Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and are the property of Viacom/Nickelodeon.

Story takes place in the 03 verse sometime after Turtles Forever and has nothing to do with the Guardian Angel saga.

This story contains a M/M relationship. If you dislike slash then I suggest you stop reading and hit the back button

Changes of the Heart

Chapter 1: Good Samaritans

The evening was young. The sun had set only a couple hours before and the city was set aglow by the numerous amounts of lights from within the buildings, from the cars below and the occasional helicopters that flew above. Even with the various lights there was still not enough for the denizens of the city to look up. No one would notice four five foot anthropomorphic turtles as they ran and leapt across the tops of the buildings, not unless they were looking at them.

Donatello followed close after his brother, Leonardo as they did their training exorcises. He knew he should keep his mind focused on the training, but he couldnt help but think about all the projects he wanted to do. He had recently set up a medical room in case of emergencies and rigging up the entertainment systems in the main living part of their lair followed that. He still had to set up smaller televisions for himself and his brothers in their individual rooms and he had a few ideas for some new vehicles.

"Yo Don," Raphael called after him. "Where did you think you are going?"

"Where am I going?" Donny asked after he had paused in his tracks. He looked behind him and just a little to the side to see that while his brothers had changed direction he was continuing in the same path they had started in. "No where."

"You okay?" Michelangelo asked. As usual their youngest brother was bringing up the rear.

"I'm fine," Donny assured him. "I'm just a little distracted."

"You distracted?" Raph asked in disbelief. "Thats like me being into all that technology, Mikey being the leader and Leo acting tough and losing his temper."

"There is just a lot of stuff I want to work on," Donny said. "I have too many thoughts going on at the same time."

"You with too many thoughts," Raph chuckled. "So you finally admit that. Well it's better than having no thoughts like Mikey."

"Hey," Mikey said. He had his fists at his hips.

"You can think about your projects when we return," Leonardo said. His tone of voice was not angry nor even strict. It was just calm. "Until then you need to stay focused. All of you do."

"I'm focused," Mikey said. He blinked. "Hey wait a second. Raph, do you mean I'm the one that gets easily distracted."

"I aint saying anything," Raph said as he ran after Leo.

Donny watched as his two brothers ran ahead before he turned to Mikey. "Lets go before we both fall behind. He turned around and ran after his brothers."

The routine was a basic follow the leader type of run. Leo led and what ever moves he performed then Donny and the others would follow. After performing a tricky leap Leo would pause and turn around to watch his brothers and offer critiques. Don wasn't sure but he had a feeling that if Leonardo criticized Raph one more time their brother was going to blow his top.

"Hey," the shout came from Mikey, not Raph. "I know this area."

"Wait a second," Raph said once they all had stopped. "You are pausing us so that you can tell us that you know the area?"

"We could use the break," Leo said and leaned against the top of an air conditioning unit and took a deep breath.

"Remember when I got separated from you guys last week?" Mikey asked. "Well I was trying to find you and I heard a commotion going on down below, so I looked down and these tough looking dudes were trying to mug this one guy."

"Mikey tell me you didn't jump down to help them," Raph said.

"I had to Raph," Mikey said. "I kept thinking of WWTTD."

"WWTTD?" Donny repeated what his younger brother said. "I'm afraid Im not aware of that acronym."

"What Would the Turtle Titan Do," Mikey explained. "I had to help that guy. I couldn't just not do anything."

"If Master Splinter knew what you did," Raph started.

"Save it," Leo held up his hand. "Michelangelo, you know how dangerous it is to reveal ourselves."

"But-"

"No buts," Raph poked him in the center of his plastron.

"Leave him alone," Don said. "'You know Mikey has a good heart. He couldnt let some innocent person get hurt."

"Well talk about this later," Leo said. "Right now we are going to resume training and well do that with a round of ninja hide and seek. He said the last part of his sentence as he jumped over the side of the building and disappeared into the shadows."

"I'm not going to be it again," Donny said as he ran across the building tops. He kept his eyes open, seeking a possible good location for him to hide. He had been up for too long. He had to jump down and the next alley would be a good place.

Except the alley wasnt vacant. It had several people in it and they were all beating up on another individual. It didn't take a genius to see that they belonged to a gang, and not just any gang. The bore the emblem of the Purple Dragons on their clothes and skin.

Donny removed his Shell Cell from his belt and turned it on. "Guys you have to hone in on my location. Purple Dragons." He did not need to say anymore. He knew his brothers would be by his side within a few seconds.

"Who are they beating on?" Mikey asked. He was the first to arrive.

"Does it matter?" Raph asked.

"He's right," Leo said. "He was the first to jump down."

Donatello followed suit. As soon as his feet had touched the ground two of the Dragons came running towards him. He blocked their advances with his Bo staff before he spun around and kicked one in the head and delivered a good chop to the gut of another before he used his staff to catapult him into the direction of one of the Dragons that had Mikey cornered. The fight did not last long. Don wasnt sure if it had even lasted five minutes before the members of the Purple Dragons they fought against either were knocked out or turned tail and ran off.

"That's right," Raph shouted at them as he pointed one of his sais at their direction. "You better run."

As far as Don was concerned the Dragons were no longer a part of his concern. They had to see if the person they were beating on was still alive and if so find a way that person would receive medical attention. He turned to the victim. His eyes widened when he saw the large form. Green skin was marred with bleeding cuts and bruises.

"Hun," Donny gasped and felt his fingers grow weak enough for his staff to fall.

"Where?" Raph asked as he spun around there.

"Here," Donny he said as he ran up the battered mutant. On a closer inspection he could see the extent of Huns injuries. His right eye was swollen shut and blood was dribbling out his mouth and nostrils. His left leg was bent at an odd angle. Nearly all of his spikes were cracked or broken. There were even a few bleeding wounds near the spikes. It only took a few seconds before Donny realized that the former human had several removed.

"Holy shell," Leo gasped.

"What are we going to do?" Mikey asked. "We should call someone. I know-"

"We leave him," Raph said.

"He could die," Donny said softly.

"Good riddance," Raph said.

"Raph," Leo addressed him in a low tone.

"You guys cant be serious in trying to help him," Raph said. "This is Hun we are talking about."

"We have to help him," Donny said. His voice was as low as Leos. He removed his purple facemask and balled it up before he pressed it against one of the deep bleeding wounds. He might not have felt the same if Hun was still human, but now that their enemy was the same species as they were he couldn't turn his back.

"Donatello is right," Leo said. "How can we call ourselves creatures of honor if we just leave him here to die."

"Fine," Raph said in a disgusted tone. "So what are we going to do? We just cant take him to the hospital."

"Dr. Zales," Mikey said. "He can help."

"Who's Dr. Zales?" Leo asked.

"The guy I saved last week," Mikey explained. "He lives close by. His home is right above his practice."

"What kind of doctor is he?" Donny asked.

"He's a veterinarian, but he has treated humans in the past in cases of emergency. I tried to tell you about him and the fact that we are friends now but you wou-"

"Mikey," Donny snapped at him.

"Right, sorry," Mikey stammered. "I'll go get him. He faded into the shadows."

"I hope for Hun's sake that this Doctor Zales would be able to help him," Leo said.

"Hope?" Raph asked before he caught the glare of both Donny and Leo. "He let out an exasperated sigh. What do you want me to do Don?"

"I need you both to take off your masks," Don instructed. He did not remove his gaze from Hun. "I need you to press it against the cut on his right thigh and left arm, just under the spiky area."

"Do you know how bad it is?" Leo asked as he kneeled next to the giant turtle and placed his mask against one of the wounds.

Donny shook his head. "Can't be too certain. There may be internal bleeding and one of his legs is broken. We have to try and minimize the bleeding, make sure he is still breathing and hope that Mikey makes it through."

"Why did they beat on him like that?" Raph asked after a couple of minutes had passed. "I thought they looked up to him."

"They might not want him as a leader now that he is a mutant," Leo said.

"But there were Dragons fighting along with him when everything was being erased. They were even calling him boss and everything."

"That was only a handful," Leo said. "The majority doesn't want him around. They made it clear."

"Or it could just be a small faction," Donny said. He thought he heard a vehicle pull up to a stop at the opening to the street. "We don't know for certain."

"Guys," Mikey shouted. He was at one end of the alley that was blocked by the rear end of a van that tried to back in to the area. "We made it."

"Were is the patient?" The man behind their brother asked. He appeared to have been between late forties and early fifties. His salt and pepper colored hair was balding and he had a thin mustache.

"Over here," Don shouted.

Doctor Zales ran up to them. He took one look at Hun and sucked in his breath. "We have to bring him to my practice. I hope it will be enough."

"Do you think it will be safe to move him?" Donny asked.

"We dont have much of a choice," Zales said. "I know he looks heavy but we have to be careful. All of five of us can try and lift him."

The carefully slipped their hands under Huns body and using all of their strength were able to pick him up and slowly carried him to the van where there was soft bedding.

Donatello did not remove his eyes at all from Hun as they traveled. They only drove a block and a half when Dr. Zales parked the van on the curb. Hun remained stable. His breathing and heartrate did not change.

"Wait here," the vet said before he ran into the building. He returned a minute later pushing what appeared to have been a gurney. "Your brother had mentioned that in rare cases I take in human patients?"

"He has," Leo said.

"We are going to have to lift him again," Dr. Zales said once had had the gurney set up near the back of the van. It will be easier to move him around once he is on this. Now on three.

"One," Donatello counted along with the doctor and Mikey as all five of them placed their hands under Hun.

"Two." This time Raph and Leo joined in on the counting.

"Three." They gathered all their strength and lifted Hun up from the back of the van and placed him onto the gurney.

"Now to see the damage done," the doctor said as they pushed Hun inside the building.

"Won't anyone notice?" Leo asked.

"The only ones who will come down here at this time would be my wife and son," Zales answered. "My wife will not leave the television on Idol night for anything and my son is studying for a test tomorrow. A bomb could go off and he would still be sitting there with his books and notebooks open."

"Sounds like you, Don," Raph said.

Don smiled weakly. "Right now we have a patient to save."

Once they reached the back of the building where all the emergency and operating equipment were located they flew into action. Hun was hooked up to an EKG machine and an IV was put in. Under the surveillance and instructions from both Zales and Don the other three turtles were able to clean the wounds and bandage up the cuts that were not too deep.

"I'm going to have to operate," Zales said. "He does have some internal bleeding near the lower abdomen. He is going to need a blood donation."

"He can take mine," Don said. He had no idea what type Hun was but he knew that he had carried what the blood banks had called red gold. "I have O negative."

"You don't have to do this," Raphael said.

"We don't know his blood type." Don refused to look at his brother. "And we dont have time to test to see what kind of blood he does have."

"I'll get you started," Zales said as he opened and closed drawers until he had the materials that he needed. "We also need to get those deeper cuts and gashes sterilized for sutures."

"Mikey, you and Raph clean and sterilize those wounds," Donny instructed. "Leo, you have assisted me before suturing up wounds."

"Were on it," Leo said.

Don kept his eyes on his brothers as they went to work. He did not turn to look at his arms to see which one the needle went in until he saw the doctor was no longer next to him and was treating Hun along with the other turtles.

"Huh?" Don looked down at his left arm and saw the needle and tube connecting to the bag that was slowly filling with his blood. He did not feel the needle at all. Either he was too distracted by the treating of Hun or Dr. Zales was just that skilled. It didnt matter. What mattered was trying to save the patient. He squeezed his hand into a fist and relaxed several times in a row while the bag filled up even faster.

"Ah perfect," Zales said once the bag was full. He placed a wad of cotton over where the needle was and pulled it out. "Now put your hand here and raise your arm."

"I can bandage myself up," Don said.

Zales nodded. "Boys, I need to start a different kind of drip." He rattled of the names of various painkillers and anesthesia while Don held up his hand.

"What about his broken bones?" Mikey asked as Don was placing a bandage over where the needle was in his arm.

"We will treat that later," Zales said. "Right now we have to treat the bleeding."

Donatellos blood and the various drips were hooked up to Hun. They waited a few minutes before Zales and Donatello cut in. It was a bit difficult due the thickness and hardness of Hun's plastron but they made it through and saw the damage that was done to his liver. Using the dissolvable stitches they were able to repair the wound and closed Hun back up and used heavy bandages over the area.

They worked on his bones next. His left arm had a break both in the upper and lower halves. His left leg had a single clean break in the femur while his right leg had a multiple break that require more cutting and using pins to hold the sections of bone together. Once that surgery was complete they stitched up where they cut, bandaged it and made sure there was enough plaster and bandages for his legs and arm.

"He is going to have to be on a liquid diet," Zales said as he looked at Huns head. "There is a hairline crack in the jaw and I don't like the bruises on his neck." They treated his jaw with wire and wrapped more bandage around his head.

They last thing they checked was Huns shell. There were a few cracks, and only one looked serious. They cleansed the entire carapace with an antiseptic, applied plenty of antibiotic and sealed the cracks with an epoxy.

"We have to make sure he drinks plenty of protein shakes with vitamin K," Don said as they finished up the treatment.

"Whew," Raph said as he wiped the sweat of his forehead. "Is that the last?"

"Of what we can do." Zales nodded. "We are now at the rest and wait and see period."

"Good," Mikey yawned. "What time is it?"

Zales checked his watch. Almost four thirty in the morning."

"We should be getting home," Leo said. "Unless there is more than we can do."

"We did everything we can do for now," Zales said. "You boys go home and get some rest."

"If it is all right with you I would like to stay," Don said. "I could keep an eye on Hun while you treat your other patients."

"You need to get some rest yourself," Zales said.

"He's right," Leo agreed.

"Don't be doing that thing where you push yourself and not get any sleep for yourself," Raph said. "Not for him anyway."

"I wish to stay," Donny said. His eyes were narrowed at Raph. "You can explain everything to Master Splinter."

"We will tell him," Mikey said. "Maybe he will have some sympathy and let us sleep in."

Leo placed a hand on Dons shoulder. "If you need anything you will contact us on your Shell Cell."

"I promise," Don said.

"C'mon," Leo instructed as he turned to Mikey and Raph. "Time to go home."

"Good luck," Mikey said as he followed after Leonardo.

"Don't push yourself too hard." Raphael was the last one to leave.

Zales waited until they had left before he turned to Don. "You wont mind being down here by yourself?"

"I won't mind," Don said.

"I apologize just leaving you like this, but I need at least a few hours of sleep."

"I understand."

Donatello did not remove his eyes from Huns sleeping form and hoped the former human did not feel any kind of pain. While he hoped that Hun would pull it through he wondered why he was going out of his way to help the former Purple Dragon. This man was their enemy. Hun blamed Donny and his brothers for his mutation. Could it possibly because Hun was also a mutant turtle that he was going out of his way for him? It also could be the fact that he didnt want to see anyone hurt like that, or maybe it was because he wanted to prove his medical mettle.

Donny had no idea how much time had passed by until he heard a sound behind him and jolted up in his chair.

"Sorry," Dr. Zales said. He was setting up a curtain like divider to block off Donny and Hun from the rest of the room. "I know its not the healthiest thing in the world, but would you care for coffee and donuts?"

Donny nodded. "I would like that."

The past few days were the same. Donatello practically lived in the medical room while he stood vigilance over Hun. He contacted Splinter and his brothers often on the Shell Cell and told them what was going on, but could never answer when they asked when he was going to come home.

Dr. Zales appeared in the morning before his practice opened. The vet would see several patients before noon. Then he would take an hour long lunch break to eat and check on Hun and Donny and made sure Donny got another meal, then in the afternoon he and his team would perform surgeries on pets that were scheduled for that day. Most of them were spays and neuters. In the evening after he had dinner with his family he would come down with dinner for Don.

"I am curious to why you were not afraid of Michelangelo," Don said in between bites of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. "A lot of people tend to freak out at the sight of us."

Zales shrugged. He was in the middle of changing Huns bandages. "I have heard stories about large green reptile men. You are becoming a bit of an urban legend, and there was that footage a few weeks ago. The stories mention how you fight thieves, gangsters and other shady folk. You were always painted as a kind of vigilante. After your brother rescued me I took the chance and thanked him. He was surprised but accepted it. I promised I owed him one."

"When we do rescue people we do not expect or ask for compensation," Donatello explained and took a long drink from his Sprite.

"Heroes never do," Zales said.

"You are a hero," Don told him. "All doctors are, and policemen, firefighters and teachers."

"That was sweet and noble of you to say so, but unlike you we expect to be paid."

"Well you do have bills to pay and mouths to feed," Don said in an understanding tone.

"And colleges to pay for," Zales sighed. "I really am proud of my children." He had already told Donatello about his two older children. Both were daughters. The eldest was in veterinary school. His second daughter was in her third year under dual major of both English and education. She wants to be a teacher for special needs children and also hoped to land the dream book deal. His youngest son yearns to be an astrophysicist.

"They all have admirable goals," Donny said and took another bite of his chicken.

On the fifth day something different happened, something that made Donny smile. He had heard stirring coming from Huns bed and when he turned to the large turtle he saw Huns eyelids twitch for a few seconds before the uninjured one opened.

"Don't move," Donatello said softly while he stared into the white iris. The mutation had drained the pigmentation in Huns eyes. "Don't try to speak either. Your jaw and throat still need to recover."

Hun blinked his eye and narrowed it. The rate of his heartbeat increased. The sound of the machine caused Hun to blink again before he stared at the machine and then at the IV drips and at his body.

"Let me get you some water." Don leapt to his feet. He ran to where the pitcher of ice water was. Every day they had it ready, just incase Hun woke up. The patient received fluids through the IVs but his tongue and mouth had to feel extremely dry by now. "Just try not to move or anything. He poured some water in the glass and placed a plastic lid on it and inserted a straw. He brought the glass over to Hun. "Drink slowly."

Hun leaned over until the straw was in his mouth and sipped.

"Are you in any pain?" Donny asked once Hun had finished.

The large reptile shook his head.

"I guess it would be hard to let us know if you do." Communication was going to be hard. "We can try this." Donny grabbed a nearby pad and a pen. He placed them next to the small table on Huns right side. "Whatever you want to say just write it down."

Hun stared at the pen and paper and pointed to his other arm.

"Except you are left handed," Donny said. "He waited for Hun to nod and watched as Hun used his thumb to touch his other two fingers. "And you are not used to writing with your new hands. I'm sorry. We didn't mean for any of this to happen to you. This mutation I mean, actually. Im sorry your were viciously attacked. Why did they attack you?"

Hun grabbed the pen and while it seemed that he struggled a bit he did manage to write something on the pad. He set down the pen and lifted the paper. He had scrawled out one word: Ritual.

"Thats what you do when someone wants to leave or you kick them out?" He waited for Hun to nod again. "But I thought they still followed you."

Hun wrote down something else. It was hard to read, but Donny could make out the words small faction, most did not accept and dragons fighting.

"Only a small group backed you," Don said. "The others didn't and they took on the ones who did accept you. Do you know where you are?"

Hun shook his head.

"You are in a hospital of sorts, an animal hospital. Our brother made a friend and he has been a lot of help. The five of us saved you. Are you surprised?"

Hun wrote some more. Not really. You four have this honor thing.

"Are you glad we saved you?" Donatello asked as another thought entered his head. What if Hun didnt want to be saved? Without the Purple Dragons he had nothing. "Do you want to live?"

I dont know. As soon as he wrote the words down he closed his eyes, but not fast enough. A few treacherous tears escaped while his head shook slightly and sniffles were heard. He was crying. He was actually crying.

"Hun, Im sorry," Don whispered and gently placed his hand on his good arm. "When you are little better and when you can be moved you are coming with us." The words fell out of his mouth before he knew he was saying them. "You have me."