Chapter 14 - The Fear of Doubt
Her movements were slower than usual as she ran through the familiar kata; her steps falling softly, scraping against the cardboard mat as she moved across the mini dojo. The unwelcome chill of the early morning air seemed to accentuate the cavernous feeling to the space, drawing attention to the silence and the missing person.
Typically she would meet Raphael around this time to sneak in an early morning training session, but after what had happened the evening before, she was fairly certain he would not be showing up.
April had not been able to sleep that night. Among the usual thoughts that sometimes kept her up, including missing her mother and worrying about what had become of her father, now she had the complicated mess that her love life had suddenly just become.
Her first date with Donatello had truly been wonderful. He had put in a lot of thought and planning to create a romantic atmosphere and everything had been perfect. Their steamy make-out session that followed had also been quite fantastic and April found that she still hadn't stopped thinking about it. Even now, just the memory was bringing a renewed warmth and a desire to relive the way it felt when his lips met her breasts, or when her core had pressed up against him, enveloped between his legs. Now that they had the sex talk, April found that the notion of eventually doing it seemed more exciting and harder to wait for.
But to mess with her mind, her run in with Raph later that night was also constantly playing through her thoughts. She had truly no idea that the other brother had been developing feelings for her. Raph had sworn that it wasn't a big deal, that it was just a harmless crush. He had pointed out that she was the only girl he really knew, but instead of making her feel better, it actually worried her more. The same thing could be said about Donatello. He didn't really know any other girls, how was his crush any different from his brother's? The family had grown up separated from society, not really aware of what was beyond the walls of their home. Perhaps they were all fated to grow attached to the first outsiders that they met?
One thing April knew for sure was that she had lived a fairly normal life up until the last year, and she had met many people along the way. There was no mistaking that her feelings for Donatello were something much deeper than just crushing over someone, but now she feared that the feelings were one-sided. How could Donatello possibly understand, when he truly had no experience with people outside his own family?
Striking her arm forward, her feet followed to end in a perfect stance. She had long since perfected this kata, but found the routine held little comfort this particular morning. Too many unknowns nagged at her brain, keeping her from fully focusing on the lesson. What should she say to Donnie? How can she make sure that his feelings are genuine? And what on Earth was she going to do about Raphael?
She checked the time again, it was a full 15 minutes passed when they typically started. It did seem that he would not be joining her. She let out a deflated breath. She was really finding herself enjoying the time spent with the gruff teen; their practice sessions and shared love of reading had become a beacon of light in her first few dreary weeks down here. Was it possible to maintain their friendship?
A sound from the entryway caught her attention and she whirled around to look for the boy in red. She was surprised, and if she was being honest with herself, also a little disappointed to find his taller brother in purple instead.
"That was flawless." Donnie smiled, from his spot leaning against the doorway. "Or at least the last half that I saw was flawless." He grinned.
"Thanks." April shrugged. "After you do it perfectly a few hundred times, it becomes a little less satisfying."
"But that's when you really become fluent in something, when you don't even have to think about it anymore. It's like learning another language, after a while, you just speak without having to remember all the words." He smiled again, but faltered a little when he noticed her solemn expression. "Is everything ok?"
April nodded and plastered a smile back on her face.
"Where's Raph? Don't you two usually practice right now?"
April shuffled a bit and turned away, so that her face wouldn't betray her. "I guess he wasn't in the mood." She answered.
"Eh." Donnie shrugged. "He's been acting weird lately, he totally went rogue on me last night and took off during our stakeout. But to be frank, he was in a crappy mood and I didn't really miss him afterwards."
"You don't know what was wrong?" April turned to question him. She knew darn well that he had been upset over her and Donnie having gone on their date.
"Who knows with that guy! Sometimes it seems like he's always pissed about something!" Donnie cast his gaze around the room as he moved closer to April. He laid a large hand on her hip, pulling her up against him. "But at least that means we get a little privacy."
April was surprised by Donnie's more flirtatious side, it was something he had just begun to show. Perhaps he was still feeling confident after their heated make-out the day before. The memory of it brought heat to April's face, and she was pulled away from her thoughts of Raph.
Donatello lowered his head down to gently capture her in a kiss. He moved slowly and hesitant at first, his hands firmly planted on her sides. But as soon as she parted her lips to allow him entrance, the moan that came caused his blood to race.
One of his large hands slid back around her waist pulling her closer and the other wrapped up behind her neck, cupping her head. Their tongues mingled and he let out his own low moan as the tips of her delicate fingers tickled the sensitive flesh at the back of his neck.
Breaking away from her lips, the tall turtle wrapped his hands tighter behind her back and scooped her off the ground and backed her up against the nearby wall for support. April locked her legs around him and his wide shell as best as she could, while he moved his attention down to her neck, placing gentle kisses along her warm skin. April tipped her head back to allow him access and sighed as the familiar warm feelings overtook her. Things had gotten pretty heated the day before, but this was so sudden and intense it had April's heart pounding with excitement. She heard him giggle quietly at her sigh and her lids fluttered open.
Her lust filled eyes slowly focused and across the room from where they stood, seemingly highlighted by a source she could not identify was the small shrine that Raphael had hung up in memory of her fight with Karai. The hooped earring that she had managed to rip out of her attacker, hung innocently, yet somehow grasping for April's attention. A small draft seemed to make it mysteriously quiver on the small hook from where it had been hung so lovingly, making the light sparkle off it. Raphael had told her that day, how proud he had been of her, for holding her own during that fight.
Seeing the small momento hanging in the room that Raphael had set up just for the two of them to practice, suddenly made her wash over with guilt. This was their secret space: her's and Raph's. Where the two had become friends. It seemed wrong to be carrying on the way her and Donnie were, knowing that all this time, Raphael had been harboring feelings for her, but had kept it to himself.
April leaned back from Donnie, gently pushing at his plastron and away from his kisses. The teen stopped his movements and stood tall to look down in her eyes. April unwrapped her legs from his waist, and he followed her cue, lowering her back to the floor.
"Did I do something wrong? Was that too fast? Did you not like that?" He immediately asked, his insecurities assuming every possible scenario. She's certain he would have kept suggesting others, had she not stopped him with a soft finger to his mouth.
"No, no, nothing like that." She smiled up at him to assure him. "It's just that…" She paused. What was she supposed to tell him? Hey sorry, I was just feeling guilty getting frisky in here, since your brother secretly has the hots for me?
She wanted to be honest with Donnie, but this situation wasn't something she knew how to deal with. "I was actually planning to get in a practice session, and with the way we were going, that wasn't going to happen." She tried to have a playful teasing to her voice, not wanting her guilt to show through.
Donnie's grin was instantly back. "Well don't let me stop you." With a wry smile he leaned in to place another kiss, but April turned her lips away.
"I'm serious." Her voice was still gentle and playful. "As much as I enjoy kissing you, I only got up this early to practice."
"Oh-hoho, Ouch!" Donnie clutched at the front of his plastron right above where his heart would be, a goofy grin giving away his false hurt.
April didn't know what else to say, so she stuck her tongue out. This brought out a giggle from the boy, and she was relieved to see his mood lighten.
"Alright alright." He gave a fake pout. "Do you want a sparring partner?"
April considered it, but again, something about being with Donnie in this place that was meant for her and Raph just felt… well wrong. Not to mention the fact, she was pretty sure they'd be making out again at the first opportunity.
"Actually, I think I'll just keep going through some katas on my own, but thanks." She stepped forward and up onto her toes so she could place a kiss on his cheek.
"Oh. Ok." Donatello tried his best to not look so disappointed, but the chance to hang out alone with April again was something he was really looking forward to. And it felt like there was something off that he couldn't quite put his finger on. "I'll see you at breakfast." He plastered a fake smile on his face, and exited the room.
April let out a sigh. Upsetting her boyfriend was certainly not part of the plan, and why was she so worried about doing the same to Raph? When had this part of her life gotten so difficult? It was so much easier when they were just that mysterious family of turtles that showed up out of nowhere to save her life.
XX
The rest of the day had proven to be as awkward as the beginning, with the two middle brothers carrying around secret feelings for their red-headed roommate. Mikey had seemed to notice the tenseness between the three of them, after a strange moment at breakfast. Donnie in an attempt to give April space, had tried to offer the chair beside her to Raph, who had practically shouted that it was Donnie's place and not his. The outburst had caused looks from everyone at the table before Raphael had stormed out of the kitchen and retreated to his room.
So Mikey took his might-as-well be sister under his wing and persuaded her to join him for a much needed, mind-numbing cartoon marathon for most of the afternoon. And while April appreciated the chance to zone out and relax with her carefree companion, she had a hard time completely taking her mind off the other two, and was eager to at least talk with Donatello as soon as the moment presented itself.
After turning away Donnie and his flirtatious advances that morning, April had attempted to get him alone for some apology kisses. She knew that he still had a hard time accepting that she did truly care for him and wanted to be gentle with his ego. It wasn't the flirting that she had been turning away, in fact she really liked that he had made the first move. She understood that being a mutant made Donatello insecure about himself and their relationship and it was going to take him some time to come to terms with it. And as of last night, after Raph dropped his bombshell on her, she had been having her own doubts and insecurities that had been tossed into the mix.
"Hey you." She announced, walking up alongside him that evening. He had been out most of the day, having gone off in search of some parts. And now he sat at his desk, tinkering away. It was something he had already planned to do that day, but April had the distinct feeling that it took him longer than usual because he was avoiding her, worried that she was upset after her odd behavior that morning.
"Hey." Donnie looked up from the delicate machinery in his hands and smiled. His eyes betraying that he was nervous.
"Did you find all the parts you were looking for?" She kept her question simple and light, a friendly smile on her face to ease him into a conversation.
"I found enough to make it work." His words were quiet and shy as his eyes drifted back to his work. "Hey…" He looked back up at her, clearly having pulled his courage together, much sooner than she expected. "I hope I wasn't out of place kissing you this morning. I don't ever want to make you feel uncomfortable."
April's heart sank, if she hadn't already regretted pushing him away, she certainly did now. "Of course not!" She moved towards him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders; her height having the rare advantage while he was seated. Donnie immediately dropped the scraps of metal and tools in his hands so he could focus purely on returning her hug. "I was in a weird mood this morning, but it had nothing to do with you."
"Ok." Donnie nodded to show he understood and accepted her apology.
"And for the record," April started, leaning in to place a few gentle kisses to his neck. "I really liked you making the first move."
"That's good to know." Donnie trailed off as he leaned in to meet her lips.
"Hey, it's time to head out–" Raph's voice broke into the room, causing the two lovebirds to quickly part, though they were still entangled in each other's arms. "Oh ah, sorry. I didn't realize." He mumbled, his cheeks a deep red having caught them kissing.
April's heart lept into her throat. Raphael had been avoiding her all day, and she had been trying to give him his space. The last thing she had intended to do was to be kissing his brother in front of him.
"Raph!" Donnie's voice cracked. "Hey, we were just… I mean, we weren't…"
"Relax, I already know." Raphael grunted, and kept his eyes trained to the ground, though April doubted Donatello even noticed as he blubbered away, pretending to suddenly be interested in his tools again.
"Wait, you know?" Donnie looked up from his bench flabbergasted. But all he saw was the worn tails of his brother's mask as he headed for the ShellRaiser without so much as glancing their way.
The sounds of the other turtles in the hall alerted them to the fact that they were about to get more company, so April moved out from behind Donnie's desk and smoothed down her shirt to keep her hands busy.
"It's pa-trol time!" Mikey sing-songed as he bounded into the lab.
April gave him a little wave and giggled at his energy as he executed several impressive flips on his way to the vehicle.
"Don, let's go!" Leo ordered, right on Mikey's heels.
Donnie stood up, and placed his tools on the bench. He gave April a sidelong glance, as if to ask whether she had been aware of that bit of information Raphael had just shared.
"We'll talk tonight." April smiled at him. Though she wasn't sure what exactly she was going to say.
Donnie smiled and shook his head in a disbelieving sort of way before running to catch up with his rowdy brothers.
XX
April was in the kitchen scrounging for some food when she heard the loud arguing of the four brothers echoing down the tunnel. This seemed odd, since they had left in the ShellRaiser not that long ago. As the group approached, she recognized the frantic voices and angry shouts as out of the ordinary. Dropping the box of stale crackers, she ran over to meet them at the turnstiles just in time to see Raph still shouting at Leo, while walking with Mikey who was leaning on him for support.
"This is all your fault Leo!" Raphael grumbled as he roughly led Mikey in through the stalls.
"That's not fair!" Leo growled back.
"What is going on here?" Splinter's voice broke through the room, halting all the teens in place.
Leonardo took a step forward and bowed slightly before responding to his sensei. "Michelangelo was injured, sensei. We got him back here as fast as we could."
"You forgot to mention how you were distracted by playing goo-goo eyes with Karai!" Raph shouted again.
"That's not what happened!" Leo stated back, his voice firm, but refusing to yell in front of Splinter.
"Silence." Splinter ordered, and the two bickering brothers quickly closed their mouths. Splinter moved closer to his youngest son, who was looking a little paler than usual. Mikey had his good arm around Raph, and appeared to be a little woozy. Donatello was already attending to his arm, peeking under the blood soaked bandage, while adjusting the tourniquet above it.
"April." Splinter's voice cracked through the silence. April jolted in place, having not even realized that she hadn't budged since seeing the four walk in. "Please help Raphael escort Michelangelo to the lab."
"Hai Sensei." April responded, quickly moving to Mikey's other side to gently brace him.
"Donatello, run ahead and make preparations to attend to your brother's wounds."
"Hai Sensai." Donnie gave April a look as he moved past her and sprinted off towards his med area.
"Raphael, you will return to further discuss the events that have transpired."
Raphael nodded curtly, but did not respond.
"And Leonardo, I suggest you start explaining." Splinter reached out to lay a hand on the shoulder of his eldest son. He noted the fear in the boy's eyes and the wrap on his fingers that were soaked in blood. The burden on leadership weighed heavily on him this evening, and Splinter felt for him.
—
April, Mikey and Raph arrived just behind Donatello who had already prepared the cot. She tried her best to help Raphael steer the younger boy who seemed to be having trouble guiding his feet. Raphael was able to take the brunt of his brother's weight, so April just made sure that Mikey didn't trip over himself. Eventually they got him seated without issue.
Donatello removed the ties on his brother's upper arm, unhappy with the amount of blood that was still oozing from the wound. He quickly picked up a pile of gauze from the tray beside them and pressed it to his arm. "April can you please hold this firmly in place?"
April quickly took her position and pressed down. "Karai did this to you?" She questioned the boy in orange.
"Karai was busy distracting fearless, while Dogpound was able to get in a lucky shot." Raph grumbled, still in place on Mikey's other side. He accidentally caught April's eye while he spoke and then quickly turned his gaze away.
"I liked Dogpound better when he was Rad Brad." Mikey mumbled, trying his best to keep the smile on his face.
"He was trying to kill you then too, you dork." Raphael let out a sigh and shook his head.
April spotted a sizable scratch on the back of Raphael's neck. She freed up one hand to reach up and touch Raph's shoulder. "Are you ok?" She asked concerned.
Raph jolted back from her touch, as though she had shocked him. He bumped into the rolling tool cabinet and a few large items fell loudly to the floor. Donnie looked up from his needle and thread to see what was happening.
"I'm fine." Raph grumbled. "I ah… I gotta go, don't want to keep sensei waiting." He turned to storm out, but paused to look back at Mikey. "You're ok little bro, just need a few stitches that's all."
Mikey smiled up at his big brother who was already darting back towards the door. Thinking to himself, how he was always such a softie when he really wanted to be.
April looked to Donatello, her raised eyebrows were clearly questioning if what the other brother had said was true. From where she was standing, Mikey didn't look so good.
Donnie nodded and smiled in an effort to calm both of their worries. "It's really not so bad." He stated. "You lost a good amount of blood, but it's not enough to cause worry."
He rolled over his standing tray of medical supplies, and placed a gentle hand atop of April's, guiding her to remove the gauze. He moved in with the iodine soaked sponge to clean out the wound causing Mikey to yelp a little at the sting.
Donnie leaned away from his brother to whisper into April's ear. "He doesn't do well with blood."
April nodded and then looked back at the youngest brother, she realized that behind that dim smile was apprehension. Figuring, she could at least try and keep his mind off things, she decided to keep him talking.
"Hey, you can't be running around crime fighting and not expect to get at least a few battle scars." She gently prodded his other arm, as she seated herself on a stool beside the exam table.
"Yeah, I know." Mikey rolled his eyes a bit.
"So," She continued, racking her brain for a good topic of discussion. "Speaking of this whole crime fighting thing you guys do, it's a relatively new thing right? Why now?"
Mikey perked up at the question, a look of curiosity on his face. "What do you mean?" He replied.
"Well, I mean, I know you've been training as ninjas your whole life, but I don't really know why you guys decided to start patrolling the city. Had you heard about the Kraang on the news or something?" April felt like she was a reporter digging for dirt on a story.
"No way. We had never heard of the Kraang before that very first day we went up top." Mikey's eyes lit up, clearly excited to chat about the topic.
"First day?" April asked, confused by the statement. "You hadn't been above ground before then?" She had gathered from the turtles discussions that patrolling was a relatively new thing for the family, and she understood that they hid beneath the city for safety reasons, but she hadn't realized that they had been completely separated all this time.
"No. We asked Sensei every year on our Mutation Day if he thought we were finally old enough to go up top, but this is the first year we talked him into it."
Donatello who had stepped away, had rejoined them, wearing a pair of magnifying lenses attached to a sort of homemade headgear. He reached to his sterile tray of supplies on the table to gather his needle to begin.
April saw the boy gulp at the sight of the needle, and decided to press on for more information.
"What's a Mutation Day?" She asked, pretty sure she could guess, but wanted to let Mikey do the explaining. She saw Donnie glance over and catch her eye, he gave her a small nod as if to acknowledge that he appreciated her help.
"Oh that's the day that we celebrate the anniversary of becoming the awesome mutant turtles that we are today!" Mikey exclaimed, punching his good fist into the air, only to be stilled by Donnie placing a hand on his arm and silently glaring. "Sorry, D, I'll hold still."
"It's kind of like our birthday." He explained, turning his attention back to April. "And this year was our 15th and Sensei finally agreed that we were old enough to explore the city!"
"Wait," April paused, to look between the two of them. "You guys are only 15?" She asked incredulously.
"15 years as a mutant turtle." Mikey nodded proudly.
Donnie shook his head and couldn't help, but to fill in the missing gaps of information. "We weren't newborns when we were mutated. And judging by our growth and the scute patterns on our shells, and accounting for the lifespan of an average turtle; I'd say we range from Leo, the oldest around 18, to Mikey the youngest at about 16 or so."
"I thought we agreed I was 16 and a half." Mikey muttered under his breath.
"16 and a half." Donnie corrected himself, hiding his eye roll.
April suppressed a giggle. "So your 15th Mutation Day, was the first time you ever went up top?"
"Sure was!" Mikey exclaimed proudly.
Donnie looked up from his stitching to smile at his secret girlfriend. "That was the day we met you."
"It was?" April's breath hitched in her throat, and time seemed to pause for that brief moment as she took in the information.
"Of course it was!" Mikey laughed. "Why do you think we did such a terrible job trying to rescue! Ha ha!"
"Your very first time seeing a human in person, was… was the day you met me?"
"Nah," Mikey answered. "We'd run into people here and there. One time, when we were just tots we totally stumbled into this worker near the water treatment plant, we scared the CRAP outta' that guy!"
Mikey's good natured laugh continued on, but April's thoughts had frozen in place. What did it all mean? Was Donnie bound to crush over the first girl he met no matter what? Was it just coincidence that it happened to be her? Did it make his feelings any less real?
"April?"
Her head snapped up to find the two turtles curiously watching her. "Uh…" She stumbled, realizing that they had caught her mind wandering. "How's your arm?"
Mikey looked down at the appendage as Donatello taped off the bandage, tossing the tape roll onto the tray.
"It's way better."
"I'm glad." April managed to muster a small smile to go with it, but had already unconsciously risen from her stool and began moving towards the door.
"Thanks for distracting me too." Mikey stated, his eyes staring at the ground, obviously a little embarrassed. "I knew what you were doing, and that was nice… I don't do so well around blood."
"Of course. Anytime. You uh….you did the same for me with the cartoon distraction this afternoon." April looked around the room like a caged animal looking for an escape. "I… uh… I gotta go. Bye." And with the last word she was gone from the room.
"That was weird." Mikey commented about April's hasty exit.
"Yes it was." Donatello replied. He began collecting up the bloody gauze to dispose of it. "I better go see what's wrong."
Mikey hopped down off the cot and looked at his bandaged arm. He rolled his shoulder, testing the muscle, content with how well he could still move it. He watched, from a distance as his older brother finished collecting everything up, and took his medical supplies over to his sink for cleaning. Once he was sure the blood was all out of sight, he approached and leaned against the counter top beside him.
"SooooooOooooooo."
Donnie looked up, his eyebrows scrunched into a 'what-are-you-up-to' kinda look.
"When are you two going to fess up about things?" Mikey prodded, with an innocent smile on his face.
"Wha-?" Donnie tried to hide his shock and play it off like confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the looks you two keep giving each other. There's definitely something going on there." Mikey's grin stretched across his face.
"There's nothing going on Mikey." Don rolled his eyes, but turned back to the sink, as he felt his cheeks blush. The memory of laying kisses on her breasts still fresh in his mind, made his blood rush and his face heat up even more.
"Whatever man, fine. I can wait until you're ready." Mikey patted the back of his brother's shell. "But really bro, thanks for fixing me up today. You take good care of us."
Donatello turned to his brother momentarily, his sudden seriousness catching him off guard. "Thanks Mikey. And you're welcome. You should be good as new in no time. But take it easy today and drink lots of water, you did lose a good amount of blood and you need to recuperate."
Mikey nodded. "Oh I plan on 'cuperating with a snack and some more TV. Wanna join me?"
Prepping his medical supplies for sterilization, Donnie cringed a little from Mikey's butchering of the word, but shook his head politely. "No thanks. Take it easy little brother."
"Alright then, tell April 'thanks again'." Mikey teased as he exited the lab, knowing full well that Donatello turned down his invitation because he was planning to meet up with her.
Donatello sighed to himself after his brother was out of ear shot. Of all the people to fess up to, Mikey would probably be the most understanding. He was a romantic at heart, and Donnie was positive he'd be happy for the two of them. Plus it seemed that Raphael already knew, so maybe it was time to come clean with everyone. But before he would talk to any of them, he wanted to get April's permission. And before that conversation, he really did want to figure out what seemed to have been bothering her.
XX
Exiting the lab, April quickly made her way down the hallway. Her mind was spinning and the thoughts were making her feel sick.
The day they met her, the day Donatello started crushing over her, was the very first day they had ever really met anyone?! How had she not known that? It suddenly all made so much sense. These boys had grown up so alone and separate from the rest of the world. Of course they would be eager to make a connection to that which they had been kept from all those years. It was the same reason Leo couldn't help from crushing over Karai, even though she was clearly bad news. She had given him attention, a connection to the world above that he had never had. It had stirred in him feelings that were new, the chance for a relationship with someone other than the family he had always been surrounded by.
Oh God. She suddenly realized, it was no different from Mikey wanting so desperately to be friends with Bradford. The same reason Raph had developed feelings for her. The only difference is that she had fed into Donatello's crush, making the connection feel stronger, making it feel like it was more than something it was ever meant to be. How could she have been so blind to that? How could she have fallen so hard for someone that merely needed a friend?
Tears had welled up in her eyes, and she blinked them away as she stumbled down the dark and dreary hallway towards her room. It had become apparent that it was impossible for Donatello's feelings for her to be genuine. She paused to brace her hand on the cold stoney wall and hitched in a breath, letting her tears run freely down her cheek.
"My dear child, what is wrong?"
April jolted, having not noticed Master Splinter in the hallway. She sniffed and hastily wiped the remaining tears off her cheeks. "It's nothing to bother you with Sensei."
Splinter stood up to his full height and stroked his beard while he thought. He took in the disheveled look of the girl, and her tears that she was trying so hard to hide. He didn't always let on how much he was aware of when it came to his children and April, but he had managed to put together quite a lot from quietly watching. It had become clear to him over the last few weeks that something had changed in the relationship between the young woman, and his intellectual son. Something about the way the two interacted had given it away. He wasn't sure how official or serious it had gotten, but he was sure they were more than simply friends.
Taking that knowledge, and the fact that she was headed away from Donatello's lab, he could assume that something about this new relationship was bothering her. Perhaps it had occurred to her how easily any of them could be injured at any time when they were risking their lives every night to protect the city. It was definitely a thought that had kept himself up at night.
"I just came from checking on Michelangelo, it seems his injury was minor and I hear you helped to keep his mind off things as Donatello tended to them. I wanted to thank you for doing so."
April sniffed and tried to show that she was relieved the youngest brother was all right. "Of course Sensei. I'm glad he's ok."
Splinter considered her response and recalculated his earlier assumption. He could only imagine how stressful this time had been for the young woman. Her near kidnapping and her father being taken away. Running from an alien race determined to use her, getting caught up in his family's feud with the Shredder, and being forced to stay hidden in the sewers. Cooped up in a home full of well-minded, but let's face it, messy boys. Everything she had known had been turned upside down, she had been keeping her cool long enough, it was time to help her ease her spirit.
"There is a place I sometimes go to meditate." Splinter started, getting April's attention. "It is my own special place that I use as a refuge of sorts for when I need some space. Something tells me that you could use a break from being cooped up in here, and I would like to take you there."
April looked up, somewhat taken by surprise. "Do you think it's safe for me to leave the lair?" She had to admit, getting away from everything seemed like a great idea, but even Donnie would not let her leave without being in the safety of the ShellRaiser.
"Ah yes, I know about your run-in with Karai, and the extra security that Donatello has since added around our home. I am happy to hear that you were able to walk away unharmed."
Feeling embarrassed, April hid a blush on her cheeks, of course her sensei found out from one of the brothers, most likely Leonardo. It had been weeks since that event and she didn't really know why she hadn't said anything to him before now, or why he hadn't brought it up either. So she simply nodded her head.
"It is a secret place, a ways from here, and I assure you that it is secure. I am confident that the two of us will not be found while we are there."
April toed the ground in front of her. Splinter's description was cryptic, but the idea of being elsewhere was refreshing. And truthfully, she knew she would be safe under his watch. Her whole being felt like she needed to scream or run away, or hide or something. Considering all this, going along with Master Splinter was probably the best option.
"Thank you Sensei, I think that sounds like exactly what I need." April bowed politely to her master.
"Please pack a bag with enough supplies for two days. I will gather food, water and a spare mat for sleeping. I will come to collect you in an hour." He began to walk away, but not before pausing and tossing one last thought over his shoulder. "Perhaps while we are away, you can tell me more about the extra training you are partaking in with Raphael."
Surprised by his last comment, yet not really surprised that the sneaky old rat had figured her out. April silently nodded, and Splinter fondly laid a hand on her shoulder, before moving past her down the hallway.
XX
Chapter 14 - The Fear of Doubt
A/N - Ugh, sorry that took so long. I had a hard time making that chapter flow together, it's still a little rough, but I'm not sure what else I can do with it at this point. Hopefully it was still readable.
Poor April, how can she doubt Donnie's true feelings? I originally tried to include the scene with the fight where Mikey gets injured, but wanted to focus on April's thoughts this chapter, perhaps there will be some more details about it later, since obviously it has to bother Leo as well.
So who is excited about Season 3? As I ranted about on Tumblr, I was sadly not a fan of 'A Foot Too Big', I mean, don't get me wrong, I was super excited that the storyboards were real and that April and Donnie actually kissed, but it felt so out of place at the end of that episode, I sure hope the writers don't continue to make it feel like April is just leading him on. :(
Ok peeps. You know the drill, PLEASE REVIEW! I'd love to hear what you think, and any predictions of what's to come? I'll give you a hint: I originally planned to keep this going along with the episodes of the show, but then there was a huge hiatus after the episode 'Karai's Vendetta' and well, it takes me forever to write… but…..I might just steal a plot line to mess with… ;)