I awake the next morning to the usual sound of violins and cellos humming and the orange and black skyline of a New York City sunrise. I reach for the mug of hot coffee on my desk. I am so happy Truth installed a personal caffeine machine in my suite. I take a long sip and spend a few minutes in the bathroom. I come out and notice a small icon blinking at the edge of my Screen Time. It looks like an envelope.

"Andrew, do I have a message?"

"Good morning, Donnie. You have one text message from Dr. Troy Albright. Would you like me to read it now?"

"Yes."

"Please meet me at my room as soon as possible. I need to talk to you.- Troy"

"Andrew, tell him I'll be right there."

"Message sent."

I throw on some clothes and follow the directions on my S-Wrist to Troy's quarters. Before I go around the corner to Troy's door, I call on Andrew. "Andrew, start audio recording. When I say the word 'goodbye' stop recording."

I look down at the screen showing a red, blinking light. I cover it up with my sleeve and walk to the door. I put up my palm and announce myself. "Troy, it's Donnie." A moment later the door lifts and Troy is standing in the entrance. He blinks then stands aside and welcomes me in with an open arm.

I look around and am surprised to see how homey his place is; a plush comforter on his twin bed, a couch and coffee table, a microwave and small fridge, large blue carpet, floor lamps, family photos and a hamper full of clean laundry. Oh, and his PHD hanging by the Screen Time. Troy is still in his grey-striped pajamas. He walks into his bathroom and beckons me to come in with him. I guess he doesn't want anyone to hear or see our conversation. I walk in and he closes the door. He sits on the commode and I lean back on the sink, crossing my arms.

He looks up at me with his hands laced around themselves. It's too late to try to look normal now. We're two, grown men hiding in a small bathroom, having a secret meeting. I wait patiently as he tries to collect his thoughts.

"I'm in love with her." He says clearly.

My brows rise. Huh, I guess this was not about me critiquing his book. "What does that have to do with me?" I ask.

"It h-has everything to d-do with you." He says defeatedly. He shakes his lowering head, seeming to hope that what he needs to say next is written on the ceramic tiled floor. "D-do you know w-why I'm here Donnie?"

"If you mean if I know why you are one of the people Dr. Perry trusted, then no, I don't."

He looks up at me and runs a hand through his neatly cut, brown hair. "I've known Dr. Perry and Sasha f-for a very long time. I w-was Sasha's childhood friend. Because of m-my father's work, my f-family and I moved from Sacramento, California to D-dover, England. We happened to b-buy the humble house right next door to their l-lavish estate. The f-first time I l-laid eyes on her, I thought she w-was a princess."

Enter my rolling eyes here.

"We'd become friends. W-we stood at the s-same bus stop every m-morning even though she went to an ivy-league h-high school and I just w-went to the l-local academy. My classes let out a g-good f-forty-five minutes earlier than hers, but I w-would still wait around the corner until she g-got dropped off. Those were the b-best ten minutes of my day, walking her home. On our first s-summer break I b-begged my parents to invite her and her father over for dinner. Her h-hair was much longer back then, draping d-down her back. J-just looking at her, sitting across from me at my d-dining table m-made my head spin. W-we went up to m-my room and I s-showed her m-my small library of books. I did a l-lot of writing back then. I w-wanted to impress her with my l-literary awards. L-looking back, she m-might have been just being p-polite. Our parents b-became friends and that meant I could get even c-closer to her.

"The f-first time I was invited over to the estate, I knew s-something was d-different about them. I w-was w-warned to not go upstairs and the two s-seemed to have a h-hidden language w-when they looked at each other. Dr. Perry had transformed their l-large glass-incased g-greenhouse into a laboratory. Sasha led me through the m-magical workroom. I f-felt like I had s-stepped into the future. She had s-showed me what she was working on, growing g-green goldfish."

"Wait, wait… fifteen-year old Sasha was already genetically engineering animals?" I have to ask.

"Y-yes. She has always b-been brilliant. Those g-goldfish were j-just a hobby. Her real passion was the h-human brain. She'd told me that she w-wanted to study n-neurology. She said it was because of what her m-mother died from. She was s-so determined, so f-focused. She wasn't into the daily g-gossip or pop-fads. She was b-beautiful and smart, unfettered by the normal t-teenage drama. She already knew w-what she w-wanted to do with her life. I f-fell in love with her. She w-was my hero. I w-wanted to tell her h-how I felt. But I had l-little confidence in t-telling her face to f-face. S-so I wrote her a l-letter.

"It was the n-night before our sophomore y-year started. I s-snuck through her front gate, went up t-to the door, and took out my envelope. I w-was about to slip it through the s-slot when I heard a s-scream. It s-sounded like s-someone was screaming and r-running around the house. I f-followed the sound until I heard multiple r-raised voices. I went to the back of the house and walked up the s-steps and peeked through the k-kitchen door w-window. I saw Sasha. She w-was waving her hands and yelling, 'She's walking! She's walking!' Then I saw Dr. Perry b-bend down and yell as w-well. I turned over a b-bucket and s-stood on top of it s-so I could g-get a better look. Then I saw it, a l-little green turtle w-walking on two legs. It w-was wearing a diaper over its shell. When Sasha p-picked it up, I saw its face. It w-was cute and had Sasha's h-hazel eyes. I was so surprise that I l-lost m-my balance and fell b-back and hit m-my head on the s-steps.

"W-when I had woken up, I w-was in the den. Dr. Perry was s-sitting next to me and Sasha was s-standing by the door. They b-both looked g-grim. I d-didn't know if I should have t-told them what I saw or j-just keep silent. B-but then I felt tiny hands t-tugging at the bottom of m-my pants. It was the b-baby turtle. Dr. Perry said that her n-name was Anya and that she was v-very special. I r-reached out my hand and Anya g-grabbed it firmly. She l-looked just like a baby. Sasha c-came over to me and adjusted the ice-bag on the b-back of my h-head. She'd asked m-me if I was alright and I'd told her that I felt w-wonderful. When I'd s-spoken, we'd realize my s-stutter had diminished s-significanlty… m-must have been me f-falling on my h-head a f-few minutes ago."

"Um, I don't mean to offend but, your speech impediment was worse?" I ask.

"No o-offence taken. Yes, b-before my fall, I c-couldn't get a simple s-sentence out without my t-tongue tying in knots. That's why I l-liked to write. M-my thoughts never f-faltered on p-paper. I patted Anya on her cool green head and th-thanked her for c-curing me. That night I p-promised them that I w-wouldn't tell anyone about Anya. After their nanny p-past around tea, I h-had spent another hour playing with Anya and l-listening to Dr. Perry tell the story about her c-coming to be. It w-wasn't until the n-next morning that I r-realized that my l-love letter to Sasha was missing. W-when I met her at the bus stop, she hadn't m-mentioned it. The n-next summer, Sasha had graduated early and w-was off to c-college. W-when I'd told Dr. Perry that I would go to m-medical school as well, he p-pulled me aside and s-spoke to me quietly. He took out the l-love letter I'd written a year ago and handed it b-back to me. He said that I should be a writer, and n-not a doctor. He t-told me to follow m-my own dreams and b-become the best at w-what I was n-naturally blessed with…But I didn't listen. I'd f-follow Sasha wherever she w-went.

"S-She was twenty-two when she received h-her doctorates. Two months l-later Dr. Perry died. I w-was by her s-side the whole time. I was h-helping her clear out her f-father's things and I f-found one of his diaries. Inside was a list of n-names; p-people Sasha should c-contact to h-help her keep his f-foundation going and f-find the cure of cures. There w-were m-maps and blueprints and all t-types of s-secret paraphernalia. Once she s-saw what her father h-had left her, I knew she'd b-be leaving England, be leaving me. So I did w-what I h-had to do to s-stay by her side…"

I blinked at the realization of what he'd been trying to tell me. "You added you name to the list. Why would you do that? Were you really that infatuated with her? You think maybe there was a good reason as to why Dr. Perry didn't add you to his list?"

"I had to be w-with her. Besides, I knew h-he trusted me. I n-never told anyone about A-Anya. That list was m-meant to call together those who c-could help Sasha run this facility and create P-Protagen. I s-studied hard as h-hell to get my d-docterate. So w-when she finally called me, I'd be r-ready to help her anyway t-that I could."

"Being trusted to keep a secret and being trusted to get the job done are two different things, you know?" I say and he doesn't respond. "I have a question, Troy… when did you finally confess your love?"

"Two days ago; that m-morning when you s-saw me l-leave her p-penthouse. I told her, then t-tried to kiss her and then she s-slapped me and told me t-to leave."

That explains why they were moody the next day. "But, again, what does this have to do with me?"

He looks up at me like he was disgusted with or confused by me and my question. I'm definitely missing something. He stands up and runs a hand over his face. "She's not being r-reasonable. It's one thing having to r-raise a m-mutant child as your own but quite another to change y-your whole l-life because of s-someone else's mistake."

I exhale harshly and stand up straight as well. "Start making sense right now or I'm leaving."

He tries to take a step back from my warning, but we are in a little bathroom and if I wanted to hit him I'd probably hurt us both. He takes a gulp. "After you create Protagen, y-you m-must take Anya w-with you so that Sasha and I can m-move back to England and g-get on with our lives."

"Oh, I see now. You think that Dr. Perry bringing Anya into the world was a mistake and Sasha can't be with you and live a normal life because she will always need to consider her mutant daughter."

"Of course!" Troy shouts. It looks like he wants to pace but, still, there is very little room in here. "Please understand. Sasha h-has never had a chance t-to be normal or l-live a normal childhood. Her m-mother died when she was young, and when she is f-finally found by her f-father she had to l-live a secret l-ife, raising a m-mutant turtle. Every thing Sasha w-wanted to do had to be altered or f-forgotten, all because she had to k-keep Anya s-safe. I w-was so glad to h-have m-met you, because I now am t-totally sure that we each h-have a reason for b-being here. Y-you have to cure Sasha by eradicating the FFI f-from her genes. Once she has a c-clean bill of health she'll realize that she c-can finally have a f-full, long life with m-me. And since y-you are Sasha's b-biological donor, she can go live with you and b-be among her own k-kind, never again f-feeling like an outcast."

"But, Anya told me that Sasha had sold the estate, she never planned on going back to England. And Sasha loves her daughter and would never just drop her off on me like some warden of the state… If anything Sasha plans on… oh I get it. I GET IT!" I say in my 'eureka moment' voice. I look at Troy with pity. "I know what this is about. It's more likely that once we have Protagen, Sasha will want to stay close to me and my family so that Anya can have a family that looks like her, and who understand what it's like to be a mutant."

"P-please understand m-me when I say that I think you and y-your family deserve to l-live your l-life as happy and f-free as these times allow. B-but you and I know that you are not n-normal. That is a r-reality Sasha r-refuses to grasp. I believe Anya w-would be safe with you. And y-yes, I believe Sasha would be s-safer without her."

"I think the real issue you have is that YOU won't be able to have a normal life with Sasha as long as she has Anya."

"It's the t-truth!"

"Sasha loves her as her own child! She won't just walk away!"

"I w-would never had suggested it if it w-weren't for you! You're practically her f-father!"

"You're so selfish!"

"I'm being r-realistic!"

"Does Sasha even love you?"

Where did that question come from?

Troy and I share the same awkward look and he frowns. "That's an-nother thing…I think… she's just c-confused."

"Confused about what?"

Troy sighs roughly. "Spending t-time around someone as unique as y-you, your exotic ph-physique, your a-atypical demeanor, one can get c-caught up in the n-newness you bring to one's atmosphere… and that c-can d-distort one's ability to know what is j-just excitement and try to c-call it s-something else."

"All that to say… I've been here almost three weeks and you think Sasha already has a 'false' crush on me because I'm different?"

"That's exactly w-what I'm s-saying."

I've had enough. He's not apologizing; he's not trying to make amends. He's trying to strike a deal behind the back of the one he 'allegedly' loves so that he can have his 'happy ending'. I reach for and open the door. I shut it back slightly and turn to him. "Before you ask, I'm not going to tell Sasha about this conversation. With people like you, the truth will come out sooner or later…you said that she spent her entire adolescence with you. All that time you spent together, and all you got was slapped in the face. I think your theory is wrong again, Doctor. Goodbye."

I leave and head to the rec-room and start my day.

…

"Donnie, you have an incoming call from Anya, would you like to connect?" Andrew's voice hums from my S-Wrist.

"Yes." I say.

A moment later, "Hi, Mr. Donnie! How are you?"

"I'm fine, sunshine. What's up?"

"You sound a little out of breathe." She says.

"I'm in the Rec-room. Just got finished working out a bit."

"You're in the Rec-room? Hold on!"

I look at the device on my wrist and the call has been disconnected. Just then the Screen Time on the wall comes to life and a woman's voice speaks. "There is an incoming call from Anya. Would you like to connect? Please specify video or just audio."

"Uh, Yes. Video, please."

The screen lights up and I see Anya standing there. She's smiling and swaying side to side, not intending to hide her excitement. She's wearing a yellow and white striped poncho tied at the scooping neckline with a butterfly pin. In the background I see a very spoiled child's bedroom. There are toys galore, white bookcases completely filled and about three other window-sized Screen Time monitors on her walls, displaying white puffy clouds, a red flowery field… and a galloping Pegasus.

"Hello, again." She says.

"Hello."

"Mr. Donnie, I wanted to tell you that I've finished all of my homework this morning."

"That's very astute of you."

"And I finished reading the next chapters in all three of the books you requested."

"What a good student you are… what do you want?"

"I… what do you mean?"

"Anya, I may not have a lot of experience with little girls but I was a little boy not too long ago… so I know that you're trying to butter me up for something." I cross my arms and smile at her.

"Mr. Donnie, I…you…"

"Burst your little bubble?" She stands there silently on screen. Her expression is priceless. "Anya, you never have to build me up before you make a request. I'd never turn you away."

"Then you'll say yes?" She lights up.

"I didn't say that." I get that out quickly. "Whether it be yes or no, I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything and I won't think you're a weirdo… Now, what is it that you want?"

She bites her lip and runs her fingers along the fringes of her silky poncho. "Instead of having lunch today, would you like to have dinner here me?"

That is weird, but I don't show it. "That sounds great. I'd love to have dinner with you… and your mom?"

"Oh yes, she'll be around." I didn't think her smile could get that wide. "I only know how to make spaghetti, so we'll be eating that."

"That too, is great. I love spaghetti."

"Ok."

"Ok."

"Ok. See you at eight. Wear something nice. Goodbye." The screen fades out.

Was I that awkward? Even if I was, I surely wasn't as cute as she is. I wonder what exactly she has planned.

I head to the shower, and then gather my things. Lab time goes by quickly. I stroll to the dining hall for a late lunch with Gleiv and Truth. We have a hilarious time.

…

Maybe 'hilarious' isn't the right word for how I perceive my current situation. A few minutes ago Gleiv was telling a funny childhood story that had Truth and I crying. Truth and I share our own stories from when we were kids, but Gleiv had us beat. They both share similar characteristics of my brothers. It had been a comforting feeling. I had been enjoying myself…

I really don't know how the conversation turned into this. I feel completely embarrassed and grossly inexperienced. I slurp my soup silently as the black Brit and the Brooklyn blonde boast back and forth about their sexual escapades. I am at a lost how to comment, add or contribute, and I'm sure as hell not going to ask any questions!

"Ugandan supermodel at a Turkish disco-tech, New Years eve." Gleiv begins.

"German racecar driver, in her car, doing 150mph." Truth retorts.

"Italian beauty, in a nunnery, still wearing her nun clothes on Sunday morning after a funeral." Gleiv returns.

"Two busty Brazilians in a Barbados bungalow after three bottles of bourbon." Truth counters.

"The Vice president of India after saving her son from guerilla terrorists!" Gleiv challenges.

"Three mayors, a counsel woman and two judges… never again spent a night in jail." Truth, KO.

Gleiv's jaw drops and I loose another spoon. We look at Truth's smug face and she stares directly at me. Oh no!

"You've been awfully quiet, Don. I'm sure in your line of work you have some crazy, off the wall spicy stories to share." Truth glares.

I almost swallow my tongue. "I, um, don't really…"

"No need to be shy, Gov. I wager you could give us one or two…" Gleiv grins behinds his cup of tea.

"I really couldn't…"

"Drop the gentleman-turtle shit, Don!" Truth goads with a devilish smile. "I bet you done some freaky stuff. You, runnin' over rooftops, kickin' ass and savin' chicks. I bet you got a few 'thank you very muches' in many a dark alley… maybe you hopped into a few lonely ladies' open windows and fulfilled some alien fantasies?"

"W-what?! I never, I would never…"

"Maybe he just has a handful of women he frequently visits. I don't see Gov as the type of guy to allow his 'little turtle roam wherever it may'." Gleiv chuckles. "Maybe he has a special rooftop or secret loft he and his lovelies go to have hot steamy inter-species sex."

"Gleiv!" I say in much too high a voice.

"Or maybe…" Truth says with a gasp, as if something just came to mind. "Don being a ninja and all, maybe he's a monk and don't dabble in the sin of the flesh… or…"

This is torture! I want to get up and walk away, but I'm sickly curious as to what she's going to say next… so is Gleiv.

"Maybe…" Truth continues. "Don and his brothers are… more than brothers?" She says with speculation.

The intense heat of anger and repulsion overloads by brain and I find myself completely shutting down… … … Once my eyes reboot and the blood settles out of my head; I see Gleiv and Truth standing. He is yelling at her and she crosses her arms and shakes her head.

"…would you let something like that drop out of your grimy mouth?!" Gliev chastens.

Truth shrugs in defense. "I ain't grimy, Gleiv! You and I may think Don is totally fuckable but it don't mean the rest of the world is gonna agree. He's a turtle AND he's a man! And a man got urges and it would make sense if the only ones he can turn to is his…."

"Don't you say it again, Abigail!" Gleiv spits.

"Don't you call me by that terrible name!"

"What a card you are!" Gleiv raises his hands in disbelief. "I can't call you by your ugly first name but it's perfectly nosh for you to say that Don noodles his mates?!"

"Alright you two, shut your blarney traps!" We turn and look over at Devin clearing out the lunch bar. "Mr. Gleiv, Ms. Truth, you both sound like two drunken fools at the saddest pub on a Monday morning! Pipe down and leave Donnie be!" She crows.

"Yes, mum." Gleiv hums.

"Sorry, Ms. D." Truth murmurs.

Thank you Nannie McGaff! I take my tray and throw away my scraps. As I walk out of the dining hall I wave my acceptance of Truth and Gleiv's apologies and head back to the lab… I am thankful that dinner will be NOTHING like this!

…

A/N: Oh my… just a mixture of things going on for Donnie today! Any comments?