Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

His ears were ringing with the sounds of laser fire and bombs but the screeching from the Krangifed creatures drowned it all out.

The Krang had finally found the small base they had been staying in and now they were rushing to relocate. This battle was not about winning or pushing back the Krang forces. It was about survival and survival only.

They were lucky they had been planning on moving to a bigger, better hidden, and more secure base soon. Their relocation time had just been moved up a couple weeks. Hopefully they can stay in the new one for a good few years without needing to move again.

Leo was taking the lead in moving the weaker members of the resistance safely towards the base. The other, stronger, members had taken to protecting the rear. Donnie had been stationed in the middle for his own protection as the “tech guy”. That apparently meant he was considered “more important” than many others in the resistance, something that Donnie fiercely disagrees with since his services would be of better use elsewhere. At least here he could provide help to April and some of the others. At least he can be a little useful.

A sudden shout from behind draws his attention.

Turning back he runs towards Mikey and Cassandra, ignoring April’s questioning shout. As soon as he was in range he blasts one of the Krang that had caught back up and was a little too close to his family for comfort.

He, Mikey, and Casey fall into almost perfect sync as they fight off the monsters but it’s obvious that it won’t be enough. They’ve almost reached the cave system that leads them safely to the new base. They can’t allow the Krang to follow them and reveal the path that will lead them straight to the rest of the resistance.

“Micheal! Go catch up with the others! We can’t let them follow us!” Casey yells practically reading Donnie’s mind.

“But what about you two?”

“Don’t worry Angelo! We’ll be fine! We were for years! Casey and I will lead them away and meet you at the base! Collapse the entrance you go through in case one does find out where you went so they can’t follow! I’ve memorized every alternate route, we’ll be fine!” Donnie says as he dodges an attack and blasts the hound back a bit.

“It’s going to take a lot more than playing a little distraction to kill the great Cassandra Jones and Hamato Donatello Jones!” Cass reassures with a somewhat menacing smile.

Mikey hesitates but steels himself after a moment. “Fine, but you better come back in one piece! You can’t afford to lose another limb- or eye!”

Donnie grumbles as Casey cackles. “You lose a a couple body parts and they never let you forget it… Tell Nardo to at least wait a week after you get to the base before sending out a search party! He doesn’t need to be wasting man power like that! Hurry Mikey!”

Mikey nods before turning to join the others and cover their tracks. “One week! That’s it so please be there before that!”

As soon as he determines Mikey’s a safe distance away, Donnie refocuses all his attention on the Krang that surrounds him and Casey.

Casey zigzags her way through the creatures to lead them away as Donnie engages his battle shell’s rotors. Flying above them he shoots a couple blasts to gain, and keep, the attention of the ones that tried to follow Mikey before quickly joining Casey back on the ground.

They run, taking several turns in an attempt to confuse the creatures, and shoot behind them to hopefully take out or injure a few. Injuries don’t stop them, but it does slow them down enough to let the duo put some space between them so they can start trying to lose them in earnest.

They’ve gotten the Krang far enough away from the path that Mikey should have plenty of time to erase any traces of their presence and be long gone before the Krang can even think about following them.

Taking a sharp turn, Casey spots a cave opening high up and drags him towards it. Donnie lets her jump onto his battle shell as he activates his rotors again and quickly gets them to the opening.

One of the Krang jumps and swipes at them in an attempt to knock them out of the air, startling them and pushing the two to move faster as it screeches at them. It starts scaling the incline quickly as they scramble to get into the small cave.

Donnie can feel his heart pounding practically out of his chest as he registers Casey yelling at him to shoot at the entrance through the persistent ringing of his ears once they’re inside— he makes a mental note to check his hearing aids later in case that ringing isn’t just a byproduct of the ongoing anxiety attack he’s been having. They’ll likely be trapped but that’s better than dead so he listens and fires at the top of the entrance, watching as the opening collapses in on itself just before the creature reaches them.

They stay tense as they listen to the creature screech and claw at the rocks but nothing gives. In fact by the sound of it its attempts seem to only make it worse. After several minutes the sounds finally stop and it’s gone.

It’s gone…

Donnie collapses on the ground, letting out a shuddering breath as Casey falls to the ground next to him and leans against his side.

“Victory is ours once again!” Casey says, the pride and sureness in her voice not at all dampened in the slightest by the breathlessness from their stunt.

“Of course it is my dear. As you so eloquently said to Michael, ‘it’s going to take more than playing a little distraction to kill us’.” Donnie says with a huff, smirking at her as he calms his heart rate.

It’s silent between them for a several moments before Casey speaks up again. ”We’ll stay here for the night. We can dig ourselves out in the morning to see we’re we are. Then we can figure out what route we need to take to join the others.”

“Agreed.” Donnie says handing her a canteen as he digs out some of his emergency rations. She takes it gratefully but makes a face when she sees their dinner.

“Hate them all you want but they will be most of our meals till we get back. We need all the energy we can get and they are extremely nutritious.”

“They still taste terrible.” She grumbles even as she takes one.

“Never said they didn’t but taste wasn’t exactly top priority when I made them. With better equipment I probably could have made them taste delicious but unfortunately that is not the case. Hence them being for emergencies only because I would also much rather be eating rat stew made by Mikey or whatever else he can magically cook up and make taste appetizing despite our lack of options and spices.”

“Your brother is a miracle worker. How he does it is beyond me.”

“To you and me both my dear, you and me both.”

“What do you mean you left them behind!?” Leo shouted before noticing the attention his voice was drawing. He leads Mikey over to a slightly more private area of the cavern they were staying in for the night as they journeyed to their new base to continue the conversation.

“I didn’t choose to leave them Leo, you know I’d never want to do that especially- especially when we lost…” Mikey takes a shuddering breath. ”Lost him only a month ago…” Mikey’s voice breaks slightly on “him”.

He can’t even say his name anymore without crying and he doesn’t need to be crying right now.

“The Krang were catching up and we couldn’t risk one of them getting away and following us. Someone needed to be a distraction to let someone else get away to cover our tracks.”

“And Donnie and Casey decided that they were the ‘obvious’ choice to do that since it makes the most sense for you to cover our tracks with your better developed mystic powers… Those idiots. I hate that they’re right.” Leo finishes grumbling.

“So do I Leo, and believe me when I say they are in for an appointment with both the doctors when they get back.”

Leo shivers at the mention of Mikey’s alter egos. Those two are definitely in for it based on his little brother’s tone.

Leo sighs as he rubs his forehead thinking. God, it seems like just yesterday he was making fun of Raph for his chasm and now he’s getting one of his own.

“Did they say when they’d get to the base or what route they’d take?”

“No, not really. I don’t know where they ended up after leading the Krang away so I don’t know what route they could be taking but it’ll definitely be after us. We’re taking the shortest one, I know that. I don’t know what the second shortest would be or which one is closest to them. Donnie’s the one that memorized all the routes.” Which is a very good thing now that he thinks about it. His brother’s paranoia came in handy this time.

“Donnie did say to not send a search party out to find them till a week after we’ve been at the base so hopefully they’ll be there in a week or sooner.” Mikey finishes sighing.

“I’ll be hoping for sooner… He better come back in one piece this time. It’s not fair to Casey to have to drag his dead weight home.” That gets a small laugh out of Mikey.

“It would be but if nothing else Casey is strong enough for the both of them. She can take care of herself and Donnie. They’ll be fine…” Mikey says with a nervous smile.

“What would Tello do without her.” Leo says with a small smile and laugh of his own. “And they will be. They have no choice in the matter.” He sighs tiredly. “I'll inform April of what happened, you get some rest. You look like you need it.”

“Says the resident insomniac. I’ll be ok for a bit, if you’re going to tell April don’t forget to tell Shelldon too. He should know what’s happened to his parents and it’s best he hears it for you.” Mikey says as he’s sober tone returns. “I should get started on some dinner.”

Leo sighs at the thought of telling his robo nephew that his parents are currently MIA.

“I will… Ugh, I just realized Casey and Dee will be stuck with mostly rations for a while unless they can catch and prepare a rat or something.” Leo makes a face at his realization.

“Oh that’s right! That or they go back to their roots and go bug hunting. They have my sympathies.” Mikey says making a face to match his older brother’s. “Not even I can get field rations to taste good. Trust me, I tried.”

Chapter Text

Leo sighs as he looks over at his nephew who is still stubbornly ignoring him. He knew that Shelly wouldn’t take the news of his parents being left behind well, what kid would after all, but he didn’t expect the silent treatment to last this long. It’s only been a couple of days but still!

He can’t completely blame him because he can’t imagine how worried he must be for them. Sure Donnie is his twin and Casey is his sister, both in law and in battle, and he’s worried about them too, but they’re not his parents.

Shelldon’s attitude hasn’t affected the performance of his duties, of course. Neither Casey or Donnie would be happy if it did, and despite his teenage rebelliousness Shelldon cares a lot about what they think of him, but he really needs to talk to him again anyway. He doesn’t want his nephew to be mad at him. Also Mikey may or may not have been not so subtly hinting at him to just talk to Shelldon.

They’re taking a break to rest for a bit when he decides that now is as good a time as any to do it.

“Hey, Shelly. Can I talk to you for a second?”

Shelldon doesn’t say anything but after he finishes with what he was doing he “sighs” and walks off to a space in the small cavern more suitable for a likely emotionally charged conversation. Leo follows after him and steels himself for the conversation ahead.

Sometimes he hates that their family is so bad about talking about things like emotions. Well, everyone but Mikey and April—and sometimes Casey. She’s good at getting his twin to express himself, even if it’s through chaos. It’s one of the many reasons why she’s such a great fit for Don.

“Look kiddo, I know… I know this is hard right now and I’m sorry about Dee and Cass. I swear I didn’t even know what they did until a few minutes before I told you.” Leo starts. “I hate that this happened and I’m worried about them too bud, but it couldn’t be helped. If it could have been it’s too late now but those two are tough. They can take care of themselves, or at least Casey can take care of them both. They’ll be ok.”

Shelldon’s expression looks annoyed and his tone is angry when he speaks. “But it could have been helped! We should have had more people in the back besides just Mikey and Mom! You should have been back there with them and Dad leading everyone! He’s the one that’s memorized every route!”

Ouch.

Shelly may be a robot but he sure knows just where to aim with his words.

Leo can’t even really be mad because he’s right. If Leo had been in the back then this wouldn’t have happened or at least it would have been him out there right now instead of his twin and sister. Despite that though they both know why it’s important for him to be at the front. He’s the leader—a title and responsibility he’s always hated but has to bear anyway— and as the leader he’s the one people look to for solutions to problems and to protect them all.

It seems Shelldon knows that too because his face shifts and takes on a sad look, clearly regretting his words. “I’m sorry… I’m not mad at you Uncle Leo.”

Leo feels a bit of tension leak out of him as it’s replaced with fondness. It’s not often Shelldon calls him “Uncle Leo”.

“I’m mad at everything. I’m mad at the Krang for existing and mad at mom and dad. I’m mad at them for sacrificing themselves even if I know they have a decent likelihood of coming back because it’s still not certain. It’s never certain that anyone will be ok or come back and I… worry about them man… I can’t even yell at them right now for being dum dums and I can’t yell at or beat up any Krang either and you-”

“I’m an easy target being the leader guy.” Leo finishes for him.

Shelldon looks down shamefully. “Yeah…”

“It’s ok Shelly, I understand. I’d blame me too.” Leo says with a self-deprecating smile on his face. If possible Shelldon looks even more upset after that.

“But I don’t really blame you! I was just mad! Mad at myself too. I should have been with one of them to help. It’s not cool of me to be taking it out on you.”

“Maybe not but I still understand. How about we stop blaming ourselves and plan on what we’re gonna say to those reckless idiots once they’re back, ok buddy?” He says giving Shelldon a scratch behind one of his many ears. “And I won’t mention to Mikey that you’ve been blaming yourself either.”

“Deal! I don’t want another family therapy session. But mom and dad are going to be so in for it when they get back! Between you and me, and Mikey and April they won’t know peace for months.” Shelldon says, perking up finally.

“Oh absolutely. They’re not leaving the base for a very long time. Good talk buddy. Now I can get Miguel off my back.” He chuckles, Shelldon returning it with one of his own.

Getting up they both move to get everyone going again. Shelldon gives him an affectionate head butt and a hug before running off. Leo feels better knowing his nephew doesn’t in fact hate him. If he knows his brother though then it’s very likely Mikey was close by to watch how the talk would go so they’re probably still in for a family therapy session, unfortunately.

Mikey looks on, nodding in approval before going to help the others. Smug jerk.

“Get down.” Donnie hisses as he pulls Casey to the ground and gets her behind him.

‘Krang.’ He signs to her.

She nods before peaking above the rock to check if they’re gonna have to fight.

‘They’re going North… I don’t think they know we’re here.’

‘Good. I’m not in the mood to deal with them.’ They’ve already been out here for four days. Everyone else is likely at the new base by now, or close to it, so they’ve got a week to get there if Leo listens to Mikey. Donnie would really like to avoid Leo risking a search party just to find them.

Casey peaks back over the rock to check again before immediately coming back down.

‘They’re coming over.’

Oh goodie… Just great. Great, great, great. Looks like they’ll have to fight after all.

Donnie takes a peak over the side. Yup, they’re getting close. He starts counting down on his hand as Cassandra gets ready.

One… They ready their weapons.

Two… They move into position.

Before he can get to three the two Krang hounds’ heads shoot up to look to the left. Time freezes as they wait to see what the creatures’ will do next. The silence sounds just as loud as a gunshot to Donnie.

Just as quickly as their attention was grabbed the Krang bolt off towards whatever unfortunate creature grabbed said attention.

The two of them let out a relieved breath after a moment.

“Let’s go, before they come back.” Donnie whispers, moving quickly but silently across the field. It takes him a moment to realize Casey isn’t following him.

“Come on!” He hisses a little louder. They have to go! The Krang could come back any moment.

“What if it’s someone from one of the other groups and settlements, or an escaped prisoner from a labor camp. We should help.” Casey says to him with a look in her eye he’s all too familiar with. He’s not winning this but he’s just as stubborn as her.

“And it could just as easily be an unfortunate animal or those Krang could have been called back. It’s too risky.” He argues walking back over to her.

“This whole situation was too risky. When has risk ever stopped us from doing what we think is right? It could be nothing but I have a gut feeling it’s not. My gut is never wrong.” She rebuttals.

They’re locked into a staring contest for a moment before Donnie spins around and crouches. He doesn’t need to see her to tell she’s got that smug smile on her face.

“Well? Get on, we have to be quick about this.”

She climbs onto his back and he takes off into the sky. He has a lot of ground to cover to catch up to those Krang.

“Listen, do you hear that?” Casey asks him after a bit. He concentrates on listening but can’t hear anything. “It sounds like crying…” She continues.

He tries to listen harder till he finally hears something. It’s incredibly faint but it’s there. He turns up his hearing aids to get a better idea of what it is (thanking his past self for making them with a super hearing function, among other things). She’s right… That's definitely someone crying, but they sound young. Like a… child. A very young child.

He suddenly increases his speed. They have to get there before the Krang do. This is urgent now.

Donnie flips his goggles down to scan for human, yokai, or mutant life forms.

‘Come one, come on!’ He repeats to himself in his head. Finally he gets a blip on his screen. A small human life sign. It’s hidden underneath what looks like some wreckage and scrap fifty feet away. Problem is, the Krang are getting close.

“I need to drop you! Can you handle them for a bit while I retrieve the child?” He asks, speeding up again.

“What do you think?” She says looking at him and giving him a dangerous smile.

“I think that’s why I married you.” He says with a smile of his own. “Get ready to roll!”

She adjusts herself so he can help her off his back and have her dangle from his arms. He slows down just a little as he gets closer to the ground and lets go, taking off to where he saw the life sign. He distantly hears Cassandra bellow out a battle cry as he speeds away.

Dropping out of the sky himself and rolling he quickly gets to work uncovering what he is now certain is a baby. Sure enough he finds a blanket after a few seconds and pulls out a screaming infant, immediately cradling it against his plastron.

A million questions run through his mind in that moment. Who left them here? Why? Where are they? How old is the child?

It can’t be older than maybe a year if he’s being optimistic.

He disregards all these thought for the moment to think about later. Right now all that matters is getting out of here.

Activating his battle shell, he takes off into the air again.

“I got them! Let’s go!” Donnie yells, flying towards Casey.

She doesn’t acknowledge him outwardly but he knows she heard him.

It looks like she’s defeated one of the creatures and has been doing a good job handling the other but she’s slowing down a little. She’s getting tired and it wouldn’t surprise him if she got injured. The Krang are tough opponents, even for her.

He readjusts the sobbing baby in his arms before pressing a button on his tech bō to transform it into a laser gun and aiming it at the Krang. He yells a warning and fires. Swooping down he extends his bō to Casey which she grabs as he pulls up. Wordlessly she reaches up and grabs one of his grenades, pulling the pin, before throwing it at the monster, hitting it right on. They hear the distinct sound of it going off and the Krang going with it. Casey’s victorious cackles fill the air and he joins in with a few of his own.

Coming down from the adrenaline high a bit he refocuses on the child in his arms and starts looking for a place to land as he shushes them.

“There’s a small cave at three o’clock.” Casey helpfully informs him.

Once they arrive he drops Casey a couple feet from the ground before landing himself.

“Shh, shh, shh. It’s ok. You're ok. You’re safe little one.” He says trying to sooth the baby as they hurry into the cave. They have to get them to settle soon otherwise they’ll attract more attention.

“Do they need a diaper change.” Casey asks.

“Maybe? How should I know?”

“You’ve been a parent longer than I have! Shouldn’t you know stuff about babies?”

”A parent to a robot teenager that’s always been a teenager! That’s very different than taking care of a baby!” Donnie huffs. “I think they’re mostly scared but it couldn’t hurt to check their diaper anyway.” He says laying the infant down.

He’s thankful for the blanket already wrapped around them. He’d hate to lay them down on the cold ground.

Changing him, it’s a boy, is a little hard with no other diapers but they make do and clean him up. He calms down a lot after the process and is only left with a case of the hiccups.

“There we go… See, you’re ok you little warrior.” Cassandra whispers as she picks him up.

“A nickname already? Somehow I’m not surprised.” Donnie chuckles. “You know what this means don’t you?”

“Of course I do. It means I was right.” She smugly informs him.

He rolls his eyes. “Yes you were right, but other than that.”

“It means we’re keeping him, of course. Congratulations, you're a father again.” She says before kissing the child’s cheek then his.

He just sighs but can’t hide his smile. “Well, I’ve always thought Shelldon needed a sibling. He’s really cute after all, I can’t say no.”

“Not that you’d even try.”

“Not that I’d even try.” He repeats. “I know better than to fight you. However, what are we going to do? We don’t have the proper food for him. I’d say he’s about a year old so he doesn’t need milk anymore and can eat baby food but somehow I don’t think he’ll like mushed up rations…”

“We’ll figure it out. He’ll have to deal with rations till we get to the base and you or Michael can make him something else. He looks tough, he’ll be ok till then.”

“He’ll have to be because he doesn’t have another choice… I wish things were different. I wish he had a choice.”

Listen to him. Already mourning the future of a random child he just adopted. If he hadn’t already known he’s been going soft in his old age this would cement the fact.

“Me too but we’ll give him the best life we can and so much love he’ll hate it and I’m sure his uncles, aunt, and brother will do the same. He’ll drown in our love!” Casey says squeezing the baby as gently as she can. “He’ll be happy. That’s the best we can do.”

“I suppose so.” Donnie sighs. “Now sit down so I can look you over. You just had a one on two fight with the Krang. You’re a great fighter but the chances of you not having at least one injury are extremely low.”

She rolls her eyes but sits down. “Fine… You’re just as bad as your brother.”

“I resent that dear.”

They bicker and talk while Donnie treats her. Thankfully it’s only a couple of bruises and scratches as well as a shallow cut, he’s thankful it doesn’t need stitches. He disinfects everything and wraps the cut.

“We’ll get going again in a couple minutes. I have to figure out where we are and how to get us back on track. It’s very important we get to the base as soon as possible now.” Donnie says pulling up his map after stroking their new son’s head.

Oh he already loves the kid so much… He’s attached and no one will lay a finger on him without facing some dire consequences.

“Agreed. The sooner we’re safe the better.”

Looking into her eyes he sees that she’s fallen just as hard as him for this kid.

Chapter Text

“Donnie. Donatello! Look! I said look!”

Donnie snaps his head up at Casey’s urgent tone, hand reaching for a weapon on instinct. When he looks up though, instead of seeing his love on the other side of the small cavern with a stern look on her face or a weapon of her own in hand, he sees her holding their new son up by the armpits so he’s standing.

She doesn’t bother to clarify why she called for his attention at his confused expression and instead simply smiles at him before speaking.

“I hope you still record everything. You're going to want a visual for this. Go on my little warrior. Do it again.”

She sets him down and holds only his hands as the baby steadies himself and takes an actual step towards him.

Donnie feels his breathing hitch as his eyes go wide and he quickly activates the visual recording in his visor. He sits ramrod straight while holding his arms out in front of him to catch the toddling toddler in case he falls.

“Oh my banana pancakes! Yes yes! Come on you little nibbler. That’s it! Come to your Papá!” He says as the child takes a couple more steps forward, each one more confident than the last as Casey finally removes her hands to let him walk the rest of the way on his own.

Donnie beams as he stumbles his way over with that big gummy grin of his, showing off the few but powerful teeth that had already grown in. Leaning forward a little he scoops the little brat up into his arms just as his little legs finally give out. He giggles as Donnie peppers his little face with kisses.

“You did it! You took your first steps and I got it on video! Oh mi gosh! Your first milestone we got to see!” Donnie says standing up and holding the still giggling baby above his head while slowly spinning before bringing him down to shower with more kisses and nuzzles as he lets out happy chirps.

Casey jumps on his back to join them, letting out a laugh of her own. The moment is so perfect they could almost forget that they're still not safe in the new base yet.

Donnie loves this. It’s been so long since anything good has happened he’s almost forgotten what true joy feels like. He could almost cry over this.

It reminds him of before all of this. Before the end of the world. It reminds him of when he was first working on Shelldon’s programming and the young AI would do something unexpected but amazing and Donnie’s heart would fill with pride and euphoria.

As terrible as the situation they’re in right now is, both adults couldn’t be happier that they decided to act as bait for those Krang monsters. They wouldn’t change anything that happened that day for the world.

“I’ve been saying he’s a strong one! We should find a proper weapon for our little warrior! He will be the best warrior the world has ever seen!” Casey says (yells) while tightening her hold on Donnie’s neck.

“I’ve never said he wasn’t. He will definitely be a strong fighter but maybe we should wait till he can take more than eight steps on his own without falling before we give him a weapon.” He struggles out while loosening her hold.

“Fiiiiine…” She drags out as she slides off his back and moves to blow a raspberry on the happy child’s cheek.

After he squishes the child’s face between their own by kissing his other cheek Donnie wraps him in his cape to secure him to his chest again so they can get moving.

Almost immediately the baby settles against his plastron and is soon out like a light. The perfect apocalypse baby.

Not very fussy, sleeps often and without a problem, he doesn’t even fuss much at the terrible tasting food they’ve had to give him. Donnie couldn’t be more relieved about that. It means there’s a higher chance of their son surviving to see the age of five.

Those first five years are crucial to a child’s development and survival, especially in an apocalypse.

Statistically roughly eighty percent of children don’t make it to the age of five for one reason or another nowadays. The last thing Donnie wants is for their child to become one of those statistics.

It’s the main reason he and Casey had decided against having children that aren’t AI or robots like Shelldon. Even that can be too risky.

This is a rare, but nonetheless welcome, exception because of the special circumstances.

Donnie shakes himself out of those thoughts. The likelihood of running into danger now that they’re so deep in the tunnels and close to the base is extremely low.

Just a couple more days and they’ll be home. Then they can introduce the newest addition to their family to everyone. With one day to spare before the week deadline Donnie gave Mikey expires and Leo sends out a, no doubt, bigger than necessary search party.

They can’t wait to see everyone’s faces.

It’s been three weeks and six days since they fled their old base.

Three weeks and six days since they had to leave Donnie and Casey behind.

Four days since they’ve reached the new base and begun to “move in”—or move in as much as you can in an apocalypse, when you might have to pick everything up again and move to the next location at any moment.

They have three days till they can send out a search party and every passing hour just makes Leo more and more anxious to send one out early despite being told by everyone to wait the full week.

The only thing keeping him from sending one out against his brother’s wishes is the fact that Mikey can still feel Donnie’s ninpo even if it’s weak from being locked away, along with Leo’s own.

Mikey and Raph were the only ones who were able to avoid that fate, not that it did Raph any good in the end…

He’s almost never wished to still have his ninpo back more than he does right now. Almost.

“My son.”

Snapping out of his thoughts he looks over to where his father is suddenly standing on the other side of the room. The room that will soon be Donnie’s new lab.

Having caught his attention Splinter makes his way over to and sits next to him with a groan. Leo turns his head away as he settles— ignoring the medic in him that wants to check if Splinter’s ok and get him back to a bed to rest and heal properly.

He knows his dad wants to talk about his feelings about the situation. Ever since the Shredder he’s been trying to take a more active role in all their lives and that only increased when the Krang arrived.

He appreciates it, he really does! But it’s still a little weird sometimes to be talking about something like his feelings with him, especially without Mikey in the room.

“My son, what is on your mind.”

‘There it is…’

“I don’t know… I’m worried I guess.”

“About Purple and Cassandra.”

“Yeah…” He nods.

Against his will he finds his walls crumbling and telling Splinter everything.

“It’s just- I know they’re alive, Mikey can still sense Donnie’s ninpo and Casey is too stubborn to die first, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not injured and can’t make it to the base. If they don’t come back it’s my fault.” His fault as the team medic, as the leader, as a brother…

“I’m worried too, Blue. I worry for all of my children, especially those in active danger. But those two are stubborn and you know it. There is very little anyone can do to change their minds if they’re set on something.”

“I know…”

“Then you also know that worrying will do nothing but stress you and everyone else out. It’s ok to worry a little but do not let it overwhelm you. In three days you can send out a search party and even put yourself on it, but in the meantime focus on things that need to be done here and now. Have some faith in your brother and Cassandra as well. They’ll be alright.”

“But how can you be so sure?”

“I just have a feeling. Now! I believe it’s almost time for dinner which means that training will be over soon but there’s still a few minutes for you to catch the end of it and spar against some of the newbies.” Splinter says standing up and squeezing Leo’s shoulder.

“Thanks dad. You’re getting better at this emotion thing, much better than Barry. He tried to talk to me the other day and it was just sad.” Leo chuckles a little as he stands as well.

“Oh I can imagine. You would think that with as much time as he spends with Orange he’d be better at it.” His dad jokes as he joins him in his laughter.

“Maybe that’s where Donnie gets it from. He’s already inherited the mad scientist thing from him. I’ve questioned if Barry cross contaminated something when mutating us and is Dee’s biological dad as well too many times for it to be funny at this point.” He laughs louder anyway.

“Somehow it wouldn’t surprise me.”

They calm down after a moment with a sigh and head to the dojo together.

“Thanks dad.”

“Of course Leonardo.”

For all that Mikey looks calm and sure that everything is fine it’s just a facade. A good one at the moment but it’s crumbling fast as the hours tick by. Mikey believes in his siblings and is sure that they’ll come home safe but he’s thought that before. He can’t shake that something happened to them out there. It could be good or bad but in the apocalypse one tends to assume the worst.

Leo is already putting together the search party so they’re ready to set out tomorrow morning. Shelldon is likely trying to convince him to let him come along and Dad should be resting.

Mikey himself is supposed to be helping April and Draxum set up the base but most of it has already been done earlier in the week so it’s only finishing touches. Mikey’s letting himself take a small break to walk around the perimeter.

They're going to let Donnie set up his lab as well as his and Casey’s “room”— if you can call a cramped cubby with just enough room for a shikibuton for two and a small storage unit a room—himself since no one has been able to figure out his organizational system. Leo and Mikey himself have tried but it, like most things about Donnie, is incredibly complex.

Mikey lets himself get lost in his thoughts as he finishes his second lap in the tunnels around the base.

Not even ten minutes later he’s snapped back out of those thoughts by some suspicious sounds further in the tunnel system.

Lifting his feet off the ground to levitate he floats closer in the shadows with his nunchucks at the ready. If this is a Krang he needs to take it out quickly and immediately warn the others that they’re close to being or have already been found.

His stomach sinks at the thought of having to move again so soon and Donnie and Casey coming to an empty or, even worse, Krang infested base.

As the beings get closer the sounds become more distinct. He hears two sets of footsteps and what sounds like… voices? They’re speaking too quietly for him to hear what they’re saying or even really sound like but the footfalls, one in particular, do sound familiar. A kind of familiar that one would only know from spending their childhood together.

“Donnie?” He whispers to himself. After a brief moment of concentration he knows for sure it’s his older brother and sister.

They made it! They’re safe!

He wastes no time taking off towards them.

“Donnie! Casey! You guys are ok!” Any caution has been thrown out the window as they come into view. He doesn’t even notice the strange lump situated in Donnie’s cape that is covering his chest, he always has it covering his back. He just launches himself at them.

Casey is the one who ends up catching him as Donnie’s hands come up to protect their precious cargo.

“Michael!” Casey says, spinning on her heel with the momentum from the impact. “It’s so good to see you! I cannot tell you how excited I have been to eat whatever it is that you cook up!”

He chuckles at that, pulling away to see her face. “And I’ll be happy to cook you two a real meal! But first-” He pulls back all the way to look at them both. “You two are in so much trouble! You had us worried sick and necessary or not I’m still mad!”

“Yes yes, I was expecting that Angelo and the two doctors can lecture us all they want later but if for now if we could lower the volume a tad that’d be greatly appreciated. Some people are trying to sleep and I’d like to keep it that way.” Donnie interrupts him.

“Sleeping. What are you talking about? It’s only the afternoon-“ before he can say anything more Donnie pulls back a bit of his cape to reveal the tiniest face Mikey has ever seen.

“Oh mi gosh!” He yells as his hands come up to his face.

“Michael. Volume.”

“Right, sorry.” He chuckles sheepishly before floating closer to get a better look at the baby. His brother is holding a baby!

“Awwwwww… Where did you find them?”

“Under a pile of rubble about a week into our journey. I assume he had been either abandoned there so the group he was with had a smaller chance of getting caught by any Krang, or his parent or parents were dying and left him there to give him the best chance of living, though they could have had no way to be certain he would have been found.” Donnie tells him as monotonous and factual as he normally speaks but his face and body language have a softness to them as he strokes the baby's cheek. A softness that Mikey hardly sees nowadays.

“He’s ours now and he has already proven to be as strong as his parents! He will be a mighty warrior!” Casey whisper-yells.

The baby stretches and yawns before settling back against Donnie which makes Mikey coo again.

‘Mighty warrior indeed.’ He thinks to himself.

A baby is exactly what they need to liven things back up. He knew something had happened! He can’t wait to see the others’ faces!

The others…

“Come on! We have to get you three to the base! Leo’s gonna want to check all of you over, especially the little guy.” Mikey grabs their wrists and tugs them towards the end of the tunnels.

‘Well looks like your nap isn’t going to last much longer.’ Donnie thinks at the child with a sigh and an accepting smile on his face.

It’s good to be back. Casey’s cackle tells him she feels the same.

“Leo! Shelldon! April! Dads! Everyone! They’re back! They’re here!” Mikey yells out as he drags them to the common area.

“They’re what!?” “I’m coming! I’m coming!” He hears Leo and April yell, followed by several bangs and thuds that he assumes is everyone scrambling to get over here.

April is the first to bust out of a hallway with Shelldon and comes barreling towards the couple. Leo isn’t far behind and neither are Draxum or Dad.

He can already tell where this is going and it seems that Donnie does too as his eyes widen as he tries to tell them to wait before just pulling the child out of his impromptu cape sling and thrusting him into Mikey’s arms moments before he and Casey are tackled to the ground. Mikey smiles smugly down at them as he readjusts his new nephew.

“You’re back!”

“You’re ok! You’re ok right!?”

“Don’t ever do that to us again!”

“I missed you guys so much!”

Everyone yells questions and concerns at them as Donnie groans and Casey laughs.

“Yes yes! We are ok but please get off of us! You’re all lucky Mikey was there to hold the fetus and he didn’t get hurt by you dum-dums.” Donnie says grumpily as he struggles to push himself up. “Sigh… but we did miss you too.” Seems like nobody noticed the fetus comment in the excitement.

As the pile untangles Leo holds out his hand for Donnie which he takes and pulls him up into another hug.

“Good to have you back Tello.” Leo whispers into his ear.

Donnie lets himself lean into the hug slightly and whispers, “It’s good to be back.” into Leo’s ear.

“Don’t ever do that again. Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?” Leo says as they break away, making Donnie sigh but smile as Dad goes to hug him while Leo goes to hug Casey after April.

“You are going to be hearing this all day but girl don’t ever do that again. You can’t die and leave me to look after the guys alone!”

“I would never dream of it. Watching the one I married is hard enough.” They both laugh at that. “If I promise not to let you deal with them alone you have to promise the same.”

“You’ve got a deal sister.” The two girls separate as Leo finally gets his turn and hugs Casey tightly.

“Great to see you’re ok Case.”

“You too blue one. I have to make sure to beat you into the ground and keep you humble.”

“Uh yes, because I need just you for that. Also really? Can’t you just say my name? I get why Donnie gets to be called by his name but why does Mikey get special treatment and I don’t?”

“Because he’s Mikey.”

“…Fair.”

“Oh my Purple… I’m so relieved you’re ok.”

“Thanks Dad. I’m relieved you’re ok as well. You should be able to meet your new grandchild after all.” Donnie says what a smirk as he pulls away.

“Wha-”

“My turn! Move it guys!” Shelldon cuts a confused Splinter off as he shoves his way into his father’s arms with Casey coming up behind him to complete the hug.

“Hello Shelldon. It’s really really great to see you again too. That’s two reallys. You have been on our minds a great deal the past couple weeks.”

“We missed you so much! But we have a surprise for you!” Casey tells him as she squeezes them.

“A surprise? What is it?”

“You have to let go first to see bud.”

“Fine but you both each owe me a separate hug and a family hug.” Shelldon compromises as he lets go.

“Deal. Michael, if you would-“ Donnie gets cut off by the sound of a baby crying, catching everyone’s attention.

“Oh good! You’re done saying hi because he’s starting to get fussy.” Mikey says as he hastily puts the child back into his father’s arms. Mikey is a little disappointed that the tyke started crying when he finally noticed who was holding him but Mikey is still a stranger so he’s trying not to take it too personal.

“Is- is that a-” Leo starts.

“A baby?!” Everyone finishes.

“Yes. Yes it is.” Donnie says, bouncing and shushing him. Thankfully he settles quickly, as always. Thank pizza supreme for this baby’s easy temperament.

“This is your surprise Shelldon. You’re a big brother now.”

“Whaooooo…” Shelldon looks at the baby as Donnie kneels back down. The child looks back at him and after a moment giggles while reaching his hands out to touch Shelldon’s face.

“You and Casey had a baby!? Together!?” Leo shouts. Thankfully Shelldon and the baby are too entranced for the moment to have been ruined but that doesn’t stop Donnie from sending a glare his way.

“No we did not. We found him under some rubble, likely abandoned.”

“Likely story.” Leo crosses his arms.

“It’s the truth Leo. We were gone for a month, how could we have had a child in that time?”

“Some women don’t know they're pregnant until it’s time to give birth. It’s called a cryptic pregnancy.”

“Some women Leo and Casey wouldn’t likely be one of them-”

“Is that a challenge?”

“No it is not and not now my dear. Plus he’s about a year old! How do you explain that?”

“I don’t know. You’re the science guy! You probably speed grew him or something.”

“…That makes zero sense- You know what, no. I’m not having this argument with you right now. Just get over here and meet your nephew.” Donnie stands to let everyone else have a look.

“I’m a big brother…” Shelldon says with stars in his eyes. “I’m going to be the best big brother ever!”

“Of course you will! Any child of mine is destined to be the best at everything!” Casey fist bumps him as they walk over to the group cooing at the baby being passed around. He’s a lot calmer about being held by others now that he knows his parents are right there. Mikey even gets a second turn.

“Oh he is just the cutest! Yes you are. What did you two name him?” April asks.

You could swear there was a record scratch as Donnie and Casey look at each other in panicked silence.

“You two didn’t forget to name him… did you?” April says, raising an eyebrow.

“W-what? Of course we did… n’t. Didn’t. Nope! We totally named him.”

“Yup! What kind of parents would we be if we forgot to name him for three weeks!”

“You forgot to name him.”

“Yes.” They both say.

“In our defense a lot was going on!” Casey says.

“If you haven’t named him then what have you been calling him?” Draxum asks.

“Little warrior, offspring, child, brat.” “Fetus, nibbler, trash baby. Occasionally, little one.” Casey and Donnie, respectively, recite their nicknames for the baby.

“That’s just sad.” April sighs.

“Hey! Those are good nicknames!” The couple say together. “Besides, it’s not like good naming skills run in the family.” Donnie adds.

“Ok, that’s fair.” April sighs. “Well what are you going to name him then?”

“You could name him after someone.” Leo suggests.

“Good idea Leo.” April is actually impressed with him.

Donnie sighs. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but I agree.”

“Thank you~ You should name him after someone close to you. Someone who has always been there for you, through thick and thin. Who’s always had your back. Someone incredibly good looking.”

Ok, April is no longer impressed. Really Leo? Could he be any less subtle?

“Casey.” “Myself.” The two say together.

Ok… so apparently Leo could have been less subtle.

Leo’s shoulders slump a little but he has a smile on his face. “Casey… That’s a great choice. How about a middle name? One with a lot of sentimental value.” He’s not giving up just yet.

The two are silent for a moment before looking at each other then back at the- at Casey. “Raphael.” Donnie states.

That hits everyone in the heart and gets most to tear up a tad.

“That’s perfect hermano… Raphie would have been flattered and probably cry enough to flood this place.” Leo says with a shaky voice, squeezing Donnie’s shoulder.

“That’s a great name my son.”

“Casey Raphael Hamato-Jones. I love it!” Mikey beams. “I’m kinda glad you forgot to name him until now because there’s no way I’d be ok with missing this. We do need to find a new nickname for you though Casey because it’s going to get real confusing real fast.”

“Oh yeah, you’re right.” Everyone is silent as they think for a moment.

“What about just Cass? We already call you that sometimes.” Leo suggests.

“Hmmm. That is acceptable. Cass it is!”

“It suits you.” Donnie says.

“Ah!” The newly dubbed Casey babbles.

“Even our son agrees.” Donnie says, getting everyone to chuckle.

“Ok ok. As much as this has been a great and all around emotional reunion it’s time to get you guys to the medbay. Even if you’re not bleeding out I think it’d be a good idea to get you looked over, especially little Casey. The fact that he survived this long is a good sign but with a baby you never know since they can’t exactly tell you. Then you can set up your room, the lab can wait. Let me know if you need any accommodations for this little guy.”

“Oh I one-hundred percent agree, brother mine, and I will. Let’s go.” Donnie turns to follow his twin with Cass and Shelldon next to him, bouncing Casey as he goes.

The sounds of a baby’s laughter and babbles are heard as they walk, bringing a smile to anyone's face who hears it and hope to the hearts of the weary.