Kayla felt darkness all around her. She tried to call for someone but no sound would come out of her mouth. It was like she had no voice. Then a sinister laugh seemed to echo on all sides. Kayla spun in all directions, trying to watch all sides at once. The laugh was all too familiar. Then voices started echoing in her head until she covered her ears and crouched on the ground, trying to block out all the noise. Looking up she saw a familiar pair of red eyes staring at her evilly. She gritted her teeth at him and tried to block him out. Then a familiar, steel gauntlet with two sharp edges appeared out of the darkness and swung toward her. Kayla's eyes widened briefly before she squeezed them shut and screamed. Just as the gauntlet would've sliced into her flesh she shot up, still screaming, with her eyes wide and sweat running down her face. Panting, she looked at her surroundings.
She was sitting in a bed, all around her were dark, brick walls with pictures hanging on the wall, her desk was on the other side of the room, with an extra bed and her guitar sitting next to it. She was back in her room. Just then Leo came running into the room and raced to her bedside. Feeling her emotions crash down on her she threw her arms around his neck and her whole body shook as she sobbed into his shoulder. She heard Leo sigh as he stroked her back and sat on the bed with her still in his arms.
Standing in the doorway looking in Raph, Mikey, and Donnie exchanged worried looks. They hated seeing their sister go through this. She had nightmares a couple times a week, usually the same kind. They knew Leo had everything under control but they still felt the need to be there, even though they didn't know what they could do to help.
Raph grabbed one of his sai out of his belt while he formed a fist with his other hand. He hated seeing Kayla like this even more than the others. He always wanted to keep her safe, but he couldn't protected her from her mind's own imaginings. If he could he'd go through these nightmares for her, but he knew that wasn't possible.
Mikey watched the exchange between his youngest and oldest siblings. He wanted to help Kay feel better, but he never knew what to do in situations like these, which made him especially glad that Leo was the leader and not him. Thinking for a moment he had an idea that might help, he hoped. He quietly left the doorway and went to the sofa, where he found a sleeping orange kitten. Carefully Mike picked Klunk up and carried him back to Kayla's doorway. Placing Klunk down just inside the room he pointed over to Kayla's bed. Klunk looked up at Mikey curiously. Then he looked over at Kayla and Leo. Cocking his head for a moment, Klunk bounded across the room and bounced up into Kayla's lap. Kayla and Leo leaned away from each other. Kayla's eyes were red and tears were still streaming down her face; but when Klunk rubbed his side against Kayla's purple tank top with a purr rising in his throat a smile crept across her face, and she stared giggling as she petted the kitten's back.
Leo continued to rub Kayla's back as he watched the kitten cheer her up. He looked at the doorway; seeing that his brothers were still there he nodded to them, signaling that everything was okay now. The three brothers nodded back and quietly dispersed back to their own rooms.
Raph took a few steps away from Kayla's room and stopped. He just couldn't leave her. He didn't know why, but he just felt like he needed to protected her. So instead he sat on the floor to the side of her bedroom door. He didn't realize until that moment that he was still clutching his sai as if ready for a fight. Quietly he leaned his back against the wall with one knee up and his arm resting on it.
Leo gently pushed Kayla down into a lying position and pulled her blanket back over her. Klunk curled up into a ball in the crook of her arm, a gentle purr still vibrating off his body. Leo gently wiped away a few stray tears from Kayla's face with his thumb. Kayla looked up at him with bloodshot eyes.
"You going to be okay sleeping alone, or do you want me to stay with you?" he asked as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face.
Kayla shook her head. "You can leave." she answered with a hoarse voice, "I'll be fine."
Leo smiled gently down at her. "Okay," he whispered, "If you need me you know where my room is." Leo squeezed her hand once before turning off the light and leaving the room. As he closed the door behind him he realized Raph was sitting on the floor. "What are you doing?" Leo asked him, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Raph just glanced at the door Leo had just closed before looking at the ground, as if embarrassed. Leo understood immediately. He said goodnight to his brother and went to his own room to sleep.
Kayla stared up at the ceiling of her room. She knew she should go to sleep, but in a way she was too scared that she'd have another nightmare. Truthfully, she would have preferred it if Leo had stayed with her until she fell asleep, but she already felt like a burden to her family, waking them up in the middle of the night two or three times a week. She didn't want to do anymore harm than she'd already done. Kayla sighed. 'Maybe a cup of cocoa will help.' she thought.
Carefully, so as not to disturb Klunk, Kayla pushed her covers to the side, climbed out of bed, and tiptoed across her room. As silently as a ninja, which she was, Kayla opened the door and slipped out, leaving the door open enough so Klunk could leave if he wanted. Kayla turned and was about to head for the kitchen when she almost tripped over something sitting by her door.
"Careful, squirt." whispered a familiar, Brooklyn-accented voice as she caught her balance.
"Raph?" she whispered back as she looked down at her brother, "What are you doing sitting there?"
Raph, who'd been looking up at her, lowered his eyes and shrugged. Kayla knew by his reaction that he was probably embarrassed by what ever it was, and knowing Raph it had something to do with protecting her, which he was always trying to do. Figuring he wouldn't say anything right away she decided to sit beside him and see if she could talk the truth out of him.
Before she could say anything Raph beat her to it, "What are you doing up? You should be going back to sleep."
"I couldn't get back to sleep." she answered as she leaned back against the wall and crossed her legs, "So I decided to get a cup of cocoa. Then I found you sitting here so I thought I'd just talk with you for a bit." Kayla glanced at her brother and realized he was holding his sai in his right hand, as if ready to use it. "What's with your sai?" she asked casually.
Raph looked at his sai, as if studying it. Then he sighed deeply. "You're not gonna leave me alone till I tell ya, are ya?"
Kayla shook her head with a sly grin.
Raph sighed again. "Ya know how I'm always telling ya not to do things? And that I'm always sayin' that just cause I want to protect ya and all?" Kayla nodded. She knew all too well what he meant. If he could he'd probably wrap her in bubble wrap and lock her in the lair just to keep her safe. "Well, whenever ya have one of your nightmares, I just feel so…helpless. I want to be able to protect ya, but the only way I know how is by fightin', and nightmares just don't work like that." Raph looked away, as if afraid to look his little sister in the eye. Kayla thought for a moment, she wasn't quite sure what to say to reassure her brother. Without really thinking she rested her hand on his arm.
"You know, you don't always have to protect me." she spoke hesitantly, "I can take care of myself sometimes. Those nightmares just scare me, that's all. I mean, I know they can't hurt me, I just get scared when I'm caught up in the moment. And, I already know you'd do just about anything to keep me safe. You tell me that all the time,"
"I wouldn't do 'just about anything'," Raph interrupted her, looking into her eyes, "I WOULD do anything to keep ya safe."
This time it was Kayla's turn to avoid eye contact. The thought of something bad happening to her brother just to keep her safe made her feel sick. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulder and pull her close, so she rested her head on her brother's shoulder. Raph began to rub her arm in a slow rhythm and she felt her eyelids grow heavy. She was dimly aware of Klunk climbing into her lap and falling asleep; so she rested her hand on his soft, fluffy back. The feel of his purring on her hand made a small smile appear on her face.
Raph glanced over at his sister. He could tell by her even breathing that she'd finally fallen back asleep. He smiled as the sight brought back memories of when they were little. The four turtles used to share a bed when they were little and they lived in their small lair before it'd been destroyed, while Kayla had slept in her tiny basket a few feet away. Whenever she cried in the middle of the night one of the brothers would get out of bed, take her out of the basket, and place her in the bed with the others to sleep with them. Raph felt his eyes grow tired as those memories ran through his mind…
Leo stretched as he left his room. He always liked to wake up before everyone else so he could get in a little training while the lair was still peaceful. As he leapt down into the center of the lair, near the bridge, he spun around with his katana in hand, ready for some training, but stopped. As he stood back up he stared across the room at the sight he never thought he'd see.
Right next to Kayla's bedroom door sat Raph, his sai in his right hand as his arm rested on his knee. Next to him Kayla was sitting on the floor cross-legged with Klunk asleep on her lap. Kayla had her head resting on Raph's shoulder while Raph rested his cheek on her head.
Leo smiled. He knew this moment wouldn't last much longer, especially if Mikey woke up and found them like this, so he quietly went into the dojo to meditate instead of training. He wanted to allow them this moment for as long as possible.