Chapter Eight-

It was a moment that lasted an eternity.

They froze there, their eyes locked together; Don's sad, knowing ones and Raph's red, raw ones.

Raph was the first to break the gaze, rubbing his eyes. "I hate cryin'." He said roughly.

Don nodded, then looked away, his eyes glazing over.

Raph watched him for a few moments. "Don…?" He asked, a worried tone entering his voice. When Don didn't answer right away, Raph sat up more, reaching for his brother.

"Donnie?"

"I'm s-sorry." Don finally said, his voice so soft that it was barely discernable.

"Sorry…?"

"F-for th-th-this." Don raised a hand, motioning across the room.

Raph swallowed hard, then stood. "Don't ever be sorry, Donnie." He got out, squeezing his brother's hand and leaned over, kissing his forehead. Then, he walked out of the room, past the blaring TV and into the kitchen, where the others sat.

They looked up as he entered.

"He's up." Was all he could say, before turning swiftly, a growl rising from his throat that turned into a scream, connecting to the refrigerator.

"Hot headed… of all the stupid…" Leo's voice filtered into the bathroom, where April was tending to Raph's wounds.

"Will you tell him to SHUT UP!" Raph bellowed, making April flinch.

Leo's voice stopped for a minute, and they could both hear Mike's voice softly speaking; Leo's own voice joining in after a moment. Soon, though, a door slammed with bone rattling force.

Raph clenched his teeth, looking back at April. She was gazing at him, but looked away when his eyes locked onto hers.

He grimaced suddenly, as a sharp pain passed through his hand and arm.

April sighed, sitting back a bit. "I believe that that little incident out there just broke your finger."

He looked away, swearing under his breath.

"Mind telling me what's wrong?" April asked, busying herself in the messy cabinet on the wall, grabbing the necessary supplies to set Raph's finger.

The door flew open, and Leo stuck his head In, Mike hovering behind him.

"Mike and I are going 'shopping'." He said hotly. "Since we suddenly need a new one." And with that, the door shut with a force just barely below a slam.

April tensed again, waiting for an eruption from the turtle in front of her… maybe even a fight… But he surprised her by simply hanging his head silently.

"This…" He said lowly, suddenly. "Is what's wrong."

April studied him for a few moments. "Raph…" She said, then stopped. She took a deep breath, and then continued. "You've been… excellent these past few months, you know that, don't you?"

He grunted dismissively.

"You held it together, when it all could have very well fallen apart." She continued. "You did better than any of us… even me… and Don and everyone else knows it, and thanks you. I thank you."

Raph looked up at that. "I don't want no thanks." He said quietly. "I just want my brother back. I want everything to be back how it was before. I wanna be able to go off and hit something and yell if I want to, and not have to hold everything together!" He jerked suddenly, as he moved his finger and a pain ripped through him. He wrinkled his nose and sighed.

April placed a hand on his arm. "Raph…"

"And," He continued. "In a way I don't." When April looked at him questioningly, he continued, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

"Ya know… Donnie and I are closer than we ever been. Not that I like him so hurt and such… But…" He trailed off, and April nodded. "I actually miss when Leo told me what to do all the time, as much as it pissed me off." He laughed slightly. "But… He's not perfect. Not like he thought he was… how we all thought he was."

"Nobody is perfect, Raph." April said softly.

He shrugged again at that, and looked off at the wall behind her.

"Depends on who you ask." He muttered under his breath.

April finished wrapping his finger, and stood, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Nobody, Raph. No matter who you ask."

A few hours later, the door to the lair opened slowly. I very tired looking Michaelangelo entered the room, followed by Leo.

Leo and Raph locked gazes, staring at each other for a few moments.

"We found one." Mike said wearily, breaking the silence and sitting on the couch.

"But we couldn't maneuver it ourselves." Leo said finally. "We'll need your help."

Raph held up his finger, which was taped straight, grinning maliciously.

Leo grimaced. "Nice." Mike snickered.

Leo sighed. "Alright, so… we'll go back tomorrow… maybe you can help one handedly…"

Mike spoke up. "Donnie can help…"

Leo looked away. "I don't want him to hurt himself…"

"Oh, so let's let the one with the broken finger do it, instead, eh, Leo?" Raph said, laughing gruffly.

"And who's fault is that?" Leo turned to look at him. Raph sat back a bit, his eyes first widening, and then narrowing.

"Put a lid on it, you two." Mike hissed suddenly, garnering mirrored looks of surprise on the faces of his brothers.

"We'll get it done, okay?" Mike continued, then walked out of the room, shaking his head.

Leo looked at Raph, then stood, walking into the dojo. He dropped to the mat, preparing to meditate. But found, for the first time in his life… that he was unable to concentrate.

Mike walked out of his room, sleepily scratching his arm. He stretched his arms above his head, groaning softly as the muscles pulled, then relaxed, getting rid of some of the tension there.

He was walking to the kitchen, to get a drink of water, but stopped suddenly in the doorway of the living room.

April sat on the couch, back to him, silently. No TV, no radio, just her; she didn't move aside from bringing a hand up to her nose every so often.

He stood and watched her, realizing after he shifted his view, that she was crying.

She sniffed suddenly, making him nearly jump. He didn't wanna be caught just staring at her.

"Ahem…" He cleared his throat, sounding none too convincing, and walked into the room.

She nearly leapt out of her seat, wiping her eyes quickly.

"Stop that." He said softly, sitting beside her, and motioning for her to sit back down. She did, after a moment's hesitation, and leaned over, laying her head on his shoulder.

They sat that way in silence as the minutes ticked by. He sighed, bringing a hand up to her face, stroking it softly.

"You should sleep." He whispered, and she shifted.

"I'm… afraid to." She admitted quietly.

"Donnie's sleeping." Mike pointed out, and April sighed.

"I know, I just…" She trailed off and he nodded. "I can't." She said again.

Silence overtook them again, and suddenly, she could hear his heartbeat change speeds, and his muscles tense slightly.

He was nervous.

After a few more moments, he spoke again.

"Why don't you tell him?" He asked, and she looked up at him.

"Tell him…?"

"That you love him."

April was quiet for a few moments. "I love all of you." She said finally, quietly.

Mike shook his head slightly. "Yeah, but it's different. I mean, we all love you, too, but with Don, it's different. He loves you different. Just like you love him different."

Her breath caught at his words. Don… Loved her? Loved her?

She sat, unmoving, her mind whirling with thoughts and feelings and just wave after wave of emotion. Different emotions. Scared, shy, wanted, panicked, nervous, and… happy?

Was she happy about this?

Mike looked down at her again. "You need to get some sleep." He said again, but his message was clear: 'Think about this.'

She nodded then. He moved, letting her sit up. "I'll stay up for a while, okay?" He said, assuaging her fears. Don seemed okay, but they were taking no chances.

"Alright." She agreed, then stood. Turning back, she bent down, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Thank you , Mikey… For everything." She said, then turned and went into his now empty room.

Mike sighed, stretching out on the couch.

It was gonna be a long few days…

Author's Notes -

Again, much thanks on all your support, my friends. I appreciate and love you all. I hope you enjoyed this latest update!

More to come...