The Silent Partner

Interesting Developments

A rather uneventful week passed. Donatello decided it was about time to perform a full medical examination on Mona Lisa. Of course, it didn't take the brainiac very long to discover that that was easier said than done.

Mona Lisa hadn't entered the lab since the day she left it, and she seemed determined to keep it that way. All things considered, Donatello couldn't blame her. After all, from what they could tell she'd been locked up in her lab for most of her life.

But, unfortunately for Donnie, getting Mona Lisa was the least of his worries. In fact, the brainiac was considering giving up right on the spot because he had two hundred pounds of pure muscle glaring him angrily in the face.

For most of the turtles the majority of their weight were actually their very heavy shells. In Raphael's case however, there was far more muscle mass than shell, which of course made him the heaviest of the turtle brothers, and consequently the hardest to transport when injured. But that's beside the point, back to the situation at hand.

To top things off, Don's rather tactless attempts to drag Mona Lisa to the lab had scared her and she had begun to cry. And now Raphael was officially considering pounding his so-called 'smart' brother to pulp. Mona rushed over to her red-masked guardian and hid behind him, her body trembling with fear.

Don felt guilty for scaring her, but for her own sake he needed to do this. The genius just hoped that could save him from Raphael's wrath. "Raph, Raph! Don't do anything hasty! Hear me out first. She needs a complete medical examination! Not only to see how she's healing, but also to learn more about her background!"

Raph's fist stilled halfway to Donnie's face. Neon green eyes narrowed. "That's no excuse for scaring her, Don. You should have been more careful. You know that she doesn't like the lab!"

Don bristled. "Well, I can't examine her in here! I need my equipment in the lab!"

A deep growl worked its way out of Raph's throat and Donnie knew that he had just made the mistake of yelling at his hotheaded brother while said turtle was angry.

Raph was about ready to rip Donnie a new one when a soft hand on his shoulder held him back. Slowly he turned to look at Mona Lisa curiously. She pulled his hands down and placed herself between him and Donatello. Finally she slowly looked at Raph, then at Donnie, and nodded.

Raphael's eyes narrowed as he frowned deeply. "Are you sure about this?"

Mona smiled and nodded, squeezing his hand. Unfortunately Raphael couldn't tell whether the action was out of fear or need for reassurance. When Mona Lisa began to tremble, Raph came to the assumption that it was probably the latter.

Neon green eyes intensified to an almost laser green shade as he spoke lowly to Donatello. "You better not hurt her, Don."

The brainiac straightened a little. In a way he was glad that Mona trusted him in a situation like this, but on the other hand he wasn't so sure he'd be able to calm the flames of Raphael's anger if she displayed any sign of being uncomfortable or in pain. His voice was shaky ad he whispered back, "Don't worry. I'm just going to do some basic scans."

The other members of the turtle family exchanged glances and slowly followed after Raph, Donnie, and Mona.

As they made their way through the lab doors, Mona Lisa sidled closer to Raph. Leonardo smiled. The way she clung to Raph's arm reminded him of the way human kids cling to their parents as they entered the doctor's office for an appointment.

The eldest turtle wasn't sure, but he had a feeling that Mona fancied Raph as something more than just a guardian. Whether Raph returned those feelings or not was difficult to tell because he seemed oblivious as a rock. But perhaps...in time...