It had been weeks. Weeks since she'd last spoken to April (she was mad at her for attacking Mikey). Weeks since she'd last seen the turtles. Weeks since she'd last slept more than three hours a night.

Her leg seized up and she grit her teeth against the pain. It had been weeks since she'd gone a day without a spasm or tremor as well. It took a solid minute or two for the spasms to dissipate and when they did, she fell against the wall with a gasp. All this stress… It was destroying her. She could barely walk from her bedroom to the kitchen without collapsing in a fit of tremors. And every time she closed her eyes… Sammy shuddered.

Distraction. She needed a distraction. In the form of a beer. Sammy pushed off the wall and continued her awkward shuffle down the hallway.

"Sammy?" Casey questioned, appearing at the end of the hallway with a beer in his hand. "You okay?"

Sammy made a face. "I hope you left one of those in the fridge for me."

Her cousin held up the bottle and pointed to it. "A beer? Yeah. There's a few left." He moved back into the kitchen just as she stepped out of the hallway. "Wait." He paused with his hand on the handle of the fridge. "Should you even be drinking a beer with the meds you're on?"

"And if I shouldn't be?" she asked, brow raised in challenge.

Casey pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at her. "Then I don't think I should give you one."

With a huff, Sammy told him, "Just give me one, Case."

His eyes narrowed further. "I don't think that's a good idea-."

"Just give me one, Case!" She snapped, her leg and back spasming. "Damn it," she hissed. "Sorry, I'm sorry…" Sammy sighed and shook her head. "I'm just…I don't know." She shrugged helplessly.

"Oh, Sammy…" She heard Casey set his beer down on the island and then his arms wrapped around her shoulders. He tugged her to his chest and rested his cheek against the top of her head. "I know. I'm sorry."

Sammy snorted. "What are you apologizing for?" She lifted her arms around his back and held onto his shirt with a tight grip. "I'm the one that snapped at you."

He shrugged. "Eh. You're warranted a few of those every once in a while."

Sammy laughed, the sound thick with emotion. "If you say so."

"I do." He gave her a gentle squeeze before pulling back to look her in the face. "Let's get you that drink then, huh?"

Sniffing, Sammy asked, "You sure?"

"Yeah, why not." Casey went back to the fridge and pulled out another beer. "As long as you only have half of it, though."

"I can live with that," she agreed with a grin.

Sammy plopped down onto an island stool as Casey popped the top off her beer and poured half of it into a glass for her. He set said glass down in front of her and took his beer bottle in hand before sitting beside her at the island. They sat there in silence for a long moment, sipping at their beers as they stared at the wall.

"So…" Casey said slowly. "Um…" Sammy glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she took a drink of her bitter beverage. "April and I are gonna go on a vacation here in the next couple of days."

"Oh?" Sammy grinned and bumped her shoulder against his. "Is it gonna be that kind of vacation?"

"Well." Casey reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small, black box. "Actually, yeah."

Sammy choked on the drink she'd just taken. "Holy shit! Is that what I think it is?" He'd lifted the lid to reveal a beautifully cut teardrop diamond engagement ring nestled in black satin.

"Yeah," Casey answered with a grin. "I'm gonna ask April to marry me." He closed the lid on the ring box with a creaky snap. "I got this little cabin upstate, right on the water. She's gonna love it."

"W-Wow, Case. That's…That's amazing." Sammy leaned over and pulled her cousin in for a crushing hug. "I'm so happy for you."
Her cousin sighed in what sounded like relief. "Thanks, Cuz."

"What?" Sammy pulled back to look at Casey questioningly. "Did you think I wouldn't approve?"

"I mean, no." Casey took a quick pull of his beer. "But you and April haven't really been getting along recently."

Sammy grimaced. "I like April just fine. I think she's great actually. I just think she's mad at me," she muttered.

"What do you mean she's 'mad at you'? For what?"

"For attacking Mikey," she told him with a sigh.

Casey hummed. "Yeah. Everyone's real protective of Mikey." The both of them sighed. "I just think it's because no one's sure how to…take you…?" Her cousin gave her a one-shouldered shrug. "I've tried to make them understand, but without telling them…everything, there's always gonna be some kind of distrust between you all."

Sammy nodded before polishing off the rest of her beer. "Yeah, I know. It's…necessary though."

Casey took the hand that was wrapped around the empty glass and held it. "Maybe, maybe if you told me…it would help you." But Sammy was already shaking her head before he'd even finished his sentence.

"No, Case." She shook her head. "I don't want you to have to…know that side of me."

"But Sammy-."

"No, Case!" She gave her cousin's hand a squeeze before letting it go. "Just…no." As long as she had a say in it, Casey would never ever know of the things she'd done. She couldn't bear it if he looked at her as…as the monster she was.

Casey pushed a sigh out through his nose. "Yeah, okay, Sammy."

"Thanks, Case," she whispered.

Silence descended between them once more. Casey continued to noisily sip at his beer while Sammy traced the rim of her glass with a finger. So many things would change once Casey proposed to April. She couldn't intrude upon their life anymore, so she'd need to actually find a place of her own. She'd have to reach out to Winston while Casey and April were gone and see if he'd found anything.

"Um, so," Casey said, interrupting her thoughts. "April and I will be gone for two weeks."

"Really? That'll be nice for you two."

"Mm. Yeah." Sammy glanced at him with slightly furrowed brows. He sounded…nervous. "And while we're gone you'll be…staying with the guys."

Sammy's face fell carefully blank. "And by guys, you mean…?"

Her cousin ducked her head but she still caught the guilty grimace on his face. "Um, the guys." Sammy's expression hardened. "The turtles."

"The turtles?" she repeated, her tone edged with disbelief. "You want the turtles to babysit me while you're gone?"

"W-Well, no! I don't want them to babysit you," he told her in a rush. "I just think it would be good for you to stay with someone while we're gone, that's all."

"You're joking, right?" she asked with a scowl. "There's no way Mr. Leader-In-Blue agreed to this. Besides, I can stay here on my own, by myself, just fine." She was a little troubled but not crazy. She could handle two weeks on her own.

Casey sighed. "I know you can," he told her in a placating manner. "But it would make me feel better having someone with you just in case."

"Then have them stop by here every other day or something," she suggested.

Her cousin shook his head. "They can't do that, Sammy. Too much of a risk."

"Too much of a - They were here that first night I met them! That wasn't too much of a risk?!"

The grimace on her cousin's face deepened. "That was different."

Sammy scoffed and rolled her eyes. "That's bullshit and you know it."

"Whether you think it is or not," Casey said. "You're going to be staying with them at the Lair for your own good."

"Lair? They call their place the Lair?" She laughed but the sound lacked actual humor. "This is fucking ridiculous." She really needed the other half of her beer.

"Yeah, well, it's happening," Casey told her. "So…get over it."

Sammy huffed, turning away from her cousin to stare darkly at the wall across from her. What absolute bullshit! Babysat? She didn't need to be babysat! She wasn't a fucking invalid and she wasn't suicidal. Who the hell was her cousin to make a decision like this for her? Sammy got to her feet with a shake of her head. She'd find a way out of this one way or another.

Sammy had not found a way out of being babysat by the turtles.

So, here she was, in the backseat of Casey's Charger with a pillowcase over her head. It was a "precaution" her cousin had said. The only people other than the turtles that knew how to get to the Lair were Casey and April and the turtles wanted to keep it that way.

"I know it's a little…unorthodox," April said from the passenger seat, feeling friendly enough to converse with her currently. "They even put a pillowcase over my head the first time they brought me to the Lair."

"Mm. Whatever makes them more comfortable," Sammy grumbled, unable to keep the irritation out of her voice.

"We're almost there, Cuz," Casey assured her. She heard him turn on the blinker and he made a swift right. "Just a few more minutes."

The car fell silent then. It was the awkward kind of silence that weighed heavily on the shoulders and caused the skin to tingle. Sammy knew she should probably have a better attitude about this whole thing but she just couldn't find it in herself to have one. She was bitter. And angry. She had relative control over herself at her cousin's apartment but it was tentative at best. Who knew how much worse she'd be in a new, unfamiliar place where she was unwanted? Because who was she kidding? The turtles were only doing this for Casey (and probably April).

"Here we go…" Casey said, shifting gears, and then they were going backward. "Alright." He shut off the engine. "It's gonna be a little bit of a squeeze getting out, so just…wait for me to help you." With that, both he and April got out of the car.

Sammy waited until Casey opened her door and took hold of her bicep to get out of the car. Her cousin had been right; it was a tight fit. Sammy had to squeeze herself out of the car sideways. When she was all the way out, Casey shut the door and walked her to the trunk. As Casey popped open the trunk to get her bag, Sammy turned her ear towards what sounded like grating metal, and then Mikey was greeting April.

"Angel cakes!" Mikey cried. "It's good to see ya!"

April laughed softly. "You too, Mikey. Leo." Sammy's thigh spasmed.

"April," Leo returned. "How are you?"

"Good. Excited! Ready for a vacation."

Mikey hummed. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

"Do you though?" April asked.

"Um, no. No, not really." April giggled. "Anyway! Sammy!" She heard a large body moving towards her with quick steps. "My girl! Good to see you too!"

"I'd say the same but…" She gestured to the pillowcase draped over her face.

Mikey laughed. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that." He bumped a fist against her arm lightly. "It won't be on for much longer though, promise."

"It's purely precautionary," Leo said from beside her. "For everyone's safety." Sammy hoped she hid her startled jump as well as she thought she did. She hadn't even heard him approach.

"I understand," she told him stiffly. The turtle just grunted in response.

"Okay!" Casey said, coming up on her other side. "Here's her bag." Someone reached across her and took and she could only assume it was Leo from the angle. "Cuz, your backpack." Casey took her left arm and slid it through the strap to sling the bag on her shoulder. "I made sure everything you need is in there." Sammy knew what it was that he left unsaid; enough pills for two weeks were in her backpack. "Alright then!" He clapped and rubbed his hands together. "You kids have fun! Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Then he drug her into a tight hug. "It's gonna be fine," he assured her in a quiet whisper.

"Yeah," she murmured. "You guys have fun. And be careful." Sammy pulled away from her cousin and took a small step back. "I expect a text when you guys get there at least."

Casey snorted. "Yeah, yeah. I'll let you know that we got there safe and all that shit. Anyway! Ya'll take care of my cousin, yeah?" There was a round of what sounded like hugs and punches before she heard her cousin and his girlfriend walking back to the front of the car. "We'll see you guys in two weeks."

The car doors opened and shut. The car started and drove off. And then Sammy was alone with two of the turtles.

She could feel an awful tremor coming on; one that would bring her to her knees.

"Alright girl!" Mikey said excitedly. "Let's get you into the Lair." She felt him come a little too close, like within inches of her, and she stiffened in response. "Oh! Uh… I'm gonna have to carry you."

"Carry me?" Sammy asked carefully.

"Um, yeah! No big deal." But Mikey sounded a little nervous. "Can't get ya home otherwise."

"Is that a problem?" Leo asked in a low voice. She could just imagine the scowl he had on his face.

Sammy sighed. "No. I'm just not…used to being touched." In a positive way at least. The only people that had touched her since…since before were Winston and Casey, and even then, it was small short touches. Nothing at all like being held and carried.

"Oh! That's okay! I'll be careful!" Mikey assured her in a rather jovial voice.

"Let's get going," Leo told them.

"You got it!" Sammy felt a pair of warm arms move behind her, one behind her back and the other at the back of her knees. "Up we go!" She yelped as she was swept off her feet. "I got ya, sweetcheeks! Don't worry." Mikey held her to his chest in a tight embrace. He was practically vibrating with excitement. "You might want to hold on," he told her, his breath hot against her ear even through the pillowcase. Sammy suppressed her shudder as she hesitantly wrapped her arms around Mikey's neck, her left arm tucked up against the crest of his shell. "Alright, here we go!" And with an excited whoop, they were falling.

Her gasp lodged itself in her throat along with her stomach. She clutched tighter to Mikey, unable to help but bury her face in his neck. They were moving so fast. She could hear the rush of water and the scraping of their shells against the concrete over Mikey's loud hollering. They were… They were in the sewers. They lived in the sewers?! Sammy felt a flash of pity well up in her chest. What kind of a life was that? Living underneath a terrible city such as this one in the sewers. She wondered how it was that they coped so well with it. Or at least, they seemed to.

"Aaaaand!" They dipped suddenly before Mikey landed on his feet in a crouch. "We're here." He carefully set her on his feet as Leo landed beside them with a loud thud. "Welcome to the Lair, sweetcheeks!" Mikey said, ripping the pillowcase off her head.

Sammy blinked rapidly against the sudden light. When her vision settled, all she could do was stare. Their home was actually...quite a feat of ingenuity. They'd turned a large space of the sewer into a workable, livable home. It was rather...incredible. She vaguely recalled Casey mentioning in passing that one of the turtles was a technical genius and she had to assume it was Donatello. It was the only way all his gear made sense.

"Well?!" Mikey asked. "What do you think?"

"It's...incredible actually," she muttered distractedly. There was so much to look at…

Beside her was a pool of water that connected to the tunnels they'd entered from which explained the sound of rushing water. The room itself was circular and sectioned out as best as it could be. There were alcoves hidden behind curtains and sheets, and she had to assume they were outfitted to be their rooms. The alcoves that weren't blocked off were filled with various things. One looked to be a game room, another some kind of...chemistry lab with a massive wall of monitors attached to the wall outside of it. There was even a kitchen with a dining room table. And it was all decorated with...whatever they could find it seemed: skateboards, neon lights, bikes, stickers. She craned her neck to find a couple of makeshift chandeliers fashioned with scrap metal and Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling.

Quite honestly… She loved it.

They had taken the hand they were dealt and made the best of it. It was a trait she always admired in people.

"Really?!" Mikey hopped in front of her with a big grin on his face.

Sammy nodded, unable to stop herself from returning a tiny smile. "Yeah. It's all rather...ingenious actually."

"We're glad you approve," Leo groused as he stalked by them, shoving her bag into Mikey's arms as he passed. "Show her to her room, Mikey."

"Oh! Yeah!" Mikey took hold of her hand and led her towards the curtained alcoves. "You'll be sleeping in the end room here." They stopped in front of a black sheet which Mikey ripped back to reveal a sparsely furnished room. "It-it's not much but…" The orange-banded turtle rubbed the back of his neck. "We could, uh, find things to make it-."

"It's great, Mikey," she said, cutting off his nervous ramble. "Really. Thank you." She pat his forearm as she stepped into the room.

It really was just fine. There was a bed and a beat-up nightstand with a lamp on it. A simple rug had been laid out beside the bed so she didn't have to step on the cold stone floor. And there were fresh sheets and a couple of pillows piled up on the mattress. It was everything she needed in a room really.

"I hope you find your room to your liking," a gentle, rasping voice said behind her.

Sammy turned to find a greying rat the size of her standing beside Mikey with its arms clasped behind its back. It wore a simple, brown cotton robe tied around the middle with rope, and its hair was tied into a tight bun at the top of its head. There was even a mustache and goatee hanging from its face. And she thought the turtles were strange…

"Um, yes. It's everything I need. Thank you." She dipped her chin in respect.

"I am glad to hear that, child." The rat stepped closer, its tail swaying behind it, and held out a hand to her. Sammy took it with little hesitation, not wanting to seem rude to someone who was obviously her elder. "I am Splinter, father of the turtles." Father? "A little confusing I know." Sammy thought her glance between him and Mikey was quick and subtle but apparently not. "But that is a story for another day. Are you hungry, child?"

"Oh! Food's here!" Mikey tossed her bag onto the bed before racing off to the kitchen.

Splinter shook his head and sighed. "So full of energy, my son. It exhausts me."

Sammy chuckled softly. "He is very...rambunctious."

"That," he said as he took her hand and placed it in the crook of his elbow, looking up at her from the corner of his eye. "Is an understatement." He led her through the Lair, ignoring her limping gait, to the kitchen where the turtles were already gathered at the table. "I see my sons have lost all sense of manners," Splinter said in an even tone. Each of his sons froze with a slice of pizza in their hands.

"Sorry, Sensei," they muttered as they set their slices down on their plates.

Splinter hummed. "Here you are, child." The rat pulled out a chair for her beside Raphael, taking the one on her other side for himself. "Please, help yourself."

"Thank you," Sammy murmured as she reached for the pizza box and took a single slice of cheese pizza. Once she placed it on her plate and Splinter had gotten his own slice, the turtles picked theirs back up and began eating.

It was quiet as they ate; the tension between them making the air heavy. Sammy kept her eyes on her plate as she took small bites of her pizza. It was good, or at least, she thought it was but she couldn't tell; all this stress made the pizza taste like sand. Not to mention she barely had an appetite at the moment. Sammy choked down the next bite the best she could when Splinter spoke up beside her.

"So, my child, you shall be staying with us the next two weeks, yes?"

Sammy glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Um, yeah. Two weeks." She took a quick drink from the water glass someone had placed in front of her before adding, "Unless Casey decides to extend their vacation."

"Casey assured us it would only be for two weeks," Leo said from across the table.

Sammy peered at him from under her lashes. "Two weeks then."

"Well, we are glad to have you," Splinter told her in a soft voice. "It will be nice to have some company while the boys are out patrolling."

"Patrolling?" she asked curiously.

The rat nodded, ignoring the whispered warning from his eldest son. "Yes. My boys patrol the city at night, protecting and helping those in need."

"Oh." Sammy glanced at each of the turtles. "That's…very honorable of you all. Not many would put their lives at risk for others in such a way."

Raphael grunted. "We do our part ta protect the city," he said around a mouthful of pizza.

"Raphael," Splinter admonished. The burly turtle grumbled an apology.

"So, how long have you guys been doing that for?" she asked after a moment.

Mikey noisily swallowed down half of his pizza before opening his mouth to answer, but a hard look from Leo had him deflating with a pout. Their father sighed, the sound one of exasperated disappointment, and answered for them. "I have taught the boys ninjutsu since they were very young, and in their teens, they decided to use their talents to protect New York City from the terror of the Foot Clan and others that would threaten the city."

"The Foot Clan?" She asked. "That was what Shredder called his followers, wasn't it?"

Splinter nodded, sitting back and tugging at his goatee. "Yes. The boys ended his reign over this city several years ago."

"Really?" She murmured quietly. "You all must be a force to be reckoned with then." Her eyes met each of the brothers in turn. Shredder had not been a man to be underestimated, so the fact four mutant turtle teenagers had taken him on… Color her impressed.

Mikey's face was split into a wide grin. "Oh, yeah. Nothin' could take us down! Not even that alien Krang!"

Sammy blinked. "Alien?"

"Mikey!" Leo and Raphael hissed.

"Was that what that shit floating over New York City was all about a couple of years ago?" she asked. Her team had almost been dispatched to New York for that… It's probably a good thing they hadn't. Even with their training, they'd probably not have survived a run-in with an alien.

"Yeah," Raphael growled. "How'd you know about that?"

Sammy gave him a look. "It was all over the news," she said, although, that was another half-truth. It had been all over the news, but that's not how she and her team had found out about it. Raphael just huffed in response. "You guys really are something, huh? First, you took out a crime lord and then an alien. Impressive." Despite their distrust of her (all except for Mikey of course), the turtle's chests puffed up at the praise. "So… What did the alien look like?"

Mikey jumped to answer, waving his hands about in the air wildly as he described it to her. "Ugly, that's what! He looked like a slimy, chewed-up piece of gum with fangs for teeth." He made a goofy gesture of baring his "fangs" at her and Sammy couldn't help but giggle. That seemed to spur on the youngest turtle because his gestures grew more exaggerated. "He was attached to this HUGE robot that carried him around. It was crazy strong. And it literally re-armed at one point!" Sammy's eyebrows raised into her hairline at that.

"Sounds like it was an epic fight," she told him.

The turtle nodded vigorously. "It was probably one of the coolest things we've ever done."

Sammy shot him a half-smile. At least one of the turtles thought she was okay… The others though… Sammy glanced at the three other turtles as she picked up her slice of pizza to finish it. The two oldest wore hard expressions while Donatello kept his gaze trained on his plate. Sammy sighed. These next two weeks were going to be difficult…