Dark Leonardo's thoughts raced through his mind all night long. He awoke with a gasp the next morning, panting as he looked around the room. The Dark Turtle realized he wasn't in the same place he was when he was knocked unconscious, nor was he back in his warehouse home. Looking in the mirror across from the bed, he saw his arms, chest, and head had been bandaged up. He heard movement coming from other rooms around him, and saw as Lindsey Jones opened up the bedroom door. "Oh, you're awake already," she said slowly before walking cautiously over to him.
Dark Leonardo looked up at Lindsey with a confused and angry look on his face. "Can I look at your arm? It looks like your wound has bled through," Lindsey requested before pulling the first aid kit out of the nightstand drawer.
As she gently reached for his wound, Dark Leonardo retaliated by grabbing Lindsey's wrist with his other hand, which caused the girl to gasp. "What game are you playing?" the Dark Turtle demanded as he tightened the grip on the girl's wrist.
"I'm not playing any game, just need to look at the wound to see if it needs anymore medicine. Without proper medication for it, your wound could get greatly infected," Lindsey explained softly. "Will you let me go?"
"I don't need your help," Dark Leonardo growled before groaning as the pain in his arm began to really settle in.
"Just let me take a look. I'm not gonna hurt you, just hold still," Lindsey quietly said as she reached for Dark Leonardo's arm again.
This time, the Dark Turtle allowed the girl to touch him as she unraveled the bloody bandage from around the stab wound. It was still bleeding, but not as heavily as it had been the night before. He watched as Lindsey poured some peroxide onto a washcloth before pressing it against the wound. Dark Leonardo winced as the medicine cleaned his wound. After applying the peroxide, Lindsey wrapped fresh gauze around his arm. She then handed Dark Leonardo two pills and a glass of water. "What are these for?" he questioned.
"They're pain reducers, I figured you'd want some after suffering the way you did," Lindsey informed.
Hesitantly, Dark Leonardo took the medicine, and almost immediately began to feel a little better. "So where am I?" he asked.
"My apartment, on top of O'Neil Tech," Lindsey responded.
"Why did you bring me here, why not just let me die?" Dark Leonardo wondered.
"I don't know why I helped you; I guess I just felt sorry for you," Lindsey explained.
"You, felt sorry for me?" the Dark Turtle growled as he tried to sit up. He groaned at the pain in his body and was forced to lay back down.
Lindsey approached him and helped him adjust. "Try not to sit up too quickly, you could cause your wounds to reopen and bleed again," she said.
"Why would you feel sorry for me?" Dark Leonardo asked.
"Because your brothers abandoned you after they beat the crap out of you. It just made me feel upset, and I thought you could use some help," Lindsey replied. "Would you like me to make you something to eat?"
Dark Leonardo looked up at her. He hadn't eaten anything in a couple of days, so food did sound very good to him at that time. "Yeah," he agreed.
"Okay, I'll go make you something. Be back in a few minutes," Lindsey said quietly before walking out of the bedroom and into her kitchen.
Lindsey didn't know what in the world she could fix that would satisfy the Dark Turtle since she'd really only ever cooked for herself. She decided to cook him something with protein to help him get his strength back. Dark Leonardo couldn't believe that he was bedridden in the house of one of his enemies; but what was even more confusing was why she was taking care of him. They were enemies and she should hate and fear him, not feel pity for him.
A few minutes later, Lindsey came back into his room, carrying a plate and fork for him. "I made you some eggs and bacon, you need all the protein you can get," Lindsey informed before helping him sit up and giving him his plate. She watched as the Dark Turtle devoured the food in front of him. "You must've been really hungry huh?"
Dark Leonardo nodded before muttering "Haven't eaten in two days."
"Is getting to eat every day rare where you live?" Lindsey questioned.
The Dark Turtle finished eating before replying "Yeah, usually my brothers and I have to fit over who gets what little food we have. The last one standing gets it."
"Is that what the fight was about last night?" Lindsey asked.
"No," Dark Leonardo responded.
"What happened? I've never seen you guys get that violent towards each other before," Lindsey stated.
"I'm not telling you what happened," Dark Leonardo defensively said.
"Okay, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad," Lindsey apologized.
"Can I just be left alone?" Dark Leonardo requested as he moved to lay back down.
"Okay," Lindsey muttered as she stood up and walked out. Before he closed his eyes, Lindsey walked back in and handed him another pill and a glass of water. "Here, you need to take this after every meal. It'll help you feel better." After watching him down the pills, Lindsey said with a small smile, "Okay, I'll check on you later. Rest well."
Dark Leonardo lie there in the bed, and remembered exactly how the fight began with his brothers. He remembered what they had said to him and accused him of, and the thought of it made him clench the bed sheets tightly in his fists. Then he thought about Lindsey; how could she be so nice to him even after the way he'd been treating her? No one had ever shown him this much kindness before, and quite frankly, Dark Leonardo wasn't sure how he should respond to it.
A few hours later, the Dark Turtle awoke and wanted to get up. The pain in his body had gone down, so he thought he'd be okay to get out of bed. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and set his feet on the carpeted floor. Dark Leonardo stood up and didn't realize just how jelly-like his legs were after not being on them for close to twenty four hours. That combined with the pain in his legs caused him to wobble and stumble to the door. He slammed his body against the door frame as he struggled to open and walk out of the bedroom. Dark Leonardo gripped the door frame as he pushed himself out of the room and into the living room. He lost his footing and fell face first onto the carpet. The Dark Turtle groaned in pain and discomfort and tried to crawl towards the couch.
Suddenly, the elevator door opened and he saw Lindsey step out. "What are you doing?" she asked as she rushed to the Dark Turtle's side.
"I was sick of staying cooped up in that room," Dark Leonardo mumbled.
"Here at least let me get you to the couch," Lindsey offered as she knelt down to help him up.
Dark Leonardo shook her hand away as he growled "I don't need your help."
"You can't use one of your arms, let me just help you stand," Lindsey said.
"No, I'm not weak!" Dark Leonardo yelled before he collapsed.
Silently, Lindsey took his shoulders and pulled him back so he could stand on his knees. Dark Leonardo slowly began to stand up and walk a couple of steps to sit on the couch. "I never said you were weak, I just said you needed help," Lindsey replied quietly before sitting down on the other couch.
"What's your deal anyway?" Dark Leonardo asked.
"What do you mean?" Lindsey wondered.
"Why're you nice to me?" he questioned.
"I'm nice to everybody, why, have you never been around anyone nice before?" Lindsey asked.
"Not really," Dark Leonardo muttered.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Lindsey replied.
"Don't sit there and pity me; you know nothing about me," Dark Leonardo snapped. "I don't get you, first my brothers and I kidnap you and the other Jones kid, and now you take it upon yourself to help your kidnapper?"
"Whether you choose to believe it or not, there are good people in the world. Aren't your brothers ever good to you?" Lindsey inquired.
"It's not my brothers I hate," Dark Leonardo responded.
"Who is it then?" Lindsey wondered.
"Forget it, I don't wanna say," the Dark Turtle declined.
"Talking about it will help you feel better," Lindsey softly encouraged. "What does this guy do?"
"He yells at me, he beats me, he tells me I'll never be good enough no matter how hard I try. He says he wishes I would've just died before he found me," Dark Leonardo slowly explained.
"Is he like, your guardian?" Lindsey asked.
"He's my owner," Dark Leonardo stated. "And I'm his slave who does his bidding, any hour of any day." The Dark Turtle then violently punched the coffee table in front of him, shattering the glass, and cutting his hand.
Lindsey jumped back when she saw this, and ran over to the kitchen to retrieve a wet washcloth. She walked back over to Dark Leonardo and sat down beside him on the couch, where he was still sitting, holding his now bleeding hand. "Let me see," she whispered.
The Dark Turtle watched as she slowly took his hand and began to gently clean the blood off his knuckles. No one had ever touched him that gently before. Lindsey's hands were bringing him comfort, not pain. "Thank you," he muttered as Lindsey wiped the blood off.
"You're welcome," Lindsey replied with a smile as the two of them made eye contact with each other for the first time. They looked at each other for a few moments before Lindsey stood up and walked over to her dining room table, and sat down. "I've got some paperwork to do, so you can just relax and watch TV if you want."
After Lindsey finished her paperwork and cooked them dinner, Dark Leonardo took his medication and said "I'm going to retire to my room for the rest of the night."
"Alright, rest well, and tomorrow I'll have Cody and the Turtles bring over a new kind of medication to see if it'll help your stab wounds heal faster," Lindsey informed.
"They can't know I'm here," Dark Leonardo reminded.
"They won't," Lindsey promised.
"Alright, I believe you," Dark Leonardo trusted as he nodded his head.
"Goodnight," Lindsey said with a grin before climbing her staircase to her bedroom upstairs.
When he was sure she was out of hearing range, Dark Leonardo muttered "Goodnight Lindsey."
He lie down in the bed and looked at his ceiling. The Dark Turtle could hear Lindsey upstairs moving around and getting into her shower. Closing his eyes, Dark Leonardo couldn't help but imagine what she looked like in nothing but her skin. He imagined her in her shower, and even went so far as to imagine himself in there with her. As soon as the thought hit him, Dark Leonardo shot his eyes open and felt his chest begin to pound. "Why are you thinking about that?" he asked himself aloud. "She deserves so much better than you. Lindsey would never love someone like you." The Dark Turtle did however remember every kind action that Lindsey had done for him that day, and could remember how her hand felt against his as she cleaned his wound. "You don't deserve Lindsey, you don't deserve anyone."
Still, even though he conflicted with himself, Dark Leonardo dreamed that night of being able to be close to Lindsey. Of being able to hold her in his arms as they slept, to be able to kiss her lips and mutter to her in the dark that he loved her. The Dark Turtle dreamed of Lindsey saying that she loved him as much as he loved her. Of her running her hands up his chest and her wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close to her as they fell asleep in the same bed together. Dark Leonardo didn't want to believe it, but what couldn't deny was that he was beginning to have feelings towards Lindsey Jones.
