A/N: I might not be updating as much after this chap. Hmm...Maybe I still will. We'll see. I'll be heading for what might be the last leg of my junior year in college. We'll see how things work out. :3 In the meantime, I present to you, chapter 9. Enjoy! :3

Til There Was You

Chapter 9: Sam's Wounds And Lily's Revelation

"Sam..." Raph said gently, unable to keep his hand from touching her from her delicate face. Looking at her, so lost. Emotionless. And yet, he could see that she was in pain. "Talk to me."

She shook her head slowly.

"Aw, come on..." Raph groaned slightly. "Sam..."

Silence filled the air for a few moments, then finally, she spoke up.

"I have suffered enough..." Her head was lowered, staring down at her hands as she did not want to meet his eyes, for she was afraid that her greatest fear will soon become a reality. "Please do not make it any harder than it already is..."

Raph looked at her for a moment, feeling compassion and deep love for the human girl before him. She was wounded. Wounded in the heart and spirit. Yes, she was undeniably confident when it comes to fighting, but then...When it came to matters of the heart; Love... all the confidence in her seems to have vanished into a dark cloud of despair. He held her chin in his three-fingered hand, gently lifting it so they were looking into each other's eyes. She squeaked slightly when she realized he was looking staright at her, her cheeks tinting with a little blush.

"Sam...I would never...never hurt you." Raph told her.

Hearing his words, she bit her lip and blinked back tears forming in her eyes. "Please..." she choked out, begging him with much sorrow from deep within her soul. "Just stop..."

Raph frowned and slowly took his hand away. "Ok," he said. "I'll leave you alone..." He walked off. "For now..." he couldn't figure her out, and that fact got into his nerves. he growled lowly in frusteration. "What the shell is the matter with her...?" he thought out loud. He said he'd take care of her whether she liked it or not but here he was...He just couldn't stand seeing her so hurt. Perhaps it was best to give her some time.

"It's human nature." a voice said. Raph looked up in surprise,and saw Renin, Lily and Melody standing before him. Ren, of course, wasn't very pleased.

"How long have you guys been standing there?" Raph asked. "And what the shell do ya mean by that "human nature" mumbo jumbo?"

"Long enough to see you taking care of her wounds." Lily replied with a little smile.

"And I mean it's only natural that she'd act the way she is right now." Ren added. "Her heart had been broken three times."

"What the...?" Raph growled. "Who the fuck would do that to her?"

Lily shook her head. "It is not our place to reveal such things. She'll open up in time."

"It'd hardly been a month since her last breakup. She's still healing." Ren appraoched Raph and narrowed his eyes at the red-masked turtle, getting in his face. "But then you came along. She'd barely recovered but then she seems to have taken a liking to you...I hope she isn't headed for another painful heartbreak."

Raph growled lowly. One thing he hated more than being taunted was being judged, especially when he hadn't done anything wrong. He impulsively shoved the young boy back, though the lad didn't show much emotion. "What do ya take me for, kid? I'd never hurt Sam! I love her and I only want what's best for her!"

Lily and Melody looked at him in suprise, then they looked at the door leading to Don's lab. One would expect that Sam would come up, hearing what Raph had said. But she didn't.

"She'd heard that so many times." Ren told him, shaking his head. "It's gonna take more than words for you to prove what she means to you."

Raph frowned, then another thought clicked in his head. "What are you all doin' here anyway?"

"Sammy didn't come home..." Melody said.

"And she usually goes home even after she gets into the biggest street fights. I got a call from thier dad, Mr, De Leon." Lily added. "He asked if she came over to my house at short notice. She didn't, so the fact that Sam wasn't around worried me...All of us."

"We figured there was one place where she was most likely lurking about, and that's why we're here." Renin said.

"She's in there." Raph said, pointing to the lab door. He looked over his shoulder and sighed. "Heartbroken, eh?"

Ren nodded. "You better not hurt her."

"Believe me, I won't" Raph assured him.

"Is she gonna be ok?" Melody asked with great concern.

"Yeah," Raph told her. "don't worry 'bout it."

"May we go see her?" Lily asked.

"Sure. She needs soem company." Raph said.

Lily gave him a grateful nod and went into the lab, with Melody and Renin following her.


"Sam...?" Lily said, approaching her best friend who sat still and motionless on the bunk bed.

"..."

"Sammy...?" Melody said, worry consuming her. Sam finally spoke after a moment's silence.

"I have been betrayed..." Sam said lifelessly. "I am already fated to be unlucky in love. I guess that is the same with friendshsips as well..."

"Don't say that." Lily told her. "You have me."

"And me too." Melody said.

"And me." a voice added. The girls looked up to find Hatsumi leaning on the door frame with her arms crossed. The top of her head still bandaged. "Bad day, eh?"

Sam didn't respond.

"Oh, Sammy..." Lily held her best friend in her arms, on the verge of tears. She wished there was some way to make Sam feel better. Melody blinked back tears and leaned forward, laying her chin on Sam's shoulder.

"Yo," Hatsumi said, crouching in front of the raven-haired girl whom she she usually despised. "I know what happend and you've been through worse. Ya can get outta this slump, ya hear?" She gave Sam a light, friendly punch in the shoulder.

"Thank you." was Sam's only response, though it was said with no emotioon whatsoever.

Ren just stood in a corner, watching the girls take care of his sister. He sighed and went over to the group. He reached out and stroked the top of her head. Then he lifted her chin with his pointer finger and smiled at her.

"Be strong, ok sis?"

"Ok." Sam replied lifelessly.


The girls were all bemused. They decided to let Sam be for a while and do thier own thing, all the while hoping Sam will feel better soon.

In the park, Melody was playing in Jungle Gym. She climbed, hung and had some good fun. But then thoughts of her older sister flooded her mind. Sam was so sad. Melody hoped she will feel better soon. Then she grinned as she hung upside down on one of the pipes.

'Sammy is strong.' she thought with great optimism. 'She can be happy again. I Know it.'

Looking at the world from her tospy turvy view, she noticed a group of boys who seemed about her age, playing in one corner, laughing while crowded around something. Curious, she jumped down and approached the group. She looked over one boy's shoulder, and to her silent horror, she realized that they were torturing three little rabbits. Three litte rabbits who seemed to be lost. Must have accidentlally been left behind by thier original owner on his or her way home from the pet store. Or had no woner at all. Melody frowned, watching the boys take turns in beating the poor little rabbits with a wood stick, kicking tthem around and pulling thier cotton tails; wondering how they could find so much joy in hurting such innocent little creatures.

Out of impulse, she tugged on one boy's arm, making a sound that beckoned them to stop thier cruel game.

"Hey!" the boy yelled, casting an annoyed look at her as he shoved her harshly. "This ain't none of your business, girly!" He went back to torturing the poor little rabbits. Melody bit her lip and tonce again atempted to make them stop, grabbing the boy's wrist.

The boy growled, annoyed at her presistence. "I siad ithis is none of your business!" he shouted, shoving her onto the ground. The boy sneered and kicked dirt into onto her face.

"Never mess with the big kids, lil' girl!" he warned.

Melody glared at him, and sweet, innocent Melody rarely ever gives anyone a nasty glare. She brushed the dirt off her face and stood up, then tapped the boy's shoulder.

"WHAT?" the boy yelled. Without warning the boy was met with a punch in the face, kocking him down. Realizing he got hit by a girl, he growled. "Why you..." He charged at her but she quickly dodged. Then she grabbed his shoudler with her right hand and smacked him on the back of the head with her left arm, and finally, shoved him onto the ground.

"Girly wants to play huh?" another boy asked in a rather cocky tone. He aimed to punch her in the abdomen but was kicked on his side, sending him flying to the far side of the grassy ground. Another boy, who seemed to fancy wrestling, attempted to do a clotheleine move on her. She quickly ducked, getting down into her Phoenix stance with her amrs spread like wings. Then she suddenly stood up, giving him a high kick to the chin and knocking the lad out instantly.

The frightened little rabbits shyed away into a nearby bush and simply peeked out, watching thier defender fight the bad boys off. About five seconds later, the boys lay one the grassy ground, groaning in pain. Melody looked around for the little rabbits, then noticed thier feet sticking out from underneath one of the bushes. She approached the bush and got down on her knees.

"Hello there, little bunnies." she greeted them gently. "It's alright now. No one's gonna hurt you."

One rabbit with white fur and pink-ish red eyes peeked out of the bush. Melody smiled and waved at it. "Come on. It's ok." The little white rabbit seemed hesistant. Melody noticed that the rabbit's lovely white fur had been tainted by bruises. Her heart ached seeing that the poor little thing was hurt. She smiled kindly and held her hands out in a warm, welcoming manner. The white rabbit slowly came out of the bush and hopped towards her. Melody smiled at it and gently picked it up. She held the rabbit in her arms gently. The other two rabbits; a brown-ish red furball with black spots and green eyes, and a black rabbit with magnificent blue eyes, hopped over to the young girl, though also hesitant. The brown-ish red rabbit's fur was also tainted with bruises and the black rabbit's hops were plagued with limping. Melody took pity on these poor, mistreated creatures and gently took them in her amrs.

"HEY!" a voice shouted.

Melody looked behind her and saw that the boys were starting to recover. The leader boy limped as he tried to get up.

"DON'T STEAL OUR TOYS!" the cruel boy shouted.

Melody bit her lip and looked down at the frightened little rabbits in her arms. She whimpered and without a moment's hesitation, ran off with them.

"HEY!" the boy called out angrily. "GET BACK HERE, BITCH!"

The boys got up and ran after her.


Raph did some training to ease his mind. Thoughts of the beautiful girl he loved never left him. Her brother had said that her heart had been crushed three times...He'd never do such a horrid thing. Not ever. Wondering whoever broke her heart, the blood began to boil in his veins, as he absolutely hated the fact that these men had dared to hurt her. The more he thought of those wrestched beings, the harder he punched and kicked the trianing dummy before him. He was too engrossed on his training to notice the small blue-haired girl behind him. He only realized she was there when he heard a click sound.

He turned, and to his utter bewilderment, there stood Hatsumi, silver gun in hand.

"What the fu-?"

BANG! With his ninja agaility, Raph quickly dodged just as she fired. he bullet hit the trianing dummy right in the head.

"What the fuck, Hatsumi?" Raph asked rather loudly.

The little girl smirked. "While you beat the shit outta some doll, I aim and fire. That, my friend, is how I let out some steam."

Hearing her words, Raph sighed and approached her.

"Thinkin' about Sam?" Raph asked.

"Yeah." Hatsumi answered casually. "She may be a pain in the ass, but she's still my friend."

Just then, the other Turtles came in.

"We heard a gun shot." Leo said.

"I hope my machines are safe." Don said.

"Don't worry , bro..." Mikey said, looking at the dummy now laid on the floor with a bullet hole in its head. "Your thingies are fine, but that isn't."

The guys looked down at the dummy in bewilderment then up at Raph. The red-maked turtle merely shrugged. Then he pointed at Hatsumi. "Miss Gun Slinger here murdered our dummy."

Hatsumi simply smirked.

Leo sneered as if to say 'I should have known'.

"You shuld be careful with those things, Missy." Leo told her, grabbing hold of the gun in her hand. "You could seriously hurt someone with that."

"Mind your own business, fucktard!" Hatsumi shot back, swiping the gun away from his grasp.

"It IS my business, because this is home to me and my brothers! We don't want any accidents happening."

"Pssh! I can take care of myself, Mr. Do-Gooder!"

Leo let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head. "Fine. But if you hurt someone, don't come crying to me." He walked off, intending to do some mediatition to take his mind off things.

Raph smriked. "That was fun. You and Fearless Leader make a good pair." He winked at Hatsumi teasingly, earning him a punch in the arm. Don and Mikey merely snickered at the sight.

"Get real!" Hatsumi excalimed. "I'd never go for a fuckin' neanderthal! Leo's such a spaz. A freakin do-gooder. He ain't fun at all."

"I can hear you, she-dwarf. I'm right here." Leo said in an annoyed tone. He was sitting just a few feet away from them.

"I'm sayin' it so you can hear me, ya soft-shelled twit!" Hatsumi answered. Everyone, even Raph gave them weird looks. Leo and Hatsumi were most certianly two of a kind.

Leo intended to meditate but it was quite difficult to focus when she's talking. Too loud. And she just called him a neanderthal. He didn't understand why, but she just gets on his nerves sometimes. He sighed and tried to focus, clearing hsi mind. But then she plaugued his thoughts.


Melody ran out of the park and into the city, clucthing her little furry friends in her arms. The boys were following close behind. She ran off as fast as her little feet could go, hding behind cars and dumspters here and there. Panting for breath, she ran htough the street until she came across a man hole. She grinned, remembering her green friends, and tucked the rabbits into her shirt. Then crouched over the man hole and tried lifting the cover with all her strength. WIth much effort, she successfully pulled the man hole cover off and climbed in. Then she pulled the cover back in place. The boys continued running forward, unaware that she was in her underground refuge. She jumped into the sewers and sighed heavily in relief, getting down on her knees. She took the rabbits from her shirt and held them tenderly.

"It's ok." she told them gently. "You're all safe now."

She smiled at her little friends and got up. She walked through the sewer pathway until she came across the familiar semi-circle door. Holding the rabbits in one arm, she reached out and tapped the door once. She went into the Lair, meeting the astonished expressions of the Turtles.

"Melody?" Don said.

"Looks like she brought some friends." Mikey said, noticng the little balls of fur in the young girls' arms.

"Where'd you find them?" Leo asked.

"In the park." Melody replied as she nuzzled the little furballs. "Some mean boys were hurting them?"

"What did ya do with the boys?" Raph asked.

"I beat them up." Melody replied. "They wouldn't stop when I tried making them stop."

Raph grinned at her response. This girl had some spunk.

"This was the safest place I could think of." Melody told them. "I wanna keep them."

The turtles looked at each other, and without another word, Melody amde her way back to the lab where Sam sat motionles, still.

"Sammy..." Melody said, showing her sister the rabbits she held so close to her. "Look. I saved them from a bunch of bullies."

Melody put the black and white rabbit down, then presented Sam with the red-brown rabbit, placing it merely a few inches away from her face. A look of surprise sparked in Sam's eyes. The little rabbit blinked and wiggled its nose, then licked Sam's nose as a freindly gesture. Ever so slowly, a tiny smile formed in Sam's lips. Delighted to see her sister smiling again, Melody placed the rabbit on Sam's lap. The red-brown rabbit made itself comfortable on Sam's lap and curled into a ball. Sam looked down at the little furball and smiled softly, reaching down to stroke its head.

"Can we keep them?" Melody asked quite excitedly.

Sam nodded slowly. "Yes...we may..."

Melody grinned and made a loud happy sound. "CHAAA!" She took the black and white rabbit into her amrs and hugged them tight. "What should we name them?"

Sam smiled gently at the ball of red-brown fur on her lap. It looked up at her with lovely green eyes.

"I am naming this one...Jade."

"JADE!" Melody repeated happily and looked down at the black rabbit and white rabbit. She pointed to the white rabbit with pink-ish red eyes.

"Amethyst."

Then she pointed at the black rabbit. "Onyx."

"Thank you, Melody." Sam said softly, looking at her sister with a gentle smile. "Thank you for helping me feel better."

Melody just giggled, ecstatic not only because she had new pets, but because her sister was finally smiling again.

Raph, Hatsumi and the boys watched the scene with much happiness. Raph was especially happy. Happy that his beloved princess was smiling again.


That night, Lily took a walk around the city, utterly bemused. She wished she would have been there for Sam,. If she was, maybe she wouldn't have gottenhurt. She bit her lip, blinking back tears. It wasn't just her best friend being sad that hurt her, it was everything else in her life.

She stood on the rooftop pf the tallest building. Hands shoved into the pockets of her carnation pink jeans, she stared up into the the moon that shone in the starless sky. It was ncie to see the midnight pearl almost up close in all its splendor. She shivered slightly as the cold chill in the air swept against her. She should have known it would be cold out here...then she would have worn something that would keep her snug and warm, rather than her simple tank top and jeans...

Looking down onto the street below, she watched as many lives went by. Needless to say, she envied those people. Thier lives seemed much more simple than her own. Thier lives were...normal. And with everything that happened in her own life, it was a living Hell. Among those she saw were a happy couple together with a little girl, talking and laughing; with the father rubbing the girl's head in endearment and affectionate hugs from the mother. They seemed like a happy little family. The kind of family Lily never really had.

Drowned in her thoughts, she did not notice a certian blue-masked turtle come up behind her. She gasped slightly when a pair of hands wrapped a soft cover of fabric around her shoulders. a warm jacket. She tiurned to see who was behind her.

"Oh, Leo", she said, breathing in relief. "you scared me."

"Hey." Leo said with a smile. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Just thinking..." Lily replied. She sighed and got down into a crouch, hugging her knees and resting her chin on them.

"About...?" Leo asked curiously, getting down and sitting next to her.

"Just...things..." the girl replied, feeling rather uncomfortable. "It's quite...difficult to explain..."

"Try me." Leo answered. Upon hearing his words, Lily bit her lips and turned her head away from him.

"...EVer heard of evil spirits possessing human bodies...?"

"Uh...yeah. I've heard about them in myths," Leo replied, unsure why she said such a thing. "but I didn't think they were true."

"...I'm not like any human, Leo..."

She turned to face him, her blue-green eyes now glowing blood red as if to prove a point. "I'm a monster..."

Leo looked at her in shock. He opened his mouth, but no words escaped his lips. She turned away quickly, her hands quivering. Leo finally found his tongue and spoke, "Why are you telling me this...?"

"Because you're the only one I could talk to right now..." Lily replied.

"Huh? What about Mikey?"

Lily's hands shook harder at the sound of the Turtle's name. "I can't bear it...If I do tell him...Or if he finds out himself...about that other part of me...I don't know what I'd do..."

"He'll find out eventually..." Leo pointed out.

"I"m taking my chances." Lily answered. "I just...don't want him to get hurt...I...care about him..." She turned to look at the Turtle, who was gritting his teeth a little, trying to take in everything she had told him. She bit her lip then spoke up.

"Please promise me you won't tell him. ANyone."

Her voice was desperate and pleading and in so much internal pain. Her blue-green eyes welling up with salty tears. Leo, a compassionate fellow as he was, could tell she'd gone through so much trauma. He also admired her strength. Regardless of the fact that he's the only one she felt she could talk to, it was very brave of her to say it up front. He nodded in assurance. Leo was a turtlle of his word.

"I won't tell."

With tears that were now a mix of joy and relief, she collapsed onto him.

"Thank you, Leo..." she whispered with quiet gratitude. "You don't know how much it means to me..."

Leo looked down at the head of pure white hair resting against him. A little smile formed on his lips, happy that he may have eased her inner pain even just a bit. He reached down and stroked her head gently.

"You're welcome."

~~ Le gasp! O_o Ok, now this is where complications may begin. XP