Man, I'm on a roll with this story. I don't know what happened all of a sudden, but I like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT or any of the characters. I only own Amelia and Gage.

"You did what?" Leonardo demanded once I'd finished explaining what happened.

"I wasn't trying to pick a fight, just get some answers," I answered in my defense.

"Answers? To what? How to get your brother killed?"

"Thanks for the bout of confidence, Leo. I was trying to figure out what was going on in those twisted minds of theirs. I think I found out something more important than that, though."

"Enlighten me."

"I don't think it's the same Foot Clan we've faced before. These guys don't fight the same." This seemed to catch Leo's attention better than anything else I'd tried.

"What's different about their fighting style?"

"The style itself, nothing. It's better, but the same stuff we've seen before. What I mean is, they don't seem to have any honor anymore. I mentioned our truce and they didn't even blink. I think something's up. Besides, they said their leader was a man, not Karai."

"Maybe Karai passed it on to someone else… or bit the dust," Mikey offered. Leo and I both glared at him. This wasn't exactly the best time to be joking around.

"Either way, Raph's out of commission," Donatello interrupted.

I could hear a growl from my second-eldest brother. He always resented the idea of being incapable of fighting. I glanced his way and frowned, tears stinging my eyes again. I'd done that to him, put him in that condition. I closed my eyes and turned away, walking towards my room. A hand grabbed my shoulder and turned me around, forcing me to stare into Leo's eyes. He must have seen my tears because his expression softened considerably.

"I screwed up again," I muttered. "And this time Raph got hurt because of it."

I always made some kind of mistake whenever we faced the Shredder. It never failed. The first time we faced him, I lost focus for a second and he put two gashes in my left upper-arm. The second time, it was in my right arm. Both of those had left long-lasting scars that I usually tried to hide. Why Gage hadn't mentioned them on our date was beyond me. Now, we were facing a new Foot Clan and I messed up, this time resulting in Raphael being injured. He was unable to fight. Leo pulled me close and I rested my forehead on his shoulder. Now that he was human, he was taller than me by about a half a foot. Mikey was closest to my height, only being an inch or two taller.

"Amy," Leo started. I pulled away, shaking my head.

"Don't tell me anyone could have made the same mistake, Leo. I screwed up, just like I always do." I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost time to open the shop. "I have to get the shop going. I'll be back in a few hours."

I went up to my room and changed into a pair of jeans and a black tank top, throwing on a red hoodie over it. After slipping on a pair of sneakers, I cut through the lair and out into the sewer system. By the time I made it to April's antique shop, I felt somewhat better. My eyes had dried and I could focus on anything that happened to be brought in for me to fix. I didn't need Donatello's help for most of the things that came in. I knew the ins and outs of most of those appliances so well, I could almost fix them in my sleep. When the front door's bell jingled, I was more than a little surprised to see Gage entering. After our date, he seemed as though he was afraid to come near me again. I smiled softly as he approached.

"Good afternoon, Gage," I greeted. My friendly hello seemed to throw him for a loop because he stopped dead in his tracks. He blinked a few times in surprise, but then smiled and walked up to the counter.

"You're not mad at me?" he asked.

"No. It was an honest mistake." I almost cringed at my own words. I cleared my throat before continuing. "What's broken this time?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you. But, I have an unfixable mini-TV, if you want to take a whack at that."

"Unfixable? You underestimate my abilities. Or, if I have to, I'll call Donny in to take a look at it and it'll be running before you know it." Gage chuckled and walked outside, returning only minutes later with a small, black television in his hands. I took it from him and began looking inside it as Gage sat on the other side of the counter.

"I take it you aren't going to be giving me the cold shoulder anymore?" Gage inquired with a chuckle.

"Not unless you want me to," I answered, smiling softly. I had to admit, it was very easy to talk to Gage. Our date a few nights before had opened me up to the idea of branching out. Maybe Mikey was right about this… but I'd never tell him that. It'd inflate his ego too much. Gage laughed and watched as I continued to work on his busted television.

"So, would you be willing to give me another chance? You can pick the place this time." I looked up from my work, my eyes wide. A smile crossed my features and I pushed my hair behind my ear, an old habit while I worked.

"I'd like that. How about tomorrow night? Meet me here when the shop closes and I'll take you to one of my favorite places."

"It's a date. How's the TV look, mechanical genius?"

"That's Donny. I'm the apprentice. And this is far from unfixable. Who told you it was?"

"Every place I've brought it to."

"They're just not as skilled as my brother and me," I answered with a smirk. I pulled out a drawer to my left, grabbing a few parts that to replace the busted ones in the television. After putting them in, I closed up the device and passed it across the table to Gage. "There you go, sir. Good as new… except for those scratches in the plastic, but that's your own doing." Gage laughed and took the television from my hands, paying me the fifty dollar fee.

"See you tomorrow, Amy," he said and left. I put the money in the register and smiled to myself. It never ceased to amaze me how a day could turn from bad to good so quickly.

Hmmm... nothing much to say here. Please R&R.