Chapter 3

"He's not nearly as bad as usual tonight," Casey said thoughtfully, setting the girl on his tattered couch, "He's prob'ly got you ta thank fer that, eh Mikey?" Raphael had excused himself the moment they'd reached the apartment and was retching in the bathroom.

"Yeah, I was just being too annoying for him to drink," the orange-masked turtle chuckled, settling down on a hard, slightly splintered wooden folding chair. It was made from cheap material, but the more probable reason for its poor condition was Jones' temper. He was quite a bit like Raph, actually, which would explain their friendship.

"You should go with 'im more often," Casey said, traipsing to the kitchen, "You might be able to get 'im ta quit before it gets too serious. I been tryin' ta talk 'im out of it, but it's kinda being…what's the word? Hypocritical."

"You too, Case?"

"Hey – I get bored easily," the dark-haired young man replied, reemerging with what looked like a glass full of mud, "Difference is, I can handle my liquor. You bro's got what we call…a delicate system," he added with a grin as he ambled over to the bathroom, "Hey Raph – look what I got for ya."

A loud curse reverberated out of the bathroom, causing Mikey to grin. Casey was undiscouraged, though he too looked amused, "Drink it. Or you can just go on like dis all night."

"A'right, give it here," Raph replied, his voice rather weak and feeble.

"Atta boy, dere ya go," Casey said, a hint of mock-parental-influence evident in his voice, "You polish that off, an' you can come back out when you think yer not gonna puke all over my floor." He returned to the living room looking pleased with himself for accomplishing his mission.

"How long has this been going on?" Mikey asked, "I mean, Raph comin' here to puke his guts out. And what was in that stuff you gave him? Tar?"

Casey ran a hand through his dark hair, thinking, "Mmm…I guess it's been about a month or so…maybe a little more. I found him in an alley not far from that bar the first time and dragged his drunken ass back here – I couldn't just leave 'im ta get found by somebody else." He paused, reflecting, taking a seat beside the unconscious girl on the couch, "And as for the stuff in the glass – trust me, ya don' wanna know. Just believe me that it works."

"Flush the system and all that?" Mikey asked jokingly, smiling.

"Yep. Big time," Casey nodded, leaning down and grabbing the duffle bag the girl had had with her, "Now than, let's see what she was in such a hurry to get away with…"

When he opened the tattered container, several odd smells protruded from it, not offensive but strange none the less. Casey raised an eyebrow as he pulled a piping hot Chinese box. It was marked in several places with different symbols, all red and foreign to the vigilante's eyes, "Take-out?" he asked Mikey incredulously, sniffing it carefully.

"Lemon chicken and fried rice," the teen eating-machine answered, licking his lips and grabbing the bag, "Kung Pao chicken, Mu Shu pork, Chicken Chow Mein, Beef Lo Mein…"

"Hey buddy, no eatin' the evidence!" Casey scolded, trying to remove the bag from Mikey's iron grip.

"Aww, they'll never miss just one…" Mikey whined, mouth watering, "You can't tell me that smell isn't making you hungry."

"There's a phone in the kitchen," Jones said firmly, pointing, "If you got any cash, order out Chinese."

"But it's right here…" Mikey sighed as the bag was taken from him forcefully, "Are we really gonna bag her for stealin' food? I mean, if we let her go, than we wouldn't need to keep the evidence…"

"Well, search that gigantic coat of her's. There might be somthin' else incriminatin' to satisfy da cops."

"I feel kinda weird doin' this…" Mikey said uneasily, as he lifted the girl into a sitting position and Casey peeled the coat off of her.

"Hey, it's fer her own good," Casey reminded his friend, "Livin' on the streets runnin' from the pigs isn't exactly the safest way to live life."

At that moment, Raphael reentered the living room, empty glass in one hand, still looking greener than usual. He raised one eyeridge at the odd scene; the girl had fallen forward against Mikey's chest and he was holding her under the arms, looking nervous. "Um…can I ask what the hell you two're doin'?"

"Tryin' to look for stuff," the lone human male in the room explained, searching through yet another pocket of the large coat, "ya know, knives, drugs, stuff other than that Chinese over there that'll get the little thug into trouble."

"Little is right," Mikey said, looking down at the sleeping girl, "I can feel her ribcage like nothin'."

Raph nodded, then groaned and dropped down into the overstuffed chair across from the couch, sinking low into the cushions, one arm stretched over his eyes.

"Isn't drinking great, Raph?" Mikey asked, smirking, "Really makes you feel super, right? Didn't you tell me something along those lines?"

"Oh shut up…" he moaned.

"Hey guys, check this out," Casey interrupted them, gesturing to a pile on the wooden floor in front of him, "She's got a mini-arsenal here, lookit this…switchblades, pocketknives, razors, chains…"

"What's the stuff in the little bags?" Mikey asked, scratching his head as he stared at a pile of small, dirty plastic carriers on the coffee table.

"Looks like heroin to me," Casey said, "No needles on 'er though. She prob'ly just peddles the stuff."

"Don't you think she'd be a little better off with all this?" Mikey asked, somewhat confused, "I mean, why would she need to steal food when she can afford to sell dirt like this?"

"Dunno," Casey shrugged, "You don't suppose she's got more than one mouth to feed, do ya?"

"At her age?" the turtle asked, raising an eyeridge, "I sure hope not."

"I seen it before," Casey said, shaking his head, "Though considering her size, she prob'ly couldn't survive havin' a baby. So scratch dat idea."

"How old d'ya suppose she is?" Raph asked, resting his chin in one hand, eyeing the girl blearily.

"Doesn't look much more than 12," Mikey said, lying the small being back down on the couch.

"Guess we can always ask 'er when she wakes up," Raph muttered.

"Speakin' a' which," Casey said, getting to his feet, "D'ya think we need ta restrain 'er before that? D'ya think she'll give us a fight in the mornin'?"

"She was givin' us a fight just an hour or so ago," Michaelangelo replied, resettling himself on the folding chair, "So, I say we should at least bind her hands and feet."

"I'm on it," Casey nodded, pulling some fraying pieces of rope out of his armory (a.k.a. his hall closet). He made quick work of tying her hands together behind her back, and then her ankles. "Now if you two boys no longer require my assistance, I'm gonna turn in," he said with a mock bow before retiring to his bedroom.

Silence filled the room, but it was not fated to last. Not with the resident turtle motor-mouth in the area, "So, how're you doin', druggie?"

"Please don' call me that…" Raph sighed.

"Why not?"

"Cuz…cuz…" Why did that word annoy him so much? Because he hadn't realized his brother's opinion of him could sink any lower? Because it was true? But it wasn't…he wasn't a 'druggie'…was he? "I dunno…I just don' like it…"

"But it has a certain ring to it: Raph, the druggie!" Mikey joked, holding his fingers together in a rectangular shape at his brother, as a director does when surveying his scene.

"That's all I'll ever be, isn't it?" Raph muttered, "The jackass who always gets himself in over his own hothead, right?"

"Nah," Mikey said, walking over to his sibling and sitting on the armrest of the chair, "Yer also my brother, and don't forget it."

"Hmph," Raph snorted, trying not to look too pleased, "Hey Mikey…?"

"Yeah?"

"I dunno for sure if anybody else knows about this, sides you an' Casey…and I'd kinda like it ta stay that way…"

"You need help, Raph," Mikey said evasively. He had never been very good at secrets, and this was one he wasn't sure would be good to keep.

"Yeah, yeah…but look – how 'bout I work on getting it without the guys? I'm already the least favorite – an' this'll prob'ly get me kicked out fer good…" he muttered into his hand.

"We wouldn't kick you out!" Mikey responded strongly, affronted, "You might be the screw-up of the family, but yer still family, dude!"

"But how many times do I have to screw up before they get sick of it? I know Leo'd love to bust me for this…" he said, wishing he could stop himself from going on. He hated baring his soul to anybody, and he was beginning to think that the alcohol still in his system wasn't helping.

"Leo likes to bust on you in general, it's been like that since we were kids." Mikey began to count on his hands, pushing down fingers, "Leo was the sensible one, Donny was the smart one, you were the wiseass one, and I was the handsome, adorable, all-around attractive and best ninja, funny one.

"Don't forget modest."

"But of course."

"So what you're saying, basically, is that you're gonna rat on me, huh? Somethin' about it being for my own good an' all that shit?"

"I was thinking about it."

"Great…" Raph sighed, running a hand over his throbbing head, "I owe ya for this, Mikey…"

"I take cash, preferably small bills."

With the last of his strength, Raph shoved Mikey off the arm of the chair and then passed into painless unconsciousness where he sat, slumped over in the chair.

Mikey rubbed his tender backside grumpily and stood once more, wanting to return the favor to his brother, but unable to bring himself to hit an unconscious opponent. He sighed and returned to his folding chair. Eating the Chinese food was still an option, but the amphibian mutant found he really was quite tired. Moments after he closed his eyes, Mikey fell into a dull, gray, dreamless sleep…


Raphael woke with a splitting headache, but a remarkably fresh memory of the night before. That was a change from his previous 'sleep-overs' at Casey's. The sound of breathing was everywhere, amplified by the throbbing in his head, and he realized he was the first one awake. Slowly, he staggered into the bathroom, where he filled the sink and soaked his head for a moment before scouring the medicine cabinet for the Advil. Feeling a little better after popping a couple pills, he wandered back out into the living room.

"Mornin' Raph," Mikey said softly, rubbing his eyes, "Awake already?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, "As much as this hangover begs for sleep, I was never one ta sit still for too long. Sorry if I woke you up."

"It's alright," the orange-masked turtle shrugged, yawning loudly, "We have to get an early start today anyway if we're gonna make it back to the sewer without causin' too much fuss."

"…Right…" Raph nodded, having momentarily forgot Michaelangelo's refusal to keep his…problem…a secret. Shifting the topic of conversation, he gestured at the thief they'd caught, "What're we gonna do wit' her? Just let Casey deal with it?"

"Why not?" Mikey replied, looking over at the little girl, "Sure he might be a little rough, but Casey knows what to do with trouble-makers, even mini ones."

"Works fer me," Raph said, "The less she sees of us, the better."

"We'll just leave him a note," Mikey said, heading into the kitchen. Returning with a scrap of paper and a pen, he quickly scrawled: 'Had 2 go – lots of 'splainin' 2 do. L8R. M & R'

"Come on, let's get outta here," Raph said, unlocking the deadbolt and stepping out into the hallway.

"I'm comin'," Mikey responded, stretching his arms above his head, trying as hard as possible to release some of the stiffness in his body from sleeping in that shoddy chair.

Raph found himself clutching the railing along the wall as they trekked down the stairs to the street level, groggier and sorer than he would have liked to be, but (as he was sure to hear plenty of times in the next few hours) he'd done this to himself. He pushed open the side exit of the building and stepping into the alleyway, blinking against the morning sun. Even in the shade of the buildings it was too bright for his liking. There was just something about the daylight that made him feel uneasy – exposed. Even considering the confrontation that was coming, he was looking forward to being down in the sewers again.

"How you holdin' up back there?" Mikey asked, peeking around the corner of Casey's apartment building, hoping the coast was still fairly clear at this early hour.

"I'll live," Raph muttered, putting a hand on the wall and shutting his eyes, trying to will the dizziness away, "How's the street look?"

"Pretty quiet, just some old dude sittin' on the bus bench."

"Great. Maybe he'll just blame his seein' us on his goin' senile…"

"Maybe we could distract 'im."

"An' how do you propose we do that?"

"Hey wait! The bus just pulled up! Ol' 7:14 right on time. There's our cover – c'mon let's run!"

"I don't think I can…" Raph said weakly, a new wave of nausea sweeping over him.

"I could always carry you."

"What're we waitin' for?? Let's go," Raph said, sprinting past his brother into the alley across the street, where the manhole was.

Mikey smiled as he swiftly followed his brother, "Works every time."

"Don't forget to shut the manhole," Raph said as Mikey descended the ladder into the sewer after him.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Mikey replied, pulling the heavy covering back into its place, "Hurry it up would you?"

"I'm hurrying," Raph muttered, "Forgive me if I'm not so anxious to get home."

"Okay, I guess yer not lookin' forward to tellin' everyone about your little drug problem, huh?"

"That's it – move – I'm goin' back up."

"Get offa me!" Mikey cried, using one foot to grip the slippery, wet metal ladder and the other to kick his brother in the shell, "Keep goin'!"

Raph dropped to the sewer floor begrudgingly, "Do I really gotta do this?"

Mikey smiled brightly, "Yup. C'mon, let's go get you in trouble!"

"Let's not and say we did, eh?"

The more sober turtle gripped his brother by the arm and began to pull him along down the corridor, "We'll all be there to help you, it won't be so bad. Trust me."

Raph allowed himself to be dragged, steeling himself for the worst and saying nothing.


The Authors Talk Back!

VestqueX - Thank you - we really enjoy writing action, so we try to make it good. And if you can - please point those other Mikey/Raph fans our way!

Amy - Yes, this is based off of the new cartoon series (which I, Sam, am hopelessly in love with! ). And we both feel that Raphael's hot-headedness gives him a depth that just wasn't there in the old cartoon series. And don't worry - all the main characters are going to have their fair share of 'air-time'!

SulliMike - It's great to see you again! Glad you're enjoying this.

WitchGirl - You're so sweet! Yes, the girl they caught is Kylee from the prologue. And we're thrilled to know we're staying true to the characters - that's something the fanfic author in us always strives for!

Aerinsoul - Unfortunately, with our lack of cable, we haven't seen Teen Titans in a really long time, and thus our inspiration has run dry. "Maturity" really seems whole on its own, and we're happy with it. Glad you're giving this new story a chance!

Jo Dawn - Still so glad that you're enjoying this! And I (Sam) meant what I said about you being an inspiration! Your TMNT stories are just so filled with heart that I can't help but love them. Thank you again for the kind reviews!