Once the lights turned out and a few minutes passed, Leo had stepped out of his room silently and began to stand vigil. He perched on a stool in the corner and stared into the inky blackness of the room until familiar forms took shape. The edge of the couch, the lampshade.

He didn't know what to think of the woman. There were moments when he believed she was sincere, but then he would remember others he had deemed sincere and how they had proven him wrong, sometimes violently. In the sewer, she had been shocked. Of that he was certain, but he expected that. The staring and blinking as humans tried to test their eyesight to be sure they were really seeing what they thought they were seeing. Then she had been polite and thanked them. More than that, actually. She had acknowledged Raphael and himself separately from the others. Singling them out to show she recognized who had helped her rather than thank the entire group. That meant she recognized individuals over a crowd. A good thing, in Leo's mind. It seemed to insinuate that action rather than association helped forge her opinions.

She seemed to warm to Donnie right away, mirroring his kindness to her. He had also heard the woman thank Donnie before she went to bed. She seemed forthright to a point. But that could be dangerous. Would she betray them? When she went back to the surface, would she tell the world matter-of-factly that there were giant turtles in the sewer? His concern was her honesty. But then he also remembered the conversation with her mother. How she had skirted around certain details without lying directly. The deception both worried and encouraged him. Encouraged him because she could continue to skip the details in the future and allow them to not be discovered, but worried because perhaps deception came easily to her. If she could hide the truth from her own mother, what else was she hiding? Was she more involved with the gunman and dead man than she admitted? What if she wasn't some innocent bystander?

This was the very reason he stood watch now. His brothers seemed to like her well enough, but he could not afford to. With their father gone, he was now the head of the family. Responsible for their safety and survival. He had to make the tough decisions. This often led to fights among his brothers, but if it meant their safety, he would continue to do it. He didn't want the responsibility. He wanted the luxury of being able to make mistakes and trust people and give them the benefit of the doubt. And if it had been only his life in the balance, he would do all those things. But the thought of something happening to his brothers because of his carelessness terrified him. His greatest fear was that one of his brothers would die because of something he did or did not do.

When Master Splinter died, Leo pulled away from everyone. He watched his brothers grieve and lean on each other, but did not feel he could take part. He suffered in silence and would not let them know the pain and anguish he lived with every day. That is what it means to be a leader. To put those you lead ahead of your own needs. So he became stoic and formal. He rarely laughed; he was too busy looking around waiting for something to leap from the shadows. He didn't join conversations anymore. He listened and listened for what was beyond the words…waiting for the sound of footfalls or the click of a gun cocking. He had to be ready to spring into action at any second.

As he thought about the woman at length, she had been awake. He had heard her, after a time, drift to sleep. He could tell by her slow, deep breathing. But now, she twitched. A wrist here, a foot there. As if she was dreaming. He sat up tall, alert now and watching her with interest and expectation. It did not seem like a pleasant dream and she would soon wake from it.

T'mana gasped and sat bolt upright, heaving, but still having enough sense not to scream. Sound would only attract attention, but her instinct was to scream loud enough to shred her vocal cords and pop vessels in her neck. Her heart was beating frantically and as her eyes wildly looked around her, she could only see black. As the darkness lightened with her eyes adjusting, she could see enough to know she wasn't home. Then she stood abruptly, tripping silently and falling into a wall soundlessly. She used the wall to hold herself up and turn to face the room. She thrust her hand to the pocket with her work keys and pulled out the keychain flashlight. She clicked it on and held it up to see a small piece of the room as the light revealed it.

Next to her was a bookshelf and there was a frame sitting on it. She took the frame in her free hand and held the flashlight close to examine it. Four turtles were in the picture. Giant human turtles. In a rush, everything came back to her. After she ran, the turtles had brought her here to clean her wound and rest for the night. Looking closer at the picture, she had to smile a little. It betrayed their character. It seemed to be the red banded turtle's birthday because he had on one of those cone birthday hats, but he did not look pleased. He was looking up as if in the middle of rolling his eyes and his mouth was twisted down in a grimace of irritation and embarrassment.

He was being bear-hugged by the orange clad turtle. Mikey, she remembered. Mikey was grinning a huge, innocent and honest grin with big white teeth as he pressed his face against the red turtle's cheek in excessive brotherly affection. The purple masked turtle was Donnie. She remembered him very well and he had a simple smile on his face, but noticed that he was giving the red one bunny ears on the sly. Raphael. The red one was Raphael. In the back, not touching his brothers was the blue turtle. He had a big smile on his face that was uncharacteristic of him now. He almost seemed to be in the background rather than a part of the picture. For some reason, it made T'mana sad. But from what she knew of Leonardo, which was not very much, he seemed a distant sort of person and it was not surprising to her that he would not be part of the festivities. Almost like he would have felt that to be a frivolous waste of time. And his eyes didn't seem to be looking at the camera. Like he had seen something or was checking something else out. Roving eyes.

Suddenly, the light turned on and T'mana shut her eyes in surprise to protect them. With her eyes closed, she still saw flashes of white from the shock of light.

"Couldn't sleep?" Came the soft, stern words. Instinctively, she set the picture frame down as if she had been caught doing something wrong. Invading their privacy even though the photo had been on display. She opened her eyes slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the new brightness.

"No." She admitted. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't sleeping." He replied simply. She immediately knew what he meant. He had been standing guard, waiting for her to do something. She flushed and felt the need to explain her behavior since it was clear he had seen her flailing about the room.

"I woke up and didn't know where I was." She began. "I remember now." She indicated the picture. "I wasn't sure it was real. But it was. It really happened." Leo bristled at her disappointed tone. Assuming she was referring to meeting him and his brothers since she had indicated the picture.

"Sorry." He offered bitterly. She ignored his tone.

"Me, too." She agreed softly, looking at the picture. She took a sharp breath and looked into the distance. "I just…watched him shoot that man…I did nothing. I just let it happen…"She was breathing shallowly now, fighting back the tears. "Maybe if I had screamed or something…he could've gotten away." Tears were running down her face now and Leo was alarmed. He hadn't seen this coming. Crying females made him nervous. He knew it could be a manipulative ploy. His instinct was still to comfort, but he was wary.

"Or you would be dead." He jumped in. "That guy was a professional. He would have turned the gun on you and then taken down the man. It wouldn't have mattered. Your silence saved your life."

"Maybe." She offered, clearly not agreeing at all. He sighed and felt himself soften towards her…just a little. He stood from the stool and slowly made his way nearer to her as he spoke.

"Maybe the guy wasn't on the up and up. You know? I mean maybe he worked for the gunman and was doing some dirty dealing behind his back. Maybe the gunman was cleaning up the trash. This guy could have been stealing from the gunman or betraying him somehow."

"Or maybe," T'mana cut in soberly. "He was like me. Just…in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe he saw something he wasn't supposed to." And there it was. She felt guilty for the man dying, but she was also terrified that she had witnessed her own fate. Leo understood her a little better now.

"Maybe." Leo allowed. "But you didn't kill the man. He did. The gunman pulled the trigger not you. The guilt is his not yours. You can't be responsible for what someone else did. And I know you think you stood there a while, but it wasn't as long as you think. It never is. I bet it was seconds only. Not even fifteen. Ten seconds tops. That's not enough time to change anything in that situation. You shouldn't have to carry that."

She was staring at him, amazed that he was actually trying to comfort her. And it was working! She wouldn't really have believed it coming from someone like Don…it's in his nature to be kind. She could tell that right away. But Leonardo had no motive to be kind to her, so she trusted what he told her.

"Besides," He said. "The guy might not have been killed. People survive gunshots. Look at you." Leo knew that the man was dead, but he didn't know that T'mana knew for a fact. He wasn't aware of his brothers telling her. He had left his eavesdropping position to check the cameras outside the lair to ensure no one else was wandering around out there. So he thought he'd throw that out there to lift her spirits a bit, but she was shaking her head.

"The gunman shot him in the face." She said flatly. "I saw the back of his head spatter against the brick wall." Her voice caught, but she continued. "The gun was so close, that his hair caught fire from the combustion. It blew out from the breeze as his body fell to the ground. I can still smell it. Gun powder and burnt hair." She looked at him. "You don't come back from that."

He suddenly felt guilty. What a terrible thing to witness. He hadn't really thought about what she had been through. Selfishly he had believed the biggest ordeal was her meeting him and his brothers. Clearly, this was not the case. He didn't know what to say or how to smooth things over so he remained silent and so did she. Until her stomach spoke. She clutched her belly and flushed a deep red.

"Hungry?" He asked. He hadn't meant to be mocking, but it came out that way. She blushed even more.

"No!" She denied. "That would be inappropriate." She explained. Leo raised an eye ridge.

"No, that would be biology. You ran quite a distance on fear and adrenaline and all the stress that came with it and the mental exhaustion. Your body needs to recover from that. It needs fuel and that's not inappropriate that's just nature. C'mon," He waved her to follow him. "I can't cook but I know how to use the microwave. I'm the King of Reheat."

She followed him and found herself smiling a little.

"What's on the menu, m'lord?" She joked. Leo let his lips rise ever so slightly that it might be considered a smile…or else the ghost of what used to be his smile.

"Chicken noodle?" He asked, holding out a bowl of soup that had a plastic cover on it. He pulled off the lid and showed it to her.

"I just don't think I'm really hungry." She insisted. He placed the bowl in the microwave.

"I think you'll change your mind once you smell it." He said. Boy was he right. The scent of the chicken, doughy noodles and brothy spices was so enticing that she burned her tongue twice trying to eat it too quickly. "Good, huh?" Leo asked. "I'll let Mikey know he has another fan."

T'mana took a breath and stopped slurping long enough to ask a question.

"Mmey mde dis?" Her mouth, however, was still full. But Leo could speak Stuffed Mouth.

"Yeah, he's the resident cook. Gaming and cooking." Leo shook his head. "What a combination."

"Dis rrry gddd." Leo nodded, understanding she meant to say 'this is really good.' He watched her with folded arms. Satisfied that he was right about at least one thing this evening. She finished the bowl and wiped at her mouth.

"Thanks." She said. "I guess I really needed that. It just…seemed wrong. Like I shouldn't do something so 'alive' when that man…" She fell silent, looking at the empty bowl. Clearly feeling guilty again.

"Life goes on. And the next few weeks, months maybe, will be very hard. Trust me, I know. But it will get better."

"I hope so. I can't imagine living how I feel right now."

"It gets better." He repeated. "You find things that mean something to you. Like your mother. Family is important." He fell silent, feeling like he had said far too much and hoping it wouldn't come back to haunt him later. A few tears and she had him wrapped around her finger. He stood. "You should try to get some rest." He grabbed the empty bowl and put it in the sink. "We'll get you to Jersey tomorrow." And with that, he swept out of the room, leaving T'mana staring after him wondering what she had done to upset him.

She slept on and off the rest of the night and so was already awake when she heard feet descending a wooden set of stairs. The stairs creaked, but once they hit the floor, silence fell again. A moment later she heard gentle clattering in the kitchen. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and stretched. She went to the bathroom and brushed her hair with her hands and washed as best she could with the sink and paper towels. She changed back into her own clothes. She had gotten up in the middle of the night and washed it as best she could and set it to dry. They were still damp, but dry enough to wear. She folded the clothes she slept in and left them in a neat pile on the floor.

She went to the couch and folded the blankets, cleaning up as best she could. Then she made her way to the kitchen and saw the orange one, Mikey, there. He turned his head to her and smiled when he saw her.

"Mornin', dudette." He greeted.

"Good morning." T'mana returned.

"Sleep well?"

"No, but I didn't expect to. Can I help you with anything?" Mikey was a little surprised by her candor, but appreciated it.

"Uh…you want toast duty?" He pointed to a loaf of bread sitting next to the toaster.

"Certainly." She accepted. "Preferences? Light, dark?"

"Hmmm…Raph likes his burnt, like charcoal burnt. The rest of us like ours in the middle." T'mana nodded and set to work. Mikey was making scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Thanks for letting me help." T'mana said.

"Sure. When you're done with that, you can grab the plates out of the cabinet. They're in the one just above your head." T'mana looked up and nodded again. She had ten pieces of toast and figured that should be enough for now. She grabbed a stack full of plates and began to set them around the table, one at each chair. She placed four and kept one for herself, but didn't place it on the table. The toast was on a plate in the middle of the table now. Mikey went to the kitchen door.

"Come and get it!" He banged his spatula on the counter as if ringing a bell. T'mana was shocked thinking it was a cruel way to wake up, but seconds later all three turtles came in completely wide awake and ready to eat.

"I'm starvin'!" Raph growled as he grabbed up his plate. "Load it up, bro." Mikey gave Raph two generous scoops of eggs and three slices of bacon. Leo went next, then Don. Mikey waved T'mana over, noticing that she was hanging back, and he filled her plate as well. She stepped aside and remained quiet. Mikey filled his own plate and took his place at the table. She leaned against the sink silently and began to eat her food with her fingers. She didn't have silverware. Don looked up suddenly and saw her.

"I'm sorry, T'mana!" Don sputtered. He immediately stood and waved her to his seat.

"No, no. I'm fine. Thank you. Please sit down and enjoy your breakfast."

"It's all right." Don insisted.

"I'm really fine. I need to stretch anyway." She held out her hand almost as if to fend him off. Don seemed reluctant, but he did take his seat again. He saw his brothers with their silverware. "Mikey, didn't you even give her a fork?"

"Oops!" Mikey looked at her apologetically. Raph smacked Mikey on the back of his head for good measure. "They're in the drawer right behind you, Tim." Mikey said. She stepped aside, grabbed a fork, held it up to show she now had one and proceeded to eat. She did not like having the attention on her. She tried to eat as demurely as possible now that she was outfitted with a fork.

"I've arranged a ride for you." Leo said, all business.

"A ride?" T'mana asked, almost choking on her bacon.

"Yes." He said, ignoring her hoarse breathing. "She can drive you out to New Jersey. You can't go home just yet." She stared at him a moment. He was commanding her right now and believed without a doubt that she would listen. Don seemed to read her stunned face.

"It isn't safe." He explained. "Whoever has your purse might be waiting for you. It's best just to go to your mother's until things quiet down." She set her plate down on the counter. She was no longer hungry. She saw that the others were done eating as well, their plates empty.

"Anyone want more?" She asked hollowly.

"Nah, we're good." Raph said and stood. He left the room. The rest symbolically pushed their plates away to signify they were finished. Without thinking, she gathered the plates up and went to the sink to wash them. She didn't see anything except the plates, water and suds in the sink. She didn't hear anything except the spray of water and the sound the plates made as they clanked against the sink. The warm water sluicing over her fingers and the smell of lemon soap calmed her nerves, but she was still anxious and the fear from the night before was returning in full force.

The turtles had watched her as she grabbed the plates. Don and Mikey had objected, but she acted as if she didn't hear them. Leo kept a close eye on her as Don walked over to her. She didn't acknowledge him. Don saw her hands were shaking and that she seemed to be on the verge of tears. He said her name, but she still didn't hear him. Finally, he touched her arm as delicately as he could.

At his touch, the room exploded back into her senses. She could hear the TVs in the other room, chairs scraping behind her and she saw a green hand pulling away from her arm.

"Are you okay?" Don asked again. She nodded, hearing his words for the first time. She kept washing the dishes. "April's real nice." Don tried to distract her with conversation. "She'll be the one taking you to New Jersey. We've been friends with her for ages. She'll make sure you get there okay." T'mana took a breath and nodded again. He looked at the dishes again. "You don't have to do the dishes. Let me get those."

"I've got it." She insisted, a little more forcefully than she intended. "It…helps. I'm fine. Really. Thank you." She wiped an itch on her nose with her forearm since her hands were wet. She took another breath and finished all the dishes. When she was done she turned slightly and found a towel being held out to her by Don. "Thanks." She said awkwardly. Don just nodded. She turned around and saw Leo was still sitting at the kitchen table watching her just as intently as he had the night before in the sewer tunnel. As if he was still trying to gauge her character. T'mana was embarrassed. She knew she must appear like a lunatic scrubbing dishes furiously with a threat hanging over her head.

He leaned back in the chair and folded his arms. T'mana instinctively knew he was about to give a speech that he required her to listen to.

"Here's what's going to happen." He began firmly. "April takes you to your mother's. You will stay there for a few days. My brothers and I will patrol your place; make sure no one is scoping it out. When we think it's safe, we'll let April know. April will call you and you can return. You are not to return before hand. You are not to speak of us to anyone even in a vague manner. When you leave, we will cease to exist for you. You will not see us again." He paused and stared her down. "Do you understand what I have just said to you?" She stood stunned for a long moment. She didn't understand what warranted such cold behavior towards her. But she understood that this could mean life or death to him and his family, so she chose her words very carefully.

"I understand. I'm grateful for your hospitality and kindness." Leo narrowed his eyes, unsure if she was being honest or sarcastic. "I wish there was something I could do to repay in kind, but I hope my silence will suffice. You have my word that I will never let anyone know about you in any way."

"I'm glad we understand each other." Leo agreed evenly. She heard noises in the other room.

"That'll be April." Mikey said with a large grin. He sprinted through the door and she heard a rather loud greeting from both parties. She stared at the open kitchen doorway, but could see nothing. She was very nervous about meeting this April person. She didn't want to fail to meet expectations or cause anyone alarm. Leo noted her unease and it pleased him. He wanted her nervous. If she was comfortable with them it meant she wasn't afraid and if she wasn't afraid she might not listen to them.

He knocked on the table to get her attention. She started and turned to look at him as if she were a deer in headlights. He grabbed a pen and notepad from a shelf behind him and slapped them on the table.

"Your address." He said. She stared at the items with trepidation. Don seemed to sense her hesitation.

"So we can patrol your place." He said. "We won't go in or anything. Just a perimeter run to see if there are any unusual characters or suspicious people hanging around."

"Yes." Leo agreed. "We know how to respect someone's privacy." She walked to the table slowly, feeling that this moment was somehow heavier than it should be. It was just her home address. Her new apartment. And the gunman could already be rifling through her things as she was thinking this right now. Yet her anonymity was rapidly disappearing. Suddenly, many people would know where to find her and she wasn't sure about who or what they were. She picked up the pen and seemed to steel herself. Then her hand gracefully glided across the paper. When she finished, she set the pen down and she comically imagined a gavel clacking with finality. She straightened.

"This is her?" T'mana turned to the new voice and saw a very beautiful red headed woman looking her up and down.

"Hey, April." Don greeted.

"Hi, Don." She smiled and then waved at Leo since that was his choice of greeting to her.

"Hello." T'mana said shyly.

"Hello. So the guys tell me you saw a hold up, huh?" T'mana nodded her head. "Right. You ready to go?"

"Um…yes. Thank you. I know New Jersey's a bit of a drive. Thank you for taking me." April quirked a brow in surprise.

"Don't thank me yet. Thank me when we get there." T'mana found this rather ominous and threatening and she now dreaded the trip to her mother's. Could her life get any more frightening? "So where in Jersey are we going, exactly?" T'mana said the name of the city her mother lived near. She had just made the decision to not give out her mother's address. She would find a way to get to her mother's from town. "All right. Let's go then."

"Let me just do…um…one more thing." T'mana blushed and used the bathroom one more time. When she came out all the turtles were waiting alongside April and she was truly mortified. She didn't like people focusing on her especially when she had been doing something rather private.

"Take care, Tim!" Mikey beamed. "Thanks for helpin' with breakfast." T'mana nodded.

"Don't go blabbin' 'bout us." Raph said. T'mana shook her head that she wouldn't. He seemed to size her up. "Good. Take it easy." Don approached her and had a small bundle in his hands.

"I know you don't have anything to pack, so here's a few things. The clothes you slept in and some travel size things for you." She took the bundle in awe.

"Thank you, Donatello." She said. She held out her hand. He smiled and shook her hand lightly.

"You're welcome." He said. "Be safe, okay?"

"You, too." April was now leading the way to the exit and they found Leo waiting. April made a sign that she would wait just outside the door. T'mana bit her lip and waited for the threat to be hammered home by Leo.

"We'll leave you word through April." He said. "Don't do anything foolish like trying to return before then." She was pleased he had mentioned this first, rather than ordering her silence. He was still trying to dominate her and this alarmed her, but the intent was to help her and she appreciated that.

"I'll wait." She acknowledged. He seemed to debate about saying something else, but just ended by saying 'good' and stepping aside to let her leave. She passed through the threshold amazed that he hadn't renewed the warning.

"So…bit of a crazy time for you?" April asked genially.

"It's been interesting." T'mana allowed.

"I've known the guys a long time." April said. "I really hope you understand how important it is that you keep quiet about them."

"I promised that I would." T'mana said. "I don't want to put them in danger. They saved my life. I'm in their debt." April didn't really seem satisfied with this answer. As if T'mana were just saying what she wanted to hear. "It was very kind of them to open their home to me and give me a place to be safe for the night. They easily could've dropped me somewhere else to fend for myself. They took the effort and so I'll take the effort to repay them the only way I can."

They came to a ladder and April gestured for T'mana to climb up. She hesitated. The bruise on the back of her thigh was very fresh and painful from her previous fall.

"Something wrong?" April asked with a frown. T'mana gripped the ladder and tugged on it fiercely, testing it. It didn't budge and it didn't creak or groan. She bit her lip and placed one foot on the rung, then bravely placed her other foot on and waited a moment. It held her weight. She breathed out and continued her way up. She made sure to look before she exited the sewer, but it was a back alley and no one was watching. She stood and then turned to kneel and help April up.

"Do you have a thing against ladders?" April asked as she climbed lithely out.

"The last one broke on me." T'mana said dully. "I landed on Leonardo." She paled. "I should have apologized for that." To her surprise, April laughed.

"I don't think you need to apologize. A pretty girl landing in Leo's lap is exactly what he needed." T'mana blushed and followed April as she led the way to her car. "He said you got shot. Did you really?"

"Not technically. It grazed me." T'mana said. "Who told you that?"

"Leo. He gave me the low down." April smiled. They reached April's Land Rover and she opened the door for T'mana to climb in. There was a pillow on the seat. T'mana looked curiously at April. "He told me you fell and that your backside might be sore. He didn't give me any more details than that. But my seats are kind of hard, so you'll want the pillow." T'mana didn't know what to think about this new knowledge. Had Leo told April so that she could make her comfortable or did he just tell April to inform her what a nuisance she was?

The drive was uneventful. April was good at small talk. She didn't give any more information on the turtles and T'mana didn't ask. She wanted to ask hundreds of questions, but she knew that would be rude. So T'mana let April direct the conversation.

"Okay, so we're in the city limits. Now where to?"

"Here is fine." T'mana pointed to a gas station. April looked over at her.

"Here? I can take you all the way in. It's not a problem."

"Thank you. I really appreciate your doing this for me. Here is fine. Really." April studied her for a moment.

"Okay." She threw her hands up theatrically and then pulled into the station. "I need to fill up anyway." T'mana started to exit the car, but April grabbed her shoulder. "Hey, wait a second." T'mana obediently waited. April pulled out a small drawstring pouch. She dropped several quarters into it and handed it to T'mana. "For the phone call at the payphone." She said. T'mana stared at the pouch a long moment. "Go ahead, take it. I know you need to call to get picked up from here. I get it. You don't know me and I don't know you so it's very awkward. At least give me the peace of mind that you can make a phone call." T'mana smiled gratefully.

"Thank you. I promise I'll keep my word. No one will ever know about them from me." April nodded.

"Take care." She waved as T'mana exited. She watched April gas up her car and waited for her to pull away. She made her way to the phone booth and stuck her fingers into the pouch to pull out the quarters. Her fingers brushed paper, so she pulled out a white piece of paper that had been folded. It said 'For Clothes'. T'mana frowned. She turned the note over and opened the folds to find fifty dollars in cash tucked inside. Immediately, T'mana searched for the Land Rover, but it was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes misted at the sincere gesture that hadn't expected a thank you in return. She said it aloud anyway, hoping April would somehow know.