Drawing of ROTTMNT Aiden, Brianna, and Tyler and Mikey done by the amazingly talented VioletPixels ❤️🫶🏻

__________

Monica stared up at the ceiling, listening to the sound of Shelby's breathing next to her. Since she and Raph's conversation, Monica was able to finish treating Shelby's wounds and for the first time this trip, they got Shelby to eat and drink something. Now she was fast asleep at Monica's side, her gentle breaths blowing in and out slowly. Raphael was sat by the door, supposedly keeping watch but given the amount of snoring that was coming from the other side of the room, Monica doubted that he was still awake.

But she was. The events of the day left her mind reeling. She was disappointed with the amount of dread and anxiety she still felt, though the focus was shifted. She went through her problem list in her head.

One, the state of Shelby's mental and physical well-being. Not completely resolved by any means, but her mental health had made more progress in the last 12 hours than it had in 3 months. Her physical well-being was... less than optimal, but not as bad as Monica initially thought. Monica was scared that Shelby had broken her arm and some ribs, but when she was finally able to get a look, Monica was able to see that while she was badly contused, there was no breaks, which was honestly a miracle not only for the three of them, but for Karai and Shinigami's sake, as the mission was one step closer to continuing.

Two, Raph's bitterness towards Shelby. Definitely more reserved and on the mend as well. After their hug, Raph took the time to explain to Shelby that things were definitely not normal between the two of them, and that him keeping his distance is just his way of coping with his emotions. But he does forgive her. And Monica thought that was the most important thing to come out of their conversation with one another.

Three, being stuck at her aunt and uncle's house and no vehicle to get to Washington. This was now the biggest obstacle in the trios way to completing the mission, and perhaps the reason that Monica could not get her mind to rest. First, Monica tried to consider the possibility of recovering Casey's van. But she doubted after the way the van crumpled in on the passenger side that it was driveable. And even if it was, there was no way it was still there after the accident. It was likely towed away to some car lot, awaiting a claim that would never come.

The most plausible solution was contacting Leo and getting back up for the mission. This was probably the safest option for the injured trio and might result in a more successful mission. Emphasis on might. It would inevitably take longer for backup to pick them up and drive them to D.C. then if Monica could somehow find them a ride. Shinigami would be more upset than she probably already is, and what if showing up with more people ends up doing more harm than good when it comes to rescuing Karai? She'd rather Shinigami's plan fail due to Shinigami's poor planning than be the one responsible for improvising and it failing.

Monica sighed, turning so that she faced the wall instead. That was such a horrible thing to think. Tears gathered and spilled over onto her pillow, her throat burning as she attempted to swallow down her emotions.

Don't feel too bad, Hawkeye. You may be a kunoichi one day, but you'll never be as good as us.

Master Splinter, you can't be serious! That's like sending me by myself!

Master Splinter, Karai needs more than someone who hasn't even completed their Taijutsu training!

The voices of Raphael and Leonardo rang in her ears. In the moment, she was so upset at the insults, she didn't even take into account the truth in the words. She was inevitably going to drag the team down. Not only did she have less ninjutsu training, but she was just a human. She was weaker, slower, and had no special abilities like a shell to block bullets or Elsa powers. She was only in ninjutsu discipline 2 of 18 going up against the Foot- possibly the Shredder himself- with nothing but false confidence, a bow and arrow, and an amazingly high ponytail.

Who was she kidding? She was in over her head.

"Monica?"

The voice sent shivers down her spine, and for a split second Monica thought she was going to turn around and see her cousin Luisa laying next to her. Of course, it was only Shelby, her eyes glowing slightly with the reflection of light trickling in from the window. "You're awake." Shelby whispered.

"So are you." Monica pointed out.

"What's keeping you up?" Shelby asked.

"Logistics." Monica muttered. That was a half truth. "I'm trying to figure out how I'm supposed to get us to Washington."

"Hm." Shelby's eyes shifted to the ceiling as she turned from her side to her back. "You lived here, right? I mean, not here here, but, in Philadelphia."

"Yeah, I lived, like, 20 minutes from here." Monica muttered.

"Maybe this is a long shot. I'm just throwing ideas out there. But... do you have any friends that could let you borrow their car? Is that something adults do? I know my friends' parents would sometimes give me rides to soccer practice when my mom couldn't drive me." Shelby rambled.

Monica felt a deep sense of dread settle over her chest. Wow. Friends. How long has it been since she talked to one of them? If she recalled correctly, the last time was a few days after Casey's funeral. She officially told her old manager she was not coming back to work and texted a couple of her favorite coworkers. She talked to her professors about the possibilities of enrolling in an online RN program and finally reached out to her closest classmates. It might have been something she was comfortable asking back when she saw the girls every day, but now its been 3 months since she's spoken to anyone.

Monica glanced back at Shelby. "Do you think Uber is an option?" She asked with a half-hearted smile.

This caused Shelby to laugh, which caught Monica off guard. She hadn't heard Shelby genuinely laugh since their drive out to April's farmhouse, before they fully lost Shelby to the mind control serum. It was a boisterous, hearty laugh that shook her whole chest and was utterly contagious. Monica found herself joining in automatically, and as the laughter died down, Monica felt the edge of the bed shift, and they glanced down to see Raphael sitting at their feet

"What's so funny?" He asked, yawning.

"Nothing really. Sorry for waking you." Shelby muttered, though between breaths she was still cackling slightly.

"No, its okay, I shouldn't have to been sleeping anyways." Raph stated. "Besides, it was nice to hear you laugh again. It's been awhile since I heard it."

"It's been a while since I've done it." Shelby replied, sitting up.

Monica sat up as well. "We were just discussing how we're going to get to Washington."

"Well, I thought the answer was obvious." Raph stated. When both the girls sat and waited for him to explain, he rolled his eyes. "We're obviously going to have to steal a car."

"Dios mío." Monica muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose as she shook her head. "We cannot do that."

"Why not?" Raph asked. "It's for the greater good."

"Because out of the three of us, only two are gonna be IDed by officials, and it's not going to be you." Monica stated.

"We'll take a car that won't be reported 'til we're done with it." Raph shrugged. "Something abandoned that I can hotwire and get us out of here. If it really bothers you, we can return it after we get Karai back to New York."

Monica blinked. Abandoned. "Oh shit."

Raph raised an eyebrow ridge. "What?"

"I know exactly where to get a car." Monica whispered.

~~~~~

The garage door shuttered momentarily, groaning after months of disuse, before finally separating from the ground and lifting with a clatter, revealing a black Ford Escape forever parked alone in a two car garage.

"Whoa, Mona, you were holding out on us." Raph stated, nudging her with his elbow before he and Shelby made their way to the car, first aid and food supplies in hand.

Monica stood with just her bow and arrows and the key fob to the car clutched in her hand. Suddenly, she felt herself overrun with emotion as she slowly walked towards the gate to open it. She felt guilty taking advantage of her aunt's abandoned car. But there was no one to ask permission for it. There was no one to scold her for keeping the spare key instead of returning it to its hidden place up front, no one to remind her to close the garage and gate before she took off. Of course, she would still do those things, as to try and leave as minimal a trace as possible. After all, this stuff technically belonged to the government now so she was actually stealing. But this felt a lot more like a victimless crime than stealing a car from one of her aunt's unsuspecting neighbors.

"They'd be okay with it, you know." Monica turned to the sound of Shelby's voice and found her standing behind her.

"Huh?" Monica muttered. How long had she been standing at the gate staring off at nothing?

"They'd be okay with everything you had to do since you got here." Shelby clarified. "They would have wanted you to do whatever you had to do to stay safe. They would have been glad that they could help you out one last time."

Monica flashed a solemn smile. "Thanks, Shelby. I needed to hear that." She cleared her throat, looking off at Raph, who was standing next to the car, waiting. "You ready?"

Shelby took a deep breath, before looking off behind Monica, her eyes steely. "Let's go save Karai."

~~~~~

The drive was more tense than any of the trio wanted to admit. Monica's hands gripped the wheel like vises, her eyes constantly flinting to the different mirrors, looking for any suspicious vehicles that might have ill intent. Shelby was once again in the passenger seat, as it was less tinted than the back seat. While she had made a lot of progress in the last 24 hours, being back in the car after the accident, she sat stiff as a board, her body slightly scooted towards the middle as to get the right side of her body as far away from the unforgiving metal as possible. When Monica was able to get a glimpse at Raphael, he looked rather stoic compared to the two upfront, but Monica could sense by the way he couldn't sit still that he was also uncomfortable being back on the road.

After an hour of no talking, Monica cleared her throat. "So... how are we all feeling?"

"Like a million bucks." Raphael muttered, the sarcasm in his tone as sharp as any blade.

"Like I'm gonna throw up." Shelby admitted.

"Good, good." Monica stated. "Just three trauma bonded teenagers."

"Story of our lives." Raph said as he let out a sharp chuckle. Shelby also cracked a smile at the comment.

Suddenly, Raph's phone rang. "Oh, shoot." Raph started as he picked up the phone. "How long has it been since anyone has answered their phones?"

"I haven't." Shelby admitted, looking at Monica with regret. "I am the worst girlfriend alive."

"None of us have answered our phones, honey, we've been a bit preoccupied." Monica stated to her. "Might as well answer them now though. I told Master Splinter we would."

"Uhh, when was that conversation?"

"Nevermind, answer your brother." Monica brushed him off.

Raph clicked the answer button and placed the phone to his ear. "Yellow?"

"YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD REASON FOR NOT CONTACTING US FOR THREE DAYS!" Monica clenched her teeth together as she heard the muffled voice of Leonardo shout through the speaker. "Are you insane? We haven't even been able to pinpoint your location!"

"Hey, cool it, fearless. Lemme explain before you chew us out." Raph grumbled.

As Raph painted the picture of their adventures to Leo, Monica tried her best to not eavesdrop and instead concentrate on driving. However, the recount of the Russian man and neon guy made Monica's skin begin to crawl. She remembered the sheer fear of looking down the barrel of a gun, how Raphael and Shelby both fought so hard despite their injuries. She remembered feeling utterly helpless.

This was not a new feeling. Ever since she'd lost her family, she is constantly facing her inadequacies. First, she could do nothing to save her family. Then, when she was taken in by the turtles, she couldn't keep Shelby safe when they left up north in hopes of isolation leading to safety. And her training. She thought to her last spar with Raphael which ended with her pinned down and utterly helpless. When all she could do was turn a cheek when she watched Raph cock his fist back. Her grip tightened on the wheel and her throat began to burn. She regretted blowing up at Raph and Leo before going on this mission. They were right. She shouldn't be here. If any of the others had come instead, Karai would have been saved days ago and they would have already returned to New York intact.

Suddenly, she felt a small hand rest on her shoulder, rubbing in a small circle in a comforting fashion. It was enough to snap Monica out of her thought. Her cheeks were wet with tears that she hadn't realized she'd been crying and Shelby was leaning over the middle console to offer her support.

"Is it family stuff or something else?" Shelby asked in a quiet enough voice as to not interrupt Raph's conversation with his brothers.

"Something else." Monica muttered. "It's not important."

Shelby frowned. "Well, if you want to talk about it... whatever is bothering you is important to me."

Monica smiled as she wiped her cheeks. She hadn't realized how much she yearned to have a conversation with Shelby (aka, another girl) all this time. "I guess I'm just feeling very... inadequate." She admitted. "Raphael and you have these superhuman abilities and have been training in ninjutsu for so much longer. Leonardo was right to want to come instead of me. I... I'm just weighing you guys down."

Shelby let out a short scoff. "That's a joke, right? Or are you being serious?"

Monica glanced at her with slight alarm. "Serious."

"Monica... you're the only reason we survived that ambush."

"No, YOU are." Monica pointed out.

Shelby waved off her. "If you hadn't found us somewhere safe to stay, we would have been caught by either the cops or those two bozos eventually. You were also our personal nurse and the only reason Raph and I are on speaking terms right now." Shelby shook her head. "I don't think the boys at home could have pulled any of that off. Not the way you did."

Monica opened her mouth the argue, but Shelby cut her off. "And another thing, the boys have been training in ninjutsu since they were very young. I've only been doing this for a year or so. If I wasn't a mutant, I would be pretty much where you are now in terms of training. You're doing just fine."

Monica shook her head in disbelief. "There's no way you've only been training for a year. You're like, half way through the disciplines."

"Yeah, well, what Splinter didn't teach me was beat into me." Shelby muttered, her hand rubbing along her collarbone absentmindedly. "The point is, don't compare yourself to the boys. You're doing great."

Monica allowed herself a small smile. "Thanks, Shelby. That means a lot."

"Brad- Shelby." Raph called from the back.

Shelby turned, eyes widening. "Y-yes?" She asked.

"Mikey wants to talk to you." Raph stated, extending the phone towards her.

Shelby took it and sat deep into the seat. "Hello?" She smiled as Mikey's voice came through. "I'm so glad to hear from you too. Sorry it took so long... it's been crazy."

"Mona." Raph calling her pulled her away from listening to Shelby. "I overheard what you guys were talking about."

"You're a chronic eavesdropper." She teased.

In the rearview mirror, Monica could see Raph's face flush as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, well, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the things I said back home. You're carrying this mission on your back. We- I- ugh, do you get what I'm trying to say or not?" Raph asked.

Monica's smiled, the slightest pink hue blooming on her cheeks. "I understand, Raph. That means a lot, thank you."

"Yeah, yeah." He muttered, his head sinking slightly into his shell.