"Sarah?"

A soft giggle came from nearby cupboard, the five year old girl covering her mouth to try to keep quiet. Her older brother, Andrew, was looking for her. They were playing her favorite game, hide and seek, and she always gave herself away by laughing when he was near. She knew that once again, she just gave herself away. Before she could prepare herself, the cupboard door swung open, revealing a grinning blond boy, blue eyes dancing with mischief.

"Gotcha."

He pulled her out, immediately tickling her, her screams of joy ringing through their small home. She rolled around with him, trying to get away, but he held on tight keeping her in place. Everything around her seemed to have a warm glow, and in that moment, she wished things could stay this way forever.

Sarah stirred in her sleep, feeling herself slowly start to come back to consciousness. The memory that she had just dreamed filled her with a warmth she hadn't felt in ages, and also grief. She missed her brother more than anything in the world, but she knew she would never see him again. Her green eyes fluttered open, and she started glancing around to see where she was, trying to ignore the aching in her chest.

She was no longer in that living room area she had been in earlier, and she started to wonder if maybe she had simply dreamed she was rescued by those turtles. She sat up, rubbing her aching head, before getting a better look around. She was in a dark room, laying on a bed she had never been in. Even with the lack of light, she could make out that the walls were lined with shelves full of action figures, and she had to squint to make out the stack of nearby comics. It was as if she were in some stereotypical teenage boys room.

Moving the blanket off of herself, she decided to try and get up, and figure out exactly where she was and what was going on. Again, that sharp, burning pain ached in her side, a reminder that she was still gravely injured. Pulling her shirt up, she gazed down at the neat stitching job, her mouth falling open.

So it wasn't a dream.

Becoming more focused, she reached for the door, pausing as she heard a few voices from outside the room, seemingly far away. She had to put her ear to the crack in the door to even make out what was being said.

"So why'd you guys decide to bring her here? Isn't that dangerous considering she's already a criminal?" This time, it was a female's voice, one she didn't recognize.

"Because Leo's an idiot," the one she remembered having the red mask replied. "He thinks he can save anyone who does one good thing! How well did that go with-"

"Shut it, Raph!" This time it was Leo to speak, and she finally had a name for the one with the red mask. "I just want to talk to her before we condemn her. She said she had no choice but to steal, if that's true, maybe we can help her."

"Oh, and how's that?" Raph sneered. "Open our home to a stranger, give her a chance to sell us out? Nah, I'm good. You can play knight in shinning armor all you want. I see through that shit."

There was silence for a moment, before the woman spoke again. "Where is she?" She asked.

"Asleep in Mikey's room. Although I wouldn't be surprised if she's awake now after all of Raph's yelling."

Sarah paused, figuring maybe it was a good time to make herself known, because the more she heard Raph running his mouth about her, the angrier she would become. Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the door, stepping out into a hallway of sorts, glancing to the left and seeing a stairwell. She made her way to the stairs, shutting the door behind her quietly. Once she started her decent, she could see everyone in the living room she had been in earlier. The one with the orange mask, who she thought might be the one called Mikey, was still curled up on the recliner, a different comic book in his hands this time.

Leo was standing to the side, arms crossed, seeming to be thinking hard about something. She could make out the back of a woman sitting on the couch, who also happened to have red hair, just not as dark as her own, and instead of having thick curls and waves like her own, it seemed relatively straight and tame. She tried to look for Raph, or the one with the purple mask who's name she still didn't know, but they were no where to be seen.

"Yo, she's up!"

The words came from Michelangelo, and suddenly all three of them turned to gaze at her, and she felt the back of her neck heat up. It was one thing being stared at when she was behind her mask as Viper, it was another being stared at as Sarah.

"Uh.. how long was I out?" She asked, trying to ease the growing tension in the room, not wanting them to know she had heard their conversation about her. They glanced between each other for a moment, and Leonardo was the one to speak up.

"A little over an hour," he said, pausing as he looked up at her, now seemingly uncomfortable. "How do you feel?"

She put some thought into that for a moment. How did she feel? Confused, dazed, hungry, tired, thirsty. "Well, my side hurts a bit, but I'm not surprised," she found herself saying before she realized it. "I'm still tired, but I'm thirsty."

"We got some sodas in the fridge," Michelangelo offered excitedly, rising from the recliner. He was always excited to meet new people, to make new friends. Especially when they were cute girls- criminal or not.

"No Mikey," Leonardo correctly softly. "Donnie said to only give her water. Her blood count is still really low, he said if we give her anything else it might shoot her blood sugar way too high."

"Ah- right. Water it is then."

The orange masked turtle disappeared into what she assumed to be the kitchen area due to the dining table, counters and fridge. Standing there with her hand rubbing her other arm, she felt more awkward than she had in a long time. What was she supposed to do, or say? Thank you? She was still slightly upset about them ruining her chance at stealing that necklace, but they saved her life without putting her through the misery of a hospital, so she supposed they were even.

"Do you want to sit down?" The woman asked, moving over on the couch to give Sarah plenty of room. Hesitating, she nodded, moving to sit on the other side of the woman. It was at that moment that the turtle with the purple mask entered the scene from a sliding door, eyes wide when he saw Sarah standing in the living room.

"I'm April," she began carefully as Michelangelo reappeared in the room, handing her the glass of water. "I'm a friend of the turtles. They told me a bit about what happened, and about you saving that woman." Sarah brought the glass to her lips as the woman continued to speak. "That was brave, not many people would do that, especially in this city. But I'm assuming you aren't from around here, I'm detecting a hint of a southern accent?"

Sarah paused, feeling a bit confused on the accent comment. She had never noticed an accent, but she supposed it was due to her being used to how she talked. "It's very faint, but it's there. Where are you from?" April continued, gently trying to nudge some personal information out of the stranger. Scoffing, Sarah set the now almost empty glass down on the coffee table in front of them.

"You think buttering me up with comments will get me to spill all my personal information?" She challenged. "I didn't do anything special. She was in trouble, and I know exactly how men like that are. They wouldn't have just stopped with taking her purse. The fact no one stopped to help, when she could clearly be heard from the sidewalk, pissed me off. I may be a thief, but I don't hurt people unless they're trying to hurt me or someone else. So don't praise me for doing what someone should've been doing regardless."

There was silence, and she could see all four of them glancing between each other. Sarah knew she was being a bit harsh, but she hated getting praised for simple tasks. The way she saw it, she did nothing special. That woman probably contributed something to society, even if it was just a nine to five job. Sarah was a simple thief, bringing nothing to society but insurance claims for stolen goods. Out of the two of them, she knew which life mattered more.

"Georgia," She said randomly, breaking the silence. They all look confused, but realization dawned on April, and she smiled softly.

"Georgia, huh? I have a cousin from there. I visited a couple times. What's your name sweetie? You never told us. I know you're secretive, so I just want to know what to call you. I don't need a last name." Sarah debated it, she truly did. She could give them a fake name, but she didn't see the point. They were turtle creatures that hid from the world, and if this woman could keep that a secret, her name probably would stay secret as well.

"Sarah."

Again, awkward silence as they all looked at each other, but Leonardo decided it was time for him to ask a couple questions, since she seemed to be in the mood to be open. "What were you doing in the museum?" He asked. "I know you were trying to steal that necklace, but why?"

Sarah picked up the glass again, swirling the leftover water around at the bottom. "I'm not some low grade thief," she admitted. "Sure I steal personal items for myself from time to time, but most of the time someone is paying me to steal something for them. Someone called me when I was in Nevada, asked me to come here. I did, and she wanted me to take the necklace. I don't ask questions. When I told her I failed, she said our business was done, and that was that."

"Who was it?"

The question from Leonardo was a little too quick and assertive for her liking, and she decided she was done giving away information. "I don't out my clients, sorry. I don't know anything about any of you, yet your demanding all this information." Sighing, Leonardo knew she had a point, and knew she had no reason to trust them if they acted like they couldn't trust her.

"I'm Leonardo, call me Leo," he began. "April already introduced herself. That's Michelangelo, he goes by Mikey. Donatello is the one over there with the purple mask, call him Donnie." He paused, sighing before he continued the next bit. "Raphael, or Raph, he's the grumpy one with the red mask you met earlier. He's not exactly friendly."

Sarah felt like she had heard these names before, but she couldn't pinpoint where. Brushing the feeling off, she glanced Michelangelo's way when he chimed in. "You hungry?" He asked. "April brought pizza!" It wasn't until that moment that Sarah felt her stomach rumble, and she knew she definitely needed to eat.

"Is there any cheese?"

A/N: Alright how do you guys feel about the story so far? Let me know in the comments! I need a beta reader (someone to review my chapters before I post them.) If you're interested please PM me!