Hello again!

I'm here with another little drabble, this time when the guys were just babies! I'm thinking that the turtles all range between 7 ~ 10 months old at this point. More notes at the end of the chapter. Thanks for reading!

Splinter lifted the hood from his head as he swung his legs over the turnstiles, breathing in the familiar musty air he associated with their new home. He had found the abandoned subway station only a few days ago, and it looked as if it had not been visited in decades, which was exactly what he needed. Dust and dirt stirred and floated up as the hem of Splinter's robe brushed against it and the cool concrete floor

Adapting to this new life had been… difficult, to say the least. Not only getting used living life completely hidden but suddenly being responsible for four infants as well. It was the kind of change no one could ever really be prepared for.

Splinter had been struggling with his new life and new family for a while now—really just barely getting by—but things seemed to finally be settling down, if only slightly. And not a moment too soon.

He gently dropped the bag he carried with him onto an overturned cardboard box, serving as a makeshift table. He had been lucky today; someone in the nearby apartment complex must have been doing some spring cleaning. He was fortunate enough to find lots of used baby supplies in a dumpster, most of it still usable, or at least good enough for them. Splinter stepped down into the recessed area in the middle of the floor and knelt in front of a black worn plastic crate.

"Hello, little ones." He began to move aside the worn blankets and towels that lined and covered the crate, then stopped suddenly in his tracks.

He counted again, just be sure...

...and again…

"Where is your brother?"

Nothing but a smile and a gurgled response from the oldest, his two immediate younger brothers staring silently, one chewing on his fingers.

He covered the remaining children with the torn blanket still clutched in his hand and frantically whipped his head around, scanning for the smallest turtle, panic setting in. He checked each of the rooms in the abandoned station. Thoroughly. Then the sewers. Had he checked the restrooms? He looked again to be sure. Oh, but perhaps he did not look far enough down the sewers. He should check the restroom just once more. And no the child had not been in bed with his brothers the whole time either. Just... gone. The babbling of the other children was soon drowned out by the sound of his heart beating much too fast, his blood pumping and rushing past his ears. Not again, he thought. I can't go through this again.

The light thuds of plastic hitting the ground shocked him out of his terror. He spun around, perhaps too quickly, at the noise. Colorful sippy-cups, building blocks, crumpled blankets, and stuffed toys littered the floor around where he had left his bag, a tiny freckled turtle sitting in the middle of the mess.

All of the panic that had built up seemed to rush out of Splinter with a heavy sigh as he made his way over to the youngest. As soon as the turtle caught sight of him, he was off again, giggling and crawling away on his hands and knees… and he was fast. After getting over his surprise, Splinter quickly caught up with the child and scooped him up into his arms.

"Now how did you manage that?" He breathed, tired, and carried him back to where his older brothers resided. He placed the turtle back into the bed and turned to pick up the mess that had been made. None of the others have even started crawling yet, Splinter thought. Curious that the youngest is so adept at it already. He began to feel disconcerted that his panic had gotten the better of him, so much so that a child was able to evade his highly trained senses. As he started to organize everything that had fallen, folding up a no-longer-soft yellow baby blanket, he heard several coos and squeals from the pit. Turning his body towards the noise, he could see the young turtle again attempting to climb over the side of the crate. He already had two small chubby hands on the floor and his feet still on the edge of the worn plastic, leaving his plastron suspended above the concrete floor. Splinter watched in amusement for a few moments, the tot carefully bringing one foot down, and then sort of toppling the rest of the way onto the floor. It only took a moment of recovery before he was off again, trying to climb the walls of the pit. Deciding this was a good time to step in before the small turtle could make another run for it, Splinter picked him up from under his arms and held him close as he took a seat on the floor.

"You're quite the nimble one, aren't you?" He murmured to the turtle, only getting noisy babbling in response. "You'll make a fine ninja someday."

Thank you for reading!

This idea came to mind when I was researching baby milestones for a project. I know this one was very short, but I plan to add more chapters soon, focusing on different milestones as the boys grow up (Be sure to follow this story to get an alert when that happens! ;)). Reviews are appreciated. Hope you all have a fabulous day!