It hurt every time he lifted the barbell — a burning sensation in the muscles of his chest and arms, followed by a dull ache. But it was a good kind of pain. It helped him focus his thoughts whenever he felt confused or conflicted by something, and he needed that kind of focus right now.

Raph grunted as he pushed the bar away from his chest, up towards Leo. His brother had been spotting him for almost half an hour now, for as long as April had been up in Donnie's room. He could have asked Mikey to spot him, but Leo was less likely to talk a mile a minute about comic books and monster movies, and more likely to just wait for Raph to start wobbling. And right now, Raph needed the quiet.

He could tell Leo was thinking about the same thing he was: wondering what April was saying and doing up in that bedroom. She had been up there for ages now, and all three Turtles were slowly dying of curiosity about what was unfolding there. Raph had paused in his weightlifting a while ago to listen, but he hadn't been able to hear anything. He'd have to go up to the second level and lurk outside the door to hear them talking, and he was pretty sure Leo wouldn't let him do that without a fight.

Raph grimaced, and lifted again with a groan. He couldn't shake the feelings of uneasiness that had haunted him ever since he had left Splinter's room. He wasn't sure if he had done the right thing, blurting out how Don felt to April — it was something Don had kept private, even though his brothers and father had all known. He hadn't spoken of it, and Raph had the feeling he hadn't planned to ever tell April of his feelings.

And Raph himself wouldn't have said anything if he hadn't heard April say that Don had kissed her. Kissed her. It was kind of surprising that Don would have done something like that — especially after what had happened to him — but Raph had no idea what the psychological effects had been on his brother. Maybe it was totally normal to do something weird like that.

But there was no turning back now. April knew, and she was probably talking to Don about it now. The desire to know what they were saying itched at Raph like a tickle under his shell, and he wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing that it was taking so long. If she were just going to reject him out of hand, it wouldn't take long, right? Or had she upset Don by turning him down, and was trying to calm him now?

While April was his friend, Raph knew that he was never going to forgive April if she hurt Don — if she didn't take his feelings seriously, or decided she didn't want to be around him anymore. His brother was fragile enough without the first and only woman he had ever loved pushing him away. Breaking up amicably with Casey was one thing; Raph hadn't understood it, but he had accepted it. Hurting Don — especially when he was already so broken — was another.

Suddenly Leo stiffened and looked up, and Raph quickly set the bar up above him. April had emerged from Don's bedroom, looking kind of rumpled — she was smoothing her shirt down and tucking away a few stray wisps of red hair. As she came down the steps, Raph sat up on the weight bench with a grunt, and watched her face closely for some sign of what had happened.

She didn't look happy, but she didn't look upset either. Her eyes were still a little red, but she smiled faintly as she saw Leo.

"Leo, Don says he's ready for an examination," she said. "He said you'd know what to do."

Leo visibly relaxed at that. It was probably a good sign, Raph reflected — if Don were devastated by rejection, he probably wouldn't care about Leo checking the injuries from his rape.

"Hey, April," Casey called out, emerging from the kitchen. "You were up there a real long time."

"Yeah, I guess I was," April said, her eyes suddenly turning to the floor.

"You had a real long talk with Don about what's wrong with him?"

"Yeah, we — we talked a lot, about different things," April said. Her pale cheeks had started to flush.

"Dunno why it took so long," Casey said, glancing up at the upper level. "I mean, he got beat up — it happens. No need to mope about it."

Raph wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing that Casey was a colossal bonehead. On one hand, it meant he hadn't figured out what happened to Don, and thus news of his brother's assault hadn't spread to yet another person. On the other… it meant Casey had no idea what he was talking about. At all.

"So, uh," Leo said. "I'll just go upstairs and give Don a quick checkup. Don't wait for me."

He leaped up onto the second level and vanished into Don's bedroom. Raph grunted and turned back to April, feeling an awkward kind of distance between them — a prickly, unnerving silence that he had to try to get across.

"So, uh, did you talk to Don about that subject we talked about?" he said, crossing his arms.

April looked at him, and the flush in her cheeks deepened. So she had.

"Yeah," she said a little uncomfortably, shifting her shoulders. "We talked about it for a little while. He's feeling a little better now."

Raph frowned. He wasn't sure what to make of April's reaction. She didn't seem like she had rejected his feelings, which would probably crush him and riddle her with guilt — plus, if she had, he probably wouldn't care about Leo examining him. But she didn't act like she had accepted those feelings either — she didn't seem entirely happy or comfortable. Exactly what had happened up in that room? And why did April keep touching her lips?

"So, didja convince Don to come out of his bedroom?" Mikey piped up, leaning over the back of the couch. "It's really weird being down here without him around."

"He's probably going to spend a little more time up there," April said. "He's pretty tired… and so am I." She stretched an arm over her head. "I think I need to go home for awhile and take a nap."

"I'll drive with ya, just to make sure there ain't anyone lurkin' around," Casey volunteered gallantly.

Raph watched the figures of the two retreating humans, his eyes narrowing slightly. April paused outside the garage, and glanced up at Don's bedroom with an expression that Raph didn't recognize, but which seemed somehow familiar — a warmth in her faint smile, but also a sadness. Then she turned back towards her van, and was gone from the lair, leaving Raph with far more questions than answers.