Destiny wishes she'd picked out a tankini, something like Annalise's swimsuit—cute ruffles, decent coverage. She thought Bianca was staring before, but now it's obvious. The woman is watching her like a hawk, her eyes glimmering, and Destiny feels like she's being undressed.

She puts Leonardo between her and Bianca, gripping his shoulders. "Bianca's staring again..."

Leonardo frowns and looks over at her. Bianca grins and waves at them and Leonardo frowns even as he slowly waves back.

"Weird," he mutters to Destiny. "Maybe I can—"

Destiny's grip tightens. "Oh, crap, she's coming."

Sure enough, Bianca stands and struts towards them, a bounce in her step. The teens stay put even as she comes right up to them, leaning closer as she scrutinizes them. Leonardo takes a step away from her.

"Can I help you?" he asks.

"How do you do it?" she asks. "Magic? Science?"

Leonardo blinks. "Pardon?"

She steps around Leonardo, trying to get a better look at Destiny. "And what are you?" she asks. "Some kind of beast? Un tigre? Those scars must be—"

"What the actual s—" Destiny cuts herself off, quickly switching her words. "—hell are you talking about?"

"Mamá!"

They both look over as Taylor sprints towards them, eyes wide despite the clear anger on her face. She grabs her mother's arm and tugs her away, fuming.

"Taylor, I was just asking—"

"I told you to leave it be!"

"But I must know!"

"Taylor, what's going on?" Leonardo utters, brow furrowing.

Taylor whirls to him. "She saw Raph. My dad did too."

Destiny's mouth falls open and Leonardo immediately tenses. He looks up the beach and, sure enough, Jack is huddled underneath one of the umbrellas, staring into the distance like he's questioning everything. At least he doesn't look as shell-shocked as Kirby O'Neil.

"Where is he?" Leonardo asks.

"Changing hut, just up the path," Taylor explains. "I have to find Donnie and Sarina."

"They went further up the beach to look for tide pools," Destiny says.

"We'll check on Raph," Leonardo says. "Des—"

She's already taking his hand and leading him away. Taylor turns to her mother, trying her best not to huff like a bull, and Bianca is still smiling like this is all some fun revelation.

"Mamá, please—" Taylor begs. "This is not the time or place!"

Bianca's smile finally falls into a sad pout. "But...I'm just happy to know what's going on! Now I can find out who your friends really are and be a part of—"

"Maybe they don't want you to find out! Maybe I didn't want you to find out!"

She gasps as she presses her hand to her chest. "But I'm your mamá! You don't keep secrets from—"

"You're not my mamá!" Taylor snaps and, again, Bianca gasps again like she's been slapped. "You haven't been there for me. You were never there, not when I needed you, and you can't come waltzing back into my life just to pretend everything's okay! You don't give a shit about me!"

"Mi princesita, it's far more complicated than—"

Taylor holds her hand up. "No, listen for once in your life. You made your choice when you left us. You don't get to be a part of my life only when it's convenient for you! I have a new family and it doesn't include you."

Her face is way too hot and her eyes itch and her mamá's face is pinched, hurt, and part of her is happy. Part of her is glad that Bianca is finally feeling even half the pain she's caused. She just wishes all of these stupid feelings wouldn't have come out now.

Taylor turns and runs away. She has to find Donatello and Sarina and pray that they have a patch. Maybe they can save what's left of this day.

----------

"Thank Darwin I thought to bring extras," Donatello says as he lingers outside the changing hut, zipping up the dark purple fanny pack clipped around his waist. Sarina, Leonardo, Destiny, and Taylor wait with him.

Sarina raises an eyebrow. "More like thank me?" she corrects. "It was my very correct fear that pushed me to do so, was it not?"

He hunches his shoulders sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right, yes. We're going to have to test the waterproofing capabilities of the patches as soon as possible."

"Does that mean the rest of us could change back any second?" Leonardo asks. Destiny nods emphatically.

"There's a good chance. We should probably let the others know and call it a day," Donatello says.

"A true shame. I was having a good time," Sarina sighs.

The door to the hut swings open and Raphael remerges, human again, struggling to tie his stretched shorts tight enough to stay up. He shakes his head, cursing under his breath, and Taylor steps forward to bunch the material closer and free his hands up to tie it.

"You okay, Raph?" Leonardo asks.

Raphael sighs. "Yeah, I'm fine," he says. He looks up at his brothers. "I'm sorry I blew our cover."

"It is not your fault," Sarina says. "It is mine and Donatello's. We should have been more thorough."

"Don't beat yourselves up. Even you guys can't think of everything," Destiny says, patting Sarina's shoulder.

Sarina closes her eyes. "I do try, though."

"How's everyone else?" Raphael asks.

Taylor purses her lips. "Mikey and Annalise are helping pack everything up. I got Casey and April to distract my parents. Figured they'd be good for them to talk to, being our...human friends who dealt with finding out mutants are real and all."

"Karai and Shini?"

"Distracting the kids with Splinter and Leanne. They're not too happy about the day being cut short."

"Shell..." Raphael mutters.

"We'll have to plan a redo," Leonardo says. "Maybe we can make a trip of it, drive back out to April's farmhouse and visit one of the lakes out there."

"That could be fun," Destiny says. "Plus I'd love to swim as...myself, you know?" She reaches up to her human ears, frowning. "Have I mentioned I miss my hearing?"

"Maybe we should learn ASL," Sarina offers. "Taylor, you know some, don't you?"

"Bits and pieces because of Tío Héctor," she says. She frowns. "Don't you know like, every language?"

Sarina bows her head as if in shame. "My brain is capable of translating spoken word only. I know each of the hand motions for most sign languages, but the translation from mind to body is harder for me to match and admittedly, I never sought to practice. It's not very inclusive of me." She forms a fist and plants it in her palm. "I resolve to fix my error and truly learn sign. We can learn together."

"I love the enthusiasm," Taylor laughs.

"Sounds like a plan, darling," Donatello says, lightly touching the small of Sarina's back. "As for now, we should get going, hm?"

"Please."

----------

"Taylor."

Taylor stops, sucking in a breath. Everyone has returned home: Alessandro took the kids on ahead to the hotel and the turtles split off to drop the others off at their own homes. That leaves Taylor standing alone outside her townhouse as Bianca steps out of her Spider, approaching her daughter with the most demure attitude she's ever worn.

Taylor turns, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah?"

"Would...you be willing to go for a short drive with me? Just to talk."

Taylor purses her lips, glancing back at the house. Her papá is already inside—he told Carmela he had a headache and went straight to bed. Supper won't be ready for a while.

"Okay."

The drive is silent except for the Spider's purring. Bianca drives for a good long while, out of Manhattan and into the Bronx, before finally pulling up to a stop in front of a pizza diner. She leans back and pulls her sunglasses off, exhaling.

Taylor looks around in confusion.

"This is where I grew up," Bianca says. "I mean, your papá and I." She points at the diner, at the giant windows and the neon sign out front clearly telling them the place is open. "Right in there is where I told him I was pregnant."

Taylor stares at the diner and tries to imagine her parents, barely out of their teens, eating greasy pizza and talking about her before she was her.

"I thought it was exciting. I wanted a baby. I wanted you," Bianca continues. It's weird to hear her accented voice so soft, so oddly sad. "But I was so young and I didn't think about everything being a mother meant. I thought about myself and what I wanted instead of what was best for you, even when you were no bigger than a blueberry."

Taylor's throat tightens up and she wraps her arms around herself, sinking back against the leather seats. Bianca grips the steering wheel, her French-manicured nails clicking against each other.

"I met Alessandro while I was still married to your papá. I wanted to pretend that Jack deserved it, for focusing so much on work instead of me."

Her stomach churns. She knew. She knew, of course. The timeline didn't match up for there not to be an affair.

"I love Alessandro," Bianca says. "I loved Jack too, once. When he found out, we agreed that there was no working things out. Neither of us wanted to be together anymore."

Tears sting Taylor's eyes and she turns her face away. She thinks of her papá sitting in that dark kitchen and her heart aches.

"Things dragged on. I was already planning to go to Spain with Alessandro, but there was a matter of custody. I figured we'd fly you out every summer so I'd get some time with you, but Jack...he didn't want that. He wanted you to have some kind of stability."

"And?" It's the first word she's spoken since she got in the car.

Bianca purses her lips. "We made a deal. He bought out my half of the custody agreement. He didn't want money from me, he just wanted to...set me free. He gave me an out and...I took it."

An out, she says. He handed her a stack of cash and that was all it took for her to leave her daughter behind.

"It was wrong of me," Bianca says. "I put my happiness above yours. I just didn't know how to have both." She exhales. "So...all this is to say, I hear you. I understand why you feel the way you do, but please know that I still love you very dearly."

Taylor unfolds her arms and lets them drop to her side. The neon diner sign buzzes softly, the "I" light flickering.

"Please take me home," she murmurs.

Bianca does so without another word.

----------

When they pull up to the townhouse, Taylor turns in her seat just enough to face Bianca. She's been thinking the whole ride to the Bronx and she thought even more on the ride back.

"Can I ask for one thing?" she asks.

Bianca nods. "Anything."

The inner child lingering inside Taylor wants to hug her mother close, but Taylor knows that she's just dealing with a pain that can never be repaired. She doesn't want to repair it.

"Isabel and Lola," Taylor says. Bianca's expression softens. "Those girls adore you. When...when I look at them, I see the girl I was. I wanted to be just like you when I grew up." Her voice catches but she swallows it down, channels every bit of strength she has. "I don't need you. Maybe I did years ago, but I've moved on. All I want from you is to go back to Spain and love your daughters and your husband more than you ever loved me and papá. Give them the life you wish you gave me."

"Taylor..."

"Carmela and Héctor were there for me when I left the Purple Dragons. They were there for papá. I have them and I have Raphael and his family. They're who I choose to be with." She stares her mother in the eye, searching for something she isn't sure of. "If you truly feel sorry, then learn from it. Don't make the same mistakes again with your other kids. Okay, mamá?"

"I...but, Taylor..."

"Okay?"

Bianca straightens up, pursing her lips, but she nods. "Okay."

Taylor pushes open the door and steps out, closing it behind her. She turns and leans closer to the window as Bianca rolls it down.

"I will say, though, thanks for visiting," Taylor says. "It gave me the closure I needed. Have a safe trip home."

She turns and goes back into the house without looking back. She refuses to let her mamá see her tears.

----------

Taylor stands outside the tiny bedroom her papá calls his own, hand resting on the doorknob. She turns it, letting the door open a crack and revealing the darkness inside. There's a sliver of light from between the curtains, blocking out the outside world, throwing shadows over the lump huddled on the single bed.

She opens her mouth, ready to call out to her dad, but her stomach twists. She tries not to picture it, tries not to picture her papá paying to send her mamá away. She doesn't know what's worse—that he gave her the money or that she took it.

What if they had worked out custody? What if Bianca had come back during the summer or flown Taylor across the ocean to visit as soon as school let out? If Bianca took over paying child support...what could have been different?

Would Jack have gone to jail? If he didn't, Taylor wouldn't have joined the Purple Dragons.

She wouldn't have met Raphael.

A surge of hurt and guilt and rage slaps her across the face and she bites down on the inside of her cheek as her eyes sting. It's easy to be mad at her mamá. It's so much harder being mad at her papá when she decided long ago to let it go, to leave his mistakes in the past so they can try to rebuild.

She feels like whatever measly wall they started building has already come down.

She closes the bedroom door and goes to her own room, pulling out her phone as she goes. She'll need to pack up Bindo again, but he likes visiting Maddalena.

Tay
I need to stay with you for a bit.
Can I?

He answers within seconds.

Raphie <3
Be there in five.