Three Months Earlier

When the blue-masked ninja had entered Master Splinter's room, his senses were enveloped by the soothing aroma of burning incense, and he went directly to kneel before his sensei at the center of the hazy room. He felt his pulse racing through the veins in his temple; unable to catch up with the rest of his body which had finally come to a stop after running all the way from the apartment.

Kneeling before Splinter, he gazed at his father's zen-like figure, sitting so peacefully among the candles. He was relieved to find the master ready to entertain his questions since his mind was plagued with conflicting thoughts. What should I do? Those words replayed in his head, haunting his beating heart. In spite of all he maintained a calm exterior in the presence of his father to conceal the turmoil within his soul.

"My son," Splinter addressed him, "What is the matter?"

"Otōsan," Leonardo exhaled, surprised by the breath he was holding, "Sensei, we have a problem."

Splinter's ears flicked in trepidation and he laid a hand on his son's shoulder. "Tell me, son, what is wrong? Who is this; we?"

Leonardo lowered his eyes as if he was ashamed and then he looked up at his father with desperation in his darkened eyes, "It's Hazel…"

Splinter's whiskers twitched at the sound of the familiar name. "Miss McIntyre? What has happened, Leonardo? Is the young woman hurt?"

"No, she's fine," the turtle corrected.

"No?" Splinter's brows rose questionably, "Then what is the problem?"

"She -" Leo hesitated, watching his father carefully so that he would be prepared for the rat's reaction to what he was about to hear. "I think she's in love with me," he confessed, ducking his head down, expecting fireworks from his master.

The sensei's nose twitched slightly, as he suppressed the laugh that wanted to gurgle out from his throat. "And how do you know of this?" he asked, removing his hand from the terrapin to stand up.

"Because she said so," the ninja answered quickly. "She told me that she was falling in love with me."

"I see," the master stroked his goatee thoughtfully, walking silently around his bowed student. He stopped behind his son and shook his head, smiling; amused by the young mutant's reaction, but he also did not want the turtle to think that his own father was laughing at him. The ninja was clearly distressed by this new development with his friend. "But I still do not know what the problem is," he said to him.

Leonardo turned around to gaze at his master in disbelief, "That is the problem, Sensei."

Splinter blinked at the level of his exasperation and chuckled, "What; that she is in love with you and you do not feel the same way towards her?"

"No… I do care about her - a lot," the turtle's eyes returned to the floor, darting to and fro as he searched for an answer. "Probably more than I know," he said cautiously, "but I never expected this. I never expected her to fall in love with me. I didn't want this to happen. Especially not for her," he protested. "I should have stopped going over there a long time ago. I should have stopped right when we had finished the greenhouse."

"Why?"

"Why?" Leonardo rocked back on his heels and dropped his shoulders, sighing. "Because I'm putting her at risk, Sensei, every minute I spend over there I'm putting her at more and more risk. Now this…"

Splinter inhaled and straightened his demeanor when he sensed the tension in his son's body and he realized that Leonardo had been hoarding around a larger weight on his shoulders than he had originally let on.

"I do understand your concern for her safety, Leonardo. She is your friend, but I also know that you are not telling me everything."

The ninja looked up sadly, locked eyes with his father and said, "I'm so sorry, Sensei. I was supposed to be vigilant, restrained and disciplined, but I failed. I failed to put her safety above all else. I fell for her, Sensei… I fell for her and I thought that nothing would come of it. I never told her how I felt.

"I mean, she's a human after all and I'm a mutant turtle. We're entirely worlds apart. I don't belong up there just as much as she doesn't belong down here with us. I didn't want to expose her to our world, Sensei. It's too dangerous. We've all seen what April had to go through, right?"

"Yes we have, and I am sure that if one of us were able to change time; we would have spared Miss O'Neil the hardships that came along with bearing our secret. However, she would not have wanted that since it would mean losing people she cared about deeply. " Splinter returned to his seat and folded his arms as he listened to Leonardo expose his heart for all to see. "Now I know where your distress is coming from. You do not wish the same fate for the young woman your heart has taken to, correct?"

"Exactly," the warrior tightened his fist, clenching his teeth, "but I was so stupid. I just had to see her. I figured if we remained friends then it would make things easier for me. I wanted to be there so badly – just to see her, but I was too blind to see how much danger I was putting her in and now things have gotten worse. It's even more complicated than before."

The rat nodded in acknowledgement.

"Father, what should I do? Hurting her is the last thing I want to do."

"I cannot tell you what to do, my son. I am no expert in relationships. However, the only words of advice I can offer to you; is to do whatever your heart tells you, Leonardo." Splinter gave the turtle's shoulder a firm squeeze and then rubbed his paw over his bald head affectionately. "I trust that you will make the right decision for both yourself and Miss McIntyre."

Disappointed by the wise rodent's words; the turtle shut his eyes and bit back at the sigh that was forming inside of his throat. He did not expect Splinter to leave the decision on his onus. No. Instead, he was expecting to hear some kind of authorial decision from the strict ninjutsu master about staying away from humans. Unfortunately, the mutant had to face the fact that they were decades beyond that stage, and Splinter trusted them enough to make their own choices in life.

He had to confront the reality of it all whether he liked it or not.

"Hai, Sensei," he bowed solemnly; not wanting to appear ungrateful before his master. "I will try."

"Do not be so disenchanted, my son. You will make the right decision. I am certain," Splinter patted him on the shoulder once more for measure.

"Otōsan, arigatōgozaimashita," Leonardo bowed again and left the room as soon as Splinter excused him. He did not feel better. What should I do?

Otōsan - Father