"Damn!"

"Shhhhhh... Quiet! You'll wake everyone!"

A clamor was coming from behind the door...

"…shit…shit…shit…shit…DAMN'IT!"

I looked toward Donnie, his head resting upon my chest, his palm cupping one of my breasts. Only a few moments ago we reached another climactic orgasm (and by "we" I mean mostly him, my mating-season-incrazed lover boy!) Sensing my alarm, he raised his face to meet my eyes, meanwhile lightly kissing my skin and intentionally ignoring the commotion outside. But when a short scream of pain shattered the relative stillness of the lair, Don's head jerked up again, faster than lightning. His stare at the direction of that scream was intense, and I could suddenly see the instant clarity appearing in his eyes – he was himself again. One of his brothers needed him and he was back on track. Mating and all that jazz fast forgotten…

Quite concerned and not knowing what to do, I followed his gaze, waiting for his reaction. He kissed me abruptly, and then pressed his lips against my forehead, softly saying: "Get dressed…" into my hair.

My worried suspicions quickly mixed up with a mess of proud girlfriend sentiments. There was an unquestionably alarming situation considering his family and he wanted me to come with him! No more: Wait here – don't come out… I will come and get you later, when everything is settled! Ha! I got dressed so fast, I didn't even pay attention to what I was putting on.

We came out the door, my hand in his, following the noise coming from the living room. Mike's shell was the first thing I saw. Raphael was right behind. Both brothers bent over something on the floor.

"What is going on, guys?" – Don questioned, trying to make out what was scattered on the floor between the two.

"Oh… Donnie! Great! You're awake… we totally need your help, bro!" Mikey was fast to turn towards us, "Uh oh, Snow, you shouldn't look… it's not a pretty sight!"

Big shabby boots and long sheaves of disheveled black hair were all I could actually see. Oh, and there was blood! Of course there was, since the person spread on the floor periodically growled in pain: "Aaaahhhh… fuck, it hurts!"

"Donnie, do something…" There was pain and despair in Raphael's eyes. I witnessed him panic like this only once before - when we weren't sure whether Mike would make it out of his coma...

Donatello closely observed the half-conscious man twisting on the floor for several long moments, then squeezed my hand turning to face me: "Bring fresh towels and hot water!" His stare was fixed and very intense, and I could only think about the way he immediately included me in the incident, entrusting me with something lethal. I didn't know who that man lying on the floor was, and what he was even doing here at all, but I knew that I mattered to him. A lot! I was bringing towels and water! Nodding shortly, I started for the bathroom, on my way catching the strict tone of my boyfriend giving more orders: "Mikey, get Leo! Raph, let's get him to the lab pronto! Carefully! Easy, easy... " Groans of pain followed...

Donatello – forever the one operating beneath the surface of this family's security and well-being. My Donatello...

A bundle of towels under one arm and a bucket of recently boiled water in other, I ran into furious Leonardo and somewhat worn off Usagi on my way to the lab. Fearless gave me a short nervous stare. He was about to say something, probably in the area of: Lin, you shouldn't get in there. Better stay here and wait it out… This might be dangerous… or something in that manner... However, meeting the rabbit's stern gaze, Leonardo breathed in and slowly breathed out, switching his tense expression into a more reserved one. Then taking the water bucket out of my hand, he politely gestured me to go ahead. The rabbit gave me a little sneaky smile behind Leo's back, and I began to realize how in fact Usagi constituted a firm, tranquilizing, almost palliative inclination in Leonardo, and how that effected our Leader's way of action.

Entering the lab, I saw Don with a surgical mask on his face and with rubber gloves up to his elbows, busy with all kinds of clinical equipment, towering over the man lying on the table. As I came closer and placed the towels on a stand nearby, I was immediately met by a nervous stare from Raphael- he was assisting, handing over every single thing Donatello demanded. The concern in his eyes, when he looked at me, was impossible to ignore. However, he at once turned his gaze away, and I caught Mikey's abrupt glare instead. The youngest brother was standing alone in the corner, looking anxious, nervously smiling at me with discomfort. Since I couldn't be of any help to Donatello right now, I came up to Mike and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine…" – he pronounced reassuringly, more to himself than to me. Oh, I couldn't blame him, since I was sure that the flashbacks of his own injury would surely be creeping not only through my mind. I concernedly squeezed his arm-bicep and leaned my head onto his, trying my best to comfort him, in the meanwhile taking the scene in and turning my eyes to Leonardo, who spoke.

"What the shell happened, Raph?" His voice was restrained, as he placed the water bucket with a thud at Raph's feet on the floor, "Mikey said there was some kind of an emergency… Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Leo…" - was all the hothead offered, dipping a towel into the boiled water and placing it on the man bleeding on the surgical table.

"Then what's all the ..?" Leo stumbled on his way toward the table, and his tone became more than surprised: "Casey?!"

We gathered in the kitchen, speaking in hushed voices- no one wanted to wake Splinter yet. The situation was under control for now. Casey Jones was finally asleep safe and sound in the lab, after Don has properly drugged him. I knew and understood very little of the situation, so I was listening intently to every word.

"There's nothing to worry about, he'll be fine!" - Donnie was saying, "Battered severely, but he'll live!" Meticulously washing his hands at the sink, he threw a quick nervous gaze at Raphael, then switched to me. His worried, gloomy glance made me wince, but I knew that it was coming from loving concern, so I smiled sheepishly. And Donnie smiled back, his face slowly relaxing, "We should let April know... she might want to take him to a hospital!"

"I'll call'er!" – volunteered Mike right away, cautiously squinting at the red-banded turtle, while dialing. His hushed semi-cheerful voice could be heard from the corridor a moment later: "Hey, Ape! What's up?" he paused, "Awesome! Hehe... listen, something came up, well… actually someone… we thought we should let you know…" another pause, "No no… we're all fine…" His voice was slowly fading away as he kept reseeding deeper and deeper into the tunnels away from us.

"So, what happened there, Raph?" – finally asked Leonardo.

Raphael, still stained all over with Casey's blood, kept surprisingly quiet. Holding his gaze pinned down to the floor, he was despondently and uncomfortably switching from one foot to the other: "Ha..?" It was evident that the big guy was utterly confused. It seemed he didn't hear nor understood what was going on around him.

Frowning, Fearless grabbed his brother by his huge shoulders: "Raph, how did Casey get hurt? How in the world did he get here? Was he followed..?"

Raphael seamed to snap out of it a little as he stared into the blue anger in his brother's eyes, his mind recovering and clearing up. I got him a glass of water, and a few minutes later the hothead told us how during his usual late night walk-it-off-time he was ambushed by several Foot soldiers, but they did not attack, being only the messengers. Instead, they dropped half-dead Casey at his feet and waved goodbye... So what the shell was he supposed to do?

Everybody was following Raphael's tale very closely. Mikey came back and winking at me in confirmation, settled next to me, intently listening as well. After Raph was finished, he prolongedly stared into space, while I exchanged glances with Don. Then all of a sudden Raph snapped and determinately said: "It's a message, Leo…"

"What? What message?! What do you mean?"

"The Foot… they're lookin' fa' us! Don'cha' see, Leo?! This can't be a mere chance… They're up to somethin'! And I can feel in my guts, somethin' seriously bad's about to happen…"

"Did they inform you of something of that sort? Do you have any kind of actual legitimate information?" All gazes turned to Donatello, who was thoughtfully leaning on the sink with his shell and slowly drying his hands with the kitchen towel.

Raphael was silent for a moment, then sighed, sitting down and looked around meeting our gazes: "'Der was an incident, April told me about... She and Case were brutally attacked by the Foot several years ago, in Tokyo!" Mikey and I gasped simultaneously, while Leo's face darkened. "...said they were lookin' fa' us- the turtles, to deliver a message... Well, now they have!"

"Why didn't you say anything before, Raph?" Leo's voice was reaching his dangerous tone, "Do you realize wha..."

"Leo!" Don suddenly cut in, causing several surprised head-turns and confused blinks in his direction (Donatello rarely interrupted anyone, not to mention the regular Leo-Raph heated arguments), "I believe it to be an understandable decision for Raphael to justifiably protect April's right for privacy. The fact that our friend's rightful choice to share this unquestionably highly worrying information with Raphael, not with all of us, was hers and hers alone! Our brother was simply respecting that preference until now..."

I looked at my boyfriend, my heart beating faster and faster in my chest, and noticed how everyone else was looking at Donatello as well. Especially Raphael, who clearly wasn't in the least prepared for such support and unexpected defense on behalf of his brainy brother. The room fell silent yet again.

"Alright, Donnie!" Leonardo finally broke the silence and placed his hand on Don's shoulder in a contemplating manner, "You're right. Of course. I don't know why April chose not to tell us... But there's no turning time backwards, we've got to look forward! We need to come up with a plan of action!"

The four brothers exchanged glances. But no one (except for me) seemed to notice Usagi silently sitting a little at the back, his expression stony and fixed, tightly closed fists at his lap.

Casey Jones was unable to get up, both legs broken, brutally fractured and slashed with swords! Donatello said it was only a mere chance they weren't cut off completely. But still, the Foot didn't bestow any mistake to be made. This was a warning! They were up to something and they meant absolutely business!

April arrived early the next day. The poignant expression on her pretty face was the first thing I saw in the morning, when I emerged from Don's room. The turtles didn't let me go home, not to mention my job. It was decided that it was too dangerous to even leave the lair at this point. Frankly, I unquestionably felt safer around here anyways, so I was happy to stay… and maybe help, if I could be of any use – I knew for sure I didn't want to be a burden.

All the time, since yesterday, Don spent periodically checking on his patient. He never came to bed – I slept the few hours I got left in a solemn loneliness. Poor baby, he was probably exhausted… (or not, as I learned the hard way the amounts of energy his nature's call for mating supplied for him was bewildering at this season!)

Mikey informed me that Casey woke up at some point during the night, but realizing the excruciating pain circulating through his body, he asked Don to increase the dosage of the anesthetic till he lost his consciousness again. The orange turtle also pointed out to me, that in his opinion, Casey simply wasn't ready to face the whole April issue with Raphael yet. And now that the woman in question was here herself, everyone was walking on a very thin ice.

Including Leonardo, who was absolutely unable to relax. Not without a severe amount of influence from Master Splinter, it was decided that Fearless will take it slow and think everything through before they made any moves against the Foot. The green leader spend the rest of the day planning various strategies and having uncountable meetings with Donatello (in between him being a doctor) for freshly recovered bits and pieces of information about the recent Foot activity in N.Y. and Japan, rapping all that up in a long meditation session deep into the night, joined by Usagi.

Master Splinter, after consulting Leo and visiting Casey's side, asked not to be disturbed and sank into deep meditation- the cerebral universal realm of consciousness, seeking reassurement and advice. He was shut in his room ever since.

Raphael… I was positively surprised at the level-headedness the giant turtle mastered since April's arrival. Since the redhead instantly went to see her injured unconscious husband, some tears were shed, some words spoken… but Raph was holding up strong. He cared for Casey's wellbeing no less then he would've for anyone of his brothers'! He was at Leo's side whenever he needed him, served as Donnie's right hand in the patient's room and kept his mouth shut, not intending to bring anything up (not unless it was brought up by someone else it is). Of course he commonly ignored his baby-brother's attempts of never-ending sweetness and encouraging energy, overlapping him with inexhaustible brotherly affection, but from time to time he permitted a hug or a quick silly joke from Mike, bringing an inevitable smile to my face every single time.