A/N: Hey there, guys!

FWI, i'll try and get these stories updated ASAP! By the way, a great big THANK YOU to everyone following/reading/commenting on this story and other stories! You guys are the reason I get motivated to do more and do better!

This one takes place just after 'Buried Secrets', and as much as I LOVED that episode, I was just...GAH, poor April! The poor girl can't catch a break! So that got me thinking, what better way to cheer the poor darling up than a little bit of love from our little ball of Ice Cream Kitty?!

I OWN NOTHING, BUT IF I DID, I'D BE STUPID RICH!

This is my longest one yet!

Enjoy!

"Mommy, Daddy! Look what I found!"

A six-year-old April O'Neil ran up the hill that lead to the farmhouse where her parents sat together on the old swing chair, smiling as they turned towards her, and then laughing as they saw that state of their child. The little girl was half covered in mud, and her blue shorts were soaked through as she toddled towards them with something small and solid in her mud-caked hands. April was giggling with excitement as she approached them, and held out her discovery. "Lookie! I found a froggie!" she declared proudly. "He was swimming around in the lake over there and I caught him!"

Her father, Kirby, shared a smirk with his wife before he carefully took the tiny creature from her hands. He shook his head and chuckled. "April, this isn't a frog darling. It's a Common Box Turtle, or to be accurate it could be a Diamondback Terrapin..."

Confused, April tilted her head to the right. "Is it? But it looked like a froggie, and when I tried to catch 'im, he moved real fast like a froggie, too!" she insisted.

Her mother shook her head fondly as she scooped up her dirty child and had her sit on the swing between the two of them, using a spare rag she had in her pocket to wipe away the gunk off her freckled face. "Yes, but that's because turtles aren't as slow as you think, April. Especially once they get moving in the water," she said, tapping April on the nose with her finger and making the child giggle in response.

"Oops. Yeah, I forgot," April blushed, and then turned back to her dad, who was now inspecting the turtle curiously. "Can we keep him, daddy? Canwecanwecanwe?!" she chirped as she clasped her hands together.

Kirby looked down at the turtle, and then to his wife for help. To his dismay, she only gave him 'the look', which meant 'Don't look at me, you're on your own on this one, honey,' and he sighed. "...I don't know, Princess," he said, "I mean, having a pet is a big responsibility. You have to feed him, clean him, make sure he gets enough sun, but not too much or else you'll bake him, and -"

"I can do that! Please daddy!" April insisted further, and then turned to her mother with big blue eyes. "Pleeeaaase?"

Her mother looked up at Kirby, who then smirked as he gave her 'the look' this time, and she bit her lip. She didn't want to disappoint her little angel, but there was no way that they could possibly keep such a pet. Unless...

Smiling as an idea came to her, she stood up and lifted the child into her arms. "I think I've got a better idea, April," she said, winking at Kirby as she beckoned him to follow her into the woods, taking the turtle along with them. It wasn't long before the family reached the lake where April had captured her little reptilian companion (and from the amount of mud and tiny footprints they could see, it was clear that it had been a bit of a melee) and once they reached the waters' edge, Mrs. O'Neil slipped off her shoes with her child still in her arms, and placed them by a tree safely away from the mud. She then knelt down and set April back on her feet, and after giving Kirby a nod, took the turtle from him gently and handed it over to April, who looked up at her mother with big, curious blue eyes.

"April," Mrs. O'Neil began, "I know you want to keep this little turtle, and it's very good to know that you want to take good care of him, but have you ever thought about how it would feel if it had to leave his home for good? What it he likes living out here in the forest?"

Blinking once, April looked up and around her at the peaceful forest around them, listening to the singing birds and the pitter-patter of feet on the ground from the woodland creatures nearby. She then looked back down at the turtle in her arms, who looked back up at her with a simple stare. "...but...but won't he be lonely out here?" April asked innocently as she looked back up at her parents. "Who would he play with? Who would he talk to? There aren't any other turtles out here for him to play with."

Mrs. O'Neil put an arm around her daughters' shoulders and smiled. "Well, he has the birds to talk to, the water and the real frogs to play with. And as for other turtles...well, maybe if you give him the chance, he'll find some new turtles to be friends with. Right, Kirby?" She turned to her husband, who had been listening to the exchange with a warm, dreamy smile on his face, and he nodded eagerly.

"Your mother is right, April," he added, reaching out to pat his little girl on the head. "And who knows? Maybe he'll go on a little adventure somewhere to find those friends, just like they do in the story books we read to you at night."

After looking at both her parents in turn, April looked back down at the tiny turtle again. She smiled brightly as she nodded once. "Okay!" she chimed, dropping to her knees as she carefully placed the turtle back in the water. "I'll let Mr. Turtle go and find some more turtle friends to play with. And then you can all come and visit me and we'll have a great big Turtle Dance Party!"

Her parents chuckled and shook their heads at that, but they said nothing.

The turtle glanced back at the red haired child once more, before shooting off into the lake, disappearing beneath the waters. April waved after him. "Bye, Mr. Turtle!" she called, and her parents waved as well. Once April stood up and dusted her muddy hands off, she turned back to her mother. "Mommy, do you think I'll see him again someday?" she asked.

Despite her being covered in mud, Mrs. O'Neil gathered April into her arms and held her close to her chest. "Of course you will. Goodbyes aren't always forever, remember?"

Wrapping her arms around her mothers' waist, April then asked, "Then if he does come back, do you think I'll see his friends, too?"

Mrs. O'Neil giggled, dropping a kiss upon April's head. "I'm sure you'll all get along just fine. And then you can have that Turtle Dance Party you promised him, too!"

April nodded eagerly and bounced on her toes. "Yesyesyes! A Turtle Dance Party!" she chimed.

Beside them, Kirby laughed as he stood up. "Well then, you'd better get practicing your dance moves, April. Come on, let's head back and start now, so when he comes back, you'll be ready to get your groove on!" he quipped, holding two fingers up as he grinned.

April began to laugh as she hopped over to her father as her mother retrieved her shoes, and she held up two fingers in return. "Yeah! Groovy!" she mimicked, and she let out another laugh as Kirby scooped her up in his arms and started running back to the farmhouse with her, with Mrs. not far behind as they laughed up a storm all the way home.

"April? What are you still doing up?"

From where she sat on the couch in the living room, April turned around to find that Mikey was staring at her curiously from the doorway, his baby blue eyes meeting hers and keeping her pinned there. She bit her lip as she tried to think up of some kind of excuse for being awake at 1:30am, but came up empty. Instead, she sighed and shrugged. "...I guess...I guess I still can't get over...y'know..."

Mikey nodded in wordless understanding as he hopped effortlessly over the top of the couch, landing beside her as he rested his elbows on his knees. "Yeah...me neither," he confessed. "The others are still pretty loopy about it too. I checked up on them earlier, and I saw Donnie and Leo sharing a bed, and Casey and Raph on the floor next to them. It was pretty funny, but I get why they're doing it. I mean, even I can kinda still remember being swallowed whole and then being inside this giant, gooey pouch and not being able to move or - "

He stopped, casting a glance at April's disgusted expression.

He shrugged sheepishly. "Um, yeah...sorry. Still, it ain't as bad as what you've been through, sis..." he added sadly. He then reached out and laid a large, three fingered hand over hers and squeezed it. "I'm really sorry, April."

Shaking her head, April laid her free hand over Mikey's and squeezed in return. She smiled at him, but she knew without having to look into a mirror that it was a tired smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes. "No, Mikey, you don't have to apologize," she said honestly. "You were only trying to tell me the truth. And I was just..."

April couldn't continue as she lowered her eyes to the floor. Of course she didn't listen to him back then. Her mother, who April had believed had died years ago, had suddenly come back into her life, just as she had remembered her from her childhood and April had been shocked, relieved, happy...she'd been a bunch of things all at once, but overjoyed was definitely the main one. She thought she finally had her mom back. She thought that once they took back New York and turned her father and everyone else back to normal, her family would be whole again.

And only to have Mikey try to attack her, claiming that she was some kind of monster, enraged April to the point where she had even called Mikey stupid. She felt awful for saying something so horrible, because she knew that Mikey was anything but stupid, but her mother had been her main concern at the time, so instead she'd just brushed it off...

...until she realized that Mikey was right, and her mother really was some kind of nightmarish monster...

After defeating it, and another hour of nursing the sick turtles and her own pounding migraine, she'd just felt empty. Her mother was a fake, and because of her ignorance, she'd almost lost what she really had left of her family, the ones who had been by her side since the very beginning.

To think, if April hadn't found out when she did, Mikey wouldn't be sitting next to her right now.

Mikey saw her sadness as clear as daylight, and he couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh. Despite having forgiven April for judging him, and despite himself and his brothers reminding her that she was not alone, that they were her family too, it still didn't rid her completely of the empty space in her heart that her fake mother had left behind. If only there was a way to help her get through it easier. He knew that she probably wasn't in the mood for talking to anyone about it, like Leo or Donnie or even Casey; she needed someone who would listen to her. Mikey was a good listener, but he wasn't great at focus...

And then it hit him.

He blinked once and then smiled brightly as he nodded to himself, turning back to April. "Sis, I got just the thing to help you out!" he claimed, taking both of April's hands in his as he led her out of the living room and into the kitchen. He set her to sit at the table and patted her head. "Wait here a sec," he said as he turned and opened the freezer. Soon enough, Ice Cream Kitty was placed in a bowl and set in front of the human girl, and Mikey sat on the chair next to her as he propped his chin in his hands and watched them both with an eager smile.

Baffled beyond reason, April stared down at the cat, who stared up at her in silence. She then turned her skeptical gaze to Mikey, who nodded his head encouragingly. "Go ahead. Tell her everything that happened, and then tell her how you feel," he explained gently, nuzzling the kitty's nose against his own. "She's a good listener, and even though she can't talk, she just gets everyone. Including you, April."

Despite still being unsure of all of this (since she and Ice Cream Kitty had almost never interacted since her mutation) April smiled and shrugged. "Well, okay then," she said, facing the curious feline once more. After Mikey hugged her tightly once, he left the two of them alone together as he headed back into the living room.

Taking a deep breath, April went for it.

As the girl poured out the story of how they found the Kraang ship beneath the house, her mother frozen within a capsule, and then the monster behind the disguise, Ice Cream Kitty listened intently to every word. The poor girl. Since she was never human, Ice Cream Kitty could never understand what it felt like, but she could feel the child's pain in her voice, and she could see it in her eyes. They had all been through so much together, even before Ice Cream Kitty found herself in their lives, and this girl had clearly lost more than any girl - or anyone - should have lost at such a young age...

She was very brave for staying strong for so long.

"...so that's it, I guess," April finished, crossing her arms on the table and resting her head on them as she looked up at the cat, who was still staring at her in turn with a rather sympathetic gaze. "...I mean, I still have Casey and the turtles, but...I just miss my dad, my mom, my Sensei...everything. And even when we're not even in the city, the Kraang still manage to ruin everything for us." April then scoffed, turning away from the cat as she frowned. "Listen to me, I'm whining now..." she sighed, finally going silent.

Ice Cream Kitty found herself feeling terrible for the girl now as she stopped talking. She knew that she couldn't make the pain or the awful memory of that night go away, but she could at least try and help the girl to smile again. So with a little mew, she stretched forwards and licked the top of April's head. April blinked once as she lifted her head off the table and stared down in surprise at her. Ice Cream Kitty only smiled in return. It was times like this that she wished she could talk, and really tell the girl that she didn't need to feel sad anymore.

But then she felt something strange suddenly wash over her, like fingers running through her brain and invading her thoughts unintentionally.

And seconds later, the feeling was gone, and April was smiling brightly as she wiped away the trail of ice cream off her forehead. "...I guess you're right," she said softly, "maybe I shouldn't feel too sad. I mean, I still have my memories of her." She let out a little laugh. "Like that time when I was six, I brought home this little turtle I found in the lake, but I let it go after promising to have a big Turtle Dance Party with all his new friends once he came back to visit..."

Her smile faded as her eyes widened ever so slightly. Ice Cream Kitty watched her with a curious tilt of her head as the girl stared at her lap in silence for the longest time, before looking towards the kitchen door where Mikey had left them earlier.

And then she started laughing.

It startled the feline for a moment, and she gawked as the human resorted to slapping a hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter. What was so funny all of a sudden? Why was she laughing? What did she remember?

Wiping a tear from her eye, April took a breath as the last of her giggles faded away. "...wow," she sighed. "After nearly ten years, I never thought in a million years that I would actually have a Turtle Dance Party. I had one last year, after the Kraang's first invasion. We'd actually won that time, and we celebrated by dancing in the dojo. It was...it was probably one of the best moments of my life. I just wish that...I wish that my mom could've seen my promise come true..."

Tears began to well up again in her eyes, but as she continued to smile, Ice Cream Kitty realized that these new tears were not of sadness...but of old joy. April was remembering all of the good times they had. That was good! If she held onto all the happy things that had happened in her life - her real mother, her father, the turtles, the giant rat man, and the caved-mouthed boy - then when something sad came about, she would still have all of those memories to cling to and make everything okay again, even in their darkest moments...

That strange feeling came over her and vanished again within the space of a few seconds, making Ice Cream Kitty feel very dizzy for a moment, before April smiled brightly at her and nodded her head. "Yeah, that's exactly what I'll do," she said fondly.

Ice Cream Kitty was very confused now. How did she know what she was thinking? She couldn't talk to her (except for the occasional mew or nod of agreement), so how on earth -

Wait...could that girl read her mind? Was that the special power that Mikey had always told her about? How amazing! A human with the power to read minds! She had never heard of something so extraordinary! Well, for a human, that is.

April leaned forwards, and despite knowing that it was stupid (and a little bit 'off') she licked Ice Cream Kitty's forehead lightly, and then drew back again as she grinned. "Thanks, Ice Cream Kitty," she said softly, "I really needed that pep-talk. And besides, like Leo said, I can't give up hope. My mom might still be out there somewhere, and so is Splinter and my dad. Like she always said...goodbyes aren't always forever, right?"

And the girls' smile only grew as the cat began to dance in joy, mewing in agreement as she swayed her body from side to side. Mikey was right; Ice Cream Kitty really did understand, even if she couldn't talk. And despite the ache still throbbing in the pit of her heart, watching the little melting feline dance and mew happily brought out her smile once again. In fact, April almost felt like dancing with her.

Maybe she could arrange a Turtle and Ice Cream Kitty Dance Party next time.

A/N: *wipes tear* I know, I'm a horrible person, but hey, it had a happy ending! I hope you liked it, and I'll see you guys again for the next chapter!