CHAPTER 7

JESSICA:

"Jess? Baby, hey, wake up. I gotta talk to you."

I moaned softly, and he turned me onto my back none-too-gently. "Geez, Raph," I moaned. "What's the problem?"

"Gotta talk to you. Come on."

"I'm up, Raphael, what do you want?" I was more than a little annoyed that he'd woken me up in the middle of the night.

He brushed my hair out of my face. "Jess, listen to me. We need your help."

As I slowly came to, I realized how serious his tone was. I opened my eyes. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, a worried look on his face. "What help, Raph? What's the matter?"

"Somebody… knows where we're staying and we think they may be after two friends of ours who are staying with us."

I sat up, his words ringing in my ears. "What? What happened?"

"Someone was in the lair. We think..."

"Is everyone alright?" I cried, looking over him. He didn't look like he was hurt.

"Yeah, everyone's okay. No one was there. But we..."

"Who do you think it is?"

He sighed, slightly annoyed at the interruptions. "We don't know. But we know they're ninjas and we think they're pissed."

"Why?"

He took my hands. "Jess, just listen, okay? I'm not worried about us, we can take care of ourselves if they come back. But these two friends of ours could be in a lot of danger. Is there any way they can stay with you, even just for the night, 'til we figure out what the hell we're going to do about this?"

I was speechless. "Because they will probably come back, and I don't want them to find these friends of ours when they do. We'll get them into a hotel or something after tonight, so it's not going to be dangerous for you. But it's just…"

"What about you?" I interrupted.

He stared at me for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"What if they come back and you're there?"

He laughed quietly. "We can take care of ourselves, baby."

"What if they catch you sleeping or something? And are you going to go to this hotel with them? How long is this going to go on?"

He sighed and shook his head. "We'll deal with that later. Right now, the immediate problem is that we need to get them to a safe place."

"But.."

"Jess, please," he whispered, brushing the side of my face. "We got nowhere else to turn. And I don't want this girl to get hurt."

"Girl?"

He sighed, and I knew what the look on my face must be saying. "She and her brother came here from Japan. Their dad was afraid they were in danger. And apparently, they are."

I studied him for a moment and sighed, waiting for him to continue. He didn't. "So is it just her you want me to help?"

He grinned evilly, but the smile fell without an explanation. "No, it's her and her brother. If I had my way, it'd just be her."

A thought struck me. "Uh, Raph, do they even speak English?"

"She does. He doesn't."

I groaned. "Raph..."

"Look, if it'll make you feel any better, I'll stay with you, okay? We just need a place to..."

"Raphael, how the hell am I supposed to explain that to Mandy?" I demanded, cutting him off.

"Mandy?"

"My roommate," I sighed. "Nice to know you listen to me when I tell you things."

He sighed. I leaned forward, my elbows on my knees. "Raph, seriously. I can't think up a good enough explanation for why two Japanese kids need to stay here and if I try to explain it even somewhat truthfully, she'll flip out."

"They're 17 and 20," he corrected. "Not really kids.

I buried my face in my hands. "Okay, hang on. Just... give me a minute to think."

My mind raced. Having them come here was hardly an option, unless I could get Mandy out of the house. No. This was an immediate thing and right now, she was asleep. Maybe if they were out early enough... But what would that solve?

Suddenly, a thought struck me. "You think they'll need to be hidden for more than, like 2 weeks?"

He considered that for a moment. "I don't really know. Can't think that far ahead. We aren't gonna leave them with you for that long."

I shook my head. "No, I was just thinking..." I considered my words carefully. "My parents are in Europe for two weeks and I have the key to..."

"Where?"

I stared at him, for a second, not sure why he'd ask that. "France," I answered hesitantly.

"No, I mean where's the house?"

For a moment, I was speechless. He was one step ahead of me. "Port Huron. Michigan."

He groaned. "Shit, Jess, that's too fuckin' far."

I smiled, liking the idea more as I thought about it. "It's not that far," I protested. "A few hours. Besides, you could use a vacation and I have some sick days to kill."

He sighed. "Baby, this isn't a vacation. This is running from ninja assassins."

I rose to my knees. "They'll be safe," I reminded him, resting my hands on his shoulders. I straddled him, my bare legs against his thighs. "Nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, until when, Jess?" he sighed. "We gotta come back sometime. They're not just gonna go away baby; we need to deal with this. We just don't want Rei and Yukio to get hurt in the mean time."

"You said you needed time to think," I reminded him. "Wouldn't it be easier to think on a nice..." I kissed his cheek, pressing against him. "...warm, beautiful..." I moved down, kissing a trail to his neck. "...beach?" He didn't react, only leaned back on his hands. I licked along his salty skin. "Quiet, romantic sunsets..." Still nothing. I pulled away slightly and held his face dangerously close to mine. "I have this black bikini..." I breathed, allowing my lips to brush his.

Finally, he laughed, and wrapped his arms around me. I kissed him deeply, running my fingers lightly over his arms. "Think about it," I whispered. "Private, relaxing..." I could tell he still wasn't convinced. Amused, yes. But not convinced. I smiled as I thought of something to convince him, and pressed my cheek to his. "Sex on the beach, under the moon and stars."

He pulled away, a knowing smile on his lips. I grinned back. I had him. "Convince my sensei, and you got a deal."

LEONARDO:

"Where is he?" I thought out loud. "What's taking him so long?"

"Leo, relax," Donatello sighed. "He's gotta talk to him."

"Her," Mike corrected quietly.

I turned to him and saw him staring at the ground. Rei was standing inches away from him, and next to Splinter. Yukio was set apart from the group. "What do you mean?" I demanded.

Michaelangelo shrugged. "He didn't say it was a guy, just that it was a friend."

"How do you know that?" He shifted nervously but said nothing. "Have you met her?"

He sighed. "No, I haven't. I don't know anything, just forget I said anything."

I stared at him for a moment, then at Donny, who shrugged. I looked back toward the door leading up from the parking garage to the apartment complex. "He needs to hurry up," I mumbled, pacing. "Every minute increases the danger that we are in."

"Leonardo."

I turned and faced Master Splinter. A tired smile reflected the calm inside of him. "We are in no danger here," he informed me. "If they had wanted to harm us, they would have stayed in anticipation of a battle."

"An ambush," Donny agreed.

I glanced back and forth between the two of them, and looked away. "I'm sorry," I mumbled. "You're right. I just... don't like this. I don't like it at all."

I glanced up and saw Splinter smile again. It amazed me that he was so unaffected by the fact that someone had been in the lair. I would've thought it to be the foot clan, except nothing was touched. The rooms were in perfect order. The only think out of place was the shurieken in the door, holding a piece of paper that had caused a violent, terrified reaction from Yukio. It said nothing, really. Only his name, in Japanese, and another name that I did not recognize. But regardless of the meaning, it was obvious that somebody knew where he was staying. And it was obvious that they were angry, as the letter was written in what looked like blood.

But from the start, Splinter had remained unfazed. While Yukio tried to hide his panic, and the rest of us searched the lair for danger, he watched calmly, holding Rei's hand as she cried silent, terrified tears. It was as if he knew something we didn't. That there was a reason why he knew we were not in danger. But if there was, he was not explaining it.

He made no suggestion as to what we should do. But upon Raphael's suggestion that we find a safehouse for Rei and Yukio, he nodded his approval. I had insisted that he come, although he would have preferred to stay. I was not comfortable with the fact that we had been discovered. And I couldn't shake the feeling that we were in danger.

I looked back at the door across the parking lot. He had five minutes, and I was going to look for him.

JESSICA:

It was a dramatic switch. In all the time I'd known him, Raphael had been strongly opposed to the idea of me meeting his family. Now, all of a sudden, he was shoving me at them. He barely gave me a chance to get dressed before dragging me out the door. "Where are we going?" I asked, tucking in my shirt.

"Parking garage," he answered, pulling me along by the hand. I felt like a child being tugged behind a hurried parent. I ran along behind him, until we hit the stairs. Then I couldn't keep up.

"Raph, I'm gonna...!"

I lost my balance and tumbled into him. He spun and pressed against the wall, gripping the banister with one hand and catching me with the other, before I fell down five flights. A wave of heat rushed through me as my body registered the near-miss. I clung to his arm, wrapped around my waist, and raised my eyes to glare at him.

He smiled sweetly. "I love you, honey," he offered, a playful attempt at avoiding a confrontation.

"Yeah, right," I shot back, regaining my balance. My pulse was still racing.

"Hey, at least I caught you," he defended.

I placed my hands on my hips and shot him a pathetic look. "At least."

He slipped his arms through mine, circling my waist. I sighed as he pulled me close and pressed his lips to mine. I draped my arms over his shoulders and pulled away slightly. "Hey, Raph?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Can you at least give me a clue as to how I'm supposed to act?" I questioned. "Because this is a little sudden, you know? And I'm not entirely sure how to be."

He brushed my hair out of my eyes. "Baby, don't worry about it," he whispered. "I don't think they're gonna be too critical."

For some reason, I wasn't very comforted by that.

MICHAELANGELO:

Jessica surprised me. I expected someone more... flashy. But she had plain brown hair, hazel eyes, and wore jeans and a T-shirt with sandals strapped to her feet. I could tell Raphael hadn't given her much time to get dressed and get down here. I could also tell that introductions made him incredibly nervous. He avoided eye contact with us as he gave names, and she shook hands. But he glanced up and caught my eye as she and Splinter exchanged hellos. I smiled my approval, not that I thought it really mattered what I thought, and he grinned back. Just the slight vote of confidence seemed to put him more at ease.

Splinter seemed approving, too. Maybe it was just because she was polite. Or maybe because she wasn't the flashy, exotic dancer type that he probably expected. She in no way understood Japanese culture, and flashed a terrified, what-do-I-do-now? look at Raphael when Yukio bowed in greeting. I couldn't help but smile.

Finally, she turned and looked at Splinter. "I, uh..." she started. "I want to help you guys. But staying here isn't really an option because of my roommate."

Splinter smiled politely. "We understand."

"No, uh," she stammered. "You can't stay here, but there is somewhere else."

She shot a pleading look in Raph's direction, and he stepped up. "Jessica's parents are in France," he explained. "They have a house in Michigan, on Lake Huron..." Leo frowned at the idea, and Raph looked away from him, hesitating to continue. The look on Splinter's face was almost one of amusement. "They'll be gone for two weeks and the idea was that we could all go there and figure out what's going on here..." He shot an evil glare in Yukio's direction. "Maybe get this asshole to talk," he pointed angrily. Turning back to Splinter, he dropped his eyes. "And figure out what we're going to do next."

He expected a lecture for the language, the tone, the suggestion, or maybe all three. I expected the same, but figured it would be in Japanese because I didn't think Splinter would chastize him in front of Jessica. He surprised us both. "I agree."

The look of shock on Raphael's face mirrored my own. Leonardo wore a look of horror. "Master, we can't just leave the city. It won't solve anything!"

The seemingly undisturbed look on Sensei's face had changed. He appeared serious now, and deep in thought. "It will give us time to evaluate what may be happening. And to see if they have the will, or ability to follow us, or if they will return to the lair to further threaten us."

Leonardo opened his mouth to protest, but no sound came out. He sighed and looked away. Splinter looked to Jessica and smiled. "You are gracious to offer us shelter."

Leo wanted to protest. He really wanted to. But he said nothing. Only closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Donatello seemed disinterested in the conversation. He was eyeing the van, probably wondering if there was anything he needed to fix on it before we took it all the way to Michigan. Yukio looked to Rei for an explanation. "{What are they saying?}" he demanded.

"{We're all going to Michigan,}" she answered. "{To hide, and to figure out what to do next.}"

He seemed to have mixed emotions about that, but said nothing and nodded his approval.