This chapter is a belated birthday fic for FantasiaWandering! :D Happy birthday, Fantasia!

Kitchen Volcanology

April gingerly picked her way through the last stretch of sewer on her way to the lair. The recent stretch of rainy days had filled the tunnels with more runoff than usual, and the briskly flowing water was high enough that it nearly reached the top of her knee-high rubber boots. Her backpack wasn't heavy, but it was a bit unwieldy and made walking on the slick surfaces challenging.

It didn't serve as a deterrent to the turtles, though. As she rounded the last bend, an excited squeak echoed off the cement walls. Even though April was used to an enthusiastic greeting whenever she showed up, she still let out a startled yelp when Mikey burst from the shadows.

"April! April, hi!" The little turtle splashed towards her.

A wave of water came perilously close to washing over the top of her boots, but April dodged it with expert precision. She grinned, reaching down to take Mikey's outstretched hand in her own. His fingers were wet and cold from the water, but he didn't seem bothered by it. "Hey, buddy! You haven't been waiting long, have you?"

"A little bit, but that's okay," Mikey answered. "I was practicing hiding."

"You were really good at it until all the yelling," April said teasingly. Mikey laughed. Even though the water came up nearly to his waist, he still managed to pull ahead of her, dragging her in his wake as they walked the last few yards to the lair's closest hidden entrance. The speed compromised her ability to be careful, and she hid a wince as the cold water lapped over the top of her boots.

Even though her backpack wasn't very large, she still had to squeeze a bit to fit through the entryway. The damp, chilly air gave way to dry warmth as they entered the turtles' home. Mikey turned up the volume even more as he announced, "Hey, guys! April's here!"

Despite her cold feet, seeing the other three come pelting towards her made her grin, and she knelt with arms open to catch them. "Oof! Hey there!" She gave Donnie a peck on the forehead, booped Leo's nose, and tweaked Raph's mask so it covered his eyes, making him first growl, then laugh. "What's the plan for today?"

"Papa's taking us exploring," Leo said. "We're going to look for tools."

April nodded in understanding. Splinter occasionally would patrol the sewers underneath construction sites to see if anything useful had fallen. If he truly needed something - or if an item was important for his sons' welfare - he would allow April or Kirby to help get it for him, but even after five years, he still preferred not to depend on them too heavily. "Sounds like it'll be an interesting hunt," she answered.

She glanced up as Splinter approached. The white streaks on his muzzle curled in a welcoming smile. "It may take us longer than usual to make the trip because of the rain."

"That's okay. Donnie and I can hold down the fort for a while. Can't we, Donnie?" April asked, giving the purple-masked turtle a playful nudge. Although April usually took care of all four brothers while Splinter was out, she made an effort to spend one-on-one time with each of the little turtles from time to time. Today was Donnie's turn.

"Boys, go get your bags," Splinter said. Mikey, Leo, and Raph took off for their room at a run.

"Do they have more than one speed?" April asked with a smirk.

Splinter chuckled. "Not that I have seen. Here…" He held out a dry pair of socks with a knowing smile. "I think you may need these."

"You are a lifesaver." April sat on the floor at once, tugging off her boots and peeling her wet socks away from her cold feet. Aside from his extensive weapon collection, Splinter hadn't kept many of his other possessions, but he'd saved a small amount of clothing. He couldn't wear any of it now, but there were a handful of sweaters that his sons wore on cold days, with the sleeves rolled up and the bottom hem trailing around their feet; and there were a few pairs of socks that April borrowed if she forgot to bring an extra pair. She sighed happily as she pulled on the thick, warm socks.

Splinter turned when his three sons came bounding back, each carrying a small satchel. "Stay close to me," he told them. Leo immediately stepped up behind him, as close as possible without treading on his father's tail. Splinter watched Mikey and Raph fall in line as well, but his ears twitched forward as he looked at each of them in turn. "No wandering off."

Raph pouted, but Mikey was all wide-eyed innocence. "We won't!" he promised. He took his brother by the hand. Raph wrinkled his nose, but didn't try to pull free.

Donnie waved to his brothers as they filed out of the lair, then turned to look up at April. "What should we do while they're gone?"

"Well, if you have ideas, I'm open to suggestions," April replied, "but I did bring some stuff with me in case we couldn't think of anything to do."

"Ooh, what did you bring?" Donnie trotted along next to her as she headed for the kitchen, eyeing her backpack eagerly.

"You remember that book about volcanoes we read last week? I thought we could make one."

Donnie's eyes widened. "How are we gonna do that?"

"Come on. Let's sit at the kitchen counter and I'll show you." Donnie climbed nimbly onto one of the stools, swinging his feet excitedly as April sat beside him and unzipped her backpack. "Here we go." She pulled a box of different colors of play doh out of her bag. "We'll use this to make the volcano. What color do you want it to be?"

Donnie eyed the play doh with a thoughtful frown. "Is there brown?"

She should have known the practical little turtle would want a realistic color. Primary (or pastel) colors weren't exactly accurate for volcanic rock. She started opening a few of the cylindrical containers. "No, but we can make some. Here." She dug out a chunk of orange and a chunk of blue. "If you mix those together, we should get brown. Or at least something close to it."

Donnie took the play doh in his chubby hands with a soft "Oh…" and got to work blending the colors together.

April got up to poke around the kitchen. She'd brought a little bottle of vinegar with her, rightly guessing that Splinter wouldn't have any on hand, but there was a box of baking soda in the cabinet, and food coloring on the shelf with the rest of the baking supplies.

She returned to her seat at the counter. "How's it going?"

"Good. I'm done mixing and I'm making the volcano now." The five-year-old's eyes narrowed beneath his mask as he concentrated, kneading the lump of now-brown play doh between his palms. He stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he worked, shaping it into a flat-bottomed cone with his blunt fingers.

April poured a cup of vinegar and added a few drops of red food coloring. Donnie put his volcano in the middle of the baking tray in front of him, looking expectantly up at April. "Now what?"

"Now you scoop some of that baking soda inside." She watched while Donnie used a teaspoon to fill the bottom of the volcano. He moved slowly, careful not to spill any of the white powder, his precise movements making her smile. "Okay, that should be enough," she said, after he'd put a few spoonfuls in. "Are you ready?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!"

She pushed the red vinegar towards him. "Go ahead, pour it in."

Donnie picked up the container, trickling a precise stream into the center of the volcano. He squealed in glee at the burst of foamy lava that came bubbling out, and kept adding more baking soda and vinegar to the volcano until the baking tray was flooded and the play doh was slumped in a soggy pile. "Why does it do that?" he asked at last, turning his bright eyes up to her face.

"Uh - " April scrunched her nose as she thought. "You know, I don't remember," she admitted. "It's a chemical reaction, but I didn't think to look up the specifics. How about this? I'll look up the answer and bring my chemistry textbook with me next time I come down, and we'll go over it together."

Most five-year-olds wouldn't have been interested - and wouldn't have been able to understand the information in a chemistry textbook even if they were - but Donnie just looked excited. "Yeah!" He leaned forward to look around her at her backpack. "Is there enough play doh to make more brown?"

"A little more, yeah. Why?"

"I want to build volcanoes for Raph, Leo, and Mikey." His brow ridges drew together as he peered into the half-empty containers of blue and orange. "I don't think there's enough to mix enough brown for three volcanoes, though. Can you get the pink stuff? Mikey will like a pink volcano, even though mountains aren't pink. And we can make a red one for Raph so it'll look like it's on fire."

April grinned. "That sounds like a good plan to me." She carefully slid the sloshing tray towards herself and eased it off the counter. "I'll dump this and clean it up while you make the volcanoes, ok?"

"Ok." Donnie nodded briskly, face sobering with concentration, but brown eyes alight with excitement, anticipating his brothers' reactions when they returned.

April dumped the foamy vinegar down the drain and scraped the play doh into the garbage before rinsing and drying the baking tray. She rejoined Donatello at the counter and reached for the container of green play doh. She watched him fondly out of the corner of her eye, while molding the soft, salty-smelling clay into the shape of a small, domed shell.