A/N: You guys have been awesome. In reward I will give you two chapters today. I hope you enjoy! And on a nother note, thanks for pointing about the 'steak' out thing.... yeah, I sometimes do not look close enough after I type.... Well, have a lovely day.

Chapter Twenty-One: Roof Top

The next night, everyone was buckled down in his or her own activities. It was all ready late in the evening and pretty much all of them were awake and nowhere near sleep. The girls had thoughts about starting another 'sleep over', but canceled the idea when they each decided to do something with the turtles. Callista was a little hesitant with her plans, but reassured the others that she had plans and that the cancellation would be okay with her. Her swollen eye was nearly gone and was only left with some discoloration. Her arm was also better and looked as good as new.

Michelangelo and Delaney were settled on the couch ready with popcorn and the new comedy, Sci-Fi movie that Casey brought down before he and April left on a trip. She had her head in his lap and the popcorn bowl curled in her grasp. He gently would comb his fingers through her hair and stroke the strands against her head as if he was petting her. It was comforting to her. Her mother used to do it when she was having a problem that didn't include her mother's nagging or lectures. She loved it that Michelangelo took up where her mother had left, and then gave her even more as being her guy and loving her like no one else could. He would smile down at her every once in a while and take a handful of popcorn to shove in his mouth.

Eros and Donatello had run off to the garage and picked up the sewer glider. Apparently their position was that they needed to find some more metal and items for Eros's new ideas and Donatello's new inventions. Some of the others believed that they were going to cruise in the sewer slider for other reasons, but they weren't going to push the idea. They were gone for an hour or so already and Delaney had a thought that they probably would not be back until near midnight. With the way those two look at each other and the way they enjoy each other's company, they probably could stay out until the next morning.

Leonardo and Amity have been keeping each other constant company since the night before. Which was doing immense good for both of them considering Amity's parents and Leonardo's constant fight for Ninjitsu perfection. He hasn't had a time in his life where he took a time or two out for himself and actually talks to someone. Now, they seemed to enjoy long walks together and talk about everything that was on their minds. Delaney would remember doing that with Michelangelo. Heck, she still did. And as the wheels start turning in her head, Leonardo and Amity make themselves comfortable on two huge pillows. Leonardo put his shell against the recliner and let Amity lean back toward him. They decided that maybe a good movie was in order, and since Michelangelo and Delaney took over the television set up for the night, they had to put up with whatever movie they had put in. And to top it all off… Amity was smiling. Something Delaney hasn't seen from her since she came to.

Delaney looked over at the two and smiled. It was good that she was opening up to someone about it. Heck knows she wasn't going to talk to her friends about it. She knew that wasn't going to happen. Delaney knew better than to pry the information out of her. That would only send her further into her shell- pardon the expression. Amity would tell the others when she was ready. Delaney didn't talk to her friends about the deaths when her parents were killed, and opened up to Michelangelo instead. He didn't know her well enough to say that he 'understood' or that he 'knew what she was going through' or even that 'he knew that she was hiding something.' Sometimes it was good to go to a person that has no clue on what your life has been like and let it all out. That's what Amity needed. And it looked like she found it in the leader turtle.

Michelangelo felt her shift her head and looked down at her. She smiled up at him and moved her eyes toward Leonardo and Amity who were watching the previews of the upcoming movies. He looked at them and then smiled as he looked back down at her.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he whispered and winked down at her.

She nodded and settled her head back on his lap to get comfortable again, "Let's just let them be, okay?"

"All right, but that leaves out all the fun," he pouted and folded his arms over his chest.

She laughed softly and looked at the screen. After a few moments she didn't feel his hand and looked back up at him, "Why aren't you stroking my hair anymore? It felt nice."

"I'm sorry, is that my job now?" he laughed down at her.

"Yeah, as my boyfriend it is," she pouted and heard a couple of gasps from the side of the room. Both her and Michelangelo looked at the surprised faces of Leonardo and Amity who had overheard the last line.

"Oh please," Delaney rolled her eyes and looked at Amity, "You both knew it was going to happen sooner or later, so don't even try to act surprised."

"What took you?" Amity asked with slight humor in her voice, which to Delaney sounded so good.

"A good amount of pride and undeniable confusion of feelings," Delaney nodded and looked up at Michelangelo, "but I'm glad we worked it out."

"That makes two of us," he nodded.

"They way you two were beating the bush, I didn't think it would ever happen," Amity smiled and looked at Leonardo who was still getting over the shock that his younger brother was in an actual relationship.

"Well the fight did prolong the inevitable," Michelangelo put his finger up as if he was proving a point.

"Wow, that's a big word, Mikey. I'm proud of you," Raphael entered the room from the side along with entering the conversation, "Sorry to interrupt the great revelation, but I was wondering if you guys have seen Callista around anywhere."

"I thought she was off arguing with you somewhere," Delaney smiled her blackmail smile and looked at him

"Don't you start," he pointed at her, "I haven't seen her since this afternoon."

"I haven't seen her all day. I really thought she was with you," Delaney said in her normal tone. Michelangelo looked at the conversation between his girlfriend and his brother instead of the beginning of the movie and shoved another handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"Amity, Leo, you got any thoughts?" Raphael turned to the two on the pillows.

"No, I haven't seen her since lunch," Leonardo shook his head.

"I thought she said something about some fresh air," Amity thought to herself, "She might be taking a walk around the tunnels."

"For fresh air?" Delaney looked at her from over Michelangelo's leg, "Are you serious… fresh air… in the sewers?"

"Sorry, sometimes I forget where we are," she rubbed the back of her head and smiled, "Then I'm fresh out of ideas, Raph… Raph?"

The small group of four looked towards Raphael's direction to see that he was all ready gone. A quick look to the coat rack to find his trench boat and hat missing only meant that he was going topside and probably all ready knew where Callista was. Michelangelo shrugged down at Delaney and let her settle back down again. Before she even said anything he started to pet the side of her head again. She let out a contented sigh, which was rewarded by a light chuckle from Michelangelo. It just felt so much like home.

She paced the rooftop of April's building hoping to work off some of her frustration. It was one of the few buildings that she trusted enough to go to. The woman may be a news reporter, but she's trustworthy and a good friend of the turtles. Pacing back and forth wasn't able to put her mind at ease and she couldn't seem to catch a single stable thought in her mind. If it wasn't focused on Delaney, it was on Amity and her parents or on that scam bag that placed them all in this mess to begin with. She couldn't focus. Everything was falling apart. Everyone was falling apart. Including her.

Callista walked to the side of the building for the hundredth time and looked out on the cityscape. It was beautiful, to be sure, it always was. But it brought little to no comfort for her. She needed the comfort only a close friend could provide, but didn't want any of her friends to feel as if they were needed to settle her fears. She took a deep breath and let it slowly seep through her lips on the way out.

"I thought you girls were suppose to stay underground since the factory," Raphael stepped out from the shadows and leaned on the side of the building dropping his trench coat and hat to the roof floor. He took a quick scan of the city and then back at Callista.

"I needed some fresh air," Callista grumbled and pushed off the bricks of the building.

"Yeah, I heard."

"Look, don't miss around with me tonight, Raph. I'm definitely not in the mood, okay?"

"Excuse me for following orders, ma'am," he said putting up his hands in defense.

"From who?"

"Leo and Splinter. Who else?"

"That hasn't stopped you before," she spat.

"What's with the attitude tonight? I was just wondering what you were doing standing on the rooftop in the middle of the night."

"Well, you don't need to worry, I'm a big girl, all right? I can take care of myself."

"Those guys are still out there looking for you and the others. All we need is another missing girl."

"You really want to know what I'm doing out here tonight?" she asked with her back to him.

"Yeah, lay it on me Cal," he said with a slight snarl.

"I'm out here 'cause I want them to find me!" she turned to him and he finally saw the tears starting in her eyes and he had to take a step back. She has never cried in front of him before. It was strange to actually see it, but he also had the overriding feeling to comfort her. He tried to take a few steps toward her and take her into his arms, but she put out an arm to keep him back, "I don't want…"

"What? You want to beat the shit out of them?" he asked, "I don't blame you. We all do. But how do you expect to do that against fifty or so trained ninjas? That's what you probably will have to face if you do go after them. These guys are trained killers. You'll be dead before you hit the ground."

"Let them try. I took them on before-"

"And survived because they were ordered not to kill you. They will kill you if that's what it takes the next time."

"Like they could," she huffed and began to walk away, wiping her hand across her eyes.

He swiftly closed the gap between them and took her tightly in his arms, keeping her hands and arms trapped between the two of them and her head right below his own. She began to struggle against him and push against his plastron. Her tears began to overflow and after quite a few years, tears began to flow down her cheeks and soak into her shirt and touch his plastron.

"Let go," she cried weakly against his chest as she felt his chin touch the top of her head, "Let go of me… please."

She didn't need this, she didn't want it. She could be strong. She could deal with her own feelings. But then again, why did it feel so right to her? Why did his embrace feel like the right thing?

He slowly lowered his beak to her ear and whispered, "Tell me…Tell me."

That was all it took. She would have collapsed to the ground if it wasn't for his arms holding her up. She completely and totally broke down against him. His arms caught her and kept her up straight and on her feet. He slowly made his way over to a beach chair that April and Casey had put out on the rooftop to watch the night sky some nights when the sky was actually clear. He sat down and made sure Callista was sitting comfortably in his lap. She leaned on him, finally being able to let go and stop fighting. Her cries started to recede into small gasps of breath. She sniffed and turned toward him, hugging him from under his arms and leaning against him. Her breathing came in deep breaths as she finally got the ability to talk back.

"She's healing great, you know… she will have a scar in a few weeks with the way she's going. I mean, she has even pushed herself to go to the dojo every morning. I still worry."

"You shouldn't. Besides, Mikey keeps her company. And now that they're officially an item now, there is no doubt that she'll be able to go anywhere with out a certain turtle shadow following her."

"They finally got it together, huh?" she sniffed again and hugged him tighter.

"Yeah… when I left she was complaining that he wasn't complying to her demands and wasn't fulfilling his boyfriend duties."

"Sounds, like Delaney," she smiled a little.

"But that's not the only thing that is bugging you," he said. She smiled again knowing that she couldn't hide or keep anything from him. He just knew… that in itself was scary. Delaney didn't even know most of them time when she was hiding something. It would take her about a week to find out something was wrong and then another couple of days to get her to open up about it. But Raph… he was different. He didn't have to fight against her. He said jump and she would ask how high. And that said a lot considering that she still thought of him as an egocentric jerk some of the time.

"She's starting to do really well…Eros is so absorbed in Donatello and their little toys that she has no idea what's going on half the time. It's her way to cope, I guess. And Amity, God help her, has found some comfort in Leonardo and vise-versa. She's starting to get better. I think he's done more good for her than any of the three of us could do combined. I think I actually saw her smile this morning. Then me… Well, that leaves me fighting for sanity."

"Yeah, and everyone else worried," he said pressing his cheek to one of hers and whispered, "Including me… and that takes a lot to do. And a very special person."

She chuckled a bit and smiled a little, "You know, Raphael… you really shouldn't be such a nice guy."

"Why?"

"It doesn't suit you," she shook her head lightly against him and heard his laugh coming from his throat.

"Really, and I thought that it was normal for a guy to worry about his girl."

She pulled back a bit form him and looked in his eyes, "Is that what I am? Your girl?" she cocked an eyebrow, "I just thought that we made out once, kiss every once in a while and liked to argue."

"Well, surprise," he shrugged.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen," she chuckled and stood up, "I guess you do have a hint of humanity in you after all."

"You had doubts before?"

"Plenty of times," she nodded and wiped at her now bloodshot eyes.

"You're crazy, you know that?"

"Well, humor a crazy girl," she knelt in front of him on the roof floor and looked up at him from between his legs, "Kiss me."

He looked down at her and smirked, "The way you're talking… I don't know…"

"What you scared to kiss me? Am I just that unbelievable?"

"In your dreams."

"Mine or yours?" she laughed again.

"Well, if it will make you feel better," he rolled his eyes and focused on her face, "But if I do this… you gotta promise you won't get yourself killed."

"Deal," she nodded, "Even if that means that I got to stay down in the sewer and not look for trouble. And that usually means that I will be totally bored stuck in the sewers."

"I'll keep ya company. Besides, why would you need to look for trouble? You are the embodiment of trouble," he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Are you ever going to shut up and kiss me?"

Raphael grabbed her from under the arms and lifted her to her feet. He leaned toward her and began to kiss her softly on the lips gently applying more pressure ever so often as he went. Both of their eyes closed and surrendered their conscious minds to the kiss. Callista wrapped her arms around his neck as he slipped his arms slowly around her back. Both of them originally planned it to only last a few moments, but the moments have already passed and they were still absorbed with one another. It had been a while since they have been able to be alone and this was the only time they have been able to actually kiss since their first time in his room. After a few moments they pulled away and she smiled.

"I'm so glad that you waste no time in relationships. There's an argument then a make out session, then I'm your girl. Just that fast."

"It's not my style to waste time," he closed in and began to kiss her lightly on the lips and then along the jaw line.

"I guess not," she nodded and pushed him back, "I guess that we're official now?"

"We were before."

"I didn't know."

"Well, now we're clear, right?"

"Yeah, we're clear," she sat back down on his lap and put her head on his shoulder.

"I guess we should tell the rest of them huh?"

"Why?" she looked up from his shoulder.

"There is no way I can hold myself back any more. They are suspicious anyway. It's strange, I want them to know."

"That's good."

"Besides, Delaney all ready figured it out," he chuckled and gave her a hug.

"Well, is it time to get back and face the music?"

"How about we stay here at April's for movie first?" he looked down at her, "It looks like you need a break."

"You have no idea."

He stood up and put an arm around her waist as the went to the open window that April always had for them to get in and out of the apartment. Soon enough Callista and Raphael were settled on the couch with the goriest movie playing on the screen.

"That was so fake!" Callista shouted at the screen.

"What are you talking about? That was pure brilliance!"

"Wow, look at all that blood."

"Nice."