Disclaimer: I own not the turtles, but of the Austin; she is mine.

Author Notes: Thus begins (drum roll)…. Return of the Flashback! Yes boys and girls… or probably just girls (I'm not sure); we delve a little deeper into the past. Wheeeeeee. AND… this chapter is especially dedicated to Dierdre, who is so awesome and beta'd the first half of it for me. (The second half, I've gone over like… 20 times myself and am pretty happy with it, so I think I'll leave it as is.) Many snuggles to Dierdre :)

Further Misadventures (of the Mentally Unstable)

Chapter 2

24 years ago

One stitch. One mistake. Such a simple thing, and perhaps not even noticeable at first. But with time the one small mistake will set the entire pattern off. If caught early, then sometimes the error could be corrected, but more often than not it won't be noticed until it is far too late. Under certain rare circumstances, that problem stitch could be covered up and the pattern shifted slightly to form the same larger picture. With any luck it would no longer be noticeable.

But some mistakes... some mistakes were made and nothing can be done to correct them. Such was the mistake that Rosemary Bridger had found. And as she stared nastily at the offending stitch in her needlepoint (as if she could change it by sheer will) an unsettling fear came over her. Rosemary Bridger had been an expert at needlepoint since she was seventeen years of age. which was almost a hundred and fifty years ago. In those hundred and fifty years of cross-stitch, she had only made five such mistakes that she could remember.

Besides being blessed with exceptional health and an even more exceptional long life, Rosemary was also blessed with a sort of sixth sense. This sixth sense took its form in her needlepoint. Visions and revelations would come to her during the more… intense sessions of her work. If cross-stitching could ever really be considered intense…

But still, the fact remained that Rosemary Bridger had just made the sixth mistake of her life, and it was the worst she'd ever done. Although the term 'mistake' was actually a misnomer. The 'mistakes' were never really her fault. If she one it was because of the guiding hand of an otherworldly presence. Call it Fate, or Destiny, or even Bob if you so please; whatever or whoever it was, it was trying to tell Rosemary something. And that 'something'… was that a huge fucking mistake had been made somewhere in the world.

There was no way to undo this mistake, either. Rosemary slowly placed the tip of her finger on the wrong stitch and carefully traced over the fabric, her finger running along the lines of the country cottage that had slowly and painstakingly come to be on the coarse background. Her eyes half closed as she felt the textures of the woven threads, and her mind raced through images that came from outside of her own head. Most flashed by too fast for her to make out and then vanished completely. She would never know what most of those had been… but then… then there was a spark of recognition. A face. A face that she knew all too well. Susan Bridger. Her granddaughter. The big fucking mistake had been made by her flesh and blood.

Rosemary's finger moved faster as the image of Susan fled, and she tried to follow it through the tangled web of the vision that took its form in an intricate cross-stitch pattern. Her son, Bill, had called a little over a year ago to let her know that Susan had run away from home. With a sigh of frustration, Rosemary had listened politely to Bill's tirade about how his daughter was a no-good hussy, and how he had never raised a child of his to be like that. But she knew the problem didn't lie with Susan. William Bridger had never been Rosemary's pride for more than one reason. He was loud, obnoxious, and more than just a little sexist. He had taken after his father, unfortunately.

No, Rosemary's love had fallen towards her daughter, Jillian. Oh, Jillian… wild, reckless, but still sweet and kind Jillian. The green-eyed, brown haired, slightly overweight girl who never had anything but a smile on her face for anyone she'd ever met. 'Pure sunshine' had been what the neighbors called her. With the face of an angel and a heart of gold, the whole town had mourned when Jillian finally succumbed to the dark cancer buried in her body. Rosemary had always held out hope that Jillian would have inherited her ancestor's longevity, but it wasn't meant to be. Bill certainly hadn't gotten it and it looked like Susan hadn't either. The line of Helda had finally been diluted enough by human blood that there was simply not enough power left in it.

Rosemary's finger stopped abruptly when it touched the small window of the cottage cross-stitch. Someone was coming. No… not coming… someone was already here. She looked up at the same time the doorbell to her Victorian style home rang. A loud yawn and a clicking of claws could be heard as the large Great Dane that had been lying at the foot of her chair stood and stretched. Daemon shook his body to work out the kinks of a long rest and then looked at Rosemary, grunted softly in that way that dogs do before quickly made his way toward the front door.

Her worry eased even as she raised herself from the chair. Daemon was the best watch dog there was, and if he wasn't already growling at the front doors then there wasn't anything to worry about. Setting the large wooden scroll frame with the muslin and needlepoint on the coffee table, Rosemary stood swiftly from the chair and made her way to the front hall. Normally, just before she turned the corner that opened into the hallway, which in turn opened to the foyer, she slowed her step and bent her back slightly in a posture more suited to a woman 'her age'. But today was different. Already Rosemary could sense that the person at the door was no ordinary visitor. The waves of power emanating from beyond the cedar and frosted glass double doors were strong. Not the strongest she'd ever met, but enough that it slightly worried her. Still, Daemon wasn't growling, and he was one of the best judges of character, human or otherwise.

There were blurs of color on the other side of the glass, and Rosemary could tell that whoever it was had blond hair and must be wearing some sort of blue top. They were tall too; at least 6 inches higher than Rosemary herself. Daemon was sniffing the door and actually wagging his tail now, and a small whimper of excitement escaped his grinning mouth.

"Okay, okay, back. Sit down like a good boy, Daemon." The large dog immediately obeyed, but nothing could stop the energetic wag of his tail.

Opening the door cautiously, Rosemary Bridger gasped in surprise and placed a hand to her breast as she looked upon the very person she had seen only moments ago in the vision of the cross-stitch pattern. "Susan?"

"Nana?" The tearstained face of her only granddaughter blinked at her as she clutched tightly to a faded denim backpack with one hand… the other hand resting on the top of her very pregnant stomach. "Oh god, Nana… I've made a terrible mistake…"

"Do you remember the phone number, Sweetheart?"

"Yes, Daddy." Ivy nodded much too seriously for someone her age as she clutched Niblet in one hand and a small traveling bag in the other. She recited the number and area code dutifully as she looked at her father with sad eyes.

"And what's your name?"

"Jessica."

"Jessica what?"

"Jessica Michelle Smith."

Jeremy closed his eyes and let out a breath, letting his head hang slightly. A silence hung in the air in between them, until he let out a quiet sob and fell to one knee, pulling his daughter into a tight embrace. "I love you, Ivy. You know that right? You know why we have to do this?"

Ivy nodded against her father's shoulder and wiped a tear from her eye. "You got to lead them away from me."

"Yes." He pulled back and held her at arm's length. "But I'll come for you as soon as I can." The lie slid from his lips much more easily than he would have liked. Inside he had a feeling… a gut instinct that this was the last time he'd look on his daughter's face. It was the first time in his life that he'd purposefully closed his mind to Ivy, and she knew there was something he was holding back. But she also knew that some things were better not known or asked about… and never would she question her father's motives.

"Mr. Smith?" A pretty young flight attendant stood at a distance and waved in their direction. Jeremy gave his daughter a last hug and stood, still holding her hand. "Don't worry, Mr. Smith; we'll take good care of your daughter." She smiled prettily and held her hand out to Ivy. "Jessica, right? My name is Sally."

Ivy looked up at her father, eyes full of questions and tears.

"Go on." The forced smile on his face did very little to reassure the young girl standing next to him. "Don't worry. It will be ok."

Wanting desperately to stay with her father, yet wanting to show him how strong she could be, Ivy squeezed his hand gently and stepped toward the flight attendant who would lead her onto the airplane.

As Jeremy watched the bouncing curls walking away from him his heart nearly tore in two and it took all the strength he had to not run after her. It was for the best. For now… Jeremy had very little doubt that sooner or later trouble would catch up with Austin as well, and sending Ivy to New York was probably going to speed that trouble up. But she'd be safer there for longer than if she stayed with him… he was sure of it. Besides… this new guy of Austin's… there was something about him. Something which told Jeremy that despite his hatred of the man, that he would protect Austin with his life. And Ivy as well.

"For god's sake, Austin… you better be home." He whispered to himself. When he'd talked to her on the phone three days ago from Ohio, she'd told him her plans for flying back to New York. If everything had gone according to schedule then her plane should have arrived not too long ago. And with any luck she would have gone straight home where she'd be able to answer the phone call he was about to place. Walking almost blindly to the pay phones, he dialed the number by heart to Austin's flat.

"Pick up… Christ, Austin, pick up!" His voice rose slightly and it earned him an offended look from the little old lady at the phone next to him. He mouthed a quick 'sorry' to the lady just as there was a click on the line. "Austin?"

"…Hey, you've reached Austin at…" The answering machine came on the line with a false cheeriness, and Jeremy almost cursed again before slamming the phone down. He'd try again from a different payphone in a few minutes. Not wanting to stay in one place for too long, Jeremy glanced back at the gate where his daughter had already disappeared through and then took off through the terminal at a brisk pace, already scanning the halls for any signs of being followed. He was being over-paranoid, he knew. But with his girlfriend and the other Miracles already captured, Jeremy wasn't taking any chances.

He made it back to the beat-up red Subaru and was soon on his way out of the terminal parking garage. Within 20 minutes, he'd hit the edge of town, stopping at every payphone he could find and calling Austin's flat. She still hadn't answered after the fifth try, and the phones were becoming fewer and further between. On the sixth try at a small run-down gas station, Jeremy finally left a message telling her to be at the airport to meet Ivy's flight. When he'd said everything he could think of to say, he paused for a moment… then finished the message. "Austin… I'll always love you."

Raphael was tough. He could handle just about any physical exertion his sensei could think up, and then some. But never before had he pushed himself this hard, this fast. The sewer tunnels passed by in a blur, and he saw very little of the things that were surrounding him. The path he knew by heart; he'd run it a hundred times over the past month. The most direct route from the lair to the sub-basement of her building.

It had taken him less than two days to discover the sub-basement. It turned out there were two basements to the building that housed the café. The floor directly beneath ground level led up to the Celestial Café. The floor below that led up to the dimly lit staircase that led to the third floor… Austin's floor. At some point in history, the sub-basement must have been used for smuggling, because there had been a door sealed shut that led to the sewers. With Donnie's help, they had opened the door and re-rigged it on an electronic sequence. Anyone who tried to open the door without the correct key-code would send up red-flags on Donatello's computer. So far, no one had gone in or out except Raphael.

He reached the door in record time, the muscles in his legs burning from the harsh treatment, and swiftly typed in the 6-digit access code. It unlocked with hardly a 'click', and he pushed it open and bounded through. The door slammed shut behind him and locked automatically. Raphael crossed the room in just two seconds and flung open the door to the stairs. He ran swiftly up, taking three steps at a time, and pushed open the door at the top with a grunt. Jumping into the dark entrance, he actually tripped over the suitcase lying on the floor. One of his feet connected with the hard canvas, but thanks to his fast reflexes he managed to turn the fall into a roll and came up on his feet, crouched low and with his sais drawn in an offensive stance. Silence met his ears, and only when he was sure that he was alone, did he come up from the crouch.

Reaching over to the wall, he flicked on the light switch that he knew was there. The entrance was suddenly illuminated, and he looked down to see the offending suitcase. Bending over, he looked at the tag. It was Austin's. She was home… or had been… With a sudden bad feeling that he couldn't explain, Raphael whirled around and raced up the second flight of stairs. The door to her apartment was locked, but he deftly picked it, calling out her name even before he'd opened it.

"Austin?" He barreled into the room like a freight train, his senses taking everything in. Skidding to a stop on the hard wood floor, he glanced in every direction. The window… the couch… the kitchen… the door to the bedroom… Everything was exactly as he'd left it the last time he was here… which had been that very morning. Nothing felt off, except for the fact that Austin's suitcase was down in the foyer… but Austin wasn't.

"Austin… remember me?" The voice was rough and unwelcome in the dimly lit building. Austin had felt the presence of the person before they spoke, so she didn't jump in surprise. She didn't even look in the direction of the voice. It didn't really matter who it was; she'd heard the line before. There were a lot of guys that remembered and approached her at this bar.

Back in the foyer of her building, Austin had stopped her hand before it had hit the light switch. Common sense had won out a split second before she gave in to paranoia. There was no one in her building. The basement was securely locked, and Raph would have been keeping an eye on her floor, she was sure. With a frustrated sigh, she had dropped her hand and turned back to the front door. She wasn't ready to be there yet, and if Raph was waiting for her upstairs she wasn't ready to see him yet either. Mentally calling herself a coward, she had closed her eyes and breathed deep for a few moments.

Leaving her suitcase where she'd dropped it, Austin had adjusted the strap of her purse and turned for the front door. She'd walked back out into the sunlight and it had taken only moments to flag down yet another cab that had been more than happy to drive her wherever she could pay to go. She'd started at the park, walking around for a couple hours, and then when the sky had started to grow dark, she headed for one of her home away-from-homes. Twilight was coming earlier and earlier these days… it was almost October after all. It was also becoming a hell of a lot colder as well. Luckily, she'd still been wearing the wool-lined jacket that her mother had bought her the day after she arrived in Ohio, and she was warm and cozy when she arrived at the bar.

That had been an hour ago, and the first beer that she'd ordered was still sitting in front of her, untouched. She'd meant to drink it, honestly… but found that as good as she'd thought it had sounded, she simply didn't have the need to actually pick up the frosted mug and drink. Sitting on a barstool at the end of the counter, she'd attracted the attention of a few guys already, but had politely turned them all down. The bartender had approached more than once to see if she was doing ok and if she perhaps wanted something else? She'd refused him as well. It just didn't feel right, being here. She knew where she was supposed to be, and it certainly wasn't in some run-down bar being hit on by middle-aged married men who pretended like the white shadow on their ring fingers wasn't really there.

"C'mon babe, don't tell me you've forgotten already…" The voice turned devious and Austin felt a two strong hands place themselves on her waist, squeezing gently. A breath of hot air was felt on her ear and she jerked her head away before his lips could touch her skin.

"Get off'a me." She practically growled and wrenched herself away. His hands slipped off unexpectedly and she took the chance to rise from her seat. The man standing behind her looked vaguely familiar… she must have gone home with him at some point or another. Who knew? There had been a lot of guys in the past few months. More than she really cared to count at this time.

"Aww, honey, don't be like that." What must have passed for rogue-ish charm the first time she'd met him suddenly seemed rather abrasive and perhaps even a little on the silly side. His long dark hair and the scar on his cheek would once have been sexy to her, but looking at the guy now, all she felt was repulsion. How much things had changed in so short a time... But his surprise at her rejection changed into a nasty grin. "What, don't you wanna go back to my place? C'mon, baby…"

"I'm not your fucking 'baby'. And I'm definitely not going back to the shit hole you call an apartment." Funnily, she couldn't remember his name, but she had a clear memory of his trashy, run-down dwelling. Austin stepped quickly past him, leaving her beer on the countertop in the same spot where the bartender had originally set it down. She grabbed her coat from the back of the chair and pulled it on swiftly, ignoring the gleam in the guy's eyes. Already she was wondering what the fuck she had ever seen in him to begin with.

His grin turned into a savage frown and he took step toward her, grabbing her arm in a tight grip. "What, you gone all high-class now? Suddenly you're too good for me?"

Austin tried to tear her arm away from him, but he had an unbreakable grip on her. "Let me go, asshole. Or my boyfriend will kick your ass."

The guy laughed, a harsh sound that grated on Austin's nerves. "Boyfriend? Sluts like you don't got 'boyfriends'." As he leaned in close, she could smell the liquor on his breath and god only knew what kind of drugs he might be on as well. His eyes were wild as he looked at her with obvious lust. Even if she hadn't been getting involved with Raphael, she certainly wouldn't have considered going home with this guy again.

"He'll be here soon." She lied swiftly, glaring the guy down. "If he sees you even talking to me, he'll carve your heart out." …which probably wasn't a lie.

"You ain't got no boyfriend. Now let's just-"

"There a problem here?" A harsh, rather pissed off voice broke into the conversation, and Austin looked gratefully over to the bartender. At nearly 6'5", with the body of an NFL quarterback and a sparkling bald head that rivaled Mr. Clean, Frank had always been nice to Austin, remembering her favorite beer and even offering her free drinks every once in a while.

Releasing her arm almost instantly, the guy shot daggers at the bartender. "No. No problem."

"Good. Y'headin' home, Austin?" His eyes never left the asshole standing next to her.

"Yah, Frank… I'll see you later." Austin considered flipping off the guy, but thought better of it. Instead, she turned and headed for the door, not glancing over her shoulder. She was pretty sure that Frank would keep the guy occupied long enough for her to get a cab and get away. Thankfully, he didn't know where she lived, because he was seriously starting to creep her out. Not that she couldn't handle herself, just better safe than sorry.

Luck, it seemed, was not with her that night. Outside the bar there was no taxi in sight, an almost unthinkable thing at this time of the evening. With a frustrated sigh, Austin took off at a brisk pace in the direction of her newly purchased building. Looking over her shoulder a couple of times to make sure the jerk wasn't following her, she also kept her eyes open for the first available cab. It wasn't the best neighborhood to be walking in when the city was dark, even considering that it was only a little after 8:30pm and there was a fair amount of people on the street.

As she reached a side street, Austin felt an almost uncontrollable urge to take a turn down the street. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like she was drawn to something on the small dark avenue. In the past she'd felt such urges and sometimes she followed them; sometimes she didn't. Sometimes unexpected adventures met her… sometimes they didn't. It was sort of a hit-or-miss thing, and tonight she was feeling mildly curious. Austin took the turn and started walking down the sidewalk, a feeling of paranoia sinking into her skin as she stepped deeper into the darkness. At least four of the streetlights up ahead had been broken and the shadows of the buildings seemed to suck up what little light there was. Sounds of life came from what seemed like far behind her on the main road, but here there was no one about that she could see. Just as she was about to turn around and say 'fuck it' to the little urge in her head, something slammed into her from behind and she cried out sharply as she unexpectedly found herself being dragged into the nearest alleyway.

"You bitch!" The harsh voice came again and Austin realized much too late that she'd been followed. He slammed her up against the cold brick wall of the alley and pressed his body to hers. Pinning her arms above her head, he leaned in close and bit the side of her neck sharply, nearly drawing blood. "You'll be fucking sorry, slut."

She pushed against him, but his full weight was holding her in place against the wall and her mind was still slightly spinning from the impact of the back of her head against the brick. "Let me go, you fucker!", she hissed and tried unsuccessfully to break his hold again.

"Oh no, you're gonna be a good little whore and give me what I want." His eyes glinted malevolently in the darkness of the alley and Austin started to feel fear for the first time. She would have screamed, but his mouth crushed down on hers with such force that her head hit the brick again and she whimpered in the pain caused by both the impact and his mouth.

"I believe the lady asked to be let go." Raphael's fierce voice cut through the night as swiftly and as cleanly as his sai cut open the guy's back.

Howling in pain, the asshole stumbled back away from Austin, the back of his white t-shirt already turning a dark black in the moonlight. "Sonuvabitc-" His strangled words were cut off by a hard fist to the face and the cracking of his jawbone. Whimpers escaped from the guy's now broken jaw, but he had no time to recover before Raphael had grabbed him and violently thrown him out into the open street. He hit the pavement with a dull thud and rolled twice, then lay on the cold concrete groaning loudly. Fear of getting his ass kicked again must have been prevalent in his mind though, because he was soon up on his feet and stumbling down the street as fast as his fake leather cowboy boots could take him.

In the alley, Austin was still reeling from the shock of what had just happened. She watched as the dark form of her guardian angel turned from the mouth of the alley and looked at her in the darkness. He made no move toward her, neither did he speak again. She almost had the impression that if she spoke he would hit her as well, so much was the anger radiating off of him.

They stood that way for almost a minute, before she shakily said his name. "Raphael…?" He took a step towards her, and in response to his movement she launched herself off the wall and into his waiting arms. "Oh god, Raph! Oh god, I'm so sorry." She buried her face against his neck and clung to him tightly, tears escaping from her eyes. "I should have called… I should have… I'm sorry… please…" Her words were muffled against his skin, but he heard her just the same.

Afraid of saying something out of anger that he might regret, Raphael said nothing; he held her instead. God, he was pissed; his body was practically shaking with fury directed at both Austin and the guy who had tried to rape her. But he still embraced her and gently stroked her hair in spite of it all. Coming up from somewhere beneath the anger and the frustration was a sense of welcome relief and joy that she was here. Austin was back in New York… she was home; she was safe… and she was still his.

Perched on top of a nearby building, he'd hardly been able to believe his eyes as her form walked down the street. At first he'd thought he was seeing things; that in his desperation to find her he was imagining Austin's face on another woman's body. When the guy had come up behind her, making her cry out in surprise, he'd known for sure that it was her. He'd have recognized that voice anywhere, and at the moment he was wishing he'd have killed the man that dared touch Austin that way. But he'd held back in spite of the overwhelming rage that was coursing through his body; for there was an almost unconscious need for him not to let Austin see that side of himself. He was a killer and had been for a very long time. Sometimes they deserved it, sometimes they didn't; but it was a part of him that he wanted desperately to keep Austin away from. Despite everything that had happened in her past there was an almost childlike innocence that he saw in her, and he didn't want to be the one to shatter what was left of her fragile mind.

Her cries and apologies slowly died down and still he only held her. With a shudder, she was finally silent but still clung to him as tightly as possible. Eternity seemed to pass between them before she finally spoke again.

"I love you, Raph…"

After the fic Author's Notes: HAH! I bet you never thought you'd see this chapter! Well, I've proved you ALL WRONG! So THERE! grins like a giddy schoolgirl The chapter that was kicking my ass has finally been written, and hopefully all the stuff at the beginning wasn't too confusing. I SWEAR, it will all tie together by the end of the story. …maybe. I might have to save some stuff for the third installment of Misadv--.. uh… I mean… I never said I'd write a third story. You must have been hearing things.

So... uh... (shameless cry for attention) Please read and review, and let me know I'm still doing a decent job! I need to ego boost. It encourages me to write more. :)

-Melodist