Troy Brady, a dark haired, dark blue eyed thirteen-year-old, who'd been told he looked like Kellan Lutz of the Twilight series, groaned and tried to sit up, but pain coursed through his body, so he lay still and instead gazed around his surroundings. There was a large crack in the ceiling and pipes hung from it. Water dripped slowly onto the floor. Posters of rock stars covered the walls and weapons hung on the weapons rack. Are those sai, he wondered? There was a bed, a desk on which there was a laptop, a small desk lamp. Magazines were piled up on one side of the desk. And a set of weights in the corner and was that a hammock? Typical teenager room, but not mine, is it, Troy thought? Where the hell am I? Troy looked down at the bed, pulled down the sheets and cringed. Oh, God. Why am I naked, he thought in horror? He tried to sit up, but once again the pain was too much and he lay back down, gritting his teeth. The door opened and Troy squeezed his eyes tightly, not daring to look at whomever it was that had entered the room. The bed dipped with the weight of someone sitting on it. Troy reluctantly opened his eyes and stared in astonishment at the figure before him. "No, this can't be. I'm dreaming, aren't I?" Troy said in shock.
"Oh, yer awake. How ya feelin'?"
"This isn't real. I'm dreaming, aren't I? I so am not here."
"No, pal. Yer here. Have been for the last two days. "
"But how did I land in your bedroom, Raphael? You're a cartoon show. It isn't possible."
"How do ya know my name?" the red masked turtle demanded.
"I grew up watching you on TV. Was mad about the show."
"We have a show?" the turtle said in surprise, his golden orbs widening.
"That's right. Now how did I get here?"
"Found ya in an alleyway. Ya were mugged, badly beaten and I brought ya home. What's yer name?"
"Troy Brady. Why am I naked?"
Raphael smiled apologetically. "Yer clothes were soaked with blood. They've been washed."
"Uh .Oh."
"Don't worry. I never, ya know…" Raphael looked embarrassed.
"Uh, thanks. I'll get dressed and leave." Troy tried to stand up, but the pain flared up and he sat down quickly, sucking in deep breaths.
"No, ya can't. Ya were badly beaten and ya need ta rest," Raphael said firmly.
"But my family…"
"Will have ta wait. Ya need rest. That's an order."
"But my brother will be worried sick and my uncle. I have to call them. Tell them where I am. Where am I anyway?"
"Manhattan."
"When can I go home?"
"Maybe a week. Ya have three cracked ribs, a mild concussion and several bruises."
"Can I call them? Please."
"Yer accent's different."
"I'm from South Africa. Please let me call them."
"All right." Raphael pulled out his T-phone. "Here ya go."

Troy dialled a number, but it went to voice mail. "Tigger, I just wanted to tell you that I'm okay and I'll be home when I can. Tell Uncle Kieran. Love you." Troy handed the cell back to Raphael. "Thanks."
"Sure thing. Ya hungry?"
"No."
"Ya need ta eat."
"I don't think I can," Troy said, fighting back tears. "I want to go home."
"Ya need ta keep yer strength up. I'll be back now."
"Raphael, where are your brothers? It's very quiet."
"They're at Casey's. Have been for the last two days."
"Why didn't you go?"
"Found ya couple of hours before we were leavin'. Told my brothers I wasn't feelin' well and stayed. I'll be back now."

This has to be a dream, Troy thought. I'm stuck in a dream and when I wake up I'll be home in my own room. Not in the land of the turtles. I want to go home. I miss Tigger.

Raphael appeared a few minutes later with a tray. Troy managed to sit up and Raphael placed the tray on his lap. "Here's some soup," he said.
"Thanks," Troy said, picking up the spoon and tucking in. "It's good. Mushroom?"
"Made it myself," Raphael said proudly.
"Thanks, Raphael."
"Ya can call me, Raph, Troy. Raphael's so formal and what Leo calls me when he wants ta be bossy and ta send his point home."
"You clash with him the most."
Raphael chuckled. "Can ya blame me? He has a stick up his butt and I hate his holier-than-thou attitude, but that don't mean I don't love him. I do."
"I know what you mean. Got my identical twin I clash with sometimes, but I'd be lost without him."
"Tigger?"
"His name's Tadhg. Means poet. Mine means foot soldier. He's four minutes older than me. Love him, but we're also competitive."
"He yer only sibling?"
"Nope. Have three others. One brother and two sisters. Tyler's thirty-four, Gina's thirty-three and Mia's thirty-one."
"Huge age gaps. Ya must be, what, fourteen? Ya close ta them?"
"Not so much. I'll be fourteen in May. You're fifteen, I think."
"Nope. Fifteen in June. Ya have other family?"
"Parents, uncles, cousins, grandparents, aunts, great grandfather."
"Must be nice."
"Yeah. We have family gatherings and it's a lot of fun."
"Yer so lucky," Raphael said wistfully. "Ta have all that."
"You're lucky, too."
"How come?"
"Your dad loves you and so do your brothers."
"Yeah, I guess. But ya have the chance ta go ta school, go ta the movies, be around humans and they don't run away screamin' and call ya a freak. Ya can go out on dates, do normal things I'd…I should leave ya to sleep. I'll check on ya later."
"Raph?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for looking after me."
"Sure."
"And you're not a freak. You're a good person and I'm grateful to you."
"Turtle," Raphael said, blushing.
"That, too."

Raphael took the tray with him and Troy lay back down and closed his eyes. Sometime later, he heard angry voices. Leo's and Raph's just outside the door. "You did what?" he heard Leo say.
"I brought him home. Come on, Leo. He needed help."
"Then why not take him to a hospital, Raphael? Or call an ambulance?"
"I did what I thought was best."
"For who. You?"
"What's that supposed ta mean?" Raphael demanded.
"It's no secret..." And then Troy heard no more. The voices went away and he sunk into a deep sleep.

When he awoke, Raphael was sitting on the bed looking at him. "Hey," Troy said weakly. "Hi. How ya feelin'?"
"Groggy. I heard voices. You and Leo? I thought they were away."
"They came home, because they were worried 'bout me."
"Leo wants me gone, doesn't he?"
"He doesn't trust humans."
"But you trust April."
"That's different. She's helped us many times and is good ta us."
"You don't trust humans either. Other than her and Casey."
"Ya wouldn't if ya were called a freak and treated like shit. Anyway, I talked ta Leo and yer stayin' until yer better. Ya want some supper? Mikey's made lasagne."
"Not pizza? I thought that was all you ate?"
Raphael gave a low chuckle and Troy liked the sound of it. "It's our favourite food, but we eat pretty much what humans eat and we try ta eat healthily. So lasagne okay?"
"Great, thanks."

Raphael returned with a tray a few minutes later and settled it onto Troy's lap. He stuck in a fork, tasted it and said, "Oh, wow. This is fantastic."
"Yeah. Mikey's a great cook."
"You're not so bad yaself."
"I get by. Ya cook?"
"Not really. My mother does all the cooking."
"What's she like?"
"Who?"
"Yer mom?"
"She's complicated."
"Aren't all women?" Raphael said, his golden eyes twinkling.
Troy smiled. "I wouldn't know. But she is. We're not close."
"I'm sorry."
Troy shrugged. "It's fine."

There was a knock at the door and Raphael huffed in annoyance. "I'll be back now, Troy." He returned fifteen minutes later. "Sorry, I had ta talk ta Master Splinter. Leo told him all 'bout ya. Fuckin' jerk. Just once I wish Leo would stop bein' a prick."
"I'm sorry, Raph. I should go. I'm causing trouble with your family."
"No, yer not. I brought ya home. It's my fault."
"Does Splinter want me gone?"
"He took my side this time and said I did good bringin' ya here. Ya shoulda seen Leo's face," Raph said, and smirked. "He was furious. Anyway, it's fine and all ya need ta worry 'bout is gettin' better. Ya done?"
"Yeah," Troy said, handing him the tray. "Um, Raph, where's the bathroom? And I need some clothes to get there."
"Ya can use mine. We're 'bout the same size." Raphael dug out jeans and a T from the cupboard, then looked away as Troy dressed himself. Raphael helped him to the bathroom and they met no one on the way there. Then Raphael helped him back to the bedroom. Troy kept the T on and undressed his lower half. Raphael kept his eyes averted. "Okay," Raphael said. "Get some sleep."
"Stay a while until I fall asleep. Please."
"All right," Raphael said, sitting down on the bed.

There was silence for a few minutes. Then Troy said, "You like living down here?"
"Sometimes. I love my family, but…" Raphael hesitated.
"What?"
"It's lonely, Troy. It's just us. Humans run at the sight of us, except for April and Casey and it's just lonely. A huge world outside and I'll never get ta see it. I'll never travel, date, get married, have kids. Not that I'm sure I want kids, but that's just not on the cards, ya know, because no human would want me and there are no others of my kind besides my brothers. That's why yer so lucky. Ya get ta experience it all."
"So you want to be human?"
"I just am tired of… It's stupid."
"Tell me."
"I don't know why I'm talkin' ta ya. I usually keep my feelings ta myself."
"Because I'm a good listener?"
"Yeah. Maybe that's it. And ya don't laugh at me for speakin' my feelings. If I were human, life would be so much better."
"Not necessarily, Raph. Being human isn't easy either."
"Come on. You get ta do so many things I don't. How is it tough?"
"Well…my parents are..." Troy took a deep breath. "Abusive mentally and physically. School can be boring and I'm gay. I tried to like girls and be normal, but I'm not wired that way and no one, other than my Uncle Kieran and Tigger understand. Tigger's gay, too. And then there's my childhood. We all have our crosses to bear, Raph. Trust me on that."
"Oh. Yer gay?"
"Yeah. I've always known I was. Just took me a while to accept it."
"I am, too, but Sensei was cool 'bout it and never made me feel bad."

Talk turned to their interests and they found they had a lot in common. Both loved sports, music, movies, running, martial arts. Troy did Brazilian Ju Jitzu. Raph and me despite our different worlds, have a lot in common, Troy thought. Who would have thought? And he is an awesome guy. Sure he is gruff and rough, but beneath that, he is an amazing person, with a heart of gold. I like him a lot, but I doubt he feels the same way. I'm a human after all and he'd be happier with someone of his own kind.
"I should let ya rest," Raphael said. I'll check on ya later."
"Thanks, Raph. For everything."