Author notes- I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or any of their compadres.

A heart to heart… with Raphael?!

I sit in my new, completely bare room on my new, extremely comfortable bed. I bite at my lip, not knowing what to do with myself. I start to play with my hair absent-mindedly, and sing to myself softly, wondering where I manage to pluck the song lyrics from. I curse my amnesia and sigh. Going over to the crude mirror, propped up on a desk donated from Don, I smile as I remember what Mikey said to me.

"You're a girl, you need a mirror! Girls love mirrors and lookin' at themselves, the amount of time Raph spends lookin' at himself in the mirror, I doubt his masculinity… but then he'll scratch himself and I'll think to myself, 'he's a dude… or a damn ugly girl with no freakin' shame' ha ha ha!"

Leo smacked him around the back of the head and frowned.

"Mikey! Language, she's a girl, she doesn't want to hear that vulgarity."

"And anyways Mikey, I worry for you if you watch Raph in the bathroom." Don grins and Leo breaks a smile and 'hi threes' his brother.

I grin fondly at the memory from only half an hour ago. I lie on my bed, staring up at the ceiling when there's a hard knock at the door. I get up and open the door, expecting it to be Mikey for the third time with his phrase of the night, 'Look! We're neighbours!' and him grinning wildly. I open the door to see not the orange banded brother, but the red banded brother, Raphael.

"Oh, hey Raphael." I say slightly nervously.

"Weren't expectin' me huh?" He grins.

"Uh, no, I was expecting it to be that weirdo, Michelangelo." I shout and a loud "Hey!" comes from the next room. I grin, and then realise I'm in Raphael's company. I look up at him meekly and he grins at me.

"Yanno he prob'ly hated bein' called 'Michelangelo' more than bein' called a weirdo."

I grin and realise my bad manners. I open the door wider so Raphael can come in. I take a deep breath.

"Any reason for dropping by?" I sit on my bed, stiffly.

"I just wanted ta see yer dig, seein' I was too busy bein' grumpy earlier." He says whilst glancing round. "Sorry 'bout that by the way."

"It's fine, you'll have to get used to it with me too, I'm not the most pleasant person of a morning." I grin & then curse myself. 'Shut up! He doesn't wanna know!'.

"Heh, me either." Raphael goes over to the desk, running his fingers lightly over the top of it, then glances in the mirror. I grin to myself as Mikey's dig at his brother comes back to me again.

"So…" I start, not exactly knowing what I'm going to say. Raphael looks up at me expectantly and my brain panics. "Three brothers, I guess that's interesting!"

He chuckles and leans against the desk, "Interestin' is the right word. Want one? Ya can have Mikey, jeez, we've been tryin' ta give him away for years!"

I smile and look up at him. "Oh, so ya do have a smile, I'd been wonderin'."

"What do you mean?" I frown & wonder to myself, 'That sounds like an insult!'

"You're forever grinnin', like the weirdo in the next room… it's nice seein' a smile fer a change." He says gently, unlike his fiery nature.

I blush and look down at my wrist.

"Thanks." I mutter and start picking at the threads of the bandages again.

"I…" Raphael starts and I look up at him, expectantly, like he did to me a few minutes ago, "Are you okay?" He changes his mind.

"Yeah, thanks… are you?"

"Yeah… I just…" He rubs the back of his neck, nervously, his big grin disappearing. "I'm worried."

"About what?"

"Ya should be askin' 'bout who, that'd be more accurate." He half mutters, and looks up to see my face contorted in confusion. He sighs. "I'm worried 'bout ya Karm, ya seem… so unhappy an' fragile."

"I guess I am right now… I don't know what to make of all this. I could be dreaming and I'd have to be back in Stockman's lab." I hunch my shoulders up.

"Ya ain't dreamin', trust me, there are other mutant turtles out there, one of 'em is standin' in front of ya, worryin' the shell off his back for ya too." Raphael looks at me solemnly.

"You have no reason to worry, I'll be fine."

"That's what worries me, I want ya ta be fine right now… Stockman…" Raphael stops leaning against the desk and turns away from me slightly. "If I ever get hold of him, he won't be walkin' away from me…"

"Why are you so mad?"

Raphael's body seems to shake, with anger or sorrow, I'm not quite sure.

"Your wrist… Karm… it wasn't damaged when the lab collapsed, it was already bandaged when we found you. Donny seems to think it was broken. He took the bandages off an' had a look, the bruisin' an' swellin' had gone down a lot, so it'd prob'ly been broken a good few weeks. He seemed ta think… that… well, he thought…" Raphael finds it hard to say, "He thinks it was broken by force, not by a fall… by a human…" He looks up at me, anger and hurt swirling in his brown eyes. I look down at my wrist and try to remember any recollection of Stockman hurting me. Nothing comes to my head.

"I don't remember." I whisper. Raphael comes over and sits next to me. I lean against his arm and he puts it around me. I cuddle into his side, feeling safe in his strong arms. He seems a bit taken back, but holds me safe.

"Raphael, please keep me safe…" I say, trying to hold back tears burning at my eyes.

"Karm, ya need ta know two things 'bout me. First off… I hate bein' called Raphael, I only get called that if I'm in trouble, which is a lot." He lifts my head up and grins at me which makes me smile feebly. "So call me Raph… an' the second thing... as long as I'm alive, I will always keep those who I care 'bout safe, even if it does cost me my own life." He says the last bit softly and quietly.

"I… thank you…" I look back down at my wrist, resting in my lap. "I don't know how to repay any of you guys for what you've done for me… I wish I could." I say it sullenly, but the innuendo of that sentence crosses my mind. I grin slightly. I look up at Raphael grinning too. "Hey! Not like that!" I say, putting on a mock shocked face.

"Heh heh, sorry, can't help it, that's how my brain works."

"Good, it's how mine works too." I grin up at him.

"Damnit, I thought I mighta offended ya then, ya worried me."

"I seem to worry you a lot."

"Mm, ya do, an' ya better stop it, otherwise I'll end up wrapped around yer little finger." He gets up.

"Would that be such a bad thing?" I grin and he rolls his eyes and makes his way to the door.

"Night Karm."

"Night Raph." I say as he leaves, glancing at me one last time to wink. I blush just as he closes the door.

I hear Mikey's singsong voice come from outside, most likely winding up Raph, and then Raph's roar as he tells Mikey 'if ya make one more reference ta me gettin' laid, I'm gunna lay yer sorry shell in the way of an 18 wheeler'. I laugh to myself and pull back the blankets of my bed. I snuggle down, and drift off to sleep, thoughts of the brothers drifting around my head like the previous nights.