Disclaimer – Yes, I know, I've taken longer than I should have since my last update, but I ran out of steam for this story. Had to do 'other' things to give my muses a break. Can't say when this one will end, but soon, I hope. :0) I apologize for the short chapter, too. It was necessary to end it where it did. - Yes, it was necessary…bwahahahaha!
As before, I don't own anything at all in this story other than Beth. And the air-conditioning unit. Yeah, I own that for sure; I live in 'warm' California, where it's currently 49 degrees…oops, scratch that, I just checked the temperature for outside – it's 48 degrees, and falling. Someone hand me a sweater, will ya? (I wrote this at midnight, so the temps have warmed up a bit since then.)
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Chapter 38 – Shadow Jumping
Beth was nearly exhausted by the time she stepped onto the roof from the ladder. As she stood there and shook the strain from her legs and hands, she tried to catch her breath. Then she made a mistake…she turned around.
Moments earlier, she had courageously worked her way up the side of the building, with Leo following from below. Despite her trepidation about climbing the ladder, Beth had done quite well, especially with Leonardo's encouraging instructions. He kept telling her to keep focused on grabbing the next rung, "Don't look down, don't look left or right, just keep your eyes on the next rung, just keep climbing," he patiently insisted.
With his own assent swift and sure, he seemed to push her along, too, not giving Beth even a chance to pause. In the end, their quick work up the ladder effectively kept her from wondering how high up she really was.
However, once Beth had made it to the top, it was a different matter all together. After a moment and as Leo came up over the edge of the roof, Beth made the mistake of turning around. It was then when she caught sight of just how high they were.
In the next moment, she found herself on the tarpapered roof, practically hugging it and becoming horribly dizzy. It was then she felt the overwhelming sense of vertigo take hold of her.
Concerned he had pushed too hard, once he had cleared the latter, Leonardo leaped over to Beth's side. "BETH?" he asked worriedly. He took hold of her, now, grabbing her shoulders and lifting her up gently so the girl could sit vertical, "Are you all right?"
"Just…dizzy, sick…oh oh…I think I'm gonna…" and the next thing Beth did, she hurled her mostly-digested dinner, fortunately missing Leonardo but unfortunately not Mikey's feet.
"Ew, that's gross!" Mike complained, as he instinctively jumped away. He danced frantically as vomit sprinkled over his toes. Raphael, who had already moved aside before Beth launched her meal, chuckled, quite amused with his brother's fate. Still, despite enjoying Mikey's torment, Raph, too, was rather concerned for the girl, "Ya'll right, there, Beth?" he asked as he walked up to her.
"Nnnn…not sure….um… not feeling so good," she admitted weakly, swallowing and then taking a few deep breaths. She really wanted to lie down, to pass out, anything to forget where she was, but she noticed right away that the roof was rather dirty. Consequently, she continued to sit there, upright, and supported by Leonard's arm.
Taking care where he stepped, Donnie joined them and squatted next to the girl. He laid a comforting hand along Beth's back and opposite of where Leo's was, "Vertigo; fear of heights?"
"Yeah," Beth nodded numbly, "I'm not used to being up this high. I mean…" she gulped back the sour taste in her mouth, "I sort of stay away from the roof's edged whenever I stargaze at home. Found out the hard way I don't like heights," she looked up at her friends, now, and said sheepishly, "Usually after a moment, I can adjust, but…" she glanced over at the mess she had made, "first time I've ever gotten sick, though."
"Why didn't you say somethin' earlier?" Raph grumbled as he towered over her, his arms folded in front of him.
She looked up at the red-masked turtle and gave a half grin, "How else were you getting me home? Mike said you left your disguises back in the lair."
Raph sighed, "So, what now?"
Leo smiled at Beth and asked, "You feeling better?"
"Kind of…but…I'll feel better once I get away from the ledge," and so she scooted back a bit, making sure to avoid her 'deposit'. Donnie stood up and moved out of the way to give her room, while Leo followed her; afraid she would actually pass out on them.
As her stomach settled and she became more adjusted, Beth heard Mikey say, "Um, ledges are gonna be kind of hard to avoid, since…" but then Raph punched him lightly in the arm.
"Zip it, Mike, she already said heights make her sick."
"But, we can't get her home without…" another smack in the arm from Raph, "Hey, watch it, quit hitting me."
"Then quit yer talk'n, you're makin' things worse," Raph growled.
However, listening to Raphael and Mike quarrel caused Beth to suck in a worried breath. She looked up at Leo in concern and asked, "H-how am I getting home exactly?" She then glanced towards the long row of conjoined roofs and was certain they would take her back to her apartment by crossing over them. However, further along, maybe ten building from where she sat, she noticed an obvious break in their continuity. "H-how are we going to get to the other side of that street when we run out of rooftop?" Beth then glanced up at Leo, hoping he had a brighter idea than what she feared.
Leonardo tightened his arm around Beth's shoulder as he gave her a small reassuring smile. He simply said, "We jump."
A while later, Raphael was grumping, "Ya know, Fearless Leader, ya could have said 'we'll think of somethin' once we get there!" He then huffed, "But NO, you had to go and tell her, didn't ya?"
Leonardo jogged silently from behind, ignoring his brother's complaining as Raph led the way. Currently, Leo carried Beth's limp form in his arms. He knew that once she woke up, she would be disappointed she had passed out again. Still, it was probably better this way. Getting her home by rooftop would have taken much longer if she had balked every time they came to a break in their route. Between Donnie and him, they were able to carry Beth as they leapt between buildings over the occasional street.
Soon and before she had even stirred, they had Beth on the rooftop of her apartment, safe and sound.
Leo sat her down and allowed her to recline along the graveled surface. He cushioned her head with his hand as he stooped over her prone form. After a short time, Beth's eyes finally winked open. As she focused, she saw Leo's face taking up her entire field of vision and so she smiled weakly, "Guess I sort of zoned out again, huh?"
"Sort of, but…that's all right," Leo replied softly, "Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, actually, I am…so," she took a calming breath, "guess we'd better get going, huh?"
Leo smiled wider, "Don't have to."
"What?" Beth asked, somewhat confused, and then with a little help from Leo, she tried to sit up. "Hey," she exclaimed as she looked around, "This is…"
"The roof of your apartment, yes, I know," Leo remarked casually.
"But…um…how did I get here?" Beth was thoroughly confused.
Raphael walked over and stood next to her, a smug look on his face. Nodding towards Leo, he explained, "Your boyfriend here carried ya," He smirked at Leo's reddening expression and then Raph inclined his head towards the door leading down to the apartments below, "Now, I think we need ta get 'er inside, 'fore someone looks out their winda'."
Donne laughed, "Raph, there aren't any buildings nearby taller than these apartments, so there aren't any…"
"Figure of speech, Brainiac!" and the red-banded turtle marched across the roof and over to the door in question. It was unlocked as always and so he easily opened it. He now held the door open, swinging one arm towards its gaping maw in invitation, "First one in gets to pick the lock!"
"Ooo, that'd be me!" Mike chirped and clapped eagerly, then hurried on inside the building, making his way silently down the steps.
Donnie laughed and shook his head, as he followed his youngest brother's path. Walking past Raphael, he slapped him lightly on the shoulder, "Didn't know you were a gentleman, Raphael. Thanks for opening the door for us."
Raph growled, "I'm not, just didn't know if you had the intelligence to find it."
Donnie laughed and as he slipped into the stairwell, he replied with a chuckle, "You wish."
Leo helped Beth up to her feet. Making sure she wouldn't topple over, the blue-banded turtle guided her towards the door, his hand lightly gripping her arm. "I think once you get settled, I'll make you a cup of tea. You have tea bags?" he asked her.
"Yeah, but it's the flavored kind, none of that Earl Gray stuff. I like vanilla caramel!"
Leo did his best not to let Beth see his grimace, but – Raphael saw it, "Mmm, sounds yummy, doesn't it Leo? I think we're all gonna have ta have some of that!" He snickered as he saw his brother give him a challenging glare, just before disappearing inside the dark recess of the stairwell. Raphael turned sharply to follow likewise through the opening, but he hesitated for just a moment and turned. As he scanned the area once, just as a precaution, he studied the shadows across the alleyway where they had initially seen Beth. Then, he snorted once and followed his brothers inside, closing the door softly behind him, and leaving the rooftop vacant once again.
Across the street and hidden among the shadows, a lone figure waited, watching. He had seen the 'party' arrive on the rooftop across from him. But his interest had been on Beth, not her friends.
At first, he was worried about the girl, with the way one of them was carrying her. Then, after a moment, when she finally sat up and then stood, the shadowed figure seemed greatly relieved. He continued to wait, though, to see what the others would do. He was patient. He knew he had to make sure that before he made his move, the others wouldn't be around. How long that would be was just a guess, of course. However, if they stuck to their normal way of doing things, he knew they would make sure they had the girl settled in first before leaving, unless one of them had become smitten with her.
What he remembered of the girl, what little he could recall, she had been quite attractive years earlier. He smiled and knew that if she had recovered sufficiently, it was certain one of them would have felt Cupid's arrow.
Maybe even the one who carried her?
Nevertheless, he had already waited a couple of days and could wait a couple more hours, if need be. At least he now knew where the girl had been.
In any event, he remained where he was, sitting deep within the air conditioning unit's shadow, and waited.