A/N: YES IT HAPPENED, IT REALLY REALLY HAPPENED. THIS CHAPTER is a little awkwardly written but I felt it was required so people could understand Alex more and the relationship she has with everyone. To an extent. Either way enjoy! COMMENT, LIKE AND SHARE!

Chapter 8

"I've got her hooked up to an IV, you'll need to take turns monitoring her throughout the night," the doctor said as he slide the doors to my room shut.

"Thanks," Leo said shaking his hand.

"I'll drop by in the morning to check on her," he said again as he was leaving.

Chief Vincent opened the door for him.

"If you guys need anything else let me know," She said to them and Casey.

"Thanks really," Leo said again to her as she and a few officers left behind the doctor.

"Hey," April said touching her hands to Mikey's shoulders.

"She's going to be okay Mikey," she said to him reassuring him.

"I know," he replied tapping April's hands.

"I think April and I are going to call it a night," Casey said looking to all of them.

"Yeah, if you guys need anything… and I mean anything just call me," she said pecking Mikey on the cheek.

"Thanks April," he said to her.

"Thanks guys," Donnie said as he walked them out to their car.

"Vern?" Casey said turning to him at the door.

"Leo, you'll call me if she wakes up right?" Vern said to him as he walked him to the door too.

"Yeah I will," he said waving to them as they left.

Leo turned to Yuri who was guarding my door.

"You girls can stay the night here if you like, we have room," he said to them. Mari, Aki and Nina sat at our small picnic table with Splinter.

"Yes, please do stay…." Splinter said to them as he slowly stood up to his feet.

Raph tapped Leo's arm.

"Are you sure that's a good idea to have them stay here?" he half whispered to his brother.

"They saved her life Raph, they got her breathing again," Leo said to him.

"I don't trust them," Raph said pulling his brother towards Donnie's desk.

"Alex trusts them," Donnie said to them.

"…. So we should too, if they wanted to harm her they would've done so," he added in a monotone voice.

"Fine, but they don't go in to her room," he said stepping around Donnie.

Leo shook his head and came back towards Yuri.

"We'll take turns watching her," he said to Yuri. She looked at him and shifted away from the door to her sisters.

Mikey hovered in and out of the train carts spare rooms, setting them up for the girls. Splinter helped him by setting up tatami mats and blankets.

"This is very kind of you," Aki said at the door to one of the rooms. Mikey turned around and looked at her.

"Uhhh, hehehe… no problem," he stuttered out.

"You are Mikey right?" She said to him.

He rubbed his head and extended a hand out to her.

"I'm Aki," she said shaking his hand.

"Hi Aki," he said his face blushed.

They awkwardly stepped around eachother as Aki came in to the room.

"That's a tatami mat, all set up for yeah, and here's some blankets, oh and there's snacks in the fridge…. If you get hungry at night," he said to her and waved his hand towards the fridge.

"Thank you," she said awkwardly taking the blanket from him.

He smiled and left the room.

"This is a nice set up," Nina said looking at Donnie's computer screens. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and stepped to the side.

"Yeah, it monitors the entire city," he said clicking on his keypad. The screens shifted to alley ways, buildings, and streets.

"Why monitor the city?" She asked amused by the technology in Donnie's space.

"Well I set this up with some scientists to help keep the crime rate down, it sends signals to the police departments alerting them of any crime…. If we don't get to it first," he said looking to her then back to the screens.

"I see, "she said.

"I'm Nina," she said to him with a smile.

"Uh, oh Donatello," he said to her being formal.

"You like technology?" he asked her.

"I love to read books, I read medical books, science books and lots of literature," she said to him.

He smiled and hovered over to their large library, she followed behind him.

"Then I think you'd love this," he said to her handing her a book of astrophysics. It was the book I lent him.

Leo slide opened the door to my room and closed it behind him. Yuri looked to him then to Mari who was looking through some magazines on the picnic table.

Leo sat down next to my bed and looked at the heart rate monitor beeping.

"You shouldn't have done this," he said to me.

He took in a deep sigh and let it out.

"Hey, you really scared us today, we've never taken the lives of anyone…. More then fifty men, including Shredder and Sachs, Alex what were you thinking?" I could hear his voice talking to me.

It was clear, and loud. My entire body was frozen and I couldn't move, I could feel the staff vibrate in my hands. It was trying to take my soul but I wouldn't let it.

He leaned in and kissed my forehead.

That's when I heard my door shut.

My room was quiet again.

"Anyone up for pizza?" Mikey said. Aki came out of the room and sat down next to her sisters.

"Sure," Yuri said sliding over next to Aki.

"I think we're going to need a bigger table," Leo said as he searched around the room for my cell phone.

"We'll have to pick one up tomorrow…. " Donnie said waving my phone in his hands.

Leo called for some pizza.

Mari leaned back and looked around her sister to Raph, who was at his workout bench. She slide out of the table and went over to him.

"Your brother ordered pizza," she said to him leaning against the punching bag.

"I heard," he said lifting the bar off the bench.

"You care for her a lot," she said to him after a few moments of silence.

He looked to her and pushed the bar back in its place.

"Why do you care?" he said sitting up, he tapped his shoulder and rolled his arms.

"Huh," Mari said and went back to the table.

"Raph pizza?" Mikey said coming towards him.

"Not hungry," he said passing Mikey.

"Really we haven't eaten all day bro," he said to him following him.

"Lay off Mikey," he said to him rolling his arms again.

"Okay more for me then," Mikey replied and went over to Donnie's desk talking with Nina and Don.

"I'll take first watch," Raph said leaning against my door. He shifted to the ground and sat down.

Everyone looked to him.

"Okay, we switch every three hours," Leo said as he meet the delivery boy at the door.

"Fine," Raph said.

It had fallen quiet rather quickly in the house. Everyone ate and talked for a couple of hours until the girls all shifted to the rooms. I heard their doors slide shut, and lights went out.

Mikey, Don and Leo also scattered to their rooms. Their gates squeezed as they shut them.

"Splinter?" Raph said to him.

He stood up and let Splinter come in to my room.

I heard the door shut.

Splinter sat down next to me. I could tell it was him because his hand touched my forehead.

"Alex," he said to me rather quietly.

"When Mikey got sick one time, I became very scared, I did not know how to treat him. He was young and got a cold," he said. I never thought turtles could get sick, especially them being mutants, it must've been something pretty bad for Mikey to have caught it.

"I realized it was because he over ate, and loaded up on so much junk food…." Splinter said and then chuckled.

"But when he was sick, I used to sing a song to him and his brothers," he said again. He started to sing a Japanese song. I remembered it from my childhood; it was a song my father used to sing to me when I was sick. Splinter must've heard it and remembered it.

I knew everyone was listening their lights went on again and the entire place fell silent.

After a few moments my door opened and shut again, and all the lights in the house went out again.

"You should sleep," Splinter said to Raph as he passed him.

Raph looked to my room and shifted to his feet. I heard the door open then close again.

"Hey," Raph said to me. I felt his husky figure against the side of my bed.

"You better wake up soon," he said to me in a hush monotone voice.

"Those girls you brought back with you, I don't know…. Don't really know if I can trust them," he started to say.

"That's not really why I wanted to talk to you," he started to say.

"I've been holding a whole lot of resentment in my life because of how I was and why I was this way," he started to say. "Then we discover why we are like this and I still hold resentment," he added.

"Just wanted to say…. Sorry if I've ever been negative towards you or hated you, I don't hate you. I'm like this… because like my brothers I push them; I try to make them stronger and better…. I want us to be a team, a strong team…. I want the same for you. Maybe that's why I am the way I am…." he said trying to figure out his words.

"What I mean… you are family, and this isn't your fault or your fathers, or your mothers fault that everything went the way it did in your life and ours," he said again.

"I love yeah kid, even if yeah can't fight anymore your still a part of us," he said tapping a hand to my forehead.

"You're warm," he said. I hadn't even realized I had a fever. I was still so confused, my mind was confused, the spirit of the staff kept trying to push my soul away, and kept trying to shut my body down, and yet my mind kept stopping it.

I felt my body warm, and then shiver... this was it, the staff was fighting me, I felt like it was winning. I heard Raph's voice talking to me but I couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Here," he said as he placed a cold cloth to my forehead.

"No…." I said to myself. I was talking to the staff, I was telling it to let go, to stop.

"I won't let you," my voice echoed in my head. I felt the staff pulsate in my hands.

"Alex," I heard Raph's voice.

"Hey," he shook me.

"No," I thought to myself. The staff was weighing me down. I felt it become heavier in my hands.

I sung it around. No, it was becoming lighter, much, much lighter… almost empty.

"I'm sorry, I disobeyed the monks…." I said to the staff as I swung it around me.

"I shouldn't have taken the souls of all those men," I said to it again.

I had almost forgotten that warriors who study the art of shadow fighting end up intertwining their souls with that of their chosen weapons. I forgot that with every soul the weapon takes the more evil and tarnished your soul becomes.

I wasn't going to allow my soul to darken or turn evil.

"Forgive me," I said to the staff. I could feel it shake and vibrate within my hands while my min spoke to it.

"Alex, hey… you're sweating," Raph said. His voice became louder.

That's when it happened; I was surrounded by a large beam of light and….. SNAP!

I heard the staff shatter within my hands.

"R-R-A-phhhh…" I stuttered out.

"Alex?" he said.

"Raph…" I said again. I slowly opened my eyes and felt my breath come back to me. I sat up quickly and inhaled deeply.

"RAPH," I said again looking at my hands.

"You're….. Alex, are you okay?" He said quickly touching my back.

"The staff, it's shattered," I said to him looking at the pieces on the blanket.

"I'll get you something to drink," he said shifting to the door.

"Alex," I heard the voice of Leo and Mikey both say. I looked to my door as they came through it.

Mikey hugged me.

"You had us worried," Leo said noticing the staff shattered over my blanket.

"Girl you had me tripping," Mikey said leaning against my nightstand table.

Donnie followed behind Raph as he grabbed me a glass of water. The entire place light up and I could hear the girls hover near the door.

Donnie's hand touched my forehead; I was dizzy and could barely comprehend what happened.

"I'll call the doctor," Donnie said.

"What?" I said to him, he looked at me a little puzzled.

"Your blood pressure just dropped and your heart rate has slowed," Donnie said tapping the screen of the heart monitor.

I looked to my burnt hands and then back to the heart monitor screen.

"I- I don't have the mutagen in me anymore," I said to them. Donnie put down the phone before he could manage to dial any numbers.

"What do you mean, we have some, you know we managed to salvage whatever we could from the lab," Leo reminded me.

"No, I mean…. The mutagen won't help my heart anymore," I told them again. I saw the girls lean against the door listening.

"Meaning?" Mikey said rubbing his head.

"Meaning…. It won't work anymore…." I said to them again. Raph put the cup down on the table and wrapped my hands with bandages.

"I'm still calling the doctor," Donnie said dialing.

"Miss Alex's staff kept her body going, the mutagen kept it strong, without either…. Her body has weakened," Yuri said putting the puzzle together.

I looked to her and to Splinter as he came through the door.

"Leo," I looked to him.

"It's okay Alex, we'll figure this out…. The important thing is, your okay…" he said touching a hand to my shoulder.

I hadn't realized that by sacrificing a part of my soul to the staff meant that I would be sacrificing my life too. That mutagen was the only thing that kept me alive, it kept my heart strong and my body, it kept me going. Without it, my heart will slowly deteriorate until there's nothing left.

I was surprised that the doctor had come as quick as he did. It was late at night as he hovered in my room.

"Alex, how are you feeling?" he would ask me as he listened to my heart.

"Huh?" I said to him still a little drowsy.

"I'm okay," I said again.

"Do you know where you are?" he asked me testing my memory. Yeah I knew where I was, why would he even ask that.

"Uh yeah, an underground subway station, we call it home," I said to him.

"Good, good, do you remember anything about what happened?" he asked me again shining a light in to my eyes. I blinked and turned away.

"Uh, no….not really," I said with a lie. I knew what happened to me but I wasn't sure if he'd believe anything I said.

"Alex, do you know what coronary heart disease is?" he asked me. I knew I heard it before.

"Yeah," I said to him looking at a machine he was strapping me in to.

"Well it's become serious with you, I'm going to put you on a portable heart pacer, it'll give you little zaps of electricity on your chest, this is only temporary…." He said placing a small round pad over my chest.

"You will need a real heart pacer however and that is a very risky operation," he said turning it on.

"Why?" I asked him pulling my hair back.

"What do you mean why? It's either that or a heart transplant, but getting on a donor list will be a little harder…." He said checking my pulse again.

"What if I choose neither?" I asked him looking at the lines on the machine. He sat back against my bed and looked at me.

"What do you mean neither?" I heard Leo say as he slide opened my door.

I looked to Leo and everyone else hovering around the door.

The doctor stood up and tapped Leo on the arm.

"I'll put you on the donor recipient list…." He said to me as he left the room.

Leo closed the door behind him and sat down near me.

"I don't want a heart transplant," I said to him looking at the wire on my body.

"Alex seriously, you have to get a heart pacer…. And when you're on the recipient list then finding a heart would be easier," he said questioning me.

"Leo, I'm tired… my body isn't as strong as it was before. I had almost forgotten I had this disease and now, I'm reminded of it. The mutagen kept the disease hidden, locked away… now….. its back with a vengeance," I said to him looking at the lines the machine was making again.

"What's your point?" he said agitated.

"Regardless if I have the first surgery for a heart pacer, and get on the list for a transplant, I'm still going to be going through pain… the heart pacer will only do so much," I said to him.

"Now whose being an idiot," he said calmly. He stood up and slide opened my door and walked out.

I sighed deeply and leaned back against my pillows.

"You must let her rest, she shouldn't leave her bed at least for a few days," the doctor said to everyone as he pulled out a prescription pad from his pocket.

"I'll give her some pain killers, it's the best I can do for now," he said writing on the pad. He ripped it and handed it to Raphael.

"Listen, she desperately needs an internal heart pacer, I can get her in next week…." He said tapping his phone.

"Then put her in," Donnie said.

"I'll put her in, but if she's not willing and able to be ready for this surgery it could jeopardize her recovery," he said to them.

"She'll be ready," Leo said looking to me.

"Wait… shouldn't we respect miss Alex's decision?" Aki asked as the doctor was heading for the door.

"Yes, but they are also her family and sometimes they must decide what is best for her," he said pointing his hand to the guys.

"Yes, but she is capable of deciding for herself as well," Aki said again. They all looked to her agitated by her suggestion.

"What are you getting at?" Leo said stepping towards her. Nina shifted near her sister grabbing her arm.

"I'm sorry, I know I don't speak for her, but maybe you should ask her what she wants," she said again. Nina pulled her behind her body so there would be no confrontation between her and Leo.

"She doesn't want the surgeries, but she's going to get them," Leo said agitated with Aki.

"That's final," he said to her again and turned away.

"Whatever the decision is, let me know… we'll have a surgery room prepped and ready for her," the doctor said to everyone as he left out the door.

No one spoke to eachother for the rest of the night, the girls shifted to the picnic table and sat there talking, looking through some of my magazines I left scattered on the table. The guys mostly remained with Splinter in the dojo, talking…. Or training, or meditating… I wasn't really sure what they were doing. But I would notice them hover in and out of the dojo every few minutes.

I sighed deeply and picked up my journal I hid under my pillow. Just as I was about to write in it Donnie knocked on my door.

"You usually never knock," I said to him as he slide opened the door.

"Sorry, wasn't sure if you were awake," he asked coming in.

He had a tray of food in his hands. He sat down on a small round chair I had at my desk and placed the tray on my night stand.

"Pizza?" I said and shook my head.

"Yeah, Mikey ordered again," he said.

"Alex," he started to say.

"I know what you're going to say Donnie," I said before he could even finish.

"I'll have the surgery, it's the aftermath of it that's bothering me," I said to him closing my journal and placing the pen in its little loop.

"I was going to say…. It's your decision not ours, we can't decide for you… Leo knows this, he's just…." He said looking to the guys as they brought in another table.

"Leo's like that, I know… don't worry, you can reassure him, I'll get a heart pacer," I said reaching for the tray. He grabbed it and passed it to me.

"Thanks," I said and put the tray on my lap.

"Don?" I asked looking at him. He seemed to be preoccupied; he kept looking towards the table where the girls sat.

"Donnie?" I said again, he turned and looked at me. I pressed my lips together so I wouldn't laugh.

"Well…." I said to him. I knew he wanted to talk to me about something else, it was that obvious.

"Oh, well that's it," he said to me adjusting the vase with the one rose in it on my tray.

I looked at him while picking the cheese off the pizza.

"You like her don't you," I said after a few moments.

"Who?" he asked diverting his gaze to some objects in my room.

"Don't think I don't know what goes on in this place…. Even while locked in my room I see everything," I said to him.

"Nope, that's all," he said as he stood to his feet. Just as he was about to turn to the door to leave, I stopped him.

"You know…. If you like Nina just tell her, she's super smart, really nice, and very caring," I said to him, I didn't know much about Nina or her sisters but I knew enough to talk him into talking to her.

He turned and looked to me.

"I tried that with Professor Soryen, didn't go so well," he said reminding me of the conversation we had awhile back.

"I'm sorry to hear that Don," I said mumbling through my food.

"Trust me, talk to Nina I'm sure things will work out," I said to him. He shifted to the door and opened it.

"Maybe…. I will," he said and closed the door behind him.

I slide the tray back to my night stand table and opened my journal again.

That's when I heard April and Vern's voices. I looked over to the table and noticed them both talking with the guys. I smiled when I saw them come towards my room.

"Thank goodness," April said sliding open the door.

"Hey," I said to them. She leaned in and hugged me, and so did Vern.

"I was worried," she said.

"I was too actually, it was like a nightmare, I was literally trapped fighting the spirit of my staff," I said to her. Vern sat down on my stool.

"We were about to head to work, thought we'd come and see you…." Vern said.

"I'm glad you both did, where's Casey?" I asked April.

"He left early for work, apparently there's been some crime activity that needed looking in to," she said reaching in to her pocket.

"The girls found this last night, I think you dropped it," she said holding up a chain with a turtle charm on it.

I smiled and looked at it.

"Actually," I said pulling my out of my shirt.

"I think that one is yours," I said to her showing her mine.

"Mine?" she asked looking at it.

"I bought two in Japan, and I put one in my bag, I was going to give it to you… but," I said. She smiled and admired the little turtle charm, she pulled the chain around her neck.

"Its so cute," she said.

"I know, they kind of remind me of Mikey," I laughed. She looked at hers and nodded.

"I was going to say that," she smiled.

Then her cell phone rang. She stood up and answered it. She looked to me then to Vern, waved and slide out my door closing it behind her.

"I'm really glad your okay," Vern said rocking on the stool.

"Thanks," I said pushing my journal back under my pillow.

"So," he said awkwardly.

"Don't worry I haven't forgotten," I reminded him.

"Next week, or the week after, I kind of have to have a heart pacer put in," I told him opening my blouse a little to show him the pad attached to my chest.

"Yeah the guys explained things," he said.

"Well, how about we do it when your better, and I mean 100 per cent better," he smiled and winked.

I laughed.

"Deal," I said.

"Hey, we got to go like now," April said peering her head through the door.

Vern stood up and placed a hand to my shoulder.

"We'll talk," he said.

"Later girl," April smiled and pushed Vern out the door behind her. I shook my head and laughed.