The lair was unusually quiet upon Donnie's return. Looking around the living room, he couldn't find a single one of his brothers. Sliding onto the couch, he closed his eyes, thinking back to his time with Becky. Rebecca Faye Spiegel. Such a beautiful name for such a beautiful girl with the most beautiful blue eyes in the world. He had found himself more than once getting lost in those eyes, like a ship lost at sea on the deep blue ocean in the Caribbean never wishing to be rescued.

"So how was the date?" Mikey's voice asked, piercing through the quiet. Donnie opened his eyes to see Mikey's face less than an inch from his own. "Did you kiss her?"

Donnie shot him a look but refused to answer his brother. "That's none of our business," Raph's voice came from behind them. Standing next to the couch, he handed Donnie a glass of water. "So did you have a good time?"

Donnie pushed Mikey away from him and onto the couch. "Yes, we had a wonderful time. We ended up having a picnic in her living room and just talked. I must admit it was quite enjoyable having an intelligent conversation with someone other than Master Splinter."

"Ouch," Raph said, clutching his heart. "That was just mean dear brother." Raphael grabbed a coat and hat from the rack. "I'm headed out for a little fresh air. Glad you had a good time though."

Donnie and Mikey waved their goodbye as Raph left the lair. Donnie turned back to Mikey who was sitting with his elbows on his knees, his chin propped in his hands. "So tell me more about this date!"

Shaking his head, Donnie stood up to fetch a glass of water from the kitchen."Oh Mikey. What am I going to do with you?" Donnie took a big gulp of water, before continuing the play by play of his date with Becky, omitting some facts that he didn't feel ready to share with anyone, least of all his baby brother.

A light tapping came from Becky's window. Smiling, she ran to the window, pulled back the curtains and jumped back in surprise when she found the smiling face of Raphael greeting her. Waving hello, she quickly unlatched the lock and let him in. "Don't any of you guys ever use the door?" she asked.

Raph stepped into the room. "Well, we do, but it's much more fun and ninja like to come through the window." He looked around the room and let out a whistle. "Nice room, Babe. I really like what you've done with the place."

Shaking her head at the turtle, Becky glanced around the room. In the short time she'd lived here, she had put up a few floral sconces on the wall and strategically placed flameless candles around the room to add some ambiance. It had taken some time, but the room felt like hers and it felt great. Looking back at Raph, she shook her head as he flopped down upon her bed in the same spot Donnie had sat the night before. Crawling into bed beside him, she rolled to her side, propping herself up with one hand.

He slid closer to her, ignoring her as she rolled her eyes, unable to keep the smile from forming on her face as she looked back at him. "So, what brings you here tonight? No bad guys to chase after? Or, maybe you saw one up on the roof and decided to try to warn me?"

Raph let out a hearty laugh. "Nope, no bad guys on the roof. Trust me, I checked. I just wanted to see how your date with Donnie went. You know, it was the first date any of us have ever been on so of course we're a little curious."

"Ah, well that explains it," she said, mock concern in her voice. "I wondered why he brought me a can of spray paint and danced around like a chicken. I just figured it was some weird mating dance of the turtle or something."

Raphael picked up a pillow and smacked her in the face with it. "Smart ass!" he proclaimed.

Becky laughed and threw the pillow back at him. Raph caught it, placed it behind his head and slid down beside her. "So, what really happened?" he asked.

A smile creased her face as she thought back to just a few hours ago. Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, she realized that her date with Donatello truly was a curious new adventure for all of them and it was sweet to see Raphael concerned about his brother. Maybe he wasn't the big badass he thought he was after all. "Well, we decided to cancel our plans for the museum and changed them to a picnic in the park. But, alas, Mother Nature got her period or something and decided to pour down rain. So, we had a picnic in the apartment instead." She smiled. "It wasn't completely perfect though. He asked me about some photos that just happened to have my ex in them."

Raphael cringed, his hand slamming into his own forehead. "Please excuse his rookie mistake."

"Oh, I did. And we ended up talking about the three of you. But I of course promised him I would never tell you all of the nasty, yet probably true things he said about you."

Twisting his body, he turned his body so he was facing her straight on. Propping his head in his hands, he stared at her. "Really? Like what?"

Becky thought for a moment before releasing a wicked grin. "Well. He told me you were born with a fifth foot and Splinter really didn't want you but kept you anyway because no one else would ever want such a hideously ugly creature in their home."

"Oh my dear sweet brother. He remembered it wrong. It was he who had been born the five legged freak."

Becky laughed again. She loved how happy she was around her new friends, how every day since she'd met them she'd laughed and smiled more than she had in years. Who would have known that befriending mutants would be the best thing to have ever happened to her? Not her! "No, but really. He does genuinely care about each and every one of you. Like any good brother would."

Raph leaned back against the pillow turning away from Becky to face the ceiling. "He really is a good brother. They all are, each in his own special way." The room fell silent as they both contemplated the importance of family in their lives. Raph felt very lucky to have such a wonderful family to go home to every night, even if he did find himself constantly at Leo's throat. Something about having a place to go where no matter what he would always be accepted and loved. It was a comforting thought that he often overlooked and would never admit out loud.

Turning back on to his side, he noticed the solemn look upon Becky's face. He remembered that she had lost both of her parents in her short lifetime and he had never heard any mention of siblings. Could it be that this sweet girl was all alone in the world? He realized again how lucky he was to have his brothers. Without them, he would have self destructed long ago and would have never had the chance to meet anyone as wonderful as the girl beside him. Someone that his geeky brother had fallen so hard for. "So, did you kiss him?" he asked, attempting to lighten the mood.

He was answered with a faint laugh that had a hint of a longing sigh attached. "No. No kiss tonight," she reported. Though not from lack of trying, she thought to herself.

Raphael scooted closer to her, keeping his eyes locked onto hers. "Good," he whispered, leaning into her. "Then I get to be your first." Before she could offer any form of protest, his eyes closed and his mouth softly brushed against hers. She hadn't been sure what to expect but assumed it would be a cold, slimy kiss. But, she soon realized that his mouth was warm just like any other man she had ever kissed and far from slimy. His fingers combed through her hair, his mouth once again lightly against her lips. She found herself lost in the kiss, confused by his warmth and caught off guard by the fact that it was Raphael, and not Donatello, that she found herself in a sweet embrace with, causing a slight ping of guilt to cascade over her.

Then, a cool breeze filled the room. She opened her eyes to see that she was alone once more. The curtains blew softly in the wind and she hurried to shut the window and re-latch the lock. She looked out into the night seeing no trace of her late night visitor. Her fingers moved across her lips as she tried to determine if the kiss had been real or if she had only imagined it. Knowing that she would not learn the answers tonight, she tucked herself back into bed and shut off the bedside light.

Outside her window, Raphael sat on the fire escape and watched as she drifted off to sleep. He wasn't sure what it was that had lured him to her apartment. He couldn't figure out why he decided to climb inside her bed and he was at a loss at figuring out just what had possessed him to kiss her. Maybe it was her sarcastic wit and the way she was able to keep up with him in a joke. Or maybe it was the smell of her hair and the twinkle in her eyes. No matter the reason, he had in fact kissed her and he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he wanted to do it again. He also knew that he could never take a girl that his brother obviously cared for. Especially when she so obviously cared for that same brother in return. With one final look at the sleeping girl, he forced himself to forget about crawling into bed next to her and turned toward the ladder of the fire escape.

Making his way down, he decided to stop by and grab Casey for a night of patrolling the streets, hoping to find a thug or two to punch. Physical combat was always the prefect distraction.