Special
Trinity awoke to the robust aroma of hot coffee. Instantly, her tongue yearned for the bitterly smooth liquid. Her eyes opened to find a steaming mug sitting next to the gurney. Without a second thought she sat up strait, reaching out for her prize. It was still quite hot; she had to slurp slow to avoid scalding her mouth.
"Aww," she moaned, absorbing its therapeutic awesomeness into her senses.
"Wakie, wakie, eggs and bakie," Michelangelo said coming into the lab carrying a tray of food.
"Really? Breakfast in bed, how lucky can a girl get?" she asked smiling.
"Do NOT answer that, Mikey," Donnie said, walking in behind him. "Good morning, Trinity, did you sleep well?"
She had already started digging in to the pancakes. Through a muffled mouthful she said, "Ah-huh."
"Excellent. I Checked all your vitals again when we got back. They've been stable for over twenty-four hours now, so I think you're on the road to recovery. Just need to wait for that gash to fully mend."
"Not to sound rude, but when can a I leave? There are bills that need to be paid, a carton of milk souring, and a deadline due for a client I picked up last week online," she said.
Donatello's pitiable eyes answered her question before he even spoke. "We searched everywhere last night, even a fresh location I got from your phone. Nothing. It's like the Kraang dispersed, which really bothers me. It's bad enough they've popped up like this after three years of silence, but to suddenly go dormant again when we discover they have mutagen; it's not coincidence and it scares me."
His words gave Trinity chills. Unaware that she had been holding her breath, she let it out in a shaky sigh. "What am I supposed to do? My life is literally on pause," she said, as she stared down at her plate.
"Let me take care of that," Donnie said with confidence. "I plan on running those photos through some new software I scabbed from the internet. It should be able to read GPS locate from the ips. I really don't know why I didn't think of that last night? Overworked, I guess." He gave a weak smile.
"Donnie had other things on his mind," Mikey whispered.
"I heard that," Donnie snapped. Trinity laughed. That was the wrong thing to do, as it gave Michelangelo an invitation.
"Soo, how you enjoying my masterful cooking, dudette?"
"No way, you made this. Serious?" He nodded proudly "Well, I'm impressed, I thought you had this delivered. They are really good." She had proof of the compliment, as the only thing left of the four high stack was a couple crumbs and a smear of syrup.
"The best is yet to come. I do all the cooking around here. These dweebs can't even make toast without burning it. Wait till you try my Fettuccine Alfredo with a side of beef medallions smothered in buttery garlic sauce. It melts in your mouth and does the boogie on your tongue."
Trinity couldn't suppress the jitter of giggles that rocked her frame. The orange turtle had a personality all his own, one Trinity was trying to figure out.
"I'm sorry," she said, putting a hand to her mouth. "Just never heard that phrase." Mikey smiled, revealing his white teeth. She smiled back, not quite as wide.
Michelangelo took the friendliness as an unspoken cue and sat next to her on the gurney. She became uneasily aware of how close he was to her, the bed only being meant to hold a single person. He didn't seem to mind, rather inched nearer when she had pulled back.
"What's the matter?" he asked, noticing she still leaned away. "I shouldn't stink." He lifted an arm and unabashedly sniffed. She put her hand over her face to hide the smile. "What?"
Looking at him she shook her head. "Nothing, Mikey, if anything it's probably me that stinks. I haven't showered since the night you guys found me," she said absently, not expecting him to react.
"Let's see!" he yelled, grabbing her arm he lifted it up. Before she could stop him he shoved his snout into her armpit and took three big sniffs. "Eh, you're not that bad. I've definitely smelled worse."
Donatello overheard the commotion. He turned in time to see Mikey groping his patient. "Mikey! Leave her alone!"
At once, Michelangelo slid off the gurney, his bottom lip protruding. He turned his blue eyes up to Trinity, the once happy sparkle had changed into an apologetic stare.
"It's okay, really. He isn't bothering me," she said, looking at Donnie who was striding across the lab. His brow ridges were knit together in a tight scowl.
"See, she said it was cool. Come on, Don. Don't freak out on me. I was just, just,"
"Smelling my patient," Donnie said, towering over his little brother. Mikey flashed Trinity a well executed pair of large, woeful, periwinkle saucers.
"Donnie, he was only trying to cheer me up. I kind of started it anyway, made the comment I haven't had a shower in a while. Not sure how you all can tolerate being near me."
Mikey smiled at her, thankful she had tried to bail him out. He lowered his voice in attempt to sound smart while scratching his chin. "I was just using my, ah, old factory, uh turtle sensory stuff to, ya know, gage how bad the funk was," Michelangelo said. Trinity clamped down hard on her lips to hold back the laughter.
Donnie narrowed his eyes, unamused by Mikey's rendition. "Try and stay off the gurney."
"No problem-o. Actually, I think I detected a hint of lavender and maybe even some peppermint," Mikey said.
"What?" Donnie asked.
"In your pit," he said, looking at Trinity. Her face wrinkled.
"Ah hah, Mikey, what did we say about uncomfortable situations? This is one of them!" Donnie yelled.
"First Leo with his rules and now you. I'm sick of you guys treating me like I'm an idiot," he said.
"You are not an idiot, Michelangelo," she said. Both brothers broke their angry stare down, turning to look at her with curiosity, waiting to hear what she was going to say. "Um, you are special."
Mikey blinked. After a few seconds he smiled. "Hear that, I'm special." He elbowed Donnie. Feeling exalted, he cleaned up Trinity's tray, giving her an exaggerated wink before bidding her farewell until lunch.
Donnie looked at her, smirking. He understood the underlying meaning in her choice of words.
"I drew a blank. I didn't know what else to say," she said.
Donnie laughed. "That's priceless. That'll be our little inside joke from now on."
"Just please, don't let him know. I'd feel horrible if I hurt his feelings. He isn't stupid, just very different from the average twenty-three year old male."
Smiling, Donnie shrugged. "I think special sums it up."
