A/N: That was rather cruel of me to leave y'all hangin'. But what's a story without a bit of suspense? R&R please.


Leo and Raph stepped back into the lair two hours later. The place was so quiet that it was unsettling. Mikey sat in the large arm chair with his face buried in his hands. The light was on in Sarah's room but not a single sign of life could be detected. They both headed towards the room but Splinter's voice stopped them. "Leave them, my sons." They turned back to see Splinter drying his hands on a towel which was now covered in red and pink stains.

"Is she…?" Raph couldn't finish the thought.

"She is alive but extremely weak. It is up to Sarah now. I have done all that I can for her." Splinter sounded very tired, as if his age was suddenly catching up with him.

"We nearly lost her. She was gone, but Donnie…he did something and it brought her back." Mikey's voice cracked and he wouldn't look at them.

Leo put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Hey, Mikey this isn't your fault? It was that creep Shinju."

"Yeah, and believe me, Donnie took care of him. He won't be back." Raph pointed out.

Mikey stood, brushing Leo's hand from his shoulder. He still wouldn't meet their eyes. "I…I need to clean the van. There's a lot of blood…."

"Man, we must have really missed some serious stuff." Raph watched as Mikey disappeared around the corner.

Leo was more interested in what Mikey had said. "What did he mean, Master? Donnie brought her back?"

Splinter took a calming breath. The situation was hard for even him to grasp fully. "What I believe happened is that Donatello shared his own life force with her. Michelangelo was correct when he said she was gone. She had lost too much blood and she was beyond my reach. But Donatello would not give up and when she stopped breathing he…" Splinter shook his head. "Well, whatever he did severely weakened him, but Sarah began to breathe again. They are resting in Sarah's bed. I thought separating them might do more harm than good. I still do not completely understand their bond."

Raph sat heavily in the arm chair Mikey had vacated moments ago. "Leo, we really messed up this time. Didn't we? We could have lost Sarah and maybe even Donnie." He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, willing the pain in his chest to stop hurting.

"Hey, don't worry, Raph. The worst is over with. Isn't it?" Leo looked to his father for reassurance.

Splinter took another ragged breath. "Yes, I do believe it is. All we can do now is wait and see."


Mikey scrubbed a little harder on the floor of the van. He watched the scene replay again and again in his mind. Sarah had stopped breathing and the look on his brother's face had been one of fear and panic. Donnie had cried her name and then gasped. His eyes rolled back in his head and he had collapsed beside the couch. Mikey had rushed to his side to find him not breathing either. Then both had started gasping for air. Splinter had been able to finish dressing Sarah's wound and he had Mikey take her to her bed to rest. Donnie had seemed a bit disoriented and Splinter thought it best that the two not be separated, so Mikey had helped his brother into the bed beside Sarah.

Mikey berated himself once more and scrubbed a little harder at the drying blood.' I could have lost Sarah. I could have lost Donnie. I could have lost them both! What was I thinking! Donnie trusted us – me- and they nearly died because of it.'

Raph entered the garage and watched Mikey scrubbing furiously at the van floor, which to all appearances seemed clean now. "Hey, Mikey, buddy, you know it was wrong of us to put that on you, to leave you alone like that."

Mikey paused only momentarily in his scrubbing before continuing. "Leo's wrong."

Raph leaned against the side of the van. "Leo's wrong about a lot of stuff. What's your point?"

Mikey stopped and sat back on his haunches. He stared at the bloody rag in his hand. "It was my fault. All of this was my fault."

"Mikey, you can't take all the blame on yourself."

Mikey's head snapped around to glare at his brother. "No, Raph. You didn't see Donnie almost die. If Sarah had he would've too. Master Splinter seems to think their connection is emotional or something. But what I saw in there today was no emotion. Their connection goes far beyond that. It's – it's physical – biological- Oh, I don't know the right word for it." Mikey sighed. "If Donnie was here he'd know what to call it."

Raph digested what his brother had said for a moment. It was really hard to get Mikey that upset, but whatever had transpired that day had really shaken him to his core. "Mikey, I…"

The younger turtle was in no mood for sympathy, nor did he desire it from the one brother that teased him the most. Mikey picked up the bucket of red water and went to dump it into one of the sewer tunnels outside the lair, avoiding everyone else in the process. He needed to be alone right now.


Leo sat at the end of the couch staring at Sarah's doorway. A shadow moved inside the room and Leo was on his feet in an instant. He stepped quietly to the entrance. Donnie was sitting on the bedside his features tired and drawn.

"Donnie?" Leo said softly.

His brother looked up. "Hey."

"How is she? Has she woken up yet?"

Donnie sighed. "She's resting now. She hasn't woken but I can tell she's more aware than an hour ago."

"I'm sorry. This is my fault. If I had paid better attention-"

"No Leo, it was a risk we all took every time she ventured to the surface. Sarah knew it as well."

"Donnie, about Shinju…"

"He's dead, isn't he? It hadn't been my intention, but I can't say that I'm sorry either." Donnie looked down at Sarah, who stirred slightly. He squeezed her hand gently. He had no regrets, forced into the same situation he would have done it again.

"Raph and I took care of it. We buried him near the underground river. No one will ever find him there."

Donnie nodded but his attention was still on Sarah. She felt a little cold to the touch, so he rose on slightly shaky legs to get anther blanket from a nearby chair. Leo helped him cover her with the extra layer. The coolness in the sewers didn't bother the turtles so much, but Sarah was human and so she tended to stay more bundled up than the others.

Leo looked at Sarah's left arm which was bandaged from wrist to elbow. "Do you think her arm will be alright?"

"We won't really know until she wakes up. It may be a long time before it's fully healed. It was really deep, Leo. I saw bone at one point." Donnie rubbed a hand over his face. "Sorry, I'm still pretty tired."

"I'll leave you to sleep then."

"No, I don't think I can."

"You want me to bring you anything?"

Donnie settled into the chair beside the bed. "Some tea would be great."

Leo left and Splinter entered. He quietly sat on the edge of the bed and felt of Sarah's brow. She was not running a fever which was a very good sign. Infection was a serious concern, especially in the sewers. The lair was a clean and relatively dry environment but you could only keep it so clean. He examined her face. One cheek displayed a growing bruise. Her color was much better than it had been a little while ago. It was no longer a dismal greyish color and was returning more to its tan shade. Splinter wondered for a moment exactly how she remained the same shade of tan when she had practically spent the last three months indoors.

He looked up to see Donatello watching him anxiously. "She seems to be doing better. Her color is returning. I will make her some herbs to drink for when she wakes. It will give her strength and rebuild her blood." His eyes grew serious as he looked at his son. "Donatello, I must caution you against doing such a thing ever again. This time you were able to survive, but who knows next time might be very different."

Donnie shook his head. "That's just it, Master. I don't know what I did." He swallowed hard. "I just couldn't let her die." Leo returned with the cup of hot tea. Donnie gave him a weak smile. "Thanks."

"Come Leonardo, let us let them rest." Splinter ushered his other son from the room and pulled the door to leaving a small crack in case he was needed.