***
Veronica frowned. She smoothed her shirt over her swollen belly and turned to the side. She hadn't gained much weight, but baggy clothes could only hide it so much longer. She began to formulate a plan. She tried at least.
There was a knock on her door. "Sis? You in there?"
Veronica hurried over and pulled Rocksteady into the room and shut the door again. "Brother, I need your help!"
"You need my help? Heh, heh, there's a first. What is it?"
Veronica looked down. "I'm pregnant."
"You're gonna have a baby! Oh, wow…" She clamped his mouth shut.
"Shush, brother. It's a secret, just like when we were children."
Rocksteady nodded. Veronica released him and he rubbed his snout. "Who's the daddy?"
Veronica bit her lip. "I don't know," she lied.
Rocksteady didn't look surprised. "Following in Mom's footsteps?"
She almost slapped him. "I'm going to be leaving soon and I don't want you to worry."
"Okay," he replied. "About dat help?"
"Keep Shredder and Krang busy while I leave. In an hour, I'm going to take one of the modules to the surface. We can't let him stop me."
"Sure, sis, anything you want. Gee, this is like old times."
***
Michaelangelo looked at his brother. "Are you sure you're up to this?"
Leonardo nodded. "I've spent the last six months cooped up in the lair. I need to get out."
"We could go out for pizza!" Michaelangelo suggested. "You don't need to patrol you're first night out."
Angel put a hand on Michaelangelo's shoulder. "He needs to get back into his old routine." She turned to Leonardo. "You can ride along, but we handle the fighting. We can always come back if you want."
Leonardo thanked her and they all got into the van. Donatello pulled Angel up in front with him. "Are you sure about this?" he whispered. "Maybe he needs more time."
Angel leaned close. "He's had time. I feel the same way, Donatello, but we can't keep him inside forever. This is the best he's been in months. We're still taking it slow."
Donatello stared straight ahead as he pulled out of the sewers and onto the street. "Whatever you say."
Angel smiled. "See, I told you you'd catch onto this relationship thing."
Raphael, who was sitting right behind them, snickered.
***
Veronica stepped out of the store with her things. She would have preferred someplace classier, but store security had improved so much in the last three years. It was nearly impossible to get away with those little alarm tags and she didn't have the time or energy. She settled for second-hand.
She stopped beside a soda machine and gave it a swift kick in the side, a spot she knew well. A can fell down and she reached through the little slot to get it.
When she stood back up, she barely had time to hide behind the machine before the Turtlevan drove by. She let out a sigh of relief when they didn't stop or turn. She briefly considered going to see Leonardo, but thought better of it.
She felt a kick and ran her hand over her stomach. "Active, are we? Well, then, let's go for a walk."
***
April flopped down on a park bench as her crew finished packing up. Irma walked over with cold water and gave a bottle to April.
"Why me, Irma? Why do I have to do the stories about picking up after your dog."
"What can we do? Things are slow." She took a long drink of water. "So how's Leonardo?"
April looked to see if anyone was around. "Better. Donatello said they were taking him out on patrol today. Why can't I cover stories like that?"
Irma raised an eyebrow. "You want to do a story about your friend's rape?"
"No! Geez, Irma, I didn't mean it that way!" She absently chewed on her thumbnail. "Maybe I can talk Burne into doing a follow up on Matthews, then maybe we'll get a new lead."
"Like, maybe someone has seen her," Irma suggested.
"Doubtful. It's not like she's going to take a stroll through the park. Irma, are you okay?"
Irma's bottle was tilted and dripping on her shoes. April followed her gaze and jumped to her feet. "Matthews! Oh, my god!"
Irma suddenly became aware and clumsily righted her drink. "She must be six months along," she said quietly.
April pulled out her turtlecom. "April to turtles."
Angel answered. "Hey, April."
"Veronica Matthews is in the park!" April blurted out.
Raphael leaned over the seat. "Hey, she's almost as blunt as you are, Angel."
Angel pushed him away and shared a glance with Donatello, who immediately turned the van around. Angel looked back to see if Leonardo had heard. He had.
"Are you sure?" Angel asked. "Where, exactly, are you?"
"East entrance." April looked like she was hiding something.
"What is it?" Angel asked.
April thought for a moment. "I don't know how to put this…she's…I mean she looks…"
Leonardo stood behind Angel. She hadn't even heard him move. "She pregnant."
"Yeah," April said sadly.
***
Veronica sat down to rest her feet for a few moments. She needed a real plan. She couldn't just wander the streets for the next two and a half months.
She closed her eyes. And what about after that? Where would she go when it was time? No where was safe.
She felt a shadow fall over her and opened her eyes.
"Hello beloved."
Leonardo stared blankly down at her stomach. A baby. His baby. "My baby."
Veronica nodded. "Our baby."
Raphael pulled Leonardo away as he reached out. "Leonardo, are you nuts? She raped you!"
Leonardo looked at his brother. He was on the verge of tears. "My baby, Raphael."
Raphael shook his shoulders. "Snap out of it!"
Angel whispered to Donatello. "I think you were right. He's losing it."
Donatello thought of repeating her relationship line, but realized that it was not appropriate. He just nodded and looked at Michaelangelo.
"Can we take her to the police?" Michaelangelo asked, unusually solemn.
"We could," Donatello said.
Leonardo turned to Donatello with a look of pure terror. "We can't! They'll kill the baby! Or run experiments!" He grabbed Raphael's arms. "We have to take her with us."
Raphael looked at the others. Leonardo did have a point, but he wasn't really in his right mind at the moment. Donatello finally spoke. "We can't let the authorities get their hands on the baby."
Leonardo pulled Veronica up into his arms. "I'll protect you."
Veronica handed Angel her bag and returned the embrace.
***
Splinter looked from his son to Veronica, unable to make any sense out of the situation. All the wisdom in the world would not help him with this decision. He understood the importance of keeping the child a secret, but the circumstances of its conception could not be ignored.
"Did we do the right thing?" Donatello asked.
"You did the only thing you could do, Donatello. But this is a…an unusual situation." He paused for a moment. "Make sure she is never alone, especially with Leonardo."
He looked over to Leonardo, who was putting Veronica's things in his room. Donatello began to doubt if his brother would ever be normal again.
At lights out, Veronica slept in Leonardo's bed, and Splinter insisted that Leonardo sleep on the couch. When Michaelangelo went to check on them in the morning, he found that Leonardo had snuck into his room some time during the night.
***
"Where is she?"
Rocksteady tried to become as small as possible to avoid Shredder's wrath.
"She just said she had to leave. I didn't ask where."
Shredder struck out at the wall. "It doesn't matter. We can find her again. Or maybe not, she didn't help us any."
"Yeah, and with the baby…" He slapped his hand over his mouth but Shredder had heard.
He narrowed his eyes into small slits. "She was with child?"
"Uhhh…"
"Krang!"
***