If there had been lights and a mirror, Gabby would have seen her eyes bigger than she'd ever seen them. She started to hyperventilate and was forced to sit down on the floor. She felt some of the water from the bucket slosh out onto her feet. It was cold and it startled her.

"What am I going to do?" she moaned. She looked up at where she thought the door was. Gabby placed the toothbrush inside the bucket and then carefully pushed the container until it stopped up against the wall where the equipment display box was. She tried to stand up, but her legs were shaking so much they couldn't hold her weight. So, Gabby crawled! She felt the first step of the stairs and slowly made her way up. At one point, she felt dizzy and thought for sure she was going to pass out, but she focused on her breathing, taking each breath in evenly. The dizziness passed, but not her fear. It seemed to be growing with each step. Gabby felt her entire composure collapse as she neared the top of the stairs. All that she had accomplished the evening before dissipated within minutes.

She reached for the doorknob, but just as Gabby was about to take it, she heard Leo - who was on the other side of the door.

"Gabby, go back down and do as I instructed you." he instructed patiently.

"Can't, Sensei" she whimpered. "I can't, not without someone else down here."

Leo replied gently, "You can do this, Gabriella. Now, GO!" and he left the door.

Gabby sat as close to the door as she could. She strained to hear voices, any voice, but there was none. The door fit tightly within the frame, so that light could not penetrate underneath. She tried the doorknob, but it was locked! Her heart started to pound harder as she realized that she was imprisoned with no other way out. All the ground that she had gained from last evening seemed like a distant memory. Gone were her confidence and also the victorious feeling that was left over from last night. She sat there for a while, hugging the door with her body and trembling with frightful anxiety.

Then, she felt a presence on the other side of the door. Was it Leo? Maybe it was Raph? "Please, let it be my father." Gabby pleaded silently.

Suddenly, the door swung open and someone was charging towards her. Gabby screamed and raced back down the stairs into the blackness of the gym, not sure who it was that was chasing her.

"Do what I asked of you or you will stay down there the entire day in the dark!" Leo said sternly.

Gabby looked back at the stairs but could only make out the silhouette of her uncle, her sensei.

His gentleness gone, he stood like an ominous presence and the fear he presented to Gabby reminded her of Don. In one moment, she realized that Leo was not going to accommodate her on this. Then, he went back up the stairs and through the door, slamming it shut!

Raph sat in the viewing room, watching his daughter slowly make her way through the unlit gymnasium. She would work a little, and then hesitate, looking around. Occasionally, Gabby would stop and sit there on the gymnasium floor, hugging her knees as hard as she could. There were times Raph would see her shudder and realized then that she was crying.

Leo came in with a mug of tea and asked, "How's she doing?"

"Slow, very slow. Don't know if this is a good idea, Leo. She has a lot to overcome." Raph replied. "Sheesh, she was twelve when that happened and the professor never bothered to work her through it?"

"Just came back from talking with him. Perry said they didn't get many outages back there. Thought for sure once he bought enough candles and flashlights for every room in the house to placate her fear, that she'd outgrow it." Leo said.

"Guess not, eh?" Raph replied, watching as Gabby - yet again - stopped her work.

"We have to make her do this. I can't very well go in there now and release her. I made a pretty good point for her to see it through. "Leo commented.

"Yeah, I know. Not asking you to. But, man, she's struggling big time!" Raph sighed.

Mike had installed night vision cameras in the gym, using image enhancements so that it was possible to record any sparring done in the dark. It was coming in handy to mark Gabby's progress. So far, her progress was going slow, unlike yesterday.

The two of them took turns watching and observing. They wanted to monitor her just in case something serious happened.

When they had talked with the professor, he cautioned them that she could revert back to when she was twelve and go catatonic. "She was more than terrified - she was nearly out of her mind by the time I made it back home!" was what he had told them.

As the two brothers watched Gabby's painfully slow progress, Raph muttered, "Last thing she'll need is a trip to the loony bin!"

"At least we can keep an eye on her! Thanks to Don's technology!" Leo commented as he took the chair.

Raph took a break, leaving Leo with the monitor. Leo watched her, leaning his elbows on the console table and supporting his chin with his hands. He had hoped that she would have made more ground than this from last night's experience. The longer he watched her, the more he realized it was going to take more time than he had thought. Leo didn't like underestimating things of this nature and he wanted to kick himself for putting too much on his niece. But, the dye was cast and he had to follow through with it.



Eventually, Gabby became accustomed to the dark, though the work was slow. She determined that at least an hour had gone by already. During that time, she would find resolve, but then - just as easily - lose it. It was a game of three steps forward, one step back. And, it frustrated her - sometimes to tears. Gabby tried to remember the night before and how terrified she was. This morning wasn't as bad as last night, but she was still fighting that 'demon' Mike expressed so eloquently earlier.

Occasionally, she would sit back to stretch and to listen. "Listening to what's not there is as important as seeing what is!" were words Leo used to help calm her. "The most dangerous thing you can combat is the mind!" Raph had told her. It was all so easy to listen to when her father and uncle were in the room with her.

Gabby went through everything that they had taught her the previous evening. She didn't want to miss any point they had shown her as she so much wanted them to be with her right then! Recalling their lessons allowed her to feel as if they were. More than anything, she realized how important it was to beat this 'demon'!

Gabby worked as best she could. She visualized the room, starting at one side and slowly working across to the other side. It was slower because she couldn't see anything. She tried to maintain an even pace with the brush, keeping the pail of water in front of her behind the wet line so as not to accidentally tip it over.

Two hours! That was the amount of time Leo had given her. Gabby was sure she was right about one hour already going by. However, she didn't have a clue how much of the room was already done or still needed to be done. It only caused her frustrations to increase.

One thing Gabby tried to do with whatever she was doing was her best! Excellence was her only goal - in everything. Whether it was singing, learning a language, understanding a scientific concept, arguing - or marital arts! However, so far with the latter, all she had learned to do was how to wash a floor with a toothbrush and wave an overstated fork around!

Obedience seemed to be what Leo wanted, though. So she felt, anyway. Gabby tried, within her ability, to comply and had done well, but for last evening. Now, she felt like she was falling short of his expectations - and her own – again by not working faster on the floor. The darkness wasn't an excuse for her anymore!

Leo knew that two hours was not going to be enough time for Gabby to finish. Yet, that was the time allotment he had given to her. Looking at the clock, he noticed she had only fifteen minutes to go and she only had half the room done. He was in a quandary. Should he give her an additional hour, or reprimand her for not complying with his request? If he was to maintain the level of respect that he was teaching her, he knew what he had to do.

Gabby had just finished taking a break to stretch her back. She was bending over once again to work on the floor, when the door to the gym opened. Soft light poured in from upstairs to gently illuminate the work room below. Before she cold react though, the interior lights came on full. Gabby cried out in pain as her eyes protested the brightness, scrunching up her face in reaction. "Oh, wow, that's bright!" she mumbled. She knew then that the two hours were up. She rubbed her eyes and slowly opened them, looking around and noticing that she had a little more than half the room done. Gabby was very disappointed.

Leo seemed to be as well, by his posture anyway. He stood off to the side of the room, a scowl on his face and his hands on hips. "You were only able to clean half, Gabby?" he commented, his voice expressing disappointment.

She didn't say anything, not knowing what to say and not wanting to blame the darkness. Her heart sank in hearing his words of frustration. She only said, " I'm sorry, Sensei."

"Well, you can take a break, but when that's done, I want you to start over again."

If Gabby's heart could sink any lower, it would have fallen on the floor! She didn't protest, though. She was past that with her own set of expectations that were now dashed to pieces.

Leo brought her some tea and another muffin. He sat with her silently as she sipped and ate. There was not much to say as it was apparent he had said what was important earlier. He was disappointed and that deeply affected Gabby. She was determined to work faster on the next go-round. If it meant putting her back out again, so be it!

After he gave her permission to refresh herself in the restroom, he left, turning the lights out once more.



Raph watched again as Gabby started her second attempt on the floor. He noticed a renewed energy and most importantly, her acceptance of the dark. She took fewer breaks and worked faster. He smiled out of relief.

Leo came in and stood behind his brother, watching the screen. "Hardest thing I had to do!" he said. "I can be tough on my students in Japan, but it's completely different when it's my niece."

Raph replied, "Yeah, but you had to! Remember, Splinter did as much for us as we are doing for Gabby! It teaches a lot, Leo. Respect and follow-through, the 'must-haves' for what she will be learning in the weeks to come." He took a sip of his coffee, going back to viewing her progress. Momentarily he thought of him self and the difficulty he caused Splinter, as well as his brothers – especially Leo. "Yep, "he thought to himself, "It's coming full circle back to me; twice now in fact!" Raph chuckled to himself.

This time, Gabby managed to get the entire floor washed before the next two hours were up. She deliberately started at the far end, where the restroom was, so that she would end up by the equipment display box. With her perfect memory, she had surveyed the room before Leo had turned the lights off and it seemed to help her determine how her progress was going. It was almost like she could 'see' the room in her mind.

When Leo came down to check on her, he was pleased with the results. He smiled to affirm that to Gabby. She kept her feelings masked, not wanting to share them just yet. She was tired. And, she was hungry. Was it lunchtime?

Leo nodded at her approvingly and then told her she could rest. He left, but he did not turn the lights out this time. For that, Gabby was grateful. She was getting tired of being in the dark. More importantly, she realized, it didn't frighten her nearly as much as it did the night before!

Rahab brought down a plate of food to Gabby. However, unlike yesterday, her aunt sat with her.

"I thought you couldn't visit with me?" Gabby asked as she began to eat.

"Leo felt you did well this morning! So, he told me I could stay with you for a while!" Rahab said, smiling.

"Did well? I had to do this twice because I could only get half of it done the first time!" Gabby grumbled. "I didn't mind doing it over, but I can't believe he thought I did well." She took a drink of water from her glass and felt the ache in her shoulders from bending over for so long.

Rahab replied, "Be content in that he thought so!"

For the next half hour, Gabby ate her meal and talked with Rahab.

Her aunt shared that the professor was doing well and feeling stronger - especially from drinking some of Leo's special tea! However, he missed his daughter! He understood about the training and the lost time with her from the night before. He was pleased that she was overcoming her fear of the dark. Gabby felt bad not seeing him just the same.

Rahab told her that Don had called, asking about Gabby's progress. He was mindful of everything going on with her and Gabby cringed, thinking about how she behaved the first time Leo wanted her down in the darkened gym.

"Don half expected you to react that way, Gabby." Rahab assured her. "He's quick in getting to know a person. He can read you pretty well."

"Yeah, I know that. Still, I wish I could just do last night over again." Gabby lamented.

"Don't worry about it. You're learning new things; can't expect to do it right the first time!" Rahab said, smiling.

"You don't know me very well, do you?" Gabby teased, smiling. "I have this obsession of doing everything right the first time! Can't explain it, but it bugs me when I've done less than I expected to."

"You sound like Leo and Don!" Rahab offered, laughing.

"They do seem to be like that, don't they?" Gabby smiled. "That's okay. At least we have something in common!"

There was a lull in the conversation. Then, Gabby asked Rahab, looking up at her aunt, "Hmm, how is Seth doing?" Gabby was sure Rahab wasn't going to answer that question.

Rahab grew quiet, studying her niece. Finally, she said, "He's fine. Seth is doing well with his training." She watched Gabby's face and saw longing there. "Gabby, this time will go fast once you are past the first week. Don't focus on Seth right now, okay? Just know that he hasn't forgotten you!" and she kissed Gabby's forehead affectionately. Gabby hugged her in return and whispered, "I miss him so much, Rahab!"

Her aunt replied, "I know, but you really need to put him aside right now." and she pulled away from Gabby. Rahab brushed a few strands of red hair away from her niece's face, now etched in sadness. Tears were brimming in Gabby's eyes, so Rahab mildly scolded her, "No crying! Not here in the gym! Especially with Leo!" But, she smiled, saying, "Leo understands your feelings for Seth. He really does! But, he will not be easy on you because of that. If anything, he will be harder! He wants his son to be equally yoked with whomever he takes as his wife! "

"Is it a Clan thing for ninja to marry ninja? You said you weren't ninja." Gabby asked.

But then Leo came down the stairs, interrupting the conversation. Gabby had wanted to hear Rahab's answer, but realized she was going to have to wait until later on.

The latter part of the afternoon was focused on handling the Sais, again. This time, Gabby had both of them. Leo wanted her to get comfortable using two at the same time and to become familiar with the fluidity of handling both. But, at one point early on, he saw that she had more than accomplished this. He inwardly felt surprise and then told her, "You are doing better than any of us did when we were first learning the tools. I'm impressed." He smiled. "Let's speed up the process a bit, shall we?"

Leo took another set of Sais and demonstrated the swiftness that he expected. Gabby watched and realized it was just a sped up version of what she had already learned. When he asked her to do it, he found - even more to his amazement - that she had little trouble with it. As Gabby worked the tool, she felt that she could have gone faster, but didn't want to overstep her sensei.

After managing the tools for a while, Gabby asked Leo, " Is this the fastest the Sais should be worked?"

"No, actually, to work the exercise properly, one should take it as fast as they feel they are able to. Just keep the form, that's all." And with that, Leo released her to use the tools at whatever speed she felt capable of.



Upstairs in the monitor room, Raph breathed in sharply as Gabby began to work. "Hey, MIKE! Get in here! You are not going to believe this!"

Mike was in the kitchen and heard Raph call out to him. He ran into the monitor room - which was just opposite the stairwell door - and asked, "What? Hey - look at that! She's doing it! WOW!"

Raph chuckled, "No, Mike, she's not just doing it; she's doing it almost the way I would. Can you believe this?" The two of them watched Gabby parlay, jab, crossover, and undercut the Sais as she moved slowly across the floor. Her speed was nearly equal to Raph's and, with some exception, her form identical. Finally, she finished and for once they saw Leo pause to react.

"Yeah, bro, she surprised us, too!" Mike sniggered. Slapping Raph on the back, he laughed, "Chip off the ol' Raph!"

His brother nodded, "Guess it's true. That old acorn doesn't fall too far from the tree!"

Back down in the gym, Leo held back his surprise and enthusiasm for his student's execution with the Sais, "Good. I'm pleased. You follow directions well, Gabby."

The next equipment Leo had Gabby learn was the Bo. He took the redwood staff Gabby had found in the forest and handed it to her. She didn't want it.

"No, Sensei, it reminds me of unpleasant things." she remarked. But, the moment she said it, she knew he would make her take it. He did not disappoint her.

The next hour he showed her how to hold the staff when being attacked, how to use it to attack, and how to flip an adversary by using one end. Gabby had already experienced being charged by Don and she remembered well what was shown on the DVD's Seth had loaned her. So when Leo came at her, she deflected her sensei's attempt without losing ground. Leo nodded in mild amusement. He repeated his advance on her several more times until he was confident that her initial rebuttal was not a fluke.

Then, he changed the direction of the attack, "Now, come at me!" he commanded.

This was new territory. Gabby did not feel at all comfortable attacking Leo and said so, shaking her head, "I - ah – Sensei, I don't know about ...."

Leo interrupted her, "You can't hurt me, Gabs! Okay? Just come at me; remembering how I came at you."

Actually, Gabby was remembering the training DVD's. She remembered well how each member on those discs used the Bo. Watching Leo's posturing and how he held his staff, Gabby advanced unsure. Then, noticing Leo's expectant expression and a slight smile, she found her confidence. She decided to go for broke. She replayed in her mind what Leo showed her, but at the same time remembered what she saw on one of the DVD's.

However, Gabby then did something completely unexpected! She brought the staff down hard towards Leo, who was already prepared to deflect her with his Bo. But then - just as swiftly and before connecting with her sensei's staff - Gabby changed directions. Stooping to a squat, she did a lightening fast three-sixty, horizontally swinging the bow low before her and sweeping Leo's feet out from under him. It was a classic Donatello move! Leo was not expecting it at all!

Not quite landing landing fully on his backside, Leo instinctively put his right arm down to catch the floor before the rest of him did. He then vaulted himself backwards and up to a stand. Despite his recovery, though, it was obvious she had taken him out – and he knew it instantly!

The look of surprise on his face matched the unheard roar of vocal exaltation coming from upstairs in another room as Raph and Mike reacted loudly to Gabby's success! Leo knew that his brothers had seen him take the fall.

As he stood there, startled, Gabby cringed and wondered what he was going to do.

But, the last thing she expected was for him to smile! That was the last thing. She exclaimed earnestly, "I am so sorry!" and wanted to put the staff down.

"NO, don't put it down! I'm not hurt, just surprised. Where did you learn to do that?" Leo asked her, excited by her progress and trying to keep his enthusiasm under control. He brought the end of the staff down hard on the floor in front of him in exclamation.

That was when Gabby realized she should have just kept with what Leo was showing her presently. Don never showed her that movement and would deny it vehemently if she claimed he had. Now, she was going to have to tell Leo where she had learned it! She did not want to, though. Her hesitation was noticed immediately, so Leo assured her, "You are not in trouble, Gabby! I'm just curious, that's all."

Finally, confident that Leo would not be mad at her, she replied, "From some training DVD's."

Leo stared blankly for a moment. Then he calmly asked her, tilting his head in curiosity, "Where did you get them?"

Gabby's heart sank. She knew that Seth had procured them without permission from Mike or the others. But she also knew that Rahab had given him temporary authorization. She wasn't sure if her aunt had a chance to tell Mike; so much had gone on since then.

"Gabby, tell me where you found them?" Leo asked again as his niece hesitated to answer.

"Seth loaned them to me." she replied, but quickly added, " But he was given permission to."

Leo studied her for a moment. His smile was gone since the DVD's were considered classified. "I see ... do you know who it was that gave him permission?"

Gabby said worriedly, "I didn't ask for them and I don't want to get anyone in trouble. I've done enough of that already!"

"No one is in trouble, but if you learned to do what you just did by just watching a DVD, this brings your training up to a whole new level. Still, those DVD's were not meant for viewing by anyone other than me and my three brothers. It's important to know who let you use them!" Leo explained.

"Seth told me Rahab gave him permission. She was going to tell Mike, but I don't think she's had the time, or maybe she forgot with all that's been going on. Don't be mad at her! Please. She was just trying to help, really!" Gabby pleaded.

"I'm not mad at her, Gabs. I respect Rahab's decision to let you view them. However, I need to talk with her to find out what her motives were. I'm sure she had good reasons to."

Gabby held back the flood of remorse that was threatening to overwhelm her. Leo calmly stepped forward to take a hold of her shoulder and encouraged, "Don't let this stop you from showing me what you already know. Putting into action what you can see is a true gift! Now, what DVD's did you view?"

So, Gabby told Leo what she saw the night Raph was brought home from the hospital. There had been only three DVD's that she managed to watch before they arrived home with her father.

When she was done explaining the contents, Leo nodded his head and then announced, "Then, we will take the first DVD and apply that to your next lesson. However, it's almost five in the afternoon. Because you have done very well today, I will release you a bit early! Good job, Gabby! You can go, now!"

Gabby bowed towards her sensei and he returned the acknowledgement. As she went to put her staff back in its recepticle, Leo smiled after her. It pleased him greatly that she had overcome so quickly the fears and insecurities that seemed to plague her. But, even better than that, Gabriella had shown considerable grit and a natural talent for ninjitsu. "Splinter would be proud of her!" he thought wistfully.

Gabby noticed as she came out of the stairwell that the door across from it was a jar. There were voices coming from inside and they sounded like Mike and Raph. However, she did not want to intrude so she bypassed the door and headed straight for the stairs. As she went through the family room, she looked over at the kitchen clock and saw that it was four forty-five. She had an extra fifteen minutes to get ready for dinner.

Taking double steps up the stairs, she briefly saw Devon outside on the patio by the pool. He was just sitting there, his feet apparently hanging off the side into the water. It was obvious to Gabby that her brother seemed truly bored with his restrictive lifestyle. She was both sorry for him and smug about his predicament. If he hadn't had been so rough with her the other day, Gabby would have had nothing but sympathy for her brother.

The professor was not anywhere to be seen, so Gabby decided he must be napping out in the guest house. She would make it a point to visit with him after dinner, if time permitted it.

As soon as she closed her bedroom door, she headed for the bathroom to shower. She was tired, but elated that Leo deemed her sudden knowledge of the Bo worthy of letting her out early! All in all, it was a decent day of training.

The hot water felt wonderful! She allowed herself to be inundated by the shower as it rained down on her. Upping the temperature, she adjusted the spray to hit the lower part of her back where it was tight from bending over so much from that morning's floor washing. Some of the water ran down her one leg and caressed her sore foot. The water had pooled a little in the shower and the warmth felt good. Gabby was surprised that her foot didn't hurt nearly as much as it did the day before! "Leo should market that tea of his! He'd make enough money to build lots of schools in Japan!" she thought, smiling to herself.

Considering what she had accomplished made Gabby feel like she had made headway in her fear. Never would she have forced herself to face it; it had plagued her so much throughout her life. Though it didn't happen very often, whenever there was a power outage back in Connecticut, Gabby would become hysterical. The professor would then frantically hunt for candles and flashlights. Eventually, he had bought enough of both to make sure that every room had some, just so there wouldn't be any frantic searches.

Lying on her bed was a second doji that Leo had provided Gabby after the first day. Two would suffice so that she could always have a clean one while the other was being washed. Gabby grabbed the clean uniform and put it on. She didn't know what else was planned for the evening, but in case there was more training in the gym, Gabby wanted to be prepared.

She decided to lie down on her bed for a moment. Checking the clock and noticing that it was ten after five, she decided to take a twenty minute nap. She set the alarm and then relaxed. In a moment, she was asleep.

The alarm woke her just as there was a knock at her bedroom door. "Gabby?" It was Raph.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Gabby replied, "Yes?".

"It's Raph. Can I come in?" he asked.

"Ah, sure - wait a moment." Gabby rolled off the bed, smoothing the comforter out and straightening the pillow. Then, standing, she said "Okay,"

Raph opened the bedroom door and stepped in. "Hi!" he said, asking, "So, how'd it go today?"

Gabby thought about it and then replied, "Okay, I guess. Leo let me out early."

Raph came over and sat on the edge of the bed. Gabby sat next to him and waited. There was an uncomfortable moment of silence. Then, Raph said, "Leo told me that you did really well in there with the Sais and the Bo! He said you swept him, in fact!" If Raph hadn't smiled about then, Gabby was ready to apologize. But, she realized that he seemed to be happy about it, the way Leo had been.

"You're not mad at me, then?" Gabby asked.

Raph grabbed his daughter in a one-arm hug and exclaimed, "Mad? How can I be mad at my daughter when she took out my 'perfect' brother! I'm right proud of you! We're all blown away by what you did down there in the gym. Gabs, you have no idea how hard it is to usurp Leo with anything on the gym floor! Even I can rarely get passed his defenses!"

Gabby laughed and said, "When I did that, I really thought he was going to have me cleaning that floor in the dark for the rest of the night!" Raph laughed with her. Then, Gabby added more seriously, "I wasn't even planning on doing that. The thought to do it just came to me and the next thing I knew, he was down - well, almost. Still, it surprised me!"

Raph was quiet for a time, thinking about what Gabby had just shared with him. Finally, he commented, "More than likely, there is some truth to the innate ability to do things. I'm not surprised, considering both your parents are ninja. I'm thankful the professor took you away from Shredder and the Foot!" and Raph hugged her once more.