It was the middle of the night when the knock came at April's door. Knowing that it had to be something urgent, she rushed to open it. A sobbing Donatello stood on the threshold, too pregnant and upset to have risked the fire escape. The sight was a shock, so she just silently pulled him into a hug and backed them both into the apartment. "Let's get you off your feet, Don. Sit down," she urged as she pulled him to the sofa.

Don complied and sat down next to her, but it took a good five minutes of crying onto her shoulder and having his shell rubbed before he was ready to break the embrace. "What's wrong, Don?" April asked, gently. A litany of terrible possibilities had been racing through her head, but his answer took her completely by surprise.

"My family doesn't w-want me around," Don managed to utter. "They don't love me anymore." With that, Don returned to sobbing on her shoulder.

"I'm sure that's not true, Don," she soothed. It couldn't be. The turtles were the most tight-knit family she knew. At least, they used to be. They wouldn't turn one of their own away, no matter how hard things got. There had to be some confusion.

"It-it is," Don cried. His whole body was trembling. April's heart was breaking for him. "They t-told me to leave. Can I stay here tonight? I have nowhere else to go."

"Oh, Don. Of course, you can stay." April wanted to tell him that they'd get this all straightened out in the morning. She didn't want to speak out of turn, though. She really didn't know what was going on. "You can stay here as long as you want. Let me just wake Casey and you can have the bed. The two of us will sleep out here."

Don tugged April back down before she could get up. "No. I'll sleep out here. I don't want to put you guys out."

"You can't sleep on the sofa in your condition. You need more room."

April's concern for him made Don cry harder. It felt like his family hadn't been thinking about his comfort or feelings at all. To have April hug him and fuss over him just drove that point home. "I'll be fine, April. Really. You're doing enough. I can't take your bed."

"Okay, Don," she conceded, recognizing that pushing further would only upset him more. Once Don was ready to let go of her again, she retrieved some blankets and pillows and helped him get settled on the sofa. She sat with him until he cried himself to sleep. Even after that, she stayed for a while. The turtle was positively fitful. He kept sniffling and periodically moaning long after he had drifted off. April frowned and looked sadly at her poor best friend. This was going to be a real surprise for Casey in the morning.

Unlike the last time he slept over, Don did not have fun or sleep well at all. April awoke to a clattering the next morning and found that Don was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and a long hug before she even said good morning. Don clung to her as if his life depended on it.

"I'm cooking breakfast for you guys," Don announced. "Sort of a thank you for taking me in last night."

April gave him a final pat on the back, then went to the counter to check out the food. She had heard stories about Don's cooking, but none of this looked too bad. Slightly burned pancakes and slightly runny scrambled eggs were set out on plates. He had made some sort of yogurt parfait with fruit and granola that actually looked pretty good. "I've been practicing," Don said as if reading her mind.

"It looks good, but you didn't have to do this." April gave him another kiss on the cheek. "You're a sweetheart, Don."

Casey stumbled onto the room. "Wow, breakfast. Thanks, Don."

"No problem. Thanks for letting me stay."

Casey swallowed a mouthful of eggs. "You can stay as long as you want."

April smiled. She was glad that Casey had been the one to make the offer. He and Don weren't necessarily close, so it meant more coming from him.

"It'd be cool if you let us know what's up, though," Casey continued.

Don visibly deflated and then carefully took a seat at the table. April noticed that he hadn't taken any food for himself, and from the looks of things, he had barely slept. "Not much to say. Leo threw me out."

Casey let his latest forkful of food hover in front of his mouth. "I can't see that happening."

"I didn't see it coming either," Don admitted sadly. "I wasn't prepared for this at all."

"You sure you didn't misunderstand?" Casey asked.

Don shook his head. "He made himself pretty clear. Told me to find somewhere else to go."

"But why?" April wondered. "What on earth would cause him to do something like that?"

"Apparently, he feels backed into a corner. He and Raph, they don't want the babies." Don swallowed hard. "And last night a couple of Hun's men planted a tracking device on the Battle Shell. They almost found the garage. We led them away, but then Leo kind of lost it. He said that he couldn't be responsible for the babies, that it was unfair of me to burden him with that, and that I was being selfish."

April put her hand on Don's. "I think he's just freaking out. This happens to a lot of families with unexpected babies on the way. I'm sure he'll get over this Don."

"I'm not so sure. Seemed like he had a pretty long list of complaints," Don reasoned. "You know how the stress gets to Leo. I think this is just too much for him. He's bottled it up for too long, and now he's just done… with all of it… with me."

"That's not the Leo I know," April reassured. "He loves his family more than anything. He would never, never, ever just cut you off."

Don gave her the saddest look. "And yet he did."

"Have you heard from anyone since last night?" Casey asked.

"No," Don answered quietly. "Not a single call or text. I would have thought that at least Mikey..." Don trailed off.

"I'll talk to them," April promised. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

Don looked at her for a minute, then nodded. "I just sort of ran out last night without thinking. At the very least, I need some of my stuff. Clothes, medical equipment, my hormones. I need my next dose this afternoon."

Casey realized that if April left to make a call, he'd be left alone with a very pregnant, and very depressed Donatello. "You know what, why don't I call Raph?" he offered. "Sounds like this was all Leo's doing, so it'd probably be better to talk to him. See what's really going on."

Don just sat there, looking helpless. April put a hand on his shell. "Go ahead," she told Casey. "Just take the call in the other room."

Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo were sitting in a deathly silent Lair when Raphael's phone rang. "It's Casey," he said, looking to Leonardo for guidance.

"Put it on speaker," Leonardo ordered.

Raphael paused for a moment, then followed the command. "Yo, Casey. Got Leo and Mikey here with me."

"Yeah, and I've got Don here with April and me," Casey answered. "What gives?"

"Some thugs tracked us back to the Lair last night. They didn't break in, but Leo is worried about how close they got," Raphael explained. "We all think it's best that Don lays low for a while. The Lair might not be safe, and he's not capable of escaping as quickly and easily as the rest of us."

"He's under the impression that you guys kicked him out." Casey ran a hand down his face. He hated discussing emotional stuff. "He's pretty upset, and our sofa isn't the best place for him, given his condition."

Surprisingly, it was Michelangelo who spoke next. "Things are complicated here. It might not seem it, but I think he's better off with you guys than here."

"What?!" Casey bellowed.

Leonardo broke into the conversation for the first time. "Don is pretty far along. That false labor scare the other day… it really got to us."

"He's been fine since then," Casey said. "Even as upset as he was last night, he isn't having any more problems like that."

"That's good," Leonardo replied. "But, it happened because he wasn't taking care of himself. He had a panic attack the other night too. Thought he might be dying, and had no idea what was wrong or how to treat it."

"We don't think he can do this," Raphael cut in. "Have the babies and keep them safe. Time is running out for us to show him that."

"Don thinks he's got things under control," Leonardo added. "We don't think he even realizes how dangerous all this is. And, he won't listen to us, so…"

"So you really are throwing him out?" Casey howled. "I can't believe this."

"We're not throwing him out," Mikey insisted. "Were doing this because we love him, and we're scared that if we don't do something to change his mind now, we'll lose him forever."

"So what do you want me to tell him?" Casey asked. "That he can't come home unless he agrees to find a way to get medical care?"

"It's more than just that," Leo said. "He needs to be in a safer place than the Lair while he's so vulnerable, and he should take this time away from all the distractions of home to really consider what the future will look like for him, and especially for the babies."

Casey laughed bitterly. "Because what? You guys won't be there for them?"

"Not all the time," Leonardo said. "Our lives have never been stable. If he wants to raise those kids, his life will have to be. It's best that he figures out how to accomplish that now."

Casey took a minute to think. That was the first thing Leo had said that kind of made sense. Finally, he asked, "So do you want to tell him that or should I?"

Everyone was quiet for a minute. Leonardo finally spoke. "It might be better coming from you. We just… We've all been through a lot. We've been trying to be strong for him, but… it's just a little hard to keep it all together. Just make sure that he knows that it's for his own safety. As far as I'm concerned, the Lair is compromised."

Casey had been bluffing. He really didn't want to talk to Don. He'd thought for sure that Leo would offer to. He groaned. "Listen, he needs his hormones and medical stuff."

"We can start packing it up," Leo offered. "All that stuff would be safer with you guys anyway."

Casey couldn't believe things had gone this far. He made arrangements to swing by later that day, then hung up and looked fearfully at the door. He should have let April make the call. She would've known how to set this right.

Thanks for all of the favorites, follows, and reviews. They are all very much appreciated.