The moon hung low over the concrete landscape, surrounded by a scattering of pale stars. Don hadn't seen it for three months, since the night his brothers had rescued him from the Purple Dragons. And even then, he had only seen it in passing as Mikey had carried him to the Battle Shell, through the holes in the roof of the warehouse.

He hadn't realized how much he had missed it — running under the night sky with his brothers at his side, the cold wind blowing against his face. The four of them moved almost invisibly up above the rest of the world, aware of each other's movements as they leaped and sprang through the air. And though none of them said it, Don could feel a little relief from them that he was venturing out with them again.

"Are you sure you're up to this, Donnie?" Leo said quietly from behind him.

"It's been three months, Leo," Don replied, not answering the question.

The truth was, he wasn't sure he was ready. He was better than he had been even a month before, but that was still not particularly good — he was still jumpy and anxious. The other day, Raph had grabbed his arm from behind, just to get his attention, and Don had nearly smashed him in the face with a toaster, blinded by sheer panic. And while he no longer had nightmares about Racer every night, they still haunted him.

But he had barely stirred out of the lair for three months, and he had been starting to hate how it felt. Like Racer had broken him irreparably, leaving him unable to do what his brothers were doing. Well, no longer. He was going to reclaim his life — his strength — even if he had to tear it from the jaws of the Purple Dragons. He was going to prove to himself that his past capture had been a fluke.

And he was going to do something for his child in the process.

They moved swiftly over the roofs, leaping lightly past the streetlamps and landing on a stretch of empty sidewalk. Don glanced up and down the street, but saw no figures standing on it except Raph and Mikey, who were crouching in the shadows against the nearest building. He flattened himself against a dumpster, keeping his breathing quiet and his limbs still, his heart racing furiously against his ribs.

Ahead of them was a massive white building that spread out over almost an average city block, with curving entrances and glittering windows. An ambulance had just pulled up in front of one of them, and the Turtles could see a small figure being unloaded from it. Other ambulances could be heard in the distance, sirens blaring through the night air.

"So which part has the babies?" Mikey asked.

"You're thinking of the newborn nursery," Leo said. He squatted down and unrolled a large piece of paper, running his finger over the outlines of the floor plan. "Okay, the prenatal care division is over in this part of the hospital—" He pointed at one corner of the hospital wing. "—right next to the NICU. We need to keep it quiet."

"We're ninjas, dude," Mikey said with confidence. "We can be quiet."

"Yeah, well, you better be," Raph grunted. "'Cause if you ain't, we're gonna have fifty babies all cryin' about seein' your ugly mug when they wake up."

"Please, babies would love me," Mikey said with a grin.

"Can you guys focus?" Leo said impatiently, rolling up the paper and absently tucking it in his belt. "Don, are you okay?"

"Yes," Don said, looking out over the hospital, and thinking of what April had found there.

He had been devoting most of his time to trying to build an ultrasound machine, but he simply didn't have the parts that he needed. As he had considered what to do next, April had been hacking into the computer networks of hospitals all throughout New York City. Searching, with quiet desperation, for something that could allow the two of them to check on their child's health.

And that afternoon she had come to Don with shining eyes. This hospital had two different machines that had broken down and were about to be replaced, thanks to a wealthy donor whose wife and unborn child had received emergency care there. The ultrasound machines were due to be disposed of in two days, which gave them plenty of time to loot the components that Don needed. As long as they were careful, that was.

The four shadowy figures leaped down into the alley below, and checked for traffic before sprinting across the street. Leo leaped up to a darkened window that came open easily, and slithered into the office just on the other side. Don gripped the sill and slid in after him, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the office.

Even though they were only in a hospital, he could tell that Raph was gripping his sai, probably out of habit. "Relax, Raph," Don said quietly. "There's nobody here to fight."

"We might still have to knock someone out," Raph said ominously. "This place is probably crawlin' with nurses."

Leo was crouching by the door, peering out into the hallway outside. "Okay, let's go," he said softly.

Don's heart began to beat faster as they raced out into the halls, where the pale ambient light left few shadows for them to hide in, and there wasn't much furniture for cover. If anyone saw the Turtles here, it would all be over — they would have to flee without the ultrasound components they needed, and he would be back at square one. It might be months or even years before they had an opportunity like this again — and he only had six months before his child was born, assuming it took as long to gestate as a human baby.

Leo was already cracking doors open, peering inside each one with a grim look on his face. "What do ultrasound machines look like?" he whispered.

"Like a computer set on top of a large plastic box," Don whispered back. "Usually they're on wheels."

With that helpful description, Leo slunk from door to door, slipping into rooms and back out of them on silent feet. Don glanced over his shoulder at the hall, and felt a chill go through him as he realized that Raph and Mikey were nowhere to be seen. Were they further down the hall, searching other rooms for the ultrasound machines?

"Is that one?" Leo whispered, opening one door a little wider.

Distracted, Don glanced inside the room at a streamlined black machine with a screen and keyboard on top. "Yes, that's one. But that one looks too new for the models we're looking for. They'll probably have moved the broken ones to someplace other than an examination room."

Leo went back to prowling the hall for any sign of disused ultrasound machines, his eyes roaming through every corner of every room he checked. Don took the other side of the hall, but glanced up with every rustle or whisper of air. He didn't want to think about the mayhem that would ensue if giant turtle-men were found sneaking around a hospital, especially so close to the NICU. His stomach twisted in worry as he opened another door, peered inside at the technical equipment and cabinets inside —

"Hide!" Leo hissed.

Don looked up, and saw a white-clad figure approaching at the end of the hall. Fear spiked through him as he sprang into the room and closed the door as carefully as he dared, keeping the knob twisted so the mechanism wouldn't click loudly. He leaned his entire weight against the door, praying that he and Leo hadn't been seen.

Footsteps shuffled by. A shadow appeared under the door, moved along, and faded.

Don waited in silence, counting the beats of his own heart. Then he swung the door open, and peered out into the empty hall. Nothing but white rooms and white doors greeted him. He stepped out, wondering which door Leo was hiding behind.

Just then, a door across the hall opened wide, and Leo stepped out. He looked extremely satisfied, and his smile widened as he saw Don. "I think I found them," he said sotto voce.

Don darted across the hall in an instant, and found himself inside a capacious room with metal shelves piled with coils of wire, tubs of paint and caulk, some assorted machines and — against the wall — two rather worn-looking ultrasound machines. He slipped a hand into his bag, and withdrew a screwdriver. "Keep an eye on the door, Leo," he said quietly, digging it into a crack in the plastic casing. "I'll do this as fast as I can."

Leo peered out into the hall, closing the door most of the way. "Where are Mikey and Raph?"

"I don't know. They vanished as soon as we came in," Don said, removing a plastic plate and exposing the inner workings of the ultrasound machine.

He gutted the two machines almost in a trance, stripping away almost every usable part and slipping them into his duffel bag. Ideally, he would have taken the machines home and disassembled them there, but he was fairly sure he couldn't sneak them out of the hospital unnoticed. All the parts he couldn't build himself were easily removed, and safely tucked away so that he could use them later. Soon he and April would be able to see their child, and know at last if anything was wrong with it.

The idea made his stomach twist in fear. He had been so obsessed with finding out if the baby was somehow malformed by its mutagen-catalyzed conception that he hadn't considered what would happen if it was. There were too many unknowns for him to even speculate. But if it was… he didn't want to think about what could happen. There would be nothing he could do. April might give birth to a pain-wracked, gasping, half-formed creature that would live just long enough to die, and Don knew that such an event would destroy them both.

"Are you almost done?" Leo asked as Don's shaking hands extracted the last of the equipment.

"Yes," Don said, zipping the bag closed. "I'm — I'm done."