Disclaimer: I don't own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or its characters. I only own my OC.

A/N: Greetings, one and all! I was super excited to see more reviews and followers when I woke up this morning! Thank you all so much, and I hope you continue to enjoy this story. I'm still working on it as I upload it, and I can now say that I'm not far from reaching the end (not to disappoint anyone). However. I am considering a sequel, and/or writing more fics featuring OCs for the boys. I'm gonna leave the choice up to you when we get to the end of the story with regards to how you want the sequel or new stories to play out.

DaLadyofSouls: Oh, my word! Thank you so much for your consistent reviews! They really brighten my day, and I'll do my best to maintain the level of quality throughout the rest of the fic. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Alex: Thanks for your review! I can assure you that you'll get the answers to your questions very soon. Happy reading!

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Happy reading!

~ Secrets ~

{ Chapter Ten: Sunday }

Sundays were probably the turtles' favourite day of the week.

They would use the time they had on that day to do whatever they wanted, whether that was sleeping in late, working out, watching TV, playing video games, or in Donatello's case, working in his lab. Amelia made breakfast that morning, which consisted of eggs, bacon, toast and tomatoes, and as she finally got to sit down to eat her own food, she looked down at the cell phone that was now void of messages and calls. Finally, Ethan had taken the hint and stopped calling her.

Raphael's hand on her back soothed her as she started to eat her breakfast, and as Donatello poured the worried girl a cup of coffee, he also put a hand on her shoulder to calm her. Michelangelo looked worriedly between Amelia and his brothers, biting his lip. It was clear that she was still worrying about the guy who'd been bugging her the night before.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay going to work tomorrow?" Raphael asked her quietly, "You could call in sick."

"Maybe you're right." Amelia whispered, rubbing her hand across her forehead as she played with her food, "It's just that Lillian needs me there. It's just me, her and Ethan who run that place. I only work five hours a day, but I'd hate to leave her in the lurch."

"If you explain the situation to her, I'm sure she'll understand." Leonardo said in a gentle tone, "I doubt she'd blame you. It sounds like you get a lot of unwanted attention from him."

"Yeah." Amelia replied, taking a bite of one of her pieces of toast, "He makes me nervous."

"I'd feel much better if you didn't go." Raphael told her quietly, "I don't want him to hurt you."

"I'll think on it." Amelia said quietly as Donatello left her side, resting head on her hand.

The brothers shared a worried look, but went back to their meals without another word on the subject. Raphael kept stealing glances at Amelia as she continued to play with her food, and after a few moments of watching her miserably poke the food around her plate, he couldn't take it any more. He didn't want some weird dude putting his girlfriend off her food. She barely ate the day before.

"You need to eat something, babe." He told her quietly, rubbing her back again.

"I don't know if I can stomach it." Amelia whispered, putting her fork down with a fed up expression on her face, "I'll try and eat something later."

Raphael looked across at his brothers who kept gazing at Amelia with concern as she ran her hands over her face and into her hair. She looked around at all of them tiredly, wanting nothing more than to just get up from the table and walk away. She hated being stared at like that. It was like her every movement was being scrutinised and she couldn't take it any more.

"Amelia?"

"I'm fine." She replied with a deep sigh, getting out of her seat, "Really."

She decided to walk away from the table, the cell phone clutched tightly in her hand as she headed up to the bathroom. She closed and locked the bathroom door before going to sit against the large bath, bringing her knees up to her chest. She just needed time on her own to figure out what she was going to do, and she couldn't do with everyone staring at her.

Back at the table, Raphael gazed at the bathroom door, waiting for Amelia to come back out. He wished she hadn't taken the phone with her, because he would've called Ethan and told him in no uncertain terms to back the fuck off and leave his girlfriend alone. Angrily, he got up from the table and headed for the dojo, trying not to lose his temper until he was out of sight. He needed to kick the fuck out of something, before he did it to someone.

He didn't want Amelia to feel like she had to do anything she didn't want to, but he didn't want that fucking creep forcing himself on her while she was trying to earn a living either. He wanted her to make the choice to stay with them an extra day or two until she could talk to her boss about it. In truth, he didn't want her to go home at all. Her absence, even now as he started kicking the large punchbag in the dojo again, was painful, despite them only being in separate rooms.

As he hit the punchbag harder, Raphael could only hope that Amelia would be back to her usual, bubbly self soon.

Amelia was asleep when Raphael went to check on her a couple of hours later. The turtle looked at her sleeping form, studying the worried expression on her face, and the way her long, dainty fingers were wrapped possessively around the cell phone in her hands. Taking a step forward, he crouched beside her and pried the device from her fingers to look at it. It wasn't easy to navigate because it wasn't built for mutated turtles, but after a couple of minutes of struggling with his large fingers, he found her inbox that contained all of her text messages.

There were a lot from Ethan, most of which were unanswered, begging Amelia to talk to him. He was telling her that she'd have to speak to him tomorrow whether she wanted to or not, and that she was making a huge mistake by not dating him. Then he saw one from her mother, which simply said, 'We're disappointed in you.'

"Why are you reading my messages?"

Raphael's eyes slowly left the phone in his large hand, and met the rather sleepy and confused eyes of his girlfriend, who was stirring from her position on her stomach as she turned slightly to look at him. She didn't look or sound angry, but that didn't mean she wasn't feeling it. He didn't really know what to say. He knew he'd sort of betrayed her trust by going through her stuff, but he just wanted to make sure that Ethan had left her alone.

"I was just making sure that you'd been left alone by that creep." Raphael said quietly, "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise." She whispered, reaching out to gently stroke his face, "I have nothing to hide."

"How are you feeling?" He asked her quietly, looking into her lovely blue eyes as he leaned into her touch.

"Scared." She said softly, taking the phone from his hands and placing it on his night stand, "Upset. My mother deems me a disappointment to the family. She wants to come and visit but I've told her it's out of the question."

Raphael stood up to join her in bed, noticing how she curled her legs up again to allow him room so that he could get onto the bed and settle down with her. He got under the covers with her, and rolled her onto her side so that he could hold her against his large chest. The sigh that escaped her lips was one that was both heavy and weary as she pressed into his arms.

"I don't want my family anywhere near me. They're abusive, horrible people and I don't need that kind of toxicity in my life." Amelia whispered, relaxing more as Raphael started to stroke soothing lines up and down her back, "It makes me wonder, though, what I did to deserve it all."

"Deserve what?"

Raphael hadn't really wanted to ask the question but he knew he had to. He needed to know what her family was like, because it was highly probable from the way that she was talking that she'd been through a lot more than he thought. He couldn't imagine treating his own family abusively, so the thought of someone behaving that way towards his girlfriend was gut wrenching.

"The way I was treated." Amelia said quietly, sounding as though she didn't want to continue with the conversation, "I'm sorry I left the table like that. I hope your brothers weren't offended."

"Nah, they weren't." Raphael said reassuringly, continuing to rub her back, "They just wanna know that you're okay. You're their little sister now, you know."

Then, came the smile. It was a beautiful, genuine, warm, loving smile, one that Raphael had been dying to see for most of the morning. The other smiles he'd seen were forced ones. Ones that clearly she'd just given the brothers to appease them as they grew more concerned about her.

"What's everyone doing?" She asked in a soft tone.

"Mikey's playing video games." Raphael whispered, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, "Donnie's working on the heating again... And Leo's reading. Master Splinter's making you some tea, which is why I came to check on you. He wanted to know if you were alright."

"We should go and talk to them." Amelia said softly, sitting up slowly from Raphael's embrace, "Thank you for not being defensive when I asked you about my messages... I honestly don't mind you reading them."

"Well, thanks, but I won't read them again." Raphael promised, "They're your private conversations with other people. I just wanted to make sure he wasn't threatening you."

"I think I'm gonna call Lillian and explain the situation." Amelia said as she climbed out of bed, grabbing her hairbrush from the night stand, "She's really nice, and a great boss. I'm sure she won't mind."

Raphael sat up and took the brush from Amelia's gentle grip as she sat on the bed, before he took her soft, luscious hair in his hands. He'd seen her brush her hair a million and one times, so he knew how to do it for her. He could tell that she was exhausted, probably because she'd clearly been kept awake most of the night through her worrying, if the dark circles under her blue eyes told him anything. He double checked the door to make sure he'd closed it, because the last thing he needed was for his brothers to barge in and catch him brushing a girl's hair.

He gently combed out the small tangles that had settled themselves in her hair, and immediately, he saw her shoulders sag as she relaxed where she was sitting between his legs. Her hands went to his thighs as she held her tired self up, and he carefully ran the brush through her long hair, running from her scalp to the tips of it.

After a few minutes, he put the brush down and then ran his fingers through the loose curls, stopping at the base of her neck to lightly trace his fingers against the skin of her throat and shoulders. Goosebumps were raising on her soft skin, both from his touch and the cold of the room, so Raphael kissed her shoulder tenderly before he leaned down to drag her bag out from under his bed. He knew she had a thick, light grey, hooded sweater in there, so he grabbed it for her and helped her into it, and then he gently leaned forward to kiss her cheek.

She squeezed his thigh gratefully before she eased her body upwards and off the mattress, her limbs sagging through exhaustion. She hadn't eaten anything since the previous night, apart from a small bite of her breakfast that morning. Raphael followed her out of bed, and as she grabbed her cell phone, she slipped it into the pocket of her hooded sweater as she zipped it up. He reached for her hand and took it carefully, holding the delicate limb in his own hand.

"You need to eat something." He urged her quietly as they left his room, "You're exhausted."

"Uh-huh..." She responded with a sigh, "I'll get something."

"Mikey said he'd make you whatever you want." Raphael told her, slowly heading down the stairs with her, "Get settled on the couch and I'll go get your tea."

"Okay." Amelia replied with a nod as they got to the bottom, heading over to the couch where Michelangelo was sitting.

"Hey, baby-doll!" Michelangelo said with a grin as he paused his video game, "You want some breakfast?"

Amelia eased herself down onto the couch and gave him a tired nod, and Raphael turned just in time to see Michelangelo quickly pull Amelia into a one armed hug before nuzzling her head gently as though to comfort her. He smiled to himself and let out a quiet huff of laughter before continuing towards the kitchen, where Master Splinter was still making the tea.

"How is she?" He asked Raphael softly.

"Exhausted." Raphael answered with a sigh, "She needs food and she needs time to relax. I think she's gonna call her boss later to talk about what's going on with this creepy co-worker of hers."

Splinter nodded with a thoughtful hum, and he handed Raphael the hot cup of tea, placing his now free hand on his son's shell. Raphael let out a sigh and turned back to the couch as Michelangelo was heading to the kitchen. He felt Splinter's hand disappear from his shoulder, and the ageing rat passed him to go towards his own rooms, leaving the brothers alone.

"She wants toast." The orange-clad turtle said quietly, "She doesn't look so good, Raph."

"I know." Raphael muttered as his little brother started making the food for his girlfriend, "Thanks, Mikey."

Michelangelo saluted him with a smile as the red-clad turtle set off to join Amelia on the couch, where she seemed to be sitting deep in thought. As he arrived, he sat down beside her and handed her the cup, which she took gratefully as she rubbed at her tired eyes with her spare hand. He hated knowing that she was this worried, when he couldn't do anything to help her. It sucked.

"I'm... Uh... I'm gonna call Lillian." Amelia said in a near whisper, putting the cup down the coffee table, "I'd better do it now, before I change my mind."

"Sure." Raphael replied, watching her as she tiredly got out of her seat and trudged towards the stairs.

As she sat down on the bottom step, she took out her cell phone, tapping and swiping away until she brought it to her ear. He watched her as she spoke to her boss with what appeared to be a fed up, and frustrated expression. She was rubbing her thumb and index finger across her brow as she explained the situation, but to Raphael's relief, Amelia seemed to relax as she listened to her boss's response.

"Is she okay?"

Raphael looked up to see Michelangelo approaching with a plate of toast in his hand, and he nodded, looking back over to his girlfriend who happened to also be nodding at something her boss was saying on the other end of the phone.

"She's talking to her boss." He said gruffly as Michelangelo sat next to him and put the toast down on the coffee table, "I don't feel happy about her being topside without me right now."

"Dude, you can't suffocate her like that. She needs to be able to have her life without you following her around." Michelangelo replied with a frown, "And besides, you can't go topside during the day anyway. You'll be seen."

Raphael went to grumble at his younger brother, but the sound of Amelia sighing as she returned to his side brought him out of his bad mood. She looked so much better already, like a big weight had been taken off of her shoulders. She sat down between the brothers and took the plate of toast in hand, smiling brightly.

"Thanks, Mikey." She said sweetly, turning to Raphael, "Lillian's given me a couple of days off until she gets a chance to deal with Ethan."

"Great. So, you don't have to go back tonight?" Raphael asked, hopefully.

"Well, I do need some clean clothes and to do some laundry, but it should only take a couple of hours." She answered with a small grin, "You can come with me if you like."

"Sure." Raphael replied as she took a bite of her toast, "I'm glad you can stay for a couple more days."

"Me too." She said sweetly, "I'm just gonna worry myself sick when you're out on patrol, though."

Raphael and Michelangelo shared a look. Of course she was going to worry about them. They put their lives on the line almost every night for the people of New York, and now that she and Raphael had become involved in a romantic relationship, she was going to worry even more about them, particularly her boyfriend. And there would be nothing that the boys could do to make her feel any better, no matter how they reassured her.

"We'll be fine." The orange-clad turtle said brightly, "We kick butt all the time."

"Just bring something down with you later tonight that can keep you busy while we're out tomorrow." Raphael told her, putting an arm around her as she finished her food, "We're normally out until just before dawn, so... Don't wait up for us when we go."

"Okay." Amelia replied, reaching forward to get her cup of tea, "So... It's just after twelve now... What are we going to do for the rest of the afternoon?"

Raphael had to remember very quickly that his brother was there, as a multitude of dirty thoughts entered his head. He also remembered that Amelia was in pain following last night's escapade, so he didn't want to hurt her any more than he had done already. So, he would have to settle for something that didn't involve taking Amelia to bed.

"You look tired." Michelangelo said quietly, "We could just watch movies. Donnie managed to find some awesome ones for me."

"Sure." Amelia replied, leaning against Raphael as he lifted his arm for her, taking a sip of her tea.

Excitedly, Michelangelo got out his list of movies, and the trio settled on watching The Mummy. It was one of Amelia's favourites, and neither Raphael or Michelangelo had seen it before, which amazed her, considering how old it was. She shuffled about in her seat as the movie was starting, almost as though she couldn't get comfortable, so Raphael scooped her up, placed her on his lap, and let her settle back in his arms so that she could lounge freely. Michelangelo scooted up next to his brother and let Amelia rest her legs on his, and he carefully took to rubbing her feet for her.

Amelia was content to sit there, sleepily drink her tea and allow herself, for once, to be pampered. Raphael began to stroke her side gently, while Michelangelo started to massage her legs as well. She sighed and leaned back into Raphael's embrace, grinning when she felt him press his lips to her temple lovingly. It felt great to have someone who would do little things like that for her. The smallest of kisses from him made her feel so loved and so appreciated, and it was a wonderful feeling to experience.

"How's the tea?" He asked her, keeping his free arm wrapped around her waist.

"Lovely." She answered with a sigh, "I feel so much better."

"Good." Raphael replied, grinning as she snuggled down into his embrace, "I'm glad."

"We really should make sure that Master Splinter's okay with me staying for another couple of days." Amelia said softly.

"He'll be fine with it." Raphael whispered, "But, I'll talk to him later."

"Thank you." Amelia smiled, turning her head and pressing her lips to his cheek in a sweet kiss.

Raphael held onto her a little tighter, resting his head to hers. Michelangelo kept rubbing Amelia's feet, while trying to ignore the shock of seeing his brother be so gentle and loving with someone. Raphael wasn't normally like this. He was the brother who was the tough guy, and the one who didn't like to show any emotions other than anger or joy. Yet, here was was, cuddling this gorgeous human girl, and stroking her waist as she relaxed in his embrace.

Michelangelo couldn't help but feel proud that his big brother had managed to get over that bravado and actually focus on what was important, which was his relationship with this beautiful girl. He was making sure that Amelia felt loved and felt cared for, which was what she needed, considering the snippets of information he'd heard about her not-so-nice family. He briefly looked across to see Raphael resting his head against Amelia's, before the red-clad turtle's eyes slid closed as though he was savouring just being like this with her.

It made Michelangelo's heart lurch, and caused a painful tightening in his chest. Raphael was clearly so in love with this girl, and that moment that he was taking to cherish her was so intimate, that the youngest turtle had to look away.

He gently continued his massaging of Amelia's legs and feet, while trying to allow her and his brother as much privacy in that beautiful moment as he could.

~ To Be Continued ~

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