"Donnie?"

Donatello looked up from his work. April, dressed in flannel pajamas, was standing in the doorway to the lab. She looked pale.

"April!" he said, jumping up. A quick glance at the clock told him it was past midnight. Since Aunt Mei had left he hadn't once looked up to see the time, and no one had come to nag him about going to sleep. He ran over to her. "What's wrong?"

"Another nightmare," April said, with a sniff. "A really bad one. Worse than I've had in a while"

Donnie wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry. Do you know what might have made it worse than usual?"

Pulling back, April wiped a tear from her face. "I saw Casey at school today."

A flare of anger leapt up in Donnie's chest. "He talked to you?"

"No. He was in the row in front of me in assembly hall. I heard him tell his friend that he wanted to sit somewhere else, but most of the other seats were full so they sat there anyway."

If he didn't think that it would disrupt April's life even more, he would have suggested that April simply stop going to Roosevelt High altogether. "How did seeing him make you feel?" he asked, not sure what else to say.

April coughed. "I don't know. Scared. Confused."

"Confused?" She didn't still like him, did she?

"Confused over whether I want to knock his brains out or feel sorry for him."

"You could always do both," Donnie suggested, hoping to make the situation a little lighter.

However, April started crying. "How could he have done that me, Donnie?"

Donnie felt supremely awkward. He had long suspected that she wasn't completely over Casey, but they didn't really talk about it. It irritated him to think she might still have residual feelings for Casey, but he didn't blame her for that. "I don't know," he answered, once again unsure of how to handle it. "Sometimes—people just..." He was tempted to say, "are jerks like that," but he knew that wouldn't diffuse the situation, so he just trailed off into silence.

"You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

"April! Of course not! How could I?" Donnie hugged her tightly. "I'll do anything I can to keep you safe, no matter what. I love you, April."

"Casey said he loved me, too."

Seriously? What she seriously comparing him to Casey? Drawing a deep breath, he reminded himself that Casey's connection with the stressor made it more complicated. What April was saying wasn't personal…it just felt like it was. "April, have I ever let anything bad happen to you before, if it was something I had the power to change?"

April was silent for a moment. Then a smile came across her face. "You've never let me down."

"I'll always be here for you, April."

With that, they kissed. Even after dating for several weeks, Donnie still couldn't believe how mind-blowingly amazing and incredible it was for their lips to be touching. While he had always hoped that April would like him, he never imagined that it would seriously happen.

He could have stood there kissing her all night, but she pulled away after a few minutes. "Did you hear something?"

Donnie listened for a moment. "No."

"I don't hear it anymore either."

"Probably nothing."

"I think I'm going to go back to sleep now, Donnie. Thanks."

"Call if you need me. I'm just going to finish up these loose ends and then I'll be in my room."

They exchanged their 'I love you's—Donnie still couldn't process the explosion of sheer joy that hearing that gave him—and April walked back to her room.

"Donatello? Donatello, wake up."

As Donnie lifted his head, a string of saliva trailed from the corner of his mouth to the puddle of drool that had collected on the desk. "Huh?" Confused, he glanced at his clock, but when he turned his head an unbearable pain in his neck informed him that he had fallen asleep at his desk last night. Finally, he identified the person who was speaking to him. "Master Splinter!"

Splinter gave him a reprimanding look.

"Sensei—I'm sorry. I know you want me to be better about sleeping, and I just—I mean, I really wanted to go to be last night, and I just—"

"Come with me."

Sheepishly, Donnie followed Master Splinter into the dojo. It was late. April had already left for school, and the other guys had already finished their morning session. He wasn't sure what he was in for, but given the expression on Splinter's face, it could be nothing good. He swallowed loudly when Splinter picked up his jade staff. Donnie's toes—and most of him—had been the victim of that staff on more than one occasion.

Raising his eyebrows, Splinter gestured with a flick of his head toward the wall where Donnie's bo-staff was hanging.

This is about to get really unpleasant, Donnie thought as he retrieved his bo. He knelt in front of Master Splinter and waited for his instructions.

"Tell me, Donatello," Splinter said. "Do I have any weaknesses?"

Donnie was completely nonplussed by the question. "You mean besides a good Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza?" he said, with a lame attempt at laughter.

Splinter was not mollified. "As an opponent."

Donnie sat and thought about the question for a moment. "You favor your right side. I notice you put most of your weight on your right foot, especially. If I were to take you down, it would be to my advantage to sweep out your right leg rather than your left, since if I went for your left, you could easily lift it without shifting your weight."

Splinter nodded. "You have observed well. I am also aware of this tendency in myself. Therefore, I take care to consciously, continually shift my weight based on the position of my opponent. By being aware of my vulnerabilities, I can defend myself from attack.

"What weakness do you have, my son?"

"I tend to try predicting my opponent's move so I can react appropriately. Sometimes it causes me to miss what he's actually doing, and I don't react in time."

"An apt observation. You are well aware of this. How do you counter it?"

"I constantly remind myself, 'watch, don't guess.'"

"Very good. What is another weakness you have?"

Donnie frowned as he tried to think of another one of his foibles. This was probably Splinter's way of getting him to acknowledge that not sleeping was a bad idea. As he tried to formulate his answer, however, a blur of jade swung right at him. Seconds later, he was on his back ten feet away from where he had been kneeling—and Splinter was flying through the air toward him in a strike.

He hadn't been expecting it. He couldn't dodge. Splinter's fist landed soundly on the pressure point in his neck. With a yelp, Donnie tried to roll to regain his position, but Splinter, it seemed, predicted his exact movement and headed him off immediately, chopping again at a different pressure point. Then, he was pinned, Splinter holding his staff poised for a potentially deadly strike.

"Gah! I yield, Sensei. Stop it!" he shouted.

A very satisfied grin crossed Splinter's face. He stood up and offered his hand to help Donnie up.

Donnie reached for it—but then Splinter grabbed it and flipped Donatello over, crossing Donnie's arm behind him and pulling on it until Donnie thought it was about to slip out of joint.

"Sensei! Ow! I said, I yield!"

Splinter released him again, still smiling.

"What the heck was that?"

"I took advantage of one of your weaknesses, my son."

"Which is?" snapped Donnie, as he stood up.

"You do not see me as a threat."

Donnie threw his arms up in the air. "What? Of course I see you as a threat. You're way more powerful a fighter than me. I couldn't think of a more threatening opponent."

"Not even the Shredder?"

That gave Donnie pause. "He's good, Sensei, but I doubt he could top you."

"Hmmm. Then why is it that you relax your defenses around me, when I am clearly as able to destroy you as the Shredder is—if not more so?"

"I don't relax my defenses when we're sparring, Sensei."

"I know. But you do when we are not. I knew this weakness, and I took advantage of it."

"I don't get where you're going with this," Donnie cried, rubbing the sore spot on his shoulder.

"Why do you relax your defenses when I am not sparring with you?"

"I don't expect you to hurt me then."

"Ah, so you trust me."

"Yes."

"And I just took advantage of that trust, to teach you a lesson. I took advantage of your trust for my own purposes. How does that make you feel?"

"Really mad," muttered Donnie.

"As it should," Splinter said harshly. "You see, I know you very well, Donatello. I knew that while we were speaking about your training, you would be completely relaxed. In other words, totally vulnerable. This is how it is when we are with people we love. Now, if you were already injured, and I knew that you trusted me, I could easily take advantage of you to any purpose, could I not?"

"Yes, Master Splinter, but why would you want to?"

"Obviously, I would not. But hypothetically, I might have an ulterior motive for doing so. Would it be right for me use your trust in that way?"

"No!"

"You are correct. To do so would be morally deplorable, would it not?"

"Yes, it would be."

"I am glad you understand. I would be highly disappointed to learn if you ever were to use someone's trust for your own personal gain; especially if that person was injured and vulnerable, and you knew you could take advantage of them."

Donnie blinked. "Why would I ever do that?"

Splinter frowned very deeply and raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you tell me, Donatello?"

Suddenly, Donnie realized what had caused the sound April thought she'd heard last night. "You think I'm taking advantage of April."

"The thought had crossed my mind," Splinter said, stroking his beard.

"It's not like that," said Donnie, crossing his hand back and forth. With a glance over his shoulder to make sure the other guys weren't listening, he explained everything to Splinter.

While he listened to Donnie, Splinter continued to absentmindedly tug at his beard. Once Donnie had finished explaining, he smiled almost imperceptibly. "I am glad to hear that it was she who approached you, Donatello. However—the circumstances are still delicate, so conduct yourself honorably. Because she is so vulnerable, you must be doubly certain that you behave with the utmost moral integrity. You must be the one to draw lines and uphold them."

"What do you mean, Sensei?"

"I mean," Splinter said, his tone harsh again, "that if you dishonor her by bedding her outside of wedlock, I will personally see to it that you will never be able to walk again."

Donnie blushed. "Sensei!"

Splinter frowned. "Don't try to tell me it has not crossed your mind. I too was a young man once."

All Donnie could do in response to that was chuckle nervously and pray that this ridiculously awkward conversation would end as soon as possible.

"April deserves to be treated honorably," Splinter said. "Hai?"

"Hai, Sensei," Donnie replied. "She does. I really care about her. I will conduct my behavior with honor, Master Splinter. I promise."

"Good," Splinter said. "You may go."

Donnie nearly bolted out of the dojo, but before he could reach the door, Splinter spoke again.

"Oh, and Donatello?"

Donnie cringed. "Hai, Sensei?"

Splinter smiled warmly. "Congratulations."