KATARINA:
I awoke to a gentle touch on the side of my face and moaned, feeling the pain sear the backs of my eyes. I had an incredible headache. "Hey," a soft voice whispered.
I sat bolt upright, panic rushing over me like a tidal wave. Where was I? What the hell had gone wrong? Blood rushed to my head and I gasped at the pain. I felt a hand on my arm as the darkness cleared. The room was dim and silent, a soft glow coming from a nightlight near the dresser. "Where am I?" I gasped.
"Don't take this the wrong way... You're in my bed."
I looked over and saw Raph laying on his side. He smiled faintly. "Just rest," he urged, gently pulling me back down next to him. I didn't fight him. The pain behind my eyes was excruciating.
Laying back down, I breathed deep, the panic settling. "What happened?" I choked.
"The fight at your apartment. Do you remember?"
I nodded slightly. "Sort of," I whispered. What the hell had gone wrong?
He brushed my hair away from my face. "You were thrown through a window, Kat," he informed me. "But you're okay. Some cuts and scrapes but nothing deep. And you hit your head. You've been out for about three hours."
I moaned. "That's a long time. And I'm still tired."
He sighed. "You and me both."
I tried to stretch, to work out the stiffness in my muscles. I was sore from not having moved in so long. But I returned to the same position, pressing against his muscled arm with my head on his shoulder. His arm circled me and held me tight. I breathed deep, not wanting to admit how safe he made me feel. For a long time, we were still. I watched the glowing red minutes change steadily, counting the seconds between them in my head.
His hand rubbed back and forth gently, through my clothes. Then, his fingers slipped under my shirt and callused fingers met soft, protected skin. Instinctively, I wanted to pull away as I felt his hot breath come just slightly faster on the back of my neck. But his touch was gentle and soothing. The heat from his body felt good behind me. I found that I didn't want him to stop.
I turned toward him and pressed close to his hard chest. His hand slipped around my waist as I hid my face in his neck. Skin met skin below my cutoff shorts. He rubbed gently at my back and steered clear of forbidden areas. I waited for him to say something; he never did. I bowed my head and pressed closer to him.
I didn't resist him as he eased me onto my back and leaned over me. He ran his hands down my arms, careful to avoid the cuts that still stung. Our lips met and my eyes slid closed. I didn't resist him, curious about this new feeling. I'd never felt like this before, and I was surprised that Raphael was the one to raise these new emotions in me. Emotions. Damn my emotions.
Suddenly, he sat straight up, looking toward the door. There was a moment of silence as my body coped with the withdrawal. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"I thought..." he started. Silence flooded the room and he shook his head slightly. "I must be hearing things."
I sat up next to him and put my arms around his shoulders, pressing hard to his chest. Once again, I had his undivided attention. He sank down into the blankets, pulling me on top of him. I felt his fingers in my hair as he kissed me again, picking up right where he left off.
The bedroom door flew open. Raph and I both jumped and I spun my head around to see who the intruder was. "What the hell?" Raph cried out angrily before he saw who was at the door. "Mike!"
Michaelangelo stared at the scene before him, momentarily stunned into silence. I let go of the breath I had been holding in and laid my head on Raphael's chest, turning my eyes away as Mike laughed out loud and grabbed the door, slamming it shut. I could still hear laughter drifting through it as Raphael bounded out of bed, grabbed his belt and weapons off the chair, and was gone. I stared up at the ceiling. He was better than a cold shower.
And that's a good thing, too. Damn you! You know this is wrong!
It was. And I did know it.
LEONARDO:
I was too exhausted to cry. Besides, the tears had all been spent. Donny still hadn't said anything, but I knew it was coming. He'd never really met Madonna, but I was pretty sure he recognized her from the brief encounter in the living room. He was probably just as confused as I was shocked. Finally, I heard him speak.
"How do you know her? Really."
I felt my chest tighten. How did I know her? Apparently, I hadn't known her as well as I thought I did. "Leo?" he asked when I didn't answer.
"She's my girlfriend," I whispered to the darkness. "At least... she was."
"Yeah, I got that impression."
Then why did you ask?
"Why did you break up with her?"
I considered his words. I hadn't been expecting that question. "I didn't," I mumbled. "She broke up with me."
I remembered the grief that had pierced through me as she told me to leave. I now I understood why she had done it. "Why?" he questioned. "Was it Raphael? In the living room?"
I remembered the look in Raphael's eyes as he held me to the wall. The pain in his words had cut me to the core. "Did Splinter know? Did you lie to him?" His tears were permanently burned into my memory. I swallowed hard.
I explained. I told him all about her and he tried not to act shocked. He knew nothing about Madonna, and hearing that I had been intimately involved with her for months surprised the hell out of him. He was so separated from the world since Splinter died. It was as if he'd crawled into a cave. We never talked anymore, and he was clueless about what had happened while he was away.
"So is that what Raph meant?" he questioned. "When he said it was a day?"
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the blackness. "I made love to her the first time a day after Splinter died."
"A day," he repeated. He didn't sound angry, but he was definitely shocked. "As in, that's where you went after we buried him?"
"Yes," I whispered. "But I... it wasn't..."
I stopped. I couldn't justify it. I didn't really want to try. It was quiet for a moment. He sighed. "Jesus, Leo. I never thought I would hear anything like that coming from you."
"I know," I whispered. "I didn't really... mean for it to happen. But I didn't know where else to go. I didn't want to go home when..." I hesitated, the feelings of loss sweeping over me all over again. "...when he wasn't there. So I went to her apartment."
Her quiet, reassuring voice. "You're a mess. Why don't you go take a shower?"
She stands and pulls me to my feet. "I..." I started to protest.
"Leo..." she pleads, searching me.
The pain is overwhelming. I look away. "I should go."
"No," she whispers, closing her hands over mine. "No, I want you to stay. Please stay. You don't want to be alone, and I don't want you to leave."
Her gentle touch. She stands on her toes and kisses my forehead "Go take a shower and then you can get some rest. It's late, and..." I open my mouth to argue with her, but she places her finger over my lips. "...and frankly, you have nothing better to do."
"I don't know how it happened, Don," I whispered. "I didn't go there with the intention of doing it. But it felt right. And I don't regret it."
I didn't realize what I'd said until after I'd said it. I'd always lived my life with no regrets. But this time, my actions had ended us up here. I regretted the outcome, if not the experience. Donny had to see that, but he decided not to twist the knife. I was grateful. Raphael would not have been so merciful.
"Leo?" he asked after a long silence.
"Yeah?"
"Did Splinter ever meet her?"
Memories flooded through my mind in one great tidal wave.
She sits on the floor, legs crossed and watching him carefully. "You seem fearful, child."
"Nervous," she admits, laughing tensely.
"For what reason? Have I made you uneasy?"
She exchanges a glance with me and I smile my reassurance. "No, Splinter-sama," she answers. "It's just that... well, I'm not sure what to say."
"And the silence frightens you," he continues.
She nods, her eyes downcast. She is trying to be honest. "Do you like my son, Madonna?"
She flushes red, and I tense. We have not yet addressed this issue. But she looks up and catches my stare. The tension subsides as a smile crosses her lips. "Yes," she answers. "Very much."
Master Splinter smiles in return. "Then I feel it is safe to say that you are welcome here..."
Jolted back into the present by a surge of pain, I shake away the dream. "Yes, Splinter met her," I whispered, pushing aside the memories.
"What did he say?"
"He..." Approved. The word sounded strange on my lips. He'd approved. I had introduced them because I felt guilty, almost as if I was lying by saying nothing. I had expected consent. I had not expected him to welcome her as warmly as he did.
Splinter had not been prejudice, by any means. But he was cautious. He warned us about publicity. And he'd never approved of any of Raphael's girlfriends. In fact, it had bothered him so much that eventually, Raph and I had it out, and I told him not to bring his girls around. He didn't do it again.
"He liked her," I mumbled.
Donny said nothing. A silence fell over the dark room.
"Leo?" he finally asked.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
And he meant it.
RAPHAEL:
"You don't know how glad I am to see you, bro," Michaelangelo chuckled, still trying to hide his amusement.
I glared at him. "Feeling's mutual," I mumbled back.
"Uh, huh," he grinned, as if he didn't believe me. I wasn't going to dignify his doubt with a defense.
"Where are Leo and Don?" I demanded.
The smile fell and he turned serious. "I don't know," he answered. "We got split up. I was hoping maybe you'd seen them." I shook my head and he leaned back against the sofa. "I figured we'd regroup here, but when nobody showed up for two days..."
"I tried to call," I told him. "You didn't answer."
"Where were you?"
"I was at Kat's apartment, unconscious for the majority of the time."
He eyed me suspiciously. "Unconscious? That have anything to do with your arm?"
I glanced down at the bandages still surrounding my bicep. "Long story," I mumbled, looking away. I didn't want to go into details with him.
He sighed. "I was hoping maybe they hadn't gotten to you. Maybe they couldn't find you. Lord knows, we have a hard enough time doing it sometimes."
"Do you know where they might have taken them?" I asked, changing the subject before it could get out of hand.
"No. I checked the obvious places, and there's no sign of anyone having been there in months."
"What about the docks, where we found Kat?"
He shook his head. "There's nobody been there."
I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest carefully. My arm still stung. "Well, we obviously have to do something," I mumbled.
"Yeah," he agreed. "But I'm out of ideas."
Katarina emerged from my room, running her fingers through her hair. I watched her carefully as she wobbled unsteadily on her feet. "You shouldn't be up yet," I informed her.
"I'm fine," she assured, gripping the wall for support.
"What happened to you, babe?" Mike asked, apparently noticing the gash on her forehead for the first time.
"They attacked my apartment," she mumbled.
"Damn," he whispered to himself. "They're serious about this."
"I have to go back," she mumbled.
"No," I protested, forcefully. There was no way in hell I was letting her walk out of here.
"They're not after me, remember?" she smiled faintly. "It was you they wanted. I'll be fine if I'm alone."
"They put you through the window, Kat," I reminded her.
Mike stared. "Isn't your apartment on the fifteenth floor?"
"I ended up on the fire escape," she informed him as she approached me and rested a hand on my shoulder. "But they never would've come in the first place if you hadn't been there. Why would they go out of their way to find me again?"
"Kat..." I warned.
"Good-bye," she smiled.
She kissed my cheek and I grabbed her arm as she turned to leave, well aware of the cuts I was pressuring. She cringed. "You're not leaving," I informed her, somewhat amused by the role change. Seemed like we'd just had this exact argument.
She turned back to face me and I let go. "You gonna keep me here against my wishes? That's called kidnapping, Raph."
"Sue me," I challenged.
She crossed her arms carefully. "You can't keep me here," she replied. "What are you going to do, handcuff me to the bed?"
"If I have to."
She pressed close and draped her arms over my shoulders. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mike smile. "Hmm," Kat grinned. "That could be fun..."
She rubbed against me and breathed on my neck, then jerked away. I grabbed her again. "Nice try," I mumbled. "But I'm not that easy."
She sighed. "Fine. But can I at least make a phone call? Or am I really a prisoner?"
"A phone call to who?"
She laughed. "What are you, my father now? Like it's any of your business!"
I stared at her for a moment, then released my hold on her arm. "You know where the phone is," I mumbled.
MADONNA:
The blood pooled around his feet as the soldier fell. He pulled back his fist, thick, red liquid dripping from his palm, and looked toward me. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.
"You are angry," I noticed.
"As I should be," he shot at me, turning away.
I closed the door quietly and walked across the room to where he stood, staring out the window. I dared not touch him, nor did I really want to. Instead, I stood behind him and looked out over the city. "They hurt Katarina," I mumbled.
He paused for a moment. "Yes, I know."
"She called me," I mumbled. "To make sure I was okay."
"And you are perfectly fine," he told me.
I gathered my nerve. "You said they wouldn't hurt her," I reminded him.
"And it has already been addressed," he snapped.
I smiled faintly at the irony. The man on the floor spoke volumes for his vengeance. "It has," I agreed.
"And they were unsuccessful," he yelled at me.
I glared at him. "I was not the one who ordered an attack on my own apartment; do not be angry at me."
He spun to face me and I cringed instinctively, cowering at the icy glare. "What do you want?" he demanded.
MICHAELANGELO:
Silence. The stillness in the dark tunnels was eerie. That was good, because I needed to get away. I closed my eyes as I walked, concentrating on the darkness. Somewhere out there, my brothers were dying. If they weren't already dead. And I felt helpless. There wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. I couldn't take on the entire foot clan alone. Raph seemed to think he could, but he was hurt. He wasn't a total fool. He knew when he was weak, even if he wouldn't admit it.
I'd looked everywhere I knew to look. I'd checked the abandoned warehouses and the junk yards. And what would I have done if I'd found them? Fought bravely. Died quickly. I wouldn't have accomplished anything. I was not in any way helpless, but I knew my limits. And what if I made it through the foot soldiers? What then? Shredder would kick my ass, and I knew it. The only one who had come close to defeating him on his own was Raphael. Leo had managed to cause him some pain when we were fifteen. God, that seemed like so long ago. But we owed our lives to Splinter, in that case. Leo had nearly gotten himself killed moments after he managed to get a shot off on our opponent.
I didn't even know the story behind Shredder's fight with Raphael. All I knew was that he pissed him off by doing something with or to his girlfriend at the time. Raph didn't even tell us until he came home, bleeding all over the place, saying that Shredder was dead. Nobody really knew how close to "dead" he had actually come. Raphael never spoke of the incident again. Leo made the mistake of bringing it up once, and Raph nearly killed him. Literally.
I thought I heard a noise behind me and I spun around, snapping out of my trance. Even the shadows were still. There was no sound, and no movement. I didn't breathe for a moment. But then, assured of the solitude, I turned back.
I felt pain slice across my arm and leg simultaneously. Gasping, I looked around me. I saw nothing, heard no one. But I could feel the blood run out of the thin but deep cuts. I scanned the ground. Three tiny, metal, pointed disks lay on the ground. Shuriken. I spun, knowing they had come from somewhere. But I could see nothing. I felt the world begin to melt around me as I felt dizzy. A figure moved through the darkness, gripping a sword at its side. Foot soldier.
Pushing aside the feeling of nausea, I grabbed my weapons. "I don't want to fight you," a dark, female voice slurred. "You'd be best to just come with me. You are no match for a poison."
"Over my dead body," I slurred, feeling the world spin. Poison. The throwing stars...
"As you wish."
My body was slowly turning numb. I dodged out of the way of her attack and brought the nunchucks toward the back of her neck. I don't know if I made contact. I didn't think I did. More pain, and I felt blood run as I staggered back toward the wall. Don't drop your weapons. Whatever you do, don't drop...
The nunchucks fell from my numb fingers. I looked up and saw the face of my attacker, uncovered and splattered in blood. I gasped as I collapsed into the darkness.
