DISCLAIMER: I do not own TMNT (except in my dreams).

Okay, so here's my second TMNT fanfic. I'm aiming to make this one several chapters long, and am hoping to update every week or so (probably more often depending on the number of reviews I get - hint hint). Hope you enjoy it - please read and review. :)

Ba-boom. Ba-boom. Ba-boom. He could feel his pulse racing, his heart beating so fast he could hardly distinguish one beat from then next.

Thump. Thump. Thump. He could feel his feet running across the hard ground, making a rhythmic sound as they went.

His muscles were beginning to ache, his lungs starting to burn as he drew in yet another sharp breath of cold night air. But, although his body was screaming at him to stop and rest for a moment, he knew he had to continue running.

Suddenly, he heard it again. Someone was calling to him, from somewhere far away. He slowed ever so slightly, so that he could better hear the direction it was coming from. His ears strained, trying to listen for it again over the sound of the roaring wind. His heart skipped a beat – there it was again. He turned and began running to where he thought the voice was coming from.

"Where are you?!" The voice yelled. He ran faster, desperate to reach them. Now he was no longer watching where he was going – everything seemed to pass in a blur. Suddenly, as he took a leap onto the next rooftop, he realised – too late – that he had misjudged the distance. Straining to reach the other side, he just made it, his toes gripping the edge o the next roof. He lost his balance, falling backwards over the edge. He plunged downwards, hurtling towards the hard concrete ground. Dropping to almost certain death. Then, just as he was about to smash into the pavement – he woke up.

A thin layer of cold sweat covered his skin, and his breath was coming in short gasps. Looking around in confusion, he was relieved to see the familiar sight of his room. There were his weights stacked in the corner, dirty laundry strewn across the floor, amongst piles of junk. He glanced upwards – he had fallen out of his hammock again. Standing up, he stretched and yawned, before glancing at his alarm clock – 6am. He was never usually up this early. He debated going back to bed, but didn't fancy the idea of reliving that dream – the same dream he had been having for a while now, ever since their last battle with the Shredder. He went and had a quick shower, before tying his mash around his face and shoving his Sais into his belt. He then left his room to see who else was awake.

He wasn't surprised to hear the clash of metal coming from the dojo – Leo was obviously getting some early morning training, as usual. He glanced towards the living room – Donny was sitting on the couch watching the news, a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. He then sniffed the air – the mouth-watering scent of bacon and eggs filled his nostrils – Mikey was obviously cooking breakfast. Finally, he glanced over to Master Splinters room – the flickering if candles could be seen as always, giving off a comforting glow. His sensei was usually meditating at this time of the morning, just before he came out to watch his stories on TV. Raph smiled to himself and sighed, an unusual feeling of peace washing over him – this was his family, his home. He strode into the kitchen, to go see if his baby brother needed a hand.

"Mornin Mikey."

"Oh, hey Raph. You're up early," he turned to look at his brother. He seemed to know at a glance that something was bothering him. "You had that dream again, didn't you?"

Raph was tempted to say no – he didn't want to let his little bro know something as silly as a dream was bothering him. But somehow, he had never been able to lie to Mikey. "Yeah, Mikey. I did."

Mikey turned back to his cooking. He was a little concerned – it was unlike his second-oldest brother to act like this, especially over something as seemingly harmless as a dream. It must have been bad for it to have shook Raph up this much. He thought for a moment, carefully turning the fried eggs over (he knew his brother didn't like his yolks runny, so he thought he'd do them the way Raph enjoyed them – perhaps a nice fry-up for breakfast would cheer him up a bit). "Why don't you talk to Master Splinter about it? You know he's always been good with dreams and stuff." Mikey knew this was a slightly dangerous suggestion – he knew it had been difficult for Raph to admit his feeling to him, let alone admit them to their sensei. So he was not surprised when Raph replied,

"Nah, Mikey. It was just a dream…it was nuthin," his attitude seemed to change suddenly as he warned, "If you dare tell anyone else about this Mikey, I'll…" But he didn't have to finish his threat before Mikey quickly nodded, reassuring Raph that he would never tell anyone about it. Satisfied, Raph nodded, before leaving the kitchen and heading for the dojo. He needed to have a go at his punching bag – it always helped calm him down.

However, although no one said anything, everyone noticed a difference in Raph. He was moodier than usual, and spent a lot more time on his own. They'd noticed this change come over him not long after their last battle with the Shredder. Leo was tempted to ask him about it, but thought better of it – he knew Raph too well. He would just have to wait until Raph himself revealed what was going on. He suspected Mikey knew what was going on – Raph and Mikey had always been very close – but he didn't want to force Mikey to betray Raph. And Donny – well, he'd spent so much time in his lab recently, he wasn't even sure if Donny had even noticed anything was wrong. He sighed, watching Raph hit his punch bag, before returning to his training.