When they finally managed to pass into the Thompson Territory, they immediately called for a police escort and one of the werewolves who was a cop came to their aid. They flew behind the cop, trying to get Donnie to the medical staff. They would have to bring him to the compound. The outpost wasn't going to be enough for his injuries. April skidded to a halt in front of the medical center emergency entrance and a team of doctors were already standing by. Donnie was loaded on to a bed and Leo was disengaged from him so they could wheel him into the exam room. Ronnie and the lead Doctor headed in, discussing what she knew about the attack and the injuries he had sustained. Raph went to follow but Gabby placed a hand on his arm. She shook her head when he looked questioningly at her.

"They need all the space that they can get. We'll wait in the waiting room." She explained loud enough for everyone to hear. Together they headed for the waiting room of the emergency room.

It was a long wait. Ronnie came out about thirty minutes in to let them know they had determined the extent of the injuries and Donnie was headed for surgery to stop his internal bleeding and reconstruct some of his muscles and rib cage. Then she headed back in to help. They waited for hours, Raph becoming more and more agitated as the time went by. Donnie wasn't his favorite brother, they didn't really understand each other, but he loved him just as fiercely as he loved his other brothers and he was just as worried for him as he would have been for any of the others. Gabby was alas of agitated. She sat quietly, bent forward with her elbows on her knees. She stared unseeingly at the tiled floor. She couldn't help but feel like this was partially her fault. She should have been stronger. She should have been able to protect them.

"Don't do that to yourself." She heard Raph whisper mentally. She looked at him and his hazel-green eyes stared steadily into hers. She looked back down and then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wished they would hurry.

Finally Saffron came out, her face drawn with stress but she nodded and everyone gathered around her.

"He's going to be fine. We put him back together. He'll need to lay low for a while but he'll be okay." She informed them.

They all felt the tension bleed out of the room and Saffron brought her Alphas to his room. He was still out cold but he was resting comfortably according to his doctors. They estimated that even with Saffrons saliva and Donnie's advanced healing capabilities, it would take him at least two week to heal up and he would have to probably do some physical therapy after that to get himself back into fighting condition. Raph settled into one of the chairs by the door, determined to wait for his brother to wake up. Gabby hovered near him, uncertain for a moment, but then she turned and left. She felt like a stranger in her own skin. She was nervous and unsure of where she stood with Raph and she felt like she was intruding on what she knew was going to be a vigil. She handed for her room and as she went, her scrambled mind went back to the previous nights raid. She had trained so hard, done so much and it was all shot to hell in a matter of ten minutes. If it hadn't been for Raph, she would have crumbled in the first thirty seconds, even worse than when she had faced Aiden when she was in heat and they were fleeing to the protection of the Thompson Pack. How was that possible. She knew she was more capable now than she had been then but apparently strengthening her powers wasn't the only thing she needed to match that monster in mental combat. There was more to it and she needed to figure out what. She altered her course and ended up in the lounge where she knew Splinter was meditating. This couldn't wait though.

"Splinter?" She called timidly as she let herself in to the room.

"Come in, my child." He answered without opening his eyes. She entered the room and sat down on the floor across from him. She felt a spark of warmth when he called her that, like he was claiming her.

"Why aren't you in the medical center waiting for Donnie to wake up?" She asked curiously. He was his father after all.

"Are you not his She-Alpha?" Splinter asked. "Would it not be the expected thing of you to await his awakening? I know, as do you, that Donatello will sleep the day away. I will be there when he wakes, child. I believe you will as well."

Gabby couldn't fault his reasoning. She sat quietly for a few moments, unsure how to start the conversation she wanted to have. Splinter saved her from taking action by opening his eyes and looking at her. "I have spent twenty-three years raising four very different boys, teaching them to be as a single family and a single team. They are each stronger for it. Do you think Donatello could have saved New York City without Raphael's strength, or Leonardo's discipline, or Michaelangelo's faith? Do you think Leonardo could have lead them without their loyalty? Do you think Raphael could have grown to an Alpha without the support of his brothers? Do you think Michaelangelo could have found peace without their insight? Their strength lies in their love for one another, in their ability to share their lives and to come together as one. They find balance in each other."

"I don't understand." She said. She could see the truth in the statements he had made but couldn't see how they applied to her situation.

"Find balance within your family, Gabriela. Stay connected, stay close, and let them be strong where you are weak. Balance is the answer you so desperately seek."

"And how do I know when I'm balanced?" She asked skeptically.

"If your mind is too clouded, I have always found meditation to be an excellent tool. My sons have used it often as well. Perhaps you should take it up. It does wonders for your health." He said with a kind smile and then he once more closed his eyes and resumed his meditation. It was quite clear he had said all he was going to say. She stood up, a little baffled. She walked out the door and down to her room. Meditation, huh? She didn't really know how. She pulled out her guitar and let her mind slip back to the hospital where the man she loved waited for his brother to wake. She strummed her chords, thinking of every moment she could remember cherishing between her and the turtles. Every joke and every romp and every hug and teasing peck on the cheek. Her mind turned to Raph and every time the hands she had seen do terrible violence were gentle against her skin. She though of every time he had taken on her demons so she might breath easier and the more she though and the longer she played, the more she realized how much she must mean to him and how poorly she had repaid that love and loyalty and still here he was, not backing down, not running away because he knew she was his and she definitely wanted nothing more than for him to be hers. She felt that gut wrenching and utterly panicked fear at the thought of putting him in danger rise up but she seemed to be able to view it from a distance, to view it as though she weren't herself and now she saw it for what it was, a shackle, a cell. It had paralyzed her life and hampered her relationships and her life for too long now. It was no longer a tool to survive because she wanted to do so much more than just survive. She wanted to live.

The guitar strings stilled as she gasped, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. She was still afraid. God was she afraid. It was hard to let the fear go but she'd be damned if she was going to let it control her life one minute longer. She'd be damned if Aiden would control her life one minute longer. She loved Raph and her pack and family and she was done hiding from them. She was done shouldering a burden she had nine people willing to help carry. Splinter recommended balance? She would balance out her relationships, and then she and her wolf would find a balance of their own.

Night fell again and Raph still waited. Saffron had just vacated the chair besides Donnie's bed in favor of a quick run and so he moved closer. He looked at his brother who's face seemed older without the thick glasses and the purple mask. He just stared at his younger brother, waiting, waiting for those blue eyes to open up. He tensed. Was that a twitch? He watched intently and nothing happened. His shoulders began to relax when they tensed again. We're his eyes opening? He stood quickly.

"Donnie?" He asked, eyes never leaving his brothers face. He heard movement in the doorway but he didn't turn to look because at that moment Donnie's eyes slowly opened and stared a little unfocused into his own. He blinked twice and then took a deep breath, as though waking from a deep slumber. He stretched and then gasped, clutching at his side.

"Easy, buddy. You took quite a beating." Raph said.

"Ronnie?" He asked.

"Right here." She said hurrying to his side. Raph finally looked up and saw all of his original pack there with the exception of Brandy, Gracie, and Gabby. It was at that exact moment that he knew something was horribly wrong. He looked at his father who stood by the door. He looked concerned and fear boiled in Raph's stomach. As the rest of the family converged on the injured brainiac, he headed into the hallway. His father followed.

"Where are they?" He asked, testing his bonds. Gabby and Gracie were both stressed but they all had been. He hadn't expected them to be stressed about something other than Donnie at that moment. His bond with Brandy was muted, like she was still far away, but there was a lot of people that hadn't made it back yet, people that had been chased even further and harder than his group had been.

"They've been taken." Splinter said quietly. Raph's heart leapt into his throat. This could not be happening. "The Tyrant has sent us a message. He sent her blood soaked shirt and has proclaimed that we will trade the Gabby and Gracie for Thompson Alpha, the Bourcher Alpha, and Brandy. If we do not, they will all die and he will claim the Thompson and Bourcher under his rule." Raph's heart skipped as he took in what his father was saying. The two biggest opposing Alphas were captured as well as the mother of the key to their resistance. Gabby and Gracie would go to him to save the resistance. It was the only way and he knew it. It was perfect timing. Her heat was due soon. He knew it was. She would go to him and he would breed her and….. He stopped his train of thought, his mind steeling in rage. He would not touch Gabby. He would not touch Gracie. He would find a way. He turned, leaving his father behind as he went to seek out his woman.

Gabby held Gracie in her arms as she trembled. They had discussed and argued and finally come to the same conclusion. They would return to Aiden. They would trade themselves for the two Alphas and their mother, even though they knew he odds of him letting them go without being maimed was slim at best. He had key players in his palm and he would surely do something to keep them from ever being a threat again but they didn't see any other way to keep them alive. The bitter fear rose in Gabby. Gracie linked their minds, sharing the fear and grief for the terrible fate that awaited them. Gabby could feel her sisters guilt at the failed raid and her failed plan. Gabby showed her sister her own sense of guilt for not being able to hold Aiden off. Together they shared the horror of what had to be done. They both jumped when Raph burst in, his face a half snarl and his eyes blazing. For all the tension and rage rolling off of him, Gabby though he looked like and avenging angel and a part of her soul lifted. His expression told her he knew and he wasn't about to just let this happen. Even with the burning rage in him, he moved slowly and touched each of them gently.

"We'll find a way." He growled and he drew them both into his arms where they snuggled in, taking the comfort and the safety his big body offered. Their Alpha was there. He would protect them. He would carry their pack through this challenge and every challenge to come.

Raph was the only Alpha present. Carl and Jerry were captured and many of the other allied alphas were busy finding and tending to their packs. There was much to be done and not enough people to get it all taken care of. Carl's second, Dain, stood in for him. Gracie and Gabby stood besides Raph. Leo was also present, named Raph's second only hours before. Raph had been putting off asking him but realizing just how fragile everything was, he quickly put his fears and concerns aside and Leo has accepted graciously.

"Something needs to b done. I won't give up these two to that monster. They've lived under his thumb long enough and this resistance effort would crumble in a week without Gabby there to take him on." Raph said.

"We'll fall without our two key Alphas as well." Dain pointed out. "We need to find a way to bring them back as well as keeping the girls."

"We could set a trap. Use the girls to draw them out to no mans land for a trade and then attack." Dain said.

"He'll be expecting a trap." Gabby said. "He'll come for me but he'll come with an army. It'll devolve into an all out battle."

"Maybe it's time we had it out." Dain said. "Line combat had to happen sometime. I can't think of a better reason to face it than to save our Alphas and Alpha Mother."

"It could work." Leo said, turning his bright blue eyes to Gabby. "If you can disable him long enough to get the prisoners loose we could do it."

Gabby swallowed hard. This was big. Bigger than the raid. If she failed her mother and two allies would die immediately. She looked at Raph who nodded. He believed in her strength. He believed in her power. They all did or else they wouldn't be here. "I need time to perfect a new mental technique."

"How long." Dain asked.

"As long as you can get me." Gabby said.

"That may only be a couple of days." Dain replied.

"Gather a team of betas and tell them you're going to forcible exchange me and Gracie for the prisoners. Don't tell them the truth, and when they attempt, I will use my powers to disable them and get away. We'll run off into the woods so you can send one of the betas off to carry the message to Aiden that when we are found we will be immediately brought to him. The beta will think it's the truth and so Aiden will read it as the truth in the beta's mind. That should buy us some time before he decides to come out here and find me himself." Gabby said. "Raph, I'm going to need you for this. Meet me out in the forest. We'll run south from the compound. Meet us and be ready to move. Those betas will be tracking us."

"When the time for the trade comes we'll have one of your pack make contact." Dain said. "We'll hold him off as long as we can."

"Thank you, Dain. You won't be disappointed." Gabby said and they all rose and left, preparing for the farce they were about to produce.