Grace hesitated outside the space Donnie had claimed for his lab; the door was open, but she was still hesitant to step into any of the turtles' personal space. Even as welcoming as they all were to her and Hamari, she still felt a bit like a stranger in their home. Hamari was settling a little better… it seemed her and Raph took relish in finding a friend with an equal enjoyment for butting heads.

Peeking inside the lab, Grace smiled. Mikey was seated in front of Donnie, chatting lightheartedly as his immediate older brother examined his shoulder. It had finally healed enough for the stitches to be removed, but Donnie had insisted on another check before clearing him for gentle exercise. Grace was glad for the genius' mother henning, since it made her own fussing feel less obvious. She was just about to give the doorway a few knocks to announce her presence when Mikey suddenly stopped talking and turned to face her. His face lit up even more, and Grace felt her own mouth curve into a smile as a familiar warmth spread through her.

Having noticed their exchange, Donnie glanced at her too, letting out a soft chuckle.

"Hey, Grace," he said. "C'mon in, it's okay."

At that, she strode in. Mikey quirked a brow, his grin growing a little sly.

"Yo, gorgeous. How's it going?"

Grace couldn't help blushing with pleasure as she stepped up and gave him a gentle kiss.

"I'm fine. Hamari wanted to do some extra sparring with Raph and Leo, so I thought I'd see how the checkup's going."

Mikey jerked his head toward Donnie.

"Well, I feel okay, but you gotta ask Don for the details."

Grace directed her gaze to the genius, but he smiled before she could say anything.

"In short, very well. No signs of infection or permanent muscle damage. He'll have to be careful a while yet… keep exercise gentle and get plenty of rest, but from what I'm seeing it should heal just fine." He rubbed a hand over Mikey's head. "Couldn't expect less from a guy who doesn't let much of anything slow him down."

Grinning, Mikey pumped a fist in the air.

"Nothing slows down the Turtle Titan, bro!"

Grace pressed her lips together as she chuckled. Mikey had told her about his superhero identity during one of their nightly meetings, telling her that the biggest reason he liked it was that he could actually meet the people he helped and be sure they were okay. It was yet another thing about him that Grace loved.

"Anyway," Mikey said. "I guess that puts me outta sparring for a while?"

Donnie chuckled too.

"Afraid so, bro. And even when you are, I'd expect Leo and Raph to treat you with kid gloves for a good while."

Mikey put on an exaggerated pout and huffed, prompting another laugh out of Grace before she moved to wrap him in a hug.

"It's not because they think less of you," she said, finding that she didn't doubt that at all now.

"Not at all," Donnie agreed, patting Mikey's head. His voice grew softer. "Just a little scared from almost losing our little brother."

Mikey returned Grace's hug as he looked up at his immediate older brother, his sulking expression turning into a gentle and reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, Don. It's okay."

The sound of approaching footsteps drew their attention back to the lab entrance as Hamari and the other turtles entered. Grace noticed that her friend and Raph were showing more obvious signs of hard exercise and couldn't help smiling. No doubt the two of them had been going head-to-head almost the whole time, refusing to back down.

"So, who won?" she asked.

Both Hamari and Raph opened their mouths, but Leo spoke up first with an amused grin.

"It was a draw."

"What?!" Raph scoffed. Hamari shot him a playful glare, dabbing her neck with a towel.

"Come on, you know you were running on fumes."

"Hey, I ain't th' only one," Raph shot back.

"Draw's a draw, Raphie-boy," Mikey sang. "Don't be a sore loser."

The red-banded turtle narrowed his eyes at his youngest brother, but the corner of his mouth was still quirked up.

"I'll show ya a sore loser once yer fit t' be in th' ring again, Mikey."

"Nothing too rough, Raph," Donnie said, almost automatically.

"Relax, Don, I know," Raph replied, raising his hands. "I'll go easy, promise."

"I am glad to hear that," Splinter said as he entered, a gentle smile on his face. He directed his look at Donnie. "Donatello, have you determined Michelangelo's condition?"

The purple turtle immediately gave a reassuring nod.

"He's healing well, Sensei. It won't be long till he's fit for exercise again."

Splinter nodded.

"Good." He moved to where Mikey was seated and placed a hand on his arm. "You have once again shown your great strength and made your family proud, my son."

Grace's smile widened at the glow in Mikey's eyes. She knew how much hearing that would mean to him, and it warmed her heart more than anything to see the others giving him the reassurance he'd wanted so much to hear. If only she could have gotten that too…

A hand rested on her shoulder, and she turned her head. Hamari was looking at her with concern in her eyes.

You okay?

Taking a deep breath, she reached up and gave her friend's hand a light squeeze.

I'll be fine.

And somehow, for the first time, Grace realized she believed that. Whatever happened, she and Hamari had each other. Her eyes moved to Splinter and the turtles.

And we have them.