Chapter 24 - Revelations

The next day was, thankfully, relatively quiet. Leo sat back on the couch, and closed his eyes. He was grateful for the rest in action, momentarily. He mentally went over where everyone was. Don was… somewhere. April ran out for some groceries. Casey was out for a walk, and Mike was in the living room, on a chair, reading with Lindy.

"…And with the kiss, the princess awoke." Mike stopped reading and looked down at the child in his lap. "Are you a princess?" He asked, and Lindy leaned forward and put her hands on the pages, babbling.

"Yes, you're our princess." Mike continued, smiling down at her. Then he turned back to the book and began reading again. Mike had been thumbing through those books Raph had gotten her all day, and the night before. Raph…

Leo, who'd been half-listening to Mike's storytelling, looked over at his brother suddenly.

"Where's Raph?" He asked, and Mike stopped reading, looking over at Leo.

Mike shrugged. "I dunno." He shook his head. "Said something about clearing the air… Maybe he went for a walk."

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Raphael closed the door to the house softly. He looked around, making sure no one saw him leaving, and headed towards the barn. He wanted to talk to Casey, and knew that he'd most likely be found there.

His assumption was right, and he could hear Casey before he actually saw him. Raph walked a bit farther into the barn, and saw Casey, furiously hitting the punching bag they'd moved into the building a few weeks earlier.

Raph stopped halfway through the room. He silently observed his friend. He noticed the bandages that were on his hands, and the blood that soaked through around one of the knuckles. He winced slightly. Those were gonna hurt in the morning…

Suddenly, the pounding stopped, and Casey wiped his face with his sleeve, sweating with the effort.

Raph moved back in the shadows, and Casey passed by him; whether or not he noticed Raphael was unknown. After a moment, Raph moved to the door of the barn, and saw Casey walking towards the woods, away from the house. He decided to follow. He'd been wanting to get to the bottom of what was going on, and figured this to be as good a time as any. He pushed away from the doorway, moving towards his friend.

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April drove through the town, looking for a place to park. The small area was busy today, and she'd been gone longer than she'd meant to. She kind of welcomed the break away from everyone else, though. It gave her time to think, which was either a really good thing, or really bad. She pulled into a parking spot, and shut off the car. She sighed, leaning her head on to the steering wheel. She decided that she had to explain a few things. She needed to tell him the truth, she realized. He deserved to know… But how would she tell him? It wasn't something she could just blurt out now, was it?

She groaned, and thumped her head against the wheel again, and the horn suddenly beeped.

Right. She thought, wryly. That wouldn't be some kinda sign, now, would it?

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"Yo, Case. Wait up." Raphael half-jogged up to Casey, and began walking beside him. They walked in silence for a moment before Raphael spoke.

"So, uh, Casey." He began. "Is there…something going on that I should know about?"

Casey glared over at him for a moment.

"I mean, you seem a little… upset sometimes, and I was just wonderin'…"

Casey sighed. "It's nothin', Raph, really…"

"What happened yesterday was not nothing." Raph broke in. "I'm hopin' what happened with Lindy was an accident."

"It was." Casey nodded.

Raph nodded also. "But what happened after that wasn't." He finished.

Casey looked down.

"Look," Raphael continued. "Casey, you're my friend, man, but Don's my brother. I wanna know what's…"

"You know how hard it was for me? To come knocking on that door?" Casey interrupted. "I like spendin' time with ya, Raph, you know that. But if I'd had anywhere else to go…" He shook his head. "You think I like having to be in the same house as her? It's hard, man."

Raph was silent for a moment, letting it sink in. He also noticed how Casey had avoided the question earlier, but decided not to call him on it. Not yet. He wanted to keep him talking, but Casey beat him to it.

"But I had no choice." Casey said, then looked down, sighing heavily. "I got into a bit of trouble, Raph."

Raphael sighed. "Casey…"

"I knew they couldn't find me here." Casey continued. "I never thought anyone'd be there, but when I saw the car…"

Raph groaned. "You were being followed? And you led them right to us."

"No." Casey shook his head, still not looking over at his friend. "I lost them awhile back. But I figured it best to just… lay low for awhile, you know?"

"Man, what if they followed you?" Raph asked. "We can take care of ourselves, but April's here. And Lindy…"

"I didn't know she was here, now did I?" Casey broke in angrily.

Raphael looked over at his friend. He didn't know which 'she' Casey meant by that, but he felt his blood begin to boil. He breathed deep, trying to calm himself.

"Once I think it's all clear, I'm outta here." Casey continued.

"Alright." Raph muttered, holding his hands up. He didn't want Casey mad at him, not right now anyway. They walked farther in silence, until Raph couldn't hold back any longer.

"Were things that horrible between you two for that long?" He asked finally. He almost regretted saying anything at all, and he hoped Casey wouldn't be too angry.

"No." Casey snorted. "I thought things were great, up until that one night." He looked over at Raph, who was looking at him, confused.

"She really didn't tell any of you?" Casey breathed. Raph shook his head slightly and Casey sighed. "We were engaged…" He said, an almost ironic tone to his voice.

Raph groaned. "Oh, Casey, man. I didn't know. I'm sorry…"

"Until she decided she didn't want that anymore. She didn't want me." Casey went on. "She never did, I think…"

Raph thought about that for a minute. "But, if April was the one who ended it, then why was she so upset that you came back?" He said finally.

Casey stopped, and Raph walked a few feet farther before turning back and looking at him.

"She was upset?" Casey asked and Raph nodded. "Really…" Casey mused, and Raph was almost sure a hint of a smile played on the man's lips.

"Yeah…" Raph said slowly. "At least, she seemed like it sometimes." A horrible suspicion was nagging at him, but he pushed the thought back, concentrating on the conversation at hand.

Casey crossed his arms. "She's upset…" He repeated. "Good." He stated.

"Good?!" Raph repeated, a bit surprised. Whatever had happened had made Casey more than a little bitter, that much was clear. But he still wanted to know exactly what had happened. He wanted him to say it, confirm the idea that had burrowed its way into his thoughts.

"Well, she brought it upon herself." Casey said, then looked at Raph.

"What did she do, exactly?" Raph prodded, trying to break Casey down, make him tell him what had happened.

Casey glanced over at Raphael, and Raph was surprised to see a sad look in his friend's eyes now. Gone was the defiant, hard look.

Casey walked over to a rock and sat, bowing his head. Raph stood a bit away for a moment, unsure of what to do.

Casey began talking lowly, surprising Raph out of his daze.

"We'd been fighting, for a while." He said, then looked up at Raph, smiling. "Well, we always fought, but… this time it was real." He looked back down again. "One day, I found her in the kitchen, packing to make another trip down to the lair…"

Three years earlier…

"Going there again?" April stiffened as the words drawled from Casey. She looked up and glared over at him.

"I'm allowed to go where I want." She stated simply, shoving a few more things into her bag.

"Yeah, you are." Casey agreed, then walked over and stood next to her, watching her work for a moment.

"What happened this time?" He asked. "I haven't seen Raph or the guys in forever."

She laughed weakly. "No big great adventure." She said. "So you don't need to worry about missing that. Just some supplies they needed. Bandages, antiseptic, stuff like that…" She continued getting ready, zipping her bag shut.

"That couldn't wait 'til morning?" He asked, shifting in place.

"Well," April continued. "There were some other things they wanted me to take a look at."

"Uh huh." Casey said, a scowl forming on his face.

"And… we're not doing anything tonight, are we?" She continued, looking up.

"No…"

"See? And, I wanted to see how they were." She said, sitting down at a chair to put her shoes on.

"You were there two days ago." He said.

"Casey," She admonished. "This is really hard on them" She continued, then shook her head. "You wouldn't understand."

"Maybe because I don't spend every waking moment over there…"

"I'm not there all the time" She said. "For your information, there have been plenty of times when I haven't seen or heard from them in days, weeks even, and I know they're ok."

He snorted. "Yeah, but you spend the whole time worried sick about them, too."

"Well," She said slowly. "They live a dangerous life." She continued.

"So do I. So do you, sometimes."

"Well, you do it by choice. They've been forced to…"

Casey sighed loudly, breaking into her sentence. "Let's not get into this conversation again." He said, shaking his head.

"Well, you insist on bringing it up." April said.

"I'm not the one trekking down to the sewers again for the hundredth time this week."

"I was there twice." April said, finishing tying her shoelaces, pulling them tight in her anger.

"You know what your problem is?" Casey said, getting warmed up, now. "You need to be needed. They were doing fine before they met us, and they'd be fine without us. You literally need them to need you…"

She looked up at him, rage evident in her eyes.

"It needed to be said, April." Casey continued. "It's harsh, but it's the truth." He shook his head. "I need you too, you know." He said softly.

She stared at him a moment longer, then shook her head, almost sadly. "Look, I said I'd go down today, ok? We can do something tomorrow. Go out to eat, go for a walk…"

"I don't want to be the one pushed to the backburner, April." He said, his voice soft, but firm. A sad look came into his eyes now.

"Casey…" She sighed. "You just don't understand."

"Because you won't let me." He said. "Or don't want me to."

She looked away from him.

"What don't you want me to know, April?" He prodded, his arms crossed. "What is it?"

"Nothing, Casey! God, I hate when you get so over-protective like this." She said, standing to get her things. "If you're gonna be like this, maybe I'll spend the night in the lair, let you cool off."

He sighed heavily again, and looked over at her. "You do that," He said. "And I won't be here in the morning."

She stopped dead in her tracks, looking over at him. "What?" She sat back down at the table.

"You heard me." He said simply.

She looked away. "Don't. Don't make me choose between you and them. I can't do that."

"Why?"

"Because… Because they're my family." She said finally, looking up at him with a venomous glare.

There was a long pause where he seemed to be unable to figure out what to say. When he spoke again, his voice was low, and serious.

"I want you to tell me that's true." He said, and his voice rose as he spoke, until he was almost shouting. "Tell me. Tell me that you've never once thought about any one of them in a way that was less than 'familial'."

There was a small pause. She looked away, tears burning her eyes. "Get out." She finally said, softly.

"What?" He wrinkled his nose, looking at her.

"Get OUT!" She screamed.

He jumped, surprised at the outburst. A grim smile came over his face. "I thought so." He said softly.

She half stood, looking like she was about to punch him. He backed off, his hands in front of his himself in a calming gesture.

"Hey, I'm outta here." He said, still backing towards the door. "I knew it." He said softly when he reached the door. "I knew it…" He repeated, almost to himself.

"You don't know anything!" She cried, and his heart jumped as he noticed the tears running down her face. He just shook his head, opening his mouth once to say something, but then closing it again. He walked out the door.

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The woods were silent for a long moment after Casey finished. He continued looking at the ground determinedly.

"You made her choose?" Raph finally blurted out.

"I didn't want to." Casey said softly, then looked back up at Raph, the pain still evident in his eyes. "She'd chosen a long time ago." He continued. "I just made her say it."

Raph sat down heavily on a log. A million scenarios had run through his head, as to why Casey and April had broken up. But never this. He looked over at his friend again, then fixed his gaze on the trees ahead of them. He sighed. For once in his life, Raphael had no idea what to say.

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Back in town, April finally made it to her car, dragging the last of her bags with her. She threw them into the back, and sat down in the driver's seat, pulling out a sheet of paper.

Check, check, and check. I'm done… She thought, happily, as she put a pen mark through the last line on her paper.

She sighed, and backed out of the parking spot, waving at the person who'd let her go.

Alone in the car, however, her thoughts caught up with her, and she was soon biting her lip in anticipation of what she was about to do.

It's for the best. She thought resolutely, then sighed heavily. This could either make or break me…

So caught up in her thoughts was she, that she didn't see the headlights until they were almost upon her.

As her eyes suddenly focused on the twin beams coming her way, she slammed her foot on the brake and muttered something she was sure Don would chide her for saying, especially if Lindy were around.

That was her last thought before all she heard was the crash of glass and metal. And then the silence.

To be continued…

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A/N - Man, was that evil of me or what? I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Don't be too mad!! But, we finally know what happened with Casey and April. Don't we? Well, at least Casey's take on it… ;) Well, either way, since it's the holiday time, I'll have more time to work on this. A new chapter should be coming along shortly.

~ This story has been nominated in the FanFic Awards! It's up for 'Most Accurate Portrayal of TMNT or Supporting Characters' and 'Best Drama'! My story, 'Operation: Candy' had also been nominated, for 'Best Holiday Fic'. What an honor, that people enjoy my stories enough to nominate me. Thank you to those who did, and thank you in advance to anyone who sees fit to vote for me; you've honored me by doing so. The site where you can see the rest of the stories up for awards and vote for your favorites can be found on my profile page here on ff.net.

Voting takes place from December 22-29. Winners will be announced on December 30th. Good luck to all those nominated!

~ I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season! See you soon!