I am so thankful for this little break; I don't even think twice when Carder brushes past me to get at the lunch bar first. He must have a lot of time on his hands now that he no longer has to monitor my every move. My mind has been racing nonstop over the past week. Every time I feel I'm getting close to a breakthrough with Protagen… Ugh! I find myself going in circles. It's not that it's getting harder … I'm just becoming more tense as the weeks go by. And I think I know what the problem is… or who, to be exact.

I look down and I'm already sitting at the table in the corner. My subconscious has served me a plate of potato soup and a ham sandwich sitting in a bowl. I eat quietly and hum my thanks when Ms. Devin brings me a cup of coffee.

All these blocks of mandatory time make me feel like I'm working a real job. It had felt a bit obtrusive, having to work to the beat of another's drum. But I'm starting not to mind the drum… or the one beating it. And THAT is bothering me. This is what I wanted right? I wanted to become friends with her., for Anya. It had been all for Anya at first. But then I started making excuses. I starting staying late in the lab so I'd HAVE to go meet Sasha in her penthouse. I liked it just being us two, quietly going over my progress, chatting about unimportant things then finding ourselves seated in her living room chittering away about new technologies and theories, making up stupid jokes that only those who read and understood quantum physics would find funny. A few times, we've sat there talking until dawn. Just last night, I had spent hours with her, Anya sandwiched in between us, drinking coffee, tea and cocoa, Anya falling asleep on the couch as we watch Disney's Beauty and the Beast on the wall-sized Screen Time. Sasha and I had knogapg why Anya picked that movie. I had looked at Sasha, humming along to the music and had started to wonder if we were just humoring the little girl or if there was something there that wasn't there before.

Then my mind refocuses on the matter at hand and my personal thoughts dissolve. I fall into the rhythm of the day. I go to the gym and then the lab and promise myself that I will concentrate today, and then I see her and I try to work but I keep thinking of how in the world is she able to make a lab coat look so sexy and the clicks of her heels send chills up my shell and when our eyes meet and when our hands touch and how she speaks makes me melt and I wonder what side of the bed she sleeps on and if she can teach me dirty words in Russian and what her lips feel like and what her mouth tastes like and oh my God I need to cool it and focus and I bet I look like a total weirdo sitting here eating soup from a dish I've been chasing this potato around my plate for the last two minutes where's the pepper this coffee is hot like her eyes why does the coffee remind me of eyes her eyes are bright like polished gold I wonder what types of music she likes and…

"Damn it, Don! Come back to earth!" A rough, female voice yells.

I look up and see Truth waving her hand in my face. I don't think there is any point in wearing fingerless gloves but she's surely found one. "Hello, Abigail."

"Do. Not. Call. Me. That." Truths warns.

"Sorry, I must have been thinking of something."

Someone.

"Hmph. She says. "Ain't you on a lunch break? Ya don't gotta work right now, handsome."

Carder clears his throat loudly, says something about putting a lizard in a drain and leaves. I swiftly ignore both the compliment and the brush-off. "I think I have the right to be a bit preoccupied, what, with all the needing to find a cure for a terminal disease… It's not that I don't love the challenge, I just wish it were under… better circumstances." I bite my lips and stir my plate of soup, hoping she runs along to go tease someone else… but there really is no one else.

"It's amazing."

"What is?"

"How much Anya favors you, like she's your kid or something."

"Are you saying that all us turtles look alike?" I say comically.

"No." She raises a brow and puts her hands on her hips. "It's the small gap in your teeth, I assume it was bigger when you were younger, and the pattern of your shells, practically identical, minus your battle wounds… Haven't you noticed?"

"Uh, no not really. I don't look back there a whole lot." I say sheepishly. "Half of Anya is from my DNA so, you may be quite accurate, Truth."

"Hmph. It's more than just the looks, it's also in her mannerisms. She's shy like you and… sometimes she can make you feel dumb without trying to be mean, and she stares into space, thinking things beyond most ten year olds. And she loves cocoa. Must be the caffeine. Hell, once she discovers coffee, it's curtains." She smirks at me and I flush. Truth sets her toolbox on the table and takes the seat across from me, obviously wanting to make this a full conversation. "She's bright too. That kid would be a millionaire if she could go on Jeopardy, not that she needs the money. With what Perry left her and Sassy, I'm bettin' she's set for life."

Out of all the things I've been questioning, I've never thought to ask what these people are getting by working here. It can't just be because it's for a good cause. "And how are you, all of you, getting compensated for being here?"

"Five million big ones."

"You each get five million dollars for working here?"

"You do too, probably more."

When do you, or we, get this money?"

She looks at me like I'm stupid. "When are job here is done."

"How long is that?"

Truth lifts her palms up in the air as if she's balancing a scale. "It depends. Until you quit or until you actually make that miracle drug."

I don't want to think about work anymore so I change the subject. "How do you know Dr. Perry?"

She smiles widely and bends her knee up to rest her chin. "Now what makes you think that I knew the late doctor?"

"Well, Dr. Gavnikov said she was given a list of trusted people to whom she should contact. Your name was on the list; so was mine."

Her face shown pure surprise and she cocked her head to the side. "So she showed you the list too? Yeah, I knew Jordan. I used to hook in lower Brooklyn. He was a loyal client, and then my only client."

That explains a lot about her… but Professor!

"Don't look like that, Don. Jordan may have been the smartest man in New York… but he was still a man. And it wasn't just sex. The man liked to talk and tell stories. He paid well for my time, and I liked him. And whenever his pipes needed tendin' I was the one he called on."

Enough with the innuendoes!

"I meant actual plumbing, maintenance… AKA 'why I'm here'. Geez, lighten up!"

"I'm… I'm sorry." I sigh. "I just don't really want to remember him like that."

"Like what? Like a real human being, with real wants and desires and faults? Sure, he paid me for my company and it was more than I would have gotten with my certificate from plumbing or electrical school. But he offered me friendship and safety. It wasn't long until we stopped with the physical stuff and became friends. He groomed me into a real gearhead and with my skills, after this, I'll never have to work the streets or in someone's toilet ever again."

I nod my head and look down at my food. My avoidance of the subject must anger her. She bangs on the table and gives me a searing look. "I don't know how you see it Don, but taking this job is a privilege. I wish I could do more for him." She looks away for the first time since talking to me. For the briefest moment, she looks fragile. "So what, I can't talk to my mom or brothers for a few months? This is some top secret shit we're doin'. The risk is too great to let anyone else know where we are or what's at stake. And like it or not, you're our all-star player. And if this works… if you succeed, it'll change the world." She reaches over and places a hand over mine that is idly stirring a spoon. "Don, if there's a reason why he put an ex-prostitute plumber on the list of his most-trusted people, then I know there's a multitude of reasons why your name's on there."

I wish she hadn't have said that cause now I feel like crap. She lifts her toolbox and turns to leave. I reach out and grab her hand. "Wait, Truth. Please don't think I'm a, I mean I'm sorry that it sounded, I had no right to…"

She smiles and places a finger over my lips. "We're cool, Don. Don't blow a fuse."

"No." I say as I take her hand from my mouth. "I don't want us to be cool. I want us to be right. Especially coming from where I do, I have no right to judge anyone's past. And I'll try to see this endeavor for all its positives… even if being separated from my family is the hardest trade-off."

"It's not forever. You'll see them again. Hell, I'd like to meet 'em, when this is all over." She pats my face and walks to the exit. Turning back once more she says. "Say, handsome, you got any available sisters for me?"

I can't help but chuckle. "Sorry, Truth, all brothers and sisters are taken."

"Shame." She says as she walks off.

What interesting people you've met in your life, Professor.

I smile, finish my meal and walk quietly back to the lab.

…

At the end of the day I head to the penthouse to have dinner with Sasha and Anya. I had told them I wouldn't be back until nine but I'm starving and I couldn't wait another two hours. As I get to the elevator, Anya walks out. Today she is wearing a hot-pink sweatshirt covered in rings of gold glitter and black, knitted leg warmers. I swear I have never seen her wear the same thing twice.

"Hello Anya. Where are you off to?" I ask.

"Hey, Donnie! I'm going to visit Nannie for my crochet lesson. Look." She pulls out a mound of tethered yarn from her bag and unfolds her project… I have no idea what it is. "It's the shawl I've been working on for Mother. I'm nearly halfway done. What do you think? Will she like it?"

I cock my head to the side. The poor thing is lop-sided and the lines aren't very straight… I wonder why it's so skinny on one end. She can't be good at everything. I smile and shrug. "I think it's a good start. And your mother will love it."

"Thanks… are you coming up now? No one has started cooking yet. I've just finished studying and Mother's been in her lab all day. You'll find her in there."

"Oh, it's ok. Maybe I should cook tonight. Do you have ingredients for stir fry?"

"Yes, we have vegetables and beef. I don't know if we have enough rice though. I'll make sure to pick some up before I leave Nannie, ok?"

"Ok, kiddo. See you later."

"Bye." Anya runs off and I head up.

…

Just as Anya said, I hear humming coming from Sasha's personal lab. I walk to the door and it silently slides open. I walk in and see a very worn-out-looking Sasha sitting on the open bed of the MRI machine shuffling through sheets of black plastic. She has not changed out of her sleepwear. She looks up at me and jumps, dropping one of the black, plastic sheets to the floor.

"Sorry, Sasha, I didn't mean to scare you." I say as I reach for the sheet and pick it up.

"Thank you." She says quickly and tries to take the sheet from my hand.

Something catches my eye. I push her away and I notice her fidget. She opens her mouth to say something but decides not to. I hold the dark film up to the light and turn it this way and that to figure out what I am looking at. It looks like the silhouette of a brain but there are a few tiny holes in the image. I look at her and frown. Her arms are folded about her. I march over to her and rip away the rest of the MRI scans. She says my name but I ignore her. I put them in order by date and I see that the gray mass is slowly disappearing into blackness. I flip through them over and over, studying the dates and progression. My face feels like it's sitting in front of a furnace. I take a deep breath and look at her. She's staring at me, eyes wide and she's swaying from side to side.

"What is this?" I say hardly above a whisper.

She purses her lips tightly to stop them from quivering. She shakes her head as tears form in her reddening eyes.

"Are you serious?" Was I asking her or was I asking God? I feel like my legs are sinking into the floor. I hold on to a table and ground myself. It's suddenly hard to breathe. I am fuming! "This is your brain! You've… been taking scans of yourself… following the disease's progress… It's already happening to you…"

She just looks at me as a single tear falls.

"What else have you been lying about? When we first met you told me that you never lie!"

"I told you that I pride myself by telling the truth. That doesn't mean I don't lie."

"Then no more lies, Sasha! Tell me the whole truth! Why am I REALLY here?"

"It's like I told you, to make Protagen."

"For who?"

She doesn't answer.

I step up right in front of her. "It's not for you! Look at this!" I force the slide of her decaying brain in her face. "I can't find a cure for this! Or this! Or this!" I'm throwing the slides all over the place, not caring where they land. "I'm not God, Sasha! Even if I formulate Protagen tomorrow, an ample dose won't help you!" With my hands empty of slides and grab her shoulders. "If I can't save you… then what's the point?" My voice almost fails.

Is she shaking, or am I?

"It's for Anya! It's always been for Anya…" She sobs. "You provided half of the DNA for Anya when she was born a natural turtle. But the mutagen was laced with the human DNA of my mother… that's what my father wanted, that's why she has my mother's eyes… and our hereditary disease. Anya has Fatal Familial Insomnia sleeping within her genes. Whether or not her mutation will advance it or delay it, she WILL have it. She WILL succumb to FFI… just as I am now."

I shake my head. I don't know what to say or do. Sasha… my dear doctor is at the threshold of the advanced stages of FFI. "Are you still sleeping? Has the… insomnia…"

"I have not slept in two days." She says flatly.

God, no…She's so young, too young. And now Anya, too, has that aggressive, terminal disease stalking inside of her. Still holding Sasha's shoulders, I nod my head, affirmed in my decision. "I will find the cure. I will not let this happen."

"Good, because now you're not just doing this for your freedom… you're doing it because you care about Anya."

"Who said I didn't care when it was just you?"

She tries to step back but I don't let her. She looks into my eyes and whispers. "You did."

I did. But that was before…

"You know why I said that. I didn't know you. I placed the blame of loosing my brother on you!" I try to push her away but my hands won't let her go… so I just pull her into me. It seems like a logical thing to do. I couldn't get away from her so I just brought her closer. I think the gesture surprises us both. "Of course I care, Sasha. You've never given me a reason not to." I feel her soft frame relax against me and I can't help relish the sensation of how good this feels. How did I survive so long without having this? "I have to find a cure, or else Anya won't have a mother."

Sasha buries her head under my chin and grabs the sleeves of my shirt. "She'd have you… wouldn't she?"

I look out into her lab, my mouth hanging open. I can't answer her so I just hug her a bit tighter. I'm scared and comforted by how close she is to me. To think, that someday soon, I may want to hold her again like this and she won't be here. Anya may someday have a question that only her mother can answer and she won't be there. This is not right. I have… I will do something about this. I know that I should run to the lab and start working right away… But I want to keep her like this, just a few moments more.

…

A/N: Oh no! Poor Sasha! Poor Donnie! WWWHHHYYYY?! What do you think of their tragic situation? Any thoughts?