I literally have no excuse on why this took so long. Burnout? Not writer's block as I have this story planned, but I got less into writing and then, of course, 2020 happened.

Also I've noticed, after rereading this story, that I call the turtles 'the Hamato brothers' even though in the movies that ain't their surnames because they don't have one. I do that because it's one of the easier ways to write them as a whole, instead of using 'turtles' and 'the brothers' over and over again or even writing their names out at length. Need to shake it up a lil. So to simplify it they aren't Hamatos in this story (...yet) I just use it to refer to all of them.

Now onto the chapter; where I remember the boys totally have PTSD.

The shocking revelation left a warm, comforting chill travel down Leo's shell for days afterwards. He began to look at his new friend in a much different light then before, but most of his looks were of awe and surprise that made her feel confused. She didn't feel as loved by friends and family-suffering from 'middle child' syndrome would do that to people-so the obvious increase in affection was very much appreciated.

Leonardo sat on the floor of the dojo, shell to the wall, watching a sweaty Sophie throw a punch at a bag. He noticed the new clothing she had donned herself with; April must have bought her yoga shorts and sports bras once she realized why the same pieces of clothing appeared in every single wash she did.

Her knuckles had been wrapped by Raph after he had brought his punching bag in from his make-shift gym and he noticed that they had to be changed again. His whistle caught her attention and she smiled at him, halting her throws.

"Yes?" she asked with an amused smile.

He got up from the floor and grabbed the tape. "They look like they're about to fall off."

She looked down at her knuckles then back up at him. "Means I'm doing a good job."

"You are," he nodded in the direction of the still swinging bag as she began to take the tape off her hands. "You're strong enough to move it now; before you got tired just by lifting your arm."

She laughed and the noise made him feel pressure against his heart. Is this what a heart attack was?

"Correct, correct. Wanna wrap them on? Raph told me I was so bad I shouldn't pursue a career in nursing," not like she was going to; she thinks she has a tough stomach but not a good enough one to see that all day.

Leo smirked, the scar on the corner of his mouth stretching. "Well, NOW I want to see you try."

She froze, blinking at him but when he didn't go on to say it had been a joke she sighed, taking the tape from his outstretched hand and clumsily beginning to re-wrap her knuckles. Leo's constant helpful inputs did not help her as she did so.

"No, hold it here-"

"Then how am I going to wrap it?!"

"Raph was right - you are bad."

"Hahaha, fuck off."

Finally fed up Leo took her hands and gently fixed the tape; he was so focused on his work he missed her soft look, although he felt it and he felt so lucky that whenever he or his brothers blushed it wasn't as obvious as when a human did. Once his work was done he gently held her hands, inspecting his work, noticing just how soft her skin was under his fingers. He caught the smell of fruit scented hand wash, a combination of peach and citrus, and it smelled delightful. He looked up.

"I never thanked you," she said, shocking him out of his thoughts.

"About what?"

"Rescuing me," she gave a soft smile. "From those thugs last year."

"You did. You bought me that book."

She shook her head. "That was a Christmas present."

"Yet I remember you left a post-it note on the book, thanking me." he gave a smug smile, "I have evidence; I still have it."

"The note?" Sophie blinked, "You kept it?"

The smile left his face immediately at her words. Leo looked down at the floor, sheepishly. "Of course."

"Why?"

Leo let go of the hand he realised he had been still holding to place it on the back of his neck, massaging the muscles there. If he saw the disappointed look in her eyes, he didn't say a word. "No one's ever been kind enough to thank me for...anything."

"Really?" the shock on her face was almost laughable. "Anything?"

He nodded and she looked at him sadly; never with pity. She would never make someone feel small, at least, not on purpose. Right now he didn't feel that itch to flee or to snap at her to stop looking at him like he was broken.

"Leonardo!"

His father's voice suddenly appearing from the door to the dojo caused the two of them to jump back as if the two of them were just splashed with ice cold water. Heads swivelling to the double doors revealed Master Splinter and Donatello, who had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face and was failing to hide it. Leo frowned at him but quickly looked back at his father.

"Yes, Sensei?"

"Good, you're here. Have you informed Miss Ahrens on her new training regime?" he began to walk to both of them, tail swishing behind him. Donnie followed behind him, holding a clothed object.

"No, not yet." he replied, ignoring Sophie's confused look in his direction.

"Then we'll do it together, hmm?" Splinter turned his gaze to his female pupil, smiling kindly. "You have been training extremely hard Miss Ahrens, and in normal circumstances I would not be giving you a weapon until a few years has passed in your training, but this is a different time."

He nodded in Donnie's direction and he stepped forward. Both Leo and Sophie's eyes focused on the clothed object in his hands; it was obvious is was some sort of weapon and from what they could tell it was bo-shaped.

"Do you know what a Onna-bugeisha is, Miss Ahrens?"

"No, Sensei."

"They are female warriors of Japanese nobility, who engaged in battle alongside samurai men, mainly in times of need. They were members of the bushi - the samurai - class in feudal Japan and were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honor in times of war. A naginata, along with a futokoro-gatana or a kaiken as they were called during their time, was one of their signature weapons. Typically they would have been taught tantojitsu alongside it but I unfortunately cannot teach you that art as I am unfamiliar with it myself, but I am sure there is someone out there that will mentor you in due time."

He turned to Donnie and took the naginata, unwrapping the cloth surrounding it and holding it out towards her. It was beautiful; the blade was covered in a sheath, and so it could be used as a bo if needed. The blade could also be detached which explains why Leo was here, but it was obvious to them that Donnie would be teaching her from this point on.

"But I think; this weapon and it's significance fits you nicely."

Sophie took it gingerly; a few months ago she would have struggled to hold it up, now it felt like she was holding up two cartons of milk. She took in it's feel, it's shape, and felt a quick connection to it; this was definitely her weapon. She smiled a pearly white grin, making Splinter smile in return. Leo felt his heart pound against his chest faster as he took in her joy.

Donnie, however, watched his brother with amusement; it was both humorous and sad for the younger turtles to watch their brother be so obviously smitten with a human. Mikey's crush on April was at least puppy love, and it became quick to the boys that he just flirted with any woman he met.

Leo, however, was much more hard to crack, and this was not like any other time one of them had formed an attachment to someone, real or otherwise. Sophie was their age, a good friend and companion, but more importantly she was a human, with thousands of options out there to fall in love and settle down with. Leo could not provide her with what all humans needed, and so they knew it would not end well.

"Donatello and Leonardo will be your teachers from now on, but that doesn't mean I am not your Sensei," Splinter said. "I still expect to see you for training in the dojo every morning, Miss Ahrens, to warm up and learn how to work as a team."

Sophie bowed her head. "Hai, Sensei."

"If you have the time, you can start the basics now." he said, looking at his two sons. "Of course, if that's suitable for you both?"

They both bowed their heads. "Hai, Sensei."

"Wonderful," Splinter smiled, "I will leave you all too it."

The three watched as he left the dojo, humming as he did so. Leonardo then looked at her and smiled; from now on he (and Donatello) would be her teachers, Sensei's technically. She would be his first student, because apparently to his brothers they didn't count.

Donnie fiddled with his glasses. "Should we start with some stretching?"

Leo smiled. "Good idea, Don."

With a nod Sophie clapped her hands together and bowed at Donnie, "Hai, Sensei."

Donnie blushed, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. Leo chuckled, "You can put the naginata to the side, Sophie."

She nodded and did as he suggested before jogging to join them as they began to warm up; in the past few months of training she had became better at exercise and so she easily was able to keep up with them. At one point she was so certain that she saw Leo look at her ass, but when she went to catch him in the act he seemed to know what she was planning to do before she could.

It made her smirk; but it also infuriated and delighted her.

Sophie didn't feel like someone who could be ogled or desired by anyone; not even the turtle with their muscles that belong on a magazine cover. Donnie, on the other hand, noticed both Leo and Sophie's looks and unlike Mikey and Raph, chose not to say anything for all of their sakes.

But then it got worse.

The two brothers decided to teach her about the katana first, as Leo found it to be easier than the bo staff; oh, if Donnie had his phone on him when he was admitting that he would have pulled it out and made him say it twice over; one to show the brothers and one for his voicemail. In Leo's head; the spins and tricks used to even maneuverer a bo was something not for amateurs - Sophie huffed at the word to describe her, but agreed nonetheless.

"Okay, when you are using a katana keep both of your hands on the handle - you won't need to use it singlehandly like I do," he was standing behind her, hands encompassing her own she could hardly see them. "So there is no reason that one should be off it when you're using the blade."

She nodded, feeling her hair brush against his chin. It was ironic that she was the perfect size to tuck her head underneath his own, almost like the two were spooning. It made Donnie sick.

Leo raised his arms to the side, hers involuntarily following before he slashed it down in front of her and to the other side of her. He did it a few more times, "Did you get that? Sophie, your feet."

She felt his foot nudge them apart again and she felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment. "Sorry, Sensei," she mumbled. It was a good thing she wasn't facing him, or she would have seen the look on his face at her words, eyes wide and a stirring in his groin which was very familiar to him. Donnie, however, did.

"Oh good god," he mumbled, hiding his face behind his hands. He did not want to know one of Leo's kinks!

Leo left go of her and took a step back, eyes wide as his own cheeks burned - but not in embarrassment, more barely contained lust. What? He was a teenager unexperienced in the throes of love (not that he would ever know that, because he's as oblivious as his obvious crush) and you couldn't expect him to be able to keep it at bay yet. It was not something he had planned for, because if he had, he would have trained himself to control his basic urges.

"Leo?! Donnie?!"

All three jumped nearly a foot in the air; the turtles hurried for their weapons. Sophie was left to jump into a fighting position, fists ready, fully prepared to fight and defend herself and the boys as much as she can. It took her a few seconds to realise she knew the voice and the pit in her stomach deepened; had Marsh found them?

Raph threw open the door of the dojo, eyes wide with sheer panic. When Sophie couldn't hear any commotion behind him she relaxed, confusion taking over her features.

"Woah, Raph! What's wrong?"

The terrapin's eyes darted from Leo to Donnie, and once he realised they were there in the dojo his whole body seemed to relax, but he also seemed to become bashful, fiddling with his fingers as if he was knitting one of his scarves. She tilted her head to the side, an eyebrow raised.

"N-...Nothing," then Raph did something she had never saw him do before; he diverted his gaze. "I'll catch you later."

Sophie noticed Mikey hovering behind him, nervously hopping from foot to foot, and he seemed to nervously relax when he peered in and saw his brothers. The two turtles left; confused, Sophie turned to ask the other boys what had just happened when any notion to speak went out of the window the moment she saw them. Donnie was clutching his bo in a death grip, a look on his face that she recognised as someone desperately trying to listen for something he could barely hear. In comparison Leo seemed to be twitching at random intervals, face screwed up as if he was waiting for an intense pain to start.

It unnerved her.

Leo seemed to snap out of it first; taking a gulp of air before he seemed to realise she was still in the room. His head snapped to her, eyes burning with what she saw as humiliation. What could he be so humiliated about? Did he think she would feel differently about him for some reason?

"I think training is over for today," he said, voice a little wobbly. It made her more worried for her friends.

Donnie seemed to agree with him, slowly putting his bo back on his shell and quickly leaving with a 'good job today' whispered as he passed her. Leo sheathed his swords, nodding in the direction of the naginata. "Master Splinter would prefer it if you keep your weapon in here, until he deems you ready to use it."

With that he quickly left the dojo, trying and failing to meet her gaze. What do you think of me now?

The two brothers left her standing there with more questions than answers. Asking Splinter was out of the question, as when she left the dojo he seemed to be tucked in his corner of the lair, talking quietly with Raph who kneeled in front of them, seemingly shaken by what happened. So, then, who could she turn to now?

She gasped as it hit her: April!

"Thanks, Raph!" Sophie waved up to the roof from the fire escape. Raph saluted and left, promising to pick her up in a few hours. It had been easy to keep the boys from coming with her; all she had to do is say she wanted to talk to April about 'female problems' and the four immediately agreed to stay behind, even Donnie offered his assistance if she had any health problems she was nervous coming to him for. It warmed her heart that he cared enough to offer.

When she had asked to leave, Raph immediately volunteered to take and bring her back. A part of her knew it was about what had happened in the dojo a mere twenty minutes before, because none of the brothers tried to offer instead. They seemed content with Raph taking her - which suited her fine, she liked Raph and this seemed to calm him down from whatever headspace he had been in previously.

She turned to face the window and tapped lightly; the curtains were drawn, so she seemed to surprise April when she saw pulled them back. "Oh!" she pushed open the window, "I thought you were one of the boys!" she looked up the fire escape, "Are none of them with you?"

"I needed to talk to you. Privately," she smiled sheepishly. "Raph's going to pick me up in a few hours."

"Oh, okay!" April grinned and stepped back so she could climb into the living room. With the boys not being with her (at least one would stay when she had her weekly 'visit to April's') the room seemed to be larger than what she thought - but that was, of course, a matter of perception; the boys made anything large.

"Do you want a drink?" she asked. She shook her head then it darted to the door leading to the bedroom, eyes narrowed; she was sure she had just heard-

The door opened and Casey Jones, only in a towel, stepped out. "Hey Ape," he started, "Where do you keep-"

He stopped once he realised Sophie was there, starring at him. April looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her up there and now.

"...Oh."

"I'm so sorry-" April began.

"No, no!" Sophie laughed, "This isn't a surprise; Mikey told me."

April's shoulders slumped but she was smiling. "Of course he did. Casey, can you give us a minute?"

"Sure thing," his cheeks were flushed, "Sorry, Sophie," and he closed the door, leaving the two in the living room. April took a seat on the sofa and Sophie sat on the other side, lightly tapping her hands on her knees as she tried to start with her questions. What if April wouldn't tell her?

"So, what do you need?"

She opened her mouth then closed it, quickly looking away as she struggled to voice what she came to her for.

April seemed to already know; it was the only thing she thought the girl would come to her for. "It's about the boys, isn't it?"

Sophie's head snapped to look at her, eyes wide, before she decided it was fairly obvious it was about them and nodded, smiling sheepishly. April just grinned. "What do you need to know?"

"Are the boys...okay?" at April's visible confusion she clarified, telling her what had happened earlier. April's puzzlement melted away and she seemed to relax, although it seemed she was expecting her question.

"It's a long story; but I'm sure Master Splinter told you about it anyway? About Sacks?" she nodded, "But he didn't tell you the details."

Sophie shook her head, so April commenced with her story. It was a fleshed out, detailed version of the one Splinter had given her last year, this time from April's point of view. It was almost ironic - but a huge coincidence - that both of their tales started with a photo they both don't regret ever taking. She was horrified to hear about the attack on the Lair, Splinter's near death, Raph's shell being cracked, the cliff fight ("I'm sorry, you and Leo nearly fell off a cliff?!") and the fight on the roof of Sack's tower. She, of course, already knew about that and the mutagen Sacks was draining from three of the boys.

Then, she went into detail about what happened two years after that, when the boys were 17. Again she told her about the purple mutagen, Bebop and Rocksteady, meeting Casey, Raph and Mikey breaking into the police headquarters to get the mutagen, the boys being discovered by the police force, their trip to Brazil (and Raph's subsequent near death experience that a chute and then Leo saved him from) and their fight with Kraang. The only good thing that came out of that was the police force's acceptance of the boys (and their continued support and secrecy).

By the end of her story, Sophie was now sitting cross legged on the sofa facing her, jaw dropped in shock. "Are you kidding me?!" she whispered. April shook her head like she was expecting this reaction.

Sophie threw her arms up into the air, hands going straight to her hair and running through the strands. "Those boys need therapy, not keys to the city!"

April chuckled, "Donnie read up on PTSD and helped his brothers-"

"Donnie also needs help, not just the others!"

"I know, I know," April said calmly; she was very happy that the turtles had a friend their age so passionate about their health and safety. If only the entirety of New York, the entire world even, was the same.

"Have they..." she trailed off, "...Have they at least got better?"

April sighed. "It doesn't happen often anymore - for a few months after the Sacks incident it was constant; Leo's fear of heights came back, and he would hold anyone like he was saving their life - maybe in his mind he was, you know?"

She nodded. "Raph couldn't spar with his brothers for a few weeks - whenever they pinned him he would panic, he would scratch, bite, and hit whoever was on top of him. Donnie spent ages improving the security of the new lair so he knows everyone and everything that came even remotely near it, and Mikey became really focused on training; I think he's always been capable at surpassing Leo if he wasn't always having fun, but in those months after he beat his brothers while training because he was actually trying. You noticed back at the mall, right? He was still cracking jokes but he was much more serious?"

Looking back on it April was right; Mikey seemed much more subdued during battle than he might have been before. Maybe because there was a civilian thrown into the mix?

"Yeah, I did."

"That's why," April smiled but it was tight. "All four of the boys went through some hard stuff, and they're doing better but it hasn't completely gone away. It's always hard for them to talk about it so casually, so please don't blame them for not telling you."

"Of course I won't. I understand."

April clapped her hands together, "Good! Now onto more positive stuff," she grinned, "do you want to watch a movie until Raph comes to get you?"

The two girls sat on the sofa, watching some obscure movie Sophie didn't know the name off - at one Casey joined them. It was so bad that the three couldn't help but joke about it throughout, laughing at each other's jokes and impressions; they had actually been able to watch the sequel before Raph returned to get her. She was in the throes of laughter when he popped his head in, brow raised.

"What's goin' on in here?" he asked. Sophie shook her head, trying to calm herself down. Raph just stared at her, amused.

"You need to remind me to get the dvds for these movies," she said once she could speak, "Raphael, they're hilariously bad."

"I will." she stood up and walked towards him. "Thanks for tonight April, Casey."

"No problem," Casey nodded his head in her direction.

April smiled at her knowingly. "See you both soon!"

They said their goodbyes and the two ascended the fire-escape, Sophie confident that the stairs wouldn't break underneath her while Raph climbed slowly, wincing every time the metal creaked. They both eventually made it to the rooftop.

"Hop on then spider-monkey," Raph squatted so she could climb onto his shell, but when he didn't feel her weight he looked over his shoulder at her, looking at her questioningly. She had wrapped her arms around herself, looking out of her element; he stood straight so he could walk towards her, taking her biceps into his large hands.

"What's wrong short stack?" he asked, looking down at her; she hated that nickname and it would always get a reaction from her. This time, however, she just looked up at him, an emotion swirling in her green eyes that Raph couldn't decipher - and it scared him.

"Hi," she whispered then she did something that surprised the both; she gently hugged the turtle.

Raph's breath caught. For a second he didn't know what to do with his hands before she felt them move from her arms and encircle her, and he held her so tightly - holding her like he was saving her life, and maybe in his mind he was.