The morning dawned much brighter for the den than it had for days prior. Both Don and Mike were practically themselves again, their former symptoms completely gone. Don was still too weak to do much of anything, and Mike was under orders to rest up anyway so they stayed where they were in the Lab. As soon as they could get Luke to agree to it, they moved Donnie's bed closer to Mike's so they wouldn't have to keep yelling across the room at each other.
Mid-morning there was a knock at the window, and Don saw Raph and Leo outside. He waved slightly, and they both needed no further encouragement.
"Hey guys." Leo spoke first. "Sensei said it was okay to come in now, if you felt like the company."
"Oh yeah man, join the party." Mike said jokingly, and Leo went over to see him. Raphael was quite bit more hesitant, hovering by the door mutely for a few seconds before Don gave him a look.
"What's up bro?" Don called to him in his best Mikey impression.
"Hi." He said softly as he slowly approached. "I'm glad you're awake."
"Me too. Feel like I've slept for a week." He said lightly, but Raph's expression was anything but cheerful. "Raph..." He said gently. "I'm okay. I'm gonna be fine."
"No thanks to me." He said flatly.
He propped himself further upright on his good arm and sighed softly. "Sit down Raph."
He did, but still said nothing.
"I hope you haven't been somehow blaming yourself for all this." Don said quietly when he didn't speak up.
"I have a big mouth Donnie. I talk a lot of stuff that I don't mean."
"Well, we all know that." He laughed, trying to get him to smile too.
"I'm serious Donnie. The way I treated you..." He trailed off for a couple seconds. "It's been running through my head for days. I couldn't live with myself, not if that was the last time I ever saw you alive. And then I got to thinking...about how I've always acted. Constantly making fun of you...tearing you down. When I dig deep, I can't even figure out when I've ever really treated you right. I'm sorry. Those words don't seem like enough but...I really am."
"Your sarcasm is part of your charm bro. It's okay. I know you don't mean it a lot of times."
"I've hurt you."
Donnie seemed to study the ceiling for a long moment. "Yeah," He admitted. "But it's not exactly like I'm very open to you either."
"You haven't done anything wrong." He objected.
"If it's all the same to you, I don't really want to focus on blame or the past." He said quietly. "We all can do better...let's just say that we'll try, okay?" He held out his good arm towards Raphael, and his brother gave him an awkward embrace, being careful of his shoulder.
"Yeah well...this disappearing act is my thing, so I'd appreciate it if you refrained in the future." Raphael said with the first hint of a smile. "Man you scared me bro...you really scared me."
"I'm sorry. I lost track of time and...I shouldn't have turned off my phone. It's really all my own fault."
"I thought we weren't talking about blame." Raph said lightly. "Anyway...if you hadn't left when you did, Jenna probably wouldn't be alive."
Donatello leaned back pensively, suddenly quiet. Jenna. Now there was an enigma he couldn't put a finger on yet.
As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.
"C'mon in - standing room only!" Mike called out impishly.
Jenna ventured into the room with a shy smile, ducking her head somewhat when Donatello made eye contact. "Hey guys. I don't want to bug 'ya - I just heard you were doing better."
"Are you kidding?" Raph scoffed as he pulled over a rolling desk chair. "Join us."
"Hi Jenna. How's it going?" Donatello said evenly, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"Oh I'm great, I'm um..I'm good." She replied, as Raph cast a furtive glance between the two of them.
It was clear they were going to need help in the conversation department.
"So Jenna," Raphael said curiously, "You said something yesterday about your parents originally being from Ohio?"
"Yes, they're actually American diplomats to Australia." She replied.
"How long have you lived there? Because you sound..." Leonardo trailed off without finishing.
"Yeah, I get that." She laughed. "I was born and raised in Australia - the foster care system more specifically. I was adopted."
"That's cool." Raph remarked. "So you're just visiting the states now?"
"My parents were supposed to be attending a series of meetings at the United Nations."
"Have you talked to them much? They must be worried about you." Donatello asked her.
"I've been calling them, every day. I know they're still worried because I won't tell them where I am but...they'll be alright. The FBI is involved now, and they had a couple good leads on my kidnappers. Listen, now that you're all together - I have to tell you how grateful I am for all you've done."
"It's our pleasure." Leonardo said quietly. "It's not every day we get to make friends...Circumstances withstanding, you and Luke are probably the highlight of our year."
Jenna nodded at him with a smile, but found her gaze drifting back to Donatello.
"Really, we're usually a lot more fun than this." Mike cracked, lightly punching Leo's knee since he was in reach.
"I don't doubt that." She laughed, and then settled back as conversation picked up between the four of them. After a couple minutes had passed Donatello noticed Jenna looked like she was zoning out a little bit.
"Jenna. You okay?" He asked a smile.
"Yeah, yeah, sorry mate don't mind me. I'd had this little tune running through my head for a couple of days. Sometimes when I'm trying to piece something together, I go into this mini-trance."
"Do you play?" Donnie said curiously.
"Piano...some guitar. I do a little writing from time to time - nothing serious."
Now he looked truly interested. "Hm. Jenna, have you seen our Lounge by any chance?"
"Your what?"
"Leo, Raph, you guys should show her."
"Now?" Raph repeated.
"She's getting the writer's daze. Now would be good."
Leonardo rose first and motioned to the young woman. "C'mon. I think you're gonna like this."
Raph and Leo walked her back into the Den, and then lead her down a hallway she hadn't stepped foot into yet. It had one door at the end, and Leonardo went in first to get the lights on. She didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't what she saw. Why anything still surprised her was the real shocker.
The room held several musical instruments, ranging from a nice looking drum-set, to several guitars, and a keyboard.
"Whoa. How did you guys put this all together?"
"You'll have to ask Donnie about that." Leo said maddeningly. "Right now, you should go to town."
A smile broke widely on her features. "Really?"
"You're not here to look." Raph encouraged, flipping a switch on the keyboard. "Try 'er out."
Her eyes verily lit up as she slid behind the keyboard, and Leo and Raph left her alone to write. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, and pulled a creased paper out of her pocket. She straightened it on the stand in front of her, and began reviewing the words with what she could remember of the tune.
When she had a good idea of how they fit together, she began lightly playing a bit of the tune she was hearing in her head, stopping to make notations on the paper every now and again as she went along. She had been at the writing for a little more than an hour when she stopped to assess what she had so far as a whole.
Her mind was drifting now, and she was struggling to focus on the song completely. It felt good to start getting it down on paper, but she felt confused within as well. She couldn't begin to understand the way she was feeling, let alone put it into perfect words. There was no way she could walk away from here with something so unresolved in her own mind. She had enough regrets already, without adding more on top of them.