The lair seemed warm and inviting as Don stepped out of the elevator — a familiar place that was overflowing with the presence of his family. He could already feel his raveled nerves starting to heal, after the unexpected emotional shocks of the premature babies and the sight of Darts. Now all he had to do was buckle down and build the ultrasound, test it out on someone other than April, and they would be ready to check on the baby…

"Donatello!" Master Splinter's voice called.

The rat sensei was sitting in front of the televisions, his hands folded in his lap and his eyes fixed on his returning sons. April was sitting beside him, a blanket wrapped around her, her legs curled up under her, and her red hair loose around her shoulders. She looked young, slightly sleepy, disheveled — and so beautiful that Don's heart began to ache from looking at her.

And beside her, leaning against a pillar, was Casey. He was smiling broadly and saying something Don couldn't hear, but he saw April reply just as quietly. Her green eyes were bright, and her mouth curved in a smile.

"Was your mission a success?" Splinter asked.

Don blinked, breaking out of his thoughts. "Yes, Master," he said, unslinging the bag from his shoulder. "We got every usable part we could carry out of there. It shouldn't take me long to finish my own."

"That's great news," April said warmly, sliding her feet to the floor. "Did you have any problems finding them?"

"Not really," Don said, unzipping it and looking at the jumbled components inside. April came towards him and rested her fingertips lightly against his arm as she looked into the bag, her head bowed close to his. He could smell the sweet scent of honeysuckle in the air around her — she must have just washed her hair, he thought. She always used that shampoo, and he couldn't help but smell it when she stood near him.

He glanced up at Casey, who had just greeted Raph with a fist-bump. "Just keepin' April from bein' lonely," he said cheerfully. "Why didn't you guys invite me to come with you? I could've pretended to be a doctor or somethin' to give you a cover."

Raph laughed at that. "You, a doctor? That would be funny. Or terrifyin', for a patient."

"Fine, not a doctor. How 'bout a daddy?"

"What do you know about babies?"

"More'n you do, I bet," Casey laughed, playfully faking a punch at Raph's head.

As the two bantered back and forth, Don went to his lab and began spreading the components across his worktable. His heart was beating furiously, the way it had in the hospital — and he wasn't entirely certain why. Slowly, he looked up at Casey, and his eyes moved back to April, sitting and watching her ex-boyfriend and Raph bicker amiably, with a soft smile on her lips. She looked at ease, amused. Happy.

Don quickly turned away from them, his heart racing. This — this wasn't right. He couldn't feel this way. He had seen April interact with Casey for the past few years — from the first acrimonious crackles of sexual tension to their brief foray into dating. During all that time, silently watching it unfold, Don had chosen to only expect what April chose to give him — the time she wanted to share with him, the togetherness she wanted with him. He made himself think only of what made her happy, not what he wanted for himself.

And he didn't have any right to be upset about Casey spending time with her. No right at all. April made her own choices about who she saw. Casey had been coming to see her almost every day, checking on her well-being and making sure she didn't need anything the Turtles couldn't provide.

April was her own woman — she didn't belong to Don. She wasn't even in a relationship with him, despite the intimate moments they had shared. He had no right — no reason — to resent Casey for being near her.

He rested his face on his hands, his heart still thudding in his ears. He had never felt this way before — he never allowed himself to feel resentment or jealousy, thinking only of April's happiness. What had changed inside him to make this happen?

Maybe it was that she knew of his feelings now. He had chosen to stay silent partly because he had believed she could never return his feelings, his desire for her. But now she knew, and he had seen in her eyes that she felt something for him too — as confusing and reluctant as those feelings were. Maybe he felt this swell of jealousy because of what they had shared in the dim confines of his room, what April had given him — the kisses, the caresses, nearly making love with him. Even if nothing bound them together, he knew that she felt something for him too.

Or maybe it was a primal possessiveness because she was pregnant with his child. It wasn't a turtle instinct — male turtles never even saw the eggs they fertilized, let alone the young — but Don was no longer an ordinary turtle, and the child he had fathered wasn't either. He huddled forward in his chair, wondering if the pregnancy was the reason he was feeling this way.

He glanced up at April again. Casey's arm was loosely looped around her shoulders as they spoke, and April was smiling a little as the human announced, "And I've got this cousin who had kids a couple years back. I bet I could get some stuff from her real cheap, like a crib or a car seat for the Battle Shell. Just say the word, April."

"Maybe when I'm a little closer to my due date," April said, rubbing her stomach. She was only three months along, but she was slender enough that a faint curve had appeared on her abdomen.

Don looked down at the ultrasound components, and began checking them for any signs of damage. But as his eyes and hands worked, his mind was somewhere else. Perhaps… perhaps she just preferred Casey. Don couldn't pretend that he wouldn't understand — she clearly found Casey attractive, and had even said that their breakup might not be permanent. The vigilante was her own kind.

And though she felt something for him, Don also knew that she was apprehensive. He had been struggling past the damage that Racer had inflicted on him — trying to be someone she could love without feeling guilt — but there was still his youth. He was still only seventeen years old, and that hurdle might be more than April could handle. It had seemed to worry her a lot, and it wasn't something he could change…

"Are you okay, Don?"

He stiffened, feeling a small hand brush against his arm. "April," he said quietly, looking up.

She was staring at him with concern, her lips slightly parted. "You looked so sad," she said quietly, her eyes searching his face. "I was wondering if something was bothering you."

Her wide green eyes were so close that for a moment he felt himself lost in their depths. Her hand was resting on his now, her fingers clinging to his knuckles. "I'm all right," Don said quietly, smiling a little. "I was just thinking about — about you, and — about us. Don't worry about me."

"Of course I'm going to worry about you, Don," April said, sounding almost indignant. As if to cement this, her fingers pressed between his, twining their hands together. "I don't want you to feel this way."

He had to resist the urge to put his arms around her, to hold her close until all his doubts seeped away. Instead, he pressed his other hand over hers, feeling her warmth soaking into his skin. "As we came out of the hospital," he said haltingly, "we saw Purple Dragons being unloaded from ambulances. One of them was Darts."

It took a moment for the name to register with April, but he saw a dark veil fall across her eyes as she remembered Darts. How he had tried to rape her, and had only been stopped by Don's intervention. How he had helped Racer rape Don. He could almost see the thoughts flashing through her mind as her clear gaze became clouded, and her hand stiffened between his.

"Yeah, we saw a whole bunch of Purple Dragons bein' brought in. Someone was whalin' on them," Raph broke in.

Leo crossed his arms, coming closer to the lab. His dark eyes were troubled. "Someone went to town on the Purple Dragons, and we need to find out who was it," he said. "If it's someone new in town, they could be a real danger, even with Hun in charge of the Dragons."

"It might have been other Purple Dragons," Don said slowly. "The ones who kidnapped us were working behind Hun's back — if he found out what happened, he would probably make sure that every one of them was hospitalized or killed."

"Sounds good to me," Raph grunted. "Let 'em fight each other."

"And we can beat up whoever wins," Casey added with a grin.

"It may not be that simple," Leo said meditatively. "If the conflict is big enough, the Dragons could cause some real damage with their infighting."

"Perhaps it would be wise to investigate further," Splinter said. "If the Purple Dragons are in conflict with one another, they will not be expecting you to take advantage of their dissension. It may be possible to end their threat completely."

"Sounds like we've got some investigatin' to do," Raph said. "You up for that, Casey?"

"You know it," Casey said, a confident grin on his face.

But that grin faded slightly as his eyes went to April's hand, still pressed between both of Don's, her fingers tightly twined with his. Don wondered if April realized how this looked to others, including Casey, or whether she had gotten distracted and forgotten whom she was touching. Either way, he could feel Casey's eyes watching him curiously, and with more than a little uncertainty. Don knew that feeling all too well, and he felt a pang of remorse for his past jealousy.

"Be careful, guys," April said to both Raph and Casey, concern lacing her voice.

Raph scooped up his motorcycle helmet as he headed to the elevator with Casey. He had a peculiar look on his face that Don didn't recognize, as if he was summoning his courage to do something he didn't particularly want to do. The massive aqua doors slid closed between them before Don could ask him any questions, and they were gone.

He turned back to April to find her smiling at him gently, her eyes soft and bright. "And we have an ultrasound machine to build," she said.

Don smiled a little at that, feeling the knot of unease inside him beginning to loosen. "Your wish is my command."