They walked deep into the forest together. Donatello held her hand. It was dark, the black midnight sky glittering with stars. A near bye owl was hooting softly in its tree. The nocturnal birds flew through the trees. It was an entirely different experience to see a forest at night. Everything looked more mysterious and a bit more sinister. But Leann liked it. She thought it was romantic in a peculiar, twisted way.

Leann looked down sadly at the beautiful shoes Piper had lent her.

"I don't think I wore the right shoes for this," Leann said.

Donatello looked down at her shoes.

"Hmm…I guess not. Hold on," He said.

He scooped Leann into his arms and started carrying her through the forest.

"Donatello! You cannot carry me!" Leann declared.

He grinned impishly down at her.

"Never had a man carry you through a dark forest at midnight? You need to live a little," He said with a laugh.

"It makes me feel, silly," Leann admitted.

Donatello smiled down at her.

"Don't feel silly, because I certainly enjoy carrying you," Donatello said.

He tightened his hold on her and cradled her closer to his chest. Leann giggled. He carried her under a shadowy dangling tree branch. Leann thought that she would feel quite foolish as he carried her around like she was a child. However, it was actually kind of nice and intimate. It made her feel closer to him.

They walked deeper and deeper through the trees. For the longest time, all Leann could see was darkness as Donatello carried her though the woods. Then suddenly, she saw lights up ahead. Glowing, radiant lights. Donatello carried her into a little clearing and Leann gasped.

There were candles everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. White candles with slowly dripping white wax and flickering golden flames. A blanket was in the middle of the clearing. A picnic basket sat on the blanket. The candles made everything look softer and made everything seem to glow. It was very stunning.

Donatello smiled at her and kissed her hand.

"I hope you like night picnics," Donatello said.

Leann smiled affectionately at him.

"I've never had one, but this is beautiful," Leann said.

Donatello smiled at her and kissed her sensually on the lips. Leann felt herself melt inside his embrace and she kissed him back eagerly. He carried her gracefully over to the blanket in the middle of the clearing. He securely deposited her onto the blanket and then sat down next to her.

"Wine?" He asked as he produced a chilled bottle of wine.

Leann smiled and nodded. He poured her a glass of wine. It was thick red wine. The graceful way in which he poured the wine into her glass intrigued Leann. He was so full of mystery, constantly leaving her to wonder about the little details. And he was absolutely beautiful. Leann smiled softly at him, admiring how he looked when the moon-light hit his face just right.

Donatello poured himself a glass. Then he looked at Leann.

"To us," Donatello said with a little smile as he held up his glass.

Leann giggled and clinked her glass into his.

"You're so strange," Leann said with a smile.

Donatello smirked and looked off into the distance, muttering "you don't even know the half of it," under his breath.

"What?" Leann asked.

"Nothing really," He replied, "My life has just been very tragic. Up until I met you of course." He smiled solemnly at her.

Leann rolled her eyes.

"We all have our little issues, now don't we?" Leann asked with a dark smile.

Donatello laughed.

"And what exactly are your issues, young lady?" He asked sarcastically, with a warm smile.

Leann raised her eye-brows.

"Are you getting sarcastic with me?" Leann demanded, fighting the urge to smile.

"Just a little bit," He admitted with a smirk as he stared deeply into her eyes.

Leann bit her lip, but was unable to stop the huge smile that appeared on her face.

"Well, my issues are a little too much for a first date," Leann told him.

"I can handle it, I assure you," Donatello said with a grin.

Leann sighed.

"Well, I already told you about my mother," Leann said as she looked off into the distance, "I don't really like talking about it."

The look on Leann's face was pure sadness as she spoke about her mother. Her bright green eyes shimmered with emotion in the flickering candle-light. Her eyes were dripping with anguish and regret.

Donatello looked at her quite seriously for a moment, and then leaned forward and gently cupped her face in his hands.

"I want to know you Leann. I want to know everything about you, every little bruise and cut," Donatello said gently.

Leann stared into Donatello's eyes, hopelessly lost in their crystal clear blue. His gaze was quite hypnotic and took her breath away.

"My mother is an extremely hard subject for me to talk about, with anyone," Leann said breathlessly as she stared into his eyes.

Donatello smirked ever so slightly and bent his head to some extent so that he could kiss her on the lips.

"I'd like to think that I'm not just anyone," Donatello said before kissing her again.

Leann's head was spinning as he broke away from her. He continued to look at her, his gorgeous blue eyes locked onto her face.

"I wish you wouldn't do that," Leann muttered and shook her head.

"Do what?" He inquired.

"Kiss me like that and then look at me like that! Especially if you want me to talk to you!" Leann said.

Donatello laughed gently.

"Enlighten me then, if you will. How exactly does my kissing you restrain you from talking to me?" Donatello asked with a smile.

Leann threw him a look.

"As if you don't know! When you kiss me, you fog my head up. And then looking at me like that makes it even worse!" Leann declared indignantly.

Donatello laughed and smiled softly at her.

"I apologize for fogging your head up," Donatello said with a laugh.

Leann made a face.

"When you say it like that it just makes me sound completely ridiculous," Leann muttered.

Donatello laughed even harder and bent his head down to kiss her.

"You are completely ridiculous," Donatello said with a laugh and kissed her again.

Leann bit his bottom lip.

"Watch yourself, young man," Leann said before kissing him back eagerly.

Donatello laughed and pulled her over to his lap. He nestled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist. Leann pouted, because in this position she couldn't properly kiss him. She leaned against his chest and turned her neck so that her face was inches from his. She crushed her lips against his mouth and clung onto him.

Donatello kissed her back, slowly and deliberately. It was strange, because even though he kissed with such passion and feeling, it still felt like he was holding back a little. As if he had to restrain himself for some reason. The kiss still blew her mind, despite his reserve; she had never truly been kissed the way that Donatello kissed her. His lips were as cool as ever against her mouth, cold and smooth and delicious to kiss.

"Leann," Donatello said between kisses, "Will you please talk to me about your mother?"

Leann sighed; she had been hoping he had forgotten about that particular subject. She kissed him one more time before pulling her face away from his. She leaned back into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her once more.

"I…don't really know how to talk about her," Leann said softly, "Most of the time I just tell myself not to think about her."

"That's not healthy," Donatello told her, "You shouldn't keep it all bottled up inside."

Leann shrugged.

"I can't talk about it with Drake. He hates my mom. He doesn't understand," Leann said desolately.

"What doesn't he understand?" Donatello asked.

As Leann spoke, Donatello's finger tips softly grazed her arm. His hand traveled up her arm and softly across her neck, where he traced circles with his finger tips.

"He doesn't look at it objectively, he only sees his side. He doesn't seem to understand that there were good times when I was with my mom, despite the bad ones," Leann said.

Donatello played with Leann's blonde curls.

"You miss her," Donatello stated.

Leann nodded.

"Mmm-hmm. I can't help it. I don't want to miss her. I just wish I could forget about her as easily as she forgot about me. But I can't," Leann said softly.

Donatello kissed the side of her neck.

"What sort of things do you miss?" Donatello asked.

Leann smiled slightly.

"The little things. Like playing cards with her. And watching random TV shows with her and just laughing about everything. We had the same sense of humor, we were both very silly," Leann said with a distant smile, "I also miss sun-bathing outside with her. And I miss our talks. We would just talk about the most random things and just end up cracking up hysterically."

Donatello wrapped his arms tighter around Leann as she spoke, holding her more securely. It was as if he knew she needed the extra bit of security right now when she was feeling so very sad and vulnerable.

"I just miss her, you know?" Leann said softly. "I miss the little, stupid things. Talking, laughing, listening to music, fighting over music," Leann added with a sad, tiny laugh.

Her bright green eyes were brimming with tears as she spoke. She bit her bottom lip, refusing to let the tears spill down across her cheeks. She wasn't going to start crying right here, she refused to allow that. This was a date, not a therapy session!

I never should have started talking about my mom, Leann thought. She took a deep breath, and turned around to look at Donatello. She smiled slightly.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Leann said as she smiled, "Let's change the subject and talk about something different. Or better yet, let's not talk at all."

She grinned impishly and kissed Donatello softly on the lips. Donatello kissed her back, running his fingers through her hair as he did so. He kissed her one more time before breaking away.

"Are you hungry?" Donatello asked.

All Leann really wanted to do was kiss Donatello until she passed out from lack of oxygen. She most definitely did not want food. However, it was obvious that Donatello had gone to a lot of trouble preparing all this. She didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"I'm very hungry," Leann said and smiled sweetly at him.

Donatello pulled the picnic basket over to them and opened it. He produced some purple grapes, different assortments of cheeses, more fruit, and another bottle of wine.

"Do you like grapes?" He asked.

Leann nodded. Donatello smiled a deliberate smile that sent shivers up Leann's spine. Then he proceeded to feed Leann the grapes.

It was perhaps the most sensual night of her life. Everything was so beautiful. The dark forest, the hooting owls, the gleaming candle-light, the wine and the fruit, it was all so beautifully erotic and sensual. She sipped more wine, a little too quickly, and she spilled some of it on the beautiful white dress.

"Oh shit!" Leann muttered.

"Don't worry about it,'' Donatello assured her.

Leann looked sadly down at the dress. Drops of red wine stained the white fabric. It almost looked like blood. Suddenly, Leann had a mental flash of the painting. The painting hanging in Donatello's living room. Of the beautiful woman in the forest at night with the blood stains on her white dress. Leann remembered the woman's teeth, her sharp fang-like teeth.

Before she could think too much about the painting, Donatello was kissing her passionately on the lips. Leann entangled herself within his embrace as she kissed him back enthusiastically. She never wanted to stop kissing him. She wanted this moment to last forever, to extend on into infinity.

All too soon, Donatello broke away.

"Leann, I would like to formally ask you to be my girl-friend," Donatello said respectfully.

Leann smiled adoringly back at him. No one had ever really truly asked her to be with them like that. He was so polite and courteous, as if he had been born in a different time. Leann had never met a man like him before.

"I would love to be your girl-friend," Leann said softly.

He beamed at her, an elegant, stunning, beautiful smile that made her feel dizzy and light headed. He kissed her delicately on the mouth. The way he kissed her was so careful, as if she was made out of glass and he was afraid she was going to break.

"Well then," Donatello said between kisses, "As it's getting light out, it's my responsibility to make sure my girl-friend gets home safely."

Leann smiled at the way he had said 'girl-friend.' looked up in surprise at the sky. The sun was rising. It was beautiful and amazing all at once. Where had the time gone?

"I don't want to go home, I don't want to say good-bye just yet," Leann said.

Donatello smiled.

"Would you like to accompany me to my house and have break-fast?" Donatello asked.

Leann nodded eagerly.

"Mm-hm!" She replied instantly.

Donatello grinned at her. He then proceeded to blow out all the candles. Leann helped gather up all the food and put it back in the basket. After they were done packing, Donatello turned to Leann and grinned at her. He knelt down on his knees.

"Hop on," Donatello said; indicating his back, "I'll give you a ride back to my car."

Leann giggled, feeling silly as she climbed onto his back. She hadn't had a piggy back ride in years. Donatello started to carry her out of the forest. She expected to feel weird the entire time he carried her. However, all she felt was bliss at being so closely intimate to him.