When April called Leo's family, they couldn't believe it at first. They were shocked and when it sunk in, they got excited.
"He'll be home in a week." She said.
After hearing that, Mikey wanted to start planning a party for Leo's homecoming. Everyone else was up for that too. They would welcome their leader and big brother back with the biggest dinner and fun party ever!
….
Ali arrived home about six in the evening with some supplies for Leo and some dinner. She put it on the table and went to look for the pregnant turtle.
She checked the living room first and saw the TV blaring away. Then she saw Leonardo on the couch, sleeping. She picked up the remote and turned the TV off. She was sure he had been watching TV all day.
As she watched him for a moment, she couldn't help but stare at the turtle's swollen belly beneath his hand. Him being pregnant was a miracle in itself, as he had told her that he and his brothers were the only ones of their kind. Ali couldn't resist bringing one of her hands to Leo's belly to rub it, to feel the babies.
"You two are lucky to have Leo as your uh… parent. He is so caring and mature. And trying to save you from government feds. They would only do mean things to you. But you'll have a chance at a better life now." She said to Leo's belly softly. Then she got up and gently shook Leo on the shoulder.
Leo moaned in response. "Leo, time to wake up," she said gently.
He looked up and saw Allison. "What time is it?"
"After 6:30 pm. It's time for dinner. I got us some special food and got you some prenatal vitamins."
"Prenatal vitamins?"
"They're good for pregnant mothers to take."
Leo stared at her.
"Sorry, but you are pregnant." She said.
"It's ok. Understandable right now." He said and he was able to slowly push himself up.
Even though his stomach was showing babies coming didn't mean that he couldn't still do things on his own.
Leo and Ali went out to the kitchen for dinner and Ali gave him the vitamins. Leo read the label. When he was done, he took the lid off and opened it. He took a vitamin. It had a taste unlike any other vitamin he had taken before, almost like vanilla.
Ali then unpacked the food. She had some sub sandwiches, along with some fruits and vegetables and rice.
Leo was so happy that Ali had brought home some healthy foods for dinner.
After dinner, they went out to the shed and fed the horses and chickens. Since they were only mini horses, Ali only fed them small bales of hay. Once in the morning and once in the evening. Of course, she forbade Leo from lifting those hay bales.
"You're not lifting these bales in your condition." She said.
Leo understood. And he didn't want to harm the twins.
After they were done, on the way inside, Ali asked him, "Have you thought of any names?"
"Huh?"
"Have you thought of any names for your babies?" She asked again.
"No. I'm going to wait until my brothers know that they are going to be fathers and give them a chance at naming them. I did name Raph's though. He had a daughter that I named Rachel. She was the first baby that died inside me. Then there was the second and I don't know what it was or which of my brothers that it belonged to." Leo explained.
"I'm so sorry about the two that died." She said.
"Thank you. I just still feel that I had failed them somehow. They were counting on me and I failed them." Leo started to cry.
"It's ok. You don't know what went wrong." Ali said.
"Rachel's placenta ruptured from her womb inside me. And it was some kind of stress on the second. I can't let the last two down." Leo said firmly as he regained his composure.
They sat down and watched TV until it was time for bed.
….
For the rest of the week, Leo stayed at Ali's house while she went to work at the gas station.
He would have breakfast with her, see the animals in the morning, do some morning yoga workouts, and walk around. He had to have lunch by himself. He would watch some programs and take an afternoon nap. Then Ali came home and they had dinner, then they saw the animals again and went for walks, came inside, watched TV, and then finally went to bed.
One of those days however, Ali said that some men had come into the gas station asking everyone if they had seen any unusual creatures hanging around the town.
Ali had immediately said no, as had everyone else.
Leo was a little taken aback at that. But it wasn't unusual for Bishop or Johnson's goons to be looking for him. He was glad that Ali had not given away his whereabouts. She could be trusted.
Leo knew that he might be punished severely by Johnson or even Bishop if he was caught again. He was so close to being able to get home.
…..
Sunday finally came and Ali was finally free to do what she wanted for two weeks. Her first priority was to take Leo home as she had promised.
She packed some clothes and soap and other needed things for the trip. She had arranged for her brother to take care of her animals while she was gone. He had asked why she was going to New York. She said she was going with a special friend who had vacation time too and that she needed to get away for a while. Her brother agreed to take care of her animals. He was quite responsible.
Leo didn't like having to wear clothes in the car, but it was just to hide him. Ali didn't know the roads heading towards his home so she had to drive in the daytime. She had gotten him some good sized baggy clothes and a baseball cap. She hadn't wanted him wearing that old filthy coat that she had met him in.
Leo and Ali departed after lunch. It was going to be a long drive to New York, but at least Leo was on his way home.
They stayed overnight in a hotel in Illinois. Ali wasn't going to drive at night on unfamiliar roads. Leo didn't blame her.
They had a two bedroom. After dinner that evening, they were watching TV when suddenly, Leo felt something weird coming from inside him. It felt like a little bump.
He waited, but it didn't come back. A little while later, there was another bump, making Leo flinch. He looked down at his belly.
"What's wrong?" Ali asked, seeing his concerned face.
"Something's happening." He said.
"What?"
Another bump. Leo put a hand on where he felt the bumping going on. "I… I think I'm feeling a baby kick." He looked up at her.
Ali smiled. "That's great. Can I feel it too?"
"Wait. I need to see if it's going to do it again."
"Anything?" She asked after several moments of silence.
"Nothing." He said and then another bump. He flinched again. "Now it did it again."
"It must be responding to your voice." She said.
"Maybe. Here." Leo said and took her hand and put it on the spot where he felt the movement. "Come on, Little One. Do it again." He said.
Then another bump.
"Wow!" Ali responded. "That is an incredible feeling!"
It brought a smile to Leo's face. "Yeah, it is. And I get to feel it for many months yet. Agent Johnson was so sure I'd be pregnant for 9 months like a human." He said. "And I am carrying baby turtles that don't have egg shells."
"I'm sure your brothers will be thrilled there are new babies coming." Ali said.
"I don't know, Ali. I've been missing for 5 months and I come home all of a sudden and they find out that I'm pregnant. Don and Mikey might be accepting and I'm sure Master Splinter will be, but it's Raph that I'm worried about most of all." Leo said. "He's not always accepting of new things right away. I had a hard time accepting this situation as it was, but I didn't have a choice. And I wasn't about to let Bishop hurt the babies."
"Yeah, but he'll get used to the idea in time. You have a few months left to get everything ready if the babies are going to be carried for that amount of time."
Even though they had only known each other for a short time, Leo thought of Ali as a very good friend and was glad she had given him a place to stay and was taking him home. If she hadn't helped, Leo would have had to resort to stealing for food after the gas station had closed that night. And a journey on his own in his current condition would have placed more stress on him and the remaining twins.
They went to bed after finishing a program that Ali liked to watch.
Beta read by Applepye.
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