Betrayal 10

Max finally felt better about letting Valerie out and back on the job. It took her a while to get out of the funk she was in, but good ol' Valerie tries so hard not to show how she's really feeling, but her sisters know her more than anyone.

"Are you sure about this Max?" Jaime asked, worry etched across her face

Maxine sighed "Yeah, I'm sure. I know you're worried about her and so am I, but we need to finish this already"

"We know" the twins said

"Hey Valerie, let's go" Max called up the stairs. They waited a few seconds before the door opened and Val came bounding down the stairs with a big grin on her face as if nothing had happened a couple days ago.

"Are we ready? Let's move out so I can make food. I'm really hungry" she stated, heading for the kitchen to grab a bag of groceries then to the front door

The walk to the lair was fairly quiet, just the sound of Valerie's humming could be heard as they continued along the tunnels. The three eldest gave each other worried looks, but Val ignored it. They knew she was only putting on a mask, at least until the job was done. Valerie continued skipping through the maze of sewers until she came to the dead end. Serena pulled down on the pipe and typed in the code.

"Hello turtles, we have arrived" Valerie shouted "Who's hungry?"

"Oooo I am" Mikey answered, hopping down from the second level. As he ran by he grabbed Valerie by the waist lifting her up off the ground and bringing her to the kitchen "And I will help you"

"Alright fine, but put me down first" was the last thing she said before they both disappeared into the kitchen

"What was that about?" Raph asked exiting the dojo

"Mikey and Val are gonna make us some dinner" Maxine answered

"Great, I'm starving"

"Well, no need to wait much longer, big boy" Jaime walked up to him and patted his tummy.

Raph growled at her and she just shrugged it off.

After about an hour of waiting, Valerie called from the kitchen "Guys, food time" Mikey had already helped himself to his plate "Hope you enjoy it"

"I'll eat just about anything" Mikey assured her

The sound of footsteps caught her attention before her sisters and the guys showed up. Taking plates of their own and sitting around the living room, they made small talk to pass the time. By the time they were done everyone was full.

"Ugh, anymore of this and I'll explode" Don said

"You could've stopped any time you wanted" Serena moaned rubbing her stomach

"I couldn't, it was too good"

Val hopped up and took everybody's plates "Who wants dessert?" she asked excitedly

Everyone groaned as their only response "Oh come on, me an Mikey made cinnamon buns" she said in a sing song voice

"Gah fine" Raph snapped "Just one"

"Yay" Val shouted going back to the to drop off the dishes and bring out a tray filled with cinnamon buns

Everyone took one of the still warm confectionary treats and she headed back into the kitchen. "Alright, I've come to the conclusion that Valerie is trying to make us all fat" Serena leaned against Don's shoulder munching on her pastry "So she can eat us"

"That's quite the assumption there sis" Max said

"What? You guys have seen how thin she is" Serena accused

"Oh quiet down Serena and eat" Val called from the kitchen

"Okay"

Later on when everyone could move again they went on to do their own thing. Mikey ended up napping on the couch, Don and Serena sat and talked over at his workstation, Jaime was who knows where and Max and Leo were in the dojo possibly trying to work off the food they just consumed.

Valerie hummed a soft tune so she could keep herself on the task at hand. It's weird, I didn't really think it was true when they say 'The Best Way to a Man's Heart is Through His Stomach.' She thought randomly they really enjoy my cooking, but then again so do my sisters. She laughed quietly to herself when she remembered Serena's comment earlier. Once she was done washing, she began drying and putting away.

The plates belong up on the upper shelf of the cabinet and due to her height she couldn't really reach up there to put them away. So she decided to stand up on the counter and that's how Raph found her. He chuckled softly, immediately getting her attention "What's up shorty?"

Valerie scrunched up her nose and went back to her task "I don't appreciate you making fun of me like that after I made you dinner and dessert"

He made his way fully into the kitchen "Are you sure you should be doing that?" he asked referring to where she was standing

"Nope, but how else am I gonna reach up here and put the dishes away"

"You could ask someone"

"That's not how I roll" she reached down for another plate to put away and she felt the back of her foot slip off and the rest of her body followed. She let out a short yelp and her arms began flailing trying to find something to grab onto. Unfortunately she found nothing, but fortunately Raph thought fast and held his arms out to catch her.

Valerie instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and found herself staring right into those fiery amber eyes. She swallowed hard and her mouth fell open as if she wanted to speak, but no words formed. She was too busy noticing how toned and tight his biceps were. How buff he was.

Raph was noticing things he wasn't really thinking about until now. Like how small and light she was and how she fit perfectly in his arms as he cradled her against his chest. Her soft, innocent, chocolate brown eyes just had him at a standstill as they bore into him. He caught a faint citrus scent coming from her and he didn't want to put her down.

"I-I…" she finally stuttered "Thank you"

Raph blinked twice and shook his head as if he was in a trance. "Umm… no problem" he slowly put her back down on her two feet

Valerie reached to grab the last plate, but Raph stopped her by grabbing her wrist "Don't even think about it" he took it and did it for her without standing on the counter

"Thank you… again"

He nodded his response and looked away. Valerie headed out, but not before she placed a hand on his shoulder and ran it down the length of his arm feeling his muscles beneath her fingertips. "Oh, that's nice" she muttered before disappearing out of sight.

Raph leaned up against the counter "What just happened?" he asked in a whisper

XXX

And BOOM left turn. This is where things get interesting.

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