Leonardo and Splinter looked up from the campfire Leonardo was starting. Michelangelo strolled towards the campsite rubbing the back of his neck, Raphael and Casey Jones in tow. With a quick shove, Raphael muttered, "'Miss' is hardly the word." Leonardo sighed and turned back to the fire. "Raphael, what'd I tell you about harassing Mikey?"
"And what I told you about acting like a mom?" Raphael cracked, sitting by the beginnings of the bonfire. "Lookit you, tellin' us to behave while you're slavin' over a hot fire. All you need's a casserole." Michelangelo and Casey laughed as Leonardo gave his brother a wry look. Seeing two figures emerge from a mess of trees, Casey called, "Yo April, you happen to bring an apron with you? It'd provide the finishing touch!"
Hearing Casey call her name, April dropped Donatello's hand, pretending he had only offered it to her to help her avoid the brambles. Smiling unsurely, she asked, "Apron?" She and Donatello moved towards them as Leonardo remarked, "Pay the peanut gallery no mind."
"Speaking of peanuts," Michelangelo began, "when's dinner? I'm starving with a capital star." From the nook of his cradled arm came a soft mewl. Grinning, he added, "And Klunk could use some grub, too." As Michelangelo began to be questioned on the large bag of trail mix he had taken with him on his excursion, April and Donatello got closer to the others.
They stopped for a moment, standing side-by-side and looking into the fire, both feeling awkward. April suddenly turned on her heels and moved to sit besides Splinter. At the same time, Donatello dropped to his knees and began helping Leonardo with the fire. He noticed Leonardo looking at him oddly at his jerky motion, and April spotted the same sort of look from Splinter. Trying to get rid of the anxiety that was almost choking her, April asked, "Are you cold, Splinter? I can go grab you a blanket from the tent."
Splinter shook his head. "That will not be necessary. The fire will provide all of the heat I shall need. You, however, are hardly covered, and so I would suggest you use the blanket for yourself." Casey walked over to the pair. "What you talkin' about Splinter? It can't be less than 65 degrees out here. You wanna block the view?" Annoyed by Casey's last statement, Donatello cleared his throat. Standing, he said, "I'll get a blanket for you, April." Not waiting for a response from her, Donatello walked off in the direction of the tent.
Looking back at the turtle at the sound of the interruption, Casey called, "Yo, Don! Wait up!" Donatello stopped and looked back at him, a small chill taking over. "Yeah?" Casey jogged towards him and threw an arm around his shoulders. "I'll come with you. I wanna talk to ya." Donatello's face exhibited only a small degree of the sudden fear he felt. "About what?" Leading him to the tent, Casey winked at him, saying, "Guy stuff."
April watched the two of them go, her heart sinking. Did Casey know? What was he going to do? "Please do hurry with the blanket, Donatello," Splinter suddenly called. "April is shivering." Looking down at the sensei, April realized that she was shaking slightly, her arms crossed over her chest. His eyes met hers as he added, "The chills of early spring are no time for a young woman to sit out in the dark without some means of warmth."
"They're no time for a sudden dunk in the lake, either," Raphael said lowly. "But a certain dweeb of ours didn't seem to take that into account." Michelangelo laughed. "Haw! You were thrown in the lake? By Donny? No wonder you've been in such a bad mood, bro!" With a quick movement of his arm, Raphael quickly hit his brother in the back of his head. "Can it, dummy, or you're next."
Inside the large tent, Donatello left Casey's side to look through the bags for the blankets they had packed. "What did you want to talk to me about?" He hoped the question didn't sound as terrified as it really was. It was bad enough that he could still taste April's lips against his mouth; he didn't need to confront Casey only minutes afterward.
Finding the blanket, Donatello stood up and turned, surprised to see that Casey had closed the distance between them. He took a surprised step backwards, but calmed down when he saw that the man's face was overwhelmed with joy. "Did she tell you?"
"Who?"
"April."
"Tell me what?"
"C'mon, Donny, she tells you everything."
Donatello looked away. "Yeah. Yeah, she told me." Casey let out an ecstatic laugh that cut through Donatello sharply. "Isn't it great? Never thought I'd settle, that's for sure. Hey, look." Donatello's eyes shifted to Casey's hand, seeing that he had grabbed his bag and removed a small ring box from it. "I haven't shown it to her yet, don't wanna make her feel obligated while she sorts things out, y'know, but I'd figure I'd show it to you, see if you think she'll like it."
Donatello looked at the box being offered to him, not being able to bring himself to meet Casey's eyes. Slowly, he reached out and took the box. Not really wanting to see what was inside, he opened it with trepidation. His eyes widened as he got a glimpse of it. "Casey," he uttered. "Is this a-?" Casey laughed and replied that it was. Bringing the box closer to his face, Donatello marveled over the ring within the box. White gold, it was fashioned to look like a small turtle, with a diamond for its shell.
"I figured," Casey explained as Donatello continued to examine the ring, "that we woulda never met if it hadn't been for you guys, so I wanted to offer a kinda tribute or somethin', I guess. And besides, I know she loves you." Donatello almost dropped the box as he gaped up at Casey. "What did you say?" Casey looked at him, puzzled. "I know she loves you. You know, you guys. You're all like brothers to her, so I figured it'd be a, y'know, a nice touch."
Donatello's heart rate slowly going back to normal, he nodded and handed the ring back to Casey. "Oh. Well… it's nice. It's really nice." Taking the box and looking down at it thoughtfully, Casey asked, "Ya think so?" Swallowing with difficulty, Donatello nodded. "Yeah. It's… nice. She'll love it." Casey grinned up at him. "Thanks, Donny. I'm hopin' so."
They stood there for a moment, looking at one another. Donatello somehow managed a small smile at the young man beaming down at him. When the turtle's smile surfaced, Casey threw his head back in laughter and engulfed him in a hug. "I'm gonna get married, Donny! Woo! Casey Jones is tyin' the knot!"
Outside, April wrapped her arms around herself and hunched over her knees, beginning to grow more and more worried. What were Casey and Donatello talking about? Why weren't they out yet? "Are you feeling ill, April?" She looked up at Splinter. "No…. Well… actually… I don't know if I feel so well right now."
"You took a hard fall," Leonardo said, standing by the now-blazing fire and looking down at her. "Are you bruised?" April shook her head. "No, I… I don't know. I just need to rest, I guess." Leonardo nodded, starting off in the direction Casey and Donatello had walked off to. "I'll go get your sleeping bag. Lying down for a bit might make you feel better."
She was about to tell him not to, when Casey came jovially out of the tent, his arm around Donatello once again. "Hey boys," he called boisterously. "Who's up for a game of poker?" Raphael, who had been warming himself by the fire, asked, "What we playin' for?" Michelangelo looked up at Raphael from his comic book. "You ever hear of playing for fun, dude?" A sly grin towards his brother, Raphael commented, "Since when's winning stuff ain't fun?"
"What about you, Leo?" Casey asked the turtle that was passing by him. "You game?" Leo shook his head with a small smile. "Not really. I'm going to start on dinner after I get April's sleeping bag." Confused, Casey asked, "Sleeping bag? A bit early, ain't it?" Continuing on to the tent, Leonardo mentioned, "She's going to lie down for a bit. Not feeling well. Might be from the fall or something, I don't know."
Casey spun around to look at April, his arm dropping from Donatello as he advanced towards her. "Hey, you okay?" April looked at Donatello. Though he didn't look at her, Casey's behavior proved that nothing incriminating had been said. "I'm fine," April breathed, slowly beginning to calm down. "Just… I don't know, a little shaken up. From… the fall." Casey crouched by her, putting a hand on her leg as he looked up at her. "Didja get hurt? Bruises or anything?" He began searching her bare legs, making April wish she had decided against wearing shorts. "I'm fine. Just… Leo worries."
"I worry, too," Casey told her, meeting her eyes. "Ain't I allowed to worry?" There was a moment of silence. Donatello's heart seemed to sink lower and lower with every word Casey said. Finally, Raphael remarked, "Jeez, Casey, you gonna sit over there 'n be a sap, or you gonna play poker?"
His brother's brash voice broke his immobility, and Donatello walked towards April. "Here," he said quietly, handing her the blanket. "Keep warm." April took it, trying to read Donatello's eyes. He had turned away quickly, however, and stepped back towards the tent. "I'll be inside, reading. Let me know when dinner's ready." Michelangelo and Raphael muttered in affirmation as they got themselves ready for the card game. "Yo Case," Raphael called, "don't make an offer if you just gonna sit there and count April's eyelashes. Get over here and play poker."
Casey stood, looking down at his girlfriend. "You sure you all right?" His voice was softer, and he looked down at April with great concern. She gave him a small smile and nodded. "Go play," she told him. "Rob Raphael of every last dime, okay?" Casey laughed and, with a final glance back at her, turned towards the two turtles getting ready for the game. "You bring out what is best in him," Splinter murmured. April looked down. Somehow, Splinter's words just weren't helping her that night.
Leonardo emerged from the tent, carrying April's sleeping bag. "Here you go," he said, unrolling it a few yards away from where she and Splinter were sitting. April thank him and walked over towards it. "Just close your eyes for a bit. We'll let you know when dinner's set." Nodding, April smiled at him as she slipped into her sleeping bag. "Probably just the long ride here," she whispered. Leonardo nodded and stepped away as April made herself comfortable, wrapping the blanket that Donatello had given her around herself. Strangely enough, the emotional roller coaster ride she had been on for the entire day actually did seem to make her tired.
Without meaning to, April drifted off into a deep sleep.
Something soft suddenly brushed up against April's face.
Stirring awake, April became conscious of a pair of golden eyes looking up at her. "Hm?" Sitting up, April realized that she had just been awoken by Klunk. Looking around, she saw that the flames that Leonardo had started had died away, and four sleeping bags lay side by side across the way. She heard someone clear his throat, and looked up to see Donatello sitting some feet behind her with a book in one hand and a thermos in the other.
Crawling towards her, he unscrewed the top of the thermos as he whispered, "How you could sleep through that screaming match of a poker game is beyond me." Fixing her hair, April asked, "How long have I been asleep?" Pouring some soup from the thermos into a cup, Donatello replied, "A little over four hours, I think. They didn't want to leave you sleeping without food, but I offered to stay up reading until you woke up so I can make sure you eat."
Accepting the offered food and thanking him, April sat back and began to eat quietly. Klunk came over and began bothering Donatello to be petted, and he silently obliged. A few crickets sounded in the air, and other than that and the sounds of sleeping coming from the three turtles and Casey, there was silence. Finally, April inquired, "So… what did you and Casey talk about earlier?"
Still focusing on Klunk, Donatello remained quiet for a moment, causing April to look at him cautiously. Just as she was about to drop the subject, Donatello answered, "He just wanted to be sure I knew about the two of you. I guess he wanted to… bubble over, if you can imagine that term being used to describe him." April frowned as she thought of how painful that must have been for Donatello. "I'm sorry," she began, but he quickly cut her off. "Sorry? For what?" He looked up, though not at her, a dim smile on his lips. "You'll love the ring, I think."
"This isn't funny, Don," April suddenly said. Donatello finally met her eyes, a bit alarmed to see that she was crying again, just as she was in the van. "I had never said it was," he replied. "But you have to understand, April… there's no other way for me to respond." Swallowing back a sob, April stated that there was, and Donatello replied with a stern shake of his head. "No, there isn't. If you love him, and I know you do, and you want to spend the rest of your life with him and raise a family, then there's no reason why you shouldn't get married."
"You're reason enough!"
Trying to keep his voice down, Donatello answered, "No. April, what we did before, what happened, that was stupid. We both knew it was. You're still the best friend I could ever hope to have, but if it's a choice between Casey getting hurt or me being hurt, then I'd rather it be me." He stood quickly and turned away from her. "I'm used to it, after all."
He tried to step away, but felt her arms wrap around his legs. Closing his eyes and attempting to maintain his balance, he tried to be unyielding. He wanted to be selfish, he wanted to be happy, he wanted to have a small taste of what it meant to live a normal life with a beautiful woman… but after speaking with Casey that evening, he knew he could never bring himself to do that. Despite Casey's psychopathic ways and brash mannerisms, he was still a good man who had proven to be a good friend on countless occasions. If he could save up the money to buy a ring for April that far surpassed Donatello's beliefs, then he could surely provide for her and make her happy. All Donatello could offer was a room in a sewer.
Crying against Donatello's legs, April felt she knew what was going on through the turtle's mind. Did he not realize that she didn't care? Or was he just more concerned with making sure she got what was best? If that were the case, then it only proved that he was just as altruistic as she had always thought, which didn't help make this sudden parting any easier. Slowly, she reached up and took hold of his hand, squeezing it gently. "Donny," she whispered. "Don't you deserve to be happy?"
Donatello remained silent for a moment once again, and finally said, "Yes. But so do you. And so does Casey." Releasing his leg and standing behind him, April told him, "You make me happy." Donatello seemed to consider this for a moment before responding, "And you make Casey happy. So where does that leave us?" Embracing him with her free arm, April said, "I don't know. But if we're together right now, then I don't care." With a deep sigh, Donatello turned around and looked at her. "April, be sensible about this. We can't work out. You want a family, and I can't give you that-"
"How do you know?" Donatello was struck silent at April's sudden question. He blinked and took a step back to look at her more clearly in the crescent moonlight. Was she actually suggesting…? "April," he began slowly, "genetically speaking-" She interrupted him once more. "Genetically speaking, anything is possible."
Turning away from him, April angrily told him, "Donny, all I ask is for one conversation with you where sensibility and logic don't matter. Where you stop overanalyzing the situation and turning yourself into a sacrifice for the greater good. Can't you be a little selfish once in a while?"
Considering this for a moment, Donatello asked, "Maybe you want me to be selfish so you can justify your own selfish feelings?" Not even bothering to lie, April replied, "Yes." In a smaller voice, she looked down and said, "I… I want you, Don. And if you just keep pushing me away for Casey's good, I'm going to feel like a terrible person. Please, Donny. Be selfish. For my sake."
A small smile arising at the irony of her words, Donatello reached out for April's hand. At the touch, she quickly turned to him and hid her head against his shoulder, trying to keep back the tears. For a moment, they just stood there, eyes closed, holding one another, feeling one another's warm bodies in the cool spring night. Donatello raised a hand to soothingly stroke April's back as she began to sob quietly, murmuring sounds of comfort. He knew this was going to be hard. Why did he always have to be right?
At length, April raised her head from his shoulder, looking down at him, her face stained with tears. Not wanting to see her that way, he gently wiped at the tears with one of his hands, his other arm tightening around her. "No more tears," he whispered thinly. "I'm sorry. I never meant to make you feel this way."
"No," she answered softly. "But I do. So what are you going to do about it?" Donatello could do little else but stare at her for a long while. Finally, he realized, "There's only one thing I can do. Console you." April closed her eyes, feeling that her desperate efforts were hopeless. She was surprised, then, to feel his mouth against hers once again. Again, she was overtaken by a sense of doing something terribly wrong, but again, she ceased to care. Opening her mouth slightly, she allowed the kiss to intensify as much as Donatello would allow it.
It was a long time before they separated. Feeling flushed, April looked down at Donatello, who was gazing up at her with a soft expression. And for all of her guilt, it was that face that made her feel that she was doing the right thing. Almost crying again as she focused on her affections for the turtle, she embraced him tightly.
Something from the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she looked up. She suddenly stiffened up as she realized that, standing at the doorway of the tent and watching them, was Splinter. It was impossible to read his expression in the dim moonlight, and fear washed over April even as the sensei turned and retreated back into the tent.
Donatello also stiffened. Spotting movement, he looked to see Raphael sitting upright in his sleeping bag, glaring at them. It looked to Donatello as though there was murder in Raphael's eyes, but he couldn't tell if that were true, or if it was only his usual expression. Raphael broke his eye contact with Donatello and fell back into his sleeping bag, sinking under the cover as though to block himself from the view.
Slowly, April and Donatello parted. Both of them gaped at each other, not sure whether or not to tell the other of the unknown spectators. Finally, April stuttered, "Good night." As she turned back to her sleeping bag, Donatello stood in place. "Good night," he whispered.
Though April at least pretended to, Donatello got no sleep for the rest of the night.