It took some time for the techy turtle to fall asleep, he still wasn't used to sleeping next to Aria like this. Not that he minded, it was just difficult to rest when a beautiful girl was sleeping happily next to him. She'd fallen asleep holding his hand and though it took a while, Donatello eventually drifted off as well.

He'd barely closed his eyes when he found himself standing in the dark sewer tunnels. He was confused until he saw a younger version of himself dashing by. After all that meditation with Splinter, memories like these came at random times. He followed after his younger self, knowing full well where they were headed. Sure enough, the tiny turtle had led him to a little girl, but Donatello was alarmed when he saw the condition young Aria was in.

"Ari, you're burning up…!" Young Donatello exclaimed as he rushed to her side.

The little girl appeared weak and her breathing was rather haggard. Donatello watched helplessly as his younger self helped Aria sit up against the tunnel wall to check her temperature.

"…I'm okay…" Aria breathed absently.

"You're not," little Donatello insisted in concern. "We have to get you some medicine. I bet my Sensei can—"

"—no!" Aria pleaded at once. "He—he'll just send me back…"

Little Donatello frowned and glanced at Arias arm before he reached over to remove the bandages he had once wrapped around her wound. He grimaced at the black and green veins that seemed to have grown like vines along her skin. "You have to trust me. Please, Ari…" he tried again, "…I can't keep you safe on my own. …Sensei can help make you better…and then I'm sure you he'll let you stay. I promise that everything will be okay."

The little girl seemed apprehensive, but she eventually nodded her head. "…I trust you. … just…promise me…you won't leave me alone for too long…"

Young Donatello held out the matching star charm she had given him and smiled, "I promise," he replied happily.

Donatello watched the small version of himself run off into the dark in order to fetch Master Splinter. He could remember how hopeful he had been in that moment. He thought that Aria would soon join his little family and that she'd quickly recover so they could play again soon.

However, a pit formed in the turtles stomach. He knew this story didn't have a happy ending. Aria was eventually found and somehow, he would forget about her, leaving his promise unfulfilled. In fact, it seemed he made many promises that he just couldn't keep with her.

Though he thought the memory had ended, Donatello flinched when another scene appeared before his eyes. This one wasn't pleasant at all. His younger self was lying on the sewer floor, blood seeping out of his shoulder and mixing into the dirty water. Little Aria was screaming and struggling with a large man that seemed rather annoyed over her behavior.

"You shot him!" Aria cried, trying to reach Donatello with her small hand. "Donatello! Can you hear me?!"

"Stop making a fuss, it's just a monster," the man insisted, gripping Arias wrist tight to pull her away.

She gasped out in pain, but refused to let herself be carried off so easily. "Donatello!

Donatello, PLEASE!" Aria sobbed as her cries echoed along the stone walls. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just help him! You have to help him!"

By sheer luck, little Aria was able to slip her arm from the man's grip and she nearly tripped as she made her way back to Donatello. He could feel her small hands trembling as she took his hand, but he didn't have the strength to grip her hand back.

"I'm so sorry!" Aria sobbed, "please don't die! Please be okay!"

The little turtle wanted to tell her it would be okay, but it's like his body wouldn't listen to him. If anything, he should tell Aria to hurry to the hospital. He could see her arm bleeding pretty badly.

The large man cursed and grabbed Aria by the waist to pull her back once again. This time, she held onto Donatello's hand as long as she could. "Please!" She cried out again, "just help him! I'll go with you, just help him!"

"Creatures like these die in the sewers all the time, little girl." The man said in a huff, forcing her hand to loosen its grip.

"Just knock her out of something!" Another man shouted. "They said it's fine if we use force."

Her tear filled pleas were fading fast as Donatello started to lose consciousness. As things grew dark, his heart was breaking. He couldn't move very well. His head was pounding fiercely from the fall and the pain in his shoulder made it difficult to reach out for her. It was all he could do just to try and stay awake. 'Please don't take her,' he thought desperately. He wanted to protect her, but he was helpless to do so. If only he were stronger like his brothers. Maybe if it had been Leonardo or Raphael, they could have saved her. Instead, these men were taking away something precious to him with ease and he didn't know if he'd ever see her again. Tears burned his eyes as Donatello finally lost the battle of consciousness and everything went dark.

As the scene faded into memory, Donatello's heart ached terribly. As if someone was squeezing it in their hands tight. This was just like the dream he had before. It hurt so much. Experiencing these feelings again, it was anything but pleasant. Still, he wondered what happened after all that. Clearly he'd been hurt. Master Splinter must have found him, right? His brothers must have seen him hurt when they came home. So they must have remembered something about this time in his life.

"—tello! Donatello!"

The turtle jumped awake, startled by the girl that was calling his name in a panic. When he glanced to the side, he saw Aria looking down at him in concern, her hands on his shoulders to shake him gently.

"…Ari…? What's wrong…?"

"You were having a nightmare," she sighed in a half gained relief. "…I was worri—wait, did you call me Ari?"

Donatello took a moment to stare up at Aria as she spoke. It was strange. As if he was doing all this backward. To meet her when she had already grown up and just now, slowly remembering how much he treasured her when they were both children. However, just as Aria always pointed out that he hadn't changed, he realized that she didn't either. He reached up his hand without a word, his fingers brushing the end of her curls as he recalled the image of a younger Arias sobbing face. He didn't want her to cry anymore.

"…it wasn't a very good dream…but you don't have to worry…" said Donatello softly.

Aria blushed as his fingers grazed the skin of her cheek. She wondered if Donatello was still half asleep, but she wasn't complaining. "…I…I'm sorry it wasn't a pleasant dream…but you must have remembered something…" she replied, recalling that he had called her Ari often when they were children.

The turtles gaze drifted to Arias right shoulder. Without thinking, he let his hand slip beneath her sleeve in order to look at where her wound had been. Sure enough, the scar was barely visible, but he could clearly feel it as his fingers stroked her skin. He could remember the wound so vividly now. Just how many more wounds would she have to suffer through?

Aria froze in place as Donatello touched her. She wasn't sure why he was suddenly being so affectionate, but she didn't mind it. However, it did make complying with his latest request a bit difficult for her. With pink tinted cheeks, Aria averted her gaze to the side and nervously fiddled with her short curls. "D-does the scar bother you?"

Flinching slightly at the sound of her voice, Donatello finally realized what he was doing. His hand was completely beneath her sleeve as his thumb stroked the skin of her scar. He stopped, but didn't pull back his hand, a little afraid to move. "Of-of course not. I…I just…I can remember how much it hurt you. …and that wound…was how I infected you."

"…it's also how we met though," Aria reminded him. "…if I hadn't gotten hurt, you wouldn't have known I was down there."

"I wish I could go back somehow…and treat your wound properly, so you wouldn't have to get sick…"

Aria smiled sadly and reached over to place her palm against Donatello's cheek. She knew it would take some time for his guilt to subside, but she truly wished there was some way to make him realize there was nothing to feel guilty about. "No matter how it had to happen… I'm just happy we met."

His cheeks burned, but his chest ached lightly. "…but once you're cured, you can make other friends…and—"

Before he could finish, Aria placed her other hand against his cheek and squished his face gently. "I don't need anyone but you. Besides, I can be friends with your family if I need more people in my life. Right?"

"What about Lawrence?" Donatello asked through slightly squished cheeks. "Isn't he your friend?"

Aria sighed and slowly removed her hands from his cheeks, allowing Donatello to sit up. "I told you before, he's more like…a guardian. …but even then, he's someone my parents hired. I trust him…but calling him a friend sounds… strange. He's just…always been there."

"…so, you really don't plan on making friends or anything? Even if you're cured? Wouldn't you want…like, a gal pal? Or something like that?"

"Is doesn't matter…" Aria insisted as she slid from the bed. "I have everything I need."

"Do you think…if things had been different…you and April could have been friends?" He knew it was a mistake the moment he asked. Bringing up April of all people. Wasn't he supposed to be the smart one?

Aria frowned, "…I don't know," she replied, not very keen to continue the topic of Miss O'Neil. Though with Donatello mentioning the redhead, Aria couldn't help worrying that he still thinking about her. "Is…it important that I get along with her?"

"N-no!" Donatello exclaimed in a panic as he fumbled off the bed. "I-I only asked because… well…" he trailed off, nervously meeting Arias eyes. "…Aprils blood was used to make an anti-mutagen…and I think I may need to ask her for help…in your cure. Her cells may be able to cancel out mine…"

He knew Aria wouldn't like the idea. The look on her face was very telling. Honestly, Donatello wasn't ready to speak with April either, but he'd figured it was an option they couldn't ignore. "…Ari…I know she said some awful things…but…if it's a chance to save you, I have to try everything."

"…I don't want to ask that woman for anything…" Aria insisted. "…but I'm not so stubborn to bet my life with you on a grudge…" she relented with a begrudging sigh.

Donatello smiled with relief. He was worried Aria would refuse. "…you won't even have to see her. All I need is for her to give us a blood sample or two."

"I'll have Lawrence contact her," replied Aria stiffly. Though she didn't want to seem petty in front of Donatello, Aria had no desire for them to meet at all. It would be better if they could do this without April and Donatello in the same room.

"H-hey, didn't you want to have a meal in the garden?" Asked Donatello with a nervous smile, trying to change the subject quickly. "Why don't we get something to eat and um— after that, you can finally show me the room you had prepared for me."

To the turtles delight, Aria's eyes brightened up at once and she quickly turned to him and smiled.

"And after that we can go for a swim! Or I can show you the new parts that came in for Metal-Head!" She continued with excitement as she took Donatello's hand to drag him from the room.

While Donatello spent time with Aria, April had been invited back to the lair by his brothers. They weren't sure how long it would take for the two to make up, so they figured someone should tell April what was going on. After they had explained the situation, April looked rather sick herself. She and Casey were sitting on the couch in shock, both speechless after hearing about Arias condition.

"…so…that was it? That's what she was hiding…?" April asked after a long silence.

Leonardo nodded solemnly. "Seems so. She didn't want Donatello to know she was sick, but now that he does, he's staying at her place and helping to find a cure."

"Oh man…" Casey exhaled, "that's heavy."

April tried to sort this out in her head. She had been certain that Aria was up to something sinister. If the mutagen she found was really to help Aria with a cure, why was there so much of it? "…w-wait, but what about that secret project her company is working on? Did they say anything about that?"

Casey and the turtles groaned in unison. "Red, just let it go," the teenager insisted. "It's over."

"I-I'm not saying she's faking it or anything," April added quickly, "but the amount of mutagen I saw there was way too much for just testing cures on one girl. Her company has to be doing something else with it."

Leonardo stood before his brothers and looked down at their essentially adopted sister. "April, this is over. We're telling you to stop looking into Aria and her business. Donnie is having a hard time right now. His girlfriend is sick and he's doing his best to take care of her. He's gonna need our support. If you can't do that, then it's better if you stay away for a while."

It's not as of April didn't expect this reaction, but it felt a lot like she was being ganged up on. Aria was now the sick and defenseless girl while April was painted as the bully. It was just hard to ignore all the glaring questions she still had. It didn't help that she had been threatened by that butler of Arias either. Not to mention finding out this morning that her father had been hired by the Dawn Corporation as a researcher. How was that a coincidence? She wanted to tell the turtles what Lawrence had said to her about Arias parents, but it was clear they wouldn't believe her right now.

It was a difficult pill to swallow, but April knew she had brought this on herself by acting rash. She shouldn't have been so open about her distrust of Aria. What she should have done, was look into everything quietly, but when Aria got Donatello involved, April felt desperate.

That was her first mistake. She had to be more careful now. "…I get it…" she replied finally, "I'll back off. …I was just worried about Donnie…"

"We know," Leonardo said with a relieved sigh, "but I'm just glad we can put this behind us."

"If I can, I'd like to apologize to Aria. Will you guys help me do that?" Asked April.

"How would we do that?" Asked Leonardo in return.

"…well…maybe we can go and visit them together? If it was just me, I'm sure they'd refuse…but I don't know how else I'd be able to see her and try to apologize."

"That would be great! I wanna see Dee's new place!" Mikey exclaimed.

"I've never been inside a mansion before," Casey pondered, "you think they'd even let me in without some fancy duds?"

"You guys can go ahead and visit without me," Raphael added.

Leonardo looked around the room as they all began to discuss the visit, but he glanced at April, feeling a bit unsure. Though he hoped that she was sincere, he wondered if this was another ploy to snoop around. "…okay," he agreed reluctantly. "I'll ask Donnie about it and see what he says." His words seemed to excite the others, but this visit would be rather tense for sure. He wanted to trust April, but he knew how stubborn she could be. So while they were there, Leonardo was determined to keep an eye on Aprils behavior. He just hoped he was wrong.

It wasn't long after Aprils suggestion that Donatello's T-Phone began to beep. When he checked the rather long message from his brother, the techy turtle felt his stomach turn slightly. April wanted to apologize to Aria? The timing was a little odd, but it would be a good opportunity to ask for Aprils cooperation in curing Aria. He just wasn't sure an apology would be accepted. Aria was rather forgiving of all his mistakes, but April hadn't made a good first impression at all. Not to mention, he wasn't sure he was even ready to forgive everything.

"Ari?" Donatello began nervously, glancing across the small garden table they were sitting at for breakfast.

Aria was sitting across from him, pouring a bit of milk into her tea when Donatello addressed her. Though she was elated to be out in the garden with Donatello, the moment she caught a glimpse of his expression, she frowned. "…what's the matter?"

"Um…my brothers were wondering they could come over for a visit…" he started, wondering how he would explain the rest, "…and um…they wanted to bring Casey….and April along…"

Aria hadn't even registered what he said before Lawrence placed a plate of macaroons in the middle of the table. "I don't believe it's a good idea to have that young woman around, Miss Aria. She upset you so much last time. It would be bad for your heart."

The heiress pursed her lips. Slightly annoyed over Lawrence's advice since he was the one that allowed April to try and reveal her illness. "…even so…Donatello said that we may need O'Neil's blood to test against my own."

"My brothers told her the situation. …apparently she wants to make amends," explained Donatello quietly. "You don't have to accept it, but it would be a good chance to ask for the blood samples we need."

"Though I am not very happy to invite that woman into my home…I would very much like to have your family over for a visit." Aria stated. "So please tell your brother that they are absolutely welcome…they can even bring April along if she truly wishes to apologize…"

Donatello nodded, "don't worry. I'll be with you the whole time and if April does anything out of line…well…we can deal with it together." He insisted confidently before standing from his seat. "I'll give Leo a call."

Aria smiled at Donatello before he wandered from the table to talk on the phone. Her smile faded the moment he was out of sight and she glanced at Lawrence. "I don't trust that woman."

"Nor do I," Lawrence replied simply. "Shall I take care of it?"

Aria sighed, "…just watch her while she's here. I don't want her straying into any room she shouldn't. Especially keep her from my fathers office in the East Wing."

"Of course, Miss. However, if Master Donatello needs yo examine her blood, there is no need for you to endure her company. I can easily obtain the samples you need the girl."

"No. Let Donatello ask for her help. They are still friends…so I don't want you to do anything out of line."

Lawrence nodded, "I understand."

"I believe Donatello's brothers may have a nice time in the pool. Make sure it's at a nice temperature and inform the chef that we'll need freshly made pizza. Perhaps a few of them. I hear that Michelangelo has a healthy appetite. And as always, make sure the staff knows the turtles value their privacy."

"Everything will be ready for your guests, Miss."

With another sigh, Aria took a sip of her tea. Though this visit had the potential to be very pleasant, she had a bad feeling that things would not end well.