"Dinner for Two"

By Donny's Boy

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Disclaimer: I own neither the characters nor the plot relating to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and I am making no money from this story. I mean no harm.

Warnings: Some mature language and some post-battle bloodiness.

Author's Notes: This story is canon to "Unforgiven" and set after the events of that story. Also, this story mixes the canons of the comics and 2003 series and is therefore somewhat AU (i.e., Shadow Jones and Robyn O'Neil both coexist).

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He was late and, if she was honest with herself, she was beginning to get worried. At first she'd been patient. Then, as she watched the candles burn down lower and lower, with now-hardened wax pooling at the candles' bases, she grew annoyed. Once or twice she'd considered picking up her cell phone and calling him but, every time, left the phone untouched.

After all, she had thought with a small twinge of righteousness, he's the one who should be calling me. And it was just like him, too. Probably hunkered down in his lab, merrily debugging computer programs or retooling one of the bikes. Completely unaware of how much time had passed or how long he'd been keeping her waiting. Finally she'd picked up her phone, even started dialing his number—then she'd put it back down next to the candles, with a worried frown. If he was in trouble, the last thing he needed was a phone call to interrupt. And to give away his location if, God forbid, he was hiding from someone … or something …

All in all, three hours had passed since she'd first lit the candles and turned off the stove.

Now, as she sat at the kitchen table, she stared hard into the flames of the still-lit candles. They were down to stubs but still burnt brightly. She focused all her energy into looking at the candles, while willing herself not to cry. All April had wanted was a nice dinner with her boyfriend. Was that really too much to ask for? Yes, she answered herself. Other women, perhaps, could have that nice dinner, with a boyfriend who wasn't constantly leaping into the jaws of danger. But not April, apparently.

Stop it. She couldn't think like this. She couldn't let self-pity drag her down, couldn't let fear immobilize her. Thoughtfully tapping her fingers on the table, she decided to call Leo. Of the four of them, Leonardo would be most likely to have the presence of mind to turn off his phone, if a situation required such. April smiled and wiped away a stray tear. Already she felt better, simply from having decided on a course of action. Just sitting around, waiting, wondering, had been killing her.

Just as she again picked up her phone, however, it rang. She was so startled, she almost dropped it. After juggling the phone for a moment or two, she flipped it over and all but shouted, "Yes?"

"Hey, sis."

April fought back a sigh. Normally she'd be thrilled to hear from her seldom-seen sister, but under the present circumstances she felt irritation rise rapidly. "Hey, Robyn."

"This a bad time?"

"Not at all."

Robyn hesitated a moment, just long enough that both women knew that it was clear April was lying. "Well," said Robyn, "I just wanted to check in with you. See how your day's been."

"Oh. Thanks. It's been, um, okay. Boring day down at the store. Almost no customers. How about you?"

"Can't complain. Wish I had a date tonight, though." Robyn chuckled ruefully. "I tell ya, it's been at least three months since I've gone out with a guy who wasn't a complete jerk."

Closing her eyes, April leaned back in her chair. She tried to think of something to say—something bland, something easy, anything but what she was actually obsessing over—but her mind came up blank.

Her sister solved the problem for her, however. "Say, why aren't you out with that boyfriend of yours? Y'know, good old What's-his-name. Danny, I think?"

"Donny."

"Donny! Right, right. I'm sorry I keep getting his name mixed up." And she really did sound sorry. "So what's Donny up to tonight?"

April felt like someone had punched her in the gut. After several long, terribly silent moments, she said in a near-whisper, "He's … working."

This time the silence came from Robyn's end. "Oh," she said finally, with a forced casualness.

"But we're having dinner later." Which wasn't a lie. Not exactly. Oh, dear God, she thought, please let this be true.

"That's great! I hope you two have a good time together." Sighing dreamily, Robyn added, "Just promise me that you'll name your first-born after me."

April smiled a bitter smile. She and Don would never have children. Could never have children. Hell, she and Don couldn't even get married. She swallowed and wondered, yet again, where on earth Don might be.

Meanwhile, Robyn misinterpreted her sister's lengthy pause. "Oh, April," she gasped. "I didn't mean to imply anything about Shadow! You know I always thought of her as my niece and—"

"Robyn, I know. I really do." April let out the sigh she'd been holding in. "I just miss her, that's all."

"Oh, honey, of course you do."

"Casey too. Even though Don's absolutely fantastic, I still feel Casey's absence."

"Totally understandable." For a moment, both women were silent, and then Robyn sighed. "Well, guess I'd better getting going. Tell Donny hi for me, will ya?"

April stifled her own sigh. "Sure thing, Robyn." The nanosecond her sister hung up, April began punching in the numbers for Leonardo's cell phone.

Unsurprisingly, he picked up on the very first ring. "April?"

"Leo! Hi!" She took a steadying breath. "Do you happen to know where Don is?"

Leonardo paused only a moment before answering, but when speaking with a ninja, a moment is equivalent to a near-eternity. Deadly serious, Leo said, "I thought he was with you."

"Afraid not."

"Mikey and I just got back from our nightly patrol." Leonardo's tone was so grave that April could practically hear him frowning thoughtfully. "Raph and Don had been paired together, and we didn't expect either of them to come home until much later."

No, of course not. They all knew that Donny was coming over to April's apartment to have dinner, and Raph liked staying out until all hours of the night. Damn them both to hell! If only either of them had just said they'd go back to the lair or had been paired with someone else—

April's head jerked as there was a sharp rap on the living room window.

"Gotta go, Leo."

"April, wait a—"

Tossing her phone onto the kitchen table, she sprinted to the window, furiously fiddled with the lock, and threw it open. A haggard-looking Raphael immediately stepped inside. She opened her mouth and began to ask where Don was, but Raph had already turned around and was reaching back through the window for something on the fire escape. With a strong tug, he pulled a limp body into the apartment, and both newcomers fell to the floor with a resounding thud.

Any questions April might have had immediately died in her throat.

"Son of a—" Raph sat up and rubbed a bruise on his torso.

Donatello, for his part, didn't so much as twitch. He lay perfectly still on the floor, the slow rise and fall of his chest the only sign of life. April felt her knees buckle and knelt down quickly so as to avoid a fall. Even in the dim candlelight, it was impossible not to see how her boyfriend's plastron glistened wet with blood.

"No," she whispered, to no one in particular. "Oh, please, no."

Meanwhile, Raphael crawled over and began slapping Don's cheeks. "Hey, wake up, Sleepin' Beauty." He glanced up at April worriedly before resorting to shaking Don by the shoulders. "C'mon, Donny. Ya were just awake, man!"

Groaning deeply, Don opened his eyes and lifted his head a little. "You still got my bag?"

For the first time, April noticed that Raph had his brother's bag slung over his shoulder. "Yeah, I got yer precious bag," Raph growled. Abruptly he stood, flung the bag to the ground and, just for good measure, fixed Don with a steely glare.

Don carefully propped himself up on an elbow. As April crawled towards him, surveying his injuries in horrified silence, Donatello unzipped his satchel and rifled around inside.

Meanwhile Raphael continued glaring. "We got split up while out on patrol," he narrated, for April's benefit. "A buncha goons got a jump on Donny, and …" Here Raph's voice faltered. "Was a while before I could get to 'im and even out the odds."

"Found them!" cried Don triumphantly, pulling out a bouquet of a half-dozen white roses.

Utterly confused, April looked from the roses to Don to Raph. Raph just rolled his eyes. "So after I finished off the goons," he continued, as if there hadn't been any pause, "I grabbed Donny and started heading this way. But the brainiac over there? Said he needed to get flowers before we could come here."

Don sighed. "I'm really not hurt that badly, Raph."

"The stubborn jerk actually fought me when I tried to pick him up and carry him!" Eyes narrowed in frustration, Raphael crossed his arms over his plastron. As he did so, April noticed that he had a gash across his shoulder that was still oozing a little. "Said he wouldn't stop thrashin' around unless I took his money and picked up those damn roses."

April turned her attention back to Don, who had by then lay back down. For a long moment she just stared at him in bewilderment. Then, very quietly, she asked him, "Are you absolutely insane?"

Donatello offered a weak grin. "It's our anniversary," he explained, a bit sheepishly. "I had to bring flowers."

Raph snorted in disgust. "I'm goin' to the bathroom to get the first aid kit."

As the red-masked turtle stalked off, April leaned down and rested her forehead against Don's cheek. Immediately he lifted an arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. It was then, only then, that she fully let go. She sobbed into his rough skin, her tears mixing freely with his blood, while he stroked her hair with gentle hands.

She had been wrong. She had thought she could do this—could be with Donatello—but she couldn't. She just couldn't. Not with the constant fear. The never-ending succession of life-threatening injuries. The utter lack of control. Why on earth had she ever thought she was strong enough for this? Why had she thought this relationship could ever be worth the heartache it would inevitably bring?

"April?"

She nodded for him to continue.

"I love you."

And then April remembered exactly why it was worth it. "I love you too." Shakily she laughed. "And I love the flowers."