How We Loved Them
About this story: the sequel to "How We Met Them", the Mitchell Family (my OCs) and the TMNT (Who belonged to Mirage, and I think they belong to Nick now—well, it's anyone but me, that's all I know!). First 4 Chapters written before the 2k3 cartoon, but I'll try to update them—we'll see how this works. Rated T (PG-13), due to some adult-ish conversations and situations. (Do you think I should change it?)
Warnings about this chapter: Based on a rough draft written on July 4, 2001. Contains a conversation with sexual references, and some spiritual references…and eventually some action violence.
Chapter 1: Captured!
"So, before you met me, you liked three other girls?" Sheila asked as she looked up at Raph. The two of them were walking through Central Park in the early part of a summer night.
"Yeah," Raph sighed, almost thinking it would make Sheila mad once she knew his history. But he changed his tone and tried to make Sheila think he was proud of it. "At first, I liked our friend, April, though it was more of a crush, and I was able to let it go, since I really didn't think she was my type. Besides, my friend Casey is with her, and my younger brother still has a crush on her—it's already a threesome without me.
"After that I met Lucindra, who I actually got brave enough to try to get close to, but she practically shot me down and said she only liked me as a friend—because I was, as she said, 'just a kid'."
"Ouch," Sheila sighed, "the first heartbreak always hurts more. So who was the third girl?"
Raph continued, "Then there was this mutant lizard girl named Mona Lisa. We were both really serious about each other for a while. Leo was hard on me about it and would always try bursting in on us before we went too far." He looked down at his feet guiltily, "There was finally a time when he failed at that, and I ended up…" He glanced at Sheila to see that she was giving him a concerned and encouraging look. "Uhh…losing my virginity with her. I'm sorry I have to tell you that…since we've been together…even though we're nowhere near the bed or the backseat or third base…"
Sheila nodded, "That's OK, I'm also a 'recycled virgin', and I'd like to save what I've got for marriage…" she noticed Raph cocked his eye at that statement, so she added, "…you know, whenever that may be, someday…no pressure or anything, we've only known each other a few months. So, what happened to Mona Lisa?"
"She moved away after almost two years, and just a few months before I met you, she emailed us and said that she was now seeing another friend of ours, Mondo Gecko. Since Don always checks email, he found out and so did the others, and of course I was the last to know, so the others rubbed it in my face and I was in a major funk for a while."
"Did your brothers ever know that you and her lost your virginity together?"
"Well, I actually admitted it to Splinter. He wanted to know why I was so down about Mona moving away, and I even told him that I thought I would spend the rest of my life with her. Splinter actually took the news better than I thought he would, or at least in a less judgmental way than Leo would've taken it. Mikey also knows about it, since he was the first person I told after I 'did the deed'. What kind of guy would I be if I didn't brag about it to at least one person? Of course he swore he wouldn't tell Leo or Donnie, so now guess who knows about it—Leo and Donnie!"
"And how did they take this news?"
"Well, at least Donnie didn't really say anything other than, 'If you ever wanna talk, I'm here for you…' And I got the heavy, judgmental lecture from Leo, who told me I should be a monk and sex is bad, blah, blah, blah…"
"Now that he and Venus are together, I guess he's rethinking that whole speech." Sheila laughed.
Raph chuckled. "Yeah, I used to think I wouldn't have as much fun with a girlfriend if we weren't trying to hit the sack, but since I've known you, Sheila, I've had a great time talking, joking, and hanging out with you. I feel like we're also awesome friends, not just boyfriend and girlfriend. I don't have to pretend to be the mushy romantic-crap Romeo for you and give you flowers and stuff. I can be accepted as just plain-old Raphael Hamato." He squeezed her hand, which he had been holding the whole time.
"Thanks, Raph," she squeezed back, "And I like being with 'just plain-old Raphael Hamato', he's a lot sweeter, kinder, nicer, and a lot more fun than Jeanique."
"So, was he your first time?"
Sheila playfully slapped Raph with her other hand.
"Ow!" Raph exclaimed, rubbing his arm. "I told you my story, it's only fair if you tell yours…" Then he remembered he heard her horrible story, and changed his tone. "Oh, Sheila, I'm sorry…I forgot that you were raped…to me that doesn't count as losing your virginity, at least in the mental sense…"
"Raph…" Sheila interrupted. "I told you I'm a recycled virgin, and this was even before the whole gang-rape thing…" She looked up at him and continued, "And, yes, my first time was with Jeanique. I went out with him for a few months off and on while I was fourteen and fifteen. He was the 'gangsta'-type, who was very possessive of me as his 'chick'. He was a little older than me, and I used to think it was sweet that he acted so protective of me. Then he started referring to me as his 'ho' and himself as the 'pimp', and he said I owed him 'favors' for all the protection and taking me out for dinner, movies, and hockey games, and stuff. So, for his seventeenth birthday, I pretty much gave him my virginity—wrapped up in a fancy package and bow. It started with kissing, and rolling on his bed. He was kinda rough with me, but I was telling myself he was just having fun with me, and as his 'ho', I could handle it, and it was my civic duty. I actually was enjoying it, thinking I would always be his 'ho'. When that first time was over, he said, 'the other Turtle hoes need to pay up to their pimps, and since you're the first who paid up, I'll make sure you get something extra special for your birthday. Well, about two months later was my sixteenth birthday, and I was thinking he would get me some expensive bling or something. Instead, after I got off work at the pizza place that evening, about to go home and celebrate with my family, he and the other two Purple Dragon guys jumped me in the alley and gang-raped me."
"Did you tell anyone in your family about when you lost your virginity?"
"Well, I told Lisa when she was checking me for the whole medical work-up thing. And she was actually working in the clinic at the time, so it was considered confidential patient information. She hugged me and cried with me, since I was now devastated about the whole thing. She said she wouldn't tell anyone, since she was my doctor and I was her patient. And she's gonna be a good doctor, since she's already a good big sister. I also told Daddy about it, and he actually took the news better than I thought he would—I guess like Splinter when you told him. He told me that even though I had made some mistakes in life, I could always start again. His belief in God is all about second chances. He also said that I'm still Jesus' Bride, and not Jeanique's or Satan's Ho. And that he could still walk me down the aisle in a white dress, figuratively speaking, as a 'recycled virgin'. He basically told me the concept of 'recycled' virginity."
"I like that," Raph smiled. "It's good to know I can start again, too. And I'll do what I can to protect you in the physical sense, not because I'm your pimp…I mean, I don't think of you as a 'ho' at all—you're practically family, only we can still date."
Sheila smiled and squeezed his hand.
Raph wondered, "You know, I do wonder what became of Jeanique and those other Purple Dragon guys. We haven't seen 'em since then, but I do hope they changed for the better."
"So do I."
The two of them were walking over a bridge overlooking a pond. They stopped in the middle to admire the view around them. Raph put his arm around Sheila.
"Pulling the mushy romantic-crap, now, aren't you?" Sheila looked up at him.
"Nah, you just looked a little cold." Raph replied with a smirk.
"Yeah, right, in the summer time?" She leaned her head on his shoulder, "Raph, admit it, you're just a big teddy bear."
They laughed for just a few seconds, but Raph started looking around and asked, "Did you hear that?" He looked worriedly at Sheila.
"Hear what?" She looked up and gasped.
When Raph looked up again, he noticed that the two of them were surrounded on the bridge by almost two-dozen Foot soldiers.
Raph drew his sais. Once the Foot advanced, he began to fight them off. Sheila was new to fighting, but she and her sisters had several lessons in defending themselves during the last three-and-a-half months of living with the Ninja Turtles. She was able to use many of those lessons—with Raph's help, of course—and hold off the Foot for nearly ten minutes.
But since Sheila was inexperienced and Raph was outnumbered, the Foot overtook them, tied and blindfolded them, and dragged them to their headquarters.
When their blindfolds were removed, Raph looked around and saw that he was in a big room full of the Foot. His hands were tied above his head to a pole. Sheila was tied in the same way to another pole ten feet away. She gave Raph a frightened and confused look, and she was as still as could be. Raph tried to give her a reassuring look, for he hated to think of how scared she was.
There was an evil laughter coming from right behind Raph. Raph turned around and came face-to-face with the metal mask of the Shredder.
"Well, well, well," gloated Shredder, "my soldiers have managed to capture the Old Rat's rogue student. He will be a great guinea-pig for experimenting with our new method of vengeance." Turning to Raph, he said, "For quite some time I have been dreaming of starting with you, Raphael." He laughed maniacally.
Raph shot him an angry look as he tried to get loose.
"And what's this?" Shredder moved over to inspect Sheila. She was obviously terrified, but Raph noticed that her gaze looked up and her eyes closed.
She's probably praying, thought Raph. His fear for her subsided as he quickly prayed in his mind for God to protect Sheila and himself, but mostly Sheila. He suddenly felt better, as though he were handing the reins to a better driver than himself.
Shredder continued, "This must be a friend of Raphael's. Aren't you?"
"Yes, sir," Sheila managed to look mellow and calm though she was scared.
Raph didn't think Shredder deserved to be called "sir", but he didn't voice that thought.
"Did he tell you anything about me?" asked Shredder.
"Some, but not that much, sir," she replied.
"And I'd surmise that none of it was good. Am I right?"
"Well, sir, I only heard the story from Raphael's point of view, but you are right in that it wasn't intended to leave me with a good impression of you."
Shredder laughed his evil trademark laughter.
Raph cut in, "Shredder, this one doesn't have anything personal against you, and she hasn't done anything against you, either. If you want to carry out your vengeance on my family, perhaps you could please let her go, so she could tell the others where I am, then they could come after me—in a way, leading the others right to you."
"Hmmm…" Shredder scratched his metal facemask while considering the possibilities. He looked at Sheila, "You know, I have a difficult time believing that you and Raphael are friends. Do you know why that is?"
Sheila shook her head, "No, sir."
"Why, it's because you seem far too nice and polite for him—I would say you are out of his league. Maybe I will just let you go, just so you can bring the other Turtles. After all, I really didn't mean to invite you to this little party, but that would be the fault of my Foot soldiers, who do not always discern or discriminate the worthiness of my guests." He snapped his fingers, and an elite guard appeared. He motioned to Sheila, "Let this one go!"
Once the guard untied her hands, Sheila looked at Shredder, bowed her head, and said, "Thank you, sir."
Shredder flicked his metal-clad wrist, "Just go and get out of here before I change my mind."
As she turned to leave, she looked concernedly at Raph, who winked at her as if to say, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
The Foot cleared away and formed a path to the door, so Sheila left as quickly as possible. But once she was out the door, she remembered to make sure she wasn't being followed home. She took some turns through a longer route home. After the second block, she got tired and rested against a mailbox, panting heavily.
Suddenly, some arms wrapped around her, something gagged her, and someone dragged her a few yards. Sheila nearly panicked, screamed, and bit the person, but she heard a familiar voice say, "Relax, Sheila, it's us!"
The arms loosened their hold and Sheila turned around and sighed heavily, "Oh, Leo, Mikey, Donnie, am I ever glad to see you guys! Raph and I got captured by the 'Feet Cult' you told us about. Raph is still there…"
"We know, Donnie alerted us with his tracking program, and that's why we're here." Leo stated, "But how did you manage to escape?"
"That 'Schroder' guy in the metal helmet decided I wasn't worth keeping around, so he let me go, I guess so I could tell you guys, and get you to go to his headquarters in order to rescue Raph."
Mike rolled his eyes, "No doubt he's using Raph as bait and you as a lure."
"Well, we're at least glad you're alright," Don patted her shell.
"Now I guess we'd better get back in the hummer and plan how to rescue Raph's shell," Leo motioned to the car parked next to the curb. "Sheila, you can have first-pick on where you want to sit."
Sheila decided to sit in the back, next to Mike, who gave her some important heads-up, "By the way, the guy with the metal helmet is 'Shredder', and his gang is called the 'Foot Clan'. I knew what you meant, but I thought I'd set you strait on their names."
Sheila laughed in spite of herself.
Don remarked, "She reminds me so much of Venus when she started out." He and Mike laughed.
"OK, fellas, let's focus on our mission, here," Leo brought them back to reality, "We're trying to rescue Raph, this time from something he probably didn't bring on himself as he did in the past. Here's the plan…"
He went on to explain what each Turtle was to do. Sheila liked her part—she was to stay in the car and keep in touch with the boys through the car radio, and if she was pushed to it, she might even have to drive the car. That was a last resort since she didn't know how to drive the hummer yet. The whole idea of being in a battle was pretty scary for her, but a little exciting, too. She was still praying as hard as she did when the Foot captured her.
Soon Leo pulled over quite a ways from the Foot Headquarters, but where the building was still in sight. He signaled for the guys to get out.
"What is that?" Sheila whispered and pointed to a figure that stumbled out of perhaps the back door to the Foot Headquarters building.
"I don't know," Mike stated.
"I'm not sure, either," Don said, "But it looks like some drunk guy that probably left a bar room in the back of the Foot HQ. Maybe he's so drunk he wouldn't notice us creeping in, but we still won't take any chances."
The guy had been in the shadows for a while, but when the guys got closer, he stumbled into a street light pole, which knocked him to his knees. Soon he was lying in the street, and the guys actually saw his face.
"Raph!" Mike and Don ran to him while Leo watched for danger. They helped their brother to his feet and began to walk him back to the car.
Sheila didn't recognize him as Raph at first, so she wondered why the guys were fussing over helping some random drunken Foot soldier. She got a better look at him when they reached the car, and she also moved to the very back—the "trunk" area—to let Raph have a more comfortable seat.
Mike helped him get into the back seat. Everyone was asking him if he was OK, but he said nothing except for a few grunts and groans. Since the Turtles got what they came for, they drove back to the lair. Raph moaned at just about every turn, bump, or dip in the road. He seemed out of it and as if he'd had quite a thrashing.
Once they arrived home, the brothers helped Raph out of the car. As Sheila got out, she noticed what looked like a bloodstain on the seat where Raph had been sitting. It looked somewhat fresh, but she told herself it had probably been there the whole time, it was hard to tell against the black upholstery.
"Lisa, will you help me check and treat Raph's injuries?" Don pleaded, "He looks pretty beat up, and we'd like a doctor to care for him."
"I'll see what I can do for him," Lisa submitted, as she helped Don lead Raph into her jerry-rigged clinic.
The extent of his injuries were checked and treated, while Sheila, Leo, and Mike told their account of the story to the rest of their family.
After almost an hour, Don and Lisa helped Raph out of the clinic and onto the living room couch, where he was administered cold packs and herbal tea.
"Basically," Lisa diagnosed, "He's had a head injury from repeated punches to the head. His mouth was bleeding a little, just from a bruised lip. We tried to ask him what they did to him in the Foot HQ, but he was too out-of-it to tell us. We also asked where it hurt, and all he could do was motion and point. He pointed out most of the average bruises. Except one of the places where he pointed…" she blushed a little, "was in his tail and genital region, where Donnie and I found a what looks like a puncture wound. That pain may subside, but it's hard to tell with punctures, and we'll have to make sure it's not causing him any other problems—but I'm sure we can just ask him later on, since he's starting to come to. Once the trauma wears off, he'll be back to his healthy condition."
A/N: At this point, Lisa's medical experience is best described as on the "candy-striper" level, with some experience shadowing some doctor friend of the family—who was her reference to get her into med school. In my personal experience in pharmacy school and talking and working with some med students along the way, getting thru the "gross" part of gross anatomy and trying to keep professional composure while discussing GU (genitourinary) and reproductive subject matter as if it were any other organ system is an art that takes practice. And yes, even some health care professionals still blush when discussing such awkward subjects with patients. You really must keep an appropriate sense of humor about it. ;) When I first wrote the rough draft, I was too embarrassed to write some things! Now, medical stuff doesn't phase me, it fascinates me. I apologize if it causes anyone to lose their lunch—but I could recommend some drugs (over-the-counter and prescription, that is) for you that could help!