Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN.
Thank you.

Chapter #49

*Sunday March 13, 2016. At the lair *

"Alright do we have everything?!" Sam called out as she cupped her hands around her mouth.
Donnie and Leo pushed one final time and slammed down the trunk to the turtle van they had recently acquired, finally getting the trunk to stay shut after packing up everyone's luggage inside.
"We better" Donnie huffed.
Jay walked up carrying Renet. "Our car is all packed. We're waiting outside. Is Renet's seat ready?"
He then turned in time to see Mikey open the door to the turtle truck and hop out with a huge smile on his face.
"The ladies car seat is all ready to go" he said as he bowed in front of the child being carried by her father.
Jay could tell that Mikey had been waiting to hold the child, so he carefully handed her off to him (Renet of course had her arms wide open and was waiting for the large turtle to take her away already).
"That's precious cargo you're strapping into that seat! You better take good care of her!" Jay called out, sternly pointing his finger at the turtle who was giggling at the threats being shouted at him.
"Oh come on Jay, you know how much I love this little nugget, you really think I would allow anything to happen to her little 4 year old self?" Mikey stated as he snuggled his chin against the top of Renet's head.
She then did her little wriggle that meant that she wanted to be placed on the ground. Mikey obliged to the girls request and carefully placed her so that she was standing on the floor of the truck. Renet then hopped down with a smile and ran over and hugged her father one final time. She then looked up at him with her big brown eyes.
"Don't worry daddy, Uncle Mikey will take care of me. Plus he'll have the others to help him! Remember?" she said as she pointed to the crowd of people getting ready to board the truck.

Jay sighed as he bent down and gave his daughter a long and tight hug.
"I wish I had your optimism" he said as she stood back up
"Wait, wait! I need one to!" Brenda exclaimed as Irma quickly took Keeno so that Brenda could run over and give her daughter a big hug. Renet extended her arms as her mother scooped her up, spun her around once, and planted a huge kiss to her cheek.
"If you need ANYTHING then tell one of your aunts or uncles to call us, okay?"
Renet looked up at her mother as she was now being placed back on the ground.
"Moooooom, I just gave this speech to dad!"
"Oh I know," the woman said as she ruffled her daughter's hair, "but your safety will always be on my mind for the rest of forever. It's not my fault, I can't stop worrying even if I wanted to."
"Exactly!" Jay added, "That's why we're bringing this one in our car with us!" he said as he was now pointing fiercely at Leo.
Brenda raised a brow as she now held her son once again and was now placing him in his carrier.
"Really? That's what you're going with as your reason for bringing your turtle clone in the car with us?" she teased.
"Hey, Kris likes him to!"
"Well I guess the rest of us are chopped liver then" Raph teased as he nudged the man's shoulder as he walked past him towards the vehicle he would be traveling in.
"Oh I would have loved for you to ride with us, but Casey made it known how much he wanted you with him" Jay said as she slammed his hands down on Casey's shoulders.
Casey looked up with a 'wtf' face as he threw his arms out in front of him.
"Okay, we all have bromance here, why are we trying to make it weird?"
"Maybe because the guys chose each other before choosing women" April said as she crossed her arms in front of her.
"No, no-no! You chose HIM-" Casey stated as he pointed towards Donnie, "over me. You knew I was chosen to drive the truck for the first shift and you chose to go in the SUV."
"Hey! What's wrong with the SUV?!" Jay exclaimed.
"I'm not in it!" Casey shouted back.
"Well Irma and Vern said they both fall asleep quickly on long car rides and neither of them have driven down to Jersey anyway. I wasn't going to leave Donnie all by himself. Family has to have each other's backs."
"Awwww thanks April" Donnie said as he walked past her towards the SUV, the third vehicle parked in the work space where the turtle truck and van were currently being held.
"Does everyone have everything?!" Sam shouted as she threw her final bag in the back of the SUV.
Everyone in the group looked around at each other and nodded. Each person loaded them self into their seat (making sure the two children were safely secure before doing anything else) and everyone was off.

Cousins on their father's side, Jack and Jayden Kurtzman, and then Jack's cousin on his mother's side, Ashton Amante, were all detectives of some kind. The three grew up as if they were brothers by blood rather than just friendly cousins, and each had supported each other all their lives. They also had family that had been affected by the Foot. So when Jack's sister Ashley Kurtzman (also Jayden's youngest cousin) and Ashton's sister Jillian Amante were rescued by the turtles in September of 2014 the group of three wanted to thank the group in any way they could.
It was difficult for them to do so since Leo refused Sam from letting them contact anyone outside of their human family for the longest time, but now that he was slowly giving humanity more of a chance, he decided to hear them out on their offer.
The three men owned a rather large property near Wildwood New Jersey. The property was located in Lower Township New Jersey where it wasn't too close to the coast guard and also wasn't too far away from Ocean Drive which would lead them into town to buy any needed supplies, but it was also just far enough away where the turtles could run out into the ocean without being seen by anyone.
The Kurtzman and Amante men offered to let the turtles and any additional loved ones stay on the property for any week of their choosing since the property was used as a vacation home for destressing and escaping from their busy lives, and finally the turtles were taking advantage of this gracious offer.

There would be nobody entering the massive household except for the turtles and their group for the entire week that they chose (and of course they chose the week that Sam and Kris were both on spring break from their universities).
Those that were heading down were the four brothers, their father, Sam, Jay, Brenda, Renet, Keeno, Kris, Irma, April, Casey, and Vern (they weren't exactly thrilled to bring him, but they would be liars to say he didn't help them when they needed it, and a little bird also told them that Irma for whatever reason had always had a slight crush on Vern, and he was also April's friend and co-worker for years now).
The group also wasn't sure about bringing Kris or Irma, but after discussing it they had realized that the brothers and Sensei had seen ten times more of these two humans now that Jay and Brenda were married and had their children, so Irma and Kris were now officially part of the human family.

The driving situation had been difficult to figure out at first since there were 15 people going total.
Casey had offered to be a main driver and had been elected to drive the turtle truck with Raph nearby. Raph and Mikey had finally proven they could drive the vehicle and were placed with Casey in case he needed a break from driving. Sam and Splinter had also joined this group because even with the luggage there was more room to move in the truck than in any other vehicle. This also allowed more room for a car seat which meant that Renet had more room to feel comfortable as well.

Leo (who also had been given permission by Donnie to have a license, though this was much sooner than Raph and Mikey) was the driver of the turtle van, a vehicle that Jay and Casey had purchased rather cheap and Donnie decked it out to look like a brand new car. This vehicle was used more for convenience and for stealth and secrecy, whereas the truck was used for actual battle (but of course, Donnie had altered the look so that it would seem like a regular truck for this particular trip). Kris was the passenger in this vehicle, along with the new parents and their close to two month old baby strapped in-between them as they all sat in the second row of the van.

Then, in Jay and Brenda's new SUV, Donnie was the first driver (which he felt more comfortable sitting in this car than he thought he would). He had April as his passenger with Irma and Vern sitting behind them. Everyone was now ready and situated for the almost 3 hour long drive, and everyone was excited to go on vacation. The humans were all excited for an opportunity to escape from their busy lives. The mutants, however, were excited to see a part of the world that they never thought they would get to experience (outside of missions where they could risk their lives, like in Brazil, of course).

They weren't sure if it would be safe to leave the city, but with Shredder and Kraang gone, and with Bebop and Rocksteady currently locked away, and with not a hint of Karai or Hun's presence, the group decided it would be okay to leave the city for a week and to experience their first full family vacation.

It was about 6 in the morning (somehow everyone's adrenaline, or caffeine, had helped them stay awake until now) so that the group could beat the morning traffic as best as possible. Plus, the earlier they left, the quicker they could reach their destination and enjoy the beach scenery and vacation life for their weeklong vacation. The trip was a little under 3 hours long, and that would only be if the traffic didn't hold them up for too long on the way down there, so they wanted to reach their destination as soon as possible.

Of course, this meant that the first round of drivers were only able to hold on for so long. For multiple members in the group, this was there first time ever driving for such a long period of time, so they grew tired out from the long drive very quickly. Casey felt fine, but Donnie was growing tired in the SUV, so the two switched vehicles and Casey drove the SUV. Donnie then switched over to the Turtle Truck where Raph was thrilled to take over as driver. As the two made the switch, Casey made sure to inform the young parents that their child was sound asleep as she leaned against Splinter who was sitting protectively with his arm wrapped around the small child. When Donnie got to the truck, he smiled as he observed not only the sight of the young child resting against his father, but also of Sam and Mikey asleep and leaning against each other as well.
In the Turtle Van, Jay had taken over as driver and Leo had moved to the middle seat, which he was fine with because it gave him extra time to play with the infant who was surprisingly still awake (and smiling the entire time as well).

By pit stop number 2, the drivers all switched once again. Casey had grown tired from driving two rounds, so Mikey traded spots with him as he now drove the SUV. Raph needed a break as well, so Donnie returned to driving as he now drove the truck. In the van, Jay now needed a break, so Kris took over and drove the rest of the way in their vehicle.

Only one more pit stop was made after that. The group was all growing very tired so they carefully decided who was going to drive the rest of the way down. Donnie had now reached his driving limit after driving two separate rounds on the way down, so he was officially out cold. Raph would have taken over, but he was very tired out as well, plus he had a sleeping Renet at his side, so no one wanted to risk waking him and then also waking her. Because of this, Sam decided to drive the truck, while Mikey sat beside her as her passenger.
Brenda decided to take over driving the rest of the way in the van. She smiled as she watched Leo, Jay, and baby Keeno all sleeping in the back seat. She also smiled as she sensed her brother, who was trying to stay awake, but had also succumbed to sleep after the long drive.
Casey had returned to the SUV where he sat next to April who was now driving the rest of the way back. Casey also fought to stay awake, but eventually fell asleep, but April had rested a good majority of the way down, so she was okay to drive. She smiled at the man next to her who had attempted to be a gentleman and converse the whole way down to help keep her awake and safe, especially since Irma and Vern were also sound asleep in the back. She was grateful and found his attempt at staying awake quite charming.

This was also the reason that Mikey was fighting to stay awake as he sat next to Sam in the passenger seat of the truck.
Sam smiled. "You're allowed to fall asleep, you know that right?" she asked.
Mikey slightly shook his head.
"I have to stay awake and talk, that way you stay awake. I don't want you to get hurt" he said, very, very drowsily.
"But everyone else is asleep, you deserve to sleep to."
"Your safety is more important" he said, not realizing his eyes were beginning to close.
Sam just shook her head and sighed.
"I appreciate your help, but I'm fine. I waited until the end so that I wouldn't have to drive on the highway. This is my driving comfort zone, so it's okay for you to sleep."
"Never" he said, now realizing his eyes were closing as he opened them very wide.
Sam couldn't help but laugh.
"Are we there yet" a young voice asked from the back.
"Renet? When did you wake up?" Mikey asked with a smile.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno, most of the tech is turned off since we're not in battle, so there's no clock"
"Well let's change that then" Sam said as she pressed a button that turned on a few of the screens. Instead of using windows, passengers could look at the screens where mini cameras were recording and then displaying images from the outside.

Renet's eyes went wide as she looked out and saw no buildings, no cars, nothing but ocean and sand (along with some bayside grassy scenes, but still, it was nothing like the city).
Sam then laughed to herself as Michelangelo, who was now wide awake and was able to acknowledge his surroundings, looked the exact same way and made the same surprised face as the young child sitting behind them.

It only took about 15 more minutes for them to reach their destination. Sam and Mikey stared wide eyed as they looked out at the view in front of them. The parking lot was off to the side of the gigantic household, which wasn't even in the two teens minds as they stared out at the beautiful scene in front of them. Much further down was a dock with all types of boats and water vehicles, but in front of them was a wooden planked pathway that lead down to an incredibly blue water scene that was located beyond a decent amount of sandy beach.
It was now 10a.m. and the sun was shining brightly, illuminating a sparkling glow on top of the water, and it made the sand look warm and refreshing. The waves gently rippled due to a perfectly light breeze that blew along the beach. The best part was that there was no one in sight. No one around to spot the turtles or their father. No one was around to ruin this get away trip, so the mutant family could actually relax without having to watch their backs every second of the day in worry that someone against them would discover their location.

"Whoaaaaa, it's beautiful!" Renet said as she now was leaning over Mikey's shoulder (unfortunately Renet was too clever for her own good and had already learned how to unbuckle her car seat without assistance, but the teens decided to let it go this time since the car was parked and they were on vacation. They wouldn't want to stay buckled in much longer either).
"Mmm" Raph groaned as he began to sit up and stretch. He then looked forward and saw the same scene and shoved his younger brother awake. It wasn't exactly the awakening Donnie was hoping for, but the view in front of him through the front window made this shove okay.

At this point everyone in the vehicle (except for Splinter who was still asleep) was staring out the front window in awe.
"Kay, bye!" Sam shouted as she opened her door and began running towards the beach down ahead.
She turned to see the van pull up, and before anyone could say anything Leo and Kris had already opened their doors and were rushing to meet up with Sam. Seconds later the other three brothers (Raph with Renet in his arms) were running behind these two as they all ran down towards the water in excitement.
Sam was in the lead and was running towards the water and was so excited to return to the ocean water after not having been on a vacation in so long that she ran straight in up to her mid thighs. It wasn't until she had reached this point that she turned around and realized they brothers had all stopped back where the water just gently kissed the sand. The boys stood there with smirks on their faces, meanwhile, Renet was laughing her head off.
"They got you Aunt Sam!" she shouted out.
Sam crossed her arms. "Cover Renet" she said as her eyes went blue and she swung her arms in front of her so that a hue gust of wind shoved two hugs waves of water up and over the guys. Raph made sure to turn as soon as he heard Renet's named being mentioned and was able to keep the girl dry, but of course he and the others were still soaked.
"Ha! Aunt Sam got all of you!" Renet now exclaimed.

"Are you all going to help unpack or what?!" Jay called down.
The group turned around to see that everyone else was now awake and unloading the vehicles.
"Heh, guess we should help with that" Leo said.
The group jogged back, the sun helping dry them off rather quickly, and everyone grabbed a bag as they all made their way into the huge 5 story house.
Of course, the teens (carrying Renet the entire time) literally brought in a load of bags, although each did help carry in multiple loads within one actual load of unpacking, and carefully dropped the bags in the main lobby as they then ran throughout the entire building, observing everything it had to offer.

The first thing the teens noticed was the large indoor pool and sauna when they went up to the first floor. T On this same floor, to Donnie's liking, was a computer room that was a designated work space. On the second floor was a huge gym that included some small sports rooms, including a small turf field. On the other side of this was a rock wall that stretched across the entire wall, and almost all the flooring in that room was made of either trampolines or foam pits. The third floor consisted of a large movie theater in one space, a large dance hall in the next, and a large game room in the third main space of that floor (the game room looking like a Dave and Buster's had moved into that room). The remaining space, aka the fourth and fifth floors, were all extremely spacious rooms that included 2 beds per room, a mini living room with a couch, love seat, additional comfy chairs, and even a mini kitchen space. Each room even had a hot tub. And the bathrooms were even more luxurious than the rest of the room altogether.
Each bathroom had two square granite sinks and very shiny appliances. The turtles never realized they could love a shower as much as they were right now as all four of them literally crammed into one shower together.

"Dude! There's a tub and a shower within the doors of the shower! Like we can actually move!" Mikey shouted as he and his brothers were happily crowding into the room.
The shower stretched into a large square and one on side of the square was a nice rounded bathtub, but there was still plenty of space (including a bench) so that the shower could be used as an actual shower, or even just as a steam room.
"Having fun?" Sam asked as she watched the smiling brothers (and their smiling human 5th brother) as they all smiled and laughed as they crammed into the shower, amazed that it could fit all of them, even if certain brothers were basically hopping onto the other's shoulders so that they could fit perfectly.

Casey then walked in, now that everyone else had caught up, and stared wide eyed at the shower.
"Dude this thing is huge!" he shouted as he then piled in with the rest of the guys.
Jay and Brenda, and basically everyone else was in the same room now.
Brenda looked at Jay and even though she knew her husband wouldn't say anything, she could tell her wanted to join them.
"Get in there" Brenda encouraged as she cradled Keno.
Jay couldn't help but smile as he kissed his wife. "You are literally the greatest thing ever!" he shouted as he ran in and jumped on Raph's shoulders so that he could fit in the space.
Vern looked as if he wanted to join as well.
"Get in here old dude! There's still space!" Mikey shouted.
Vern then rushed over once he saw the others turtles nod and encourage him to join as well.

The women, and Splinter who couldn't keep himself from laughing at his dorky sons, all smiled and shook their heads.

It was going to be a very interesting trip indeed.

HI GUYS! I have a million things to do, but instead I'm writing this!
I've been craving writing lately even though I shouldn't be, but man I've missed this so much! Sorry this chapter is ridiculously short but I wanted to add and at least give an idea as to where the story is heading FOR NOW soooooooooo badly!

Like this literally just felt so nice to focus on this and work on a computer and not hate my life…okay that was overdramatic, but it just sucks. College literally has you reading textbooks, then typing papers, then reading and typing some more, then reading and typing for a group. My internship is going well, but third grade content obviously takes more time to plan and grade than kindergarten (btw I'm interning in a 3rd grade class whereas in the past I had only ever interned in either K or Pre-k classes). There have been some breakdowns in my house. Breakdowns as in me crying my eyes out from stress, but I feel like that's something all college students do, so that's normal. I'm almost done this semester, but not just yet.

BUT HOLY SHIT ONCE I'M DONE I HAVE SO MUCH IN STORE FOR THIS SERIES! And I keep coming up with ideas to add and I'm just so excited like I feel like I'm going to mess with so many people in a fun way, like you're not expecting what's to come…now hopefully when I reach those moments you all actually feel that way and don't hate me.
But this post is also to let you know that I'm still around. This story isn't over, it's just been forever because I still have to live life and this isn't my job. I would love for it to be, but it's not :/

But I hope you're all doing well as well. Live life, but also take care of yourselves!
And I hope this chapter excited you for all the fun that's to come :3