"Hello?"

"Is Hannah Jacobs there?"

"This is she.  May I ask who's calling?"

I swallowed for a moment.  It's been months since I've talked to her.  And if she heard about what happened at my apartment, she would think I didn't survive.

"Hi, Hannah.  It's me Jewel, James's daughter."

I heard a gasp on the other line and hard breathing. She was crying!

"Oh, my God!  I can't believe it's you!  Oh, sweetie, I heard about the explosion on the news and oh, my God!"  She paused still breathing heavily.  "I thought you were dead!"

"No, I'm still here, knock on wood."  I lightly knocked on my skull.

"Where are you now, hun?  Are you on the Island?"

"No, I'm in Manhattan.  Hope they don't mind the long distance charge."

"They?  Who's they?  Who are you staying with?  Anyone I know?"

I looked down the walkway of the train.  "No, no one you know.  Just some friends."  Definitely no one she'd know!

"Well, I'm so glad you called.  I saw the news a few days ago and was so upset, I didn't know what to do."  She paused again, making a gasp.  "Oh, no!  That was on your Anniversary!"

"Yes, it was."  Now, I started to choke up.  "Ed and I were going out that night for dinner when it happened.  He bought me a necklace-"  I had trouble getting the words out as I started to cry.

"Um, he bought me a heart-shaped sapphire necklace with a diamond chain.  Looked like the Hope Diamond from Titanic.

"Oh, wow.  That sounds wonderful, Jewel.  How is Edward?  Is he with you now?"

"Um, no, he isn't.  He got hurt severely and is in the hospital."  This was painful to talk about.  "I went and saw him last night.  God, he looked terrible.  I'm really worried about him."

"Awww."  Hannah sounded sympathetic.  "I'm so sorry, sweetie.  If there's anything I can do, anything at all, please tell me and I'll see what I can do."

"Well, Hannah, I don't want to be any trouble to you but I do need your help.  Real bad."

Now, her tone changed to panic.  "Why?  What's wrong?"

"Um, it's kind of a long story and I should really tell you in person.  That is, if you don't mind me coming to see you.  I know it's been a long time and all but-"

"Honey, I'm here for you no matter what.  I would never just give up on you because I haven't talked to you in so long.  You're family.  And don't you forget it."

I sighed with a small laugh.

"But it still would have been nice if you called more often.  You know I can't just drive into town to come visit.  I felt after you got married, you needed some time and space alone with your new husband.
And since this tragic event occurred, I will help you with whatever it is that's troubling you.  You can stay with me till you get a new place, buy some new clothes and start a new life.  Losing everything
you own is a horrible thing to happen to anyone.  I really feel for people when I watch the news and stuff like that happens to them.  I send donations out as much as I can.  And when it happens to my
family especially, I'm going to do my best to make sure you'll get through the problems you are facing."

"Oh, Hannah!  I just love you!  You were always so good to me.  I'm sorry I didn't stay in touch with you for so long."

"It's alright, love.  I'm just thanking God above you are alive and well and I really want you to come see me."

"I definitely will.  When's a good time to come over there?"

Hannah sounded shocked.  "What, you mean now?  Haven't your friends taken care of you?"

"Well, yes of course.  I just haven't done any shopping, I'm still wearing the same clothes, I need to go to the bank and get my account reopened."

"Whoa!  What's wrong with your friends?  They can't take you to the store?"

This was tough to explain.  "No, Hannah.  They can't.  And I really need to keep a low profile for one thing.  That's why I wanted to come over now.  To explain the situation."

She let out a heavy sigh.  "Oh, alright.  I have the day off today anyway.  Will your friends be driving you or do I need to pick you up at the Long Island station?"

I haven't even asked the guys first if they were accompanying me.  I should ask first beforehand.  But Leo wouldn't want me to leave his sight until he knew I was safe.

"Um, I should really go talk to them if they'll be coming with me.  I really shouldn't say yes or no for them.  Can I call you back?"

"Well, yes!  Absolutely!  I'll be waiting for your call.  Bye, love."

"Okay, bye."

The phone clicked in my ear and I placed the receiver back on the handle.  Ooh, I was on for a long time.  Hope they don't mind the charge.  I scribbled her phone number on the notepad, placing her
name next to it.  I stood up and put the phone back on the table along with the notepad and pencil.  I walked back down the hall toward the sliding doors and left the train car.  No one was around.
The TV was shut off and the lights were out, giving the room a dull texture to it.   I soon heard yells and clanging of weapons coming from a room at the opposite side of the lair.  I walked over to the
room and peaked my head in.  It was the dojo!  All four Turtles were in full blown ninja attire, practicing at their ninja skills.  Their skin was glistening with sweat as they ran around with weapons in
hand.  I didn't think turtles could sweat.  But they also can't do martial arts and talk either!  I dropped the thought instantly and never brought it up again.  Raph squared off with Mike, swinging his
fork-like daggers that he called sais.  Leo swung left to right with both katana blades as Don stepped back, holding his bo staff across his chest.  Splinter stood by off to the right throwing out commands
to the sparring group.  I glanced around the large room, seeing blue mats, work-out benches, racks holding dumb bells of all sizes, and exercise equipment.  Water bottles and spray bottles lined the wall
on a small table along with terry-cloth towels.  I sat down on the table, observing the bottles which had their names taped to each one.  My presence was known but I wasn't aware of it.  The Turtles
started to show off now.  Splinter picked up on it and looked over at me.  Mike started to do crazy flips to avoid Raph's swings and kicks.  Raph on the other hand started moving faster, and swinging
harder.  Okay, now I'm aware of it.  Jeez, guys.  As if they think I'm impressed or something.  I really was impressed!  Splinter commanded they stop and take a rest.  I stood up as they approached the
bench were I was at.

Raph went behind me, reaching for his water bottle and grabbing a towel.  "S'cuse me, doll."  Then went off, swigging down the water and patting his arms and shoulders with the towel.

Mike came over with a grin and grabbed his bottle.  "Pretty impressive, wouldn't ya say?"

"It was great Mike.  I was very impressed."

Don approached me, eyeing Mike as he wandered off near Raph.  "Don't mind him, he's just a big show-off."

"Well, you all were good.  It's not everyday I get to watch man-size turtles practice martial arts under the guidance of a rat master.  It's almost exciting."

"Almost?"

"Okay, very exciting!  I'm ecstatic!  Totally thrilled!  Woo-hoo!  Right on!"  I made him smile.

He placed a hand under my chin.  "I'm glad you enjoyed it.....little girl!"  He took his water bottle and towel, leaving me standing there.  Little girl?  He's never gonna let me forget that!

Leo came up last after chatting quietly with Splinter and took his water bottle.  "So, did you get a hold of what's her name?"

"Hannah?  Yes, I did and that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Well, can you hang on for about 10 minutes?  I'm going to go shower and then you can tell me what she said."

"Well, she's waiting for me to call her back.  I didn't tell her all that's going on; I wanted to do it in person.  I mentioned you guys as just friends and she wanted to know if you were coming to her house as
well.  I told her I should ask you guys first cause I wasn't sure if it was okay to go ahead and say you were coming without letting you know.  Whew, that was a run-on sentence!"  I puffed out a breath.

Leo gave a small smirk at my reply.  "Tell her we'll be joining you.  If she can help you out more than we can, I suppose it would be alright if she knows who your friends are.  But I think you should tell
her a little bit about us so that she doesn't freak out or something.  I'm putting a lot of trust in her.  We have to be very careful with whom we meet and befriend.  As you can see, we don't attend
many house-welcoming parties."

"You can trust her, Leo.  If she knew what you all have done with me, she would be most pleased, regardless of how you look."

"But Jewel, we haven't done that much.  You're still wearing the same clothes, haven't showered in days, hardly gone out in public, or even checked up on 'normal' friends."

"Well, I mentioned a little of that and she was a bit shocked about it.  I just couldn't explain right away why I was secluding myself to the outside world.  I'm sure she'll understand when I see her."

"Okay, I'm going to go shower.  It takes about two hours to get there.  Call her back and tell her we can meet her at the Long Island station at 3:30."

"3:30?"  I checked my watch.  It was 12:45.  "Okay, that buys us some time.  I'll go do that."

"Fine.  I'll catch ya later."

"Save some hot water for me, Leo.  I'd like to wash up before we go."

"No, prob!"

The four of them including Splinter and I left the dojo, going off in opposite directions.  I got back to the phone and dialed Hannah again.

"Hey, it's me.  Yeah, they're coming too.  We're all going to be there at around 3:30."

"Okay, Jewel, that's fine.  Elizabeth gets out at 2:45 and I know she'll be thrilled to see you, so I was going to bring her along in the mini van.  How many of you are there besides yourself?"

"Four.  Four guys."

Hannah gasped.  "Four guys?!  All your friends are guys?!"

"Yeah, they're all brothers.  Don't get the wrong idea, Hannah.  We're just friends."

Hannah blew out a sigh.  "For a minute there, I thought you struck the mother lode.  But not my little girl who's grown up and married!"

I rolled my eyes, thinking what Don says.  "One of the brothers makes fun of me, calling me a little girl.  I tolerate his undying playfulness."

"Is he mean to you?"

"Oh, no!  Of course not!  None of them are.  They're the best thing that ever happened to me.  But I must warn you before you meet them and maybe you should tell Lizzy as well.  They....um.....well....
Well let me just say that....um.....they're not your typical everyday people you meet."

"Huh?"

"Ummmm, that is, oh, Hannah!  This is so difficult to explain.  What I'm trying to say is we're not dealing with humans here."

There was a long pause.  "Maybe I should leave Elizabeth home and just pick you up instead."  She sounded humorous and serious at the same time.

"All I ask is that you promise not to freak out when you see them.  They get that from a lot of people and it's very rude.  They're species is, um, you know, reptilian."

"What??!!  Jewel, who are these people?!  What are these people??!"

"Ohhhh, they're turtles, Hannah!  Mutant man-size turtles."

"Oh, good Lord, Jewel.  I can't believe what I'm hearing.  This sounds like science fiction or something.  Should I worry about Elizabeth's safety?  They won't hurt children, will they?"

"No, Hannah.  She'll be fine.  In fact, she might be a little scared at first but when she sees they're harmless, she'll probably start to like them.  They're quite a likable group."

"Well, give me a few pointers.  What will be my first reaction?"

"Heh, since you're getting a warning, it'll probably be a better reaction than mine when I first met them."

"Why?  What'd you say?"

"Nothing.  I fainted."

"Oh, that bad, huh?"

"No, I was also heavily drugged and pretty snuckered out so I guess the last thing I needed to see was four mutated turtles staring at me."

"Are all of them mutants?"

"Yes, and so is their Master Splinter.  He's a rat."

"Oh, Jewel.  That's so bizarre.  I'm just worried about how they're treating you.  Being what they are."

"They treat me like family.  They're very kind and protective and are going to help me through this ordeal that's going on.  Despite WHAT they are, it's who they are that counts."

"Alright, Jewel.  I appreciate you letting me know ahead of time.  And I guess it would be alright to bring Elizabeth when I come get you.  With the five of you, there should be room.  The van can hold up to
seven passengers.  I'll just give her a little description of what to expect so that she doesn't get too scared.  Luckily she likes little creatures such as turtles."

"Yes, well, you should let her know that these turtles won't be so little."

Hannah laughed out loud.  "Right.  Oh, Mike's gotta work late tonight and won't be home till 11.  Your friends probably won't stay that long anyway, so I won't have to tell him if you don't want me to."

"No, now's not a good time.  How is Michael anyway?"

"He's fine.  Working hard.  I know he'll be happy to see you too.  We all miss seeing you.  I should cook a nice dinner for your friends if that's alright."

"Oh, sure!  They'd love that!"

"Hey, it's the least I can do."

"Let me go get ready and I'll see you later."

"At 3:30."

"Right.

"Okay, love you, bye."

"Love you, too.  Bye."

I got up and went out toward the back bedrooms.  The bathroom should be available by now.  It was.  A bit steamy from previous showers.  I felt weird showering and putting back on the same clothes.
But I had no choice.  At least my body would be clean when I see Hannah.  And Lizzy.  Cute Lizzy.  Kids say the darndest things and I know she'll scrunch her nose if she smells the least bit of foul odor
when she sees me.  I placed my clothes neatly on the toilet and my shoes near the sink, locking the door before hopping into the tub.  I definitely don't want anyone bursting through the door at this
moment.  I put my watch on top of the sink, checking the time.  1pm.  I was on the phone for 15 minutes!  I quickly washed up as fast as possible before meeting up with the Turtles.