Quick Author's Note: I deleted the prologue...It was confusing the website, haha. So if you're wondering where it went, or why the chapters are suddenly numbered differently...that's why.

Also, Leo isn't actually really in this chapter. I was going to make it where he was, but I ended up combining two chapters again, and he wasn't in either of them. But he'll be in chapter 10, I promise.

So in chapter 9: Donnie figures something out that he really doesn't want to know, and Mikey stumbles on the answer he's been looking for.

Chapter 9

"All right, Sandra. Easy, now. Just a few more steps."

"I-I can't," she gasps, a hand pressed to her side. Donnie suppresses a sigh as he picks her up and carries her to the couch. "Sorry," she apologizes, hating that she disappointed him again.

"It's all right," the genius replies, only half-convincingly. "You did take a bullet, after all."

"So I've heard," the brunette says wryly, closing her eyes and leaning back into the sofa.

Donnie is silent for a moment. "I knew it was going to take a while, but I'd hoped that you might be able to walk more by now. I mean, it's been almost two weeks."

That's right, Sandra thinks. Two weeks since she was shot, and they brought her back to the Lair. Two weeks since she almost died.

Two weeks since Leo went under.

A stab of guilt flashes through her, but she pushes it away. I'm doing all I can to help him. She had been talking often with Master Splinter, learning how to do the Healing Hands, trying to locate Leo's chi within herself.

They both speak at the same time. "Donnie-"

"Sandra, there's-"

She bites her lip, and he flushes. "Sorry," Donnie murmurs. "You first."

"No, you," Sandra insists gently.

The purple-clad turtle gestures to the seat next to her. "May I?" She shrugs, so he sits down. "Well, I was running a blood test to make sure that everything was doing well – except for your wound, of course. But when I was running the test, I noticed that it seemed a bit odd."

Her heart sinking, Sandra realizes what he had found. "Donnie...can we maybe go somewhere more private?"

Much to her surprise, he nods, carrying her back to the lab. She leans back onto the wall, her legs dangling over the side of her cot, and focuses on Leo – who still hasn't woken up. Donnie closes the lab door, then sits in his swivel chair and faces her.

"As I was saying," he continues. "I found something odd when I was running the test."

"In my blood?" Sandra asks, frowning, hoping she can distance him from the truth for as long as possible.

"Well, yes and no. There's nothing wrong with your blood, so far as health goes," Donnie clarifies. "But I realized that I had seen that sample before. So I checked the other blood samples that I had taken from my family and friends...and do you know what I found?"

For a moment, Sandra doesn't answer. Then her shoulders slump. She pulls her knees close to herself and wraps her arms around them, ignoring the twinge of pain in her stomach. "Of course I do," she replies quietly, her gaze downcast. Her southern drawl fades, turning into a sharp northern accent. "And you know that. You just want to ask for dramatic effect, and then you're going to tell me anyway."

Donnie sighs. "Why didn't you tell us, Alex?" There's a hint of something in his voice. Anger?

The brunette shakes her head. "I couldn't. I...I knew that you guys would be disappointed in me. And it was bad enough seeing how hurt Raph was..."

"Then why run away in the first place? How could you put us through that? How could you put Raph through it?" Yep, that's definitely anger.

"I could do it because that was the only option," she replies dully. "It was the only one I was willing to accept."

"What are you talking about? What options?"

Alex closes her eyes. "The options that the Foot Clan gave me."

The genius blinks, not quite believing his ears. Any trace of anger fades almost instantly. "What did you say?"

"That was the only option that I was willing to accept," Alex repeats, avoiding his gaze.

Donnie has a feeling he won't like the answer to his next question, but he asks anyway. "What was the alternative?"

She doesn't reply for a long while. When she speaks again, her voice is shaky, and barely more than a whisper. "They were going to kill the four of you."

Donnie inhales sharply. "Alex...they can't kill us. We're nearly invincible."

"Together, yeah," Alex says, hating herself for what's coming next. "But they were going to separate you. Pick you off one at a time." She can't stop herself from talking now. Once he got her started, it was like water spilling from a dam. "They'd start with Splinter, to hit you all hard and distract you with anguish. Then would be Mikey...he's the weakest. They'd lure him off somewhere on a mission, and then get rid of him. You'd be next, so you couldn't figure out their plans and warn everyone ahead of time."

Alex is fully aware of the growing horror on Donnie's face, but she just starts talking faster, needing to get the words out, get this off of her chest. She's been carrying this burden for years, and it's begging to be released. "Next would be Raphael. He would be so caught up in his own sorrow and grief that he wouldn't see it coming until it was too late. And they'd kill Leo last, to make him suffer. Make him see how he failed as a leader...as a brother." Alex swallows thickly, trying to blink back the tears from her eyes. Her voice breaks. "They'd make me watch it all, Donnie...just because I didn't do what they said. And I-I couldn't...I couldn't let them do that."

The genius sits there, mouth agape, shocked into silence. Alex's face fills with resentment for a brief moment. "So don't judge me on my decision," she adds harshly, lower lip quivering. "You don't know what I...what I..."

And then she breaks down, her walls crumbling at last, her entire body shaking with sobs. "If you had heard what they made me listen to...what they showed me...Kraang, Donnie...I can't get the images out of my head...I see them every night when I close my eyes. They won't go away."

Then Donnie does the last thing she ever expects. He hugs her. His strong, lean arms slide around her and pull her close to his plastron, keeping her locked in a tight embrace. "It'll be okay," he says gently, smoothing a hand down her back. "I promise, Alex. We're all okay." She only nods, burying her face in his shoulder.

And then a crash draws their attention. A wide-eyed Mikey stands in the entrance of the lab, the remains of a shattered water glass at his feet and the clear liquid pooling around him.

"Alex?" he whispers.

Author's Note:

So how am I doing, guys? Is this story living up to your expectations, or am I letting you down?

I know that I told you I was putting Leo in here, but he will be in the next chapter.

Please review!