Chapter 5 What Happened After: April

I took the D-route home. The D-route, short for Donnie' route, is a pathway Donatello told me to follow when we first met. He was so paranoid about me being followed, kidnapped, and taken in for interrogation because I knew about him and his brothers.

"Don't you think this is a bit much?"

"Not at all. Always best to plan for worst-case scenarios."

I sigh. Well, Donnie, this is definitely the worst of the worst-case scenarios. The D-route included a secret passageway that led to an abandoned maintenance room of a subway station across town from my apartment, and several subway hops and a bus stop to ensure I lost anyone who may have been following me. By the time I stepped off the bus, the city is fully awake, streets bustling with people. I finish the last part of the D-route by foot.

My apartment is within sight now. Fingers pressed to my temple, I mentally scan the area for anyone or anything that shouldn't be here. I sense nothing out of the ordinary. Those EPF agents probably have their hands full with Donnie. I hate to think it but the less focused they are on me and his brothers the better chances we have of devising a plan to find Donnie and bringing him home. It scares me to think what those agents are doing to Donatello.

I unlock the door to my home, not bothering to sneak in. I barely have a chance to close the door before my breath is squeezed out of my lungs by my father's too-tight embrace.

"April! Oh, God, I'm so glad you're okay. I saw Casey and the turtles on the news last night, and you never came home and I thought they took you or that you were…" My father sobs, head resting on top of mine. I hug him back, but I'm too emotionally drained to match his overjoyed energy. What was there to be happy about? Master Splinter's reassurances did little to ease my guilt. I can't get the image of Mikey's mutilated arm out of my head. If only I had stayed with Casey. If I never went to the lair, then Mikey would be okay, and maybe the boys could have kept Donnie calm.

"April."

"Hm?" I blink out of my spiraling thoughts only to realize I'm now sitting on our couch. I unclench my hold on the sides of the seat cushion, never realizing I was gripping it to begin with.

"Sweetheart. I think you're in shock. What happened yesterday?" Dad asks, sitting across from me in the oversized armchair.

"I… I…" my words are trapped in the back of my throat as I struggle to answer my dad's question. It was such a big question too big to answer with all thoughts running through my mind.

"The large reptile on tv… that was Donatello, wasn't it?"

The light bulb in the lamp beside us bursts.

"It was my fault." Guilt shoves the words past my throat and it rolls off my tongue like vinegar.

"They took Donnie and Mikey might die and it's my fault!" The main light in our den flickers this time.

"April…"

"Dad, we have to help them find Donnie." He looks at me as he often does when he's in psychologist mode. I don't need a psych evaluation, I need to—

"April, I need you to take some deep breaths for me before you start hyperventilating."

Why hadn't I noticed the tightness in my chest earlier? Following my father's breathing, I exhale deeply and the throw pillows fall from their suspended state and plop next to me on the couch.

"Sorry. I'm just really worried about Donatello."

"I know, sweetheart. I want to help them too, but it's…"

I don't have to look up to feel the waves of fear rolling off my dad. He's terrified. I'm waiting for his rebuttal, his excuse of 'trying to keep me safe.'

"I know it's dangerous, Dad," I pull the thought from his mind before he can speak it.

"That's why we will need to be careful and resourceful in our actions."

"….What?" It takes me a minute to realize he's not challenging me on this. "You're not going to try to stop me, talk me out of it?"

"Honestly, would it do any good?" He smirks warmly at me.

"No," I say, mirroring his expression.

"April, you are always going to be my little Apricot, and I will always want to protect you." He sighs deeply, looking briefly at his clasped hands before looking up at me again. "But over this past year, you've shown me time and time again that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself. You have every bit of your mother's tenacious spirit and her compassionate heart. I can't protect you from being who you are."

"Dad…" the sentiment of his words puts a small part of me at ease knowing my dad and I are on the same side of this fight.

"You have a way of making cowardly lions like your old dad want to be brave."

I close the gap between us, sitting on the armrest as my arms circle his neck in a hug. "I love you, Dad. You're braver than you think." He pulls me into the armchair, into his embrace where we stay in comforting silence that I hate to break, but we have so much to discuss.

Over a cup of hot cocoa, Dad and I sit at our small kitchen table as I recap the series of events that resulted in Donnie's mutation and kidnapping.

"Well, first things first. We need to do something about this EPF stakeout situation. Splinter said he saw a few around our apartment."

"It's only a matter of time before they get a search warrant." Dad brings up a valid concern. "We need to be ready for that. And who knows if they have the area bugged… ahh, could just be my paranoia."

"No, you're right, Dad. They could have ways of listening to our conversations and we'll need to check around the apartment for eavesdropping devices."

It's nice to know my Dad is on my side this time around because we're going to need all the help we can get to save Donnie.

Thanks for reading, please review!

~Poetique