Six Months Earlier: June

Longest Chapter. :( *sad face*

Six long, exhausting weeks had passed since the young nurse had seen the strange being in her attic and she certainly believed that she would never see the extraterrestrial again. The chasm of time made certain to erase all the thoughts of another encounter from her conscience.

The woman had ultimately stopped referring to the space as a greenhouse since her cousin freaked out over the damages and told her to give up the idea. It was ridiculous to try a renovation like that in the very beginning. Now she was standing in the same space, cleared of all the debris, staring at the floor in search for a new plan for it.

"Hello."

A voice behind her made her jump out of her skin and she screamed.

"Please don't scream."

She whipped around to see a large figure standing before her. He was at her level height and slightly stocky in built from the defined muscles in his arms and legs. Dark round eyes peered back at her through small slits in the blue mask which was wrapped about his head, and she leaned away from them.

"You!" she pronounced, futilely searching for more words in her mind.

"Yes, me," Leonardo bowed, making the woman step away from him in fear. "I am Leonardo, remember?"

"Yes, I remember," the woman spoke cautiously. "You - you came back?" She moved sideways and began treading a small circle around the mysterious creature, observing him from his head all the way down to his toes. He in turn, rotated to keep his eyes locked on hers and stayed on point at the center of their revolution, therefore, he was like the slow, spinning earth and she was like the hovering moon.

"Why?" Her perfectly shaped brows furrowed; bewildered by him.

Leonardo offered her a gentle smile, "Because I promised to assist you with the repairs to your greenhouse, since it was my fault it got destroyed. I swore on my honor. You do remember that, don't you?"

Hazel laughed nervously and shooed the turtle away, "You've got to be kidding me. This is a joke, right? I'm still asleep, right?" Her skepticism made its stand, refusing to let her believe that the alien had returned with an offer to help her.

The ninja frowned, shaking his head, "No, you're not dreaming, and I'm not kidding either," he stated solemnly.

Hazel kept her orbital pace, watching him closely. She was shocked to see him standing so tall and proud after only seeing him in the dark; all bruised and bloody. After all, this was the first time she was seeing him in full lighting. He was short for a male, but his stature reminded her of a hardened soldier, yet with a more graceful air. Almost like a regal prince from the past, only with something more - something exotic about his behavior.

Well, duh, Hazel. He's an alien with a huge tortoise shell. She told herself.

"Okay. So where are you from?" She asked.

The turtle shuffled on his feet a little, "Oh, about that… I'm not an alien if that's what you're wondering." He snorted lightly, studying her reaction.

You're overly controlled too. She thought.

"So then what are you?" She went on, "Some evolutionary turtle our government's been hiding; locked up somewhere from society?"

The blue-masked ninja had to stifle back a laugh as the female speared him with a pensive gaze. She was quite serious about her question and she expected the answers immediately.

"No, nothing like that," he said. "I'm actually a mutant. Born a turtle, got mixed up with some bad chemicals and grew up into this," he gestured with his hands.

"Hmm, I see…" Hazel looked disappointed by his tale and she chose not to carry on with her investigation. "So you're here to help me with my greenhouse, right?" She switched the conversation back to the turtle's primary business and began walking away from him.

"Yes," he replied in uncertainty; baffled by her dismissive action.

"Do you have any knowledge of masonry or carpentry tools or greenhouse planning?"

"Uhm, I think so…"

"Good," she turned her head back to smile at the terrapin. "Come on then," she beckoned him to follow her. "If you're gonna help me with this project we'll have to discuss my plans over coffee. You do drink coffee don't you?"

"No," Leonardo hesitated with his response. He was looking around for another way to execute the deal he'd struck with the human. He didn't plan for her to invite him fully into her house for coffee. He had planned to visit the apartment, after she had agreed to his offer of course, and pick up the tools to start the job. He decided on nothing more, nothing less and definitely not coffee.

"No? You don't like coffee. How sad!" The woman scrunched up her face into a funny pout and stopped at the top of the stairway. "What about tea or hot chocolate? Would you drink that? You're the one who swore on your honor, Leonardo, and you can't help with the repairs unless you look at my drawings. So what it'll be?" She placed her hands on her hips and tapped her foot, waiting expectantly.

The Bushido warrior lowered his head and sighed heavily, "I'd love to join you for tea, Miss McIntyre," he said in defeat, and with that he followed her down into the apartment.

Since then, Hazel had spent a great deal of nights working with the turtle on her greenhouse project. Their conversations evolved to playful banter and she learned a great deal more about the turtle's personality and beliefs rather than his life at home. He on the other hand knew almost every single thing about her.

She discovered that her so-called alien was very reserved. He was also very strict about ninjutsu training and Bushido teachings, and some other Japanese terms she couldn't comprehend.

She also learned that he was over-protective of his family and friends to the point where she felt that he didn't trust her where his family was concerned. He never revealed where they lived or how they survived so many years in New York unheard of. He was polite to a flaw, patient, kind and he had a sense of humor which was worth digging out of his soul.

She enjoyed the time they spent together and would often find herself counting down the days of his absence until he returned.