a/n: Thanks to vampirelover14, The Silent Hunter, Diana Fay, Britney101, GracefulWolvesInTheNight, and Star Tweak for all reviewing the last chapter! This one will be a little less harrowing, but I hope you all still enjoy it!

standard disclaimer applies

The members of the Hamato family were scattered around the lair by morning. Michelangelo had fallen asleep on the couch, an arm and a leg hanging off the was at the kitchen table snoozing on his arm, a half eaten sandwich in front of him. His fingers were caked in black grease, his goggles had left an outline on the skin of his face; a testament to what he had been doing all night. In the dojo, Splinter had been meditating the night away. Juno was in Raphael's room, asleep in his hammock. And then there was Leonardo.

Leonardo was in the med bay. Plagued by his guilt...he hadn't slept at all.

Juno awoke before the other two brothers did, and silently made her way towards the med bay. She needed to check on Raphael's bandages, and make sure that his bullet wounds weren't infected. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Leo sitting by his wounded brother.

"Morning, Leo," she said softly.

Leonardo looked up, dark circles under his eyes. "Hi Juno."

"You should get some sleep. You look horrible." Juno patted him on the shoulder. He didn't move as she went around the other side of the bed.

Systematically, Juno checked Raphael's wounds for infection, and changed his bandages. She also switched the iv drip bag, as it was getting close to empty. She was so absorbed in what she was doing, she almost didn't hear Leo whisper.

"I did this."

"Sorry, Leo, did you say something?"

"I...nevermind." Leo looked down at the floor. How am I going to tell her? How do I tell her that the one she cares about his hurt and it's because of me?

"Hey, Leo. Come on. Let's get you to bed." Juno all but hauled Leonardo to his feet, and walked him out of the med bay. "Even for an hour or two," she told him as she walked him slowly to his room.

When Juno returned to the medical bay, Donatello was there. He was hooking up some sort of machine to his brother.

"Oh, hey Juno! I fiddled with this diagnostics machine I made for the Battle Shell, and modified it to work on Raph here. I'm just hooking it up now. But once I'm done, we'll be able to monitor his vitals from here," he said cheerily.

Unfazed by his peppy attitude, Juno huffed out a laugh. "Good morning, Donnie. You are...crazy...a crazy genius. You did this last night?"

"Uh, yeah! I wanted to help out, so I did what I could. I got hungry after a couple of hours though, so I made myself a sandwich, but I ended up falling asleep before I finished it."

Juno rolled her head slightly. "That explains your position in the kitchen this morning. Hey, I just changed all of his bandages and switched his iv bag. I'm gonna get ready for work. You gonna take care of him?"

Donatello looked up and smiled. "Of course, Juno."

It took a lot of persuasion, but Juno actually did it. She forced April to let her stay at work. Donatello had apparently filled Casey and April in on the events of the previous night, and as a result, April called the store, intent on getting Juno to go home. However, Raph was resting, and with only four days until Christmas, Juno thought it would be a good thing for 2nd Time Around to be open for business. In fact, she had already made over $300 in sales, and it was only noon! Juno had left specific instructions for Donatello and really wasn't too worried. Actually, she felt she needed to get out of the lair. Seeing Raphael unconscious like that made her want to rage. In any case, Juno had seen and experienced far worse in the war back home. ...But still... there was a nagging feeling in her gut. Leo...were you looking out or Raph? Or was this deliberate? Trying to shake the thoughts out of her head, she concentrated on her work. ...But he seemed so remorseful...

"Damnit, Juno! Stop thinking about it...!" she yelled at herself just as the door opened.

"Juno? You here? April said you were in today. I heard about Raph!"

"Casey!"

At the sight of her friend, Juno dropped the small glass antique she had been polishing.

"Hey girl, you okay?" asked Casey, hugging her.

"Mm-hm." Juno pulled away and looked Casey. "You should go and visit."

"I'm on my way, but I thought I'd see you first. What happened?" Casey leaned on the counter and crossed his arms. He shook his head and looked down at the floor. "I mean, this is *Raph* we're talking about here. He don't go down easy."

"Yeah, tell me about it. He was in bad shape when I got to him. He fell from the rafters at the Renegades' drug warehouse. He lost his grip after being shot-"

"Shot?" Growling, Casey smacked a fist into his palm. "Those motherfuckers are gonna pay!"

"Easy, Casey," said Juno calming him down.

"You know, you should be down there too, he's your boyfriend."

Juno blushed. "...Yeah, I guess he is, isn't he?"

"You guess! Oh girl, he is head over heels for you! Talks about you all the time," Casey waved his hands about.

"Really?" asked a wide-eyed Juno.

"Okay get this. You hate pork chops, olives, capers, you love Hawaiian pizza, fries, all sorts'o junk food, your favourite animal is a whale, you're ticklish around your sides, you got a lock'o hair that always falls over your eyes that he loves to tuck back behind your ear-"

"Annnd I gotta tell him to stop sharing!" Juno exclaimed, genuinely surprised. She had no idea he talked about her so much.

"Well, my point is the guy really likes you, Juno. And I think you're good for him. He's really mellowed out."

"Yeah, everyone keeps saying that." Juno looked around at the empty store and then at Casey who had a look on his face. The kind of look that told her he wasn't going to leave without her. "Okay then. I guess I can close up shop." Juno smiled as she flicked the switch on the 'Open' sign to the off position. She stopped when a thought crossed her mind. Turning to face Casey, she narrowed her eyes and asked, "April put you up to this, didn't she?"

Casey threw his hands up in the air. "You got me there, Juno." He grinned as Juno just shook her head.

Back in the turtles' lair, Raphael was still asleep. Leonardo sat vigil beside him, his guilt slowly eating at his insides. This is all my fault, Raph...Dammit! If I wasn't so totally caught up in my own thoughts, this would never have happened. You deserve Juno, not me. She never even thought of me in that way, so...it's not like I lost anything...Oh Raph...how am I ever going to tell you? What kind of leader, what kind of *brother* am I? I- Leo's thoughts were interrupted as the door creaked open slightly.

"Juno!" Leo brightened a bit. He looked down at his brother again. "He hasn't woken up yet..."

Juno came close and put a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Don't worry, Leo. I'm sure he'll be-"

"...Hey...There's my girrll...annd my besst brroo..."

"Raph!" Leo and Juno both exclaimed. Juno immediately took one of his hands in her own, and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Man...I feel like I've been fucked over...by a truck..."

"You were shot, Raph," Leo looked down at the floor. "You fell from the rafters."

"Yeah...I remem-ember...My leg?"

"It'll be okay, Raph. I set it and splinted it. You'll be good as new...I promise," Juno smiled.

"Thanks, Juno. I owe you."

"No you don't." Tears began to well up in her eyes, and she brushed them off. "I'm just happy you're okay."

Leonardo shifted uncomfortably. He didn't know what to say. Juno really cared for Raphael, he could see that. And it wasn't hard to tell how Raph felt. The most irrational of them was never good at hiding his feelings. And in the past months, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, Raphael had changed. He wasn't so angry all the time anymore. Sure, they still fought, but nowhere near the same amount as before.

"See? I told you, I told you!" Mikey sang as the door burst open. He ran towards the bed. "He's awake! I heard his voice!"

Donatello followed closely behind his brother as they bounded towards the bed.

"Raph! Raph how do you feel? Are you okay? Does it hurt much? Are you hungry? Do you need any help? Do you-" Mikey was cut off suddenly as Juno covered his mouth with her hand.

"Heh. Thanks, Juno. My ears were on the verge of bleeding." Raphael smiled at his younger brother. "I'm...okay, Mikey. I'm okay." Michelangelo had bent over in a hug, wrapping his arms around his older brother as best he could. Raph hugged back as much as was comfortable. When Mikey finally pulled away, there were tears in his eyes.

"I'm just glad Juno was here to help out." Donatello smiled and stepped forward to pat Raphael's head.

Raphael looked over to his left, at the IV drip. "What is this thing anyway? And why's it attached to my arm?"

"Drugs." Juno fiddled with the bag for a sec. "You're not in a lot of pain, are you Raph?"

Raphael slowly shook his head. "Not a lot. But...yeah, my leg throbs the most. And did I mention I feel like I got fucked over by a truck?"

The door creaked open and everyone looked to find Splinter standing in the doorway. He walked slowly over to Raphael, everyone making room for him. "My son," he said, laying a hand on Raphael's arm. "It is good to see you awake."

Afterwards, when Raphael had fallen back asleep, the remaining brothers, Splinter and Juno sat in the kitchen. Mikey was keeping himself busy, washing dishes. The quiet was broken when Leonardo slammed his fist onto the table.

"Arrgh...this is all my fault! I should've seen that guy a mile away!"

Splinter put a hand on his sons back. "Do not blame yourself for what has transpired my son. Only let us look forward and help Raphael on his road to recovery."

Clearly exasperated with himself, Leonardo slumped in his chair. "But...I'm the leader, sensei. I'm the one in charge. If I hadn't...hadn't..." You failed your brothers, Leo. You failed Raphael. He thought.

"Come on, Leo. Father's right. No sense beating yourself up. Raph'll pull through, you'll see," Donatello tried his hand at comforting Leo.

"I just...I just need to be alone for a while..." Leonardo got up from the table and walked out.

Juno wanted to know what he was going to say. If you hadn't what, Leo? She wanted to walk after him and find out what had really happened. But instead, she stayed where she was.

"You alright, Juno?" asked Mikey, wiping his hands dry with a dish towel.

"Huh? Yeah, Mike. I'm just...shocked is all."

"We all are, Juno. I mean, no one wants to come out and say it, but we're all mortal here. Anything could happen to any one of us any day. We've just been lucky so far."

Juno looked at Donatello. He sure had a way with words sometimes. "I don't know if luck has anything to do with it, Donnie. But I think maybe those guys who did this...they had better lay low for a while."

And with that cryptic remark, Juno got up from the table and left as well, leaving Donnie and Mikey wondering what she meant.

Juno stepped out into the cool night air. She was itching for a beating. More specifically, she was itching to dish out a beating. Instead, she found herself on April's fire escape. She tapped lightly on the window.

Inside, April was wrapping up boxes of Lucky Charms cereal for Raphael's Christmas present. It was no secret the large turtle loved to eat cereal. She stopped when she heard tapping coming from her fire escape window. Juno... Quickly walking over, she called out, "It's open, Juno!"

Juno opened the window and jumped in. April stopped in her tracks as she saw her face.

"Oh, Juno...Hey, it'll be okay. Come on...come here," April soothed as the distraught Juno flew into her arms.

"April...I just...I just want to beat the shit out of something!" Juno hugged her friend tightly.

April pulled back and smiled. "Well...Casey gets home soon. You could always beat him up!" At Juno's giggle, April hugged her again. "And I don't want you going to work until after Christmas and New-Years. You should be with Raph while he gets better. Don't worry, I'll pay you your holiday pay!"

"Holiday pay? What's that?" Juno looked confused.

"Money you get paid out for while on holiday."

"You mean...I don't work, but I still get paid?"

April smiled and nodded. "Yup! Pretty good deal, huh?"

"By the way, what's with all the cereal?"

"Raph's favourite, food, of course!" April exclaimed, smiling.

"Oh yeah...I always forget because he never actually eats it for breakfast. Lunch...Dinner...snacks...yes...but breakfast?" Juno shook her head.

April put her hand on top of Juno's. "Help me wrap?"

Juno smiled. "I knew I'd feel better if I came here."

The evening passed by quickly for the two girls, as they continued to chatter and wrap presents. It was only when Casey finally arrived home that Juno took her leave.

Entering the lair quietly, Juno tip-toed towards the medical bay, where Raphael was. She didn't want to wake him up. However, when she opened the door, she found him already awake, fiddling with the tubes in his arm.

"Hey, don't touch those, Raph!" she said as loud as she dared. "You'll knock them out of your arm and then I'll have to put them back in!"

Raphael didn't seem to hear her. "They itch. Gotta get 'em out so's I can scratch."

"Raph!" Juno yelled, swatting his hand away. "You need those! One's morphine, and the other is food!"

"I don't see any pizza in that bag, and I'm tellin' ya babe, it *itches*!" Raphael said, scrunching up his face.

Sighing, Juno kissed him on the forehead. "You're really cute when you're stubborn." She sat on the chair that was beside his bed.

"Yeah? Well, cute Raphie wants these tubes outta his arm." Raphael grinned a cheesy grin, trying to play on Juno's sympathy.

"Cute Raphie can kiss my ass! ...Just until tomorrow, okay? Then you can eat whatever you want and you can have the tubes out of your arm."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise." Juno smiled and leaned in for a kiss. She laid her head on Raphael's shoulder, and slung her arm over him. "I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered.

"Me too. I didn't even know what was happening. Everything just hurt. I barely even remember how I got here. Leo did real good, keeping my brothers in line so's they could get me back here."

Juno was silent for a moment. That's right...he wouldn't know how he got here, would he? Should I tell him?

Raphael could feel Juno tense for a moment. "What is it, babe?"

"It wasn't Leo."

"What?"

"It was Don. It was Don who called me and told me how to get to you guys. Leo was...he was in bad shape."

"Woah. Okay. I guess Leo was all rattled what with me bein' so busted, eh?"

Juno sat herself back up and looked wistfully at Raphael. "Yeah, I guess he was." After another moment of silence, Juno shifted her chair closer to Raph's bed and leaned towards him again. She nestled her head in the crook of his neck and draped her arm over him. Lazily, she traced her fingers along his shoulder, neck, and face.

Raph closed his eyes. "You gonna stay with me, Juno?"

"Mm-hm."

Careful not to move his injured leg, Raphael inched as close to the far edge of the bed as he could. Confused as to why Raphael was moving away, Juno sat up again. She was about to say something when she noticed he had made enough room for her beside him. He raised an eye ridge in a silent question. Blushing, Juno nodded and smiled. Gingerly, she got up onto the bed. Hurting Raphael was the last thing she wanted to do. She settled in close and was surprised when he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her even closer.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?" he asked, his voice almost too low to hear.

"No, Raph. What about you, though? You're all bandaged and broken. What if I accidentally hurt you?"

"You could never hurt me, Juno," he replied, his voice fading out.

"What does that mean?" Juno asked. Raphael didn't answer. "Raph?" Silence. She realized his breathing had levelled out. He was asleep. "Goodnight, big guy," she whispered before closing her eyes.

a/n: Well, there you have a nice, serene chapter. =) But don't worry...Leo's dams will break and he will confess...who knows? Maybe next chapter!