Love and Hate

Chapter16

Friends

Donatello walked with Mikey down the stallion barn aisle. He looked at all the different colored horses and patted a few. He looked in on Silver Serenity and smiled.

" So this one is going to the Kentucky Derby?"

" Ya. I think she might be running him in the Breeder's Cup Classic before then. After the Kentucky Derby and if he is still fit, then she is going to enter him in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. If he wins the Derby and the two Stakes then he wins the Triple Crown. He'll be a champion just like his sire."

" Where is his sire?" Don asked as he curiously scanned the stalls.

" Right here." Mike pointed to a dark dapple-gray stallion that stood almost 17 hands high. He was large and had very large muscles. He had one blue eye and one brown like his son.

" Wow." Don said almost at a whisper.

" Ya that's what I said." They moved on and Don looked at a young horse that was a chestnut color.

" Hey she's cute." Mike started to laugh at him.

" Don this is called the stallion barn." And then he pointed under the horse's belly. Don's mouth dropped and his eyes went wide. Mike laughed and moved on.

" Oh my God! Look at the size of that!"

" Don! Just get over here." Don turned and quickly went back to Mike who was now going to the mare's barn. They were spending a lot of their time looking at the horses.

" What other horses does Vicky have racing?"

" Um.. I'm not really sure if she has any other." They went to the yearling barn and looked around.

" I think Cam mentioned this one going into a small race about two months from now. Her name is Baby Lady." Don looked at the young horse. She was a 2-year-old filly and was a liver colored chestnut with a dark mane and tail. She had one white sock on her foreleg. The filly nickered softly and budded Donatello with her nose. Don smiled and rubbed her velvet muzzle.

" I like her." He stated. Mike smiled and went on to look at the others.

Vicky walked with Angel toward the training barn and talked with her. Angel was a light-skinned Hispanic with light brown hair and hazel eyes. Her hair was short and layered. She was a trainer of jumpers and hunters. She had her own farm not too far from where Vicky lived. They walked into the training barn and suddenly Angel backed up in fright.

" Don't scream!" Mike said. But she didn't listen. She screamed and then fell to the ground. Vicky looked down at her casually and then back at the turtles who hadn't clothed themselves before they came out. Mike shrugged with a little shy grin on his face.

" We didn't know you were having company. Sorry." Vic smiled.

" I hope that didn't upset you." She said. Don shook his head.

" Don't worry, we get it all the time." Vic raised a brow and heaved a sigh as Don came to help carry Angel to the house. Mike laughed lightly and walked behind them. They brought Angel into the house and set her down on the couch.

" I'll be right back." Vic went up the stairs and to her room where Raphael was laying.

" Raph, I just wanted to tell you that your brothers are here. If you don't want to see them then stay up stairs."

" Why are they here?"

" Well they were looking at the horses and my friend Angel happened to see them without their disguises and well....she screamed and passed out." Raph started to laugh and sat back on the bed.

" Oh God.....do I remember all the times that happened to us. What did Don and Mike say?"

" Mike said that he was sorry and Don said that it didn't bother him cause he was used to it." Raphael started to laugh again and Vic tried to hold it in. She came over and kissed his mouth softly.

" It's not funny." She whispered. He turned to her and smiled.

" Yes it is." He pulled her down and kissed her before letting her go back to taking care of Angel.

April looked at Leo.

" Leo you need to stop going out like this. Your gonna get hurt. Stop killing all these people."

" Why? They would kill us in a spilt second, why not do it before they do? Raphael did it that way."

" Raphael was different. Everyone expected this out of him, but not you. You're supposed to be the level-headed one."

" Ya well that was a long time ago."

" Just because Raph and Splinter are gone doesn't mean you have to change. Do you think Splinter would approve of this? And don't give me any bullshit about how he's gone and how you don't care because I know you do."

" Well....maybe he wouldn't approve, but I....." Leo broke off and sat down. He cupped his face with his hands and remained quiet. April came over and sat next to him.

" Leo I know it's hard for you to deal with, but you have to deal with it. You have no choice." She hugged him gently, before leaving him alone to think about it.

Casey came home and handed some papers to April. She went through them and smiled as she took out a picture of a little girl at the age of six. She had straight blond hair with brown streaks in it. Her eyes were a nice green color and she had a cute, yet sad smile. April looked at Casey.

" What does she like?"

" Beats me. We have to go meet her. But I like her. I say we adopt this one." April smiled and got up.

" I think that would be a great idea. Let's find out what she likes so we can make plans for this."

" All right." Casey smiled and he and April both looked at the picture again.

" Sarah Jones......I like it." April stated.

Vicky fanned Angel's face and she finally started to come around. She opened her eyes and looked at Vicky. Slowly, she sat up and looked around.

" What were those things in your barn?"

" Angel....they were mutant turtles. I know this is going to be a shock for you, but that's what they are and one of them is Mike. Cam's boyfriend." Angel looked at her with widened eyes. She tried to absorb all that in one dose but it didn't seem to be registering.

" I want you to meet them and I promise you that they are harmless." Angel looked at her and waited as she called the two turtles in. Angel's eyes went wide again as she looked at the large muscled turtles.

" This is Mike, as you know to be Cam's boyfriend and this is his brother Donatello." She looked at the two turtles back and forth and then she looked at Vicky.

" Where did they come from?"

" New York I believe. I just recently found out they were turtles too. I just didn't scream to death and pass out." Angel's cheeks turned a rose color and she looked away sheepishly.

" Sorry." She mumbled.

" I think you guys need to talk and get to know each other." Angel looked up at Don and Mike who sat on the couch across from her. Vicky went to the kitchen and grabbed some cokes for them.

" So Angel, how come you're not in the racing business with Vic?" Mike asked casually as if nothing was wrong. Angel was hesitant at first, but she began to relax when they didn't seem to do anything wrong.

" I don't know. I just don't have many horses fit for racing. I have always been into jumping that's all."

" Oh. Are you a good rider?"

" Yes."

" Are you any type of champion or do you just ride for the hell of it?"

" I am the state champion. But I don't really compete that much anymore. I breed and sell jumpers and hunters. Sometimes I teach a few lessons, but that's it."

" Cool." Don remained quiet and just looked at her. For an instant he remembered himself picking up her soft body and taking her to the house. He shook the thought from his mind and realized that she was looking right at him. He turned away quickly and she could see his cheeks turn red even with his green skin.

" Um..Mike, I'm gonna go outside." Mike looked at his brother and watched him go. Angel looked at him strangely as he left. Mike seemed to know what she was thinking.

" Sorry about that. Don is kinda shy. He didn't mean to make you scream and scare you. I guess he kinda feels bad."

" Is he normally like that?"

" Uh...ya. He's always been shy and the kind to stay away from people that didn't want him near." Angel began to feel bad for screaming at him. She quickly got up and followed him out the door. Mike grinned evilly and looked at Vic who had her eye brows raised.

" What? It's the truth." Mike said.

" Except you tried to make her feel bad so that she would go out and talk to him. I can only imagine what you're up to." Mike's grin grew even wider.

" I think Don likes her. What can I say? I'm just trying to help him out a bit." Vic turned away and started to laugh.

" Oh my goodness, Mike."

Don jumped when he saw Angel standing right next to him by the pasture fence. He turned away to look at the horses. He was trying not to look at her for many reasons that he didn't wish to say.

" Hey Um..Don? I'm sorry that I screamed and passed out on you back there."

" It's ok. We're used to it."

" Um....that doesn't make me feel any better." He gave a small smile and kept his eyes on the horses.

" Don't worry about it." Don said. Angel wondered if he was upset with her. She hadn't meant to do what she did. It just sort of happened.

" I'm sorry..." He turned to face her, but she was looking down at the ground. Before he thought about what he was doing, he reached out and touched her face. She looked at him a bit startled, but didn't move.

" It's all right." He pulled away and blushed. He turned and walked to the barns again. Angel just stood there looking after him. He seemed so nice and she had been so rude. Heaving a sigh, she turned and headed back to the house.

Don stood outside Baby Lady's stall and starred at the filly.

" Boy I can be stupid." The filly whinnied softly as if she understood.

" I shouldn't have even touched her...." He breathed in deeply and looked down at the horse's feet. He wasn't sure why he did it or why he felt the way he did.

" I hope this isn't some at first sight love thing. I don't think I can deal with heartbreak." He whispered to the filly who was willing to listen even if she didn't understand what he was saying.