Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT, or Starlight Express, or Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or anything else you happen to recognize. Those are the genius creations of others.

A/N: I got a request for a second chapter to this one from Reinbeauchaser so here it is. I assume this is what you meant. In my original idea Raph was dancing to 'Another Suitcase in Another Hall', which is a song from Evita, a different Webber musical, but all I know about Evita is that it is something about an actress from Argentina, and a couple of songs. At the last minute I changed it to Starlight Express, which I have seen, and now I am so glad I did!

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The lair was practically buzzing with excitement, for tonight they would be going out on the town to see a stage performance. Something that was entirely new to all of them. Two months ago Donatello had purchased tickets to Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Starlight Express' and all four turtles were looking forward to the show.

Splinter wasn't particularly surprised that none of his sons were as focused on training today as they usually were. Even Leonardo's normally rock solid concentration was lacking today. Splinter was caught between a laugh and a sigh as Donatello found an opening Leonardo hadn't allowed in years. Leonardo dropped to the mat from a move that Donatello almost never got away with. Oddly, it was his purple banded son was the most focused today, especially given that he had purchased the tickets. Splinter knew that Donatello's ability to focus was formidable; it just wasn't often applied to training as successfully as to his other endeavors.

Finally Splinter decided that nothing worthwhile was going to come of this training session and he called it off for the day. He sighed as they all ran off to other activities. Just before leaving the room Leonardo turned back to Master Splinter.

"Are you sure Sensei?" He asked politely, questioning the early release from training.

The wise old rat just nodded. Leo accepted the response and ran from the room to join his brothers.

A short while later Splinter was sitting in the living room with three of his four sons. Leonardo and Michelangelo were on the floor playing checkers. Leo generally preferred chess, but the only chess partner he really had amongst his brothers was currently in a chair off to the side of the room lost in a good book, so checkers it was. Besides, someone had to keep Mikey entertained, and Raphael was out in the sewers doing his own thing.

"I can't believe they're actually going to dance on roller-skates!" Mikey exclaimed suddenly.

"Yeah, that should be something to see." Leo agreed as he made his next move. "King me"

Michelangelo groaned and stacked a second red piece on Leo's checker. "It's based on 'The Little Engine that Could' isn't it?"

"Loosely," Leo stated calmly for the third time in the past half hour. "Are you going to move or not?"

"Patience my brother, this is a game of strategy." Mikey remarked seriously as he considered his next move.

"You only have three pieces left." Leo pointed out.

"All part of my strategy bro."

Leo snorted and he heard a snicker from the side of the room. He looked over at Don who was still buried in the book and gave him a questioning look, but the turtle in purple seemed lost in whatever it was he was reading. When Leo looked back to the board Mikey's three pieces had become five.

"Hey, that's not strategy, that's cheating!"

Mikey grinned in response. Leo shook his head and let it slide, where Mikey had put his pieces Leo could take out 4 of them with his next move, and get another king to boot. He made the move and Michelangelo was left sitting there in shock staring at his lonely black piece.

"King me!"

"Hey!"

Leo heard the snicker again. This time he didn't turn to Donatello for fear that more pieces would show up on the board, but Leo was beginning to doubt that Don was as lost in the book as he would have them think. Mikey and Leo continued their banter, but it soon became discussion about the upcoming evening. Eventually Splinter spoke up.

"I am glad you are all looking forward to this evening. I just hope things go smoothly."

"Yeah, we probably can't wear hats in there either." Leo pointed out.

"Why do you think we had to make those hoods?" Raphael stated as he entered the room.

"Hey Raph. Where've you been?" Mikey asked from the floor. He added more pieces as Leo turned to greet the new arrival.

"Around," Raph replied as he flopped onto the couch near Master Splinter. "Hey, do you think they are going to do flips and stuff tonight?"

"Raphael, I am surprised that you are so interested in going to the play. I had thought that you would be the hardest to convince."

Yet another snicker came from the side of the room. Everyone looked at Don, who seemed oblivious. Raphael was holding his temper in check for now, barely though. If Donnie didn't have a very good cover for this he was going to be hurting at the show tonight.

Donatello could feel four pairs of eyes on him. He had tried not to laugh, really he had. He looked up at his family. "What?"

"That is the third time you have laughed in the past few minutes." Leo informed him. He was definitely suspicious now. "What on Earth are you reading that is so funny?"

"It's not on Earth. It's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams" Don declared as if that explained everything, which it would have, if any of them had read the book. "Trust me, it's funny." With that Donatello returned to his reading.

Raphael turned on the TV and Mikey and Leo went back to their game. It was still a few hours before they had to get ready to leave. Leo sighed as he noticed that Mikey, once again, had 5 pieces on the board.

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"Hey guys," Casey Jones called out from the entryway. "Are you all ready for the show?" Casey had been the toughest to convince, not that that had been a surprise. He generally considered going to plays sissy stuff, but when he found out that April was already planning to come he quickly changed his mind and was more than willing to join the outing. He was a little bummed that he wouldn't get to sit beside April, but putting the two humans on the outer edges would reduce the risk of anyone noticing anything odd about his little green buddies. Besides he couldn't rightly tell them no and find out the next day that they were locked up in a lab. Especially since there was doubt that Splinter would let them go at all without his help. And darn it if Don and Raph hadn't been so broken-hearted when he had initially said no. Then there were the puppy-dog eyes, mostly from Donnie though, Raph didn't really do puppy-dog, but in his own way he had joined Don in the begging. How do you say no to that?

All four turtles and Master Splinter were wearing long brown robes. Splinter had a brown hood, and each turtle had a hood of their customary color, though the hoods weren't as bright as their headbands.

"I don't know about that hood Donnie." Casey stated giving the turtle an odd look.

"What?"

"It's part of their religion." April explained as she came from behind Casey, informing him of their cover story. "Each color signifies level and focus of their training."

"You complained about my scarf at the hockey game too. What's with that?" Donatello inquired defensively.

Casey didn't answer Don's question. Instead he asked his own. "Are you sure about this?" Sure the outfits hid them well, but "Won't this, you know, draw attention?"

"Last time I was at one of these a group of nuns was watching the show, and I've seen other religious dress at various performances. It's rude to wear hats inside, so this is the only way to keep their heads covered. Sure there will be glances, but nothing more." April explained gently. "You worry too much." She patted Casey on the shoulder.

"Besides," Leonardo added, "with you and April on the ends, hopefully no one will be able to get close enough for a good look at us anyway." Leo pulled his hood over his head and his brothers followed suit.

The group started out on the long walk to the theater.

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The walk was mostly uneventful. For the most part everyone had calmed down after the first 10 minutes of walking. Everyone except for Donatello that is, he had been calm and focused for most of the day, but now that everyone else had calmed down Donnie was practically bouncing off the walls.

"Donatello, calm down." Master Splinter chastised his currently hyperactive son.

"Sorry Sensei," Donnie apologized and immediately stopped bouncing. Splinter could tell that the over-excited turtle was still fidgeting though. He sighed and the group continued walking.

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Upon arriving at the theater Casey presented the tickets with April close behind. They received directions to the first balcony. Sticking to the walls they moved quietly through the entryway and made their way up. Arriving at the balcony was the first close call of the night. Ushers like to see the faces of those they are seating.

Luckily it was Leo who had been immediately behind April and Casey and he looked away from the usher quickly. April noticed, luckily, and quickly explained Leo's seemingly rude gesture as eye contact with strangers being banned by their religion. Not strictly truth, but the story was all they had. The usher accepted the explanation and pointed them to their seats without trying to see anymore faces. Even looking away as she handed them their programs.

Don had gotten some good seats; he'd collected a lot of cans for this. They were in the front row of the first balcony. April had mentioned this as being one of the best places to sit. The view was very good and the tickets were less than half the cost of the ones right in front of the stage. Besides, some of the choreography was lost in the front seats. Also no one could turn around and see their faces from this position. Now seated all four brothers were getting restless again, anxious for the show to start. Splinter would have been mildly surprised at this had it not been going on all day. No one had really seemed interested when Donatello had told them about the tickets. The attitude then had been one of humoring the purple-clad brother's eccentricities, but now that attitude was long gone. April had crossed the most seats going the far end of the section, Splinter was seated next to her, followed by Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo and finally Casey was sitting next to the aisle.

"Shh..." Mikey hissed to no one in particular as the lights went down, "It's starting."

An announcer explained the use of the 3-D 'safety glasses'. Don had long ago found the item in his program, and had pointed them out, Mikey currently had his on.

"Mikey, they'll tell you when to put them on." Don insisted quietly. "Everything's going to look funny if you wear them the whole time."

"Shh..." Leo hushed his brothers.

"This is control, this is control..." Spotlights came on and danced over the still closed curtains of the stage. A hush fell over the audience, including the four turtles. A race began, commentated by a young boy. The curtains remained closed as the child was scolded and sent to bed. Splinter laughed realizing where this was going. The turtles had often snuck back out of bed to play too.

Finally the curtains opened and engines were introduced. As Greaseball was came on stage Raphael clapped enthusiastically. Leonardo looked at his brother oddly for a moment, and he heard Don's laugh from Raph's other side. Don earned a glare from Raphael, but it didn't last long. Everyone turned back to the show as the music switched to rock and roll. Leo wondered what exactly Don knew that the rest of them didn't.

As the song ended Don leaned over to Raphael and whispered in his ear "You do know that Greaseball is an antagonist don't you?"

The group sat quietly and enjoyed the show. They oohed, ahhed, and applauded with the rest of the audience. During 'Pumping Iron' Don caught Raphael tapping his foot. He grinned at Raph and the red-clad turtle actually grinned back, getting into the spirit of the evening, and for once not caring what his brothers thought or his tough guy image.

Soon the Electric engine came out and the loud, slightly shocking 'AC/DC' echoed through the theater.

"Isn't this supposed to be a family show?" Leonardo asked appalled at the song and some of its implications. Even Raphael was shocked at the newer crasser version. Coming to his senses he pointed out that a kid wouldn't understand the implications.

Donatello leaned across Raphael to add that it could also be taken literally, in which case there was no problem as far as a child watching the scene, though he had to admit that the scene was more than a little creepy.

"Donnie," Leo whispered also leaning across Raphael, "look at what he's doing with his hips, they're all waggly. There's no way this is meant to be taken literally." Raphael was leaning back in his seat looking at each of his personal bubble invading brothers.

"Leo, your little fascination with his hips is downright wrong, so shut up and watch the show." Raph butted in pushing his brothers, out of his personal space before Don could say anything else.

All too soon Rusty the steam locomotive was finishing the last lines of 'Starlight Express' begging the childhood hero/god to be real. The curtain closed on the first act and the lights came up.

The group of seven stood, but didn't leave their seats. Things would go more smoothly if they stayed where they were and avoided as much contact with others as possible. A man and his small son scooted by the group, the little boy desperately needing to use the facilities and the elderly couple at the far end were taking a long time in getting out. Mikey made a silly face at the boy as they passed, and the boy looked back at him in shock. He slowed to gawk and only finally turned away when as his father continued onward gently pulling him.

"Daddy, they're green!" The child exclaimed quietly. It was just loud enough for Donatello to hear it. Oh, please don't let that guy believe him. He smacked Mikey upside the head.

"Hey!"

"What are you trying to do?" Don whispered harshly. "I for one want to see the rest of the show, and not wind up as a laboratory specimen by tomorrow morning."

Glancing back to the boy and his father Donatello could hear the boy being scolded for 'making up stories' about other people. He sighed in relief. One more incident narrowly avoided.

Conversation drifted to the first act, favorite scenes and songs, and what an enjoyable evening they had had so far.

Then Raph slipped up.

"Hey, Donnie, is 'Uncoupled' in this version?"

"Should be," Don responded while reaching for his program to double check. "Yeah"

"Alright!"

"You just like the end don't you." Donnie accused jokingly.

"'Uncoupled'?" Leo asked. "Raph, Donnie, have two you seen this before?"

"No." They answered honestly, and together, though possibly a little quicker than was absolutely necessary.

"So how do you know the songs already," Leo turned his focus to Donnie, "You weren't laughing at that book in the lair this afternoon were you." It wasn't a question. Don knew he had been caught. He was going to take a beating from Raphael when this evening was over, but that wasn't fair, Raph had slipped up, not him.

The lights dimmed and came back up warning the audience to return for the second act. Raphael and Donatello were forced to own up to the fact that they each had a CD of the music from this show. No one had been terribly surprised that Don had one, but Raphael's possession of a similar disk was a bit of a shock to them. Though they hadn't been as shocked as Don had when he'd found out. Raphael had even been pleasantly surprised at Leo's and Mikey's reactions to him having the disk.

"Hey Donnie," Mikey asked. "Can your computer burn CDs?

"You want a copy?" Raph asked incredulously, as Donatello nodded an affirmative to Mikey's question

"Can I get one too Don?" Leo asked.

Don smiled and nodded again as the lights dimmed for the second act.

The first song in the second act had Casey dancing in his seat. Mikey looked over at the self-proclaimed vigilante with a big goofy grin on his face. Casey caught the look and immediately stopped dancing. Then Mikey started dancing, and Casey joined him in the fun. There was just something magical about a live performance.

When 'Uncoupled' began Leo immediately noticed that it wasn't the type of song Raphael generally listened to.

"Raph, this is a country song."

"Just wait, fearless leader, just you wait." Raphael sniggered with a sly look on his face.

When Dinah belted the last line Leo understood. The show continued.

The dramatic lighting during the 'Starlight Sequence' drew a few remarks.

"Hey! We could probably take these hoods off now and no one would be the wiser!" Mikey whispered to Don. Don had to admit that in the green light that filled the theater Mikey was probably right.

"Don't you dare try it Mikey." He warned.

"Try what?" Raphael asked.

Mikey started to take off his hood. Leo leaned over the two brothers separating them and scolded Mikey.

"Don't even think about it!"

Mikey pulled the hood back on properly, sulking momentarily because his brothers had ruined his fun, but he knew that they were right. As tempting as it was to take it off right now, the hood had to stay.

When the love song of the show started there were several raised eyebrows.

"What kind of stupid love song is this?" Mikey asked.

"Next time you fall in love, it darn well better be with me, you big, stupid jerk!" Raphael whispered drawing a quiet laugh from his brothers. Comments ceased until the finale ended. As the cast started taking their bows all four turtles leapt to their feet in a standing ovation.

The crowd died down and started leaving. Again sticking to the walls the group slipped out of the theater and into the streets of New York. Upon arriving home everyone was still excited about the almost magical experience they had just had. Mikey called an all night delivery place and ordered a couple of pizzas.

Even Casey had to admit that he had enjoyed the evening. He now sat on the couch next to April and Leo was in the chair Don had claimed earlier, but now that chair was considerably closer to the group than it had been this afternoon. Mikey and Donnie sat on the floor, and Splinter and Raphael each had a chair. Together they sat and talked enjoying each others company until they were exhausted. Splinter was the first to retire, and the only one to make it back to his own room. The others just fell asleep where they were. Worries could wait, this night was about family and good clean fun.

Donatello woke up around 3:30AM and looked around still crowded living area. He grinned at the sight of everyone safe, together and contented. He went and found a few more blankets to cover those who hadn't already curled up under one and debated a moment whether to go to his own bed or return to his spot on the floor. In the end he chose the chair surrounded by his family that Splinter had vacated earlier in the evening. He smiled and fell asleep curled up in the chair with the strains of 'Crazy' drifting through his head. Like Rusty, Donatello's crazy idea had led to great things. Maybe it wasn't a change in the thinking of a community, but it was a wonderful evening that everyone would remember fondly for a long time to come, and for Donnie that was more than enough.

(A/N: Sorry, I just couldn't resist the jab at those who think/thought Don is/was gay because of the purple bandana. There is no problem with guys wearing purple. Also did you catch the nod to 'Turtle Tips' which accompanied the first cartoon? No idea why, but I remember that one, only that one, and I remember it almost word for word.)