i don't own tmnt only mermaid. this is set in the Next Mutation series, presumbly after Dragon Lord is defeated

Chapter Two

Who's She?

Mikey, busy pestering Donatello about fixing the stupid oven, stopped short as Raphael returned home…with a pale, mutant turtle girl trailing close behind him.

Her large, sea-green eyes were frightened, terribly so, and she shied back when Mikey called out," Dude, where've you been?! And who's she?!"

Raphael gave him a look that could kill.

"Pipe down, Mikey."

He led Mermaid through the Lair, whispering," it's okay, I'll explain things to them later."

Mermaid's throat tightened as she followed him.

He opened his room and smiled sheepishly.
"Here, you can sleep here for the night… if you need anything, you can ask me, or my bros,…or my sister…. um, the bathroom is down the hall to the left. The clean towels are in the basket and don't worry. No one's gonna hurt you."

"Not on my watch." He added silently to himself as Mermaid fixed her sad, sea-colored eyes on him.

Those searching eyes saw through him, penetrated him and seemed to lay bare his most intimate heart.

Raphael swallowed.

"Thank you…Raphael." She murmured softly as she averted her eyes.

She went into the room and smiled softly.

"You are very kind." She told him gently, a softer light coming into her pale face. It seemed that she had recovered already somewhat from what she had been through.

He swallowed.

"Goodnight, Mermaid."

"Goodnight, Raphael."

She closed the door.

Raphael turned around…

…to find himself staring at Mikey, Leo, Donnie, Venus and Splinter.

He sighed heavily.

"When it rains it pours." He muttered.

***

"…So, you actually caught him…raping her?" Mikey asked, his eyes horrified.

He looked like he was going to toss his cookies.

"Yeah…he's no longer with us, though." Raphael growled as he fingered the blades of his sais softly.

Splinter looked at Raphael's room and told him," You did the right thing, Raphael, by protecting her and bringing her here."

Raphael nodded softly.

Don burst out," So were there six turtles in the ooze?!?"

Mikey rolled his eyes.

Venus cocked her head.

"Why does she have hair, if she is one of us?"

"We can ask her about where she came from later," Leo told them, a little sternly, also horrified at what the young turtle girl had gone through.

Raphael growled," You guys had better not ask her any dumb-ass questions! She's been through a hell of a lot, and if any of you so much as looks at her wrong, I'll-"

"Raphael!" Splinter's voice was slightly stern as he looked at his son," None of us has any ill-intentions towards her."

Raphael's shoulders slumped.

"Yeah, but she's just so…I dunno…like she could shatter." He said softly, adding," She has…scars…millions of them…on her body, the back of her neck an she's also got bruises on her body, big ugly ones."

Leo's eyes widened.

"Holy-"

"Shit." Raphael finished for him, his golden-red eyes flashing angrily," She's so sweet…and someone had the nerve to beat up on her, take what wasn't his and then just…" his knuckles turned white, and the piece of the table he was holding suddenly broke off.

Raphael stared at the broken table and groaned.

"Fuckin' shit…"

Splinter shook his head.

"We'll discuss this tomorrow. Raphael, are you going to sleep on the couch?"

"Yeah. I may as well…if I do get any sleep." He muttered

At this moment, Mermaid, who had been in the shower, emerged, refreshed, her wounds washed and the blood cleaned away. She looked much better, but her eyes were still haunted as she flitted from the bathroom to Raphael's room, smiling timidly as she closed the door.

When all was said and done, Raphael was left alone on the couch.

But instead of going to the couch, he stayed by his bedroom door, ready to defend her, if she needed him, guarding over her, his golden eyes never closing.

Scars, bruises, are easy to cover...but they leave marks on the heart, which are harder to heal.