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Chapter Text

It had been a month since Raphael discovered that he was a father, and had spent that time trying to figure out how to approach the people who had taken her in. He still was shocked at the news that he was a father, and felt guilty that he hadn’t been there for her. Donatello reassured Raph that even he didn’t think that they had been capable of having children, and it had helped a little.

Donatello had found more videos in another hidden file that April had given him access to. It seemed at first that Oroku Saki had been ecstatic over the prospect of having one of the turtle’s offspring, but when the little girl was born prematurely, weak and ill, he was inclined to throw her out. In one video, it showed April begging the nurse who had been April’s primary caregiver during her pregnancy to take the girl and leave, and slipped something into the baby blanket before the nurse left. Afterwards, the Shedder was too interested in April to care about the infant.

As for the Shredder, Karai, and the rest of the Foot Clan, they had disappeared some months ago without a trace. The rumor the largest turtle heard on the street was that Karai had tried to start a coup against the Shredder, and it had ended badly for both parties, the rest of the clan dissipating quickly without any leadership. Not that any of the turtles really cared. With them out of the way, Raphael’s focus was on finding his daughter.

After some search, they had figured out that the couple still lived in New York, and that the husband, Casey, freelanced as a vigilante for his neighborhood when he wasn’t working at an Auto shop. Gabrielle was still nursing, working at a small free clinic not too far from the little brownstone house she had inherited from her grandmother. With the exception of a few disorderly conduct charges on Casey, they were both good, hardworking people who cared dearly for their adopted daughter.

Raphael scanned the rooftops, searching for his target. His hand brushed against the pouch on his belt as he resisted the urge to make sure the contents were still there, even though he had checked just moments earlier. One was April’s necklace he had given her years ago, the other a picture of them together, which would hopefully could be used as some minor proof that he could be the father.

Then he saw the window that lead to a fire escape open up, and a figure with a golf bag on his back slip out of it. Raphael made his way to man, moving quietly along the rooftop, until he stood right where Casey would toss his bag before climbing onto the roof himself, just like every night Raph had watched him. The dark-haired vigilante froze as he saw the Red turtle’s massive form against the light of the waning moon.

“Holy shit, yer real…” He whispered, dark eyes wide with shock. “An’ I thought she was nutso…” He dropped the bag beside him and sat down on the ledge, and looked down at his feet.

Raph was shocked at his lack of reaction from the man in front of him, to say the least. He had expected something from the man by way of reaction, at least more then he got. Then Casey looked up again.

“Yer not takin’ her” He growled softly. “She’s MY lil’ girl, I raised her, I ain’t gonna jus’ hand her over ‘cause you showed up out of da blue.” Raph put his hands up defensively.

“Easy buddy. I’m not takin’ anyone.” He said softly, trying to look non-threatening. “I just wanna talk to you.” The man in front of Raph relaxed and motioned for the turtle to sit down next to him, and Raphael complied. 

“So what do you want from us?” Casey asked, playing with a hockey mask he had pulled from his bag. Unicorn stickers danced around the edges, clearly the work of the little girl. Raphael swallowed hard, shut his eyes, and took a deep breath.

“I guess you know I’m here biological father, huh?” He began. Casey nodded beside him, and Raph pressed on. “Her mother was taken from me five years ago. I had no clue she was pregnant, I didn’t even think I could get her pregnant. Then about four months ago I found her alive. She had been changed, the people who took her twisted her until she didn’t even know who she truly was. There was a confrontation with the people who did it to her, and she-” He paused, shutting his eyes tightly, trying to keep the still-fresh pain away. “She didn’t survive. She told about Hope as she died, but it wasn’t until about a month ago that I found out she meant a kid.” He paused again, looking at the human beside him, his gold eyes meeting Casey’s without flinching. “As for what I want, I just to be a part of her life. I just want to be able to see my daughter.”

Casey looked away for a few minutes and then finally turned back to the red ninja.

“Okay.” He stated. “It ain’t fair that I stop you from seein’ her. Come back tomorrow at the same time. That will allow me to give Gabby and Hope some time to get ready, and Hope can stay up for a bit longer.” He turned back to Raph. “But if you try anything, you’ll never see her again, hear me?” Raphael nodded.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

Chapter Text

Raph stood at the window the next night, clinging tightly to a stuffed horse he had acquired for Hope a week or so earlier. Looking down at the grey toy, he swallowed hard, and tentatively reached out to rap on the window. It wasn’t long before a blonde woman came into view and opened the window, stepping back to let him in.

“You must be Raphael. April talked a lot about you while I was caring for her. In truth I thought she was just very sick from whatever they had put her through, but when Hope was born, I wasn’t so sure.” Her words came out quickly, and her eyes never really locked with his as she spoke. “Casey said that you don’t want to take her away, and I’m not too sure about that, but you want to be a part of her life, and I can’t deny that.” She finally met his eyes and he saw fear, but it was nothing compared to the burning passion that was also in them. “But if you hurt her, I will make you into turtle soup.”

“It’s a deal.” He said, holding out his hand to shake hers.

“I’ll go get her.” Gabrielle said, and turned away.

The blonde went into a room down the hall, and he could hear her talking softly to the little girl. Raphael bit his lip and he looked down, petting the stuffed horse out of nervousness, hoping the girl didn’t see his shaking hands.

Looking up when he heard footsteps, he swallowed hard when he saw the child that walked in the room. She was almost a splitting image of the photos of her mother at that age. Her quiet gold eyes met his steadily, and it almost seemed as if she was reading him. A smile came to his face as she moved towards him.

“Hi Hope. I guess yer Mom and Dad told you about me, huh?” He began, and watched as the girl scooted closer to him.

“They said that you’re my Dad.” She said quietly, and her eyes dropped, but only for a second. “You got feet like me!” She chirped excited, and sat down to take off her socks and shoes, revealing a two-toed foot, only pink. “That’s so cool!” He laughed softly and held out the stuffed toy.

“Got this for ya.” His gruff voice soft. Gold eyes went wide as she reached for it.

“How’d you know that horses are my favorite animal!?” She said, excitedly. Taking from him, she hugged it tight. “I love it so much, thank you!” Raphael sat down and the girl climbed into his lap.

“Do you got any family?” She asked him, looking up into his face.

“You got three uncles.” He said. “Your grandpa passed away after your mother disappeared.”

“Oh.” Hope said softly. “Will I get to meet any of them?” Raph smiled.

“Yep, they’re all very excited to see you. We just wanted to go easy on your Mom to night.” He said. “You’ll meet them another time.” She looked down at his hands in hers.

“Can I call you Dad?” She asked quietly. His heart skipped a beat as she tilted her head to meet eyes the same color as his.

“Of course you can, Hope.” He said quietly. She stood up to wrap her arms around his neck, pressing her face in his neck.

“I’m really glad you came to find me.” She said softly. “I love Mommy and Daddy, but I always wondered about you guys.”

“I know kiddo, I know.” He replied softly, stroking her hair. “If I had any idea that you were out there, I would have found you. I started to look for you the minute I found out about you. I know I have so much to make up for, but promise I promise you that I will.”

She nodded against him, then looked up, teary-eyed.

“Can you play with me for a little bit?” She asked. Raph looked over at Gabrielle, who was watching them over the book she was reading. She looked at them and nodded.

“Sure, let’s go play.” He told Hope, picking her up easily and walking down to her room.

Walking into the room, he expected a bunch of Barbie dolls and tea sets and those type of things, but was pleased to find a mix of toys, and soon he found himself playing a large dinosaur that was a partner to a spy Barbie that had her hair cropped short, as they raced to save the My Little Ponies from the evils of the cobra commander.

He almost had to laugh at how quick he became attached to his daughter, seeing his own smile in hers, and the fire in her eyes.

What would have it been like to have her from the beginning? If they had never run, and April was never taken. Finding about her pregnancy, being there through it, holding that tiny infant for the first time? Watching Hope grow up around his brothers and seeing them spoil her? Or even Master Splinter holding his Granddaughter, telling her same stories he had told them as children?

All too soon it was time for Hope to go to bed. As he pulled the blanket up to cover her, she reached up to him

“Thank you for coming to see me Dad.” She whispered softly. “You going to come again?” He smiled softly, and hugged her back.

“Of course, kiddo. Maybe one of your uncles can come next time, okay?” He said, giving her a soft kiss on the head. “See you later, kiddo.”

After Hope had fallen asleep, Raph thanked Gabrielle for allowing him to see Hope, and slipped out the window. He moved up to the roof of the apartment, he feeling his heart clench. He missed April so much right then. Leaning against a storage building he pressed his face into his hands, he felt tears slide down his cheeks, and his shoulders shook as he mourned what should have been.

Chapter Text

“Are you sure this is okay?” Raphael looked back to his younger brother, who looked unusually nervous. He was worried about meeting Hope, and was unsure of how she would react to him.

“You’ll be fine.” He assured the orange turtle. “She’s been askin’ to see her uncles for the past two weeks.” Michelangelo still looked unsure, but he nodded.

“Okay,” Mikey said, breathing out heavily. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” Raph placed a hand on the youngest turtle’s shoulder, and gave it a reassuring squeeze, then knocked on the window. Hope’s face appeared in the window, followed by Casey’s. He and Raphael had become friends after the first tense meeting, and had started patrolling the streets after Hope had gone to bed. It had helped Gabrielle become warmer to the turtle, knowing he was watching her husband’s back.

“Hey, man, come in.” The vigilante greeted the turtle. “Gabby’s finishing up dinner for you guys, and then we’re heading out.” He turned and moved himself and Hope away from the window to allow the two turtles into the apartment. Hope walked up to them and flung her tiny arms around Raph’s leg.

“Hi Dad, thanks for watching me tonight!” She beamed up at him. Then she looked over to Michelangelo, and her smile got bigger. “You’re my Uncle Mike, right? It’s so cool to meet you. Dad has told me about you a whole lot” The orange turtle looked mildly surprised.

“Oh really?” He said, kneeling down to the girl and smiling. “He tell you how super-awesome I am?” The girl shook her head.

“He said you would make the best trusty steed because you were the shortest and I could ride on your shoulders without hitting my head.” An irritated look came across Mikey’s face, but was interrupted but the blonde woman walking into the room, dressed for dinner.

“Thank you again for watching Hope while we go out for dinner.” She told them, walking up to give Hope a hug. “Dinner can be taken off the stove in fifteen minutes, but we got to get going so we can make our reservations.” Gabrielle leaned down to give Hope a kiss. “You be good for your Dad and Uncle Mike, okay? We’ll be here when you wake up tomorrow.” Casey came up and, giving Hope a quick goodbye hug and kiss, wrapped an arm around Gabrielle’s waist.

“The cab’s right outside dear, we should get going.” He said as they headed to the door. Turning back to Raph one more time, “Call us if something happens, it shouldn’t be too long for us to get back here if we need to, okay?” And with that, they swept out the door, leaving the two turtles with the little girl. Michelangelo rubbed the back of his head nervously.

“So, what do we do now?” He asked, looking down at the little girl.

“Well, I’m going to go finish dinner, and you can keep Hope occupied while I do that.” The older brother said, turning to move into the kitchen. Mikey turned his attention back the girl who stood next to him.

“So, what do you want to do?” He asked her, bending down to pick her up. She tipped her head to the side, an action that was an exact replica to the action Donnie did when he was making a decision.

“Dinner will be ready soon, so I don’t want to start playing.” She said slowly, then looked him straight in the eye. “Could you- could you tell me about my Mom? Dad tries, but he always gets upset.”

Michelangelo felt his heart clench. Of all the questions to ask him, it had to be this one. He rubbed the back of his head, and took in a deep breath, huffing if out.

“Your Mom, she-” He stopped for a moment, fighting the pain that her loss still caused. “She was a really good person. After she found us again, after all those years we were gone, she stepped in to help us. She helped us get ahold of a lot of things we needed, and all she really wanted in return was us as a family.” He smiled at the fond memories, trying to focus on the good ones. “Our first Thanksgiving together, she went all-out. We went up to the farmhouse she had inherited from your grandfather, and it was amazing. There was already snow on the ground, and none of us had been outside the city before. It was just like all those old movies we saw on TV. She got this huge turkey and I helped her cook, because your Dad and your other Uncles couldn’t be trusted in the kitchen. We worked all night to bake pies and stuff, and she woke up early to get the turkey in the oven. When that was done, we all sat around this old set she had and watched the parade. That afternoon we all ate until we couldn’t move, and watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Family” He sighed and sat down on the couch. “She wanted to share traditions that she had with her father with us.”

Hope looked up at him, her wide gold eyes seemed to read his very soul.

“You like her, huh?” She asked. Michelangelo had to smile at that question.

“In the beginning, yah. She was the first female I had even seen up close, and she wanted to be around us.” He shrugged. “But in the end, she choose your Dad. I was a little upset, but not too much. They both loved each other so much, and they had a really good relationship with each other. I was happy with her as a sister.” He looked over to a family picture on the wall. “She would have loved you so much. You might even have a little sibling if your parents had stayed together.”

“Time to eat you two.” Raphael announced as he walked into the room. Hope looked up at her Dad, giving him the best puppy-dog eyes she could manage.

“Can we watch He-Man while we eat? Pleeeaaaasssseee?” She begged him, and Mikey had to smile.

“Yah, Raph, let us watch He-Man.” He joined in, and his smiled got bigger when his older brother rolled his eyes and smiled.

“Alright, alright, put the eyes away- both of you.” He laughed, and Michelangelo went into the kitchen to help Raph with the plates whiles Hope set up the show.

“Was Mom like Teela or the Sorcerous?” She asked as they settled down to eat. Michelangelo thought over it for a moment.

“She was kinda of like both of them.” He concluded. The girl turned her attention back to the TV.

“I wish I could have known her.” She said softly, and the two turtles looked down at her.

“Me too, Hope,” Raph whispered, kissing her on the head. “Me too.”

Chapter Text

The next week, while Casey was working at a night club for a friend and Gabby was called for an emergency sift at the clinic, Raphael introduced Hope and Donatello. Standing to the side, Raph watched to two of them look at each other for a few moments, and finally Hope spoke as Don went to shrug off his equipment he never went topside without.

“What’s that thing on your head?” She asked, motioning to the googles Don always wore. He looked confused for a moment, and then reached up to take them off his head.

“Oh, these?” He asked, kneeling down to show them to his niece. “I made them to record our missions and things, like keep track of vital signs...” He trialed, off, realizing he might have bored the little girl, but when he looked down, wide gold eyes studied the piece of tech intently.

“You made these yourself?” She asked, voice filled with awe. “This is so cool!” Donatello bushed, and gave the girl a pleased smile as Hope went on. “I want to make stuff like this when I grow up.” The purple turtle beamed down.

“Really?” He put the googles to the side. Hope nodded enthusiastically.

“Yah, I ask Daddy to get me an old computer I can play with, but he’s afraid I’m gonna electrocute myself.” The little girl went on. “But I got a bunch of Erector sets I like to play with.” She tugged on Don’s hand. “Come on, I’ll show you what I built.” Don glanced back at Raph, who just smiled and motioned to her room with his head.

“You go ahead, I got to start dinner.” The older turtle encouraged, turning to the kitchen. Donatello followed his tiny niece, looking around her room in amusement. Building blocks and dolls where scattered across the room. Two Barbies, one with cropped hair and the other’s hair died a vibrant blue, sat at a table made from Erector set pieces. Some handmade lab equipment, made from the foam clay, sat on top of it.

“They’re trying to create a way that makes lima beans taste good.” She explained as she sat down next to them. Don sat down next to her.

“A noble cause indeed.” He said, chuckling. “I think your Uncle Mike would love to see a break through on that front.” Hope nodded solemnly.

“It is.” She agreed. She turned around to another pair of dolls overlooking a naked Ken doll. “These two are trying to figure out why older girls and some guys like boys so much.” She shrugged. “I really have no idea.”

I think your father would be quiet happy if you never found out. Don thought to himself, smiling. He leaned over, ruffling her hair.

“You’ll figure it out.” He encouraged her. “So are you doing anything like this in school?” Hope nodded.

“We did an experiment using a potato and a clock.” She replied, pointing to one sitting on her bedside dresser. “The teachers say I’m real smart, so I go to special classes.”

“That great.” Her uncle replied. “You know what you want to do?” The little girl’s face wrinkled in thought.

“I’m do know.” She said. “I like building things, but I also like helping people.” She was quiet for a moment. “What was Grandpa like?” She asked, looking up at him. “Not your Dad, Mom’s Dad.” Don huffed out a breath, rubbing his head.

“I can’t really tell you. He died when we were still regular turtles.” Hope’s face fell, and he pushed on. “But you Mom left me a bunch of videos he did. Maybe I can show them to you one day.” Hope curled up on his lap, Don stiffening briefly before relaxing against her.

“I’m glad I met you.” She whispered. “Daddy and Mommy try, but sometimes they get frustrated because I ask stuff they can’t answer.” Don smiled.

“Well, if you need help, just ask your Daddy to call, me.” He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Maybe you can come to the lair one day and I can show you some simple experiments or coding if you want.”

“That would be so cool!” She exclaimed. “When can I come down?” He pulled her close. He loved his Father and brothers, and he loved April, but sometimes it was lonely being the smart one. It was nice finding someone he could talk with, not on his level yet, of course, but it was a start.

“Food’s ready you two.” Raph announced, standing at the doorway. Hope bounced up from Donatello’s lap, taking hold of Raph’s hand as she moved to the kitchen, Don following.

“Can I come and visit you one day?” She asked, sitting down between the two.

“I want you to meet Uncle Leo first.” Her father told her as they sat down. Dinner conversation was casual, and afterwards they sat on the couch together, watching TV, with Hope going on about what she did in school that week, and her excitement for a movie coming out.

“But I might wait for it to come out on Blu-Ray.” She admitted, looking up at Raph. “Because I really want to watch it with you.”

“I can get it for you.” Don interjected. “It will be a few days for a good copy to surface, but you could watch it here with him, or maybe we can have a family night in the lair.” Hope’s gold eyes went huge, looking over to her father.

“Can we do that? Please? It’ll be so much fun and we can have a sleep over and maybe Mommy and Daddy can do whatever they gotta do to give me a little brother or sister!” Raph choked on his drink, looking behind Hope. Gabriel had come home early, and was standing in the doorway, slightly red in the face at her daughter’s announcement.

“Mommy!” Hope cried, jumping from the couch to her mother. “Does that sound okay? Can I stay with them one night?” Gabriel smiled. She had gotten accustomed to the large turtle that was her father, and it would be nice for her and Casey to have a night alone.

“We’ll see what your father says.” She replied, hugging the girl. She looked up at the clock over the door. “But it’s time for you to get into bed.” Hope gave a little sigh at that.

“Yes Mommy.” The little girl said, turning to give her father and uncle a hug and kiss good night.

“You be good and I’ll talk you your parents about coming over one night, okay?” Raph told her, hugging her tight and kissing her on the head. She turned to Donnie.

“It was so cool meeting you.” Hope told him, yawning. “I can’t wait to see your lab.” Don smiled.

“I can’t wait to show it to show it to you.” He replied, nuzzling her hair. Hope pulled away and walked to her room.

“We’ll let ourselves out.” Raph told Gabby as she went to put Hope to bed. The woman smiled.

“Thanks for coming over on such a short notice. I’ll talk to Casey about her staying over.” She told them. “We just want to meet with Leo first to get a feel for him.”

“I’ll see if I can drag him over here sometime next week.” Raph moved to the window, giving Gabriel a wave before him and Don went out the window.

Later in the lab, Don was looking up some things that he could show Hope when Leo came in.

“You should go see her.” The tallest turtle told him. “She such a sweet girl.” Leo was silent for a moment.

“Yah, Raph told me earlier about her parents wanting to meet me before she visits us. Mikey’s been hounding me about it because he wants to make cookies with her.” He sighed, rubbing his head. “I told him I’d go with him next Friday when they need him to watch her again.”

Chapter Text

Leo sat in the dojo, lotus style, meditating her was supposed to meet Hope later that night, and to be truthful, her was extremely nervous. How could he look into the face of someone who looked so much like one of those he failed? If it wasn’t for her having her father’s eye’s he would swear he was looking at a young version of April.

He had not guilt over her death. That solely lay at the feet of the Shredder, Karai, and Sachs, all three who were currently dead. He did, however, have regrets. So many regrets. Starting with leaving April in the first place, ending with letting his guard down around Sachs for even the briefest second. Decisions that cause his younger brothers so much grief, that caused them to lose their father.

Leo took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind. It would do him no good to dwell on the past, he was better off focusing on Hope.

It seemed like he had just gotten settled when Raph knocked on the doorframe to get his attention, but the clock said it had been two hours.

“Ready?” His younger brother asked, heading to the door, a plate of Mikey’s Chocolate chip-walnut cookies in hand. The youngest had tried sending his latest obsession, Maple Bacon flavored cookies, but the red turtle had put a kibosh on that. He thought the things where horrible, and had no clue why the youngest was so obsessed with them. Leo left the dojo, pausing at the door to his room.

“Just give me one second,” He replied, and stepped in to grab an item wrapped in yellow cloth. Raph raised an eye ridge at the object, but didn’t say anything about it. They went topside when they got as close to the house as possible, and all too soon, they stood at the second-story window.

“Ready?” Asked Raph, hand out ready to knock on the window, but it opened before anything else could be said.

“Hi Dad!” Hope yelled cheerfully through the small opening she had made. “You an’ Uncle Leo can come in. Mommy and Daddy are finishing getting ready. Mommy ordered pizza for dinner, it should be here soon” She moved back so Raph, grinning, could open the window enough to climb in the window. Leo hesitated for a bit before following him, standing in front of the little girl who looked up at him expectantly.

“Hi, my name is Hope, you’re Uncle Leo. Daddy’s told me a lot about you.” She said, smiling her mother’s bright, ‘I’m so happy to see you’ smile. Leo had to smile back at the girl’s enthusiasm.

It was just then Gabriel walked into the room. Clearing his throat, he knelt down, holding the yellow cloth out.

“If it is okay with your mother, I made this for you. Perhaps you would be interested in learning how to wield it.” Hope unwrapped it slowly, to reveal a hand-carved bokken, just the right size for her.

Hopes eyes went huge as she turned to her mother, hugging the wooden blade tight to her chest.

“Can I keep it Mommy? I promise I won’t hit other kids with it.” She squeaked, voice brimming with glee. The woman sighed, she had been thinking about putting the somewhat wild girl into a martial art anyway, might as well let her have some time with her uncle.

“Okay, okay, but if you hit someone with it when you’re not training, I’m taking it away, you hear?” She told her. Looking a clock above the kitchen door she yelled to her husband who was still in the room. “Come on Casey, we’ll be late to the party!”

“I’m comin’, I’m comin’” The man grumbled, not looking too happy as he left the bedroom, adjusting a tie. He looked over at Raph, who was watching the interaction between Leo and his daughter. “You remember to DVR the fight for me, okay?” Just then the doorbell rang. Hope drug the father and uncle to her room the show off her recent adventure while Casey paid the delivery boy. When he left, the three went back into the living room, Hope carrying the movie choice for the night.

“Want to bring on the waterworks tonight kid, huh?” Casey asked looking at the case for Land Before Time. Leo looked at his brother, who just shrugged. Neither had seen the movie before. Casey, however pushed a box of tissues at the two before he left, promising them they would need it.

It wasn’t long into the movie when they found out what he meant. The epic battle of Littlefoot’s mother versus the Sharptooth, and they watched in mild horror as she went over the cliff. When Littlefoot found his mortally wounded mother, they listened to her gasping final words and were soon back to only a few months before, their beloved Hogosha dying in Raphael’s arms as she tearfully begged them to find Hope and remind them that family, whether by blood or bond, was above all else.

“Dad?” Leo was shaken from his own thoughts to look over at his younger brother. Silent tears fell down his face as he pulled the girl onto his lap, burying his face into her hair. Leo felt his heart twist at the pain in Raph’s face, and he moved over to them, wrapping an arm around them both.

“Your mother would have loved you so much.” Raph whispered softly, nuzzling her. “I’m so happy I found you, my beautiful Hope.” Leo just hugged them both closer, tears falling down his own face, as his niece wrapped her arms around her father’s neck, and they just sat there, until the tears subsided.

“Can you tell me about what happened to Mom one day?” Hope asked finally, her voice soft. Raphael nodded into her hair, holding her tighter. Raph looked up at Leo, a conflicted look on his face.

Should we? The look on his face said. Leo could understand why he was hesitant. Was Hope ready to hear what happened? Would she reject Him if she found out it was Leo’s decision to leave and cause the entire horrible event?

But if she was asking, she was old enough to know- and she had a right to. Sighing, Leo nodded to Raph, who hugged Hope closer, kissing the top of her head. Leonardo shut his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath before pushing on.

“I’ll start.” Leo spoke up. The two looked at him, Hope looking expectant, Raph unsure. Leo took a deep breath, and started. “Before you were born, when your mother and father got serious, I was afraid that something would happen that would leave one -or both- of them hurt and unable to recover. I decided to move your dad, grandfather and uncles in hope that it would make your mother safer.” He looked down, throat tightening as he pushed forward. “It didn’t turn out that way, unfortunately.”

The rest of the night was telling the story of how they lost, found, and lost again. They were all in tears by the end.

“I’m sorry.” The eldest turtle whispered. “I made a decision that destroyed your family.” He leaned forward to hug her. “I’m so sorry.” Raph placed a hand on Leo’s shoulder, leaning forward to press his forehead against his older brothers.

“It’s not your fault, Leo. The Foot are the ones who took her, that did all that stuff to her.” He pulled Leo close. “It’s not your fault.” Then he felt Hope’s tiny arms wrap around his neck.

“It’s okay Uncle Leo, you didn’t mean it.” She whispered softly. “You thought what you were doing was a good thing, you didn’t mean them to get hurt.” Leo gathered his niece into his arms.

“Thank you.” He whispered, the little girl’s assurances that it wasn’t his fault seeming to lift a weight off his chest. They settled in for the rest of the movie, and when it was over, Raph stood up, stretching.

“It’s about time for me to record the fight, and it’s past your bedtime, kiddo.” He said, standing up and turning off the movie. Leo pressed a kiss to the top of Hope’s head before Raph gathered her in his arms, taking her to her room.

Casey and Gabriel came home sometime after midnight, after Leo and Raph had cleaned up everything and were watching a Big Bang Theory re-run.

“I was going to ask you if you could take Hope next Friday.” Gabriel asked as she looked into Hope’s room. “They asked to take a night shift and Casey has a bouncer job he promised to do for a friend weeks ago.”

“Sure, that would be great.” Leo said, moving to the window, Raph behind him.

“I’ll be here about 6 that okay?” Raph asked. Gabriel nodded, and the two were off, heading home.

Mikey was still up when they came in.

“How’d it go?” The youngest asked, looking eager.

“Good. She’s coming over next Friday for the night.” Leo said, sitting next to him. The youngest’s face lit up.

“Great! Now I got and excuse to dig out my-” He paused and corrected himself. “The Disney Princess movies that I collected for her. Yes, her, not myself at all.”