I slowly emerged from my pleasant dreams and awoke to find myself cuddled up against a still-sleeping Leonardo. My head was resting on his shoulder and my body was now pushed up close to his. I feared to move in case I woke him.
When I paused to think about it, I wasn�t even sure if I wanted to move at all. Part of me was very happy and contented with the position I was in. The other half of my brain was assuring me that this was all wrong and that nothing good would arise from remaining here any longer.
I had never really been close to a male before. I had never really been close to anyone before! This was a whole new experience for me, but it was an experience I feared to enjoy.
I started to get a little uncomfortable and shifted my weight slightly. Leonardo was woken by my movements and opened his eyes. He smiled at me before he appeared to realize how close we were.
He slowly removed his arm from around me and we both sat up in embarrassed silence.
Staring around the room, I saw that all except Leo and I were still asleep. A clock informed me that it was about 3pm. April and Casey had apparently returned from the hospital as I could see April�s bag and shoes discarded by the door.
I started to grow slightly red as I wondered what April and Casey had seen and thought upon their return to the apartment.
I was shaken from my thoughts by the memory of my intense hunger. I gazed over at the bowl of soup I had left by Michaelangelo which was now, undoubtedly, stone-cold.
�Uhhh... Shall we go get something to eat?� asked Leonardo, as though he had read my mind.
�Sure.� I agreed.
Both of us struggled to get to out feet. My balance was poor, due to my weight and Leonardo was still very frail from his malnourishment.
I started to try and collect up all the discarded soup bowls, but was forced to give up as I nearly toppled over. I paused to gaze back at Michaelangelo, who appeared to be resting peacefully. It was horrible to think that although he was out of immediate danger, unless he started eating properly he would die anyway. But there was nothing I could do about it.
Leonardo saw me pause and gently took my hand.
�He�ll be okay.� he soothed, following my line of sight to look at Michaelangelo. �Mikey�s been in worse scrapes than this before and he�s always pulled through.�
I let out a small choked sob and felt my eyes grow watery. �But what if he, he...�
Leonardo pulled me close and I buried my head in his shoulder, my emotions overwhelming me at last.
�He�ll be fine. We�ll all be fine.�
Leonardo comforted me in his arms for what seemed like only a few minutes, but in reality must have been over half an hour.
Eventually we broke apart and headed into the kitchen to satisfy our hunger for food. More soup was made and this time both Leonardo and I tried to encourage Michaelangelo to eat.
Mike managed probably half the bowl before he slipped back into slumber. Leonardo and I moved away to let Mikey sleep and I started to question Leo about what had happened back at the lair the night that I was captured.
�Not much.� replied Leonardo. �I got a little concerned over where the two of you were, later that evening. But it wasn�t until morning that I really started to worry. I called April, to see if you�d gone there, and when she said that you hadn�t, I decided to retrace the steps you would have taken. Then as I reached the alley, I caught sight of the clothes and food scattered, before I was ambushed by the Foot.�
I hardly noticed as Leo gently took my hand before continuing.
�I was then drugged and the next thing I remember was being locked into a cell with Michaelangelo in the cell next to me. I was there for about a day before some scientist people arrived and I was dragged to an alternate prison, the one Raph found me in, yesterday.�
It didn�t seem like it had only been yesterday that I had been captured. The last seven months were disappearing like a bad dream does after you are woken up. But glancing down, I knew that I would be affected forever. I felt Leonardo�s hand tighten slightly around mine and I shifted my eyes to look into his face.
�Then, uh, well, er... You can probably work out what happened from then on.�
I nodded. Sighing, I then rested my head on Leo�s shoulder and looked around the room. Everything was still and deathly silent. However, I noticed that Splinter was now sitting upright in a Lotus position and was breathing deeply instead of being slumped asleep in April�s chair like he had previously. I wondered whether he was meditating, and voiced this question to Leo.
�Huh?� replied Leonardo softly, turning to look at Splinter. �Oh. Yeah, he�s meditating.� There were a few seconds of silence. �Hey, do you want to try some meditation?� he asked me.
�Um, sure! But I don�t think my legs will bend quite right for the Lotus position...� I said, smiling slightly. Leonardo smiled back.
�That�s okay. Just close your eyes and try to relax your body. Then clear all thoughts from your head and I�ll try and lead your mind into the dream realm.�
It was harder than I thought to try and think of nothing. I had so much to think about! Whether Mike, Don and Raph would be all right, about the baby and about the father...
Eventually, however, I had the strangest sensation of someone else lurking about in my mind. I wasn�t sure about this and I put my guard up so the sensation went away. A minute or so later it tried again and I realized that it was Leonardo. No words were needed for him to lead me to the realm of dreams.
It felt like he took my hand and guided me there, but there was no physical presence. It was certainly the strangest thing I have ever experienced. I was there, but I wasn�t. I was me, but I wasn�t. I couldn�t see, hear, feel or anything. But I knew what was happening.
I was carefully lead further and further away from my own body and I started to sense other minds. I recognized Splinter and felt Leonardo partially leave me and drift towards his sensei. I felt tugged to follow him, but not pressurized.
I just started to pursue Leo, when I felt another whom I recognized. It was Michaelangelo.
He wasn�t really responding much. Just drifting about aimlessly. I tried to get close to him and he appeared to acknowledge my presence.
I wanted to soothe him, to hug him, but I didn�t know how. I was terribly afraid of getting something wrong, if that was possible.
I tried to pull myself closer and closer to Mikey, and all of a sudden returned back into normal solid life as I got the shock of my life.
I had been inside Michaelangelo! For a brief second I had felt what it was like to be him. His dreams, hopes and desires. His nightmares, fears and torments. I shivered involuntarily. He was so phlegmatic and spiritless that I felt like crying.
I gazed out of the window in an effort to clear my mind. The day had turned into a dark and dismal evening. I heaved myself to my feet and flicked the light switch on before pulling the curtains together. I could hear movement upstairs and guessed that either April or Casey was clomping about up there.
Leonardo opened his eyes and stood up.
�Hey, Andrea, what happened?� he asked, looking confused. �You left awfully quickly.�
I explained briefly what happened, trying not to cry. Leonardo saw me getting upset and pulled me close, gently kissing my cheek.
I turned my head slightly we gazed into each others face. No words were needed to explain the rush of emotion I experienced as I looked into his kind brown eyes. I was drawn towards Leonardo and our faces grew closer together as he put his arms completely around me and we embraced. Our bodies were pushed up against each others and our lips were about to meet, when there was the unmistakable sound of movement from behind us.
The moment was gone as quick as it had arisen. Leonardo and I hastily separated and both turned an embarrassed red.
We both turned to watch as Donatello pulled himself upright and put a hand to his head. He looked slightly confused.
Leonardo and I turned to exchange a slightly worried, but happy, glance before heading over to Don.
�Whu, where am I?� he asked, flicking his eyes around the room.
�In April�s apartment.� answered Leonardo moving way from me and heading to put a hand on Donatello�s arm. �How do you feel? Are you all right? You had us all worried last night!�
�Yeah, I�m fine.� replied Donatello, turning to look over Leonardo�s shoulder before bringing up his hands to rub his eyes.
Donatello still had a decidedly bemused expression on his face as he waved a hand in front of his beak and stared intently at it.
�Geeze.� he moaned. �It�s pitch black in here! Can�t someone turn a light on?�
�The lights?� I repeated, looking round. �But, they're already on! It's bright in here!�
A confused look passed across Don�s face once more.
�I, it is?� he said, appearing to panic slightly as he turned his head to face me. I watched as his eyes struggled to focus and he looked more and more worried.
I realized what the problem was all too quickly and raised my hand to my mouth as I tried to stifle a gasp. I wanted to speak, but found myself unable to do so.
�Don?� asked Leonardo, his whole face a picture of concern. Don too appeared to realize what was happening and his expression was one of complete horror.
�Leo, I, I can�t see!�