Despite the mysterious capture, things quickly went back to normal and remained that way for a couple of weeks. Donatello had no clue what was happening inside his body. He trained with his brothers when requested, ate pizza, watched TV and movies, worked on his inventions, and he helped fight bad guys on the streets alongside his brothers.

April's boss still had it in for the turtles, ever since the old Channel 6 building was destroyed. Not only that, but the new building's prized technology continued to be damaged during the turtles' periodic skirmishes.

Now that Shredder and Krang were gone, things had lightened up a bit, but this was the Big Apple. There was always some kind of crime, even if it was only trouble caused by simple street thugs. It was easy for the turtles to fight them.

A month had passed since the abduction. It was now September, and Donatello had started feeling sick to his stomach. At first, he found himself running to the bathroom as soon as he woke up in the morning. But it wasn't long before it began to happen almost any time of day.

He was throwing up anything he ate, and needless-to-say, he was starting to worry. Donatello wondered why he was getting sick suddenly. At first, he had suspected a simple case of food poisoning, but it had been occurring for five days now.

"Oh, what is wrong with me?" he moaned in a weak voice, sitting back by the wall after having lost his breakfast yet again. "What did I get into that brought on this virus?" He now knew that his ailment was lasting too long to be food poisoning. At this point, his best guess was that it was the stomach flu.

Splinter hadn't made Donatello train for the last few days. When he had noticed how bad Donatello was that morning, he told his ill student to take another day off to see if he would get better with some extra rest and a few special herbs. Unfortunately, the herbs didn't help at all. Donatello lost those down the toilet too. The smart turtle just wasn't feeling so good.

"You must have something very bad that you can't even keep the herbs down," Splinter observed.

"I wish I knew what it was, Sensei," Donatello said, holding his aching stomach.

"Leonardo, please make some peppermint tea for Donatello," Splinter instructed.

"Sure," Leo replied.

When Leo went to go make the tea, Donny took a seat on the couch. "You might not want to get too close," Don warned when he saw Michelangelo approaching. "Whatever I have, believe me, you do not want to catch it."

Mike was not deterred. He sat down next to his brother and felt Don's forehead. "Even though you're looking a lot more green than usual, you don't seem to have a fever," Mike noted.

"I know, but I just don't feel good right now, Michelangelo," a watery-eyed Donatello explained.

Leo came back into the living room with the tea. Don took it from him gently. He hoped this would settle his stomach.

The others watched him sip the tea. Donatello seemed to be able to keep it down alright, which was a relief. After that, he went to go lay down in his bed for a nap. He was exhausted from having been sick for the last few days and was running out of energy.

When he got up again, he felt a little better. He went into his lab to check out his symptoms on the internet. He was beginning to doubt that it was the stomach flu, since he didn't have a fever. Don's main symptoms were nausea, dizziness, loss of appetite, exhaustion, and headaches.

According to Dr. Google, there were any number of ailments that he might be suffering from. At the top of the list was the one thing that scared him most: cancer! Donatello had always feared that he and his family may be susceptible to this terrible disease. After all, most cancer is caused by genetic mutations, and every single cell in his body had been mutated by the ooze that had transformed him from a common turtle into what he was today. Still, a big part of him insisted that it couldn't be cancer. He was so young yet! He had always been so strong and healthy, and he didn't have any abnormal lumps or any other indications of the disease in its many forms.

If Donatello wasn't nauseous and dizzy before, he certainly was now. He collapsed back into his computer chair, feeling like he had a belly full of molten lead. If for no reason other than to keep himself busy and distracted, Donatello decided to run some blood tests. He wanted to run every possible test before resorting to going to a doctor, and no one else in his family could help him with this.

He took some of his own blood from his arm and began to study it. He noticed something was off about it, that it had a higher dose of hormones, and more of the female variety. He knew that males had some estrogen in their systems too, but any intact male should have far higher testosterone levels. Right now, the ratio of these hormones was different than what was normal for him.

This was scaring the genius turtle. He needed a second opinion. Despite his fears and misgivings, he knew that he needed to see a doctor about this. There were very few humans that he trusted, and fewer still with medical expertise. Then, he remembered the veterinarian at the zoo - Mike's friend, Dr. Jane Goodfellow. She was about the only veterinarian that he knew of that wasn't insane and wanting to dissect him or his family. She treated them like real people.

The next morning, when he felt well enough to be out of bed, Donatello snuck out of the lair and went to April's apartment. Luckily, she was home.

"Donatello, this is a pleasant surprise," she greeted. "What's going on?"

"I haven't been feeling too well, April," Don sighed. "Now I've found something alarming in my blood and I need a second opinion on it. Could you help me to call up Dr. Jane Goodfellow at the zoo? She has more equipment than I do, and should be able to do a more thorough exam on me."

April put her arm around the distressed turtle. "Of course I can help. But what's wrong?"

Donatello looked at the floor and took a moment to gather himself before speaking. "I've been sick to my stomach for the past week, and the tests that I ran on myself showed that I have higher doses of female hormones in my blood. Combined with my other symptoms… well… there are some indications that it might be cancer."

April's eyes widened in concern. It couldn't be! Life was sometimes rough for the turtles, but the thought of her sweet friend having to battle such a horrible disease at this young age was too much to bear. "Yes, let's call her," a nervous April decided.

April saw that her own anxiety was only making her friend that much worse. "I mean, I'm sure it's not cancer, but Dr. Goodfellow will be able to tell for sure. Let's not take any chances. Your family and I couldn't bear to lose you." April looked through her phone book and dialed the zoo's number.

Donatello was extremely worried about his condition. He hoped it wasn't cancer. He was too young for this. Then he got the feeling of having to empty his stomach once again.

April saw the turtle run for the bathroom and then heard the vomiting from behind the door. Just as April was about to hang up and go check on Don, the veterinarian picked up the phone. "Hello, Dr. Goodfellow speaking."

"Hello, Dr. Goodfellow, this is April O'Neil. My friend, Donatello, is very sick. Do you have time to see him? He's very worried about his illness. It's been going on for too long," April explained.

"When did he start to feel sick?" Dr. Goodfellow asked.

"He said that it's been going on for almost a week, and he's worried about his hormone levels too. He thinks it might be cancer," April added in a low voice.

"Oh my. Well, hopefully I can ease his mind. Bring him in around three," Jane offered.

"Alright," April agreed. "Donatello and I will see you then."

When Donny came out of the bathroom, April told him that an appointment had been made at three that afternoon. It was eleven now.

Donatello was relieved to hear that the doctor was willing to see him, and that he wouldn't have to wait too long. He offered April a weak smile. "Sounds good, but right now, I'm not feeling very well."

"You should rest until then," April suggested.

Donatello was happy that April did not expect him to return to the sewer. He wasn't feeling up to taking another walk at the moment. "Please don't tell the guys about me going to the doctor until I know what's wrong," Don requested of her. "I don't want them to worry."

"Alright," April said hesitantly. If it was something serious, she knew the others would need to know, but she was willing to follow Donatello's wishes for the time being.

Donny was getting dizzy and April led him to her couch, where he gratefully laid down, knowing that it couldn't hurt to rest. April called his family to tell them he was with her so they wouldn't worry.

"What's he doing over there?" Leo asked. "He's been sick lately. I'm surprised he was feeling up to leaving the lair."

"He came over to talk to me about something," April explained. "I think he was hoping to feel better if he got some fresh air," she added. Even though it was a white lie, she hoped it would buy Donny a little bit of time to find answers.

"Okay. As long as we know he's safe," Leo said.

"He's safe and resting right now. I'll see how he feels in a few hours, then I'll send him home," April offered.

"Alright. Take care," Leo said. "And call us if there's any changes."

"I will," April promised before hanging up.

April went to go look up some articles on the internet to see if she could use them to start her new career as a freelance reporter. She was so done with working for Burne Thompson. This way, she could work her own hours and be her own boss. Over the last couple of months, after the former Channel Six building had been destroyed, she had saved enough money to finally buy herself a new car.

Donatello had managed to fall asleep and for once it was nice and deep. Given how much his nausea had been letting few nutrients remain in his body, he needed his rest.

….

A few hours later, at 2:15, April woke up Donny for his appointment at the zoo clinic. She gently nudged the slumbering turtle. "Donatello, it's time to go to your appointment. Do you feel alright?" April asked.

Don sat up and rubbed his head. For a moment he was confused about where he was, but then his stomach turned and all he cared about was getting to the bathroom in time. It took an extra ten minutes of waiting before they could leave.

"I still don't feel good, April, but I'll manage." Don said when he came out of the bathroom. "I just want to know what's going on with me."

April put her hand on Donatello's shell. "So would I," she sympathized.

They went downstairs and got in her car. April had grabbed a trash can that Donny could use should he need to throw up again on the way to the doctor. She may have felt bad for her friend, but she still didn't want a mess in her brand new car.

The streets were busy, as people were preparing to go home for the day. April had to weave in and out of traffic in order to get Donatello to the doctor on time. Eventually, they made it. Much to his surprise, Don had managed to not throw up at all on the way there.

April and Donny walked into the smaller of the zoo's two clinics. There was also a larger one with a laboratory and surgical space. Dr. Goodfellow came out to greet them. "Hello, Donatello and Ms. O'Neil. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing good," April replied.

"Wish I could say the same, Dr. Goodfellow," Donny added.

"Tell me about your symptoms, Donatello," Dr. Goodfellow instructed. "And you can call me Jane."

"I've been having stomach problems mostly. I can hardly keep anything down. I've felt dizzy, moody. I'm tired all the time. I'm sick nearly all the time. I go to the bathroom a lot more. I have near-constant nausea. I took some blood and tried to analyze it, but I just don't have the kind of equipment that you do, and I need a second opinion. I was concerned with what I had found though. I just want to know for sure," he explained worriedly.

"Yes, those are concerning signs. Let's get you into a room," Jane said. Don and April followed her. Don was so nervous about what he was going to find out. He hoped it wasn't cancer. The thought was terrifying.

They got into a room where Donatello knew to get up onto the table. April sat down in the chair next to the desk. She wanted to be sure to bear witness to whatever happened in case her friend needed help telling his family what was wrong.

Jane put on a stethoscope and listened to Don's heart and lungs. She looked at his eyes and examined his body as much as she could. Then she took a tube and needle. "I need to take some blood to see what I can find out, Donatello. Could you remove an armband?" Jane asked of him.

Donatello chose his right arm. It was his dominant arm and he suspected it would be easier to find a good vein beneath his thick skin. He took the pad off of his elbow area. Jane tied a rubber band around his bicep and found the vein. Then she swabbed it with alcohol and expertly guided the needle into the vein.

Don winced a little, but didn't move. He had to look away when she poked him. Funny that he didn't think twice about taking blood samples on his own, but when someone else was in command he found himself getting anxious.

Jane took two vials of his blood. Then, she released the needle and put a cotton ball on top of it, along with a pressure bandage. "I can't tell right off the top of my head what could be wrong, but I'll get to work analyzing your blood samples right away. I'll call you the minute I know anything and if something is wrong, I'll ask you to come back," Jane said.

"Thank you, Jane," Don replied. "I know there's no textbook on mutant turtles, so I'm very grateful that you're willing to stick your neck out for me."

Jane smiled at her new patient. "You're welcome."

"When do you think you'll have the results?" April asked.

Jane wanted to check Don's blood for organ function indicators, hormones, and any abnormalities. As complicated as these tests sounded, they were fairly simple to run. "If all goes well, I should have them by tomorrow morning," Jane answered.

April and Don left the clinic and went back to April's apartment. They were both scared now, and anxious to know what was going on.

"Do you feel well enough to be able to go home, Donatello?" April asked.

"I haven't thrown up in a while, so yeah, I think I can make it home. Call me the second you hear from Jane," Don requested.

"I will. I promise." April gave her sick friend a big hug before letting him leave.

Donatello took the stairs to get outside and headed to the nearest sewer grate. When he got home, he made some peppermint tea to help his stomach stayed settled. He sat on his bed to sip the tea, and from there he could hear the sounds of his brothers and sensei in the training room. He didn't feel like training right now. He was just too nervous.

He simply didn't know what to do if it was cancer. There might be a way to beat it, but more likely it meant having to say goodbye to everything and everyone he loved.

Donatello tried to act normal the rest of the night. He didn't want the others to suspect that anything major was wrong until he knew for sure. He was so nervous he didn't feel like eating dinner either. Splinter still insisted on making him some chicken soup. He managed to keep it down, but later in the night, there was more vomiting into the toilet.

He sat back and held his stomach when he was done throwing up. "What is wrong with me?" he moaned.

Aside from being sick, the anticipated results kept him awake most of the night too.

…..

It wasn't until after 11 the next morning that he finally got the call from April that his results were in.

"You might want to come over and hear the results for yourself. The doctor wouldn't tell me. She said that she wanted to speak to you in person."

"Did it sound like anything bad?" Don asked her.

"She seemed concerned, but like I said, she wouldn't tell me anything," April answered.

"I'll be right over," he replied.

Donny hadn't had a fun morning. He had thrown up again after breakfast, but he was more than ready to know what was causing this. He went to tell Leo that he was going back to April's, then left in a hurry. He didn't want the others to follow him.

"Why do you suppose he's going back to April's again?" Mike wondered.

Leo shook his head, sadly. "I don't know. Maybe she has an answer for him. I wish we did."

"I know I'm tired of hearing him being sick every night and day," Raph added.

"We all are. We just want him to get well again." Splinter said.

…

Donny soon arrived at April's, went inside and climbed the stairs. He felt like the elevator could make him sick to his stomach. Then again, everything did these days.

April let Donatello in, and together, they called Jane at the clinic.

"Hi, Dr. Goodfellow, I heard my results are back?" Don greeted.

"Yes, they are."

"Good or bad?" Don asked.

"It could be called both really. All your organs are functioning normally. But when I checked your hormone levels, the tests showed higher than expected levels of female hormones. I found the hormone hCG in your blood as well, which usually shouldn't be present at these levels in a male," Jane explained.

"What about cancer?" Don blurted, unable to hold himself back.

"I didn't see any abnormal cells that indicate you have cancer. Everything else looks fine except your hormone balance. You will need to come back into the office for another exam. How about tomorrow at ten?" Jane recommended.

"Okay," Don agreed.

Don put down the phone. He had a stunned look on his face. So it likely wasn't cancer, but it was still worrisome.

"What is it, Donatello? Is it bad?" April asked.

He looked at her. "She said that I had an elevated level of hCG in my blood, as well as elevated levels of other female hormones. She wants me to come back at ten tomorrow."

"Alright. I'll be happy to take you," April offered.

Donatello was feeling ready to faint. He couldn't trust his legs anymore. Heck, he apparently couldn't trust any part of his traitorous body at all anymore. "Thanks," he groaned. "I'll need the ride."