April, the Mom

A TMNT Fanfic

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own ANYTHING related to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Did you guys miss me? Sorry for the four month gap in between uploads. Please enjoy Chapter 8 of April, the Mom and you guys will be pleased to know that Chapter 9 is already in progress. Enjoy!

Chapter 8:

It had been a month since April got the first creepy text message from Dan. It wasn't the text that made her nervous, it was what the message had said.

'How was the shower? You looked beautiful'

How did he know about the shower and what she looked like? Was he following her? Stalking her?

Things only got worse from that night. Dan had upgraded from messages to phone calls that had gone from creepy to flat-out sinister. First, was the heavy breathing and hanging up to 'Next time I won't put you in the hospital. I'll kill you.' That was the last straw. Donatello had custom built a phone for April to use that Dan would never get the number to and it even had a tracking device just in case.

Forget cabin fever, April didn't have the urge to get to the surface like she used to. Now that she was seven months along and finally in her third trimester, she needed to be as safe and as cautious as possible.

April walked over to the floor length mirror in the spare room the turtles had given her and examined her belly. She looked down. She had grown so much over the last few weeks that she couldn't see her feet anymore. She ran her fingers across her bump and sighed. "Don't worry kid, we'll be fine."

April walked out of the room and towards the kitchen for a snack. She had an appointment with Dr. Ramirez in a few hours so she figured she'd better eat something beforehand just in case the wait was long.

"Hey April!" Mikey greeted her from the living room. He wiped his brow with a towel, a clear sign he had just gotten done with training. "And hello to my favorite nephew." He cooed to her belly.

"Niece." Karai corrected. Karai had joined them in the sewers because she was taking April to her doctor's appointment. That, and stopping in to see Leonardo for a quick visit as well. "I'm calling it, it's a girl. I feel it." Karai closed her eyes and clenched her fists for emphasis as if she were somehow wishing it into existence.

"Nuh uh," Mikey continued, "That there is a little dude." he said pointing at April. April rolled her eyes. Every day, the topic of conversation amongst the group was whether or not April would be having a boy or girl. It didn't matter to April, as long as it was healthy.

"That's what you think. But April and I are gonna find out today for sure. Right, April?" Karai asked.

"Wrong."

Karai and Mikey's faces both fell. "Why not?" asked Mikey.

"I told you guys, it's gonna be a surprise." April walked into the kitchen and emerged a few moments later with a grape popsicle. "Besides, does it really matter?"

"Yes!" Karai and Mikey replied in unison, startling April. "I don't know if I should start buying pink or blue clothes." Karai pouted. "Buying everything in green or yellow is getting boring. C'mon Ape, am I buying tutus or suspenders?" April chuckled. "Buy both just in case and return as needed." Karai stuck out her tongue and April gave her a wink and a laugh.

"Well what about our bet?" Mikey chimed in. April gave a deep sigh and shook her head. She knew about the bet her little family had going on about the gender of the baby. So far the group was split 3/3 with Karai, Casey, and Donnie claiming a girl and Raph, Mikey, and Leo thinking a boy. Splinter was undecided so far but leaning towards April's 'so long as it's healthy' option.

"Your bet will have to wait." April replied. "Because I'm not telling anyone what the baby is IF I even decide to find out today." April finished up her treat and headed back to her bedroom to get dressed for her appointment.

She threw on a decent pair of jeans, a thin sweater and tried her best to put on a pair of boots to protect herself from the chilly September air. Although, with her belly getting bigger by the day, the feat was easier said than done.

As she was putting her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head, she heard loud noises coming from the living room meaning that the rest of the family was also done in the dojo. April threw a scarf around her neck and went to join everyone else. She was greeted with various 'hey's' and 'how ya doin's' from everyone coming from the training area.

"Hey April? How much longer you got?" Leonardo asked his friend.

"Well, I turned seven months last week so I'm about 29 weeks." April began.

"Pregnancy is approximately 40 weeks, or 10 months if you figure 4 weeks per month. If April is 29 weeks now, she still has 11 more to go which puts her at just under 3 months left." Donatello finished.

"Thanks Donnie." April replied. Donatello gave her a smile and a nod in return.

"Wait," Leonardo held up a hand "I thought you said carrying a baby only lasted nine months?"

"That's true to an extent." Donatello answered "Humans are often told that pregnancy usually only lasts nine months, or 36 weeks, because it's at that point the baby is full term and completely capable of functioning outside the womb. The extra four weeks at the end are just to ensure the baby is…how should I say this? 'Done cooking' if you will. That's why if a baby is born a few days or a week early, it's not that alarming."

"The whole thing sounds exhausting." Raphael said as he leaned against a wall and chugged a soda.

"Ugh it is," April whined, "My feet hurt, my back hurts, it's hard to put on shoes, and my boobs hurt SO bad!"

Raphael nearly choked on his soda and Leonardo cleared his throat. Clearly the guys were not prepared to listen to their friend talk about her issues.

"Well April, I've done some research about creams and ointments that are supposed to help your-" Donatello began.

"Okay, okay." Raphael held his hands up to halt the conversation. "I'd really rather not hear about…err…this."

"Oh come on Raphael, if you're gonna be 'Uncle Raphie' you need to hear about all the details concerning your niece. All the details." Karai said with a smirk and a sinister tone in her voice.

"Uhm, not really," Raphael started. "Oh and its nephew by the way. It's a boy."

"Thank you!" yelled Mikey from in the kitchen. April laughed and shook her head. "You guys are silly. Karai, you ready to go?"

"Sure thing." Karai stood up from the couch and pulled her purse strap over her shoulder. The girls gave a quick 'good bye' and headed out the door but not before Karai gave Leonardo's hand a quick squeeze.

The girls sat in the exam room of Dr. Ramirez's office. April's belly was covered in the sticky blue goo and Dr. Ramirez was gliding the Doppler over her midsection. Due to her size, the Doppler had a lot more surface to cover than it did six months ago.

"Well, everything looks great April. You've put on the right amount of weight, the heartbeat sounds strong. Are you handling your stress well, you think?" Dr. Ramirez asked.

April glanced over at Karai who gave her a knowing glance back. "More or less." April replied.

Dr. Ramirez gave her a chuckle, "Well let me know if anything changes. Stress in your pregnancy this far along could be dangerous. Now, the only thing that concerns me is the fact that the heartbeat is still irregular. Unless…..ah, that's why."

April raised her eyebrows in concern. Dr. Ramirez placed a hand on her shoulder for reassurance. "First time pregnancy. And given your size in relation to the baby, it's a little cramped in there."

"Cramped? I'm HUGE!" April remarked.

"Babies don't have a particular size, they vary from mother to mother. Your baby is just extremely healthy." Dr. Ramirez gave her a wink and a smile. "You'll be fine. Are you still sure you don't want to know the sex?"

"Yes, I'm sure." April replied.

"Noo, I wanna know! I promise I'll keep it to myself. Pretty, pretty please?" begged Karai. She clasped her hands together in a pleading motion and gave April the biggest sad puppy eyes ever. April and Dr. Ramirez exchanged glances.

"Oh fine, she can know. BUT you have to tell her outside so there's no chance of me hearing."

Dr. Ramirez gave April a nod of understanding. "That's perfectly fine, because there's some things I need to talk to her about privately anyway." April raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. Dr. Ramirez patted her shoulder and stood up. He opened the exam room door and motioned for Karai to exit. He followed her out the door and shut it behind him.

What the hell is that about? thought April. Karai and Dr. Ramirez stood outside the door talking for about 10 minutes. April couldn't do much to pass the time while she waited except to count the tiles in the ceiling. 82.

When the door finally opened, April couldn't help but notice the look of excitement on Karai's face. She was practically bouncing and had her hands over her mouth as if to keep the words from spilling out.

April looked over at Dr. Ramirez who was watching Karai as intently as April was. Karai stopped pacing and let out a deep breath. April raised an eyebrow again. "Oh, don't worry, he just told me how to make you comfortable during your last few months." Karai said.

"Mm-hmm." April replied skeptically.

Dr. Ramirez cleaned up April's belly and a few minutes later, sent the two women on their way.

As they walked down the street, April noticed Karai had an extra pep in her step and a huge grin on her face that she tried, but failed, to hide. April stopped walking. It took Karai a few moments to notice that she was walking alone. Karai turned around and walked over to her friend.

"Look," April started, "I don't know what Dr. Ramirez told you but please don't spill the beans. I want to be surprised."

Karai took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I'm getting over excited. Listen, yes, Dr. Ramirez told me, and no, I'm not gonna say anything. Just know, boy or girl, its healthy, its perfect, and I am so, so proud of you."

April blushed and gave her friend a hug. She was so lucky to have a friend that she could experience this with. Casey wouldn't have gone with her. Doctors freaked him out. And obviously the turtles couldn't attend appointments with her. Karai was the closest friend she had. As a matter of fact, she was like the sister April never had but always wanted. In fact, April thought this was the perfect time to break the news to her friend.

"I'm serious Rai, you tell anybody, Leo, Case, even Splinter, I'm stripping away your role as Godmother." April turned to start walking again when she felt Karai grab her arm and spin her around.

"What? Godmother? Me?" Karai asked with eyes as big as dinner plates.

April nodded. "Surprise!"

Karai brought her hands up to her mouth and began to jump up and down. "Oh my goodness! April! For real?"

April laughed. "Yes, 'for real'. Who else would I trust more than you?"

Karai stopped jumping and began to wipe away the tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes. "Yes. Yes, April. I would be honored to be the Godmother. Thank you."

"Oh Rai, don't cry. 'Cause then I'm gonna start and you know I'm already hormonal. I cry at everything as it is. I'm gonna cry when we get pizza later." April said wiping her own tears away. The two women shared another embrace and started walking again.

"Wait." Karai began, "Can I tell everyone this information?"

April tapped her chin with her finger and pretended to think really hard. She smiled. "Of course you can, in fact, you have to help me choose the Godfather."

Karai pinched her fingertips together and held them in front of her face. "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." She said in her best Don Vito Corleone voice. The girls shared a laugh and linked elbows for the rest of the walk back to the manhole that led to their friends' home.

*****

Casey Jones sat on the couch in the underground living room of the ninja turtles. He was spending a lot of time there due to April's current situation. He wanted to be close in case April or the turtles needed his help.

"Hey Donnie?" Casey called out to his purple banded friend while munching on a banana. "How many of these a day is too much?"

"Well, potassium is good for you and very necessary but too much can be harmful. I guess it all depends on the size of the banana, how much you weigh-"

"How many?" Casey interrupted.

"I'd say no more than three." Donatello finished before heading into the lab.

Casey looked at the empty banana peel in his hand and down at the pile he had growing by his feet. There had to be at least 3 banana coverings on the floor already. Casey shrugged. "Meh. Fuck it."

Just then, the door to the lair opened and in came an excited Karai, and a full looking April waddling in after her.

"Hey Case." April and Karai said in unison.

"S'up?" Casey said in response. He turned his attention to the girls standing in the doorway and took notice of the eagerness bubbling over on Karai's face. "You look like you're gonna explode Rai. April, I mean that in the literal sense."

April snorted.

"I am," Karai started. "And for good reason. Where's everyone? We have some news."

Casey's eyebrows perked up. "No shit! You found out? It's a girl isn't it? Hey everyone!" Casey sprang off the couch and ran out of the room to retrieve the others.

April laughed. "Oh boy, here goes."

"No way!" April heard Mikey whine from a few yards away. Mikey emerged from around the corner with his arms crossed and his bottom lip jutting out. "Is it a girl? Really Apes?"

April laughed again. "Just have a seat hon." One by one, the family gathered into the living room to hear what the special news was. The males of the family took seats on the couch while the two women stood in front of them ready to fill everyone in on the news of the day.

"Well everyone, we just came back from the doctors and…" April started. April watched as the guys' expressions turned from confusion to eagerness as they awaited the results of April's doctor visit.

"It's not a girl." April continued. Mikey shot off the couch, Raph applauded, and Leonardo stuck his tongue out at Casey in celebration of them winning the bet. April held up her hand. "Hold on. It's not a boy either." Leo, Raph, and Mikey ceased their cheers and their faces returned to confusion.

"Well what the hell Ape? What is it?" Casey questioned.

"I don't know." April responded and shrugged her shoulders.

"But I do!" Karai interjected. "April allowed me to find out from the doctor what the little one will be."

"Well?" Raphael asked.

"I can't tell you." The gang gave one big exasperated sigh of frustration. Karai chuckled. "I can't tell you because of a condition I'm under."

"What condition is that Karai?" Leonardo asked.

"Well that's what the big news is. If I tell you the sex of the baby…then I can't be the Godmother anymore!" Karai beamed. The turtles and Casey erupted in a round of cheers and 'Congratulations' for their friend.

"Congratulations Karai." Splinter spoke. "Being a child's Godparent is an amazing honor. That means it is your duty to step in and raise the child if, for whatever reason, April is unable to. One that I'm sure you will handle with ease."

"Understood Sensei." Karai said with a bow.

It was April's turn to speak. "Well, now that we have the Godmother, I, well we,"April said gesturing to Karai "need to choose the Godfather. Karai and I talked about it on the way down here and well…we can't decide."

"Each of you has great characteristics that would make you a great Godparent." Karai said. "Leo, you have great leadership skills, Raph has strength both mentally and physically, Donatello is extremely smart, Mikey has charm and Casey is fearless."

"So…. We put your names into a hat." April finished. She pulled a purple beanie from behind her back and showed the guys.

"Seriously? A raffle?" Casey said incredulously. "Well how would you choose?" April asked.

"Easy. I'd pick me." Casey said with a smile.

April rolled her eyes. "Ok, before I draw a name, I just want you to know that if you don't get picked, don't be discouraged. You'll still be Uncle…whoever is left."

April took a deep breath and stuck her hand into the hat that contained the names of the candidates.

"And the Godfather to the little peanut will be…" April unfolded the little piece of paper. She showed the name to Karai who gave her nod of approval. "Donnie!"

"What?!" shouted Mikey as he jumped off the couch.

"Boo!" Casey jeered with a thumbs down motion. "I demand a recount!" April laughed. "Guys, it was fair and square."

"Look at it this way guys, your chances of being 'Favorite Uncle' just got 5 percent better." Donatello interjected. "Thank you, April. Karai, I look forward to co-godparenting with you."

"Congratulations my son, I know you'll do right by the little one." Splinter said. "Well, it's getting a little late for me. Goodnight my children."

"Good night Sensei." Everyone responded in unison. Splinter gave them a nod and retired to his bedroom.

"I think this calls for a celebration." Leonardo began. He went into the kitchen to grab a beer for everyone and an apple juice for April. "To four Uncles, two Godparents, a grandpa, and one great mom."

"Here! Here!" everyone cheered as they toasted their respective beverages. The group shared laughs and jokes and for a minute, they all forgot about the trouble that wasn't far behind April.

"Hey guys, I need to go to my place to grab a few more things." April said. "Actually, I wanna grab the rest of my belongings. I need more stuff to last me until I give birth." She hesitated. "And after that, I want to find a new place. It won't be safe with the baby by myself in that apartment with Dan being a creep. We can't stay here forever and I can't ask you guys to give up your lives to be my round-the-clock bodyguards. " April said.

Leonardo placed a hand on top of April's. "That's fine with us, and I'm sure Splinter would feel the same way. Stay here as long as you need, or want to."

The rest of the turtles all nodded their heads in approval. "Hey Ape, it's still early. We can head over to your place now if you want. Y'know, before it gets too dark." Casey said finishing his beer. April nodded and put a jacket on over her sweater.

"You guys go without me" Donnie said standing up and heading to the lab. "I have a gift for my godchild to start."

"Rub it in why don't cha!" called Raphael. "C'mon, let's go now. It's starting to get chilly."

Not too long later, the gang walked the semi busy New York City streets heading towards April's apartment. The air had gotten colder in the last few hours since April had been outside. October was right around the corner. Better grab some jackets April thought.

April's apartment building wasn't particularly busy this time of night so the turtles had no problem walking straight inside and up the stairs to the apartment. They walked down the long hallway and stopped in front of April's door. April turned the knob but stopped herself from opening the door.

"April, is everything okay?" Mikey asked.

"No, it's not" she responded "I remember this door being locked before I left. My door was practically open just now."

April gently pushed open her door and the turtles braced themselves for what, or whoever could be inside.

April stepped inside and what she saw made her heart sink. Her entire apartment had been trashed. Dishes were smashed on the floor, pictures ripped out the frame and torn in half, couch cushions sliced open, and spray paint on the walls. April's breath hitched in her throat and she felt her legs go numb.

April fell to the floor and felt her eyes water. Her whole life had been broken, torn, and ultimately destroyed. April covered her face with her hands and began to sob. April couldn't stop the heavy flow of tears leaving her eyes. All of the crying and anger and fear she had kept bottled up inside herself the last few months was escaping in huge drops of water onto her living room floor.

April opened her eyes for a split second and what she saw made her keep them open. Between her knees was a piece of paper. April read the note and instantly she felt a lump in her throat. Four words was all it took to make her world come crashing down. April handed the note to Raphael with a shaky hand and continued to cry.

Raphael read the note and automatically he felt his blood begin to boil and his muscles tighten. Four words.

I will find you.

-D

A/N: As always please read and review. In the meantime, while I finish up Chapter 9, please read my Harley Quinn/Catwoman/Joker fanfic titled 'Playing with Kitty' and tell me what you think. Full warning: it is EXTREMELY lemony :D Until next time.