Together As Mutants (Book Six)

CXXXVI. Two Months Later

Everyone gathers in the kitchen, eating breakfast and chatting. The women chat about their jobs and the workplace, Sarina especially finding work to be exhilarating. The dads feed the kids as Master Splinter converses with them.

Dean sits on Leonardo's lap as he eats his food. The blue-masked turtle looks back towards the bedrooms, wondering where Destiny is. She doesn't take this long to get ready in the morning, and her breakfast is going to get cold if she doesn't eat soon.

"Excuse me," he says to his family, getting up.

He hands Dean to Master Splinter, who takes him willingly. The blue-makes turtle heads towards the expanded bedrooms that came into being only a short while ago.

He peeks into his bedroom, not seeing Destiny there. He moves to the bathroom, wondering if she was taking a shower. He doesn't hear water running when he gets there, but he does hear crying. He feels himself clench with fear.

"Destiny? Des?" he calls, tapping on the door. "Baby, please let me in."

The cries only become harder. He tries the doorknob, finding that much to his relief, it's not locked.

Nothing could've prepared him for what he would see inside the bathroom. Destiny sits in the farthest corner of the space, a dark towel draped across her lower half as tears run down her face. Blood stains the floor and some of her legs. Leo's eyes widen.

"What...what happened?" he asks. Right now, he can only think that she cut herself accidentally or something of that ilk.

She sobs into her hands, her body quivering. Leo moves closer, touching her arm gently. She jerks away from the contact, her back heaving.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Dean calls from outside.

Leo gets up, racing out to hallway and stopping his tiny son from moving forwards anymore. The little mutant looks up, confusion evident in his wolf eyes.

"Dean, you can't be here right now," Leo scolds gently.

"Is mommy okay?" he questions, his face still worried.

"No, she's not," his dad answers honestly. "She's going to be though. Can you go find your uncles and aunts? Stay with them, okay?"

"Okay daddy."

Leo watches his son turn and toddle away. Once he's out of sight, the turtle returns to the bathroom. He settles down next to his wife, not trying to embrace her again.

"I lost it..." she whispers through her tears, hardly pulling her scarred arms away from her face.

His heart sinks. "L-lost what?" he asks, hoping that what he's thinking isn't true.

"You know w-what!" she yells, her voice breaking. "Our b-baby...he or she is gone..."

Leo feels as though his heart has dropped into his stomach. He opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

"Leo? What's going on?" Donatello's voice calls from down the hall.

Leo gets up, poking his head out the door. Donnie stops in his tracks, hearing Destiny crying and noticing his brother's heartbroken expression. Then, the iron smell of blood hits his nose. His mind instantly snaps to the most viable solution and his heart sinks.

"Miscarriage?" he guesses softly.

Leo nods, swallowing the lump growing in his throat. "What do I do?"

"Let her mourn...there's nothing we can do but help her recover." The purple-masked turtle sighs. "I'm sorry, Leo...I'll tell the others."

The eldest turtle nods, turning and moving back to Destiny's side. She raises her head, her eyes puffy and her cheeks stained. He wraps his arms around her and she buries her face in his shoulder, her body trembling.

"I'm sorry, Destiny," he whispers. "I love you."

"I love you too," she returns hoarsely.

----------

"Dean? Why Auntie Destiny act weird?" Copeland asks.

Dean looks up from his action figures, his tail flicking a little. The other kids look up from their activities too, the dojo going quiet.

"Mommy told me she lost something important!" Dakota chimes in.

"It be pretty bad to make her this sad..." Asher whispers.

"I thought she got hurt," Mitch mentions. "She only laugh a little at my jokes."

"Well, your jokes suck," Copeland snaps.

"Hey. That's mean," Dean scolds, patting her shell. She huffs and he stands up. "I'll ask my daddy. He know everything."

He gets up, flying a little bit to as he heads to the kitchen. Leonardo is boiling some milk and reading the simple instructions on the back of a packet of hot chocolate powder, stirring the white liquid rhythmically. Dean looks up at his dad, noticing that he too has a saddened look in his eyes.

"Daddy? When is mommy gonna be happy?" Dean asks innocently.

"What do you mean? She's happy," Leo answers, preparing a mug. His face is still pained, his gaze hardly wavering to his son.

"No, she isn't. Mommy always smiles with twinkly eyes. Her eyes aren't twinkly." The wolf-raven boy frowns. "Did I make her sad?"

"Of course not..." Leo sighs, kneeling down and touching his son's shoulder. "Something happened, and it's very hard for her...for both of us, really. It's very complicated." He pauses. "Can I tell you when you're older?"

"Okay."

"Thank you, Dean."

He smiles a little. "Can I use special Captain Ryan in my game?"

"Of course."

Dean races away, his little wings flapping every now and then. Leo takes the mug of hot chocolate to the living room, where Destiny sits wrapped in a blanket on the bench. The TV is on, but he knows that she isn't paying attention to it.

Leo places the mug beside her, and she sniffs. He moves to her side, sitting down.

"It's my fault," she whispers.

"Destiny..."

"I did something wrong...and now our baby is gone." She droops her head. "We can't tell Dean. He's too young to understand."

Leo moves closer to her, wrapping his arms around her and cuddling her close to him. His lips brush her forehead as he rubs her arm. A long sigh passes her lips.

"Whatever you need, I'm here to help," he whispers.

She nods, shutting her eyes and leaning against him. "I just need you right now."