Leo strolled into his room, wiping the sweat from his brow with a small towel. Amaya was knelt inside with her prayer beads clasped in her hands. She looked up and offered him a warm smile. "How was your session?"

He returned the smile. "Good." She stood and took the towel from him. She wiped away the beads of perspiration on his neck and shoulders. He watched her stormy blue-gray eyes as they took on the task with concentration. He brushed a hand through her hair. "I need to go run an errand today."

She lifted her eyes to meet his but continued her slow methodical process of cleaning him. "Would you like me to come with you?"

He shook his head, his smile never wavering. "No, it won't take long." He ran his thumb across her silky lips, before he kissed them. Amaya sighed softly her body tingling as she melted into him, his arms coming up to pull her closer. The towel was forgotten as it fell silently to the floor.

Raph crossed the living room just as Dandrick came off the elevator. He frowned at the young man. "Where's my keys?"

Dandrick produced them from his pocket. "Thanks for the loan. She's a pretty little thing."

Raph snatched them with a frown. "You better be talkin' about my bike, bub." He trudged past him to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

On the couch sat Kala, Sarah and Marina flipping through Mira's scrap book. While Mira colored in a book at the coffee table. Dandrick stepped up to them. "Where is Stin?"

"He's in the lab with Donnie." Marina pointed to the open doorway down the hall. He nodded and carried the metal box inside.

Further down the hall a little wail began, increasing in persistency and magnitude. Kala glanced over her shoulder as Mikey came out of their bedroom. He frowned, his son propped on one shoulder. "Is this another I'm-hungry-cry?" He asked.

Kala got up and came around the couch. "It can't be. He ate less than an hour ago."

Sarah handed the scrap book to Marina. "I'll get some of his medicine."

Mira hopped up. "Can I help, Mommy?"

Sarah smiled. "Sure." They headed into the kitchen and she put the teapot on to boil. She got out the herbs. "Can you get me a spoon, sweetie?" She took down a mug and stepped to the table to mix them turning her back to the stove.

Mira handed her the spoon and then watched as she mixed the herbs together in the mug. The teapot began to whistle behind them. The young turtle left her mother to retrieve the teapot. But she was still too small to reach the pot properly. She tried to grab it by the spout that was sticking out.

Sarah turned just in time to see this. "Mira, no!" She shot forward as the youngster bumped the spout and it began to fall. She shoved Mira aside and tried to grab the pot, but it tipped too far and the lid came off. Sarah's cry of pain echoed off the lair's walls.

Donnie dropped what he was holding as blisters began popping up on his hands. He ran through the living room and into the kitchen. His heart stopped at the sight before him. Mikey had gotten there a few seconds earlier and was holding Mira, who looked wide-eyed at her mother. Sarah was knelt on the floor, her hands scalded from the over turned teapot. Marina was at her side trying to get her to stand. He rushed to her side. "Sarah?"

She looked up at her mate with teary eyes. "I'm sorry."

He grasped her wrists ignoring the slight pain it caused him and turned her hands over to see the damaged reddened flesh. He could feel her pain pulsing through the bond and he knew it hurt badly. All he wanted in that moment was to take that pain away from her. "Come on, we need to put them under cold water." But as they stood together to move towards the sink they both froze as Sarah's hands began to clear before their very eyes. Donnie ground his teeth and released her wrists as the wounds from her hands appeared on his.

"What the…?" Raph breathed behind them. He, Leo, and Amaya had gotten there a few moments after Donnie.

"Incredible." Stin mused. "Complete transference."

Sarah blinked for a second and then grabbed Donnie's wrists much as he'd done hers and put his hands under the faucet. He hissed in pain as the cool liquid hit his seared flesh. Sarah stared up at him, tears still pooled in the corners of her eyes. "How did you do that?"

He shook his head in dismay. "I don't know."

Leo frowned. He didn't think this was such a good thing. If a wound could be completely transferred between the couple, then that would put Sarah at more risk. His brother, as well as the rest of them, had experienced enough injuries over their lifetime that their bodies had become somewhat accustomed to them. But if Sarah were to possess those types of injuries, her body may not be able to handle them as well.

"I think this would be a perfect opportunity to draw some blood samples so that we may be able to determine the extent to which the wounds have transposed." Stin suggested.

Donnie glanced over his shoulder, but didn't answer. Mira began to cry in Mikey's arms. "I'm sorry, Mommy!"

Sarah frowned. She could feel her daughter's deep regret and heartache at the knowledge she'd just caused her mother and father harm. She took her gently in her arms. "It's alright, Mira. But you must be more careful. You know better than to grab things from the stove."

"I wanted to help." The young turtle wept.

Donnie frowned as well. "But you could have hurt yourself, Mira. And you did hurt your mother."

"I'm sorry." The little turtle cried again, burying her face in her mother's hair.

"I will get some towels to clean the floor." Amaya left to retrieve them.

"I don't mean to be pushy, but if we desire to get any conclusive results from the blood tests. Timing may be crucial." Stin pointed out.

Sarah handed Mira back to Mikey. "Not until the burns have been taken care of." She crossed the room to pull an ice pack from the freezer. She wrapped it in a kitchen towel. Donnie pulled his scalded hands from beneath the faucet to press the pack between them. Sarah frowned up at him. There was a silent exchange of emotions – guilt, gratitude, acceptance and love as well as a lingering fear.

"Alright, let's go." Donnie turned and led the way back to the lab with Sarah at his elbow. Stin and Dandrick followed. Once inside Sarah crossed the room to the get the first aid kit, while Stin prepared two syringes.

"I must say, I have never seen such a thing in all my research as a microbiologist." Stin pulled out two glass slides. Dandrick was busy setting up what looked like a microscope of some kind. It was a box with a screen on top and several slots for slides.

Donnie settled into a chair. Sarah sat across from him and began to apply ointment to his hands. "We asked you here for your help, not to be your science experiment." She said roughly as she cradled her husband's injured hands in hers.

"I did not mean to sound callus. I am simply stating facts. Now, if you please, I'll draw some blood." He approached them with one of the syringes. Donnie nodded and Stin inserted the needle into his forearm. Sarah pressed a hand over the spot on her own arm as a small mark appeared. As soon as the needle was removed the wound on her arm disappeared with Donnie's.

"It looks like how fast the wound heals depending on how severe it is." Dandrick commented.

Donnie nodded. "Yes, I've noticed that too. The cut I received a few days ago disappeared within a few minutes and the needle mark just now within seconds." He looked down at his hands. "Even these wounds seemed to be healing quickly. They don't seem to be hurting as much."

"Yes, and some of the blisters are already gone." Sarah agreed. She began to wrap his hands in bandages. "But there's no reason to take any chances."

Stin picked up the other syringe. He gave Donnie a glance before taking Sarah's arm in his hand and drawing a vile of her blood. The turtle watched intently, his hand going up to cover the small pinprick of blood on his own arm. And just as before, once the needle was removed, both wounds disappeared.

Stin took the samples and put them in the machine they'd set up. Sarah's hands covered Donnie's as he held the ice pack between them again. He could sense her guilt. "It's okay."

She shook her head, her eyes fixed on his hands. "I should've been paying better attention. If Mira had gotten hurt, I'd never have forgiven myself."

"But she didn't. Accidents happen, my love, no matter how aware we are." He said softly.

She stroked the back of his hands gently. "But what about this?"

"This?" He smiled and she looked up at him. "This I can handle. What I can't handle is you or Mira being hurt."

"These results are fascinating. It appears that your bodies are reacting to each other. When one is injured the other's body's reacts as if it has been injured as well. This in turn sends a signal to produce white blood cells in both of you." Stin explained.

"We already know that." Leo stepped into the room with Amaya and Marina.

Stin rubbed his chin. "Yes, but what I don't understand is how he was able to pull the wound completely into himself. The mirroring is simple, more than likely triggered by the sensation of pain from one's mate."

Dandrick leaned over the screen. "Well, her white blood cell count is twice as much as his."

"So, you must have sent a signal to her body telling it to heal while your body absorbed the damage." Stin settled into a chair. "But how was it done?"

"They were touching at the time." Marina pointed out.

"Direct contact? That could certainly be a factor in the transfer." Stin mused.

"Perhaps you are looking in the wrong place for the answer." Amaya stepped a little closer to the couple. "Your souls exchanged something in that moment. What exactly were you thinking, Donatello?"

Donnie met Sarah's eyes. "I just wanted to take away your pain. I would have done anything to take it away."

"Intriguing, it appears this indeed is a transitional phase then. It occurs only when there is psychological desire to help the one that is injured. Only then can a complete transference happen, not just mirroring of the wound." Stin explained. "Also when it is transposed to the other's body it seems to speed the healing process as it does with the mirroring, but not as quickly as when you share the wound."

"So, is this a good thing?" Leo asked.

Stin shook his head. "I would say that depends on a lot of factors; the severity of the wound being primary. It could also be dangerous. I can easily see how the young couple in the fairytale were overtaken by this ability."

Marina frowned. "So, that means you'll have to be careful from now on. You can't follow your instincts to pull the other's pain into you. If you do and the wound is really bad, you could die."

Sarah shook her head. "Death is never a certainty. We've learned that from experience." She touched Donnie's cheek, her eyes meeting his. "If one lives, so does the other."

"Yes." He covered her hand with his, before turning his gaze to his eldest brother. "Think of it more as a safety net, Leo. If we share the wound it heals faster."

"And perhaps over time you may be able to learn to control it." Stin remarked. "Though, I think that may take some practice."

Donnie shook his head with a frown. "That is something I'd really prefer not to practice."

Leo frowned. He felt slightly better about the situation. If anyone could learn to control their emotions to avert hurting one another it was Sarah and Donnie. He sighed. "Are you sure you can both do this?" He met Donnie's eyes. "You know what's happened in the past when she's been hurt?" Had this occurred a year earlier he might not have understood his brother's deep desire to protect his wife. But now as he looked on Amaya, he could feel that same protectiveness burning inside him.

Donnie gave a slow nod. "All I can do is try. But," he turned his gaze back to his wife, "I can't promise I won't do everything in my power to protect you."

"And what about you, Sarah? Are you sure?"

She gave Leo the same slow nod. "Yes, as long as I don't feel his life is in danger I can."

Leo dragged a hand down his face and let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, then you can go on patrols, Don. But just be careful. I don't need to be worried about both of you."

Sarah smiled. "Thanks, Leo." Donnie smiled as well, giving her hand a little squeeze. He could feel her relief wash over them, chasing away the remaining fear and doubt.

"Just don't make me regret it, bro." Leo said.

Donnie nodded, meeting his steady gaze. "I won't." He knew his brother was still taking a risk. They had no idea how well they could control this new ability. But the reality was injuries were rare right now as most of their worst enemies had been defeated and with the Shredder gone for good the threats against them were far less. Most of their encounters were with purple dragons and they weren't much of a danger.

Leo turned and headed out to the living room. Amaya helped him on with his trench coat. They were alone, so he lifted her chin and kissed her deeply. "I'm sorry we were interrupted."

She smiled. "We have our entire lives, saiai. A few hours more will not hurt."

He ran his hand down her side to the curve of her hip. He smirked, pulling her flush against him. "Maybe not you." She blushed and he kissed her brow. "I'll be back in an hour or two." He released her and stepped into the elevator. When the doors opened, he saw Cat jump and turn to look at him. Her shoulders sagged with relief. He glanced around to be sure there were no customers then frowned at her. "Something wrong?"

She looked away, pushing an errant blonde strand behind her ear. "No, not exactly."

Leo's frown deepened. He'd known Cat long enough to know when something was bothering her. "Are you and Raph fighting again?"

She looked up. "No."

"Then what is it?"

She sighed. "He just makes me uncomfortable."

He blinked. "Raph?"

She snorted. "No. Dandrick."

Leo folded his arms and glanced towards the elevator. Amaya's warning echoed in his ears. "What do you mean?"

Cat frowned. "I don't know exactly. He's actually confusing the crap out of me. One minute he's being polite and helpful, and then the next he's…."

"He's what?"

She shook her head. "I don't know how to explain it exactly. It's like he's…trying to hit on me."

Leo's eyes narrowed. "We'd better tell Raph."

Cat caught his arm as he started to leave. "No, I don't know if that's really what he's trying to do or not. And you know how Raph is, he'll just overreact."

Leo didn't like leaving his brother out of this. But Cat had a point if she wasn't certain and they accused Dandrick of misdeeds then it could cause problems between them and Marina and Stin. But still if it were him instead, he'd want to know even if there was just a suspicion. He glanced at the elevator again. "I don't know, Cat."

"Please, Leo. I'll tell him if it gets worse. You know I will." Her emerald eyes pleaded with him and he at last nodded.

"Okay, but you promise, if he does anything else…"

"I'll tell him right away. I swear."

He sighed. "Alright. By the way, did you get what I asked for?"

Her mood lightened, a bright smile crossing her face. "I sure did. It's in the van." She turned and pulled an envelope from a drawer. "And here's the other part."

He grinned as he took it. "Thanks Cat. I owe you one."

She laughed as she turned back to the bike she was working on. "Don't worry, you'll work it off for me."

He laughed too as he went out the back door. "I'm sure I will."

A/N: Hmm, I wonder what Leo's got up his sleeve... BTW, still loving the reviews! I know this fic isn't quite as jaw dropping as some of the others, but it does get more intense a little later. Stay cool!