Part Ten: Daddy



Rahab was having some familiar symptoms. They weren't exactly like last time, but she recognized them just the same. She had read somewhere that no pregnancy was alike, they had their differences. Wait...she thought, maybe it wasn't anything more than an upset stomach. Don't go jumping to conclusions yet. Might be a false alarm. Besides, Raphael was terribly preoccupied lately, he was spending a lot of time with his brothers, some kind of intensive series of workouts, or something. He didn't have much time or energy to spend on her, lately, but she understood. She no longer ragged on him about where he was going, when would he be back, what was he doing, etcetera. Ever since that terrible night, when those men in the strange, dark clothing had broken into her home... yes, it had been her home, too. Don never let her forget how well she had defended it, and that she was very much a part of the family. Raphael didn't know what to make of Don's new affection toward Rahab, but Don had called her "sister". She certainly didn't mind that.

It was the 15th of June, and hot.

They had spent the tail end of winter at Don's place in San Jose. Seemed he had a place just about everywhere, but Don had said he spent more time there than any other because it was Silicon Valley. Rahab suspected he owned a good portion of it. It was nice to be at Fallen Leaf Lake, nestled in the forearms of the Sierras. Don had bought up nearly all the property around the lake, but he did allow right of way to vacationers at the far end. Most people preferred the gambling resorts of nearby Lake Tahoe, so it was pretty secluded, and quiet, the way Rahab liked it.

Rahab had gone down to sit on the beach, a few feet from the cabin, which was cleverly screened by trees and low bushes from the lake approach. Gaele ran back and forth through the shallow water, squealing in delight. Rahab smiled at her, in spite of getting the occasional splash. She was amazed at Gaele's physical abilities: crawling at three and a half months, walking at seven months, in full gallop at 11 months, and mastering the art of speech to the point of actually being understood, when most human babies were just learning to walk. Rahab's thoughts were fragmented as most parents were by active toddlers, broken by the constant demand for her undivided attention.

"Maaa! Maaam! Mama! MamamamaMAMA," Gaele shrieked, pointing at the minnows scattering around her chubby legs. "Yook! Fizzzz!"

"Yes, sweetheart, I see them," Rahab said, trying to act enthused about seeing the same thing for the fiftieth time in a row. A vague feeling of nausea swept over her.

"Maaama! Yook! Maaaam, mama! Fizzz! Maaam, fizzz! FIZZZ," Gaele shrieked again.

"I see them, baby," Rahab automatically replied. "Is there anything ELSE you can find?"

Gaele looked at her, puzzled, then squinted into the knee deep water.

Rahab's thoughts wandered in the silence, and she slowly lay back in the sand. No telling how long they would stay here, or where they would go next... there had been some discussion on Japan. Something to do with a brother named Leonardo, and their aging master. But she had been half asleep while they were talking, she might have dreamed it.

"Maaama! Fizzzz! Fizzz, maam! MAMA! Mamamamama, fizzzzzz!" Gaele was excited about fish again. As if nothing else existed. The excitement changed to a fearful wail. "FIZZZ!"

Rahab sat up. "Honey, what's wrong?"

Gaele was trying to run in the knee deep water, but she wasn't making much headway. What was it, that was scaring her, a big fish?

Her heart tripping between her ribs, Rahab got up and waded out to her daughter. Just as she reached Gaele to pick her up, she saw the dark, mossy form of something suddenly rise from among the lily pads in front of them. Rahab gasped.

Gaele let out a piercing shriek and hugged Rahab's legs in a death grip.

The thing sniggered. "Hey, what's a matter with you, girlie?"

Rahab exhaled in a mixture of relief and annoyance, holding her hands over her pounding heart. "Mike! Take that pondweed OFF your head, you are going to traumatize her-"

"Hey, Gaele-baby! It's only Daddy!" Mike grinned at Gaele's suspicious, wide eyed expression. He laughed and bent to pick her up, but she buried her face between Rahab's knees. "Yeah, I guess the swamp-thing routine was a little too much for her." He sheepishly pulled the last of the weed off him, as they waded up to the dry sand.

"Too much for HER?" Rahab turned on him in mock fury. "You nearly gave ME heart failure! Why couldn't you give someone a little warning?"

"Huh, it wouldn't be any fun, then. I was doing it more for your benefit... just to see if you were keeping on your toes."

"I'll keep on YOUR toes!" Rahab tried to stomp on his foot, but he moved it out of the way in time, and tried to keep a straight face.

As he picked Gaele up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled. "Dat! Fizzz! Fizzz, Dat!"

"Dad the fish, huh?" Mike said, as he set her on his hip, and started up the short path to the cabin. "Want some lunch?"

Rahab followed more slowly, feeling sapped of what energy she had used up in the adrenaline rush. She went in and lay on the bed, and started to feel better. Funny, this nausea seems to be an afternoon thing... she dozed.

Someone sat on the side of the bed, and she opened her eyes to see Raph looking down at her. "You feelin' okay?"

She stretched. "Sure... just got a little sleepy, from being out in the sun all day, I guess." She rolled over to lay her head on his leg.

"Just as well you're takin' a nap. I hate to lay this on you on such short notice, but we're leaving tonight."

This made her sit up in a hurry. "Tonight?" She wanted to ask why, but she knew better.

"Yep. Late."

"Anything I should know about?"

He gazed out the window, an amused look on his face. "Nah. Nothing real urgent, just a last minute decision. As if that's Don's way, uh? But really, nothing to worry about."

"You'd tell me if there was, right?" she said, watching him closely.

"Yes, Rahab, I would," he answered quietly. He playfully pulled a lock of her hair. "Wanta fool around? Let's think a' something to do while we're waiting."

"No thank you, Mr. Rogers," Rahab sighed, falling back into her pillow.

"'No thank you?' Huh, what kinda talk is that?" He stretched out beside her. "Mr. Rogers, huh?" He snorted softly in amusement and nuzzled the nape of her neck.

"Raph, I really don't feel like it, I'm tired."

Raphael got up on one elbow, mouth ajar in feigned shock. "You? Tired? Since when?"

"I dunno, just am." She closed her eyes.

"You sure you're okay," he said to the cieling.

"Yes, Raphael... I'm okay."



It was raining hard when they landed, Rahab could see the low clouds reflecting the lights of Osaka, and the gleam of the wet tarmac as the plane taxied to a small terminal at the far end of the airport. She was miserable. The flight had grown rough at the final stages, from the turbulance of the storm, and had triggered her sensitive stomach to the point of being violently ill. She had made it to the toilet in time, but it did nothing to help her mood, when she got back to her seat. She avoided eye contact with everyone, and pretended to be engrossed in something out the window. Not that she could see much, at three a.m...

When she did finally look, she saw to her annoyance that Raphael was staring at her again.

"What?"

"Just wondering if you were okay."

"Yes, dear, I'm OKAY. How many times to I have to... you're starting to sound like a recording, you know that?" Her acid tone caught Mike's attention from across the aisle.

"Now what are YOU looking at?" She glared at Mike, who rolled his eyes and looked away.

She immediately felt ashamed of her outburst, but was too wound up to apologize to anyone.

The plane came to a stop, and Don immediately shrugged on his coat and went forward to the cockpit.

Before long they were speeding through the deserted streets, and soon left the city. The road wound itself more and more tightly as the hills became steeper. Rahab was starting to feel nauseated again. She tried focusing on the road ahead, but it didn't help much.

"Pull over," she said frantically to Don, who was driving.

"Why, Rahab? We'll be there in about 5 minutes-"

"I'm gonna be sick," she gasped.

The car skidded to a stop.

She scrambled out over Raphael's lap.

"Ah, not again," she heard Mike groan, as she jumped down into the ditch and climbed the embankment.

She stumbled well away from the road, and retched. Her stomach was already empty, which caused her more discomfort, and she sat down in the wet grass and cried. The rain had lessened to a drizzle, and it was getting light. The cool, moist breeze felt good on her face, and she didn't want to go back into that stuffy car. It was so quiet... A hand on her shoulder made her jump. She was relieved to see it was Raphael.

"Feeling any better?" He squatted down beside her.

She nodded, and picked at a grass stem.

After a moment, he put out his hand. "Gotta go, they're waiting for us."

She groaned. "I hate to be a spleen, but I can't take too much more of this."

"What's that?"

"Travelling, living out of a suit case..."

He grinned at her. "The trip will be over in a few minutes, babe. Trust me, you'll like it here. C'mon."

She put out her hand, and he helped her up. As they turned toward the car, Raphael froze. A question on her lips died when he held up his hand for silence. As his narrowed eyes slowly scanned the brush around him, she could feel a tremor of excitement go through him, as he pulled her in close. Her blood thrummed in her ears. What was it? She tried to be as still as he, but she couldn't keep from shivering in the chill air. She looked in the direction he was staring, and gasped when she saw a hooded, yellow robed figure holding a tall staff, standing in the waist high grass a few yards from them. It slowly approached, moving though the grass so so lightly that it left no trail. She moved behind Raphael, as the figure stopped in front of him and stood as still as ice. Moisture dripped from the edge of the deep hood that covered the face.

"We gotta stop meeting like this," Raph said suddenly. "People are gonna talk..."

The figure pushed the hood back, revealing a reptilian head, pale eyes like Raphael's, and a gentle smile of curiousity and amusement.

Raphael turned to Rahab and grinned broadly. "Looks like we found our long lost brother."

"Hardly lost," Leo said quietly. "I assumed you were, brother." His white teeth gleamed as he smiled in greeting at Rahab. "You were due to arrive several hours ago."

Raphael shrugged. "Ran into a storm, had to fly around it, I guess. Nothing serious."

Leo patted his brother's jaw affectionately. "It has been too long, Raphael, you and Michaelangelo."

"Yeah, I'll say... and wait till you see Mikey's daughter." Raphael gave Leo a friendly rap on the carapace, as they walked toward the car.



Rahab was relieved to be shown to a room where she could finally rest and be alone for a while. She could feel the beginnings of a headache, as she lay on the low bed, with a cold cloth over her eyes. It had gotten very quiet. Not that there had been much noise to begin with, as the house they were in was inside the walls of a monastery, of sorts. Raph had explained to her this was where Leo lived with the master whom they called Splinter, and the devotees of the Way. Raphael and Mike had gone to visit Splinter, and Gaele was fast asleep on a mattress on the floor. It was a peaceful place, and Raph said they would be staying for a while. How long a while was, Rahab had no idea, it must have to do with this dissension with some rival clan... Raphael had said he'd explain it all to her, once he had the facts. Yeah, she thought, and I have something to explain to you too, Raphael...

When she got up later and noticed they still weren't back, she decided to wander around the garden. It was foggy and wet from the storm that early morning, and the gardens were deserted. There was no sound but the drip of trees. She followed a path that wound its way through the cypresses, and up among some boulders. There she found a waterfall, which fell into a pool... it all looks so familiar, she thought. The rocks... then she remembered. A replica of this was in Mike's garden, at his house in Mojave! She nearly laughed out loud at the memory. She looked up at the top of the rock, nearly lost in a bank of mist. Her heart skipped a beat, when she realized there was someone crouching there. This is getting wierd, she thought. That can't be...

"M-Mike?" she called tentatively.

The figure stood up slowly, as though drawn by a string, then landed neatly beside her. "Not exactly. Leonardo."

"Oh, right. Leonardo," Rahab said with a sigh of relief. "I thought I was having some sort of deja vu."

He cocked his head at her thoughtfully. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh, much better, thanks," she said, feeling uncertain about the way he was studying her. His eyes were that unsettling shade of pale, like Raphael's, but there was something else...

"And the child?" He raised an eyebrow on the last word.

"Gaele? Well, she's still asleep-"

"No," he said quietly. "Not Gaele."

She smiled nervously at him. "There isn't..."

"Yes, there is," he said, smiling in return.

Her heart flipped over again. "How did you know I was... expecting-"

"Our master knows. He told me."

"He didn't tell Raph?"

"No. He said to leave that to you."

"How- how did he-" she stammered.

Leo lowered his eyes.

"Sorry," Rahab said, when he didn't answer her. "I was just curious."

The silver-white eyes were on her again. "How does anyone learn if they don't ask questions? Only... some questions can't be answered."

"Yeah," she sighed. "Like when would be a good time to tell Raph about this."

"There's a time for everything, Rahab. When the time is right, you will tell him. No one else will." He gazed at the lowering sky. "We had better go back, it's going to rain."

Leo walked with her down to the house, and when she turned in the doorway to thank him, he was gone. She stood a moment, staring around her, then entered the house.

Raphael was in the bedroom, lying down. "Hey lady, where ya been?"

"Out on a walk," she said, shrugging.

"Getting murky out there..."

"It's okay, Leonardo brought me back."

Raph sat up. "He did, huh?"

"I met him on the path. How did it go?"

"How did what go?"

Rahab stared at him. "Your visit, with your master. I take it you'd rather not say?"

"Uh, no, it's no problem... Splinter's doing all right." His eyes unfocused.

"Everything okay?" Rahab asked kindly as she sat beside him. He didn't respond. "He's getting on, isn't he?"

"Yep."

"Ah, it must be hard to see him grow old. He must be like a father to you, eh?"

Raphael looked at her sadly. "Yeah, I guess." He rolled back onto the bed. She lay up against him, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Tomorrow's Father's Day." S

"What am I supposed to do about it?"

She raised her head to look at him. "Well, isn't Splinter sort of your father?"

"Yeah, so what?" He had that look on his face she didn't like.

She got off of him."What's gotten into you? I was just asking a simple question-"

"Yeah, well it's not so simple, is it," he shot back. "Who's really the father around here?"

"Is that what's bothering you?"

He closed his eyes. "Just one of 'em," he muttered. "But you had to bring up the Father's Day crap, so you could rub my NOSE in it..."

"What?" Her hands went to her hips. "Excuse ME? I did what?"

He didn't answer her.

She turned away in case he saw the tears welling in her eyes. She hated it when that happened, why did she have to be so sensitive? Why couldn't she just flatten him with some sort of stinging comeback like she was sorely tempted to do?

"You are such a JERK," she snapped, and ran out of the bedroom. She flung a vase across the living room, making it shatter on the hardwood floor. The small marble Buddha was next to go, when she saw Raphael standing in the doorway, mouth ajar. She aimed it at him.

"Don't throw that," he said, hand up warningly. "HEY!"

She threw the statue hard, and he caught it easily. She looked around for something else to throw, but there wasn't much else. He caught her by the upper arms.

"What 't hell's with YOU, lately?"

She tried to look away, but his hands grasped her too firmly. She burst into tears, when she realised she couldn't get loose. "Lemme GO!"

"NOT until you calm down."

"What's the matter with me..." she muttered, sniffling. She wiped her nose on her sleeve.

He looked into her face intently. "Wait a minute... wait..." He suddenly let go of her. " Jeez! How could I be so STUPID-"

"What," she said, still annoyed.

"You're pregnant, aren't ya?"

She looked at him sideways. "Yeah."

He stood and stared blankly at her a moment.

She couldn't help but smile at him. "Raphael, you really are a hopeless romantic..."

"Rahab, I..."

"You don't have to apologize. You figured it out, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I should've-"

"You were preoccupied, right? I know, I understand..."

"I shouldn't have-"

"There was a lot going on."

Raphael sat weakly on the futon couch. "Are you, uh, sure about this?"

"Pretty sure," Rahab said, sitting beside him. "Leonardo told me that your fa- your master knew. I guess he wouldn't be wrong, would he?"

"No."

They sat in silence a while.

"We're gonna have a kid."

"Yes, if all goes well."

He stared at her. "Why shouldn't it?"

"It will," she said, reassuringly. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Things could... go wrong, but that doesn't happen that often, does it?" He grasped his head suddenly. "Omigod, I'm going to be a FATHER."

Rahab snorted. "You stole my fanfare."

"How long has it been, I mean, how long- why didn't you tell me before?"

"Leo said there's a time for everything. I was waiting for the right moment, you know, after we arrived, so you wouldn't worry. I take it you're happy?"

His eyes grew wide. "Happy?" He leaped up suddenly, and paced the room a couple of times. "I dunno. I'm supposed to be happy about this, right? But it actually scares me to death. Maybe you know where I'm coming from?"

She nodded, speechless.

"I didn't want to expect that from you. I couldn't even bring up the subject after Gaele was born, about having any more, I couldn't think about it."

"Why not?" Rahab asked in a small voice. "You... want kids, don't you?"

"Sure I do. But jeez, Rahab, you know what this means, dontcha?"

Rahab smiled. "I think so," she said softly. "Somebody's going to call you Daddy."

Next section... Rahab 11

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