Together As Mutants (Book Six)

CXXIV. Long Nights

Leonardo

Destiny sleeps soundly, cuddled up against Leonardo. He holds her close, sleeping on his back as his hand lazily rubs against her shoulder in his sleep.

The shell baby monitor beside the bed goes off, revealing Dean to be crying. Both parents groan as they wake up, Destiny sighing as she pushes herself up off the mattress.

"No. You stay here. I'll get him," Leo says sleepily.

"He's probably hungry. I'll have to feed him." She yawns.

"Then I'll bring him back here," he retorts, swinging his legs off the bed after kissing her forehead. "Just rest."

She nods, laying back down. Leo leaves, walking to the guest bedroom that acts as the nursery. He goes to the correct crib and picks Dean up. The baby wolf-raven keeps crying, but the blue-masked turtle remains unfazed as he rocks him gently. He heads back to the bedroom, Dean's cries becoming softer.

Leo hands him off to Destiny when he gets back, letting her feed him. The blue-masked turtle collapses back into bed, looking up at his wife and son as he yawns.

"Thank you, Leo-baby," she murmurs.

"Anytime."

Raphael

It feels like Taylor and Raphael have only been sleeping for a few minutes when the shell baby monitor goes off. Taylor doesn't open her eyes, pressing herself into the bed even more.

"Your turn, Raph," she mumbles.

"Why me?" he asks through a yawn.

"Because I got up last time. You slept through it."

"Do I have to?" he moans.

She responds by shoving him out of bed using her legs. He yelps as his shell hits the floor, narrowing his eyes as his wife smirks lightly.

"Fine fine," he grumbles.

He gets to his feet and tromps to the nursery, muttering under his breath the whole time as he rubs his eyes. Inside the nursery, Dean sleeps soundly in his crib whilst Copeland wails quite loudly, making Raph wonder how in the shell the little wolf-raven can sleep through the ruckus.

"I envy Leo and Des right now," the red-masked turtle grumbles as he scoops up his daughter. She fusses in his grip, making his eyes go wide as he tries to keep his grip on her. "Hey hey hey, it's okay. You don't need to cry," he whispers.

She stops, making a few little coughing noises, opening her eyes and looking up at her dad. She coos, reaching her tiny little hands up to his face. He smiles, kissing her fingers.

"Do you want to try and get some sleep?" he asks, moving to put her back in the crib.

She makes a small noise and flails her legs, starting to cry again. He stops, and so does she. He grits his teeth, and the baby girl kicks the air a few times. He sighs heavily, trying to think about what Taylor would do.

"Okay. Let's get this over with," he grumbles.

He takes a deep breath and starts to sing an improvised lullaby. He keeps stuttering and the tune isn't very consistent, but it's something.

"Daddy Raphie's got you.
No one's gonna hurt you.
Not Foot, Kraang, or mutant.
Because you're here with me.

And if anyone tries to harm you,
I'll simply stab them multiple times.
Because you're daddy's girl.
Daddy's girl."

He looks down with surprise to see that Copeland is fast asleep, snugged against his muscular bicep. He smiles, kissing her forehead and resting her in her crib again.

"Goodnight Copey. Daddy loves you," he whispers.

Donatello

Dakota's mutation goes smoothly. Sarina and Bishop were extra careful, not wanting her to revert back to the emotionless state Sarina found herself in when she was young. Furthermore, they want her to develop like a natural child instead of being incredibly intelligent straight from birth, like Sarina. They want it to be more real that way.

With her mutation, one of her eyes became red and robotic and her hair turned white, but nothing else seemed to change on the exterior. According to Bishop, her lungs are the most robotic part of her, yet she does seem to have internal wiring like her mother. Either way, both parents and grandfather are pleased with the results.

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In the middle of the night, Asher starts to cry, making Dakota start not a moment later. Sarina mumbles something incoherent and rolls over, hugging Donatello close. He wakes up, letting out a long sigh.

"Stay in bed, princess. I've got this." He kisses her cheek before getting up and heading to the twins' nursery.

Inside, he moves to the two separate cribs. They're both still wailing and he picks Asher up, rocking him lightly. Dakota sniffles and reaches her hands up towards her father and brother, her glowing red eye flashing. Donnie realizes what she wants instantly.

"You two want to be together?" he asks.

Asher cries in response. Donnie turns and lowers him into his sister's crib. Instantly, both babies stop crying, staring at each other with their mismatched eyes.

Dakota makes a happy noise and hugs her brother, her little arms just fitting around him. He responds by hugging back. Soon enough, they're both asleep.

Donnie smiles, whispering a quick "I love you" before returning to the bedroom.

"What was wrong?" Sarina asks as he returns.

"They wanted to be together," he says, smiling lightly.

"Makes sense. They shared a small space for nine months."

He hugs her close, kissing her forehead as they both drift off to sleep again.

Michelangelo

The second Mitch starts crying, Michelangelo is already out of bed and bounding down the hall. He gets into the nursery, moving swiftly and silently to his son's crib.

"Hey little dude," he whispers.

Mitch continues to cry. Mikey reaches in and picks him up, wondering what's wrong. Annalise fed him only a little while ago, and with a quick scent check, the turtle can tell that his son's diaper is still clean.

Mikey grins and sticks his tongue out, making a goofy face. Mitch stops crying, his face slackening for a moment. The next second, his chubby face breaks into a wide grin as he laughs, clapping his strange hands together.

"You like that? How about this? Or this?" Mikey asks.

He keeps making goofy faces and his son keeps giggling. Soon enough, the baby has fallen asleep again. Mikey puts him back in the crib and returns to bed.

As soon as he's back under the covers, Annalise pulls him closer to her and kisses his shoulder.

"You're such a good daddy," she mumbles.

"Like a turtle do."