Summary: Human AU: After Raphael is kidnapped at the age of five, his family was devastated. They never stopped searching for him, but after eleven years, they fall to the conclusion that he must truly be gone. But when the Hamato family receives a phone call early in the morning, they are overwhelmed to hear that Raphael is alive and well. But after such a large time gap, and a crude upbringing, is the Raphael they knew still inside this hardened shell of a teenager.

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT or its characters. All rights go to produces.

A/N: Please be gentle on me. This is my first TMNT fan fiction, so please be nice.

"All things truly wicked start from something innocent."~Ernest Hemmingway

Chapter Two: Welcome Home

Leo had been the only one willing to drive along with their father to the police station. Although technically, he had been the only one awake enough to be happy about receiving the news about his little brother. For the past eleven years, Leo had blamed himself for his brother's disappearance and Yoshi knew this. He had tried to lighten the burden on his eldest son's shoulders, and told him time and again that it was not his fault that Raphael was gone, but nothing seemed to help the pain that dwelled in Leonardo's heart.
But now, as they pulled into the police parking lot, Yoshi could see the apprehension and excitement in Leo's posture.
"Do not be nervous, my son. You should be happy; we are about to be reunited with your brother, my third son."

"I'm not nervous," Leo responded quietly. This was utterly a lie; his nerves were severely racked with anticipation. As they entered the police station, a man dressed in a grey, dapper suit approached them, a warm smile on his face,
"Are you Yoshi Hamato," the man asked politely. Yoshi nodded an affirmative. The man's smile widened, his eyes shinning brightly.
"It's nice to meet you Mr. Hamato. I'm Vern Fenwick, a social worker with CPS: I've been working Raph's case for awhile now." He extended his hand towards Yoshi, which he took and shook firmly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Fenwick." He gestured to Leonardo who stood beside him. "This is my eldest son Leonardo." Vern shook Leo's hand firmly.
"I know you both are probably itching to see Raphael. I've already told him about your arrival, I'm just giving him some time to process it. I'll take you to him in just a moment." Mr. Fenwick headed down a hall and into a small room on the side that Yoshi noticed was labeled "interrogation".
As he and Leo waited, the Raphael he remembered bubbled to the surface of his memory and Yoshi could only wonder if his son was still anything like he was when he was five.

When he was young, Yoshi had always considered Raphael to have been somewhat of a sensitive child. Underneath the rough exterior that he wore, he had a gentle, warm interior. Yoshi could see that his feelings were easily hurt and that he seemed somewhat desperate for his father's attention. His temperament made up for his sensitivity though; the sudden outburst of anger and frustration were something Yoshi had learned to deal with when Raphael was still an infant; he had always been somewhat of a miserable child.

Although he had taken down pictures with Raphael in them to ease his aching heart, Yoshi still clearly remembered his young son's face. Delicate features with piercing amber eyes, his face still rounded with that of a young boy, almost cherub like. Wild, dirty blond hair that was near unmanageable.
"Well, I think he's handling the entire situation rather well. You can go and see him now," Mr. Fenwick stated. He directed them down the short hall to the room he had previously been in. With each step, Yoshi could feel his heart beat stronger and faster. This was it; he was going to be reunited with Raphael.

Mr. Fenwick pushed open the door and gestured for Yoshi and Leo to enter. The room was small, barely big enough for the metal table and chairs it held. On the far side of the room was Raphael, who stopped mid pace.
The boy that stood before him was nothing like that of the boy he remembered. Long gone was the roundness of his face, leaving behind angular, delicate features that made his amber eyes appear more prominent. His eyes were still as piercing as he remembered, but he could see that there was a haunted look deep within. His once dirty blond hair was now a deep shade of red- he assumed it to be dyed- but was just as wild as he remembered.

"My son," he exclaimed happily, pulling Raphael into his arms. He felt Raphael tense at the sudden closeness and noticed that he did not return the hug, but neither did he shrug the affectionate gesture off. He held Raphael at arms' length, a smile plastered upon his face. "It is so good to see you alive and well, my son."
There was a slight pause before Raph briefly returned the smile.
"Yeah, its, uh- it's good to see you too." His voice was deep, and had a rough edge to it. It was so different compared the voice of the young boy he remembered. Yoshi couldn't help but feel somewhat sad as he realized how much of Raphael's life he hadn't been a part of.
"Well," Vern said happily, "Best we not keep you here longer than you need to be. Let's head out the front. I was about to leave and wanted to Raph his things." He gestured towards the door. Leo and Raphael left the room first. Before Yoshi could follow his sons, Mr. Fenwick pulled him back into the room and quietly shut the door. Vern handed a folded piece of paper to Mr. Hamato. On it was the name of a doctor and underneath that, an address and phone number.

"What is this for," Yoshi asked.
"I have a friend who is a child psychologist. I think that you should have it on hand for Raphael's sake." Yoshi felt himself frown in disapproval.
"Why is that," Yoshi asked, his voice stern.

"Raphael is a good kid underneath that rough shell he puts on. But, he's only been in foster care since age twelve. Whatever happened to him before then I'm not sure, but I believe that it was not pleasant for him. One of the foster parents he's had returned him to the home because of how extreme his night terrors are." Vern sighed heavily, taking in Yoshi's stern expression. "Look, Mr. Hamato, I've only known your son for four years, and it took all four for him to trust me to the point of feeling safe in a room alone with just me. I want you and you're sons to be close, like a family should be; that is my job after all. I know that a therapist might help resolve some issues that Raph has."
"I appreciate the concern," Yoshi replied, sliding the card into his coat pocket. He pushed the troubled thoughts that had popped into his head to the back of his consciousness; he would deal with them later.

"So, I'll be around in a week or so to see how you're settling in," Vern said. Vern handed a business card over to Raphael along with his duffel bag from the foster home. "Don't be afraid to call me for anything." He patted Raph on the shoulder and turned to leave, waving once as he climbed back into his car. Slightly despaired, Raphael watched him drive off, suppressing the urge to run after him.

Vern was the first person he had trusted in a long time, and now, he was being placed with his biological family that he barely remembered. Raph couldn't help but feel somewhat betrayed; Vern had said he'd always be there for him. Even though that was still technically true, Vern would no longer be the guy just down the hall-that would be his father.

He had never completely forgotten about his family, but the memories of them were fuzzy. He couldn't really remember much about his father besides the fact that he ran a dojo somewhere on the east end of the city, and that he was always at work or doing something else important that didn't concern him.
His brothers he could remember slightly more about. He remembered that Mikey had always been a bother around him, and Raph vaguely wondered if he had matured any in eleven years. Donnie was the smart guy; Raph remembered him taking the small kitchen appliances apart and putting them together after seeing how they worked. Leo, he didn't remember quite as well, but Raph remembered him being very responsible for only being nine years old.

After Vern's car was long out of sight, Raph hoisted the duffel bag across his shoulder and turned to face his father and brother, who were both standing beside a tired looking pickup truck. Resigned, Raph went to join them, throwing his bag into the bed of the pickup and seating himself next to Leo
The drive to the house took maybe a half hour at the most. A rather uncomfortable silence had fallen between the three of them, leaving them to their own minds. It made it even more uncomfortable for Raph since the truck was only a three seater.

"So, why were you at the police station to begin with," Leo asked, trying to break the awkward silence that surrounded the three of them. Raph glanced away from the window he'd been staring out and looked at Leo.
"Uh, I sorta went for a joyride on some guy's motorcycle. Cops pulled me over for speeding and brought me in when I didn't have a drivers' license," he replied, sounding somewhat embarrassed. Yoshi felt his eyebrows rise in surprise; his son was out committing felonies? In his peripheral vision, he saw Leonardo's small look of surprise. Apparently, neither of them had been expecting something like that. Yoshi was trying hard to replace the image of an innocent little boy with the ragged teenager before him. It would take some time to get used to.

Yoshi and Leo couldn't help but notice how Raph tensed as they turned the final corner that led onto their street. Leo could sympathize with his brother; that corner was where Raph had disappeared from their lives for eleven years. It was more than likely that seeing the spot where he was kidnapped would trigger a painful memory.
Once they had pulled up in front of the house, Raph was the first one out of the car. He couldn't handle how stuffy the truck was, with their bodies squished up against each other. raph hated touching people and hated it even more when people touched him.
He stared up at the house, a sense of familiarity washing over him; even though it felt familiar, it didn't feel right. He hadn't had a home in eleven years. Although he had had several foster parents, it never lasted. They always wanted someone who was younger, or better tempered, or a girl. He hadn't had much luck in life.

The house was well sized-big enough to fit five people- and had a cozy feel to it. It was painted a beige color that could only be considered homey. The window frame and doors were painted a mahogany color, which Raph thought made the place look complete. A swinging sign hung from the porch ceiling, the family's last name painted stylishly on the wood.
It all seemed familiar, but yet, he couldn't really remember it; it was just out of his reach.
"Welcome home, my son," Yoshi said, his voice gentle. He rested his hand on Raphael's shoulder. "We have missed you all so much." He gestured towards the house.
"Go on inside, Donatello and Michelangelo are expecting you."

Raph let himself in and walked the first couple steps into the house, surveying it. This seemed familiar too. From where he stood he saw wooden floor run throughout the first floor. A pair of glass paned doors to his left opened up into a living, dining room combination. The room was painted a rich brown color. Golden throw pillows and area carpets commented the room nicely. On his right was an office that was painted a deep green. On the wall where the desk sat was some sort of symbol that Raph recognized as Chinese or Japanese.
At the end of the hall he saw was the kitchen. From the little of the kitchen he could see, he saw that the countertops were a mixed marble of different shades of grey, the counters a deep brown color. Everything was so modern. Raph assumed that there had been a good amount of money put into renovations.

Before he could walk any further into the house he heard two sets of feet pounding down the staircase, followed by excited whispering. They rounded the corner, both of them sliding on the hard wood floor in their socked feet. Both stopped just shy of bowling Raph over. They both wore expressions of anxious excitement.
For a long, awkward moment, the three of them just stood there, staring at one another. From what he assumed, Donatello was the taller of the two, plus he wore an aura that practically screamed "nerd alert".
Before he could even get out a hello, Mikey suddenly lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Raph.

"Welcome home, brother!"

Okay, so there is the second chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. I will try to update as frequently and as soon as possible. Thank you all for your reviews and for those who have favourite-d me of followed me. :)

A/N: In response to a comment from a guest reader; I do believe that I have read Fading Back to Red and I will say that I am not trying to copy that story in any way. Although it may seem similar, I intend to make this story my own.