Bound Chapter 4: Family and Frustration, a teenage mutant ninja turtles fanfic

A/N: Sorry the last chapter was a bit of a snooze, but it was necessary to the flow of the story line. So, I decided to go ahead and post this next chapter rather quickly. Hold on to your hats, things are about to take off.

Sarah sat on the side of Donnie's bed, pondering the horrendous noise that came from her blue-masked brother. How on Earth do they sleep through that? For that matter, how did I sleep through it? She glanced at the clock on Donnie's side table. It was half past eight in the morning. She looked down at her clothes. They were the same ones she'd been wearing for three days now. They were beginning to smell and were smudged with dirt from the tunnel floor. I'll have to fix that today. And what I wouldn't give for a bath. She was a girl after all and not bathing for any period of time made her feel yucky.

She rose and headed for the kitchen. Splinter was already seated at the table, a hot mug of tea in front of him. "Good morning, Master Splinter."

"Good morning, child. Did you sleep well?"

She nodded, glancing around the kitchen. "Where's Donnie? He wasn't on the couch and he's not in the dojo or his lab either. I know he's nearby." Splinter raised an eyebrow at how intense their connection must be.

As if he had heard his name, the fore mentioned turtle appeared in the doorway. He stretched and yawned. "Good morning." He brushed a kiss in her hair as he moved toward the still hot teapot. The action had been so natural, that neither of the young adults had noticed Splinter's raised eyebrow.

"I need a bath."

Donnie nearly dropped the teapot. "What?"

"I need a bath and a change of clothes. You guys may be used to going around in the same clothes, or lack thereof, for days on ends. But I'm not and I don't think I can go much longer without washing my hair." She ran a hand through her long locks and scowled at them incriminatingly. "I have to go above to get some things from the drug store."

"But-" He started. The look on Sarah's face made him decide it would be easier to fight off Shinju's men than to argue with her. He sighed. "Alright. But before we go, the guys and I want to show you something."

Her eyes lit up as she tried to untangle her fingers from her slightly knotted hair. "Really? Well then, we'd better wake them up, because I've just got to get cleaned up before noon." With that she turned on her heel and headed back to the bedroom area. A few minutes later the other three turtles wandered into the kitchen yawning, stretching and scratching.

"Boy, Master, Sarah could put you to shame when it comes to gettin' us up." Raph commented as he flopped in the chair beside his father.

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever woken up so fast in my life." Mikey mumbled.

"I guess that'll teach you to leave your water gun laying around." Sarah teased him.

Leo grunted and rubbed his head. "Now what was so important, Donnie?"

"I need a bath." Sarah stated. The three turtles' eyes grew wide. "I have to go above to get some things."

They turned to stare at Donnie, who could do nothing more than shrug. "I told her we had something to show her first."

Mikey lit up. "Oh yeah, come on dudette!" Grinning, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her toward the living room. Sarah giggled as he pulled her to the entrance of the darkened chamber. Donnie stepped past his overly excited brother to where the light switch was just inside the door.

Leo placed a hand on Sarah's shoulder. "We thought you might want a space of your own."

Donnie flipped the switch, illuminating the chamber. Sarah stepped through the entrance and stood very still for a long moment. She was so quiet that they began to wonder if she liked it or not. When she finally turned around, tears were streaming down her checks and the biggest smile graced her lips. "I love it." She threw her arms around Donnie's neck.

"Hey, we helped too." Raph chided.

Sarah chuckled. "I know you did." She hugged each one in turn. "Thank you so much! I truly, truly love it!" She looked around the chamber one more time. She was home at last, so close to Donnie that his mere presence filled the gaping hole that had cried out for him for so long. The joy that filled her heart

Time passed and Sarah fit back into their lives like she had never been gone. Giving to them her love and support, just as she had so long ago. Over the following weeks she spent time with each of them, showing them what she had learned and learning from them as well.

Leo discovered that he had found a kindred spirit when it came to art and history. His brothers didn't care much for that sort of thing, but Sarah would sit and look at books and magazines with him for hours.

Mikey simply liked having his sis home. They would play board games together and she even tried to teach him some new things to cook. But Mikey still preferred his pizza. Sarah had solved the problem of the lack of real food. She was receiving a small stipend from the government. It wouldn't have been a lot if they lived above, but below in the sewers that few hundred a month was like gold and it went a very long way.

Sarah had caught Raph sneaking off on occasion and she had finally coaxed him into telling her where exactly he went. As it turned out, Raph had a green thumb, both literally and figuratively. On a nearby rooftop he had built a splendid garden. Sarah was thoroughly impressed by the beautiful flowers and bright fresh vegetables. Especially since she had tried her hand at gardening herself some years ago and determined in the end that her house was where plants came to die not to live. Raph had laughed at her story and she had listened patiently as he had explained how carefully he took care of each plant. Before they had returned to the lair, he had sworn her to secrecy. He wasn't ready yet to expose his quiet place to his brothers. Sarah had agreed quickly, knowing this was his place to get away and let off steam.

Donnie most of all enjoyed spending time with her. It made him smile when she'd pull her long hair up into a ponytail and help him with his inventions. He thought the smudges of grease on her cheek made her even more adorable. They could talk about almost anything. She was a quick learner and nearly anything he explained she got. She was good with tools and blueprints and just about everything else too. She filled the gaping hole inside him with joy and love, a missing piece that he hadn't realized how much he needed.

Their relationship was growing steadily and at a natural pace. Their connection was growing too. It was so strong now that if Sarah ecame frustrated aout anything, he knew it long before anything was said. They continued to show each other respect, which is an important key to any relationship, and theirs blossomed for it.

"But that's completely unfair!" Sarah sputtered indignantly.

Donnie shook his head. "It's too dangerous."

"It's just lunch and with April, for goodness sakes. What could happen?"

"Shinju's men could spot you and –."

"It's been three months. There is no way he could know I'm still in the city and that I hadn't returned to witness protection."

"No, I really don't think-."

The three turtles listening from the living room cringed as something hit the wall of Sarah's room. Donatello appeared in the doorway, glancing over his shoulder as he made a hasty exit. The bedroom door was closed quite loudly behind him.

"Dude," Mikey started quietly, "what is wrong with her having lunch with April? We do it all the time."

"She wants to have lunch alone with April." Donnie protested. "Shinju isn't the type to just give up."

Raph grinned as he slipped an arm around his brother's shoulder. "Then boy genius, you tell her she can go alone and we'll keep an eye on her from nearby. We are ninjas after all. She'd never know."

Donnie sighed. The plan wasn't half bad, except for the fact that Raph had forgotten about their bond. "She'd know if I was there."

"Well, then there is only one solution." Leo folded his arms. "You'll just have to stay here."

Donnie considered this for a moment. His brothers were just as capable of taking care of her as he was, even though he didn't like the idea much. He sighed. Leo was right, it was the only solution. It would make Sarah happy and it would keep her safe too. "Agreed." He turned back to the closed doorway. He could feel her frustration inside him, which was dwindling now to remorse. She wasn't really angry and even the small plate that had hit the wall had not been aimed at him. She was upset and he needed to fix it.