“Pway wif me,” Snow demanded as Mikey walked into the shared common room.
Michelle was spending some well needed quality time with her mother. So, out of boredom, Mikey was on his way to the kitchen for a snack when he walked in on the two-year old’s hissy fit. Part of him screamed, just turn around and leave.
Snow was wearing one of her many custom-made princess dresses and she clutched her custom doll, wearing a matching dress to her chest. The dress was worn and tattered, and the elastic was stretched to its limit. She loved the dresses Raph made for her.
With tears in her eyes and a pouty lip, Snow stopped her feet and whined. “Pway wif me!”
Donny gently shushed her. “Please, I just got Gali to sleep and I’m tired. Can you play by yourself for a little bit? I want to take a nap.”
“You never pway wif me,” Snow pouted, slurring her words together a little. “Only Gali.”
“How about you play with your uncle Mikey,” Mikey said, offering up a bright smile. “I was about to go to the cafeteria for some ice cream.”
“Ice cream?” Snow squeaked with delight. “A’fore bre’fast?”
It was in the middle of the afternoon. Snow hadn’t learned the right names and times for meals just yet. It actually wasn’t that long ago since she had her lunch.
“I will allow it, just this once,” Donny stated, too exhausted to argue. He was usually against giving her sweets between meals but something told Mikey that his brother would allow just about anything to be able to take a nap.
“Let’s go before he changes his mind,” Mikey said as scooped Snow up. When he reached the door, Mikey looked back at Donny who mouthed the words, ‘thank you’ before letting out a long yawn.
Poor guy was beat. Not only was he still healing from the surgery, he had Galileo to worry about. The massive underbite made eating difficult for their newest addition. So much so, that they had decided it would be best to insert a feeding tube through his nose. Gali was constantly trying to pull it out.
Despite having the family there to help, Donatello was up and checking on Galileo several times a night. It was difficult for him to leave his baby in the care of someone else.
On their way to the dining hall, Mikey and Snow passed the dojo. Leo was sitting inside, meditating and an idea struck Mikey. A wild grin spread across his face. “Wanna have some fun before we get some ice cream?”
“No,” Snow replied flatly with a slight shake of her head. “Ice cream.”
“This won’t take long,” Mikey insisted as he turned to go into the dojo. “We can have ice cream after.”
“What,” Snow asked.
“Let’s help Uncle Leo test his ability to stay focused,” Mikey said, walking back towards the dojo.
“Not fun,” Snow pouted.
“Sure it is,” Mikey argued as he walked close to Leo, making sure what he said was able to be heard. “You get to run and play in the dojo, making all the noise you want. The only thing you can’t do is play with the weapons or attack your Uncle Leo.”
“Why?”
“Weapons are off limits unless Leo says it’s okay,” Mikey explained. “And, if you attack Leo the game is over because he will attack back. I know this from experience.”
“Okay,” Snow agreed.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, Snow was running around the dojo, squealing in delight. “My katas wong,” she said in sing song, moving through them beautifully. If his eyes were open, Leo would have been proud.
When that didn’t get a reaction, she started pouncing around him, on all fours. “I a dragon. Roar!!”
Stopping next to him, she used her tail to tug on Leo’s mask tails. “Ding.”
Snow then moved around to squat in front of Leo. She moved in close to where they were almost beak to snout. “Are you sleep?” Then she gave him a kiss and fell back on her butt. “Nufink.”
“Yeah,” Mikey said, crossing his arms. “Leo’s gotten good at this. I don’t know if you have what it takes to get him to move.”
A frown turned down the corners of Snow’s mouth, and a fierce look of determination flashed in her eyes as she thought. Her tail was sticking out from under her dress and it was flicking back and forth, tapping Leo’s toes with each pass.
“Pway wif me,” she demanded as tears filled her eyes. Then she started to cry. “No one love me anymore.”
Leonardo reached out and scooped her up, kissing her on the forehead as he cradled her against his chest. “You are very much loved, little one.”
Rushing to Leo’s side, Mikey knelt down and wiped away Snow’s tears. “Where’d this come from? I thought we were having fun.”
Snow whimpered and cried against Leo’s chest. “Mama loves Gali, papa working, and daddy gone.”
Mikey leaned in close to Leo. “Which one is daddy again?” he whispered. “I can’t keep it straight.”
It was hard for him to tell. Leatherhead had been focused on working with Tello and Dr. Chaplin. Hun’s recent activity had them all worried. He was up to something and they needed to figure out what it was. Leatherhead was in the lab more often than not.
Raph stayed down in his new work room, keeping himself occupied with dolls and dresses. There was a chance that she hadn’t seen either in a long while.
“Raph is daddy,” Leo whispered back.
“Your daddy’s not gone,” Mikey assured her.
“Where is he,” Snow argued as she swiped the back of her hand across her snout. “Not here.”
“Let’s go see him now,” Leo said.
With a grace only he was capable of, Leo got to his feet while continuing to cradle Snow against his chest. Not once did he have to correct for balance. He made it look so effortless.
Mikey followed, listening to Leonardo soothe Snow as they made their way down. The cadence and tenor of his voice reminded Mikey of Splinter. Having kids around was going to be good for him. If any of them were suited for the task of training them, it was Leo.
They reached the underground area and were met with a wave of stifling heat that seemed to take their breath away. Several workrooms were running at once, making the area hot despite the large cooling units running on full blast. And, it was loud.
Raphael’s workroom was a little cooler since the kiln wasn’t on and the vent was running. He was currently hunched over a desk with his back to them, a small doll’s head in one hand and a colored pencil in the other. Donna was sitting in an arm chair, with a small fan pointed at her while she read.
Since a relapse was possible, Raphael wasn’t allowed to be left alone. Donna was usually the one who was with him. There were also sticker sensors on his wrists that kept track of his vitals. Donatello was leaving nothing to chance this time.
“Daddy,” Snow exclaimed as soon as she saw him. “Dare you are!”
Surprised, Raph set his work down and got to his feet. “What are you doing here? This isn’t a safe place for a child. What were you thinking?”
“Snow wanted to see you,” Leo answered, keeping his voice steady and without accusation. “She hasn’t seen you in a while. She thought you were gone.”
In her eagerness to get to Raph, Snow almost threw herself from Leo’s grip. For one heart stopping moment, it looked like she was going to fall but Leo kept her in his grip until Raph was able to reach her.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Raph said. “I was sick.”
“All better now,” Snow asked, running her hand over his forehead.
Raph forced a soft smile. “I’m getting there.” He looked her over. “It looks like you’re ready for a new dress.”
Snow nodded and looked down at her dress. “It’s too big for me.”
Raph chuckled. “I think you mean that you’re getting to big for it. Do you want another one?”
“Yellow,” Snow exclaimed with a giggle. “With wings!”
“Wings?” Raph’s lips parted with a genuine smile. “What kind? Fairy or angel?”
“Dragon!” Snow growled with excitement.
Raph looked at his brothers. “You guys really need to stop telling her she looks like a dragon. She’s gonna start thinking she is one.”
“She is a little spitfire,” Mikey said in jest.
“Didn’t you guys say you turned into dragons once,” Donna asked, remaining in her seat. “That dragon spirits reside inside you? Couldn’t she have picked up Don’s dragon spirit?”
Raph turned to look at Donna. “Don’t you start. She’s not a dragon. She looks like this because she is a mix of turtle and crocodile.”
“The dragon was a manifestation of our spirits and the power of our chi,” Leo corrected. “They weren’t separate. That said, her sprit might also manifest itself as a dragon. But, without an amulet to help….”
“All of our kids are going to be reincarnated from us from other dimensions, right,” Mikey pointed out.
“Where are you going with this,” Raph asked, sounding slightly annoyed. “Or, am I gonna regret asking?”
“What if, one of us died during the fight with Demon Shredder,” Mikey replied. “Died while in the form of a dragon.” He gestured to Snow, indicating that she was the reincarnation of that particular individual.
“No,” Raph said flatly, turning to walk away. “What do you want to do, Snow?”
“Ice cream,” she replied, throwing her hands up in her excitement.
“You got it,” Raph said.
“Come on…. That was a good theory,” Mikey insisted, following after them. “That would explain a lot.”
“No,” Raph repeated, a little more firmly.
