Hi Guys and Girls

First off HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you all had an amazing evening with friends and family. I know I did. It was surprisingly nice for a Melbourne night :) I didn't even need my jacket.

I would like to say thank you to all of you who have stayed with me and patiently waited as I pushed myself to finally get something written down. I'm not going to jinx myself by saying that I'll update more often, all I can say is that the end is coming and I'm eager to get there :)

Enjoy!

Chapter 14

Raine leaned against the banister, watching her little sister. It was a Sunday night and they were in the same place they had been for the last three Sundays and occasionally could be found mid-week.

Leo had Sara training with wooden tonfa and the poor girl was getting beaten soundly but wasn't losing confidence as she repeatedly came back for more. Raine smiled when her sister landed on her arse but stood up again, eager to continue. She wasn't sure what had prompted this determination in Sara to learn martial arts but it was doing her good. Raine had received calls from the school saying that Sara's grades had suffered right after her stay in hospital but had begun to improve dramatically.

Raine's eyes strayed to Michelangelo, even when she wasn't doing it consciously she found herself watching the orange turtle. A feeling of guilt gripped her and tore at her heart as she watched him practice with Don. His movements were smooth but no longer had a sense of flow. His footwork was more like a child dancing than a professional as he had been before, and every now and then his neck and shoulders would twitch uncontrollably for a few moments. The more he stressed, the more frequently the twitching came on and it got worse as he tensed. Don said it was the nerves regrowing but to Raine it was an unnerving reminder of her betrayal.

Mikey had been allowed out of bed for the first time two weeks after their fight; Sara had told Raine as she was still recovering in hospital. He'd been closely attended by Donatello and someone called Leatherhead for several days. It was only a few days after that he'd started training again, testing out whether he had any underlying damage. Thankfully he was almost fully recovered; a bandage around his neck was the only evidence of the fight now.

Raine on the other hand was still sporting a cast on her leg and a strong brace on her arm. She managed to hobble along with a crutch but it was still awkward movement. She'd been released from hospital a week after Mikey had started his training again. It had been a fight with the doctors but Raine had eventually gotten them to let her go with a prescription for painkillers and a warning to come back in two weeks. The cast would come off soon and she still had lots of movement in her splinted arm.

Sporadic movement caught her attention, Michelangelo's arm was shaking hard enough for his nunchuku to drop from his hand. Leo and Sara stopped to look and Don reached out and held Mikey's shoulders until he stood still again.

"That's enough for today, I think. Raph should be back soon." Leo said, swinging his tonfa under his arm. "That was good." He smiled at Sara and patted Mike on the shoulder. Sara beamed but Raine saw the frustration in Michelangelo's face. She ached in response.

Her fingers closed around the vial in her pocket. She's been feeding it to Mikey every time she'd seen him. It was a chemical/hormone that encouraged the growth of cells. She used it religiously after a serious fight, it cut recovery time in half. It had saved her life on more than one occasion. Mike was doing better and she would continue to slip it into his drinks or onto his food whenever she could get a chance.

Sara appeared at her elbow. "Are you coming?"

She smiled automatically, shoving the dark thoughts away. "Of course." She adjusted the crutch under her arm. "You were doing very well. Soon you'll be able to beat me in a fight."

"I could beat you now, all I'd have to do is push you over." Sara replied cheekily. Raine swatted at her with the reinforced arm but the little minx danced away laughing.

Raine made it down to the main room in time to see Raphael putting the pizza boxes on the table, a soft blush coloured her cheeks but she was determined not to let her reaction show. Raph had been surprisingly attentive since that first night in the hospital. They tried to keep things as played down as possible but when all their siblings knew it was like trying to keep a cat in a bath.

He looked up as she stumped down the ramp and smiled slowly, her stomach did one of those embarrassing flip-flops. He took a step forward, assumedly to help her to the table, but Don jumped in front of him and hurried to her side. She'd discovered in the last couple of weeks that Don was picking up the slack of Michelangelo's mischievousness nature.

"Madam, may I help you to your seat?" He asked as he sidled up to her.

Raine smiled, she would have said no if her leg wasn't aching. "Thank you, sir."

Without warning Don swept her legs out from under, careful not to jar the cast and carried her over to the kitchen. Raine automatically clung to his neck until he settled her into a chair. She usually had perfect control over her reactions but she was sure her face was bright red by now.

They settled around the small kitchen table, Leo and Raphael standing as Raine and Sara took their chairs. Comfortable conversation flowed as the pizza boxes and napkins were handed around. Raine was highly aware of Raphael's movements around the table, every time he reached over to steal another piece of pizza from someone's plate or teased his brother's, her eyes would catch the way his muscles played beneath his skin. Her skin would heat when he caught her watching and sent a slow sexy smile her way.

Raine couldn't remember the last time just looking at a man had made her feel this way. She couldn't keep her thoughts straight as he kept stealing her attention and barely ate as her stomach seemed to be too busy fluttering.

It was with great relief that Raine escaped the table for the bathroom. It would take her several minutes with the cast in tow.

Raph watched her hobble away. She wasn't particularly quick or graceful at the moment but he didn't mind, it just made it easier to catch her at times.

"I don't like the way you're smiling, Raph" Sara said, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, you're looking smug. Smug on you means bad things for others, usually me." Mikey added.

Raph smirked. "Trust me, Mikey, you're the last thing on my mind."

Sara stood up. "On that note, I'm going to play video games. Mikey, you coming?"

The pair bolted from the table. Raph poured himself another drink and braced against the bench to face his brother's and their inevitable questions.

"Is it going that well with Raine?" Don asked, a smile teasing the edges of his mouth.

Raph shrugged noncommittally. Don and Leo looked at him expectantly.

"What?"

"Tell us everything." Don demanded.

Raph sipped his drink. "A man doesn't kiss and tell."

"That doesn't apply to you, you're a turtle." Leo replied.

"I believe the saying is, 'A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell.'. You, my son, are not a gentleman either."

The three brothers looked up as Master Splinter sat down and chuckled. "Do not let me stop you. Michelangelo and Sara are using the televisions and I am missing my stories. Michelangelo has asked that you tell him everything later."

Raph rubbed at the back of his neck, mildly uncomfortable with the attention. "There's not much to tell."

"Then you are not doing it right." Splinter said. "Even I remember what it was like to court a woman."

"It just doesn't feel right talking about it." He looked in the direction Raine had disappeared.

Leo laid his hands flat on the table. "Let's put it another way, Don, Mike and I are unlikely to get a girlfriend in our lives. Ever."

Don made an offended noise and Leo turned to him.

"Come on, how many women do you think are out there that would let us anywhere near them? We're mutated turtles who live in a sewer. Raph found the only one we've ever come across."

Raph shifted uncomfortably and drank more. If this conversation continued he would need more scotch.

"Share with us, Raphael, how your romance started." Master Splinter accepted a can of soda from Donatello and looked patiently at his son. "A good story always needs a beginning."

He saw that he wouldn't be getting away from them with giving up some details, he turned to the cupboard and pulled out his bottled of scotch.

Raine shoved hard at the bathroom door to close it and almost succeeded in toppling herself over. With a curse she got the crutches under her and started back towards the main area. She knew that she had been neglecting her mission and that pissed her off. She had never had an issue before in separating her personal feelings from her professional goals. It had been a mistake to take this assignment. She had thought she was good enough, too good. Cockiness had made her take risks she didn't usually take. She had never used her own name on an assignment. She had never become so emotionally involved with her targets. She had certainly never shared a Dose with a target, not that any of them had survived their encounters.

Raine looked over the bannister and saw Sara and Michelangelo playing video games in the main lounge area. A stab of regret went through her heart. It had also been a mistake to bring Sara to New York. As much as Raine hated Jessica for what had happened to their family, Ghost should have known better than to involve civilians. Raine's personal feelings had made the decision that time as well. On top of that, it had been wrong to use her little sister to get closer to the turtles.

Self-disgust threatened to overcome Raine, she hid behind a column and leaned against it. She couldn't continue to operate like this. She would have to make some changes and go back to traditional procedure. No more letting personal issues cloud her professionalism.

Satisfied that she could keep that train of thought going for at least a couple hours Raine looked around to see where she could start.

Leonardo's bedroom door stood open only a few feet away.

She entered carefully and took stock of what was there with Ghost's eyes. Everything was in place and clean. His extra set weapons were kept in exemplary condition and stored on a stand on a wide shelf.

Rigid, self-contained and practical. Fighting Leonardo would be all about technique and form. Leo wouldn't get fancy like Don did or use tricks like Mikey. He would be straight forward and calmly aggressive. A highly dangerous opponent.

Raine left the room without disturbing anything and made for the kitchen. When she was close enough she saw Donatello pass Splinter a drink and stare at something just beyond her line of sight. It wasn't hard to figure out what had their rapt attention.

Not willing to walk into a potentially awkward situation Raine turned and retreated to Raph's bedroom. It hadn't changed too much since she had snuck in there months ago. There was still a ratty mattress on the floor and a hammock slung between the walls. A collection of boxes sat near the vent she had used as an entry point, which was now blocked. She smiled at the unnecessary precaution.

Raph's room didn't seem to have any noticeable rhyme or reason. He seemed to walk in and drop whatever was in his hand on the floor. If things get too messy even for him they would get scooped up and dumped in a box and stacked against the wall.

Ghost assessed the room and with her knowledge of Raphael's personality she deducted that Raphael would be very dangerous. He would use his anger to make him stronger. Anger would also make him sloppy and potentially unpredictable. Raph liked to get in close to use his sai. He wouldn't hesitate to do whatever he deemed suitable to take down his opponent.

Raine settled heavily into the hammock and laid back. She wasn't looking forward to the possible conclusions to her fights with Leonardo and Raphael but Ghost relished the challenge they would provide.

Raph eventually got away from his family, leaving Master Splinter happily humming about his stories and Leo and Don staring at the wall.

He found Raine resting in his hammock, watching the lights from the crystals dance on the ceiling. Her eyes were half closed as if she were just drifting off to sleep. He liked that she felt comfortable enough in his room to sleep. Somewhere in the bottom of his heart there was a desire to keep her there. If what Leo had said was true he was unlikely to ever find anyone else who looked at him the way she did. She made him feel strong and worthy, not that he would admit feeling that way to anyone or he would hand down a beating at the same time.

"Hey." He said from the doorway

She looked up. "Hey…They kept you busy down there."

Heat rushed to his face. "Sorry, they cornered me."

Raine laughed and patted the space next to her. Her smile lit up her face and Raph realised in that moment how screwed he was. He was in love with her.

So, what did you think? Please review, I really appreciate it

See you all again soon. Hopefully it won't take me another 6+ months to update again. Thank you for waiting for me :)

TammyCat