Part Seventeen: Squirrels Again



The warm desert air of Mojave fanned her face, as she stood on the back terrace that overlooked the newly landscaped garden. The house was the typical white stucco and Spanish tile of the Southwest, finally completed, surrounded by its own oasis of green palms and ice plants and palmettos, and pale brown/pink adobe walls, that stood on a hilltop covered in sage and mesquite. It was a house built just the way she wanted, a mile or so up the road from Mike's place, so Gaele could have both parents without the flak of their having to live together. After several brainstorming and often stormy discussions, Rahab, Raphael and Mike had come up with the solution: Live close but not too close. To Gaele, these were two houses in one big, back yard. Everyone seemed to be satisfied, at least for the moment.

Rahab's thoughts were interrupted by the all too familiar feeling of tiny but restless feet pummelling her ribs. Though active, this baby was easier on her than Devon had been in utero. Maybe it would be a girl, this time... Devon, now nearly a year old, was a powerhouse. His appetite was immense, and Raphael swore he could actually WATCH the kid growing.

Rahab rubbed her distended abdomen absently, trying to ease the pressure of the baby's movements. Another one so soon... Raphael had been concerned, but she was doing all right. She actually felt good, for once. Emotionally, that is. The nausea had come with a vengeance, but she was well past that stage now, in fact, she was due any day. There was no sense of urgency though, the house was finished, they had moved in, and were settled into a comfortable routine...

Comfortable, considering Raphael was still plagued with what he called his "ol' black beast spells". He eventually accepted them as some sort of inevitable part of life, just like everything else. He still refused medical treatment, and in the aftermath of a spell, he seemed to drift for several days, observing events around him with the detachment of a couch potato watching the evening news. After a while, he'd recover and act as though nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened.

This particular evening was one of those where Raphael had had another seizure, and Rahab didn't get to sleep until dawn. Since she had slept most of the day, except for feeding Devon, she now felt rested and wide awake.

She came out of her reverie at the chirrup of her phone.

"Rahab," said a familiar voice that wasn't Mike's.

"Hi," she returned politely. "How is everything with you?"

"I was going to ask the same of you."

"Uhm, is this Don?"

"Leo."

"Oh," she said, feeling a little foolish. "How... how are you, I mean-"

"It's all right, Rahab, it has been a long time."

"Yes it has. Leo, you never called before, is everything okay? Where are you calling from? How is Splinter?" As she paused for breath, she could hear him laughing quietly. "What?"

"Everything is fine, Rahab, I assure you. I am still in Japan, but I was concerned about your labor."

"My labor?" Rahab frowned. "I'm not in labor."

"But you will be."

"I suppose Splinter told you again, didn't he?"

"No, I knew."

"Nobody told you, then?"

"No, I already knew."

"When?"

He was silent for a few minutes, then she heard an almost inaudible sigh. "It's difficult for me to explain, Rahab."

"Explain what, Leo?"

He was silent again.

"Leo..." Rahab felt a surge of impatience.

"It might be easier to speak with you in person," Leo said at length.

"Why?"

"Because this isn't working-"

"What isn't working, the connection?"

"The connection- ah- yes! That seems to be the problem."

"Maybe you should hang up and try again, then."

"I suppose..."

"Okay, talk to you later, then."

"Yes." He hung up.

Rahab turned the phone off, and wandered through the living room. She expected Leo to call back immediately, but as time wore on, she gave up waiting, and put the phone down. Her mind roiled in confusion. Why was Leo calling? Why not? He probably had one of his dreams, sometimes he had dreams, and he had talked to her about them, he had said she was easy to talk to. She went to find Raphael, to see if he was awake.



It was late in the third day after, when she knew the baby would come. She felt the familiar twinges, the dull ache in her back, the strange lightheadedness that preceded the birth. It would be her third, she was used to this. She went outside, but the air was thick and warm like stale breath, she felt no refreshing breeze, no sounds, the kids were asleep. Raphael was sitting quietly on the patio, a full glass in his hand, but he didn't drink from it. He was staring intently out over the night-black hills, a vague frown on his face.

"Wierd tonight," he muttered half to himself.

"There's no moon," she said, running her hand along his shoulder as she walked past him.

"Storm coming."

She sat down opposite him, and absently rubbed her abdomen. "Won't be long now, hon," she said softly.

He looked at her. "You okay?"

"I'm okay for somebody in labor."

He laughed once, a short quiet kind of laugh, then shook his head. "This whole thing has been wierd."

"What," she asked, though she knew what he meant.

"Devon's not even a year old, and you're about to pop another one. Too close together, that's all."

Rahab sighed gustily. "We've been over this. I can't do anything about it now, and I've told you, I'm okay."

Raphael finally took a long drink from his glass, and wiped his mouth. "It's just wierd."

"You're the one who's wierd," Rahab said, getting up. "You'd think you were a hundred years old, the way you act."

"How am I acting," he asked, indignant.

"Old and WIERD. " She walked back inside the house.

A flash of lightning lit everything up for a second, then eventually the thunder rolled off the hills. A storm, that's all we need tonight, she grumbled to herself.



The baby came early in the morning, it was a short labor, but no less strenuous than the others, and she was hurting. The storm had been quick and violent, and had caused the power to go out, and that didn't help things much. She didn't even remember if Raphael was with her or not. She thought she heard him speaking to her, but she might have been dreaming. When she opened her eyes, he was nearby, lying in a recliner, sleeping. She gazed at him, feeling a mixture of tenderness and disgust. It seemed she saw his eyelids a lot lately...

When he woke up, he went and brought the baby to her. "Another boy," was all he said. He looked at her a long time before he lowered the bundle into her hands.

She opened the blanket, and saw the baby's face was strangely pale, a sort of butter-yellow, and his eyes, which were wide open, were so light they were almost clear, like twin jellyfish. She breathed an exclamation as she stared into those odd eyes, that looked at her the best it could for a newborn. "What is it, he's..."

"Low color, maybe, uh... albino?" Raphael shrugged a little.

"He's awful sweet though." Rahab kissed the infant on the forehead. " A mutation mut-"

"I HATE that word," Raph said with sudden venom.

"Will you relax? He's all right."

"We can't go having kids that close together, that's it! Strange things happen. We're not exactly stable genetic material, know what I'm sayin'?"

"Just calm down. It wasn't entirely my fault, you know."

"So, what are you gonna name him?"

"I thought you wanted to name the boys."

"You can name this one."

Rahab stared at him. "You think there's something wrong with him, don't you?"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't, I dunno. But what the hell do I know?"

"Oh, why don't you go take a nap or something," Rahab snapped at him. "You're real good at that."

"Oh, thanks a lot. Maybe I will." He got up and stalked out.

Rahab felt as though she wanted to cry, until she looked into the wide, impossibly pale little eyes that stared up into hers. She could see the tiny capillaries in the transparent irises, giving them a delicate shade of purplish pink. The little face tilted up at her, its mouth small in an unmistakable expression of awe. She suddenly felt calm again.

"Who are you, little one? Are you Seth?"

The little face scrinched and squinted.

"Are you Seth? I think so... I think you are a little Seth."

He yawned a huge yawn, and squirmed and settled to sleep, as though he knew it was the proper thing to do.

"You are all right. You are here, and I'm very glad," Rahab whispered, caressing the tiny bundle.



"What brings YOU here, Leo?" Raphael's voice outside the bedroom door woke Rahab.

She heard someone answer in a much quieter tone.

"So, WHAT brings you here?" There was a hardness in his voice which disturbed her.

"Thank you, I am NOW awake," she called out in annoyance, trying to sit up.

Raphael poked his head in. "Sorry, babe. Uhm..." He turned around to glare at an unseen person, then turned back to her. "You have a VISITOR."

"Is it Leo? What does he want?"

"How should I know? He wants to see YOU." He then gave her an apologetic look. "He says... he said he had some kinda dream, and he wants to see the kid."

"What?" Rahab asked, incredulous. She pulled her dressing gown closer around her, and arranged the blankets. "Well, don't just stand there, let him in."

Raphael shrugged expansively, and stood aside to let Leo come in. Raph watched his brother closely as he passed, one eye narrowed in deep thought, or suspicion. Leo gave him a little smile in return, and Raph turned and walked out.

"Hi Leo. "

"You look well," Leo said, politely bowing a little.

"You, formal as ever. As Splinter would say, 'All pomp and circumstance'." Rahab said, and they both laughed gently. "What brings you here? Pull up a seat." She pointed to the recliner.

Leo looked at the big, padded chair, and shook his head. He grabbed a wooden stool that was in the corner, and perched on it, close to the bed. "I had a dream," he said.

"You and your dreams."

Leo's face stayed sober. "It was about your baby," he went on. "He was very bright, like the sun-"

"Wait! Did anyone tell you about the baby?"

"What about him?" Leo raised an eyebrow.

Rahab lay back. "Never mind, go on."

Leo looked straight at her a long moment, then continued. "The child was bright, like polished brass, and he spoke to me. He told me where he came from, and that he knew he was- he knew his past life."

Rahab made a mental note of the caution in Leo's voice, but said nothing.

"He described mountains, certain smells, goats..."

"Goats??"

"Goats. And snow."

Rahab shook her head, and suppressed the urge to giggle. "Why goats?"

"I don't know." Leo stared at the floor a moment, then warily glanced up at her.

"Sounds like...Nepal or someplace like that," Rahab ventured.

"Maybe."

"What's the matter, Leo?"

Leo looked up at her. "Nothing." He grinned a little. "I mean, nothing's wrong."

"Hey, you know, I saw on television the other day, something about a little orphaned boy, who was taken in by the Buddhist monks because they learned in a dream that he was the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Do you think-"

"No," Leo said.

Rahab sank back into her pillows, a little deflated at his terse reply.

"Who's the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama," Raphael's voice cut in. He was peeking around the edge of the door.

"How long have you been standing there listening," Rahab asked in protest.

"I was bringing your tea, you asked for some, remember?"

"Oh, " Rahab said, and sighed. She let him set the cup at her bedside tray table.

"You want anything, Leo?" Raph halfheartedly asked.

"No thanks, not right this minute."

"Could you bring the baby in, hon?" Rahab asked as nicely as she could.

Raphael opened his eyes a little wider than usual, and headed out, muttering under his breath.

"So, what do you think it is, Leo? I mean, who was the baby before he was born?"

"I don't know."

"Well, you said he told you about mountains-" Rahab gave up in mid sentence, and turned her attention to her cup of tea.

Leo watched her drink, a distant look in his eyes. "Splinter wasn't much help, but he was very interested in learning more about the baby."

"Why is that?"

"Because of the dream. I told him about it before I left."

"Is it that big a deal to bring you nine thousand miles?"

Leo was looking in the direction of the doorway.

"Here's the kid," Raphael said as he appeared a moment later, carrying the infant. He deposited him gently in Rahab's arms, and took a few steps back, as though the baby were some sort of bomb.

Leo stood slowly and looked wide eyed at the pale little face. Raphael was watching him closely, looking for something that Rahab didn't understand.

"He's... yellow." Leo said, breathless.

"He's an ab- albino," Raph said, now looking at Rahab.

"Hypomelanistic," Rahab said, without thinking.

"Say what?"

Leo was now staring at the baby again. "Has it... eh... has he opened his eyes yet?"

"What is it with you people?" Rahab was suddenly annoyed at Leo's strange expression. "There's nothing wrong with him, he's not deformed, for heaven's sake, he's not a monster."

"What is his name," Leo asked gently, looking contrite.

"Seth."

As if at the sound of his name, Seth opened his eyes and tried to focus on the faces around him. He made a few tiny, rodentlike noises. Raphael looked away.

"Ah no, it's true..." Leo whispered.

"What now," Rahab asked, feeling an odd tension rising in her middle, at the expression on Leo's face. "What is it?"

Leo's expression of horror frightened her. "There's something I have to tell you," he said in a barely audible voice. "Raph, could you take the baby back to his bed?"

"No, I want to hear this," Raphael said, looking disturbed.

Leo sighed wearily. "I don't think you want to." He wouldn't look at Raphael as he spoke.

"Why not," Raphael asked in mock surprise.

Leo said nothing.

"Why not, Leo?" Raphael took a step closer as if attempting to gain Leo's eye contact.

Leo eventually looked up at him, and they gazed steadily at each other in silence.

Rahab watched as though in a dream, feeling detached, disembodied, as the silence stretched on and on...

Raphael's mouth dropped open, and he jerked his head at Rahab, eyes wide, as though she had cuffed him. He took a quick breath as though to say something, then let it out again. He turned to Leo again, and slowly shook his head. "That's not... your kid, is it?"

"Well, I-" Leo said hesitantly. "I believe it is."

Rahab found her voice again, but she couldn't control the violent trembling. " That's... THAT'S impossible!"

Raph's attention snapped to her again. "It is?" He walked slowly to the bed. "How impossible can it BE?"

"He's NEVER touched me, Raphael, I swear it!"

Raph nodded, grinning mirthlessly. "You swear it? By WHAT?"

"Raph, she doesn't know."

"She doesn't... know?" The grin was now directed at Leo. Raphael's breathing was becoming noticable. "What do you take me for, an IDIOT?"

"I don't know what he's talking about, Raph! As surely as I live and breathe..." Her emphatic reply lost momentum, as she stared at the baby, whose brow was crinkled at the disturbance. It didn't hit her until then, that the baby really didn't look anything like Raphael, at all. A terrible fear gnawed at her gut, as she looked up at Raphael's terrible expression. "What HAPPENED?"

Leo looked like a dog caught stealing the Sunday roast.

Rahab's mind was racing, going back... "Japan," she mumbled. "Raph was sick, you gave him... you gave me tea."

"Yes."

"And then, you... took advantage of me?"

"I did," Leo said quietly.

"NO!" She lunged at him, but she couldn't move far, and Leo was well out of range.

It was Raphael's turn to look frightened, as he reached cautiously for the baby. Rahab turned to watch him through a haze, vaguely aware of Seth's wailing, as Raph carefully removed the infant from her lap.

Leo was talking to her.

"SHUT UP," she screamed at him, suddenly animated again. "How DARE you... you k- you-" she stuttered to a halt. She heard Leo speak again, and she clapped her hands over her ears and lowered her chin to her chest.

Her bed jerked, and she looked up, startled. Raphael was back, and was yelling something at Leo, gesturing an extended forefinger into his face. Leo didn't respond or move from his spot, but leveled his gaze at Raphael without emotion. Raph reluctantly backed down, and then looked in Rahab's direction.

Rahab took her hands away from her ears and hugged herself. "I TRUSTED you, Leo."

Leo turned his gaze on her. "Please, Rahab, believe me when I say this, I didn't plan it, it just- happened. All I wanted to do was put you to bed, and you wouldn't let go of me. I tried to get you off, I TRIED, but... you wouldn't let go."

"I thought you were Raph," Rahab managed to say, before emotion got the better of her.

"You COULD have gotten her off," she heard Raphael say.

"Yes... I could have," Leo said faintly. "But somehow... I- I didn't. I just... forgot myself for a bit."

Raphael's hands clenched, but he made no move toward Leo. "Splinter know about this?"

"Yes."

"So, what did he DO?"

"Nothing."

"NOTHING!?"

"There is nothing he can do about it, there's nothing ANYONE can do about it, what's done cannot be undone. Both of you know that as well as I do, and there's no use in losing our temper, is there?" Leo's voice was steady though he spoke rapidly, but Rahab realized he was just as dismayed about the whole thing as she and Raph were.

She took several deep breaths to calm her frantic thoughts. "All right, Leo," she said as steadily as she could. "What do you suppose we should do?"

Leo gave her a bewildered look. "I don't know. I've never dealt with anything like this before. This dream was disturbing enough. Seth was the one who told me who he was. He said... he was my son."

Raphael was still a moment, as he looked at Leo and then at Rahab. He seemed confused, as though unsure what emotion to feel. "Damn squirrels again," he said.

Next section... Rahab 18

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