Hello all :) Here it is, Chapter 8! This is when it starts getting confusing - only if you haven't read "Turtles of Olympus". I'm almost done with classes, and then I'll be free to update as I please! :D Like I've said before, I only own the plot and my OC's. Thanks to all my reviewers, you guys keep me going!

btw: I hope you guys are looking up the songs I've been putting up lyrics to. They tend to set the tone for the chapter, so I really hope you get to hear them.


"The pages have left an empty space, you were all I had." ~ If I Fall by Amber Pacific


It was a full three days before Donatello allowed Sloan to get out of bed. She had thought she was going to go crazy, but the steady stream of visitors kept her entertained. The day after she first woke up, April came into the lab to try to talk to her. Sloan had started in surprise as a bulky man followed her in. He had ice-blue eyes (a lot like her own) and long black hair.

"Sloan," April had said. "This is Casey Jones, my boyfriend."

Casey had held out his hand for her to shake, and Sloan took it with a smile. "Nice to meet you," she'd answered. She had learned that Casey was close to Raphael, and the two liked to patrol the streets on their own, looking for a few stray "heads to bash", as Casey had put it. They'd come back the second day, just to get to know Sloan a little better. Leo and Mikey had joined them then, further crowding Don's workspace. Sloan had noticed that he seemed a little irritated by the fact that his lab had become the new living room, but he'd kept his opinions to himself.

"So, Sloan," Casey had started slowly. "How old are ya?"

"I'll be eighteen in September." It was currently April. "How old are you guys?" She'd addressed the turtles.

"Leo's nineteen, Raph and I are eighteen, and Mikey's seventeen," Don had answered her. "And I'm not going to tell you how old Splinter is."

Sloan had tried not to laugh, and failed. Her side had twinged a bit, but not as bad as it had when she first woke up. "So, when are your birthdays?"

"We really don't know, so we all just picked days. Mine's March 20th," Leonardo had told her.

"October 2nd," Donnie had continued.

"April 1st," Mikey had smiled. "And Raph's is July 8th."

On the third day, Don told her stories of his and his brothers' adventures. He worked on his projects on her bed, sitting beside it, while she helped him and listened and laughed. At the moment, he was recounting the turtles' latest adventure to her.

"...I'm telling you, Sloan, these monsters were crazy scary." Don set down his device down on the bed and reached for another tool. "And these kids just took them on like it was nothing. One of them–Hannah–has got to be the best fighter I've ever seen. She was trained by Ares himself." Don shook his head in awe. "I was really hoping she could shut Mikey up once and for all about his stupid 'Battle Nexus Champion' bit."

Sloan laughed, glad that she could and her side no longer hurt when she did. "This girl sounds pretty cool. Why didn't you ask her out?" She nudged Don playfully.

"Uh, because she was very obviously taken," he scoffed. "Raphael was into her way more than anyone else."

"So, he has a girlfriend, huh?" she said mischievously.

"Oh no, I know that look," Don spoke up. "I've seen it on Mikey enough. That subject is strictly off limits. Got it?" He pointed his screwdriver at her.

Sloan laughed again. "Oh, come on, why not?"

Donatello opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by another voice.

"Because he hasn't seen her in months." Leo shrugged away from the door frame and walked further into the room. "Talking about Hannah in front of him only makes him more depressed, and he goes right back to that punching bag."

Of all her visitors over those three days, Sloan had never once glimpsed the large red-banded brother. He seemed to keep to himself a lot. She sometimes heard distant slaps and the sound of a chain rattling, and Donatello had explained to her that Raph liked to work out with his punching bag when he was facing a rather stressful situation.

"Oh," Sloan murmured, her joking put aside. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's no big deal," Leo told her. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she smiled. "Donnie said I could walk around today and move out of the the lab."

"I hope you haven't been going too crazy in here. Sometimes Don's techno-speak can get a little...confusing."

"Only if you don't understand it," Don said. He looked at Sloan hopefully. "Right?"

The girl grimaced. "Actually, I haven't understood a lot of what you've said these last few days." She put a hand on his shoulder when he gave her a crestfallen look. "Sorry, Donnie."

"I-its okay." He moved his project to his work bench as Leo helped Sloan swing her legs out of the bed. She was once again dressed in April's old clothes, but at least she was cleaner. April had seen to that.

With a little effort, Sloan was finally standing on her own. She slowly straightened, testing her side. It was sore, but it felt good to stretch everything. She grinned as she took a step with her left foot, discovering that it didn't hurt to walk at all. Leo and Don smiled.

"Want to go see your new room?" Leo asked her.

"I...I have a room?"

Leo watched as Sloan slowly took in the sight of her room. He, Mikey, Raph, and Casey had worked hard to get it in some sort of working order. The furniture didn't match, and none of them could agree on a color to paint the walls. But it was livable.

Sloan ran her fingers along the dresser top, her eyes shining.

"It's all mine?"

Leo laughed and nodded. "Emily's room is downstairs, next to Mikey's. That little girl never leaves him alone. Not that he minds, of course. He'll probably have her skateboarding in no time." He knew he was rambling, because he was nervous. He was trying to make her laugh, like Don seemed to be able to, but her attention was still on the room. She turned her gaze to a pink wall on the far side of the room.

"Um," he began again. "I'm sorry none of us could decide on a color." He touched the wall closest to him–a light blue one. "Mikey thought pink would be a good color because...y'know, you're a girl. I disagreed, and thought a light blue would be best. A Carolina blue, since you're from North Carolina and all. Casey said to paint everything this ugly yellow color, but Raph talked him into green." He gestured to the two green walls. "And the furniture is stuff April had around the shop, and..." He trailed off. Sloan was still standing in the middle of her room.

"I'm sorry if-if you don't like it. I– oof!"

Sloan had suddenly turned and thrown her arms around his middle, her head only coming up to his chest.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much, Leo."

"Y-you're welcome," he answered, thrown off guard. As Sloan pulled back, he noticed tears in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Sloan shook her head, sniffing. "It's just," she began. "When I was in that cell, I made a decision. I told myself that I'd get Emily out, and we'd run as far from New York as possible. And if I couldn't get to her in time, then there was no way I was living without her. I told myself to forget the past, to forget my old life. Leo, I'd already given up hope that I'd ever have a home again. That we'd have a home again. But..." She stopped, glancing up at the eldest turtle. Tears overflowed and fell down her cheeks. She hastily wiped them away with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "But..."

Leo tentatively reached out and brushed away a tear that had escaped Sloan's sleeve. "Here we are. Offering you both a home. And everything that goes with it?"

Sloan smiled slightly. "What exactly does 'everything' include?"

Leo smiled back. "A family."

Raph kept punching and punching the bag. His knuckles were raw, and his breath was ragged, but he didn't care. He had to keep punching so he could keep his mind off of Hannah.

No, he thought. I can't think about it. It'll only make it worse.

The ache in his chest had been getting larger and larger since Sloan had come to be with them. Every now and then, he would see his brothers talking to her, and it only made him wish Hannah was with him more. He could barely look at Sloan without seeing Hannah there, instead.

With a mighty cry, Raphael spun and kicked the bag right off its rusty chain. It landed with a thump a good ten feet away, splitting open and spilling sand everywhere. Raph collapsed with a sob, resting his head in his hands. When he closed his eyes, he saw blonde hair, green eyes...he swore he could still feel her in his arms. He clenched his hands into fists and pressed them into his eyes.

"Hannah."


Moooooore fluffiness! :D well, except for the last part...reviews are welcome!