Donatello jogged through the sewer hoping the guys weren't waiting up for him. He just wanted to go to bed and process all the wonderful things that had happened.

A little voice inside his head snorted, "Wonderful things? Like what - bandaging a scabby leg or getting a hug? Boy are you desperate." Don stood still and mulled the thought over. Maybe he was just desperate and lonely…he wondered if he would be attracted to any girl who was nice to him. It was a sad thought and he didn't like it. He leaned against the wall and sighed. What did he like about her anyway? He smiled a bit - he didn't have to explain big words to her and she didn't call him a nerd when he talked about his inventions, "Like certain other parties do", he mumbled. In fact, she'd seemed almost… interested. Donatello smiled. Yeah, he liked the little bookworm alright.

But how did she feel about him? He started jogging along again. She seemed to be fairly alone too. "I hope she's not just desperate and lonely", he thought. "She seems really friendly, but what if that's just because I'm the only one around?" His heart sank a bit as that crossed his mind. He knew he couldn't realistically expect her to be attracted to him either. "She'll probably only ever want me as a friend." Don remembered how sweet her hair smelled and prayed that he'd be proven wrong.

***

The lair was totally dark when he got home. He tiptoed through the living room and into the kitchen for a drink of water. He fumbled for the cupboard handle when he heard someone breathing behind him and the overhead light clicked on. He turned to see Raphael leaning against the doorway, looking like the cat that had caught the canary.

"Weren't we out late" Raph grinned. "Have a nice time?", he drawled lazily.

Don lowered his eyes a bit as Raph straddled a kitchen chair and propped his elbows on the back rest. There was no right answer to the question, so Don just shrugged and turned his back to get a glass.

"How is she?" Raphael asked more seriously. "She freaking out?" he paused. "Can we trust her?" Don got poured a glass of cold water from a jug in the fridge and leaned back against the counter.

"A was a bit freaked, yeah… she hadn't eaten all day so we ordered a pizza and talked about it for a while." Raph nodded approvingly, but didn't say anything. He was a surprisingly good listener and he had suspected that Don would want to talk when he got home. Don sat down next to his brother and gave him the full play by play of the evening. Raph was cheeky, to say the least, but he knew how to keep his mouth shut.

"That pisses me off" Raph said when Don told him how Charlie's parents didn't talk to her. "What kind of parent ignores their kid like that? Fuckers."

Don sighed. "I think we can trust her", he finally said. "What do you guys think?"

"She did save Mikey's life… dunno bro… but we can find out." Raph grinned.

"What do you mean?" Don asked.

"I'll come hang out with you guys tomorrow and she how she reacts. I'll be an impartial third party."

"Yeah!" Don said, grinning. "That'd be great." They sat in silence for a minute. Raphael rested his head on his arms, and Don sipped his water.

"So you got a hug, eh?"

Don blushed a bit, but looked pleased. "Yeah."

Raph laughed and high-fived him. "Nice work, Donnie, nice work."