"Hey dudes! Lookie, lookie. We got mail!"

Michelangelo slid down the railing from the upper level of the lair to where his brothers gathered below.

"Who's it from, Mikey?" Donatello asked.

"There's, like, only two people who have April's address," Mike said.

"Keno and Dan Pennington," Leonardo said. "So, which one wrote?"

"Bet it was Keno," Raphael said. "He keeps buggin' us ta visit him in Japan."

"Sure," Leo retorted. "Just as soon as we can figure out a way to hide ourselves for the twenty-four hour flight over there."

"Well, we are ninjas," Don said thoughtfully.

"Yo, dudes!" Mike said, waiving his arms and trying to get his brothers' attention back. "You wanna read the letter or not?"

"So read already," Raph growled.

Mike tore the envelope open and pulled the letter out. He cleared his throat.

"Dear dudes," he began.

Leo and Don groaned while Raph stood stoically staring at his youngest brother.

"Read it like it's written," the red turtle bit out.

Mike flushed and scowled. "Oh, fine! 'Dear guys. Hey, it's Dan. spring break's coming up down here and all my room mates are heading home or to the beach. I'll have the house to myself and was hoping you might be able to find your way down here. Hope all's well with you. Dan.' He left his phone number as well."

Mike looked up and found himself under the scrutiny of three sets of brown eyes.

"What?!"

Don grinned. "I think that's the longest you've gone without saying 'dude'."

"It must be some kind of breakthrough," Raph teased.

Mike tossed the letter at his brothers and started back up the stairs.

"Awe, Mikey, don't go away mad," Don called. "We're just teasing."

"Ha, ha," Mike called back, sarcastically. "See you dudes in a bit."

He snagged his skateboard and headed out to blow off some steam. He didn't know why he let Raph get to him, but his brother sure knew how to punch his buttons.

When Mike returned a few hours later, his brothers were all gathered around the table. Mike recognized Casey's dark head of hair among the group.

"Yo, Casey!" he called.

"Yo, Mikey! What up?"

Mike dropped his skateboard and took the steps two at a time, jogging to where the others were.

"Nuthin' much. Just skatin'. What's up with you?"

Casey grinned. "Plannin' a road trip."

Mike eyed his brothers. "Really? Where?"

"Well, I hear that a friend of ours has the place alone to himself for spring break, so it looks like we're heading to California."

"We?"

"Well, we'd hoped you'd come with us," Raph said. "It's gonna take a few days to drive from New York to California, but, if you think you can stand us for that long . . ."

Mike grinned and threw himself at Raph, putting his brother into a head lock.

"Of course I can stand ya, dude. I'll just have to have Donnie and Leo help me tie you up and gag you."

"Funny," Leo said, smiling as his brothers roughhoused, "that's just what Raph said about you."

3 Days Later

"Dudes, I feel jet lagged," Mike said.

He stared blankly out the window of the old model VW bus. If the Foot Clan were to attack now, he thought, we'd all be turtle soup.

Don nodded and yawned. "Only without the jet." The purple turtle stared at Raph, who was snoring in the back seat. "I wish I could sleep like that."

Mike poked his head up between the driver and front passenger's seats.

"We there yet, bro?"

"Almost," said Leo, who was driving.

It was two in the morning and the streets were mostly empty.

"Take a left up ahead," Casey said. Then he flipped the map that he'd been reading. "No, a right! Sorry."

Don leaned over Mike and pointed. "That's the house. Up ahead there. We made it."

Leo pulled into the driveway and parked the bus. "Think Dan's still up?"

"He should be," Casey said, rolling his neck and shoulders. "We called him and told him we'd be in late."

The porch light came on.

"Looks like we're expected," Raph noted groggily from the back.

Dan Pennington came out and waved.

"I vote we leave the stuff in here and go crash," Mike yawned. "I could use a nice soft bed after the last three days."

"Bring your things," Leo said, drawing groans from his siblings. "If we don't get it now, Casey and Dan'll have to bring it in later. We can't exactly walk around in daylight, you know."

"I vant to suck your blood," Raph said in a very fake Transylvania accent. He yanked the side door open. "Let's get inside already. Yer messin' with my beauty sleep."

He slung his knapsack over his shoulder and started up the stairs to the house.

"I don't know what he's complaining about," Don muttered, picking up his bag and getting out of the bus. "He's slept more than the rest of us on this trip."

"Yeah, well, we're all gonna sleep good tonight," Casey said.

"Well," Don corrected. "We'll all sleep well, tonight."

"Whatever. Just show me the mattress."

Leo and Mike shared a grin as they pulled their things from the bus and locked the vehicle up.

"It's so great you guys could make it," Dan said. "It's been way too long."

They moved into the house and Dan locked the door behind them. Raph was already snoring on one of the couches in the living room.

"All my roomies are gone, so just pick a bed to sleep in," Dan invited. "Or you can take the couches. There's sleeping bags too. Whatever you fancy."

"If it's relatively soft and doesn't move, I'll take it," Don said.

Ten minutes later, everyone was settled. Raph hadn't budged from the couch he'd claimed. Leo had claimed the other couch in the living room. Don, Mike, and Casey had all taken rooms, though Don elected to sleep in a sleeping bag on the bed as opposed to in the bed itself.

"Night dudes!" Mike called, flipping off the last light.

There were muffled 'g'nights' and grumbles from those still coherent enough to respond.

"And tomorrow, the beach," Mike murmured.