There's a complete version of this on my website.  It's inappropriate for the rating cap here.  If you're interested in reading, click on my name and it'll take you to my profile, then go to my website.  This story is under "Short Stuff" and then "Kiara Files", as it's an add-in to my books.

KATARINA:

Stress. That's what this job thrived on. And there was certainly enough of it, readily available. "Stand by to roll v.o. in 13, mics and cue…" This wasn't my normal show, and trying to make it run smoothly was a lost cause. "Roll 13, mic and cue Jim. Standby to roll package in 12."

"Minute to live."

I glanced at the clock in the middle of the wall of monitors, quickly working in the time given to me from master control. "Uh… that's not right."

"What's not?"

The anchor's voice was only background noise, but I caught the roll cue. "… joins us with a closer look at this situation."

"Rolltakesound 13," I rushed.

"We hit the live at 31:30," master relayed. "So… figure out what you're gonna do."

I glanced toward the producer, allowing myself a moment to breathe. "Kristie, this pack is a minute sixteen on my rundown and we got 45 to the live."

She looked at her computer, then at the clock, then she groaned. "Oh shit."

Those words were not something you ever wanted to hear in a newscast. "You wanna dump out?" I asked.

She hesitated for a moment. "That's gonna look terrible."

"It's your call."

There was a moment of debate. "Yeah, dump it. The live is more important and I didn't roll on the backup this morning."

I sighed inwardly. "Okay, standby cameras, standby to mic and cue Jim, we are dumping out of this package and coming out on camera one for the pitch to CBS live. Roll up on your prompter, route still one in the monitor. Out on camera one, M.E. 2 to camera 2 double box off still 2. Advance your graphics, stand Jim by."

Way too much to remember. And I was sure I was going to forget something. "Mic, cue Jim."

Twenty very painful minutes later, we were out to network again for whatever programs ran after this show. I didn't even watch this show, normally. But their regular director was gone on maternity leave, so I was filling in just for today. The hard part was going to be getting up in the morning and coming back in for my regular shift, since it was already 11:30 and I knew I wouldn't even leave the building until after midnight. Not with discreps to write up and there were a lot of them for this show.

"Nice job, Kat."

Kristie patted me on the shoulder as she walked past. Nice show. Yeah, right. There were more on-air mistakes in that half hour than I'd ever done in my life. But I was tired, and distracted, and unfamiliar with this setup. So I guess it was to be expected.

I sighed deeply as I cleared the switcher and set it up for the morning show. It was already quarter to twelve when I walked out of the control room. The world around me was completely silent. Through the glass windows in the hallway, I saw only the morning producers in the newsroom. This show was just as painful for everyone else as it had been for me. They'd bolted out of here as soon as they could.

I turned the other way and headed into the studio. Cables were run over the floor and I growled softly at the missing floor director. He was supposed to take care of his own cables. But there would be no end to the bitching tomorrow morning if I didn't take care of them now.

I flicked on the fluorescent work lights high overhead and swept the cables up off the floor. I coiled them mindlessly, over one, under one, in a loop, my thoughts drifting. A cool breeze swept past me and I paused to look around. The studio door was closed. Something felt out of place. An unfamiliar presence in the…

Cold hands on my shoulders. I spun and attacked instinctively, dropping the black cable, striking with the heel of my palm to the attacker's chest. My leg moving to hook around his and throw him to the floor. He had no time to react. I had no time to pull back upon realizing who my attacker was. I stared at him, wide-eyed as he fell, his shell hitting the smooth floor with a loud crack! He stared up at me in surprise, and blinked a few times as he regained his breath. "Damn, baby…" he chuckled. "Nice drop. Didn't realize you were that fast."

I glared at him, then offered a hand. "What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, glancing toward the huge metal door that had been pulled closed. The studio was fairly insulated as far as sound went, but that was really loud.

He took my hand and used his other arm to push himself up, back to his feet. When he was standing again, he wouldn't let go of my hand. I shot him a pathetic look as he slipped his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him. "Happy to see you, too," he answered sarcastically, nuzzling his cheek against mine.

I tilted away from him. "Obviously," I said dryly.

He nipped gently at my earlobe, his hands slipping beneath my shirt and pressing to the small of my back. "You seem stressed…"

"Could you tell?" I shot back, jerking away from him.

He followed me, undeterred. "You should relax…" he breathed, kissing along my cheek toward my lips.

I rested my palms on his shoulders and pushed him back. His grip around my waist tightened, not allowing me to pull away as his mouth found mine. I pressed my lips together tightly, resisting his gentle probing as his tongue ran over them. His gentle hands slid further up my back. Then suddenly, as he reached my bra, his fingers flicked and it came undone. I gasped in surprise. "Raph!" He'd done that faster than I could!

His tongue darted into my mouth as I spoke and ran alongside mine. I struggled against his tight grip and offered a muffled protest, arching my back to try and put some distance between us. But he was holding me tightly and I had nowhere to go. His lips pressed hard to mine, stealing my breath away, and I couldn't even turn my head.

Finally, he pulled away and let me breathe. I glared at him for a moment and he smiled back, the dark gleam in his eye all too familiar. I sighed. Different approach. "Raph, let me go. Please?"

"If I did, you'd run away," he whispered.

I considered that for a minute. "I gotta finish up here and then we can go home. You shouldn't even be in here; you know that. How'd you get in?"

"Your security code's on the back of your license," he reminded me, grinning slyly. "I've known it for quite a while now."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, great. So you walked right through the employee entrance. Don't suppose you noticed the camera there, did you?"

He nodded. "It was dealt with."

I eyed him suspiciously, dread creeping into the pit of my stomach. "You didn't break it, did you?"

He laughed quietly. "Have faith in me, Kat. I wouldn't do that…"

"Yeah, right," I mumbled sarcastically.

He curled his fingers and ran what little bit of nails he had up and down my back, scratching lightly. I felt my body slowly relaxing in spite of myself. He leaned in and kissed me again and this time I moved my hands from their bracing position against his shoulders, slowly wrapping them around his neck.

He kissed me deeply and I responded, hoping that he could just accept it and be satisfied but knowing that was probably a lost cause. He'd be on my heels until I left the building, and he'd probably be looking for a way to get me alone the moment we got to the lair.

I ran my nails down his hard biceps toward his elbows. His muscles rippled as he flexed them and pressed his palms to my skin. A slight moan escaped his lips and I pulled away slightly to study him. He didn't give me much of an opportunity to do so before he leaned in to kiss and lick at my neck. I tilted my head away for him, massaging at his arms gently.

"Why're you so horny anyway?" I teased.

"M'no more'n usual," he slurred, his lips barely leaving my skin.

I pulled back and his hands moved to my sides, then up to my breasts, his thumbs running lightly back and forth over my nipples. I moaned slightly in spite of myself and jerked back, turning away. "Don't do that!" I hissed at him.

With my back to him, I figured I was safe. I raised my arms behind me, knowing he wouldn't help me if I asked him to, and tried without any luck to refasten my bra. I struggled with it for a moment before I finally realized that the best way to do it would be to pull my arms into my shirt, take it off, and put it back on. For that matter, I might as well take the shirt off just to harass him some more. But I realized quickly that was probably exactly what he wanted, and I decided against it.

I took a few steps back, up the steps of the set so that he's at least have somewhat of a barrier to get to me. I watched him as I carefully pulled my arms into my shirt. He smiled wickedly at me and I glared back. "Don't even think about it," I warned.

I turned my back on him as the straps slid down my arms. He remained obediently still for a moment. Then, suddenly, I knew I was under attack. I'd been prepared for it, but I still wasn't fast enough. I pressed my lips together to suppress the instinctive cry and grabbed at his hands as his arms circled my waist. "Raphael!" I hissed at him. "Stop it! Stop…!"

I gasped as he grabbed my shirt, abandoning his crusade to move his hands up toward my breasts, and in one swift movement, whisked it over my head. Cool air hit my warm flesh and I couldn't muffle the cry that came from my lips. "Aah! That's…!"

He spun me around to face him, throwing me off balance. I had no choice but to cling to him if I wanted to remain standing. "Shhh…" he whispered quietly as everything suddenly became still. "Don't attract attention…"

My eyes narrowed at him. "Attract attention?" I shot at him. "You'd better hope we don't attract attention!"

He held my hips and leaned down to kiss the crevice between my neck and shoulder. "Shh…" he breathed.

"You trying to get me fired, Raph?" I challenged. "This isn't the time or place for…"

His kiss cut me off. I sighed inwardly. Who was I kidding? There was no reasoning with him when he got like this and I knew it. "Can we at least…" I searched for something reasonable, and didn't come up with many options. "… go behind the curtain if you wanna feel me up?" I pleaded. "If someone walks in here…"

"Who's gonna walk in?" he questioned calmly.

I shot him a sarcastic look. "That's real easy for you to say, you who can disappear into thin air in a moment's notice."

"Mmm," he acknowledged, his warm, wet tongue licking up the side of my neck. "I love you…"

"Good," I answered simply. "Then please don't make…"

He found my lips again and I had no opportunity to finish that sentence. His hands moved down my sides and to my hips, grinding against me. "Will you relax?" he laughed quietly as he pulled away and ground his hips against mine. "You're so uptight lately."

I rolled my eyes. "Raph…" But I couldn't think of what to even say to him. He was right. I was tense and stressed and this show certainly hadn't helped matters any. But that didn't mean this was a good idea. I glanced over at the heavy metal door. There would be plenty of forewarning if someone tried to open it. But still, that didn't offer much comfort.

He brushed his fingers lightly over my skin, kissing gently at my neck. "You're so tense lately," he whispered.

I sighed. "I know," I relented. "I know I am. Just a lot going on and it's starting to catch up with me."

"Mmm," he murmured against my neck. "Relax."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the studio cameras, pointed right at us. They were off, I knew, and the prompter monitors mounted on the front of them were dark and lifeless. Still, they made me nervous. Raphael didn't seem to mind them. His hands ran up my sides and cupped my breasts. "Ease up, Kiara," he breathed. "Just give me a few minutes, huh?"

"Yeah, sure," I agreed readily. "At home!"

He growled quietly and bit down on my neck. I gasped, more out of surprise than from the slight pain, and he pulled back to lick hungrily at my skin. "I want you now."

Somewhere inside of me, my subconscience was laughing. He was so demanding, so arrogant, so sure of himself. And maybe that's part of what made him so sexy. His one track mind left no room for argument from me or anyone else. He wanted what he wanted when he wanted it and I could either submit or start a war.

I considered that briefly. It had been a while since we had done anything even remotely dangerous like this. At one time, I would have found it invigorating. It was that feeling of danger, of desperate lust that didn't care about the consequences, the excitement. It made for awesome sex, and I knew that. But this time, I really was uneasy. If someone walked in, it wouldn't be one of his brothers or even a total stranger. It might be my boss. All the more reason why it's dangerous and exciting…

I smiled, throwing caution to the wind, and relaxed.

***

I breathed hard, my arms falling limply to my sides against the hard tabletop. Raphael panted heavily in my ear, lowering my legs to the floor again as he leaned down beside me. He buried his fingers in my hair, brushing it back. A few strands stuck to the perspiration on my forehead and the back of my neck.

His fingers ran slowly down the side of my face, smearing the droplets over my cheek. I relaxed against him, crossing my legs at the ankles so that they weren't spread wide open. I remembered where I was and listened for any indication that we'd been heard. There was nothing. We were alone here. His hand moved down, pulling my skirt back over my thighs as our breathing slowed.

Suddenly, his hand stopped. He was quiet for a moment, perfectly still. "Uh… Kat? Baby?"

"Mmm?" I managed weakly.

"Please tell me we're the only ones who can see that."

My heart stopped for a moment. I opened my eyes slowly and stared up at the high ceiling, cris-crossed with metal beams and the light grid. I was terrified of what I might see when I looked in the direction he was staring.

Very slowly, I turned. I realized I wasn't breathing, but I couldn't manage a breath. The large set monitor that had been blank earlier now showed a picture. A camera had been routed now. And that camera was pointed straight at us.

NICOLE:

She stumbled into master control with no shoes, her shirt untucked, her forehead lined with perspiration. Her eyes were as wide as I knew mine were, her hair messed up, her hand gripping the wall for support. She breathed hard and searched my face. I'm sure it didn't take her long to find the answer to her question.

The… creature, whatever it was, stepped in behind her and she turned, hiding her face in his shoulder. There was no question in my mind that it was a "him", even though the evidence of that face was apparently pulled back into his shell. "Oh, god," she moaned.

He seemed at a loss. He looked down at her, circling his arm around her waist in a weak attempt at comfort, then looked up at me. I shrank back, still not sure what to say or do. The initial thought that he'd been raping her was long gone, but I still wasn't sure if he was dangerous. Those looked like weapons on his belt…

Katarina seemed to sob, then she pulled away from him and turned back to face me. Her face was beet red. "Oh my god, I am so…" she started. Her voice trailed off as she hid her face in her hands.

I was much more nervous about her partner than I was about the fact that she'd been having sex with him a moment ago. She seemed to sense that and struggled desperately to regain her composure. "Nic, this is… uh…" she stammered, blushing purple. She swallowed hard. "… my boyfriend."

I stared at him, watching closely. He stepped closer, pressing in behind her and I thought I saw a light blush creep into his cheeks. It was hard to tell when his skin was green. "Yeah, I think she probably guessed that, honey," he offered in a sort of dry sarcasm.

He spoke English.

Katarina turned into him again. "Oh, god, just shoot me now…"

His hand lowered to her hip. His eyes raised to mine again and I tensed. But he didn't appear to be threatening. If anything, he looked embarrassed. Katarina was mortified. My fear subsided as I watched them. Pangs of sympathy shot through me and I took a slight step forward.

"Hey," I offered quietly. "Hey, it's okay. Look… no one else saw it and I promise I won't say anything."

Kat didn't seem comforted. Her boyfriend forced a smile. "Thanks."

I pushed my hesitation aside and offered my hand. It seemed silly somehow to offer introductions at this point but it would break the silence if nothing else. "My name is Nicole."

He reached out, one hand still beside Kat, and took my hand. I was startled by the feel of his skin. It was almost human-like, his palm callused, his thick fingers softer. It wasn't scaly or slimy, and I was sort of relieved by that.

"Raphael," he offered. "I'm uh…" He laughed tensely. "Well, what I am is kind of a long explanation."

I forced a smile. "Were…?" I started, unsure of how to even question him. "Are you, like… an alien?"

He glanced back at Katarina as he pulled his hand back, seemingly disinterested in this conversation. "No, I'm a… science experiment," he answered, distracted. "Baby, I'm losing circulation to my fingers."

I glanced down and saw her gripping his wrist with both hands. Her fingers loosened as he spoke and she took a small step back from him. "Sorry," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

I lowered my eyes. "I, uh, routed it through hoping you might see it."

"Did it go out to the monitors in the newsroom?" Kat asked, dread creeping into her voice. "They were routed to FS one when I left the booth."

I shook my head. "No, those are on a different panel. Dana called and asked for Newspath so she could watch a live generic CBS was feeding and that's why I came over in the first place."

"Where all did you send it?" Raphael questioned.

"Through the control room, into the set monitor."

"No one can get into the booth without access," Kat whispered to him.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "I doubt that anyone else saw anything."

She glanced up at me. "How long were you watching?"

"I…" I stammered. "Not long." That was a lie. They had been in there for fifteen minutes that I knew of. I'd tried what I could to get their attention, flashing the screen with color bars, switching between the cameras to light the tallys. I considered going in to stop them, but couldn't figure out which might be more embarrassing for Kat, or dangerous for me. I wasn't sure what he would do in that situation, and I still wasn't sure exactly what he was, other than a giant turtle.

"It's okay, Kat," I tried to assure her as she hid her face. "I… believe me, I'm not going to say anything about this."

She turned fully to face me, her head down. A wall of hair hid her eyes. Raphael's hands came up and rested on her shoulders. He massaged a little and she ducked away. "Don't even, Raph," she glared back at him. "I am beyond pissed at you."

He laughed quietly, but his eyes dropped. The look on his face seemed like it could be called both "sheepish" and "mischievous". It was a strange expression, especially on a giant turtle, and I wasn't sure how to take it. Kat seemed to recognize it well enough. She shoved him hard and he stumbled back a few steps, clutching her shoulder as if she'd hurt him. "Hey!" he laughed. "It ain't my fault you…"

He stopped abruptly, spun to the door, and in a flash, he was gone. I wasn't really sure where he went, even though he had been right in front of me. I took a staggered step back, surprised, just as the door opened. I stared, too shocked to move. Had he heard that? Was it some other sense he'd used? I hadn't had any indication of an intruder.

Jim Johnson walked into the master control room, his usual, fake, "anchor smile" plastered on his face. "Well hello, Kat," he offered, utilizing that sexy voice he adopted on the air. "You're here late tonight… Or early, whatever the case may be."

It was at that point I realized what an incredible actress Kat was. Regardless of the fact that her inhuman boyfriend was hiding out somewhere in the room, and that she'd just been caught having sex with him on the news set, she seemed perfectly happy and energetic all of a sudden. "I am…" she confirmed, using the same dramatic voicing as Jim had used. She was not an on-air personality, but she did the imitation quite well. "I got the wonderful privilege of directing the 11 pm Nightwatch show," she smiled sweetly.

"So does this mean you won't be joining us tomorrow?" he assumed.

"No, I'll be here," she assured him. "I just got a quick turn around."

"Oh, fun," he chuckled.

He turned and handed me a beta tape. "Aaron requested I drop this off here with you," he grinned. "He wants it black stripped and returned to editing... Can you do that for me please?"

He flashed me a smile and I couldn't help but grin back. "Sure. Phil is using VT4 right now for a feed but I'll put it in later."

"Super," he answered.

Kat smiled and they exchanged small talk for a few minutes. I used the time to look around for Raphael, but there was no sign of him. After a few moments, Jim left, not suspecting a thing. Raphael appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and I jumped in surprise. "Oh my god; how do you do that?" I questioned.

He grinned at me, but didn't answer, turning his attention instead to the VTR decks. "Okay, which one of these is VT4 and what is it recording?"

"Right there," I pointed. "And it was recording black, but it doesn't look like anything is in there right now."

Kat walked up to the deck and inspected it briefly. "No, there's not."

"He must have already come and got it then." I glanced at the decks, just to be sure. "Nothing's recording right now. I think you're pretty safe."

Kat's eyes locked on the control switcher behind me. "Uh, are you sitting in black?"

I spun to the monitors, a sudden panicked adrenaline washing over me. "Omigod!"

I lunged for the switcher and rolled the break, glancing up at the clock. It was almost a full 30 seconds late. Damn it! That would throw the whole show off! I growled quietly as I ran through the list of commercials lined up and deleted the ones promoting our own station through the next half hour. Thank god it had happened at the top of the show.

When I turned back, Raphael was gone. Kat stood alone in the room, and nothing moved. "Where'd he go?"

She shrugged slightly. "He left now while the coast was clear." Her head lowered a fraction and she sighed. "I uh... really am sorry about all this."

I forced a smile. "Hey, forget it," I assured her. "I won't say anything."

She glanced up and smiled back. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

I nodded. "No problem. I imagine... I would be mortified right now. I don't want to rub it in."

A wicked, almost violent glint shone in her eye. "Yeah. Raph and I are going to have ourselves a little talk about this..."