Raphael sat down heavily at the kitchen table, collapsing against the back of his chair and groaning in exhaustion. Beside him, his mate did the same, even going so far as to lean her head against the back of the chair. On the other side of the table, Mikey groaned and rested his head on his arms.

"Dudes," he began. "That sucked."

They'd spent the last three hours cleaning up the Lab -- sweeping up broken bits of glass, putting out fires, trying to figure out what was salvageable. They could do no more that night without Donatello's help, and none of them wanted to wake the genius or Claire. The two of them had looked as if a stiff wind would have knocked them over.

"Yer tellin' me," Raphael responded as Hannah took one of his hands and began to massage it lightly. "I don' tink I'll be able ta hold my sai fer a week." He'd been on broom duty, and his hands felt as if they'd be permanently stuck with his fingers slightly curled.

Hannah just grunted. "At least you weren't scraping charred bits of Donnie's experiments off the walls." She shook her head. "What was he even doing in there?"

"Who cares," Mikey answered dully. "Donnie-things. How the heck are we s'posed to know?"

"Michelangelo," a wizened voice spoke up from the kitchen doorway. The turtles and demigod looked up to see Master Splinter standing there with James in his arms and Emily hanging onto his robe.

Raph winced. They'd all immediately agreed not to tell Emily what had happened with Sloan (never mind the fact that they didn't understand it themselves, so how were they supposed to explain it to a six year old?), but the little girl could still tell something was wrong. She knew something bad had happened in the Lab that made a mess, and that they had spent the last few hours cleaning it up. Her brown eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she clutched her stuffed chimpanzee in the hand that wasn't holding on to Splinter as if her life depended on it.

The red-masked turtle held out his arms, and Emily immediately went to him just as Hannah told Splinter she would take James for a while. The little girl huddled as close to him as she could get, and he just held on to her back. He glanced over at Hannah, ignoring the pang that seeing her with James always gave him, and gave his mate a grim look. She tried to smile bravely, but it didn't reach her exhausted green eyes.

Splinter pulled out a chair and sat beside Mikey and addressed the youngest turtle. "Your brother has his reasons for what he does. Sometimes it is better not to ask, but know that his intentions have always been to help this family. His research requires the proper respect, as does he."

"Sorry, sensei, I know. I'm just tired." Michelangelo sat up, sighing. "We all are."

For what Sloan had gone through...Raphael never again wanted to experience the kind of fear he felt upon glimpsing what had happened in the Lab. The flames, the voice, Sloan herself...it was the most terrified he'd ever been, next to the time they all thought Leo was going to die after their fight with the Shredder. Once it was over, and Leo had slowly supported Sloan back to their room, the other two turtles and Hannah had felt enough residual fear and anxiety to obsessively clean the Lab. Raphael recalled watching Hannah clean the exact already-pristine spot on the work table three times in the span of ten minutes. They'd worked themselves to the point of exhaustion, for they all knew they would not rest otherwise.

As he was lost in thought, his oldest brother made his way through the door and took the chair on his other side. He also slumped back with a sigh, closing his eyes and groaning softly.

"How is she, bro?" Mikey asked hesitantly.

Leo took a moment before answering, simply opening his eyes and staring up at the high ceiling of the lair.

"Resting," he said at length. "Finally. She...she cried a lot."

"Well, that's understandable," Hannah answered. She motioned to James, silently asking the blue-masked turtle if he wanted his son. Leo just shook his head.

"He seems fine with you," he told her. Indeed, the baby was asleep, as if nothing had happened. Leo sighed again, then began to tell them what Brighid had done, going into more detail than he had previously. He told them what she'd said, what Claire had done to send her away, and what had been left on his wife's body as a reminder.

Raph gritted his teeth to refrain from cursing, more out of the fact that Emily was still nestled in his lap than the fact that Splinter was among them as well. As if Sloan hadn't suffered enough, now she had a Celtic goddess trying to take over her body for some vague "destiny." It was enough to set the red-masked turtle off.

"Is…" a small voice spoke up. The group turned their attention to Emily as she addressed the leader. "Is Sloan gonna be okay?"

Leo gave Emily a small smile. "She'll be fine, she's just tired and needs to rest. I can take you to her, if you want to see her?"

Emily nodded, and Leo held out his hand to the little girl. She hopped off of Raph's lap and took Leo's hand, and the two of them walked off towards his and Sloan's room. Raphael watched them go, then crossed his arms and scowled at the table. He opened his mouth --

"That bitch," Hannah cut him off, taking his exact words right out of his mouth. He gave his mate a bemused look as she grimaced and looked at his father. "Sorry, Master Splinter."

"At this present moment," the rat responded, a dangerous glint in his dark eyes. "I am inclined to agree with you."

"I can't believe that...that thing could think she had a right to take over Sloan like that! I mean...she helped out topside earlier, but…"

"But what if it happens again?" Raph's blood ran cold at the realization, and he looked up grimly at Mikey, then at Hannah. "What's ta stop her from comin' back and takin' over Sloan fer good?"

"According to Leonardo, that will not happen again." Splinter shifted in his chair, as if to get more comfortable. "Miss Blackwood banished the goddess from this place, from Sloan herself."

"Yeah, but for how long?" Mikey spoke up, gesturing to his brother. "Raph's kinda got a point. What's gonna stop Brighid from eventually coming back?"

"That may be a question for Claire," Hannah put in. "Leo said that she cast some sort of spell, but we all know that Claire isn't the most powerful witch. She's told us that herself. And she's out of practice." She paused. "I wonder what the symbols on Sloan meant, if they were a part of the spell?"

"Only Claire would know," Raph told her. "An' she an' Donnie'll prob'ly sleep fer the next day or so, based on the way they looked earlier."

"I'm just glad Claire was here to help out," Mikey added. "Could...could you imagine what might have happened if...if Brighid tried to take over without Claire here to banish her? We could have lost Sloan for good."

"I'd rather not think about that Mikey," Hannah said. "But...I agree with you. I'm glad she was here, too."

They all fell silent, each of them lost in their thoughts. It was only after Mikey actually slumped forward, dozing, that Splinter stood and made his way to Hannah, taking James from her to take him to the extra cradle in the Master's room.

"I would advise," the wizened rat began. "That we all go to bed. The morning will bring better understanding and clearer minds." He headed slowly towards his room, bidding his children goodnight on his way.

Michelangelo stood and stretched, then gave Raph and Hannah a bemused look, his attention focused on something behind them. The red-masked turtle turned to see the clock on their stove blinking the time at them -- 2:15.

"Happy New Year," the orange-banded turtle yawned. He patted his brother's shell as he passed. "Hopefully this year is better than the last one. Worst. New Year's Eve. Ever." He yawned widely again, then waved to the couple still sitting at the table. "'Night, guys."

"G'night," Raph called back, then turned his attention back to his mate. She leaned forward in her seat, smiling slightly.

"Happy New Year, Raphael," she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek. He turned his face and rested his head against hers. Hannah sighed as his arm came around her shoulders. They had been interrupted in their...activities earlier in the evening when everything had happened in the Lab, but with the crazy events of the night, all Raphael wanted to do was go to sleep and not wake up for a long time. And judging by the way Hannah's breathing was beginning to even out rapidly, he was going to have to carry her up the stairs to their room. And he really doubted he had enough strength left in him for that normally-simple task.

He sat back and nudged her gently with his shoulder as she fell forward, involuntarily following him. She woke up enough to catch herself against his plastron, blinking to clear her exhausted state. Raph just gave her a quick kiss on her forehead, then gently coaxed her up and out of the kitchen.

"C'mon, babe," he said. "Let's go to bed, 'kay?"

"Mmmkay," came her sleepy reply.

Somehow they made it up to their room, not even bothering to close the door as they collapsed on the bed, instantly falling asleep.

~

When Donatello next awoke, he had no idea what time it was, let alone what day it was. He was groggy, sore, and his head was splitting.

He needed coffee.

He glanced over in the bed beside him and saw Claire still out cold. He guessed she needed more rest than he did, seeing as she had been the catalyst for the spell against Brighid. He left her to sleep, kissing her on her brow as he tied on his mask and quietly left the room.

He didn't encounter anyone else on his way to the kitchen. It seemed they all were still in bed from the previous night. The time on the stove read 10:43. Whether that was AM or PM he didn't know. It was quite possible that he and Claire could have slept through the rest of the night and well into the next day. He supposed he could have gone into his lab and checked the time on his computer...but at the thought of how wrecked it was thanks to Brighid, he decided that particular journey wouldn't be wise in his present state. Once he had the coffee maker going, he turned to survey the expansive living space, rarely this quiet.

Had it really happened? Or had it all been some awful dream? He leaned against the kitchen table, arms crossed, as his scattered thoughts replayed the previous night over and over.

He recalled how his heart had almost stopped at seeing Claire bursting into the room, then as she stood in front of him and Leonardo as if she could shield them. He'd simultaneously wanted to pull her close and shove her back out the door to protect her. But he also remembered how proud he was of her actions, how she'd immediately known what to do. He was still reeling from the fact that the spell that had saved them had only been a theory of hers before last night, but she'd always said that most of her best spellwork was the result of her natural talent for it rather than practice.

He remembered how it had felt once he touched her, how it was like his very self was being pulled into Claire, trying to merge with her. His energy, his strength, his soul - they had all belonged to Claire in that moment. It had been incredibly intimate, even more so than the physical act of lovemaking (with the week of experience he had with it, anyway). He knew he'd begun talking to her, but he couldn't remember his exact words. He hoped they were ones of encouragement, of love and pride.

Eventually, as the spell wore on and sapped more of their strength, Donnie had clung to Claire, supporting her as she was barely able to stand. He had felt himself fading fast, but he had to stay strong for Claire, for Sloan and Leo. That was when he'd frantically begun to talk to Claire, just whispering "I love you" over and over, as they'd been the only words he could think to say in that moment.

When it was over, and they'd fallen back from the force of letting the spell go, he'd felt awful and sick, and a sharp spark of fear had pierced him as he glimpsed Claire's limp form on top of him. He'd gathered her up, and immediately gasped in relief as she'd awoken, throwing her shaking arms around him and holding him close. It was all he'd been able to do to hold her, take in the smell and feel of her, as she'd tiredly explained to Leo and Sloan what had happened.

The sound of the small ding of the coffee maker spurred him out of his head and back to the present. First, coffee. Then, thinkee.

Geez, he thought. Get a grip.

He poured himself a healthy amount in one of his favorite mugs -- a tall, ceramic thing that Claire had gotten him. It read "A Moment of Science, Please" and sported all sorts of symbols like atoms and beakers and chemical formulas. Sipping the liquid gold, he made his way to the couch and turned on the TV quietly. He didn't want to disturb anybody else.

Though, he thought, as his oldest brother emerged from the hallway where his room was, it may be too late for that. Leonardo yawned, then rubbed at a spot on his side. Donnie hadn't really spoken to his brother since the events of the previous night, and he really didn't know what else to say besides:

"Hey."

"Hey, Donnie," Leo responded through another yawn. "You get enough rest?"

The genius turtle shrugged as Leo came to a stop behind the couch, bracing his arms on the back of it. "I guess. I woke up on my own, but Claire was still out cold." He noticed the dark circles under the leader's eyes as he took another sip of coffee. "Did you? You look exhausted."

Leonardo shook his head. "Emily ended up staying in our room last night. She was...pretty upset about everything, and she just wanted to be near Sloan. She slept between us, and…" He rubbed the spot on his side again. "Em's a kicker." He noticed the mug in Donnie's hand. "Is there any more of that?"

That was surprising -- Leo hated coffee, and Donatello began to say just that, when a Breaking News Report caught their attention.

"We interrupt your regularly scheduled program for this breaking news bulletin," the reporter was saying, a picture of Times Square the previous night on the screen beside him. "Authorities have discovered a frightening trend here in the city. Just last night, four different young women were reported missing from the Times Square area and surrounding blocks. This is the third such report in the last month. The NYPD has yet to release a statement, but cautions females to remain vigilant. Do not travel alone, and do not venture out of your homes after dark unless absolutely necessary. More on this story as it develops."

"Oh no," another sleepy voice spoke up. The two cooler-colored turtles turned to see Mikey making his way to the couch, Raphael not far behind. It seemed that, despite the exhaustion they'd all evidently suffered earlier, the brothers' natural rhythms had them all up before they really wanted, as if they would be training that morning like they usually did.

The other two turtles stopped behind the couch as well, their eyes glued to the screen. Raphael's already sour look darkened into a scowl, and he crossed his arms sullenly.

"Hannah said that's what the two asshats they ran inta last night were tryin' ta do." He looked over at Leo. "I didn't think the Purple Dragons were inta traffickin'."

"You mean, you guys don't remember?" Mike spoke up. "That's why the Purple Dragons had Sloan and Emily when we met them. Sloan told us herself." His face fell. "I...I'd hate to think about where they may have ended up if we hadn't busted them out."

Leonardo gripped the back of the couch tighter. "There's got to be something deeper, here. If they've been running a slave trade since we met Sloan, then the fact that it's escalated to the point where the news and reporters are picking up on the pattern means they're mobilizing even more, taking more people. But the Dragons aren't sophisticated enough to do this alone. Hun's not that smart."

"Could be the Foot." Raphael crossed to the front of the couch, still glaring daggers at the TV as if he could change the report by sheer will.

Donatello set down his coffee cup, his stomach too sour to enjoy the drink anymore. They hadn't heard anything from the Foot or the Shredder since they'd taken Hun's advice the previous Spring and escaped out of the city. It seemed as if Oroku Saki and his minions had vanished. The purple-masked turtle wasn't naive enough to think that they were gone for good -- they were still operating a shadow business, and if Mikey's theory proved right, it seemed the Dragons were their new heavy lifters.

The four brothers exchanged grim looks, and as Donatello turned back to the TV, he had a sinking feeling that this was about to get a lot worse before too long.

~

After falling asleep on the couch watching the news, Leo woke up in the middle of the afternoon with a start, his nerves still on edge from the night before. He quickly scanned the living room, trying to figure out what woke him. When everything seemed as it should be, he stood and stretched. Then a bang sounded from the direction of the lab, causing his attention to snap to Donatello's inner sanctum. A small part of him was hesitant to venture back into that room so soon, but when another loud sound came from the closed off room (really more of an old subway car), he steeled himself and made his way over.

Inside, he found the purple-masked turtle trying to sort out the mess that Hannah, Raph, and Mikey hadn't been able to clean up earlier. Donnie muttered to himself, cursing about broken glass and lost time. When Leo cleared his throat, he spun around, a mess of old rags and broken glass in his hands.

"Oh, hey," he said.

"Hey, Donnie," Leo responded, glancing around the lab. "You, uh...need any help?" He really had no idea what he could do, but his brother nodded anyway, seeming grateful for another set of hands. He gestured over to the opposite side of the room.

"If you could just start over there with getting things out of the way, then you can help me work on this floor some...I'd like to try and get the scorch marks off before I move any furniture back."

Leo nodded, then moved to do as Donatello asked. The two brothers fell into an easy rhythm, neither one of them really feeling the need to break the silence. They worked for at least an hour before Leo's foot bumped something on the far side of the room, next to Donnie's overturned prep table. He bent down, brushing bits of broken microscope and glass off it, and realized it was Claire's spellbook. She'd kept it in Donnie's lab because it contained some seriously powerful stuff, and she knew Emily wasn't allowed in the room without supervision, and the book was safe from her little eyes.

The sight of the book made Leo think about Donnie's girl, still asleep upstairs, and suddenly Leo had questions.

"Hey, Don?" he ventured slowly. Across the room, Donatello glanced up at him to show that he'd heard, his brow raised, and gestured for Leo to continue as he turned his attention back to what he was currently cleaning.

"How's Claire?"

"Sleeping, still," the purple-masked turtle answered, his attention still on the ruined device in his hands. "She had to use some pretty powerful magic to banish Brighid, so it may take a while for her to wake up."

"How…" Leo really didn't know what he was trying to ask, the words to use. "How did she -- "

"Banish her?" Donnie finished for him. When Leo nodded, he went on. "Well, she apparently did some experimental magic on her part to draw enough energy from me to perform the spell. I've already spoken to her about it," he cut Leo off when the leader tried to express his surprise and concern in the form of a lecture. "But she doesn't know how long it will last." The genius turned back to the pile of broken bits at his feet, stooping to go through it again.

"So…" Leo started. "Do...do you think Claire's aunts could help?"

"I'm certain of it." Donatello stood up, moving to the other side of the room where a mop and stiff brush sat against the wall. "I was actually thinking I'd mention it to Claire when she woke up."

"I'd like to see if they'd meet with Sloan. She'd have the best information about what happened. And…" Leo sighed, but Don cut him off.

"If you think I'm going to let Claire go to her aunts' house alone while the Purple Dragons are kidnapping young women, you're kidding yourself," the genius turtle growled, his voice harsher than Leo had ever heard it.

"I agree," he answered, hoping he covered the surprise in his voice. "I guess we'll just need her to call them when she wakes up to set up a meeting. And, Donnie?"

"Hm?" The genius had already turned away from Leo, beginning to work on the scorch marks on the floor.

"I feel the same way about Sloan. There's no way any of the girls are going anywhere unescorted until we can get to the bottom of this."

Donatello met his oldest brother's hard gaze over his shoulder and nodded. He wordlessly held out another brush to Leo, and together they once again fell into a companionable silence, each lost in his own thoughts on the bombshells dropped on them in the last 24 hours.

~

Sloan sat up in her bed, hugging her knees to her chest. She knew she should get up, should rejoin her family - heck, even shower. But she just couldn't bring herself to get out of the bed. Leo had brought James to her when it had been time to feed him, but after that she'd adamantly insisted that he be taken back to Splinter. Despite what Claire had said about banishing Brighid, Sloan was still wary of being too close to her son in case something else happened.

The other issue was that upon waking from a fitful sleep a few hours earlier, her body was sore. More sore than it had been when she'd been shot, more sore than when she'd had James. It even hurt to blink. It was all she could do to lay there, her muscles and joints throbbing. She hated it, because being still, though more comfortable, left her to replay the events of the previous night over and over, sending her body into a near-panic.

She rested her head on her knees, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. I'm here, in the lair, in my room. I'm here, I'm me, Brighid is gone. She repeated those words to herself over and over until her rapid heartbeat slowed. Brighid was gone, banished.

Brighid...

Sloan knotted her hands in the blanket around her, gritting her teeth. Just the thought of the goddess was enough to set her rage boiling.

What the hell was she doing, hiding away like she was? True, she was scared to have James near just in case, but still...she should be figuring out a way to banish Brighid for good, to sever the ties that bound them somehow. And the only ones who could help her were Claire and the aunts.

But they wouldn't be able to help her if she stayed in her room like an invalid.

So, fueled by her rage and determination, she pulled herself out of bed. Literally -- she had to drag herself across the bed, grunting with pain and strain at the movements. She reached the edge of the mattress, practically fell over it gracelessly. Whatever.

She reached for her pants and a sweatshirt, pulling them on amidst her screaming muscles. A nice, hot shower would help her feel better. Using the walls, then the door knob and the iron railing around the second floor rooms, she lurched along, her progress slow. But for each agonizing movement, each pause required between steps to push down the pain again, she felt it was also a small victory. Just one more step, then another. Teeth gritted and bared in what she knew was a painful grimace, she looked up and saw that she hadn't even made it to the staircase yet.

"Dammit," she hissed. Then took another step just as she heard footsteps echoing lightly up the stairs. She found herself looking into the surprised face of her husband as he rocked to a stop upon seeing her out of bed.

"Sloan, what's wrong?" he asked, immediately rushing over to her.

"Going to take a shower," she managed, pulling herself another step forward. "Then, I need to talk to Claire about visiting her aunts. If anyone will know how to get Brighid off my back for good, it's them."

"Seems that's what everyone's thinking," Leo responded, following along beside her with his arms outstretched to catch her if need be. "Donnie and I came to the same conclusion."

She nodded, having to focus all her energy into simply moving forward. Leo seemed to reach a decision, nodded to himself, then commanded, "Come here."

Sloan reached out and held onto his arm just as he slid them under her back and knees, effortlessly lifting her up and carrying her the rest of the way to the bathroom. She was normally too proud to let him help her, but this time she was glad to have a little relief for her screaming muscles.

He gave her some privacy in the bathroom to relieve herself, but when she mentioned him going to get her some water while she showered, he adamantly refused.

"I'm not leaving you alone, you can barely stand." He entered the small room, closing and locking the door behind him. "Let me help you."

And even though they'd been married six months, even though they'd been intimate in the past, and even through her painful haze...Sloan couldn't stop the blush that stained her cheeks as she realized what he was offering. Granted, she didn't think he would try anything given the events of the past 24 hours. But…

But maybe...she wanted him to try something. Maybe it had been long enough.

She let him lift the sweater and sleep shirt over her head, remembering suddenly that she didn't have anything on underneath. She watched his eyes glance over her bare skin just for a moment, his own cheeks darkening, before he reached for her sweatpants and pulled them down as well. Was it her imagination, or were his hands shaking slightly as they brushed against her skin? He had to kneel down to get them completely off, which led to a rather awkward moment of her having to brace herself against his shoulders as she stepped out of the pants, which meant bringing her bare chest closer to Leo's face.

She bit her lip and tried not to move as he helped her pull off her underwear too. Then he stood and stepped back from her suddenly, turning to the shower and pulling the curtain aside and turning the water on. He helped her carefully step into the tub, dutifully averting his eyes. Then, just when Sloan thought he wasn't going to take it any further, he removed his belt, pads, and mask and stepped in with her.

Luckily there was plenty of room in the large tub space.

Face heating, Sloan turned the knob to start the shower spray, and had to hold back a sigh as the warm water cascaded over her. She heard Leo chuckle behind her, then he reached over for her soap and bath sponge. He helped her soap up, then washed her hair for her, his hands amazingly gentle as he worked out the tangles and massaged her scalp. She found that she couldn't stop the soft moan that escaped her at his touch. The whole experience was incredibly sensual, and Sloan suddenly didn't care what had happened to her recently. She didn't care how sore her body was. She wanted her husband. Badly.

When he was done, she turned and pressed her lips to his, surprising him into dropping her shampoo bottle. But his arms came around her, holding her tightly to him. Sloan wrapped her arms around his neck, and...was he...shaking?

"Sloan," he said, pulling back from her as she tried to deepen the kiss. His voice was strained, as if he was barely holding himself in check. "I...we...are you sure?"

"Yes," she answered immediately. When he gave her a long, searching look, she continued. "I need to be reminded of who I am, that I'm stronger than Brighid. And you…" She lightly kissed him, then began to trail kisses down his jaw. She felt more than heard his low groan in response. "You make me feel strong, Leonardo."

"But-"

She gently took his hand and placed it between them, right where her need was greatest, and he cut himself off by sucking in a harsh breath.

"Please," she whispered.

His gaze darkened as he pulled her closer, covering her mouth with his own and removing any further need for conversation. And if Sloan was just a little more sore later on, she never complained.

To her, it was more than worth it.

~

Claire groaned as she turned over in her bed. Still half asleep, she reached out to Donatello beside her. When her hand met with cold sheets and empty air, however, she was instantly awake. She sat up, her unruly curls falling into her face, as she looked around the room for her genius turtle. Brushing them away, she saw that he was nowhere to be found. And that she had no idea what time it was. How long had she slept?

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she stood and stretched, then pulled on a fresh set of clothes. As she did, her mind strayed to Brighid's attack.

She was immensely glad that her theory proved true. Between her practicing and other things happening around the lair, she'd spent the last week reading up on how to borrow energy from others. It was lucky that there had to be a bond between the borrower and the person from whom the energy was being borrowed. She hadn't had the time to explain what she was doing during the attack, but she was just glad that Donnie and Leo had trusted her enough to follow her directions.

The spell she used had cleansed the lair of Brighid's presence and placed a protective charm around Sloan, but she knew it wouldn't last.

She needed help.

Claire found herself standing in the middle of the bedroom, trying to work through what she could do. Her mind circled and circled around theories and questions, but she always came back to one solution. And it was one that filled her with both anxiety and relief.

She had to tell the aunts. And to do that meant telling Ella the truth about where she'd been the past six weeks, and introducing her to Donatello.

As she came to that conclusion, the door to the bedroom slowly creaked open, revealing Donatello standing there. He gave her a tight smile and walked to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her lightly.

"Did you get enough rest?" he asked.

"I guess so, since I'm awake." She grinned up at him, then rubbed sleep from her eyes. "How long was I out, anyway?"

"It's almost midnight on New Year's Day," he responded.

"Hm. So almost 24 hours then. Awesome." Her voice was flat and emotionless, even as Donnie kissed her cheek and her brow.

"You needed it. No one's blaming you for resting," he told her, pulling back to look down into her face again. "I've spent most of the day trying to salvage my Lab."

A guilty pit formed in Claire's stomach -- she hadn't given any thought to the fact that her turtle's "fortress of solitude" had been utterly destroyed in the attack. "I'm sorry, Donnie."

He shrugged as if to say it was no big deal, though she could see that it was really bothering him. "All my notes are backed up on my hard drive, and that's still intact. I'm not worried." So maybe something else was bothering him? She searched his face for a moment.

"So what's bugging you?" she asked. "Besides the obvious."

He looked down at her for a long while. "With everything that's happening with Sloan, I think it's time to come clean to your family. They can probably help out, maybe banish Brighid for good."

Claire released a breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding. "I was just thinking the same thing. But that means...coming clean to Ella as well."

Donatello smiled at her and gently gripped her face in his hands, stroking her cheeks. "I've been talking to the rest of the family. They all agree that it's the best course of action." He planted a soft kiss on her nose. "And this way you don't have to feel guilty any more."

"It's a relief, that's for sure." Claire leaned forward and rested her head on his plastron, and he wrapped his arms around her again. "I'm just afraid she'll be mad at us for lying." She sighed. "But...helping Sloan is more important. And...there's another thing I want to ask them about."

"Is it what Brighid called you? The one...what was it? 'Touched by'..."

"It sounded like Cernunnos?" She shook her head. "And…'Little Wild One'." She made a face. "I'll give the aunts a call later and set up a meeting. Hopefully they'll have some answers." She looked up at the genius turtle again. "Would...would you go with me?"

Surprisingly, Donatello's face darkened. "Of course, but...you need to know what's going on in the city." He told her about the news report, and the revelation that the thugs from New Year's Eve were trying to abduct more girls.

"I'll go with you for support, but I'm also going to protect you as well. I'm not about to let you go alone."

She nodded, then stepped back. "Thank you. I'll go let Sloan know -- " Her stomach gave a loud noise just then, complaining about how empty it was. She looked up at Donnie with wide eyes, but he just laughed.

"That settles it. Food, then family meeting."

I have...no excuse for how long it's been since this was updated, other than just...*gestures vaguely at the last few years* life?