Shortly after nine, Troy shut down his laptop and prepared to climb out of his window, when a deep voice said, "W-what are y-ya doin'?" He glanced up and saw Raphael standing before him. "I thought you were asleep, Raphael."
"W-woke up w-when y-ya were on the phone."
"Oh. I'm going out. Go back to bed."
"N-no. Y-ya shouldn't b-be out on y-yer own. I'll come w-with ya. G-get m-me m-my b-belt and w-weapons. I know y-yer dad has them somewhere."
"I honestly think you should stay here, Raphael. You've been through a lot."
"D-don't b-baby me! Y-ya've b-been the only nice person ta m-me and I don't w-want ta lose ya."
Troy sighed. "I'm merely meeting someone my bio dad knew."
"Y-yer adopted?"
"Yeah. My mom was a crack whore teenager when she gave birth to me and my dad died in a car crash weeks after my birth. The Oroku clan took me in. Lucky me, hey? I suppose it could have been worse. I could have been placed in foster care."
"Life with Oroku Saki ain't great, though. He's a psycho."
Troy stared at him in surprise and said, "You're not stuttering, Raphael."
Caught out, Raphael said, "I said ya can call me Raph. Get my weapons and I'll tell ya on the way ta the park."
"So you lied to me, Raph, about your stuttering?"
"NOW."
"All right. Sheesh."

Troy returned a few minutes later with the belt and weapons. Handing them to Raphael, he said, "How could you lie to me? I've been nothing but nice to you."
Raphael donned his belt and weapons and said, "It ain't personal. I'll tell ya after yer meetin'. Ready?"
"Yeah."

They climbed out of the window and went to Central Park, arriving fifteen minutes before the time. Tristan jr was already there. Spotting Troy and a guy he didn't recognize, he approached them and said, "Hi, Troy. I'm the guy you spoke to on the phone."
"You're a turtle!" Troy said, his jaw dropping. "I thought there were only four turtles and three of them are dead. Raph's the remaining one." He pointed at Raphael.
"Nope. There's me and my mom. Or shall I say our mom. Nice to finally meet you, little brother, and hi, Raphael."

"Hi," Raphael said, standing closer to Troy, feeling protective of him.

"Mom? I don't understand?" Troy said.
"Basically our mom was the product of a lab experiment," Tristan jr said. "When she was a teenager she met Dad and they were forced to have kids, resulting in me. Three years later, you came along. Dad and Mom managed to escape, but they had little money and could only keep me, so Dad took you to Saki and had you adopted by him. Saki was an old family friend. You were human, taking after Dad, and had the best shot at a normal life."

"Was the crackpot performin' the experiments called Bishop?" Raphael asked.
Tristan jr nodded. "How did you know?"
"Sounds like somethin' he'd do! Know from experience what he's like."

Troy gripped the bench, his legs feeling like jelly. Steadying himself, he said, "So you want me to feel sorry for the woman who was a lab experiment? I won't. She was a teenage crack whore! And she gave me up because she never wanted me. And my bio dad died in a car crash."
"No," Tristan jr said. "None of that's true. Mom never did drugs and she never wanted to give you up. Dad isn't dead either. I live with both of them. Their names are Madison and Tristan O' Brien. Oh, I haven't given you my name. I'm Tristan jr. Saki told you those lies, didn't he, so you wouldn't look for us when you turned eighteen? The fucking bastard."
"I guess so. I thought I wasn't wanted."
"No. You were always wanted, Troy. At least they kept the name our parents gave you. Would you like to meet them? Come home with me?"
"I don't know. This is a lot to absorb."
"I understand. I can give you my phone number and you can call me when you're ready. We'd love to have you back home, Troy. You have no idea how much you were loved and missed."
"Why didn't you guys look for me if you loved me so much?" Troy demanded.

"Maybe it was a closed adoption and they were denied contact," Raphael suggested. "And ya could go lookin' for them when ya turned eighteen. Oroku Saki and his family didn't want ya ta, so they spun those lies."
"Yes, it was," Tristan jr said. "But Saki sent us photos and your school reports over the years. You're a very smart kid. Must get it from Dad. Mom's not stupid, but Dad's the brains of the family. So I'll give you my number and you can decide. No pressure, Troy."

"Okay," Troy said. He and Tristan swapped numbers.
"So," Tristan said. "You a lab experiment, too, Raphael?"

"Sort of," Raphael said. "Me and my bros fell into a puddle of goo known as mutagen and turned into mutant turtles. Troy's right. There were four of us, but my bros died."
"I'm sorry," Tristan jr said. "Must be tough on you."
"It is, but Troy's been really nice ta me. And..." Raphael swallowed hard. "I'm grateful."

"I'm going home," Troy said. "I have a lot to think about. Come on, Raphael. Bye, Tristan."
"Later, Troy. You can call me anytime, okay?"

"See ya," Raphael said, walking off with Troy.

When they got home and had climbed back in through the window, Troy said, "What would you do, Raph?"
"Bout what?"
"If you discovered that your bio dad was alive and your mother wasn't what your adoptive parents said she was?"
"I'd be mad with my adoptive parents," Raphael said, sitting down on the bed.
"And would you confront them?"
"I think confrontin' the Oroku clan's pointless. They're too far up their asses with their bullshit."
Troy smiled and sat down on a chair near the bed. "What a picture you paint."
"I think ya should go see yer bio family without tellin' anyone and then decide who ya believe."
"But who do you believe?"
"I like ta think I'm a good judge of character. My gut tells me Tristan jr's not lyin' and yer adopted family is."
"Yeah, my gut said that too. I'll call Tristan tomorrow. Will you come with me when I go see my bio parents?"
"Course I will. Ya've been so nice ta me. Least I can do."
"Thanks. Now can we discuss what we talked about earlier? Was that stuttering thing and your catatonic trance an act?"
"No. After Leo died, I was almost catatonic, but I still felt all yer dad did ta me. I was there, feelin' it all, as he hurt me over and over again. Each thrust, takin' what he wanted, tauntin' me, takin' delight that I'd cracked."
"I'm so sorry," Troy said, his eyes filling with tears. He grabbed Raphael's hand and added, "I'm sorry. I wish I could have stopped it."
"Nothin' ya could have done or said would have stopped the Shredder. He was on a mission ta destroy me and my bros. After a while of being in that trance, I came outta it, but I pretended I was still in it, because I had a feelin' that Shredder wanted ta hear me scream and if I didn't, it was no fun torturin' me anymore. I was right. He no longer saw me as fun and ignored me. I never said a word those entire three weeks ya were gone. Then I heard ya were comin' home and I thought if I spoke and stuttered, ya'd feel sorry for me and take me outta the cage, which ya did. I'm sorry for deceivin' ya 'bout the stutterin', but I am traumatized, Troy. That ain't no act. I'm hurtin' and I miss my bros, especially Leo. He was expectin', but Shredder didn't care and still murdered him!" Tears rolled down Raphael's cheeks. "I ain't one ta cry, but..."
Troy scooted his chair closer and folded Raphael into a hug. "It's okay, Raph," he said, rubbing his shell. "I have you. It's going to be okay. I'm here and I'll see if we can get a doctor to help you."
"What doctor would help a mutant turtle?" Raphael said, pulling away.
"I see Dr. Javadi. My family thinks I have issues and he prescribes me pills for depression and my other behavioral issues they think I have."
"Bullshit. There ain't nothin' wrong with ya."
"I am depressed, though."
"Yeah, but I bet if you didn't live here, ya wouldn't be depressed no more."
"Maybe. But I'll call Dr. Javadi and if Dad won't pay for him, I'll pay out of my allowance. You can talk to me, but a professional's better."
"Thank ya. You know Leo would have liked ya if he'd gotten ta know ya. Yer an awesome person, Troy, and if it weren't for ya I'd have probably died."
Troy smiled. "Things will get better, Raph. I promise. Now get some rest." Troy stood up to go to his mattress.
"No," Raphael said. "Can ya stay with me? Please."
"Okay. I'll be back now. I'm just changing."

Raphael stripped off his weapons and belt, put them on the dresser and crawled into bed. Troy appeared a few minutes later in shorts and a T and locked the door. Then he climbed into bed, turned off the light and said, "Night, Raph. Sleep well."
"Ya, too. Hey, Troy?"
"Yeah?" Troy said, turning to face him.
"I'll go along with that son act ya suggested with Shredder until I'm better, but ya have ta know I'll get my revenge for all he did. And ya will have ta decide where yer loyalties lie. Ya can't be friends with me and yer dad."
"I know and I've decided, Raph."
"Ya have?"
"I despise my dad and all he stands for. I hate him for what he did to you, your brothers and for all the lies he's told me. I'm on your side and I'll pretend to be on his until you're better."
Raphael smiled for the first time in a long time. "Then we're gonna be good friends. Know I have yer back."
"I have yours."
Raphael reached out and took his hand. Squeezing it, he said, "Thank ya for helpin' me. I'm so grateful ta ya. Night, Troy," he said, lying down, closing his eyes, his hand still in Troy's. "Night," Troy said, feeling electricity flow through his body at Raphael's touch and an ache in his groin. No, no, don't think about that, he thought. That's the last thing Raph needs right now. Go to sleep and think pure thoughts. Troy watched Raphael sleep for a long time and thought, I'm going to do all I can to help him and I'm going to meet my bio family. I wonder what they'll think of me. Then he closed his eyes and fell fast asleep.