When Michelangelo was brought home the previous evening, he began dreading the inevitable. To tell his father of what had come of him and Renet's relationship. The youngest Hamato son laid in his bed all night, eyes locked on the ceiling, imagining every single scenario that could come from his talk with his father. Would he be mad, upset, disappointed, or maybe, just maybe, his father would be understanding?

Mikey scoffed. Wishful thinking.

Morning came and Mikey got very little sleep, with each minute he grew closer and closer to their painful conversation. He had to do it. He knows he has to do it! Though his mind was clouded with every single possible outcome, Mikey tried to make the best of his morning. Cooking himself a healthy breakfast, listening to the radio, reading the paper, and playing with his pet cat, Ice Cream Kitty. Everything he can to keep his mind distracted.

Soon the clock in the family living area read 6:30pm. The Dojo will open in less than 3 hours, however all employees must arrive at 7 o'clock exactly. Grabbing his things, Mikey made his way to the family business, an easy walk from their penthouse apartment. Though the Hamato's do have a car they all use to carpool together. Mikey missed those days when they would all crame into a single vehicle, excitedly discussing with one another their upcoming performances. Nowadays each family member arrives in their own individual ways, for Mikey he enjoys walking. Especially tonight, the longer he takes heading to work, the more he can avoid what is soon to come.

Entering through the back exit of the club, Mikey encounters an unusual sight backstage. His brother Raphael, strolling through the halls, a cheerful look on his face. It was already peculiar that Raph was actually at work earlier, but to be in such an upbeat mood made Mikey feel uneasy. Especially when he took notice of Raph faintly singing, "L is for the way you look at me. O is for the only one I see~"

Mikey clears his throat, bringing out a smile, "Hey Raph! You're awfully chipper tonight."

Raph doesn't notice him, lost in his own personal trace, "V is very, very extraordinary. E is even more than anyone that you adore can- Love is all that I can give to you."

"...Okay??" Mikey awkwardly laughs it off. Not sure if he truly wants to know how or why his brother is so upbeat. He knows that if he did ask, Raph would very likely give his usual "It's none of your business" answer.

Heading out to the main area of the club, Mikey found Casey Jones at the bar preparing for the evening. Cleaning the cocktail glasses and whipping down the counter. Running up to him, Mikey greets his friend, "Evening Casey!"

"Hey Mikey," the bartender says as he continues his work, "How are you doing? Feeling any better?"

He shrugs, "A little. Listen, I can't thank you and Slash enough for being there for me the other night. It meant a lot to me."

Casey smiles, "Any time."

Mikey then looks over his shoulder, quickly inspecting the area to make sure no one else could overhear their conversation, "And if anyone asks, I was with you and Slash the whole night."

"You can trust me, Mikey. I used to cover for Raph all the time so this isn't anything different."

"And what about..." the turtle leaned over the counter so he could whisper nervously, "the gun?"

"Relax. I put it back in the glove compartment and returned the car to my old man's shop. Never gonna drive that thing again. Out of sight, out of mind."

Though Casey played it cool with his friend, deep down he was just as scared as Mikey was. It was best to forget about the gun and the car overall. To think for the past few nights he was stealing and driving the car of a Foot Mafia member. Who knows what could have happened if he wrecked it! What that group of crooks would do to him, or worse, his father if the car was damaged. Casey shook his head, having the idea escape his mind. Best not to think about it.

Looking up from his work at the bar, Casey took notice of Raphael entering from the backstage door into the main seating area. He glared at his friend from across the room, skipping around with a happy demeanor. It angered Casey. To see his best friend all chipper with no remorse for what he did. He would not let this slide.

Setting down his glass he was cleaning, Casey quickly dried his hands with a cloth, "If you'll excuse me, Mikey. I have to go give someone who's in my sight a piece of my mind!"

Slamming the rag down on the counter, Casey left the bar and stormed his way across the room, fumming. Ready to confront Raphael about the other night. The red turtle however took no notice of his friend quickly approaching him, continuing his cheerful melody as he floats on cloud nine, "Take my heart and please don't break it. Love was made for me and-"

"WHAT THE HELL RAPH?!"

Raphael looks over, seeing Casey getting right in his face. Ignoring the bartender's furious expression, he nonchalantly says, "Oh, hey Jones."

"Don't 'Hey, Jones' me! Where the hell were you last night?! I thought we made plans to hang out!"

"Shit..." Raph mumbled under his breath.

He completely forgot! Raphael made plans to go out bar hopping with Casey and Slash the same night he went on his date with Mona Lisa. Regardless of the situation now, deep down Raph didn't really regret it. He got to spend his evening with Mona Lisa. That's all that mattered to him, but still, upsetting his best friend was not his intention.

"I'm sorry, Casey! I completely forgot."

"Oh, you 'forgot'?!" Casey mimics with air quotes, "You never forget something as important as bar hopping with your buddies!"

"I know, and again I'm sorry, but something else came up and I didn't want to cancel."

The bartender laughs at the excuse, "What could have possibly been more important than-"

Casey then pauses, taking quick notice of his friend's expression and demeanor. He was... happy? Relaxed too. The singing from earlier was also a dead give away. He examines his friend for a moment before gasping in realization, "You were with a girl!!"

Raph froze, "N-No I wasn't."

"Yes you were! I can see it on your face. You look way too happy. You were with a special lady, weren't you?!" He jabs his friend's arm in a congratulatory manner.

"Shhhh!!" Raph covers his friend's mouth, grumbling to him, "Will you shut your trap?!"

"Your reaction is just proving my suspicions correct," Casey's voice mumbles under his friend's hand.

Raph sighs in defeat. There was no point in hiding it from him. Removing his hand from Casey's mouth, he confirms, "Yes, I was on date."

"No way!" Casey punches Raph's arm, "You scoundrel! I can't believe you tried to hide this from me!"

"It's none of your business..." he grumbles.

"It not being my business has piqued my interest. Usually when you score a dame you brag about it to me and Slash, but with this one, you haven't said a single word." he puts his fists on his hips, "Aren't you gonna tell me about her?"

Raph said nothing, glaring at his friend.

"Unless..." he gasps, eyes widened, "You're planning on seeing her again!"

Raph remained silent, hoping his quiet tone was enough to stop Casey's blabbering but the icy stare and tense stance was enough of an answer for the chatty bartender.

"Holy shit! You are! This is huge! You never date the same woman twice! She must be a real showstopper if you're keeping her around." Casey winks.

A faint smile grows on Raph's face, "A showstopper indeed..."

Raph hates it when Casey can easily read him, but he is usually never wrong. Raphael is planning on seeing Mona Lisa again. After a romantic evening of dancing, laughter and chatter, Raph escorted Mona home as per usual. An activity that has become common for the couple now. Raph still remembers the moment so clearly. Once arriving at her apartment, the dancer thanked him for a wonderful evening, and Raph offered to take her out again in the future. Mona Lisa agreed to a second date and the couple said their goodbyes with a gentle loving kiss. A kiss that has put a wide smile on Raphael's face that has lasted until the very next night. Humming melodies of love ballads throughout the day as the thought of only her remained in his mind. Raphael was truly acting like a love struck puppy. No woman has ever gotten him to act like this before, to the point it has now caught the attention of Casey Jones.

"So..." Casey snuck his arm around Raph, pulling his friend towards him. He gave a devious smirk, asking more quietly, "What's her name?"

Raph goes back to glaring, smacking Casey's arm off of him, "When I said it's none of your business, it is none of your business!"

"Oh come on! You ditched your two bestest friends for this woman! I have the right to at least know her name!"

"Buzz off."

"Fine. If you ain't gonna tell me her name, at least give me something. What does she look like? Human or mutant? Tall or short? Curvy or thin? Do I know her already? I bet it's regular at the club, right? That's why you're being quiet. Let's see..." Casey thinks over the options, "Is it the blonde babe in the green dress? Or the cute fox with the white fur?"

"I ain't tellin' you shit."

Casey pouts, "You're no fun."

Raph lets out a long exhausted exhale, "Look, I really like this woman and I want to see where it'll go with her, so I don't want any attention on this, okay?! So please, just drop it."

"But..." Casey stops himself and looks at his friend. He could see Raph was serious about this, just from the sincereness in his eyes mixed with the worry of what could happen if more people knew of this relationship. Casey may not know anything about this woman, but he can see just how much she means to his friend. Can this possibly be true? Raphael has finally met his perfect match?

"She must mean alot to you."

"She does," he faintly smiles, "and I don't want to screw this up with her."

"Okay then. I'll drop it."

A promise he will keep for now, but for someone like Casey Jones, when he wants to know more of something that he is not supposed to, he will get to the bottom of it sooner or later. He would genuinely like to meet the mystery woman who had captured his best friend's heart, but also the fact that Raphael is keeping this information all to himself has intrigued Casey more. What is so special about this woman that prevents Raph from saying anything? Is she some top class celebrity or a daughter of a wealthy family. No. If she was, Raph would've told his father since those are the type of women he prefers his sons to date. This woman must be from the lower class. Nothing new from Raph, he's had a history of dating women from different social rankings below him, but if Raph is truly keeping it hidden then it must be quite scandalous being in a relationship with this particular woman. Casey had to know! So doing a little snooping in the future wouldn't hurt anybody.

Raph lets out a sigh of relief, "Thank you for understanding, Jones. Oh, and by the way. I think you should know; I ran into Xever and Bradford last night."

"What?!" Casey panicked, "Those two dolts are back?!"

Raph nods.

"This is not good! What if they come by again to start trouble?!"

"We only have to hope for the best. For now, keep your guard up when walking through the streets. They said something about acquiring a new job and I'm not interested in finding out what exactly it is anytime soon." Raph takes a quick glance at the clock hanging over the bar, one more hour before the doors open for business, "Look, we're gonna be opening up soon. I better go get ready."

"You're performing again tonight?"

"If my old man wants me to, then I will."

"Alright. Break a leg, Raph."

Casey heads back to the bar to prepare for the upcoming evening. Looking out to his station, Casey quickly notices that he already has a customer, or at least just a visitor at the bar. Sitting on one of the stools, leaning her arms on the counter already dressed up in her uniform, April O'Neil glossed over a magazine.

"There's my favorite redhead!" Casey cheers.

Turning around, April looks up at the bartender. She greets him with a smile, "Evening Casey!"

"Someone's in a good mood tonight."

"I see no reason to be in a bad mood!" Her smile grows, "These last few days have been looking up for me. Got to have lunch with an old friend yesterday, Raph and I made up, and Donnie and I have been growing a lot closer. It's nice to have a friend you can rely on around here."

Casey lets out an exaggerated cough, gesturing to himself.

April chuckles, "Including you, Jones."

"Thank you!" Casey heads back to behind the bar counter. He begins setting up the counter for customers, "So you and Donnie have been hanging out, huh?"

April excitedly nods. She doesn't want to give Casey all the information of what she and Donnie do when they hang out. It's not her place to tell him of Donnie's stage fright dilemma nor her private singing lessons, and if April knows Casey, and she sure as hell does, he can't keep a secret for the life of him. It's best to leave it on a low for now.

One by one, Casey sets out bowls of garnishes for the cocktails. He lets out a soft amused giggle, "Looks like everyone had a date last night."

April rolls her eyes, "It wasn't a date! We were just- Wait." she looks at her friend curiously, "What do you mean by that?"

Casey gives a smug look, "I can't tell you."

She tilts her head, looking at him, arms crossed, "Casey... I can see it on your face. You want to tell me something. Don't you?"

"Okay! Okay! You trapped me in a corner! I'll tell ya!" Casey jumped with excitement. Leaning over the bar counter, he whispers into his redheaded friend's ear, "Between you and I, Raph was on a date with a mystery girl last night. Can you believe it?! And here's the sugar on the cream... he's planning on seeing her again!"

Of course, he couldn't hold it in. April wasn't surprised at that, but the information she was just given was even more shocking, "Like an ongoing date? Not just a one time thing? Raph is in a committed relationship?"

Casey shrugs, "From what I've gathered, he and this mystery girl went on a date and they may or may not be going on a second one soon."

"So it must be serious if Raph's actually seeing this girl again."

"That's what I was thinking, but don't tell Raph I told you any of this. He'd kill me."

April giggles, "My lips are sealed."

Unlike Casey, April actually knows how to keep a secret. She's been successful in keeping Donnie's and now she is trusted with Raph's, even if the Hamato brother himself is unaware of his best friend's loose lips. April will keep this information to herself for the sake of staying on Raphael's good side. They just recently made up after the riot incident, she doesn't need more drama. April however couldn't help but find the irony of it all. Seems like everyone is joining the dating pool these days. First her childhood friend Y'gythgba and now Raphael with a mystery girl. Maybe April should start considering-

Wait a minute.

April thought it over. Raphael was on a date last night and if April recalls, so was Y'gythgba. She remembers her friend telling her of a date she was planning going later that evening when they were having lunch. Not to mention that Y'gythgba was in the audience the night Raphael was performing. Though she put little thought into it before, April now realizes that once her friend left the club, Raphael disappeared as well. A strange coincidence.

"Could it be?..."

"Could what be, Red?"

"Uh- N-Nothing!" April smiles awkwardly, "My mind was just wondering. So, what did you do on your day off yesterday-"

"YOU AND RENT WHAT??!!" a furious voice screams from the backstage door.

April and Casey jump from the thunderous screech. The duo looked at one another, and with a simple glance they both agreed to investigate. Running to the door labeled "employees only", April and Casey head into the backstage hallway where they find the rest of their coworkers and the Hamato brothers watching the sight before them. Joining the group, April and Casey look on to see Michelangelo in a confrontation with their boss, Mr. Hamato.

"Dad, it's not as bad as you think!" Mikey tries to assure his father.

"Not as bad as I think?!" Splinter repeats in distress, "Michelangelo, think of how your break up will affect our business' image! How do you think New York will react when they learn their favorite power couple is no more!"

"What's going on Dee?" April whispers to her turtle friend.

"Mikey and Renet broke up." Donnie quickly explains, still trying to focus on the conflict.

"What?! But they seemed so happy together! What happened?"

"Who knows." Leo says, his arms crossed as he watches the confrontation with an intrigued but worried look, "But Father is not happy about it..."

"I wish I had popcorn," Raph adds with a chuckle, "It's refreshing when he scolds someone who's not me."

"We didn't end on bad terms!" Mikey explains to his father, "We just wanna stay friends! And besides, we have a plan to make the public think we're still together when we don't have to be!"

Mr. Hamato scoffs, "So we're just going to lie to the press?!"

"Why not?! They lie about us all the time! That Usagi guy is always dragging Leo's name through the dirt in his reviews!"

Suddenly the crowd hears a faint sound of a phone ringing coming from Mr. Hamato's office, "Just because the press lies doesn't mean we need to stoop to their pathetic level.

The phone rings a second time, but Mr. Hamato ignores it. Too focused on his discussion with his son, "We're Hamatos! We're better than this! So you and Ms. Tilley will be getting back together-"

The ringing continues for a third time.

"Leatherhead!" Mr. Hamato turns quickly to the band leader, irritated, "Answer that damn phone for me! I'm busy!"

"Uh y-yes sir." Leatherhead nods quickly before heading off to his boss' office. The ringing finally stops.

Mikey puts his hands on his hips, puffing up his chest. He takes a slow deep breath as he says sternly, "I'm not getting back together with Renet. She and I want different things in life. I'm not taking that chance away from her."

His father groans in exhaustion, rubbing his forehead in irritation, "I should've had Leonardo court her instead..."

"Please leave me out of this!" Leo calls out from the crowd.

"Like I said, Dad," Mikey says calmly, "Renet and I will continue to pretend to date for the sake of the press, but in reality we're not. I see no difference when it comes to the public's eyes."

"But you don't understand, my son!" Mr. Hamato grew more stressed, "If you and Ms. Tilley are no more, then the business will-"

"Um, Mr. Hamato sir...?" Leatherhead said timidly, returning back to the main backstage hall, interrupting his boss.

"What Leatherhead?!"

"The telephone, sir." the mutant alligator explains, his voice nervously shaking as he shares the surprising news, "It-It was your daughter."

Mr. Hamato's eyes widened, his sons and all the other workers of The Dojo looked on at Leatherhead with shock. A feeling of curiosity and eagerness to hear more filled the room as Leatherhead told his boss, "She's coming home. Karai is coming back to New York."