Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the property of Viacom, Nickelodeon, Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird and all organizations associated with said names. This is non-profit.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Exile
by BrownEyedBirdie

Author's Notes: This chapter is probably going to drive everyone absolutely crazy, especially all you Apritello fans. But I respect you all enough to want to shake up things for those two. Donnie and April left New York with a huge weight on their shoulders; Donnie feeling the sense of failure and responsibility for Leo's condition and April losing her home and family, as well as having the ground snatched out from under her with the realization of who Irma really was. Something I've noticed since "Within the Woods", Donnie and April have been pretty easygoing around each other. Other than when Donnie objected to April and Casey being teamed up and when he tried to give April a music box, he hasn't really shown the same sort of zealous drive to win April's affection that he had before. The music box was really unusual because it not only was a very personal gift, a thing Donnie tried to avoid in the past because he wanted to try and make it seem like he wasn't trying to romance her, but it also had a picture of himself in it. So, what could have happened to mellow them both out enough to be more open in their affections? Weiterlesen!

Chapter 9 – Heartache

Fortunately, Casey had managed to avoid severe hypothermia and walked away with nothing more lasting than a sprained ankle and a nasty cold that confined him to the army cot for the next week. He stayed up in the room Leo was in and Raph seemed to enjoy it the most He openly teased Casey about his bout of playing Daniel Boone, but Raph was also happy to have someone to converse with during his vigils over Leo. With Casey confined to bed, Raph was also able to take a break for a couple of days to help Donnie carry back the pieces of the old windmill. He and Donnie pulled on blankets and coats and took several trips to bring the windmill back.

"It's not a windmill in the traditional sense," Donnie explained, "It's a windpump. That's why it was next to the stream. Someone was trying to use it to drain that area out for expansion of the farm."

"So what stopped them?" Raph asked.

"Could have been a lot of things," Donnie said thoughtfully, "A lack of funds, too much water, maybe even loss of interest with the project so they let it just fall apart."

"What are you going to do with this hunk of junk?" Raph asked.

"I'm converting it," Donnie replied, "Instead of pumping water out, I'm going to use it to pump electricity back into the ground. Once we put the pieces back together, we can create a wind powered generator."

Donnie worked hard over the next few days, coming in only when he needed to warm up and sleeping nearly as much as Leo. April worried that he was going to wind up in bed as well, but she was happy that the sour mood he'd been in seemed shaken off. He was still quiet around her and that bothered her the most. But she didn't know how to approach him about it. One day, Donnie announced that the power would be turned off. Raph, April and Mikey sat together by the fireplace.

"Is Leo going to be okay like this?" Mikey asked, glancing up the stairs.

"He's covered in blankets and Donnie said it wouldn't be a long time," Raph told him, "If it does take longer, we'll bring him down here."

The hours ticked by slowly. They roasted whatever they could find on skewers in the fireplace; pepperoni, bread, even vegetables. The sun was nearly down and April was considering lighting candles when she heard a high pitched whine in the air. April had long come to associate the sound to mean electricity was turned on. Almost instantly, the lights flickered on around them. The heat began pouring up from the vents and the pipes began to bang as the air began moving through them again.

"He did it!" Mikey cheered and hurried to turn on the TV. Everything worked. April went to the kitchen and saw the coffee pot flashing.

"He really did it," she said and glanced out the window to see Donnie standing in the yard, looking up at the spinning sails with pride. She had no idea how he managed each and every time to make something that seemed so useless and broken into something brand new. April smiled warmly as the lanky turtle stretched and began to walk around to the front of the house, no doubt taking a quick patrol to let off his excitement of success.

"He's worked so hard," she thought, "All of them have."

Glancing at the calendar, she smiled as she realized what the weekend was.

"Time for a show of appreciation," she said and pulled out paper and glue.

Donnie sat in the family room, drinking coffee and writing out complicated formulas in a notebook.

"Whatcha doing?" April asked. Donnie jumped and stared up in surprise. April smiled at him with a friendly grin.

"I'm trying to see if I can create a medicine for Leo," Donnie answered, "The mutagen in our system is regenerative. It's what helps us heal faster from normal wounds and injuries. But if the damage is extensive enough, like with Leo, we can't recover as quickly."

"So you want to make some sort of restorative?" April asked.

"In a way," Donnie said, "Master Splinter always used to give us a tea that would strengthen our immune system, but this kind of damage is a little more serious."

"I need to find a way to use the mutagen to strengthen Leo's regenerative system," Donnie continued, "But I'm trying to find the right formula."

"So, kind of like a blood transfusion for a human," April said.

"That's the hope," Donnie replied.

"Good luck," April said, "Oh, I made you something."

She handed him a folded paper heart. In gold writing, it said:

"No heart is as big as yours.

Happy Valentine's Day."

"Oh," Donnie said, sounding almost sad, "Thanks. That's nice."

"I made a different one for everybody," April said, "Don't you like it?"

"No, I…I mean, it's very nice," Donnie stumbled. April narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, what's up?" she asked.

"Up with what?" Donnie said.

"You've been giving me the silent treatment since we got here."

"That's not true," Donnie said slowly, "We talk. I'm talking to you now."

"You know what I mean," April said, "We used to be able to sit and visit. We would have conversations that would go on for hours. For crying out loud, you'd at least look at me."

Donnie said nothing.

"I get that you are stressed," April continued, "But you have to talk about how you feel."

"Really?" Donnie asked and April knew at once she'd said the wrong thing, "I thought talking just made it hurt more."

"Oh," April said and felt her face burn hot then cold and a feeling of cold dread sank her stomach.

"Donnie, I didn't mean that," April said, "If that's why you're upset then let's talk."

"I'm not upset," Donnie said, "At the time I was. You knew what I wanted to say and you blew me."

"It wasn't the right moment," April said.

"When would have been better?" Donnie asked coldly, coming to his feet, "When Leo came crashing through the window? When your father got mutated or my father got thrown down the drain?

April watched as an ugly smile broke out over Donnie's face.

"Or maybe when you threw your arms around Casey? I bet that would have been the perfect time."

"That's not fair," April said sharply, "I was worried about the only other human friend I have."

"You mean the only human friend you have," said Donnie, "Your other friend didn't seem too friendly when all was said and done."

In the back of Donnie's mind, he knew he was being unfair, unreasonable and downright out of character, but his anger at rejection, at failure to save his home and watching others succeed where he failed was making it very hard to care at the moment. He watched April's face crumple slightly and he felt vindicated.

"You're not the only who lost family, Donatello," April said, accenting his full name, "Since meeting you, my father has been kidnapped by aliens that gave him nightmares, has been mutated, twice now and I don't know if any retromutagen you can create can do anything about that. Maybe Leo was right to want to leave without us. We'd have been safer without you."

"Until you came running down to the Lair to have us bail you out," Donnie said.

"Like I would ever expect you to bail me out of anything," April said. "I've defended you as leader and every decision you've made since we lost Splinter. I haven't always understood, but I always supported you. But if you're going to act like a cold, heartless jerk, I'm starting to regret ever suggesting you lead us."

"Don't do me any favors," Donnie continued, "And if I'm such a jerk, I guess your choice just got easier."

"Who said I was interested in making a choice!" April shouted.

"Well I'm not asking you to," Donnie shouted back, "I was trying to leave the situation alone. You brought this all up."

Electricity seemed to spark between their eyes. Finally, April managed to pull back and regain some of her dignity.

"You're right," she said, "It's an easy choice." She grabbed a coat and walked out the front door.

Donnie stared hotly after her. He looked at his hands and noticed he had crushed the valentine into a twisted mess. He whirled back to his notebook and threw it across the room. He sank back into the chair and stared at the paper heart, realizing it was as shattered as his own.

Mikey and Raph watched from the top of the stairs. Raph grimaced but accepted that this course was the best for his younger brother, even if it was an ugly mess. He knew Donnie would never find a happy life with April and that this fight would have eventually happened, in some other shape. And Donnie didn't need the extra burden. Beside him, Mikey blinked back tears. April was right; talking really did make it hurt more. Raph put an arm around Mikey, as he had done when they had fled for their lives.

"What's going to happen now, Raph?" Mikey asked again. Raph looked out after April and back at the slumped form of Donnie.

"I don't know, Mikey," Raph said, "I really don't know."

Outside, they could hear the soft sound of crying.

*()()()*

Should I apply for the witness protection program? Or have I genuinely managed to create some drama for what I felt was a much needed confrontation between April and Donnie? This is the final story in this arc. But remember, I'm not done with this story, so never assume anything is final.

Just two quick things: One, I'm going to be updating more like once a week from here on in. Classes are starting up in a couple of days so I'll have a lot less free time. I write up the chapters in advance then I type them out, editing them as I go. So it's the typing that takes longer to finish. And two, does anyone have an interest in helping me make a cover picture for this story? I really want to be able to have a distinctive picture to draw people in to read it. If anyone knows anyone who can draw or a program that I might be able to use (I have no ability to draw at all), let me know. I'll see you in the next chapter.