*Slight spoiler for Annihilation Earth! Skip the first bit of dialogue if you haven't seen it yet*

Three days later, antibiotics and plenty of water had cleared the worst of the cholera from Karai's system. The nutrients infused to her via her IV line had helped her regain her strength, and long hours of rest had replenished her energy and attitude. Many of her hours were spent sleeping, with occasional intrusions from various doctors and nurses. Visiting hours were uneventful but pleasant, as April would sit beside her - pointedly ignoring the uncertainty between them - and tell her stories about the turtles' adventures.

"Wait, wait, the aliens destroyed the- I don't believe you."

April laughed. "It's true! We had to travel back in time with a robot called the Fugitoid to fix it!"

"Time travel?" Karai rolled her eyes and lay back in her bed. "Now I know you're lying to me."

"I am not!" She protested.

Karai laughed, but it soon broke into coughs. April handed her the water bottle from the nearby table. Tentatively, Karai nodded in gratitude. As the dark-haired kunoichi sipped at the chilled water, the redhead shifted uncomfortably on the plastic chair. Despite all the talking she and Karai had been doing the last few days, there was still one vital question that April wanted an answer to.

"Why are you staring at me?"

April started; she hadn't realised she was staring at anything. However, instead of providing a relevant response to the question, she blurted out, "Are we cool now?"

An eyebrow raised. "What?"

"I, uh- Never mind."

Karai leaned over to put down the bottle; April took it from her hands to save her the strain. "Just tell me."

She sighed. "I was just wondering... We've spent a lot of time together this week, and... I just wanted to know if that makes us, like, friends now?"

"Hmm..." Her mouth twisted. "I don't know if we're friends; I doubt you'd be surprised to know I've never really had any." She drummed her fingers on her duvet. "Although I... I no longer consider you an enemy."

"...You too," April replied lamely.

Karai smirked at her, laughter dancing in her eyes. April countered with a sincere smile. This was a step in the right direction, if nothing else.

That night, April slipped back through the hospital corridors, donning a white lab coat that she may or may not have 'borrowed' from someone's desk. She quickly punched in the key-code to Karai's ward, then disappeared into her little side room before anybody spotted her. The dark-haired girl was curled up in her bed, but not quite asleep.

She blinked in confusion as April flicked the lamp on. "April? What are you- Oh. Yeah. I'd forgotten about tonight."

The redhead gave her a sympathetic look. "Are you sure you still want to do this?"

"... Yes," Karai answered firmly. "I'm not backing out now."

"Good, because I did not wanna be the one to tell them it was off."

Chuckling, April crossed to the long window on the far side of the room. She barely had time to throw it open before Mikey came barrelling towards it, a wide grin on his face.

"Sis!" He cried eagerly, rushing to the bedridden girl and crushing her in his arms. Donnie followed behind him at a more leisurely, ninja-style pace, smirking in amusement. Leo and Raph waited outside; they had all agreed it would be best to start with the brothers Karai had the least emotional connection to.

Gently, Donnie prised Mikey off. "Take it easy; we want her to get out of hospital, remember?"

The little turtle pouted. "Fine. Can I at least hold her hand?"

Donnie was about to argue when a thin, pale hand reached between them. Both brothers glanced down to see Karai gazing up at them, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. Beaming, Mikey grasped her hand happily in both of his and settled himself on the chair beside her bed. As he began to chatter excitedly to her, Donnie gestured for April to join him.

"It's so good to see you, dudette! And even better, we get to see a human hospital at the same time! I've never been in a real hospital before, just Donnie's lab. This place is way nicer - they give you a big bed and everything! In Donnie's, we just have a metal cot. So I guess you should enjoy this while you can, huh?"

"It's... more comfortable than I expected," Karai said quietly. "Then again, even the metal cot would be a step-up from the sewer floor."

"You were sleeping on the sewer floor? Don't you know what that stuff's made of?!" Mikey jostled her lightly. "You shoulda just hung out up top and found us when we were patrolling! We could've put you up with a five-star dojo mat!"

April was distracted from their conversation by Donnie tugging on her arm. He questioned her incessantly about Karai's condition and improvement, frantically jotting down her responses in his battered notebook.

Watching them curiously, Karai whispered, "Is he always like this?"

Mikey nodded. "We've lost him. He has two of his favourite things: April and science babble."

"I heard that, Mikey."

The little turtle squeezed her hand tighter, disregarding his brother. "So, I need to ask you an important question." He paused dramatically. "Have you ever seen Super Robo Mecha Force Five?"

Her brows furrowed. "What is it?"

He gasped. "Only the best show in the whole world ever! As soon as you get outta here, we're marathoning every episode!"

"I was never allowed to watch television as a child," she explained. "Shredder thought it was a waste of time that could be spent honing skills."

"Oh. Master Splinter usually let us watch for a couple hours if we did all our chores and worked hard in training." Mikey rubbed her hand subconsciously. "Those were sorta the only real rules we had as kids. Well, that and don't waste anything. We didn't have a lot spare, considering the whole, y'know, sewer thing."

Karai hummed thoughtfully. "Waste was never a concern for me. I was taught that training, obedience and loyalty to the clan were all that mattered." She chuckled softly. "As you can see, only the first one really stuck with me."

Mikey laughed with her, but shook his head. "Nah. It just didn't stick with Shred-head; now you're with your real clan, I bet you'll be loyal-er than ever!"

"... I intend to be," she confessed almost inaudibly.

Sensing it was a tender moment, he smiled gently at her. "Awesome."

"Karai?" asked Donnie tentatively, breaking the moment. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

She shook her head. "As long as it's not too complicated; my head is still fuzzy."

The purple-banded turtle settled in on her other side, feverishly scribbling down her comment. "It shouldn't be too bad. I just need to make sure you don't have any unusual symptoms that could indicate an interference from the mutagen."

Mikey frowned in confusion. "Dude, I thought you said it wouldn't be too bad."

While Karai was occupied, April ventured over to the window again. As she approached, she heard a suspicious shuffling and scratching sound against the wall, as if two shapes had frantically scrambled back. When she peered out, she was met with the sight of Leo kneeling right around the corner. Raph waited a little further off, seemingly uninterested.

"Is she okay?" Leo inquired eagerly.

April motioned for them to be quiet, but nodded. "She's good," she whispered. "Donnie's just giving her a quick medical interrogation."

Both brothers winced in understanding.

"So," April continued pointedly, "maybe you two should get in there and rescue her...?"

Leo hesitated. In the silence, Raph groaned. "I'm really getting tired of rescuing her."

The blue-banded turtle was nudged into movement by Raph, and both turtles climbed through the window. Karai glanced up from Donnie's notebook as they entered. She started at them with wide eyes, which they mirrored back at her.

Mikey, ever the release of tension, waved to them, Karai's hand still encased in his. "Hey bros, welcome to the party!"

Raph scoffed. "You have to be the only person who's ever said that in a hospital."

Leo, meanwhile, was thoroughly distracted. He held Karai's gaze steadily as he crossed the room, before leaning over to wrap her in a tender embrace. "I'm so glad you're okay."

After a brief moment of indecision, Karai placed her free arm around his carapace. They held each-other for a few moments before Leo pulled away. She smiled at him. "You know what I can't say."

He smiled back. "I know. You're welcome." He laughed awkwardly. "Even if we didn't really do anything this time."

"No," she corrected him, "you did. You refused to give up on me. You came here."

"How could we not?"

"You would have every reason not to."

"Alright princess, just shut up and be grateful we did," Raph remarked sharply.

She looked right into his emerald-green eyes. "I am."

The honest emotion threw Raph for a loop. "Well, uh... Good, then. You'd, uh, better be..."

April smiled as she pulled up chairs for herself, Raph and Leo. They stayed for almost an hour, making light-hearted small talk and chatting. Everyone would have liked the meeting to continue, but Karai was yawning often and her eyes were beginning to fall shut. Eventually, it was painfully clear that Karai needed to rest.

"Okay guys," Leo sighed regretfully, "I suppose we should let her sleep."

"Aw!" Mikey whined. "But I wanna talk to her more!"

"Well, if she sleeps she'll get better faster, so she'll be home for you to bug even quicker," Donnie reasoned.

April glanced at Karai worriedly and saw Leo doing the same. The sickly kunoichi gave them a reassuring smile. "I was hoping to... come back when I recover."

"Then we'll leave you in peace." Leo squeezed her shoulder as he stood. Donnie and Raph also rose from their respective seats, prompting April to stand from her perch on the edge of the bed.

Only Mikey made no attempt to move, still possessively gripping the hand Karai had allowed him to hold. "But guys..."

Karai looked to April. "Are you returning tomorrow?"

The redhead frowned. "I'm coming back to see you in the day, but I won't be able to let them in tomorrow night."

"Then I'm not leaving!" Mikey declared.

"What if I open the window for you myself?" Karai suggested. "I can just unlatch it before the staff turn the lights off, so you will be able to come in even if I am asleep."

Leo beamed. "That sounds nice."

"So we'll see you tomorrow, then," said Donnie softly, pulling her duvet up over her. "Make sure you get a lot of rest, so your body has an easier time healing."

Never one for sentimentalities, Raph merely punched her in the arm before walking back to the window. Mikey gave her another huge hug and refused to leave until she pinky-swore to keep the window open for them. As Donnie escorted the youngest out of the window, Leo turned to Karai one last time and have her another gentle hug.

"I missed you," he admitted.

She didn't say anything, but her head resting on his shoulder was answer enough.

After Leo disappeared through the window with a smile and a wave, Raph - who had lingered inside to ensure everyone was coming - glanced at April. "You coming?"

"I'm gonna have to re-lock that once you guys are out," she reminded him, "but if you can wait ten minutes in the Shellraiser then I wouldn't mind a lift home."

Raph rolled his eyes. "You have ten minutes before we drive off and leave ya. Bye, princess."

"Later, hothead." Karai replied, rolling over to face the opposite wall. This action meant she missed Raph's lengthy gaze at her. April however did not, and she smiled at the longing she found amidst his indignation.

When the turtle had joined his brothers in the cloak of night, April locked the window and began re-stacking the chairs. "So..."

"Look, I don't usually say this, but... thank you."

April's eyes widened. "Whoa. I wasn't even sure you knew that phrase."

"Shut up," Karai laughed, "I'm serious. You brought them here, and for that I'm grateful."

"No problem. After all, they are your brothers." The redhead halted suddenly. "Hey, I just thought of something."

"Congratulations."

Undeterred, April continued, "If the turtles are your actual family and my surrogate family, then does that mean we're... like sisters?"

"Hmm..." Karai fell silent. The only sound in the room was April awkwardly tidying up for so long that she was surprised when Karai spoke again. "I suppose it does."

"Cool." April grinned. "Well, I guess I'll be going. See you tomorrow... Onee-san."

"Don't push it."

Okay, I feel like I've redeemed myself, because that was much longer than I meant it to be. I think I'll leave it here (actually this time), since even though I'd like to write some scenes with Splinter and Casey, I can't think of anything with enough sustenance to be worth it :')

So thank you for reading :)