Despite the burden of the box she was carrying and the fact that she was pregnant with twins, April hurried through the underground path that led to the lair. She couldn’t help but feel excited. Why wouldn’t she be? Donatello had rescued female turtles and April couldn’t wait to meet them.
Casey was hard pressed to keep up. He was guiding Mrs. Morrison and the blind old woman moved slowly. April tried to wait for them but she just couldn’t so she told them that she would run ahead so the Turtles would be ready for them when they arrived.
She entered through the garage and Donatello was already up on the platform waiting for her. “Raph’s a little mad that you left Mrs. Morrison behind.” Leave it to Donatello to be watching the surveillance feed for their arrival. There was no sneaking up on the Turtles’ lair.
“I couldn’t help myself,” April said in her defense. “Girl Turtles! I need to meet them and their sensei. Mrs. Morrison will be fine with Casey. Besides, if Raph was so worried about her he could run down the tunnel to meet them.”
With a soft chuckle Donny helped April up onto the platform, taking the box from her so she could navigate the ladder better and then taking her hand when she reached the top. “What’s in the box?”
“A few old dresses and some old dolls,” April answered. “I got them for really cheap at a garage sale. I brought them for Raph. I’ve also got some money for Raph. The last few dolls he restored for me sold quickly. People love them. So this is his cut.”
“We’ll leave it here on the platform,” Donny said, placing the box close to the wall. “His special room has been moved down the tunnel since we needed the other room for the girls.” He then turned and pointed April to the stairs. “You go on up to the entertainment room. I’ll wait here for Casey and Mrs. Morrison. We’ll join you once they get here.”
“Okay.” April didn’t need to be convinced. She walked up the stairs as fast as her pregnant belly would allow her. There was a new, notable musk in the air as she approached the entertainment room. At least it wasn’t overwhelming. April had become a little more sensitive to smells due to her pregnancy.
She entered the entertainment room and couldn’t hide the smile on her face. She was beyond happy that the guys had a real chance a love. “Hi, I’m April.” She waved at them, stepping forward to take the hand of the closest one.
“My name is Leah,” she replied.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” April said.
“My name’s Michelle,” the orange banded girl said as she rushed over to look April over. “You’re the first human we have ever met. You’re pretty.”
“Thank you,” April replied. “I think you’re pretty as well.” Michelle blushed as a sweet smile spread across her face. She really was adorable.
“These are our sisters, Rachael and Donna,” Leah said indicating the other two before turning to their mother. “This is Sliver, our master and mother.”
“Hi,” April said, shaking Sliver’s hand. She then leaned in close and whispered, “If there is anything you need…. Specifically feminine needs….”
A soft smile graced Sliver’s lips as she shook her head. “That will not be necessary,” she whispered back. “I no longer have a uterus. Thank you for the offer and the deaccession.”
April sensed a pang of sorrow in Sliver’s words. As much as she wanted to know more, she knew better than to ask. She was not close enough to Sliver to get such personal information out of her. Maybe one day.
“Your daughters have lovely names,” April said a little louder. “How did you come up with them?”
“I named them after my favorite Renaissance painters,” Sliver answered.
“Huh?” April tilted her head to the side. “I don’t recall there being very many female Renaissance painters. And the ones I know never had names like theirs.”
“Everyone on our world was the opposite gender than they are on this one,” Michelle stated as a matter of fact, looking proud of herself.
“That makes sense,” April nodded. “So then, instead of Michelangelo, it would be….”
“Michelangela,” Sliver finished, nodding her head. “I had shortened it to Michelle. It was easier for the girls to say. Donna’s namesake was, Donna di Niccole di Betti Bardi. I shortened that one for obvious reasons. I almost called her Nichole but decided that I liked Donna better. Leah’s name sake was Leahnora de Vinci. I had also shortened that one. Rachael was the only one whose name was not shortened. It was lovely as it was and easy enough for the girls to say.”
“It would have been fascinating to visit your world,” April said wistfully, “and to compare the two to see how different things would be if every man in history was a woman.”
“It will be interesting to learn this world’s history and compare it to the one I knew,” Sliver agreed. “I will be sure to tell you all that I discover. It will make for interesting conversation.”
“I’m sure it will,” April said with a slight chuckle. “I look forward to long conversations about it. I just love history.” She then turned to Raph and handed him his money. “Before I forget. This is for you. I have a box downstairs with more things for you to restore.”
“I have some more ready for you,” Raph said, taking the money. “I’ll get them for you before you go.”
At that time Donny and Casey entered with Mrs. Morrison. “I brought cookies,” Mrs. Morrison announced as she entered the room. “I hope there is enough. I know you boys can have a big appetite.”
Mikey eagerly accepted the bag of cookies while Raph guided Mrs. Morrison to the sofa. Once Mrs. Morrison was settled, Raph placed Snow in her lap. “Mi Mor’son,” Snow cooed, giggling in delight at seeing Mrs. Morrison again.
Introductions were made once again as Mikey passed out the cookies. It was obvious that it was the first time the girls had ever had fresh cookies. And, much to April’s surprise, Mikey had noticed this as well and made sure that each girl got a second cookie before anyone else.
“I hope we get to eat like this always,” Michelle said past a mouth full of cookie she was savoring. She then looked up at Raph. “So… what kind of things do you restore?”
“Dolls,” Mikey answered, a little aggressively.
There was definitely more tension in all of the guys and they were all behaving differently. Before, it was rare for April to see their tails; they tended to make sure they were tucked at all times. Now, they were down on full display.
April had to bite her lip to keep from smiling when she realized that the guys were posturing for the girls. She wondered if they even realized that they were doing it. The poor things were out of their comfort zone and didn’t know what to do.
“Dolls?” Rachael smirked. “I don’t see you as the doll type.”
A slight triumphed smile turned up the edges of Mikey’s mouth and Raph looked ready to pounce on him. Being around girls seemed to be making them a tad more aggressive. So April decided to step in before things got out of hand.
“Raphael is quite the artist and works well with his hands,” she stated, patting Raph on his shoulder. “He cleans the dolls off, fixes their hair, and repaints them. Then I either sell them to help support the guys or we donate them to children living on the streets. Donny works on restoring electronics, when he can. Raph paints those to look better as well. It helps to keep him busy and out of trouble.”
“Speaking of which,” Raph mumbled as he quickly counted the money April had given him. He then removed a few bills from the stack and handed them to Donny before tucking the rest back in his belt.
The guys usually kept most of what they made for themselves but they also offered part of it to the family savings. Raph and Donny were usually the ones who contributed the most, Donny making the most money with customer service calls. Leo and Mikey didn’t really possess any skills that could be discreetly sold.
“Thanks,” Donny said, accepting the money and tucking into his belt.
“It’s good that you have a way of making money,” Sliver stated.
Leo nodded. “It is nice to be able buy things we need instead of always having to scavenge for them. Donna will at least be able to contribute once Donny sets her up with a call center. We’ll have to wait and see if the others will be able to contribute somehow beyond scavenging. It’s difficult for us to come across honest work.”
“We’ll do whatever we can,” Leah assured him.
Leo smiled. “Of that, I have no doubt.”
The rest of the visit went well. April tried to get a read on which girls the guys liked and vice versa. The only one she could tell right off the bat was Mikey. He was head over heels in love with Michelle. Fortunately it looked like Michelle felt the same for him. With the others, it was a little harder to tell.
Before it was time to go, April followed Raph down to the platform and he picked up the box she had brought. She had intended to wait for him there; no one was ever invited into Raph’s sanctuary. So she was surprised when he indicated for her to follow him.
When they got to the room, Raph pulled a key out of his belt and unlocked the door. She suspected that maybe he would have her wait there. But then, he stepped aside to allow April to enter.
She was amazed at what she saw. Dresses in garment bags, or covered in trash bags, hung on a rack with shoe boxes stacked under them. Dolls in various stages of restoration sat at a work station with everything well organized. Some finished dolls were kept up on shelves; ones Raph didn’t want to part with. She had no idea what to expect going in, but it wasn’t this.
Raph walked over to pick up one of the numerous boxes that lined the walls. He opened it to reveal a large wad of money. April already knew what he was saving his money to buy. He wanted to make his own porcelain dolls and was saving to buy a quality kiln and supplies.
After placing the money she had given him with the rest, Raph closed the lid and handed her the box.
“Do you finally have enough?” she asked, taking the box. “You are going to need to tell me what kind you want. Or better yet, write it all down.”
“The kiln will have to wait,” Raph answered and then turned to pick up another box. “You’ll need to sell a few more things for me. But, you’ll have to be careful about it.” He pulled a small felt bag out of the box and handed it to April. “That has a few stones in it that I took out of some of the jewelry I have. And then I melted down the gold. You don’t want someone asking questions on how you got them.”
Raphael never parted with his jewelry, some of the dolls, yes, but never the jewelry. The fact that he took them apart and melted them down was a sure sign that he was up to something.
“What do you want me to buy that would cost so much money?” April asked as she looked into the bag. There was a few thousand dollars’ worth of precious stones and nuggets inside.
To answer her question, he handed her a slip of paper. April read over the short list: Two Shakuhachi, two Koto, and several new, women’s kimono. Tucking the slip of paper into her pocket, April said, “I’ll see what I can do. This might take some time.”
“Just make sure you get the best quality you can,” Raph insisted. “And don’t tell them that it’s from me. Just say that you got them somehow through your business and that you thought they would like them.”
“Okay,” she assured him.
Once that was settled, Raph picked up the box with the finished dolls for her to sell and they headed back to the platform. April was excited to see the dolls and could not wait to take them home first. So, after they got back up on the platform, April took the box from Raph and headed for the stairs.
April stopped mid stride when she noticed Donna standing at the foot of the steps. “Hi,” April said with a smile. “Did you need something?” April had noticed that even though Raph had relaxed when they were alone in his room, he had gone rigid again at the sight of Donna. Could it be that he liked her or was he like that for any of the girls?
“I just… um,” Donna answered softly. “I was wondering if I could take a look at the dolls you brought before Raphael took them and if… maybe I could have one?”
“What would you want one of those for?” April walked up to Donna and sat down on the bottom step. She opened the box to show the dolls inside. “One of these will be much better. Look at how great they turned out. Raph really is talented.” She knew she shouldn’t get involved but she couldn’t help but play wingman just this once.
“Those are very pretty,” Donna practically whispered. “It’s just that… Raphael worked so hard on them and…, you know…, they are meant to be sold. I couldn’t take one. So I’ll be okay with one of the ones you brought.”
“I have some in my room that I never meant to sell,” Raph offered. “You can have one of those.” Oh, he does like her, April thought.
Donna blushed. “Oh, I couldn’t do that.”
“The whole reason I’ve collected them was so that I could give them to… someone… one day.” Raph was nervous. April could see it in his eyes. He used to be so confidant but now…. She was there when Raph tried to offer a gift to Joi; he was more sure of himself then. But, the rejection from Joi and the attack from Hun had crippled his confidence.
“I… um…,” Donna stammered as she looked off to the side and wrapped her arms around herself. Don’t reject him, April pleaded in her mind. She could see the heartbreak in Raph’s eyes.
“I… uh… know what it’s like to lose everything,” Raph choked out, somehow managing to keep his composure. “It’s hard to replace the things that were special to you. Sometimes it feels like it’s impossible. If it will help make things easier for you, you can have any doll you want. Even if it’s one of the old tattered ones that April brought.”
“Thank you,” Donna whispered. “One of the ones April brought will be fine.”
“I’ll get the box so you can look through it,” Raph said and then jumped down off the platform.
“Are you sure you don’t want one of these,” April offered one last time.
Donna simply shook her head.
Raph returned with the box and set it down. He then stepped away to give Donna space while she looked through it. April noticed that his tail was tucked up again. He had given up.
Donna selected a doll, quietly thanked them both, and then hurried off to her room. April could only watch as Raph picked the box up and made his way back to his special room.
