ⓇⒺⒹ | TMNT | Raphael Fanfiction

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Months Later

It has been a few months since Infinity was saved from her home and living in her new sanctuary. Her speech and reading have improved as well as her relationship with everyone, well, besides Raph. She isn't too close with him but he seems to be her favorite. No matter what he does, he seems to always pique her interest. Sometimes April catches her drawing sketches of him or items that represent Raph in her sketchbook. Within the first month she began staying with them, Raph had snapped at her which sent her spiraling into a full-on panic attack. Splinter, April, and Mikey were the only ones able to calm her down from it. From that day on, Raph has mostly been avoiding her. Although he won't admit it, he's scared of sending her off the edge like that again. The way she reacted just stuck with him, and he doesn't ever want to see her like that again. As Infinity watches him from afar, she continues to bond with the others over different things. With Leo, it's meditation, with Mikey, it's art and cooking, with Donnie, it's helping him around the lab and learning different medical practices. As for Splinter, it's their early morning tea talks and learning sessions, and with April it's their bonding over different clothes and plants that manages to fascinate them both. Infinity has grown quite fond of her new family and has begun trying to speak more often, a little more confident because of her lessons with Splinter. They learned long ago loud noises startle Infinity and she does not like weapons or fighting. Those have also sent her into a few panic attacks, but they seem to be getting better, even if it's only slightly.

"Infinity come watch tv with me!" Mikey calls from the couch.

Infinity closes her sketchbook, grabbing it and rushing out of the dojo to join Mikey in their spot where he has already set up their snacks. The two high-five and begin eagerly watching the tv as they snack on popcorn and various other junk food. Just as their show ends, the news comes on, startling the two at the sudden news jingle.

"Breaking news! There have been reports of-" The news anchor's voice fades out when Infinity sees her Mother in the background of the clip being shown.

"Mama," she whispers.

"Wait, the news lady is your mom?!" Mikey shrieks.

Infinity quickly shakes her head.

"That is Mama." She says, pointing at her mother in the background of the clip that they play once more.

"Do you... Think she's looking for you?" Mikey asks hesitantly.

Infinity frowns, looking down at her feet as she hugs her knees to her chest. She shakes her head and lays her head on her knees, facing away from Mikey and the tv.

"Infinity!" Splinter calls from the dojo.

Infinity perks up, quickly gathering her sketchbook as she scrambles to her feet. She sprints to the dojo and happily smiles when she sees Splinter. He gestures for her to sit and she does, placing her sketchbook in front of her. The Turtles poke their heads into the dojo to tell the two they're headed out. Splinter wishes them luck and Infinity signs the same. While Splinter has been teaching her to speak and read properly, he has also been teaching her sign language. The reason behind this is because he has noticed Infinity's fear of speaking without permission, so he made a compromise with her, hoping to build up her confidence to talk herself. Luckily, she has started alternating between the two. Another reason is because of Splinter's concerns, he had Donnie conduct a checkup on Infinity and found damage to her throat that makes it difficult for her to speak at times. Something she will have to live with for the rest of her life.

Splinter hands Infinity a cup of tea and she takes a sip, happily licking her lips afterward as she flips through her sketchbook, trying to find a blank page. Splinter catches sight of a few of her drawings, impressed with her skills. He takes a deep breath, steeling himself for the questionnaire he has prepared and thought over for many nights. Splinter clears his throat and Infinity quickly looks up, tilting her head to the side to indicate her confusion.