Author's note: thanks to a reviewer, I realized that this TMNT story was in a sub category that not many of the fans know about apparently. Well, dang! Spread the word!

"Come on! We've found the place! Let's go in!" Bronx radioed to one of the officers assisting her, Bentley.

"Alright, Chase…" came the garbled reply on her radio.

Bronx felt her adrenaline kick into high gear. They were going to catch the guy…no more girls were going to be killed. It was going to stop tonight.

An angry thunderstorm raged outside, soaking Bronx as she approached the house but she didn't notice.

Bronx opened the door and shouted, "Police!" Then, an impact…and darkness…

She awoke her head pounding. She moved slightly, realizing that her hands were bound above her and her feet were dangling below her…

A rattling sound could be heard as she sluggishly moved her limbs, which Bronx immediately knew were chains.

"Hello, tough cop…it's time to play…"

Oh, shit! It's him! Her mind screamed.

Bronx risked opening an eye. What she saw chilled her blood. The man she was after was standing close to her, holding a surgical knife.

The next minute, said knife plunged into her side…

Bronx immediately sat upright, screaming. Her cat, Rufus jumped off of her bed having been startled by the noise.

Sweat drenched her body as she sat there and simply shook with fear. Never, ever had she had a nightmare from a case. Never, had the events of ruthless killers scared her like this.

But then again, Bronx…you were never a victim…

Taking a deep, shaky breath she tried to calm her racing heart.

"It was just a nightmare…you're alright." She told herself, even though she hardly believed it.

Bronx took several more deep breaths before she began to calm down. Turning, she looked at her digital clock, which told her that she'd been napping for about two hours.

Knowing that she wasn't going to go back to sleep, she got up and decided to make herself coffee.

Rufus was in the kitchen when she got there. Bronx bent down and scratched the top of his head.

"Sorry, Rufus I didn't mean to scare you." She told the cat, who was now purring.

As she made her coffee, she thought about Leonardo and how she wished he was there with her at that moment.

Remembering her newfound comfort strategy, she thought of his voice…heard it in her mind just as she'd done on two previous occasions when the terror had tried to consume her.

Just the same, she felt the tension ease from her body.

Again, just as before, her body warmed and awakened in a way that hadn't ever happened to her before.

No, don't you feel that again! That's just not right; Bronx…and you know it.

Bronx sipped her coffee and steered her thoughts to just how she would hold it together when she returned to work that day. That is, if Chief Baker let her come in. Sure he hadn't taken her off the case, but that didn't mean he wouldn't exercise this authority and make her take a couple days off.

Bronx frowned at that thought. She needed to work this case…she needed to find this guy…now, more than ever before.

Just then, she heard a tapping sound on her kitchen window. Turning her head, she smiled as she saw Leonardo's face.

Using gestures, she let him know she was going to open her back door. With more enthusiasm that she cared to admit, she did just that.

"Nice place, Bronx." He said with approval once he was inside.

"Thanks." She pointed at the coffee machine. "Would you like a cup?"

Leonardo nodded. "Sure, I'm a rather large fan of it…especially after our morning practices started at 6am."

Bronx scrunched her nose. She hated early mornings.

"That has to be classified under cruel and unusual punishment."

Leonardo laughed and Bronx found it to be a rather pleasant sound. "What brings you by?"

"I came to check up on and see how you were doing." Concern filled the turtle's eyes.

Bronx felt her heart warm. "I'm doing alright…except for my nightmare that woke me up just a few minutes ago."

"Are you okay?" he asked, softly touching her elbow.

I am now that you're here…

Bronx took a step closer to Leonardo. "I'm doing much better, thanks."

Leonardo stared at her, enjoying the way her hair was mussed from sleep. Her pajamas, though not revealing, made her all the more alluring. And so did her mouth…which his eyes immediately dropped to.

Bronx noticed this and felt her heart leap. What would it be like to kiss him? She wondered.

He seemed to be thinking the same thing because he was inching towards her aswell. Soon, maybe an inch separated the two.

"This is…I've never…" Bronx started, but couldn't finish.

"Neither have I." he answered, not moving.

"But you're a…and I'm…" Protesting was beginning to feel futile. Especially went said turtle's arm was snaking around her waist.

"Yes, I know." The passion Bronx saw stirring in his eyes was as sharp as one of his Katanas.

"Then why are we doing this?" she asked, her hands now on Leonardo's plastron.

Leonardo couldn't come up with a logical answer for that. He was a mutant turtle for Christ's sake! She deserved someone that didn't have to hide from the world as he and his brothers did. She deserved…someone other than him.

The turtle stepped back, putting space between them once again.

Bronx folded her arms. "Well, I'm going to head back to work today." She announced, changing the subject and hopefully diffusing the awkwardness that was in the air.

Leonardo got that concerned look on his face again. "Why? After what you've been through don't you think you should take some time off?"

Bronx sighed and looked the turtle in the eyes. "That's what my boss would undoubtedly say if I did go in. But, I need to catch this guy…I need to, Leonardo."

The blue masked turtle looked at the hard determination her eyes and knew she was serious. However, he didn't like it. Doing her job, he had a gut feeling, would put her in danger.

Well, worse danger…surely the guy was going to go after her since she escaped him…

The sound of breaking glass startled them both.

"What the hell?" Bronx whispered. Her and Leonardo looked at each other and then went to investigate the noise.

When they got into the living room, they both saw that one of her windows was indeed broken. Among the glass littered all over the floor, there was a rock.

Bronx carefully brushed the glass aside and picked up the rock using her sleeve. Upon inspecting the rock, she saw that something was taped to it. It was her cellular phone.

So the bastard was taunting her again.

"What do you mean, again?"

Bronx jumped, not realizing she must have spoken out loud. "He left a note under my windshield wiper earlier, after I left the police station this morning."

Leonardo frowned at this, his fear for her growing. "Bronx, maybe you should…"

Before he could finish the thought, he heard her run up the stairs then come back down, holding two good sized guns in each hand.

"Well," Leonardo said, clearly impressed, "it's fair to say you're…uh…armed and ready for him…"

"In my line of work," Bronx said, venturing outside, "you tend to have the odd wacko wanting to take revenge or what have you so it's always a good idea to have protection."

Leonardo followed her, drawing both of his Katanas.

Bronx swept her yard with her seasoned cop's eyes, both guns raised. Nothing seemed really out of place. There were no footprints in the soil that held a few small bushes around her house, which meant that he must have stood on her small lawn. She made a mental note to ask her neighbors if anyone out of the ordinary had been around.

After a sweep of the back yard, she lowered her guns. "He'll be long gone." Bronx said to Leonardo. "He's pretty smart little maniac."

Leonardo nodded and once again sheathed his twin swords. Slowly, the two went back inside where Bronx phoned her boss, informing him of the morning's events. Which, she knew she should have done sooner but there had been distractions. Her gaze went to Leonardo for a moment before returning to the cup of coffee once again front of her.

When she hung up, her gaze went again to the turtle.

"This place is going to be swarming with cops in a few minutes…" Bronx hated having to tell him he needed to go because, try as she might to deny it she couldn't, she wanted him there. Leonardo, for some reason, was a great source of strength for her. He made this nightmare not so bleak…never mind that he turned her on…

Bronx shook herself before those thoughts could go any further.

Leonardo nodded in understanding and turned to go. Before he did, he reached out and touched her cheek.

"Stay safe…I'll be back later, brothers in tow." And with that, Leonardo snuck out her back door and vanished.

Bronx touched her cheek where his fingers had just been. Man, this turtle, whether she liked it or not, was going to be her undoing…