Donatello couldn't sleep. Again. He'd stared at the mattress above him for what seemed like two hours. With a shaky breath he finally got up quietly, and stole out of the bedroom with notebook in hand.
His encounter with Jenna hours earlier had left him literally soaring inside, and feeling as if could explode any moment. It was a sensation unlike anything he had experienced before.
Donnie went downstairs with the intention of going to the Lab to type up some of Doc's notes from their recent adventures, but the minute he glanced down the hall, the thought was abandoned. Dropping the notebook on the coffee table, he headed for the Lounge instead.
He hadn't worked on anything since he had the use of both arms, and there was a project which needed immediate attention. Don told himself it was definitely more important than typing up gibberish for his journal.
Donatello sat behind the keyboard, a sudden smile crossing his face when he hit the button to recall information previously recorded. He typed in a command to send the file in question to the laptop waiting over by the soundboard. Then he rose with a flourish and went to boot up the computer.
He inserted a blank CD into the drive, and went to work in the composing software for the part that would certainly be the most time consuming. He had been at it for several minutes when he heard light footsteps in the hall, and looked up expectantly.
The door was softly pushed open, and she was there, just like he knew she would be. Donatello stood up from the computer, and another grin emerged.
Jenna laughed, and dropped her head in her hands shyly. Then she breezed through the door and headed towards him. "Hey, Donnie, guess what?"
"What?"
"I can't sleep," she answered stoicly, and then broke out laughing again.
"Well, that makes two of us." He shook his head.
"Somehow, I knew you'd be here. What are you doing? Did I interrupt you?"
"You're the most welcome interruption I've ever seen. I just needed to get the ball rolling on something. The software will take care of the rest."
"Anything interesting?"
"You'll have to let me know when it's finished," he said slyly.
She reached out impulsively to take both his hands in hers, and pulled him in closer. "I don't want to bother if you were in the middle of writing."
"I have my entire life to write. Right now, I'd rather be here. With you."
Her smile grew wider, though it didn't seem possible. She leaned in to his level and initiated a lingering kiss.
The woman broke off disappointingly sooner than expected.
"Gimmie a second." She stepped away to flip on the satellite radio.
After selecting a station, the teen led him to the couch in the corner. When Jenna settled in beside him, her close proximity still made his heart skip a beat. He watched her pull the rubberband out of her ponytail, and draw her hair up a second time to make another.
"You um...you could leave it down, if you want. Only if it doesn't bother you," he suggested.
She shook her waves out with the tiniest of smirks. "Are you a hair man, Donatello?"
"I plead the fifth," he answered, without remembering she probably wasn't familiar with the American Amendments.
"The fifth what?"
"I have the right to remain silent."
She laughed. "I don't want to ruin your image or anything."
He smiled back, but the expression was shortlived.
"What is it?" Jenna picked up on his mood shift at once.
"You're so beautiful. What on Earth do you see in me?"
She backed away slightly with a serious look of her own. "Don, I'm falling for you. I'm not sure you understand what that means. I see your amazing heart, and your incredible mind. But I also love your smile, and I get absolutely lost in your eyes."
Shifting closer, Jenna fingered the knot of his mask-tails. The sudden intensity of her gaze made his breath quicken. "I also adore your coloring, and your intricate shell. You can't see the patterns and designs, can you? I bet I know them better than you do. The fact that you arms are like boulders doesn't hurt either. Do I need to go on?"
He swallowed nervously, ducking his head. "N-no, you really don't."
"There's more, Don, so tell me when you need to hear it. Am I making you uncomfortable?"
"I'm...uh...awkward," he admitted. "But it isn't bad."
"Would you like for me to stop?"
"No, it's just..." He hated that he still needed to ask. "The mutant thing, it really doesn't bother you?"
She glanced down at her own frame, which almost straddled his lap. "Does it look like it bothers me?"
Slight heat rose in his cheeks. "No. It never really has."
"That's 'cause it doesn't."
Her forehead came to rest against his. She hovered there, seemingly waiting for him to do something. Irresistibly, as though drawn by a magnet, he brushed away the hair partially obscuring her face. The urge to act was like a flame growing hotter and hotter in his stomach. Following through on the temptation to kiss her felt like it might be the only release.
The room faded and for a few seconds, it was easy to forget what he was. Her acceptance made it possible to not mind either way. When the kiss broke off that time, her arms remained around his neck.
"Our differences aren't an obstacle unless you make it one," she informed him. "Don't do that."
"Not sure I can help it," he murmured, the slight daze persisting.
"You can help it, the same way you can kiss me without prompting. You've gotta try."
"But...you have to leave." The obvious truth felt like a lead weight tied around his neck.
"I'm coming back," she insisted. "I am."
The teen sighed and reclaimed her own cushion on the couch. Seconds later she slumped against his side and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"I know it will be hard," she confessed. "I still think it's worth it. Aren't we?"
"You're worth it," he whispered. I just don't think that I am.
A hand protectively engulfed the back of her head. He took the opportunity to trace silken strands again, and heard Jenna snort.
"Don?"
"Yeah?"
"You're a hair man."
Jenna stirred suddenly. She didn't remember falling asleep, but it was clear Donnie hadn't wanted to bother her. She glanced at her watch, and peered over at him with a smile. He was fast asleep too.
"Don," she hissed.
He jolted awake like she'd branded him."Hm-what?"
"It's after 4. Unless we want everyone gossiping about us..."
"We need to go to bed. Yeah, okay."
She accepted his hand to help her off the couch, and didn't let go of it. Jenna cast the turtle a lingering glance while they crossed through the hallway.
Donnie stopped short, sensing her gaze. "What is it?"
"I think I slept deeper than I have the entire time I've been here. We should fall asleep in the lounge together more often."
He snorted along with his chuckle; an adorable sound.
"See, you're so cute, and you don't even know it."
Donatello ducked his head, exactly as she expected. "I kind of don't want to sleep. I feel like I have my entire life to catch up on it."
"This isn't our last chance, Donnie. I swear, I am going to figure it out."
"I'm not sure if..."
She gripped his hand tighter. "We're not finished. Do you understand? I want this to work. I want you."
"I want you too." She hated the guilty tone of his admission.
"I'm not giving up, and you can't either," she insisted. "We've got to agree we're in this for the long haul."
"I'll try." He sounded nowhere near as confident as she wanted, but it had to suffice for now.
It took both Mike and Raphael to transfer Leonardo up and down the stairs with his injury, but he was happier to be in his own room, and they didn't mind making it happen. That morning they brought him back down when April and Luke returned.
While Luke got down to business with Leo again, the other two brothers went off to stretch and get a work-out in together.
Small talk was saved until afterwards when they were getting ready for breakfast.
"So where's Donnie this morning?" Raph asked Mike.
"He had a late night. I woke up about 3:30, and he wasn't there."
"You realize Jenna's not up yet either." Raphael grinned.
"But you heard him the other day. If he's not ready to talk about it, I doubt he's going to do anything," Leonardo offered from the couch.
"Raph, y'know what you were saying about getting them out of here together?" Mike said quietly. "Well, I know how we can do it."
"How's that, Mikey? We're seriously running out of time."
"The lunar eclipse."
Luke joined them suddenly, leaning against the back of the couch. "That is tonight, isn't it?"
"Yeah, and Donnie's been looking forward to it. I've caught him looking up the weather about half a dozen times this week, to see if it was going to be clear. I was supposed to go with him, but I think I might come down with something."
"Oh, ya gotta do it, knucklehead." Raph laughed. "It's perfect."
About 11:30 Jenna emerged from upstairs, and came down to see the others. She was immediately engaged by the energetic card game going on around the coffee table. Raph and Mike were sitting on the either side facing Leonardo, vigorously discussing the latest hand.
"Gin." Mike proudly laid his cards down.
"No way," Raph protested.
"Yes way. Read the cards, bro."
"You can't possibly have won that fast."
"Sure I could. Rummy and I are old friends, Raph."
"Whatever - I'm shuffling. It's your turn to play this joker again, Leo," Raph grumbled.
"Just out of curiosity, how old of friends are you, Mike?" Leo asked as Raphael started flipping through the deck.
"Sensei taught Donnie and I this game like seven years ago." The orange-masked turtle snickered.
"What?" Raphael instantly interjected. "You didn't tell me that."
"You asked if I knew the game - not how long I've played it."
"All right, new game," Raphael insisted, swiping the cards back he'd already laid down. "There's always old reliable."
"Euchre's no fun without four - it's better when you play partners," Mike protested.
Raph glanced over the back of the couch and made eye contact with the teen. "Hey, c'mere, Jenna. Do you play Euchre?"
She shook her head. "I've seen some other kids play, but never really understood it."
"There's no time like the present. You want to learn?" Leo asked her.
She sat down on the couch as Raphael started to deal the cards face-up around the circle.
"Okay - we'll play a couple of open practice hands so you can get the real gist of it. Everybody is dealt five cards, and the leftover cards go into their own stack. The first card off that stack is turned face up and offered as trump - which would make whatever suite it happens to be the most powerful one for that round..."
Donatello came quietly down the stairs while Raphael was still going through the basics of the game with Jenna, and slipped through the room without being seen. He breezed into the kitchen, and startled April so badly, she nearly dropped a tray. He reached out to keep her from losing it, and smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry. Is that new coffee?"
"Yeah - I'll get you some. Another late night, huh?"
"Sort of," he replied vaguely, sitting down at the table.
April got another cup and came over to join him. The way she attempted to inconspicuously analyze the turtle made him squirm awkwardly in his chair.
"What's up, Donnie?"
He glanced behind her at the closed door, and mulled over telling the truth for a couple of seconds. Then he took sip of coffee, and put it down. "Can you...keep something to yourself for a little while?"
"I've kept you guys a secret - I think I can control my mouth." She sent him a wry smile. "Is something wrong?"
"No. Maybe. I'm not even sure, but if I don't say something, I'm going to explode."
The woman suddenly nodded, sitting back further in her chair with a satisfied look. "It happened, didn't it?"
"If by 'happened' you're referring to Jenna, then the answer is yes."
The guys had made it through their first open hand with Jenna when Donnie came out of the kitchen, and she was a little surprised to see him.
"Morning everybody," Don greeted. "Or afternoon, I guess."
"When did you get down here?" Mike exclaimed.
"I could see there was a lesson in progress. I didn't want to interrupt." Donatello dropped into a chair across from them. "How do you like the game, Jenna?"
"I'm getting there." She batted eyes back at him innocently.
"Where've you been?" Raph piped up.
"I had a couple of adjustments to make on my telescope to get it ready for tonight."
"Tonight?" Jenna repeated.
"There's a total lunar eclipse, and it's supposed to be clear," he explained. "I thought maybe-"
Raphael loudly cleared his throat, drawing Jenna to give him a funny look.
Strangely, it was Mike who spoke up next."Yeah, about that, Donnie. I don't think I'm gonna go with you. I um...I might be coming down with the flu or something. I really gotta talk to Doc. You know him; he'll kick my shell if I go out in the cold."
Raphael immediately got to his feet. "Yeah, we should go check with him right now. Leo, Doc wanted to see you anyway, didn't he?"
"Yeah, he wants to run some tests. Mentioned something about checking vaccination records too." Leo snagged his crutches and rose swiftly.
"Wait a minute, needles?" Mike squeaked. "Nobody said anything about a shot!"
Raphael gave the smaller turtle a shove. "Move it or lose it, shell-fer-brains."
"Guys, what are you talking about?" Donnie cluelessly went after them.
"Hey, it's cool, Don. You shouldn't miss the eclipse because I can't go," Mike said over his shoulder. "Why don't you take Jenna?"
A second squeal emerged when Raph caught him by the shell, and half-way carried him into the Lab. Jenna stared after the departing turtles, feeling as bewildered as Donatello looked.
"What just happened?" she wondered.
"I don't know, but we don't have vaccination records." Donatello shook his head. "Does it feel like we've just been..."
"Set up? Yeah, I think this is what it feels like."
"My brothers." He groaned. "You either have to love them, or strangle them."
"Do you not want to go?"
"Well, sure I do - I was going to invite you too, but apparently my brothers felt they needed to do it for me. You mind going on our own?"
"Is that a trick question, Donnie?"