Bishop instructed Valeria to lay low while he figured things out on his end. He promised to call her back to Area 51 as soon as he had gotten to the bottom of the situation. Jeff was under police protection for now, which was a load off of Valeria's mind. Several other of her team members had also checked in with Area 51, but two were off the grid.
So, it seemed that Don had a temporary houseguest. He found that he wasn't sure how to act around her. Valeria wanted to be helpful since Don was in the middle of so many projects, but he insisted that she leave any chores and housework to him. He knew at least that much about being a good host.
Problem was, there was nothing for Valeria to do. She was supposed to be in hiding, so she couldn't go sightseeing. She had no phone; the TV wasn't working yet. Don only had one computer, so only one of them could use it at a time. Don needed to use it for a few hours after breakfast since the build team had some urgent questions.
Whether it was out of boredom, or genuine interest, Valeria watched over his shoulder. "You know, I only understand about half of what you do," she piped up.
"Really?" Don replied. "You always seem to know exactly what's going on."
"With astrophysics, coding, and that sort of stuff, sure. But all this inventing you do is mostly over my head," Valeria marveled. "I can't believe you're self-taught."
Don shifted positions and turned to face her. "I'm not entirely self-taught. I've been lucky enough to make some really smart friends, who've been generous enough to teach me a few things."
Val noticed then how tired he looked. She knew he couldn't have slept much. They'd stayed up really late last night, and he must have been up early in the morning to have gotten so much cooking done. "No offense, but you look exhausted. Are you sure that I'm not too much underfoot?" she asked.
"You're absolutely not. I am tired though. I'm all about naps these days." Don put a hand on his middle, thoughtfully. "They're all pretty calm right now. Maybe I should take advantage of that and try to sleep for a bit. It'll give you a turn on the computer."
Don got up very slowly. He was being careful not to disturb the babies. If they started moving around too much, the odds of catching a nap would go straight out the window. Valeria thought he looked cute tiptoeing across the room, grasping his midsection to steady it.
A thought suddenly occurred to her. "Do you have any cravings?"
Don paused in his tracks. "Hmmm?"
"Like pregnancy cravings? Is there anything you've been wanting?" Valeria clarified.
"Oh. Well, sure. Mostly for stuff I can't have, like sushi and junk food and real coffee. I'm trying to eat cheap and healthy, though."
Valeria chuckled. "Decaf is real coffee."
"No, it's not," Donatello insisted, wrinkling his face up in an adorable manner.
"Well, what about achievable stuff then? Anything you've had a hankering for?"
"Why do you ask?" Don wondered.
"I figured I'd start dinner while you're napping," Valeria answered. "I'd like to do something to thank you for helping me out and taking me in. Besides, we've got to eat, right? Might as well be something good."
"My kitchen is pretty basic," Don confessed. "I'm not the best chef. I was just going to bake some chicken and vegetables tonight." It was Don's go-to dinner, and he was darn sick of it.
"I think I can risk a trip to the store. We know I wasn't tracked here, so I'm sure it'd be safe for me to pop up to the surface for a few minutes. I could use some fresh clothes too." Valeria looked at her dirty two-day-old outfit with dismay.
Don thought about that. He knew he'd never be able to sleep with her on the surface. There was a nearby shopping center, though. "Why don't we take a quick stroll? I can show you to a manhole that comes up in an alley next to a bodega."
"I don't want to put you out, Don," Valeria fretted. "What about your nap?"
"No, it's okay. I need to fit in some exercise today anyway," Don reasoned. "I can rest afterward."
Valeria was skeptical. "You sure?"
"Absolutely. Come on." Don stood at the door and beckoned her.
"I'm definitely treating you to a special dinner now," Val promised.
On the walk through the sewers, Don told her about a meal that Michelangelo had cooked years ago. It was a sort of a vegetable lasagna with cream sauce. Donatello had been the only one who liked it. Since everyone else thought that it was gross, Mikey had never cooked it again. Don had been disappointed at the time, but it hadn't been that big of a big deal. Then, over the past few months, Don had been dying for another bite. He had no idea how to cook it, though. He had tried, but every attempt ended in disaster.
Valeria thought that she could reproduce it easily enough. She purchased all of the ingredients, as well as an "I Love New York" tee-shirt and some other essentials. She safely returned to the sewer, to find Don waiting patiently for her. He was leaning hard against a wall, clutching his middle, and looking miserable, but at least he hadn't been reduced to sitting down in the sewer filth.
They walked back to his place, where he promptly laid down in his room. Valeria promised to let him watch her cook later, then spent some time catching up on her work.
Don really did try to sleep, but now the babies were awake again and moving around. At this point, they were so cramped for space that he could feel their shells grinding against his ribs. Nothing he did could convince them to calm down. He finally managed to doze off anyway, but twenty minutes later he was woken by a brutal leg cramp. As much as he hated to do it, he decided to give up on the nap entirely. Instead, he took a long hot shower to soothe his aching body.
When he was done, he put on a white collared shirt. He could only close two of the buttons, but at least it kept the top looking neat. He tucked the bottom into the large elastic panel that he had sewn into his nicest pair of pants, which were charcoal grey. After that, he pulled on a dark purple sweater. It fit more snugly around his swollen middle than he would have liked, but he didn't have a lot of nice clothes that fit him. He rolled up his cuffs a little, to show off the strong muscles in his forearms. He would've liked to complete the look with a pair of shoes, but he didn't have any that fit right now, and even if he did, he couldn't have bent over far enough to put them on.
Don looked into the mirror and sighed. He knew that he was never particularly good-looking, but it's not the type of thing that had ever bothered him. Right now, his reflection just looked off-the-charts weird, even to him. Still, it was the best he could do. Don hesitated before opening the door. He hoped that it didn't look like he was trying too hard.
Valeria was rooting through the fridge, pulling out the food she had purchased earlier. "Donatello, you look so handsome," she complimented.
"Thanks," he quietly replied. "No one has ever been nice enough to cook something like this for me before, so I figured that I should try my best not to look like a slob."
"You never look like a slob," Valeria countered. She had showered too and changed into her new clothes.
It turned out that Valeria was right about Michelangelo's recipe being fairly easy to reproduce, at least for someone who knew their way around a kitchen. Valeria sautéed vegetables on the old stovetop: mushrooms, zucchini, squash, cauliflower, broccoli, and a little garlic. When the veggies were done she placed lasagna noodles in a pan, spread the veggies on top, and covered them with canned alfredo sauce. She made a second layer above the first, then sprinkled Italian cheese blend over the top.
Donatello watched closely in the hopes of learning her techniques. He made a good sous chef, chopping up veggies with ease and getting the proper pans and utensils set out ahead of time. He had a bit of a hard time maneuvering around the kitchen, though. Valeria assumed that he must be going through a growth spurt because he was normally so effortlessly graceful, but there were a few times that he banged into the countertop, as well as numerous near misses. She caught him mumbling apologies to the babies under his breath, and thought that it was just about the cutest thing ever.
When the lasagna was finished, they slid it into the oven. While Valeria was busy setting the timer, Don put one hand on the counter for balance and the other behind his lower shell. He scrunched his face up, and carefully bent backward to stretch his spasming back as best as he could. He was so sore, and he really didn't want the embarrassment of having his back go out again while Valeria was here.
Don pulled himself forward again when Valeria turned to look at him. "I think that something this savory calls for a sweet finish," Valeria declared, "So, I figured that we could make brownie pudding. Ever heard of it?"
"No," Don answered. "Is it just pudding with brownie bits in it? Because I could probably handle that."
"It's not that simple, but it's quite easy to make. It comes out like a layer of extra moist brownies with a melty chocolate sauce below it. It's really good, but you have to serve it warm." Valeria showed Don how to put it together and they put it into the oven with the lasagna, which was smelling delicious by now. Don's stomach growled embarrassingly loud when he saw it.
"Glad you think it looks good." Valeria laughed.
Don was flustered. "I'm sorry. I just can't get enough of food these days." He'd cut way down on his food intake since she had been staying with him. She had been here almost a full day now, and at this point, he was starving.
"The lasagna will be ready to come out of the oven in ten minutes, then we need to let it cool for another five or ten. Do you think that you can wait that long?" Valeria asked.
"I'll try," Don promised. He started to wash the dishes, but Valeria had insisted on doing it herself. This was supposed to be a special thank you treat for him, after all. Donatello's feet and back were absolutely killing him, so he agreed to go sit on the sofa until dinner was ready.
The food turned out delicious. The lasagna was even better than Don remembered. He quickly scarfed down the first plate, then another. He was feeling very self-conscious about taking a third, after all of the teasings he had endured from his brothers. Valeria noticed him eyeing the pan, and served him a third helping herself.
"Thank you. Lately, it feels like I'm never full," Donatello explained.
Valeria noticed his discomfort and tried to ease his mind. "I saw how little you were able to eat back at Area 51, and it didn't seem like you were able to keep much down. I'm sure that you're just making up for lost time. Making triplets must require a lot of fuel."
As if to confirm this theory, Don ate a fourth helping of lasagna, followed by three helpings of dessert. He felt like such a pig, but it was the best meal that he had ever had. Valeria seemed happy that he was enjoying it so much, so he pushed his bashfulness aside and just let himself savor being indulgent for once. After the third plate of brownie pudding, he realized he couldn't eat another bite. It was the first time in months that his appetite had been completely sated.
Valeria didn't want to hurt Don's feelings by saying anything, but she was surprised that his stomach was physically capable of holding so much food. It couldn't have much room, given how much space the babies were obviously taking up. But he didn't look like he felt sick. He looked relaxed and happy.
Don definitely felt more weighed down than usual when he finally pushed himself out of his chair. He made some peppermint tea, to ensure that his stomach stayed settled, and he put on some coffee for Valeria.
The conversation had flowed easily all night. They had competed over who did the better impression of Bishop and told stories about their childhoods. Don had told Valeria about various comical lab and cooking mishaps that he had suffered through the years. She told him about her father's storytelling abilities and her mother's art, as well as what it had been like living in the college dorms as a 16-year old. In turn, Don had told her about interplanetary and interdimensional travel that he had done at that same age. They avoided difficult topics, like family strife and heartache, alien invasions and Don's impending fatherhood. They had a lot of laughs and felt so at-ease together.
After dinner, the two sat side-by-side in the living room to look at the data that had recently come in from the satellite feeds. They worked together for a half-hour, but then Don couldn't take the back pain anymore. He needed to take a little break from crouching over the laptop, so he slid the computer closer to Valeria and leaned back against the sofa cushions. The stomach full of rich food and the pleasant evening had made him feel so relaxed. He decided to rest his eyes for just a minute.