Chapter 2

She stood in the shadows, waiting for him. She should have been good at being patient—after all, she had all the time in the world—but she wasn't. Her left foot tapped quietly but persistently against the cold tile floor. The problem was that waiting was incredibly boring. Too bad she'd timed this poorly and arrived so early. But finally three o'clock came, and a second figure crept into the room where she waited.

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she watched the shadow move quickly and silently across the large room. It approached a large contraption in the corner and, after a moment of rustling, a small flashlight clicked on. In the narrow beam of light all she could see was a single three-fingered, olive-green hand.

"You really shouldn't play with other people's time portals," she pointed out in a somewhat amused voice.

There was a loud gasp followed by the clattering of the flashlight against the floor. It rolled over to stop next to her feet, and Renet knelt down to pick it up. As she stood back up, she turned the beam on herself, so that Donatello could see her. Then the time mistress turned the flashlight's beam onto Don.

He blinked rapidly for a few moments against the sudden influx of light. Then his eyes went wide behind his mask. "You!"

Renet's smile dropped into a frown. That wasn't exactly the greeting she'd been hoping for. "Hi, Don."

Don's brows knit together thoughtfully as he quietly padded over to where she stood. Then his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Did you do this?" he whispered in an urgent tone. "Are you the reason we came to this time? Renet, I swear … "

"It wasn't me!" Renet held up her hands and glared a little for good measure. "It was totally Cody Jones."

"I see." Don folded his arms across his plastron, and Renet noticed his muscles bulge as he did so. Suddenly she remembered what it felt like to be in those strong arms, as he had carried her away from a dinosaur stampede, and she found her smile again.

She handed Don back his flashlight, as a sort of peace offering. "But I'm here to fix things. Everything's gonna be just fine."

"Why did you wait so long? We've been here for months, Renet."

Averting her eyes, the girl looked up out the window, where the moon hung large and full in the dark sky. The truth was, she had thought he of all the turtles would be enjoying this. Had thought he wouldn't want to leave. All the new technology, different alien species, and of course the freedom of being able to live above-ground and integrate into society. Why wouldn't Don want to stay for a little while longer?

But she hadn't counted on … her.

As if reading her mind, Donatello continued, "I miss home. I miss my lab and my friends. Leatherhead, the Professor, April—"

"April is in love with that hockey mask guy." The words were out of Renet's mouth before she had time to think twice.

Even in the dark, she could see him wince. "I know that," he said. "His name is Casey, and he's my friend too."

She shook her head, feeling a sudden and unreasonable anger. "So why are you so hung up on her?"

"Why am I—what?" Don bristled slightly. "You're crazy. I'm not hung up on April."

Renet snorted. As if. Donatello might very well be the genius everyone said he was, but he was still a teenage boy. And teenage boys were de facto stupid. Despite herself, she felt tears begin in the corners of her eyes. Just as she was wondering why she was bothering with all this explaining and justification, she noticed that Don's expression had changed. His annoyance was gone and had been replaced with concern.

"Renet?" He stepped forward, frowning, soft brown eyes holding that sympathetic expression he seemed to always wear. "You look upset. What's wrong?"

Stupid, but sometimes very sweet. Her hand reached out, and Don's expression changed to one of mild alarm. She ran her knuckles lightly along his cheek before quickly turning to look out the window at the sky once again. "April's an idiot," she muttered, so low that she knew even a ninja wouldn't be able to make out her words.

"Renet?"

She sighed. She was just as stupid as he was. "Never mind. Go get your brothers, and I'll get you back to where you belong."

With a large grin, Donatello fairly sprinted across the room. Then, when he reached the door, he came to a dead stop. He turned around and, inexplicably, came trotting back over to the time mistress. Just as she opened her mouth to ask if there was a problem, Don leaned in and softly kissed her cheek. Renet's mouth snapped shut. She could only stare as Don pulled back, still grinning.

"Thanks," he said. "For everything."

Then Don rapidly made his way back across the room and disappeared through the doorway, presumably to round up his family for the trip home. Meanwhile, Renet stood frozen in place, cloaked in shadows and utterly speechless. As she lifted her hand to gingerly touch the spot on her face where his lips had just been, she reflected that she'd never been kissed by a reptile before.

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Author's Notes: Thanks for all the reviews!

Apparently I'm really bad at keeping one-shots as one-shots. I blame—i.e., I thank—Pacphys for this, because Pacphys brought up something I hadn't thought about before. Where is Renet or Lord Simultaneous during all this? This chapter's my explanation. For those interested, next chapter will offer some insight into Cody's motivations and frame of mind.