Author's Note:  Thanks again to all you wonderful reviewers!  Here is the third chapter, and the main cause for the R rating.  I hope you enjoy, and if you didn't know it already, I love feedback, so R/R please!

*Chapter Three*

Shannon:

"I go to you to get away from my family."

Those words came to me at the strangest times.  This time, they woke me up out of a dead sleep.  I curled into a ball and pulled the blankets up to my chin, shivering a little in the night cold.  I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to force the words out of my head.  I still didn't know how I felt about them.  I wanted to believe that he really loved me, but sometimes it seemed as if he was just using me as an escape route.  Maybe it was a little bit of both.  Maybe he really did love me.  He said he did.  But that seed of doubt inside of me, the part that knew how superficial words were in and of themselves, was beginning to grow.  And there was really no way for me to know for sure.

I bolted upright as a soft noise echoed through the dark room.  It sounded like an explosion in the stillness surrounding me.  Frozen in place, I sat clutching the blanket to my chin, my eyes darting around like a scared rabbit.  I saw nothing in the pitch black room.  Even the vague shadows on the wall were still.  Maybe it had been Raphael.  It was rare for him to come this late at night, but it wasn't totally out of the question.  He did it sometimes, when he was fighting with his brothers, or if he was hurt and it was easier to get to my apartment than to crawl home.  I hoped he wasn't hurt.

"Raph?"

Silence answered me.  Maybe it wasn't Raph.  Fear jolted through my body, shooting in a straight line down my spine.  Stop it, Shannon, I chastised myself You're getting yourself worked up over nothing.  It was just a noise from outside, on the streets, or probably in the alley.

I forced myself to laugh at my paranoia, but I couldn't deny the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I lay back down, curling under the blankets.  If it was Raphael, I'd know soon enough.  But it was probably nothing.  I breathed deep, and felt the tension slowly ease from my body.

Suddenly, I was pinned.  For a fraction of a second, I thought it was Raph trying to scare me.  But I felt pain as strong hands gripped my arms, pinning them to my sides.  I gasped, too scared to scream, my fears confirmed as I realized what I already knew.  This wasn't Raphael.  He was rough, but he would never hurt me like this.  The dark, threatening eyes staring down at me did not belong to anyone I knew.

"You look pretty while you sleepin', baby.  But you woke up just in time for the fun."

Snickers followed his statement, and it was then that I realized that there was more than one.  My eyes darted around.  There were at least two other figures beyond the one that held me.  How did they get in without my hearing them?  I thought wildly.  Then, all of a sudden, I knew.  It struck me like a sharp slap in the face.  The balcony.  I'd been out there earlier, I'd probably forgotten to lock it. 

My muscles tensed, and it was suddenly hard to breathe.  I was terrified to think of what they actually wanted from me.  I was well aware of the fact that whatever it was, I wasn't going to like it.  I could only pray that they didn't plan on killing me when they were through.  Any way I looked at it, I was in trouble. 

I opened my mouth to scream, but a heavy, gloved hand fell down upon it, forcing the scream down my throat.  I gasped, and nearly choked.

"Nice try, girlie, but I wouldn't do that if I was you," my captor snarled.  I quickly understood why as he drew a blade from his pocket.  The tip gleamed in the darkness. 

I didn't breathe as the sharp edge touched my throat.  Then, everything happened at once.  He was gone, in a flash, to I wasn't entirely sure where he'd gone to.  I didn't care.  He was off me.  He cried out in surprise as he dropped to the floor.  Relief flooded through me, relaxing every muscle as I realized what had happened.  I was safe.  Raphael.  Thank god.

The two spectators backed away as Raphael wrestled in the pitch blackness with the one who had been holding me.  I sat up, clutching the blanket as I watched them struggle for the knife.  I could pinpoint the very instant that Raphael lost his patience.  Too fast for my eyes to see in a well-lit room, much less in the darkness, he jerked the man's arm back and pried the knife out of his fingers.  The thug cried out in pain as he was flipped onto his back, before he even had a chance to figure out that his arm was probably broken in several places.  They stared at each other, as the blade pressed to the suppressed figure's neck… and he got his first good look at Raph's face.

"Jesus Christ!  What the fuck are you, some kind of freak?"

That was the worst possible insult anyone could ever give him. Freak.  I flinched at the word.  It was so ugly, and I knew it would push him over the edge in a heartbeat.  He wasn't known for his patience.

"Your worst nightmare," Raph growled back, keeping a remarkably calm composure despite the words the thug had thrown at him.

The thug was genuinely scared as he realized that his life was possibly at stake.  I couldn't suppress a knowing smile as Raph put him on display, showing me exactly what he was.  Full of hot air under that bully exterior.  He was cowering visibly.

"Please, whatever the hell you are—spare me!"

I thought I almost heard Raph laugh.  "Yeah, I'll spare you.  Don't want to stain any carpets with your miserable blood," he snarled.  He pulled back, jerking the thug to his feet.  "But right now, you're gonna get up, and tell the lady you're sorry." 

I hid a smile, not that it would have been visible in the darkness.  It was as if he were finding amusement in this.  Now that the danger was obviously gone, I saw the humor in it as well.  "Uh," the figure stammered.  "Sorry."

"I'm not convinced," Raphael growled.

"I'm really sorry," he corrected.  He looked like he was shaking.

"Good boy," Raph snarled.  "Now get the hell out of my sight, before I change my mind about leaving your dick attached to the rest of your body."

I watched as the thugs moved quickly toward the balcony, shoved the door open, and fell out in their haste to get away.  How thoughtful that they remembered to close the door behind them as they dashed down the fire escape.  I closed my eyes, let out a slow breath and fell back on the bed.

"You alright?" Raph asked, the concern evident in his voice. 

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you," I sighed.

I sat back up as he advanced slowly and stood at the side of the bed.  "You're not hurt, are you?" he whispered.

I gazed up at him, overcome with gratitude.  Any doubt of my love for him vanished in an instant.  That was twice now that he'd saved my neck.  Twice that I owed him my life.  I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to repay him.  "I'm okay," I whispered.  "Thank you so much."

I noticed the lopsided smile on his face.  "You're welcome," he answered simply, a playful spark in his tone. 

Why this formality?  I wondered, suddenly finding this whole situation absolutely hilarious.  It's not as if this is the first time we've met. 

He's playing with you, I answered myself.  Geez, Shannon, get a clue!

I smiled and threw my arms around him, pressing our lips together without warning.  I wanted to laugh at the obvious shock that made his entire body tense.  I didn't blame him.  I hadn't given him a chance to think about it.  He took a few seconds now, his lips locked with mine, then slipped his arms around my waist, pulling the blanket around me as his hands got tangled in it.  He pulled me close in a protective hug.  I'd never felt more secure in my entire life. 

I drew back slowly, and our eyes locked.  "Stay the rest of the night with me," I whispered.  "Please?"

I didn't want to sound like a little girl, but some part of me felt a little unease about spending the rest of the night alone, even though I highly doubted that they would be back.

He hesitated.  "Uh, well…"

"Please?" I asked again.  I knew he was nervous.  I had never asked him to stay the night before.  I reached up and brushed the side of his face with the backs of my fingers.  "Please stay.  I want you to stay."

He stared at me, and finally smiled.  "Okay," he relented.  "But I gotta…"

I kissed him and cut him off.  For a moment, he resisted, but he relaxed as I draped my arms around his neck.  The blanket fell, and he pulled back in surprise as his fingers brushed bare skin.  I took his hand before he could withdraw it, and pressed it against me.  We stared at each other.  "Um," he whispered.  "You're not… like, drunk, are you?  'Cause I don't wanna…"

"I'm not drunk," I breathed back.  "I want this."

"You're sure?"

I guided his hand, and brought our lips together again, pulling him down with me onto the bed.

***

The sun was up.  I could feel its warm rays against my face.  Still only vaguely aware of my surroundings, I reached for Raphael.  The bed was empty.  My eyes opened, and I saw only a pile of blankets.

I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.  The sheet covering me fell, but I didn't bother to grab it.  I heard a voice from somewhere in my apartment, maybe coming from the kitchen.  Yes, that's where he was, right on the other side of the wall.  Probably close to the door from how close his voice sounded.  "No I really don't wanna talk to…!" he rushed, trying to get the sentence out as quickly as possible.

"Hi," he sighed.  He was on the phone, probably to his family. He was probably telling them some lie to cover up where he'd been, and to reassure them that he was fine.  I listened intently, and smiled as I realized that the person on the other line was speaking so loudly that I could make out his words.

"Yeah, just where the hell have you been all night long?" the voice demanded.  It had to be his brother.  I smiled, wondering what he would tell him, wishing I hadn't missed the first part of this conversation.

"Well, I…" Raphael stammered, caught without something to say for once.  "I was just explaining to Don, if you were listening…"

"And exactly when did they invent eleven hour movies?" his brother yelled.  I froze.  That voice sounded familiar.  "The theaters would all be fucking broke!"

 Raphael sighed.  "Look, I just wanted some time to myself after the movie, alright?" I cocked my head slightly.  His tone was almost pleading.  I'd never heard him talk like that before.  "Last time I checked, that wasn't illegal.  And I don't see what…"

"No, you look," the voice cut him off.  I looked around the room, trying to reacquaint myself with my surroundings, looking for anything that could tell me what was going on.  Something wasn't right.  I could feel it in the pit of my stomach.  "You're not supposed to take off all fucking night long without telling anyone where're you're going.  That's my job.  And Splinter's pissed at you.  You missed morning practice, you know that?  You know what fucking time it is?"

I looked to the bedside table instinctively.  It was almost ten.  Suddenly, something caught my eye…

"I'll talk about that with him later.  I'll be home soon, alright?"

Something on the floor…  "No, you're coming home now."  Something that didn't belong there…  "Right now.  You hear me?  Get your ass home now!"

A belt…  "I'll be home soon."  Weapons…  "And I'll talk to you then."  Not sais…  "Bye, Raph."

Nunchucks. 

My heart, literally, stopped.  The whole world stopped.  I heard the click of the phone being placed back on the hook, heard each rapid beat of my heart as it hammered against my chest.  Who was in my kitchen?  It wasn't Raphael.  It was his brother.  My mind raced.  I hadn't even considered that.  I hadn't noticed any differences in the dark.  He'd never used his weapons, he'd never really spoken loud enough for me to notice the difference in his voice.  It was a growl when he spoke to the thugs, and a whisper when we…  Oh, god.

Now, as he stepped out of the kitchen, I noticed everything.  He walked to me and I jerked at the sudden realization that I was sitting completely naked in the middle of my bed with a strange man staring at me.  I scrambled for the sheets and pulled them to my chin.  He smiled slyly.  "Little late for that now, huh?" he joked.

I opened my mouth to reply, but choked on my voice.  He sat down on the edge of my bed and cupped my chin.  I tensed as our lips met, but I didn't know what to do other than kiss him back.  Memories sprang to mind, flooding my head until I was nearly shaking with a confused mix of fear, shame, and embarrassment.

He licked my lips as he pulled away slightly.  "Hey," he whispered, still dangerously close to me.  "Can I know your name?"

Oh god, why couldn't you have asked me that last night?

"Shannon," I finally managed.  I knew my eyes were as wide as saucers, but I couldn't do a damn thing about it.

"Shannon," he repeated slowly, tasting the name for the first time.  He studied me.  "Pretty," he whispered, brushing my hair behind my ear.  "Just like you.  I like it.  My name's Michaelangelo, but you can call me Mikey."

A/N:  Muahahaha, I am evil!  Evil, evil, evil!  I hope I don't have all my readers hating Mikey when this is done.  *Evil grin*  But anyway… I'm just warning you now that the next part may come out late—by my standards—because I still have to get it typed and edited.  So if you don't see something soon, it isn't because I'm mean and haven't decided to post, it's just because it's not ready yet.  So don't hate me too.  ;).