"All right, Miss Satou. Open and close for me. How does that feel?"

Mei slowly worked her jaw open and shut. Despite the stiffness in her joint, she felt completely liberated. "Amazing."

"Good," the doctor said. "Very good. After four weeks of food through a straw, I bet you're ready for a hamburger, huh?"

Mei smiled. "I don't like hamburgers."

The doctor chuckled in reply. "Fair enough. You're probably better off that way. Now, a word of caution. Don't eat hard or crunchy food for another couple of weeks."

"Does pizza count? My friends like to eat it a lot."

"Depends on how burned it is. Seriously, though, I'd avoid the crustier parts. After a couple of weeks, you should be able to eat whatever you like, but for now, eat soft foods in small bites."

The doctor shuffled a few x-ray printouts and laid them up against the lit screen. "All of your other injuries look like they are setting properly – I'm especially pleased with how well the fracture to your skull is healing. Of course, you were very fortunate that it was so minor. Ribs are on the mend nicely, clavicle is healing well. And I'm guessing it won't be but another three weeks or so until you'll be out of your pelvic cast. Then we'll be able to put you through physical therapy. Your prognosis looks really good. Have you seen your gynecologist recently?"

Mei shuddered. She didn't even want to think about that – she had left that particular appointment shaking and scared. The fact that it was a doctor – a female doctor, even – didn't ease the sense of violation. "Yes. She said that everything is healing properly."

"Now, Miss Satou, I'm sorry to ask again, but I'm concerned about you. Are you going through any kind of trauma counseling?"

"A friend of mine is a psychologist. He's helping me out."

"Is he a trained counselor?"

"No, but…"

"I really think you should see a counselor. I can't encourage that enough. In cases like this, the mental damage is often worse than the physical."

"I know. I've got it taken care of. Thanks."

The doctor held his hands up. "Just doing my best to take care of you. What you do or don't do is your business. All right. I think we're done here, then. You go see Karen at the front desk – she'll set up your next appointment for you."

The doctor wheeled Mei out into the waiting room and gestured to the receptionist. After wishing her a pleasant day, he retreated back to his office.

Kirby stood up from the chair he had been sitting in and put a magazine back down on the table. "So, are you able to chew again?"

"Yes," Mei said. She was so relieved to see a friendly face. As much as she knew seeing the doctor was for her own benefit, she couldn't help but feel trapped. "He said it should only be another three weeks before I'm out of all of my casts."

"That's great, Mei. That really is. Do you want to have everyone over for pizza to celebrate your ability to eat solid food?"

"I'm not sure how much I want to see people."

Kirby frowned. "Okay. Fair enough. Let's get you home."

One New-York-traffic taxi ride later, Kirby wheeled Mei into her apartment.

"Tell me honestly, Mei. In the last two weeks, have you talked to anyone besides me or April?" He took off his shoes and set them on the shoe mat by the door, then helped Mei take her shoes off.

"Splinter and the boys brought me flowers a few times, but other than that, no."

Kirby frowned again. "You're isolating. I don't think that's good for you. You need to be around people, Mei."

"I just…I hate being alone, but being around people is so hard, too." Mei wheeled herself toward the kitchen.

"Well, what about Splinter? Why don't you have him come over tonight?"

"Why would I have just Splinter come over?"

"Well, he's a friend you've known for a very long time, and a heck of a lot less exhausting than the turtles are. Plus, you know, I thought maybe you might like some time alone with him."

"What makes you say that?"

Kirby looked at her sideways. "You're really going to make me say it, aren't you?"

"Say what?"

"What is going on with you two? And don't say 'nothing' – I'm trained in analyzing behavior. I notice that he stays behind to visit with you on occasion, not to mention you act completely different around him."

Mei sighed. "We…we aren't sure, really. Things are hard for him because he was married to my sister, and I think that sometimes, he still sees her when he looks at me. And I…half the time we talk, I end up thinking of my husband…well, my late husband."

Kirby nodded. "It is hard, isn't it? I've tried dating a few times since I lost Renee, but, it just never felt right."

"Renee? Was that April's mother?"

"Yeah. I missed her for years. Still do miss her. But for a while, I tried dating around. There was this one woman – we had been dating for a few months, and she told me she loved me. I said it right back to her – except that I didn't use her name when I said it."

Mei put a hand over her mouth. "No."

"Yes."

"You called her by your wife's name?"

Kirby cringed slightly at the memory. "Yup. I said, 'I love you too, Renee.' It was our last date." He laughed. "I tried seeing a few other women, but it never worked out. Then I got bald and nobody wanted to date me anymore." He winked.

Mei grinned. "I am sure that you could still find somebody. You never know. Shave your whole head to look like one of those 'bad boys' on TV. I hear the American women love 'bad boys.'"

Kirby laughed. "Kirby O'Neil…Irish mafia." He shook his head."Oh, well. I have to be at work in forty-five minutes or so."

"How is that going?"

"Reminds me of being in college, working retail at night. I seriously hope an actual job in my field opens up soon."

"I do too. Thank you for taking me to the doctor, Kirby."

"No problem. If you need anything, call April. But seriously, Mei, you should call Splinter. I think you guys need each other. You've been hurt by the same person, and banding together – even just as friends – is going to help you get past that."

Later that day, April walked home. After a nice afternoon of training, hanging out with the turtles, and doing her homework in the lair, she'd gotten a text from Mei. She was almost to the front steps of the apartment building, and she dug into her pocket for her key. She had just started up the stairs when a figure stepped into her peripheral vision.

"Hey, Red."

April whipped her head around. Casey Jones stood there, a timid expression on his face. It was not an expression she'd ever seen on him before – he was usually so confident and cocky. "Go away."

"Listen, I want to talk to you. I promise I'm not here to do anything that will hurt you. I just…I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Last I heard, you'd just gotten out of a coma."

April folded her arms. She didn't necessarily want to talk to him, but something in his tone tugged at her heartstrings. "Yeah, a little over four weeks ago."

"You look good. I mean, you look healthy."

"Thanks." April rolled her eyes.

"So, are you ever coming back to school?"

"Nope. I'm homeschooled now. I kind of like it, actually."

"Oh. Cool. Hey…I hate to do this to you, but…I'm failing trig. And…Jen is so disappointed. My foster parents have done so much for me, and I want to make them proud, you know?"

"You've got a lot of nerve, Jones."

"I know I do. But if you knew how badly I want to make Jen and Sean happy, you'd understand."

April's head felt fuzzy for a moment – or maybe it was just clearer – that same feeling she always got of pure instinct.

This time, she hated it.

Because this time, she knew that Casey was telling the truth.

She didn't want to give him a second chance. He didn't deserve a second chance.

He did help them contact Karai. He did help them fight off the Foot when they were ambushed at the radio station.

He was just another victim in Shredder's game.

"Do you know what Shredder tried to do to me?" April asked.

"I have a pretty good idea. And I am so, so sorry, Red. I've never felt worse about anything in my life. If I could take it back – "

"Well, you can't."

Casey hung his head. "I know."

April hesitated. Nothing would make her feel better right now than to stomp on Casey's stupid heart. But she had a feeling that she'd feel miserable about it afterward, especially since she knew that he was being honest about this.

Maybe making peace with Casey would help her get past this whole thing.

"Why don't we meet tomorrow after your school gets done?"

Casey's whole face brightened. "Really?"

"Yeah. But don't tell my Dad or Mei. They probably won't be happy that I'm helping you."

"Mei – that's Atsuko, right?" He smiled. "She was willing to give me a second chance. Hey, did you guys ever get things figured out with Donnie?"

"No. But we're getting there. We've found some stuff that might be helpful, and the Kraang are working on it too."

"Oh, good. I mean, good that you're working on it. So, um, where do you want to meet?"

"Tomorrow, at Murikami's. Seven-thirty. My dad will be at work by then, so he won't know about it."

"All right. See you then, I guess?"

"Yeah. See you then."

Shaking her head, April went in through the main entrance and up the stairs. She thought about what Leo or Raph might say if they knew she was doing this. Leo would probably disapprove, and Raph would downright blow a gasket.

She pulled out the key to Mei's apartment and unlocked the door. "Mei, I'm here."

Mei was sitting at the table with papers spread out in front of her. She gave an absent-minded wave in April's direction.

"How was your doctor's appointment? Did you get your jaw unwired? Mei?"

"Karai brought this over this afternoon," Mei said. "She talked to the Kraang, apparently. They said they'd done some research on the problem, but were still unsuccessful. But she asked for a printout of their results and brought them. Look at this."

April walked over and looked at the papers. They were covered in zeroes and ones. "That looks like a lot of gobbledygook."

"It's binary," Mei said. "If there's anything I understand, it's binary."

"Right, because it's computer language."

"I've been looking at this whole problem from the wrong angle. The retro-mutagen molecule actually forms a perfect binary sentence when you break down the chemicals in it. It creates this sort of code – and that same code appears in this research that the Kraang did."

"So…you think the Kraang have had retro-mutagen all along?"

"Maybe. And it looks like they've tried inverting the code exactly, without much success. But I wonder – remember that chemical cluster that we found two weeks ago? I wonder what would happen if we integrated that code into the retro-mutagen code? I don't know if all the chemicals would bond properly – we'd have to find a way to balance the equation, which will be like twenty-equation matrix, but…it's a possibility."

April's heart practically skipped a beat. "I don't believe this. We're actually getting somewhere with this research. This is incredible."

"I know. Hopefully the Kraang will be able to fill another piece of the puzzle."

"So, is this why you called me?"

Mei's cheeks reddened. "No. I actually was wondering if you'd be able to help me with makeup again."

"Oh. Sure, okay." April looked at the clock. It was almost six-thirty. "You'll be washing it off in a few hours, though."

"Oh, I know. I just want to wear it this evening."

"Okay."

"I was wondering if you could help me with a nice outfit, too?"

"Sure, I guess. Do you have something in mind?"

"Well, ah…I have this kimono that I bought about five years ago for formal occasions. It's lovely, but it's difficult enough to put on without all of the casts."

"Oh, is that the one in the garment bag? That dark green one with the beige stitching?"

"Yes. Actually, the only time I wore it was for this party I had to attend with everyone else in my office back in Japan. Everyone was dressed – what is it that you say – 'dressed to the nines'?"

April laughed. "So why are you getting dressed to the nines tonight?"

Mei blushed again. "Ah…"

"Come on, Mei. Just tell me!"

"Fine. Splinter is bringing dinner here for me to celebrate the fact that I can eat solid food again, and I want to look nice. You know, for the celebration."

April tilted her head as something occurred to her. "'For the celebration,' huh? Not, say, for Master Splinter himself?"

Mei put on a dignified expression. "Certainly not. It would simply be rude to be underdressed for such a thing."

"He's bringing dinner. How is that a big deal?"

"Will you help me or not?"

"Yeah, I'll help you. But just so you know, you're not fooling anyone."

Mei pursed her lips together as if she was trying to keep herself from smiling. "I do not know what you are talking about."

"Sure you don't. Come on, let's get you all gussied up. You know, for the celebration."