best sleep she's gotten in a while."

"Probably because it's warmer and a better setting. They say people sleep better with sound in the background." Donnie turned his gaze to look at the TV, noting that the news was on again since Leo wasn't watching Space Heroes for the time being.

Mikey stared at Abigale for a minute, a thoughtful expression on his face before he looked up at his older, taller brother. "Hey, do you think that she'd hibernate?"

Donnie wore a puzzled expression, but then he hummed in thought as the idea suddenly occurred to him. He then shook his head. "Eh… no. Squirrels don't tend to hibernate. They have too high of a metabolism and would run off their fat reserves too quickly."

"Um…" Mikey tried to process what his brother just said. Metabolism? Fat reserves? But then he shrugged when he gave up. "Oh."

Abigale hasn't spoken much at all since she'd been offered the choice to stay. She was still trying to get over the fact that she was a mutant rodent that had been living alone in an abandoned apartment for weeks, having been rescued by a group of mutant turtles and a strange boy, had been brought back to their lair, and was now being accepted. She wasn't too sure about how long she planned to stay though. She didn't know her way around New York, also, and that thought only urged her to stick to the idea of staying underground. Nobody came down here anyway, she thought, and it would probably be the best place she could stay at all until… What was his name? Donnie? Yeah, until Donnie came up with his… his… retro-mutagen? Yes. All she would have to do is stay here until he came up with the formula and then turn her back into her human self. That easy. Just… wait…

But how long would that take? The way he described it, it would probably take a while for it to be finished. Days? Weeks? How about months? That would be just more time to make her parents believe that she was gone forever. They HAD to be still looking for her, they had to be. But her chest tightened still, and she swallowed a knot that had formed in her throat.

When the footsteps of the turtles faded, she opened her eyes and watched as they disappeared into the dojo. In the dojo, she could hear the sound of metal clashing and shouting, voices barking back and forth to each other in a way that sounded like a fight. But she wasn't interested in fighting. Never had been. Fighting seemed like a… violent thing, and she didn't like violence. She believed in a calmer approach to things, such as talking and solving the problem like well-behaved adults. Fighting was immature unless it was merely defending yourself, but even she didn't even know how to defend herself in a fight. Yes, she'd seen some shows on TV such as boxing or wrestling, but the subject never interested her. She was more likely to watch national geographic channels and such. But even now she felt sickened to think about those nature documents, knowing that she had become part of one herself with this squirrel body.

She sighed, fixing up her pillows and resting her chin on the stacked pile, letting her bored eyes wander around the room. It was a very large room with a high ceiling, but had a homey touch with pinball machines, a TV, a fighting dummy, and even a tire swing over what she guessed they called their pool. The tire swing caught her attention, and her ears perked up as she blinked curiously at it. Back at her old town, she used to have a tire swing from when she was littler, before she was a teenager. It brought back some old memories of her and her father when he had first built the swing, or actually just roped it over a branch and tied it up for her. He pushed her in it and they had a grand time, and she could still remember the smile he used to wear, back before her parents had divorced.

She had almost forgotten what it was like to sit in a tire swing, and she, after checking to see if anybody was around, then crawled off onto the floor. Then she stood back up, stretching herself before creeping over to the pool. She crouched down, looking down into the water at her reflection. Her reflection stared right back at her, causing her to frown at herself in disgust. But then she shook her head, and looked to the swing. She wanted to get in it, but she didn't want to get wet with this fur. She'd accidently been caught in the rain before in this body, and the water in her fur had felt so heavy and cold and soggy, she just simply hated it.

But she wouldn't be able to get to the swing without getting wet. Unless… she thought for a moment, looking down at her back legs. Squirrels were known to jump for good lengths from branch to branch in trees. Maybe… She looked to the swing, and she narrowed her eyes. She backed up a few steps, her tail coiled in the air as she crouched. As much as she hated to think about being mutated, she knew that she had to accept it for the time being, and deal with it until Donnie could change her back to her normal self. So, with that in mind, she huffed and suddenly sprinted. On all fours, she raced forward until she got to the edge of the pool. Using her back legs, she leapt into the air like a spring and went soaring through the air for a mere second before her hands made contact with the rubber surface of the black tire. She gasped when it began to swing, and once her hind feet made touchdown she latched onto the chains that held the tire up, and she curled her tail around herself instinctively. The tire swung for a minute or two, and when it finally came to a slow stop, she looked about her and breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't get wet.

She relaxed as she got settled on the swing, letting her legs dangle through the center of the tire and her hands gripping the chains, her tail swaying under her as she moved her body to move the swing. She couldn't help but smile at the silly, childish feeling that overcame her, and she giggled quietly to herself as she closed her eyes and smiled widely in enjoyment.

"Wheee!" she giggled as the tire spun in circles, leaning back but being careful not to fall backwards. Her heart felt a bit at ease with the happier emotions temporarily overwhelming her previously negative thoughts. It felt nice to smile, to giggle and have a nice time like she used to. She sighed in content, leaning her cheeks against the chain and gazing down at her knees. She then grew interested in the fur, and she used her fingers to carefully brush her fur. It… felt almost like she was petting a dog that had soft hair. Before, she was grossed out about being covered in this fur, being an animal. But as she grew more interested and even grabbed up her tail and was fingering the fur and running her fingers through the fluffiness, she couldn't contain her smile as she found it amusing, much like a baby when it first discovers its toes.

Despite the boys' loud shouting and taunting each other, Splinter overheard a small but clear female voice in the living room. Letting the turtles carry out their training, he calmly walked with his hands behind his back to the doorway leading to the living room. Not proceeding any further, he observed as Abigale was sitting in the tire swing and exploring herself. He assumed that she had been too traumatized to have a positive look at herself, and was now just beginning to see how interesting her body was to her. He knew that she wouldn't be fully happy until she was returned to normal, but he was relieved to know that she was seeing light in this darker time for herself, and was willing to wait out the time it took to change her back to normal. He felt sympathy for her. His sons couldn't understand what it was like to once be human, but turned into a creature like he was. He knew what it felt like to be disgusted by what he had become, and he knew what she felt now. If his sons as children hadn't turned to him in need of a parent, he wasn't sure if he'd ever gotten over his mutation. He would have been living down here still, but in a depressed and horrible state.

Poor girl… he thought. I do hope that Donatello comes up with that retro-mutagen soon. I know she's missing her family.

Not wanting to bother her, he sighed and returned to watching his sons train, scolding them whenever things got out of hand or giving tidbits of advice when they were unsure about something. Abigale remained in the tire swing, but now lying in it with her feet in the air, her tail draped over her, and her ears flattened as the moving tire lulled her to sleep once again.

About two hours later April and Casey were once again visiting the turtles like they usually did after school. As they were entering the lair, April spotted the mutant girl laying in the swing, and she smiled in relief to know that she was settling well in the lair.

"Hey, Abigale," April greeted, causing the mutant to wake with a jerk and blink rapidly. "Oh! Sorry… I didn't know you were asleep."

Abigale yawned, rubbing her eyes with a hand as she mumbled. "It's okay…"

"Oh, hey, um… I got the feeling that you wouldn't want to eat just pizza here, so... I brought you something, Abby." April reached into her backpack and began to fiddle around looking for something. Curious with her ears perked, Abigale sat up in the swing and, ever so carefully, leapt over the water and onto the concrete floor and approached the red-head. April smiled when she found what she was searching for and pulled out a clear box.

"Cookies?" Abigale inquired, her nose twitching as she took in the wonderful scent of the oatmeal and raisin treats, and April happily handed the box to her. She felt her heart flutter a little, finding how she had almost forgotten about one of her favorite snacks ever, and also how April actually thought about her while she had been gone. It brought a little smile to her face.

"Yup! I wasn't sure what to get, since I didn't know what you liked. So I just bought what they had." April took note as Abigale took out a cookie and began to munch on it right away, and she smiled. "But I can see that you like them anyway."

Abigale smiled shyly and nodded, swallowed before she watched tall, dark, and messy Casey walk over to the seat in front of the TV and then start flipping through the channels. Abigale stared after him for a bit, wondering why he didn't speak to her much. She hadn't really gotten to know him really well, and although she would have been more than willing to make a new friend, he just didn't seem like the type she wanted to hang out with. Well… Then again, she was temporarily living in the sewers with mutant turtles and a giant rat. She really didn't have a say in the matter, being a mutant herself.

"Is he… always like that?" she asked quietly, her ears folding back a little. "Avoiding people, I mean…"

April turned her attention to Casey for a moment, frowned in thought, and then crossed her arms while shaking her head. "Well, not really. You see he has this phobia and… well, no offence to you, but he's afraid of rats." She then realized just how blunt that sounded and she quickly worked to rephrase as to not make her new friend feel bad, which she was starting to show signs of as her tail drooped slightly and her eyes began to wander. "I mean, you're a mutated rodent and all and just resemble one! It's nothing personal, he just needs to accept that there's a new mutant among us!"

Abigale's eyes closed a little half-lidded, her ears drooping as she slumped her shoulders. "Yeah… A new mutant…"

April caught the soft, distressed tone in the mutant's voice, and she regretted her words. She didn't really mean anything by what she had said, she just… The words just came out. But who could blame her? Ever since she had even met the ninja turtles she had been seeing mutants from left to right, and it was almost normal to hear about missions involving mutant people or animals. Knowing that the turtles hadn't been mutated from people, it had been easy to talk to them and say such blunt comments without the worry of really offending them. But now she reminded herself that she'd have to be careful about what she should say, in worry of hurting Abigale's feelings about something.

But before April could utter a word of apology, Abigale had taken another cookie, shoved it into her mouth, sat the container on the back of the couch, and then returned to the swing, hopping into it over the water and curling up on the hole in the tire. April felt guilt creeping up on her, but she knew better than to bother the mutant any further, so she sighed and pushed her backpack toward the couch and then continued on her way towards the dojo, where the sounds of the boys shouting during their daily training could be heard.

In the dojo, Mikey was fighting Donnie this time, Donnie swinging his Bo staff and Mikey dodging a few blows before throwing the chain of his nunchakus and lassoing Donnie's staff, attempting to yank it from his hands. But Donnie, planting his feet in a firm stance, gripped his staff and spun it, so that when Mikey tried to keep a hold on his weapons, his hands were twisted by the chain spinning from the staff.

"Ah!" Mikey yelped sharply when the chain twisted back and pinched his hand in the process of him trying to hold onto the handles of his nunchakus. The match was then over as Splinter nodded in approval to Donatello, who was smiling in victory.

"Excellent, Donatello. Using your opponent's weapon against themselves is an effective way to gaining advantage in combat." Then he turned his gaze to Michelangelo, who was examining the reddening mark appearing on his hand, almost resembling that of a single link of the chain of his nunchaku. "This also aids in the reminder that you should always be able to counter whatever attempts your opponent may try to use to disorient you, or if not you must at least be ready for it. Make sure you learn from your mistakes, my sons. That concludes your lesson for today. You are dismissed."

At their dismissal the other three brothers stood to leave, and Mikey nodded while rubbing his hand as he picked up his weapons off the ground. "Hai, Sensei…"

Putting his nunchakus back in his belt, Mikey followed his older brothers out of the dojo. Donnie greeted April on the way out, sharing some small talk before they followed Leo and Raph into the living room, and gathering at the TV while Raph and Casey said their hello and bumped fists. Leo sat on the floor with his shell against the front of the couch, Raph on the couch next to Casey, April on the other side of Leo, and Donnie next to April on the opposite side from his brothers. Mikey didn't bother with settling down just quite yet. He wanted to go check out his hand in better light, see if he was actually bleeding. The pain had faded into a more stinging feeling, like a burn almost, but the area around it was starting to swell, and he wanted to make sure it was all well. Who knows, it might ruin his ability to read comic books! He couldn't risk that!

So, rubbing the swollen spot on his hand, he continued on to the bathroom to see if maybe there was some ointment to soothe the sting. When he got to the bathroom, he didn't really seen anything related to treating his hand, but he settled with putting a wet rag on it for a few minutes to cool the area off before rinsing his hand in cold water and then leaving to join his brothers, April, and Casey at the TV. Maybe he'd even get some popcorn, as he was feeling a little snackish.

"And I still don't understand why they call it pi. Why pi? Pie is what you eat, isn't it? Why do they have to name something in math after what you eat? It just doesn't make sense." Casey was complaining about his day at school, his math class in particular. "And imaginary numbers. Seriously?! What's next, unicorns and goblins in the next lesson? What, are we gonna use imaginary numbers when writing checks or something?"

"Hey, you're lucky that she was in a good mood, or else you would have gotten homework over it." April smirked as she checked her phone for any new messages, then putting it away when she saw that there was nothing new.

Casey rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Still."

Donnie then joined the conversation. "I don't get what's so hard about it using imaginary numbers and pi. Its pretty easy to me."

"Well, not all of us are big green, brainiacs like you!" Casey snorted, poking the tall mutant turtle in the plastron and causing the purple clad turtle to wear an unamused frown.

As Mikey entered the living room and overheard the conversation, he grinned and was about to chime in with his own opinion, but he then paused and looked around in search for a certain female mutant. She wasn't on the couch anymore, and she hadn't been in the bathroom when he went. She wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Then he looked at the tire swing, and noted that it was still moving without anybody sitting in it, like it had been pushed. He studied the way it swung, the direction it moved. He then followed the direction and saw that it led toward the dojo.

How did… Did she? He blinked in confusion, but went along and walked towards the dojo once again. Surely she couldn't have passed them on their way out? Or maybe he was too distracted by his hand to really notice her leaving the room. Either way, he just wanted to see where she was and if she was okay. After all, she'd been on the couch practically all night and today, maybe there was something wrong with her. She could have been sick or hurt. The thought only worrying him further, he entered the dojo and looked around, seeing that Splinter had gone to meditate in his own room in the dojo, closed off by a thin wall. He could smell the candles that his sensei had lit for relaxation, and he took a breath of it to soothe his mind before glancing around and then looking at the tree. Perhaps she had gotten herself up there again.

He walked to the base of the tree and paused at the bottom, tilting his head up to look through the branches. "Abby? Abby, are you up there?"

A piece of bark fell from a branch at his feet and he could hear the sound of fur brushing the rough surface of the wood. His question answered, he sighed softly to himself in relief. When he spotted her eyes looking down at him, he motioned toward her with a hand. "Can I come up?"

She was still for a moment, thinking the question over for a little bit before she nodded. At her answer, he took a step back and then ran a few steps up the tree, grabbed a branch, swung himself up and pulled his weight onto the large branch that she had been resting on, the same spot she had sat when she had been stuck up in the tree when she first got here.

"What are you doing up here? I was starting to worry 'bout ya." he asked with a friendly and amused smile, folding up a knee and resting an elbow on it while he leaned back so that his shell was pressed against the tree.

She was curled up against the trunk of the tree, her tail pulled around her as she remained quiet for a moment, her eyes not focused on anything. He just then realized how sad she looked.

"Abby? Are you okay?" he asked, hoping that he wasn't agitating her but at the same time wanting an answer. Was she sick? He had grown attached to her, grown to be her friend, he thought. Surely she would have informed him that she wasn't feeling well?

The mutant squirrel let out a soft, almost inaudible breath as she heard his concerned voice. "I'm fine…"

He wasn't convinced, as he had caught the hurt tone in her voice. He could see that she was upset, and he wanted to help her. But how could he help her if she didn't tell him what was wrong? So he pressed further. "Abby… Please don't tell me that you're fine when you're not. Please tell me what's wrong!"

Having only seen him with his bubbly personality and comforting smile, she was taken aback at the small hint of desperation in his voice and when his smile disappeared from his face. She felt vulnerable, and she knew that he was set on trying to solve this problem. But how could he know what it was like to have a life before this? That once to be human and now an ugly mutant far away from home? That she couldn't just go to her parents and tell them all that had happened over the past few weeks? He had been a mere little turtle before his mutation, without much of a life besides being with his brothers. He didn't know how she felt, not personally. After what April had commented about her earlier about her resembling a rat, being mutated into an anthropomorphic squirrel, her heart had felt like it had broken all over again. She wasn't mad at April, no. She was just so upset that people were still afraid of her, like Casey. Casey had been afraid of her because she resembled one of his phobias, rats. She couldn't blame him either. If she saw herself in this form again for the first time, she would have been frightened as well. She wasn't a human anymore, she was a creature of sci-fi comic books and movies! She wanted to be her normal self again, she wanted to go home, but most of all she wanted to be with her mom and dad. She missed her family, she missed her old life.

Mikey watched as she seemed to fight with her emotions, and then he saw tears pricking at the corners of Abigale's dark eyes. She hugged herself tightly, letting out a sob.

"I just wanna go home…" she whimpered pitifully, her ears flattening as she buried her face in her arms and knees, beginning to cry further.

The orange clad turtle felt unsure what to do at that moment. He felt the need to comfort her, but he wasn't certain whether she was fine with him touching and all, and he didn't want to agitate her further. He sat there, feeling awkward. Should he pat her on the shoulder? Should he say something? If so, what should he say? He was lost for words. Feeling ashamed of herself for crying in front of him and looking like a baby, she quickly tried to wipe her eyes and calm herself. Tears continued to fall, though, and she used her tail to try to dry her face.

"Need a hug?"

She sniffled and turned her attention to Mikey, who was smiling awkwardly at her with his bright but concerned blue eyes. When he realized just how random his question was, he then added, "I mean… Hugs always help me when I'm upset… So…"

She stared at him for a minute, contemplating his offer for a moment. To tell the truth, a hug would probably have done her some good, just to feel the contact. After reassuring herself, she nodded slowly, and he scooted closer to her so that his side almost touched her. Then, he reached out his arms and she leaned toward him, letting him wrapped his arms around her furry body while she curled up close to him. At first the hug was odd and Abigale felt uneasy for a minute. But, then the feeling of having someone just having contact with her began to soothe her troubled mind and she closed her eyes, her ears pinned back as she relaxed against his touch.

"Better?" he asked, feeling the fur on the top of her head brush his chin.

She nodded, feeling his warm hands resting on her shoulders. "I think so. Thank you…" She then looked down at one of his hands, and then blinked. "Mikey, what's that?"

He then remembered the swollen spot on his hand from the training from earlier and smiled sheepishly. "Ah, just a little something from training. It's… It's normal!"

She took his hand and examined it, brushing her nimble fingers over the little bump on his hand, seeing that it was reddened and even starting to turn a little purple. He watched her eyes as they stared down at his green skin, feeling her fur as she held his wrist. He jerked when she gently put a little pressure on the bruise with her thumb, and then rubbed it distractingly before she let go of his hand. He smiled awkwardly and cleared his throat before speaking to her again.

"So hey- um… Do you wanna eat something? The guys are watching TV and… I thought that maybe you'd wanna join us instead of… you know, sitting up here all alone." He watched as a small smile replaced her tearful face, and she began wiping her eyes of sticky tears with her hands.

"Um…" she finished wiping her eyes. "Yes, yeah, that would be nice."

"Great! I'll get the popcorn- Oh wait! I wanted to ask you. How did you get past us without anybody noticing?" Mikey then paused, giving her a curious expression.

She tilted her head. "Huh?"

He smiled in amusement. "Well, I didn't see you come into the dojo, and I thought I heard you and April talking earlier. I just never saw…" He then fell silent in thought, the ridges of his mask furrowing for a moment before he suddenly grinned like a little boy who just got a puppy. "Maybe you're a ninja like us!"

She then smiled sheepishly. "Oh no… I don't fight."

"Well, you are pretty silent! And as Leo once said, 'Ninjas must be silent, but deadly'!" he held up a finger as he quoted one of Leo's sayings, deepening his voice to imitate his older brother's slightly deeper voice. He then wore a puzzled expression, and he put a finger to his chin. "Or was it put in a different way?" Abigale let out a giggle and he chuckled in reply, as he started to make his way down the tree.

"Oh, do you need help coming down?" he asked, almost forgetting the last time when he had to help her come down from the tree.

She waited for a moment to think over his offer. She leaned forward and looked down at the ground, and then found that this time now that she had gotten herself up the tree, it wasn't as bad looking down from this height. She looked to might and shook her head hesitantly.

"I… I think I'll try to get down myself, Mikey." When he smiled and proceeded to slide down, she then called out again. "But… can you stand at the bottom, though? I mean… In case I fall?"

He smiled and nodded to her when his feet made contact with the ground. "Of course! C'mon!"

She smiled in affection at his promise, and then she drew in a deep breath before turning around and lowering her legs, feeling her claws scratch against the tree's bark. She then gripped the bark with her hands, her claws clinging to the trunk as she slowly, but surely, began to shakily lower herself down the trunk and close to the ground. When Mikey reached up and put his hands at her sides to reassure her that he was still there, she let her legs hang and make contact with the ground before letting go with her hands.

"Nice job, you did it!" he congratulated, giving her a friendly, warm hug in happiness before he took her hand and pulled her to his side as he already fast-walked towards the living room. "Now let's go get some popcorn! I think we're gonna watch a horror movie!"