April O'Neil had never had what she would call a 'normal' life. She grew up as the nerdy little redhead with freckles, braces and glasses. And she had been picked on relentlessly. On top of all that, her Dad's science career had them constantly moving to some new discovery, or museum, or lab which left April as the 'new kid' everywhere she went. Never staying in one place long enough to make any real connections.

And then, the summer after her 12th birthday, April lost her mom. And her father decided it was best to move back to New York City to be near his sister, their only remaining family. April had needed a new start in this home more then ever and had worked hard to start fresh. With her braces gone and glasses replaced with contacts, she was off to a good beginning, but somehow still felt like she didn't fit in.

So when April found herself befriending a group of mutated turtles and somehow becoming involved in some kind of alien conspiracy which had taken her Dad from her, she wasn't even all that surprised. Strange seemed to be normal for her. This however, did not make it any easier.

She had been trying her best to stay strong, to put on her brave face and move forward to find her kidnapped father. But after the last couple days, it was starting to wear on her. Her life was in danger, not only from the mysterious aliens who seem to have been actually targeting her from the beginning, but also from Shredder and the Foot clan. It seems her new friends had enemies of their own, and those enemies weren't afraid to go after April to get to them.

So now April finds herself retreating. Opting to stay hidden so that she can protect both herself and her aunt, with whom she had been staying since her father's disappearance. As much as she didn't like the idea of hiding, she knew that it was the best course of action. Karai had tried to take her today, and while she may have managed to win that particular fight, she knew that it had been dumb luck and that she should be grateful to even be alive. Master Splinter had been training her to be a kunoichi; and while it had given her a fighting chance, her mere weeks of training could never hold up to Karai's lifetime of experience. And every ache and bruise in her body could hold testament to that.

When she had first rendezvoused with the gang back at the lair, her adrenaline was still pumping and the victory of her fortunate win was still fresh in her mind, but now, as she lay here she realized just how banged up she actually was.

After taking the news that she would be staying hidden in the lair until the Kraang and the Shredder could be defeated, April had asked to be left alone. Donatello had offered his room to her, saying that he could camp in his lab until a better solution was planned out. His brother's had teased him mercilessly for his offer, and jokes about 'a girl in his room' and something about a 'flow chart' had been tossed around. April ignored their taunts and made sure that he new she had truly appreciated the chivalry.

Only an hour or two had passed as April lay on her back in Donnie's messy bunk, staring up at the ceiling and wondering when her life had gone from 'weird' to 'bat-shit crazy'. A light rap sounded at the door, pulling her mind back to the present.

"April?" A soft voice asked from the other side.

It was Donatello. She was impressed that he had waited as long as he did to come check on her.

"Come in."

He slowly opened the door and silently crept, in his ninja-like way into the darkened room, lit only by the desk lamp in the corner.

"Hey. I just wanted to come make sure that you were ok."

April sat up on the bed and hugged her knees to her chest, flinching a little as she moved. She tried to hide it, but Donnie had obviously noticed and was by her side in a flash, looking over her in a worried fashion.

"April, you are definitely NOT ok." He said, as he gently lifted her chin with a finger underneath it. He reached for the desk lamp with his other hand and tilted it to get a better look at her swelling cheek bone.

His soft touch and concern in his eyes was enough to bring April over the edge. She had managed to keep her emotions in check before now, but this moment reminded her that even with all of the crap going on her life, she still felt so lucky to have found a new home in this loving family of ninjas. She really did feel safe and protected in their care. Hell, if it hadn't been for Donatello and his random act of kindness that fateful night, she'd already be imprisoned by the Kraang, having who knows what done to her.

The emotions were overwhelming and she could feel tears bubbling to the surface.

Donnie, not knowing where her tears were coming from, quickly let go of her face. "I'm sorry, was I hurting you?" He asked panicked.

She could only manage to shake her head as tears started to spill over.

"Oh, April," He consoled, "Everything is going to be okay. We'll find your Dad and we'll defeat the Kraang…" Before he could finish his thought, April lunged forward and wrapping her arms around Donnie's neck, tears pouring down her face.

Donnie, still a little flustered by her touch froze for a brief moment, but quickly recovered, shifting to better embrace her and allowing her to rest her cheek against his plastron while she cried for all she was worth.

"I'm just so scared Donnie." She managed to choke out between sobs. "I thought Karai was going to take me. I thought…. I thought I'd never see my Dad again." She calmed a bit and took a deep breath, finishing in a whisper, "or you guys."

Donatello hugged her tightly while he listened, giving a little squeeze at her last statement.

"Me too." He confessed. "I promise that I will never leave you vulnerable like that again."

"It wasn't your fault Donnie." Her voice was muffled against his chest.

"That doesn't make me feel any better about it." He said, as he rubbed her upper arm. It was intended to be a comforting touch, but seemed to make her flinch again.

"April, you seem pretty banged up, let's go get you some ice and I'll do a quick exam. Ok?"

Somewhat to Donatello's disappointment, April actually listened to his advice and pushed back from his warm embrace, nodding in agreement as she wiped away some tears.

He lead her down the hall to this lab, and to a small cot in the corner, that April had never really noticed before. He instructed her to take a seat as he went over to the large refurbished hotel ice machine and filled up a bag.

"Here. Hold this on your cheek and let me take a look at your shoulder."

April gave a small thankful smile and set the bag next to her so she could shrug out of her T-shirt.

As soon as Donatello realized what she was doing, he spun around to look away, but not before April noticed his crimson cheeks.

"Relax." She teased. "I have a tank top on underneath."

Donnie could feel his embarrassment adding to the red in his cheeks. He turned back around and froze when he spotted the black and blue forms already evident on her pale skin. He instantly felt anger burn through his being. It was one thing when Karai was taunting Leonardo and leaving them to fight the foot clan, but attacking a defenseless woman, HIS friend, she had crossed a line.

"Karai better hope she never crosses paths with me." He muttered between clenched teeth, his voice a few octaves lower then usual. It was the first time April had ever heard the soft-spoken brother speak ill about anyone. His voice was laced with poison and she knew that he meant every word.

April figured it was best to just keep moving on and get it all out in the open at once.

"It really hurts right here when I take a deep breath or move too fast." She gestured to her side and pulled up the edge of her tank top. Beside her belly button was another large foot sized bruise marring her soft porcelain complexion.

Donnie felt like Jekyl and Hyde as he once again felt his emotions jump from one extreme to the next. Blinding rage one moment, being completely replaced with adoration and excitement of being allowed this close to April. He also felt a little guilty, for taking pleasure in this sad opportunity, but really, for a 6 foot talking turtle, this might be as close as he'll ever be to a girl.

"May I?" He managed to ask, and she nodded in response.

His three digits carefully pressed in on her tender skin, trying to judge the level of damage. April could tell that Donnie was fighting back a blush as he examined her, and she could feel her own face heat up at the thought, as he prodded her with surprisingly gentle hands.

"Well–" It came out as a squeak at first and he had to clear his throat before continuing. "Well, I think the cartilage around your ribs is bruised. I'll get another ice pack for that and a heavy dose of Ibuprofren. It should feel better in a couple days." He tried his best to sound professional.

"Thanks Donnie."

"Of course." He managed to say, quiet once again. He had been crouching down to examine her and his eyes were level with hers. She looked into his chocolate brown gaze and smiled. For a moment everything else seemed to disappear and they could just focus on each other.

"WHOAH!" Another voice broke through from the other side of the lab. "Maybe I should have knocked!" It was Michelangelo and he had stopped a few yards away from them, pretending to cover his eyes, and was making a grossed out face.

"Mikey!" Donnie shouted, standing up and casually standing in front of April, to block Mikey's view. "I was just attending to her injuries!" He protested.

"Relax bro, I was just giving you guys a hard time – wait, did Karai do that to you?" His attention instantly changed focus as he moved around Donnie to catch a glimpse of black and blue as April slipped her T-shirt back over her head.

"It's not as bad as it looks." She smiled up at Mikey, in a way that wasn't even convincing to him. "Ok- she got me pretty good, but I don't think we should tell the others. I don't want to cause any more friction between Raph and Leo." Her expression changed to more of a plea as she glanced between the two brothers.

Donnie let out a loud sigh. "She's right, you know. Those two fight about Karai enough as it is, we don't need to add any more fuel to the fire."

Mikey shared a look that clearly stated that he was not happy with the situation, but folded his arms and kept his mouth shut.

"So what now?" April asked, trying to change the subject. "I told my aunt I was staying with a friend tonight, but eventually she's going to realize that I haven't come back."

"Oh. That's actually why I came in here." Mikey kinda chuckled to himself, finding it amusing that he had already forgotten. "Leo just called, he says, 'It's all clear.'"

"What does that mean?" April stood and looked at Donnie who was clearly thinking over something that had to do with Mike's info.

"Well April— we're going to make you disappear."

A/N:

So... yeah, I have been loving this new take on the turtles and couldn't resist writing a little something! After this week's episode with April getting beat up and then finding out that she'd be staying with the turtles, I got some great ideas. I hope to continue this, following April with her new life underground. Thanks for reading!