Lydia trembled as they stopped by the side of the barn. "You don't have to do this," her husband said softly, taking her delicate hand into his larger one.

"She's just a girl," Lydia said, steeling her nerves. It had been 12 years since anyone outside her family had seen her, and she remembered the look of revulsion on Jennifer's face all too well. Of course, these people were mutants too. After all, the boy who'd gone to their house, he'd been transformed into a huge turtle, and she was there to help their friend.

"Mom, Dad," Brice said, as he hurried out the barn with Mikey. "She's back here." He took his mother's free hand and pulled her into the barn before she had any time to think more about it. Everyone's eyes were on her as she walked in and she clutched her son and husband's hands a bit tighter. The only two normal humans in the room were a tall, black haired boy, wearing paint splattered clothes, and the red haired girl, who was sprawled on top of a pile of rubble.

Carefully she picked her way over the debris, kneeling by April's side. "April?" she said softly. "I'm Lydia Collins; Val's mom. I'm not going to hurt you."

April managed a weak smile at her, through the pain and terror that she may never be able to feel most of her body again. "Thank you," she said softly.

Lydia smiled at her, then placed her hands on the girl's forehead and her chest. "Her neck's broken," she said, almost to herself. "That's easy enough to fix. The nerves going to her brain..." Lydia's face suddenly looked concerned.

"What's wrong?" Donnie asked anxiously, leaning in.

"It's just, I've never seen anyone with quite this many neural connections. It's almost like she's..." Lydia's voice trailed off as she tried to make sense of it.

"She's a mutant," Donnie said softly. "I know she doesn't look it, but that's probably why."

Lydia nodded. She understood that; her own son would have looked perfectly normal if it weren't for his eyes and hair. That was the way it was with this girl. As she worked at reconnecting this broken connections within her, she couldn't help but feel the concern of all those around her. These were just a bunch of scared kids, she thought. They weren't a threat to her family.

Just as she was finishing, Raph made it to the door of the barn. Lydia squeezed April's hand, "Do you feel that?"

April nodded, a tear spilling out the corner of her eye.

Lydia smiled, "Can you move your feet?"

April wiggled her feet, then lifted her legs slightly off the ground. "Thank you," she said, carefully sitting up. Her body was slightly sore, but other than that, there wasn't anything wrong with her. She threw her arms around the woman's neck. "Val was right; you're absolutely amazing!"

If she would have still been capable of it, Lydia Collins would have blushed. She smiled up at her husband, who nodded at her with a faint grin. April introduced them to everyone in the barn, and there was so much talking that no one noticed Raph slip back out the barn and run back toward the cabin in the woods.

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She didn't even hear him as he approached. Her arms ached, but it was nothing compared to the hollow feeling in her chest. Try as she might to push the thoughts out her mind they kept creeping back in. None of them ever told her, but they didn't have to; she knew she was useless. She slammed the ax through the wood. Her eyes stung.

"Val?" Raph's voice came from behind her as two pieces of wood flew apart from each other.

She didn't turn, ashamed that she'd come so close to crying. "How's April?" she asked, putting another log up.

"Right was rain," Raph said, borrowing the corny phrase she had used the second time they met.

She nodded, "That's good."

"How're you?" he asked, taking a step closer to her.

She didn't answer, driving the ax down again. Picking up the pieces, she threw them near the stack of firewood and grabbed another log. His hand, though, enveloped hers and he turned her around. She glared at him, but the anger wasn't enough to hide the red that had crept in her eyes.

"Let go of me!" she growled, tugging her hand away from him.

"I get it, you know," he said as she turned around again. "You were worried about her and there was nothing you could do to help."

She didn't say anything but started chopping again.

"It's hard being different from everybody else," he said, his voice was a low rumble.

Val spun around, "How would you know anything about it?! Your family; they're all just like you! You're not not some useless weakling! You've got friends and a life waiting for you back in the city! Why don't you just leave now!? It's what's going to happen in the end anyway!"

Any other time he would have had some witty comeback; some quick retort. His life was so far from perfect it was almost laughable, he thought. In that moment, though, watching her fight back angry tears and quiver with rage that had never been expressed before, he could only think of one thing to do. He pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her. She fought against him for a few moments then seemed to melt into him, her face buried into his shoulder, her fingers curled around the edge of his shell as though he were a life raft. Two hot tears fell onto his shoulder.

"Hey," he said pulling away from her gently so that he could put his hand under her chin. He looked at her, his face serious. "You," he said, "are absolutely not useless. And if I hear you say that again, I'm gonna take desperate action."

"Like what?" she scoffed, brushing her eyes clear.

"Eh, like this," he said, tickling her.

She almost doubled over in the snow. "Quit it! I'm ticklish!" she cried between peals of laughter.

"I see that," he said not letting up.

She grabbed a handful of snow and put it behind his neck, causing him to jump and swipe it away. She ran a few feet away.

"Oh, you're asking for it now," he said, gathering up a snowball.

She laughed as she formed one of her own, "That's what you think!

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At her request, he left before her family came back, both of them smiling like idiots as they waved goodbye.

Brice was the first one home. "Guess who's coming for Christmas?" he asked with a grin.

"Santa Claus?" Val asked sarcastically.

"Better. April and the guys," he said beaming with pride to be the one to bear such good news.

Val's eyebrows shot up, "Did Dad get a concussion or something on the way down?"

"It was Mom's idea," he said, "and you know what Mom wants Dad always approves of eventually."

"Sweet," Val said with a grin as she went back to chopping. "You'd better get back inside, though, or you'll spoil everything."

"Yeah," he groaned, "why should I when we've got you?"

"I heard that!" she said to his back.

He just waved at her and kept walking.

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That night, Raph lay awake in his bed. Nothing he'd ever experienced or imagined had prepared him for the craziness that was Val Collins. He hated to admit it, but he felt a little like Donnie. Groaning he stuffed his pillow further under his head, going over all the reasons he'd cited to his love-sick younger brother.

She was a normal, human girl. (Actually, Val was even more human than April, though she was, in his opinion at least, a whole heck of a lot less normal.)

He was a giant talking turtle, a freak. (Her dad was a murderous giant dog, her mom was some kind of magical plant, and her baby brother was a glowing, human version of Mikey. She was used to weird; even Mikey-esque weird.)

It would never work. He waited. There was no response to that. It probably wouldn't; then what? Scowling at the ceiling he softly asked, "Yeah, then what?" It reminded him of her words that morning. What had she said exactly? "Why don't you just leave now!? It's what's going to happen in the end anyway!" Yeah, that was it. She was afraid of it too. Afraid? He shook his head. It was bad enough he was scared of roaches; he'd never live it down if he developed a phobia of pretty girls, too.

Rolling over he caught a faint hint of roses. It was like she was in his arms again, her delicate fingers clinging to him. Perfect.

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A/N- So I've been listening to "Take Me To Church" while writing this one. Blame it on the music; I wanted them to get a little closer. :)