D isclaimer: I do not own TMNT, Or the characters (Oh do I wish!). I own is the plot and my OC Violet.

Author's notes: Sorry its been a while xx

She hung up, instantly blocking the number. She looked up at Raph who watched her with concern. "You still willing to teach me? I'd like to take you up on that offer..."

"We talked about this Vie, keep ya stance..." Raph repositioned her, moving her arms and kicking her legs a bit farther apart. "I can't move on ta teachin' ya more or weapons if ya can't remember ya stance. We aren't gunna move on till hand ta hand is imprinted on ya brain. Till it's muscle memory." He walked back a few feet getting into position himself.

He hadn't asked her why she had suddenly changed her mind about learning. He knew it had to do with the phone call she'd received but not the specifics, he was just glad that they were back on speaking terms. Obviously, they had waited until she had recovered significantly before starting her training. So now here they were, just under a month into it and he had to say she was doing pretty well. It had been a little difficult to start with, it being a little awkward and having to get comfortable around each other again. Plus sorting out a schedule between Violets jobs and his patrols hadn't been easy. At least his family had started acting normal around him again, they were probably just happy he was back to training and doing his patrols again. They didn't have a proper training ground for Violet or him. Having tried her apartment, but it was too small and had gotten a bit messy at times. They had soon move to the roof, which had turned out to be a much better decision. They could use this area day or night and people were less likely to hear or see them.

Raph suddenly lunged at her, catching her off guard. "Keep ya arms up Violet!" He yelled. She managed to block him just in time. "Aim for tha weak parts! Pressure points, joints! Go for tha joints!" He kept pushing her back, eventually he grabbed her arms and cross them so that she couldn't fight. "What do ya do?" She stilled, thinking.

"Try to draw attention to myself. Get help if I can?" She recited. "Try to scream or thrash. If that doesn't work, drop. If my attacker isn't expecting to take my weight, I have a chance to stun them and get free."

"What's tha next step?" Once she got better at fighting then hopefully she wouldn't need to draw attention, he hoped that she could deal with them herself.

"Try to grab hold of one of their fingers, preferably an index or middle one. Push it back till they let go. If they don't, go for the ears, eye or nose. If they are behind me, I'll need to feel for them and pull or scratch as hard as I can. Hopefully they'll get distracted by the pain and let me go. Or I can force the heel of my foot down their shin and go for the feet."

"Good. Now ya free, what next?" He said stepping away from her.

"Aim for the throat. Hit hard. Don't hesitate."

"Remember-"

"-it's a kill shot" She nodded. "I know."

Raph grinned. "Ya gettin' good. I'm gunna 'ave ta up tha heat a little now tha ya know tha basics so well."

She smirked. "Good. I was starting to get bored with you going easy on me." She winked at him to which he just rolled her eyes. Violet looked at her watch "Don't you have to get going for patrol soon?"

"Yeah..." He sighed. "Ta'night I'm with Leo... Can't wait..."

"Aw I'm sure bashing some guys heads in are bound to distract you from him in no time."

He smirked. "Ya sure know how ta lighten tha mood don't ya."

"Anddd Batman's back in business." She laughed. "Go on, be off with you. I have to get ready for work tonight. I'll see you later tough love."

"Maybe I'll stop by an' see ya."

"I'm sure your fearless leader will sure have something to say about that."

"He doesn't have to know..." Raph grinned.

"Shoo, be gone with you and use those sweet ninja skills to save some poor damsel."

He laughed and waved before leaving to meet Leo. She watched him disappear over the rooves before making her way down to the apartment. It always amused her how he could move from building to building so easily.

Violet stretched heavily, walking into the bathroom to prepare a hot bath. She loved her bath, like the shower it was huge, you literally fit a bull elephant in it. Her apartment may only have four rooms, but they weren't exactly small room. She undressed and sank into the hot water, loving how it licked at her skin. A bedroom, bathroom, walk in wardrobe and open kitchen and living room was all she needed. Yes, four rooms were plenty.

She got to work cleaning her skin and hair, making sure every inch of her was washed before getting out and wrapping a towel around herself. She walked over to the sink to take a closer look at her appearance in the mirror wall.

Her thick black hair was loose, reaching to the middle of her back. Soft pale skin made the dark bruises on her shoulders and arms stand out. She smiled, tracing her fingers over them. She could also see some on her legs where her towel stopped mid-thigh. These were probably the first time she was happy about gaining bruises. The fact that they were from Raph may have helped, but also because they were lessons, reminders. The first couple of times he had managed to land heavy blows on her, but she had quickly learnt. He had been surprised, she had chuckled at that. Of course, he still managed to hit her, just not as often or as hard. Her blocking was getting better, at the moment he was only teaching her defence. She didn't mind, she knew he would teach her more when she was ready. She liked to joke about him going easy on her, but he didn't and she appreciated that. She made sure to get her point across to not hold back with her and that she could take anything he threw her way.

Violet ran her fingers through her hair, brushing it out of her face before leaving the bathroom in search of clothing. A knocking at the window stopped her from walking into her wardrobe. Did Raph forget his T-phone again? Last time he realised when he got back to the lair and had to come back for it. He was worried Leo would get Donnie to trace it.

"You should know by now you don't have to knock. Just get your ass in here already."

She shook her head before stepping into her wardrobe to look for clothes, hearing the window open slowly. She tossed a few sets onto the bed, different ones that she'd take to the club with her. Plus, a navy-blue jacket and jogger tracksuit to wear before she got there. Taking off her towel, she slipped into a matching pair of lacy black lingerie before walking out to do her make up. She blinked, stopping dead in her tracks.

"Mikey!?" He stood there staring at her with his mouth hanging open. "Why are you here? How did you find me? Is everything okay?"

He shook his head and cleared his throat, green skin unable to hide the slight blush on his cheeks. "S-sorry! I- ah, needed to talk to you about something dudette. As for how I found you, well I followed Raph one night. Let me tell you, it was not easy."

She couldn't help it, she chuckled at his slightly flustered state and rosy cheeks. "It's fine Mikey, can I offer you a drink or something?"

"Nah I'm good thanks!"

"Okay, well, you came whilst I was getting ready for work. I'm sorry, but if you want to talk then you'll have to do it whilst I'm doing other things."

"Oh right! Sure! Yeah, my bad." He smiled at her.

She nodded and turned to sit down at a large desk with a mirror. She caught him staring at her in the reflection, Violet sighed knowing he was staring at the scars and bruises covering her frame. She reached for her make up and started covering up the marks on her skin.

"You had something you wanted to talk about?"

He jumped embarrassed. "Ah- yes..." He cleared his throat. "It's about Raph..."

She paused. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah- I mean physically... he's never been better." He scratched the back of his neck, trying to put his thoughts into words.

"Okay?" She slowly carried on with her task, rubbing the expensive make up onto her skin.

"He's- There's something going on with him. When you..." He thought about the next words carefully. "When you went to hospital, he closed himself off... Shut himself in during the day, disappeared at night to come here even though you weren't. He refused to train or talk or go on patrol. We had never seen him so... withdrawn... it scared us Violet. Then you came back... I don't mean that in a bad way!" He was quick to say. "It's just, it's gone completely the other way now. Trains every spare second in the lair, volunteers for patrol, even with Leo. He still disappears, presumably to see you, but he's constantly pushing himself. He's taking on too much. He loses control of himself when he's fighting or protecting the streets, he goes overboard and he's getting himself into a lot more situations where he ends up hurt. I'm not saying that he normally thinks beforehand, it's not his style. However, he hasn't been this reckless since we first started coming up topside. It's almost like-"

"Like he's punishing himself." Violet finished.

Mikey nodded as she ran a hand over her face tiredly. She hadn't realised, he had shown no signs of anything on his mind these past few weeks since she had gotten back. Of course he had hidden the feelings from her. He had spent most of his life hiding from people, he could easily hide what he had been feeling. This was her fault, all of it. Raph was distancing himself from his family because of their friendship, that had never been her intention. He was confused and blaming himself, that much was clear. She should have been more open with him, she should have confided in him and told him about her past. If she had then maybe he would understand her reasons and realise that it wasn't his fault she'd done what she did. She had held back because she hadn't wanted to risk losing the friendship that they had created. But in doing so, she was damaging the bond his family shared. She was pulling a family apart and she knew just how much a family needed each other. Violet shook her head, how could she have been so selfish.

"What do you need me to do?" She closed her eyes and bowed her head as guild clawed at her. She needed to put it right.

"I came to you Violet, not because I blame you, I don't. I came because I know that Raphael will listen to you. I was hoping that you could talk some sense into him, say something that will make him understand that we care and hate seeing him so upset. Even if he denies it."

She nodded. "He said he'd stop by later. I'll see what I can do Mikey." She stood up and threw on her track suit, her cab was probably outside. She would put on her facial make up at the club before performing. Shoving the rest of her clothes in a bag, she headed towards the door. "I'm sorry, I should have realised that I was making things difficult."

Mikey grinned, solemn expression leaving his face. "Nah dudette, your good for him. He's been a lot calmer until the recent thing. I think you ground him."

Violet smiled back at him. "You know Mikey, you're not what I expected nor are you the way Raph described you. I think you hide behind childlike behaviours to make others happy and to make them laugh. I understand the need to make sure that no one is sad but don't let that hide who you are. Don't make others think of you as dumb or stupid. If you spend your life trying to make others happy, then when do you have time for your own happiness? Be true to yourself, you can still make people smile by being you."

He blinked as her in surprise before laughing to hide his slight blush of embarrassment. "I can see when Raphie likes you. I will keep that in mind, thank you dudette. Hope to see you round sometime." With that he climbed out the window closing it behind him. Violet locked her door before heading down to her impatient taxi driver.

….

Girls, skin, sweat, alcohol. Violet just finished a routine on stage and her head was spinning. She stepped out into the cool air, her be breath coming out in short bursts, feeling slightly sick. Downing half a bottle of water, she ran a towel over the back of her neck.

Since she found Raphael in her apartment when she came back from hospital that night, she had been doing a lot better. Food wise anyway. She had cut down a lot on the alcohol, unfortunately for her that meant that she was hungry more often and with Raph stopping by so much, he made sure that she was eating. It annoyed her but at the same time she was also kind of touched by it. Like she had told him, she wasn't used to people caring, she was glad to have him. Sure, she had Oliver, but he only cared about keeping her around long enough to get his money back off her.

She looked over to the darkness where Raph normally lurked. She squinted, trying to get her eyes to adjust. In the end she simply just held the water out, if he was there then he'd answer her unspoken question. He showed himself to her, stepping out of the darkness and reached for the offered water. Raph was always thirsty after when he went on patrol, probably due to all the running around. She took one look at his annoyed face and knew something was up.

"What's bothering you Batman?"

"Nothin'. Jus' with Leo ta'night."

"Oh..." She ran the towel over the back of her neck again, thinking back to her conversation with Mikey earlier. "Look Raph. I know he's your brother and gets on your nerves and all. But he's still your family." She looked up at the darkened sky in thought. Without realising, she spoke out loud. "I know I'd do anything to still have mine..." She clutched at both pairs of dog tags wrapped around her wrist.

"Ya had a brother?"

She looked startled. Looking at him she couldn't help but cave a little. She guessed he deserved to know a little about her after all he'd shared with her. So, she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah..." She smiled. "He would have liked you. My old man too... They were both Marines. My father... well he died when I was ten, it was an accident. My brother, Jackson, who was seven years older than me, joined a year later just after my mom got remarried. He always did want to be just like my old man."

Raph was surprised that she was finally sharing something personal with him. He didn't want to push it, but curiosity got the better of him. "Wha' happened?"

Sadness clouded her face as she looked down. "He was killed... protecting me from..." Her voice wavered. "...from the man who gave me these..." Arm shaking as she gestured to the gruesome scars that Raph knew littered her back.

"I'm so sorry for ya loss Vie..."

She swallowed, throwing on a fake smile which he immediately saw through. "It's fine. Was a long time ago. Six years actually."

It still hurt her, he could tell but he wouldn't say anything. She obviously didn't want to talk about it. Maybe she was right, was he taking his family for granted? He felt guilty about all the times he had complained to her about his brother. Maybe that's why she had never brought it up before? He knew she'd never want him to feel guilty towards her. That couldn't stop him though.

"Why are ya tellin' me this?"

She took a deep breath. "Because I need you to know that what happened before was not your fault. I know we haven't really talked about it and I appreciate that. But I've realised that by holding back I've put a strain on our friendship and in turn a strain on your relationship with your family."

"Hang o-"

She held up a shaky hand to silence him. "I know that you blame yourself Raph. Please don't try to deny it. You said it, I have a messed up past and you can't even begin to understand how right you are. I lost my Dad, I lost my brother, I lost my Mother and a few months ago I lost a friend, I lost Rose. It was a long time ago that I lost my family, but that doesn't mean that it hurts any less. The other day, all those wounds were ripped open again when I saw that man at the warehouse. That man, Richard Carn…" She held her breath trying to calm herself. "He was the one who did this to me…" She gestured to her back again, tremor coursing through her body. Raph took a step towards her but she put a hand on his chest, needing to get out what she had to say. She blinked away tears as she looked up at him. "Richard killed my brother, he's the reason that my mom is dead and scarred me for life in more ways than one. When I saw him, I lost it and relapsed. I was scared, no, I was terrified. I couldn't think, I just acted. Seeing him brought back so many memories that I wish I could forget. I felt trapped, that's why I did what I did, it wasn't you Raphael. You blaming yourself… It doesn't sit right with me. I never want to get in between a family. If I'm making things difficult then I need to know. Family is the strongest thing to have, trust me I know and I'm not going to let you throw that away for someone like me. If… if its going to cause trouble… then I'm sorry but I can't live with that…" A sob escaped her as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry Vie… Ya right, I was blaming myself and I'm glad ya decided ta talk to me 'bout some of ya past. I just wish I had been able ta be there for ya more. Ya aint causing trouble, I'm sorry I made ya feel tha' way. I didn' mean ta distance myself from my family and will try my best ta make it up ta them. Please don't worry 'bout that. We gotta focus on ya. Ya have been doin' so much better this past month Vie. I'm so glad tha' we are back on speaking terms an' I promise tha' I'll been there for ya from now on, okay?" He cupped the side of her face as she nodded.

"Thank you Raph…" She gave him a weak smile before wiping away her tears. "I have to go back in now and finish my shift. I'll see ya soon Tough Love."

He watched her walk back inside. "I know it was ya." He turned to look up at the roof. "Ya happy now… Mikey…"

Dun dun daaaaa! Thank you for your support guys! Its another chapter done. Some of violets past has finally come to light, what else is she hiding…