A Thin Line

by JuicyJ

15 years of torment for each of the turtles. Their master had been murdered so brutally...and they lost one of their own. The devastating blows had caused our reptilian heroes to split up. After so many years of seperation, will they learn to forgive each

Prologue: Painful Memories

"I never meant it...

I always thought I could win

I should've listened to my brothers

When they said I couldn't…"

Donatello remembered those words when his brother had said them. He had been sitting on a roof top and looking at the stars as if he was trying to tell someone how he felt. He had never been the one to come out and speak about his feelings. He liked to hide them from everyone who ever cared. Don remembered his hot tempered brother well. He had been angry at him when he did the most stupid thing he had ever done in his lifetime. He remembered the night like it was yesterday.

" Raph ! You can't just go off like this. We'll never find him if we have to go looking for you instead !" Leo had yelled. Raph had pushed past him and made his way through the broken door. They were in a maze of a building. Raphael walked with his arguing brothers close behind. He had to find him. Raphael knew that if anything happened to him, he would never forgive himself. Then there were voices. Raphael wasted no time. He took off at a dead run to the door where he heard the cry. "No Raph!" Leo cried. Mike and Don were frantic as they chased him into the room. Raph stopped and looked at his master Splinter. He was tied and kneeling down before a man who had pinned him against his will.

"Let him go ! Or I swear on my life I'll kill you !" "Try it ! You freak !" The man yelled. Raph was angry and lunged forward with his sais in hand. Suddenly, before Raph could stop, the man came down on Splinter's head with a sword. Raphael had screamed and kill the man with one blow. He had lowered to the ground and starred. His brothers shed their tears and starred in disbelief at their dead master. He had died so tragically. But Raphael didn't cry. He just starred. There was not even a hint of tears in his eyes. His brothers had grown angry with him.

Donatello starred at his computer. They had been so angry with Raphael for going forward the way he did. They had blamed him for the death of their master. But inside, Don knew it was wrong. His brother loved Splinter and trusted him. Their master was the only one that ever heard or saw Raphael's emotions. Raphael had tried to save him, but couldn't. It was a mistake to do what he did and he learned it the hard way. His brothers blamed him and then Raphael blamed himself. They had split up somewhat after that. Donatello closed his eyes as the tears threatened to come. He remembered when Mike had cried frantically to get his attention.

They had all ran out to the east side of the city. There was a large cliff with about a 25 story drop into the raging ocean. Leonardo had seemed uncaring, but Don could see the fear in his eyes. Raph had just looked at them as he stood on the edge. Mike had tears that streamed down his face. They knew Raphael was in a very emotion state and he just might do it. Donatello remembered the last words he had said:

"I never meant for him to get killed ya know. I wanted to save him...I tried.."

Before they knew it, he had jumped. His brothers had ran to the edge and watched his body fall into the raging ocean. Not even as he had said those words did he have tears in his eyes. He had disappeared into the white waves and dark waters. The turtles had gone to the shore at the bottom of the cliff, but he couldn't be found. They searched for days and realized that the sea had swallowed him up. Donatello often blamed himself for that. They had made Raphael believe that he was the one at fault for Splinter's death. Even if he had already blamed himself for what happened, they should've, as brothers, been supportive and tried to get through it together. But they had taken their anger out on the only one they felt needed to be blamed and it had driven him to his death.

After that day, Mike had moved out and became a writer and poet. With the much money he earned, he bought himself a house in a private part of Florida. Leonardo remained in New York though. Donatello couldn't stand to be there any longer and had also moved out. He had moved to California and he too had a job. No one ever really saw him, but he worked for a big time computer network. Even though they had never met him, they knew he was a genius and they were glad to have him as one of their experts. No one really knew what Leonardo did or if he did anything at all. Last they heard, he had made some friends and worked with them. Obviously, his looks didn't matter to them.

Donatello heaved a sigh. He and Mike talked on the phone and all, but being together like brothers should, was needed much more than far away voices. Raphael never was able to make anything of himself, because he never even had the chance to really live. He had killed himself only 3 days after Splinter was murdered. That was nearly 15 years ago. The turtles didn't look much older, but in their eyes was the look of wisdom and sadness. Donatello turned his computer off and got up. Slowly, he went to his room and laid on his bed. "What will come of us now, Master Splinter?", he whispered as the tears finally came.

Chapter 1: Art Of Racing

Michelangelo packed a bag with his art pencils and art pad. He packed various other art things into the bag and stuffed some snacks in there as well. He pulled on his trench coat and hat. He had pants on also with a pair of custom made loafers. He picked up his bag and walked out the door. He had a nice beige Mercedes that he had bought not too long ago. He had sold his old car to buy this one and was very happy with that choice. He got in and started it up. After carefully backing out of the drive way, he turned on the main road and made his way to the Gulf Stream Park.

He had been going to the horse races for almost 10 years now and loved every minute of it. He loved to draw the powerful animals pounding down the stretch and pouring their hearts out to win the race. Today was just going to be a few allowance races and maidens. But he was still intrigued by them. He pulled into the parking lot of the busy Park and got out of the car. He grabbed his bag and went to the barns. He was silent as he looked at all the different colored horses standing in their stalls. "Alright, tack him up for the race." He heard a voice say. He turned and looked at the young woman. She couldn't be older than 25 or so. She had somewhat long brown hair and hazel eyes with green speckles in them. She was truly beautiful, but so was the young woman with her.

She was a slender woman with somewhat curly black hair and brown eyes. It was obvious she was an Italian beauty that he took a small interest in. But he realized that he had come to look at horses and not girls. Not to mention he wasn't exactly their type. He sighed and stood, waiting for them to bring the horse out. He had a racing program that he had ordered before he came in. He looked at it and then the name of the horse.

"Butterscotch Ruler..." He read on. The colt was entered in a Grade III allowance race set to go off in less than 30 minutes. The colt was a two year old and this was his first race. He watched the colt emerge from his stall and was moved by his elegance and beauty. Butterscotch was defiantly his color, he had four white socks on his legs and a nice white blaze on his face. Mike decided that he was the horse to draw. He made his way to the stands and next to the rail where he could get a good view of the race. He pulled his camera out from his bag and prepared to take pictures when the horses ran.

He watched as the horses were brought out for the post parade. He looked beyond a dark bay and saw Butterscotch Ruler being led by the brown haired lady. He waited a little longer and then saw the colt's jockey come out. To his surprise, it was the young woman he had taken a slight interest in. She was mounted up and given instructions before the race began. Then the pony leads came and took the energetic Thoroughbreds to the starting gate. Mike could feel his heart start to thump in his chest. He always got excited when he was at the races. As the horses loaded, he watched. As soon as the last gate was closed, they all flew open and 7 horses pounded down the stretch.

Mike started taking pictures as they past and waited as the went past the club house turn and down the back stretch. When they made the final turn he watched and took a few more pictures. Butterscotch Ruler, suddenly lunged forward with another burst of speed and came into first within a few seconds. Mike was amazed at how the horse did that and took another picture as the colt went under the finish line to place first, 2 lengths ahead of the rest. Mike quickly went to the winners circle and waited. He saw the brown haired lady hug the jockey and her horse. When they were ready again, pictures were taken. Mike wasted no time and took pictures himself.

Then he silently watched the colt be walked to the backside to be cooled off. He then went to the backside of the barns and sat down on the grass. He pulled out his drawing equipment and started to draw the horses he saw in the pasture. He had to wait until he developed the film before he could draw Butterscotch Ruler. Drawing relaxed him. It was something he did to get away from all the bad things in life. Like when he started to write books and poetry. He often illustrated books and did his own art works. He used it as a means to escape from his past. He tried to forget about what happened. Once he had even tried to forget about his brothers and Splinter, but the fact was that it was something he saw everyday in his nightmares.

He watched the sleek horses graze as he drew. Then he heard someone behind him. He turned to see Butterscotch being led by his jockey. She stopped and stuck his tack in a large horse trailer. He looked at it and read the name on the side, written in silver; Silverbrook Stables. He had heard of it when he came to races. They were obviously very popular with very high standard thoroughbreds. But he had never seen those two girls before. Maybe he just hadn't bothered noticing anyone except the horses. He turned away as they walked past him without even a glance.

He packed his things and got up to leave. With one last glance at the young woman and the tall horse, he turned and left. Mike relaxed at home and waited as the pictures developed in his own dark room. When they finally came out, he went to his art room and began to draw various scenes of the race that he had taken pictures off. He sketched out the frame of the girl's face and then starred at it. He remembered it clearly and wished that he were someone he wasn't. It would at least give him the chance to talk to her. But he pushed the thought aside. He wanted to concentrate on his work.

Chapter 2: Lonely

Leonardo walked along the shore side. The same shore that him and his two other brothers had searched frantically to find Raphael's body. Leo heaved a sigh and sat down in the sand. The water rushed up to touch his feet and then retreated again. Things had been so hard when his brother and Master died. He always knew Raph was the drastic one, but he never thought that he would have drove him to his death. He raised his head and just starred out at the sea. What part did Raphael's body lie in? After 15 years, he had never dove into the water to find him. Leo knew it was too late, but he stood and walked to the water.

He stood in the salty water up to his knees and then plunged in. He swam under the water and looked at everything there was. It was cold, but he didn't care. He came to the spot where Raphael was said to have landed. He looked around and noticed something in the corner of a rock. He swam around and stopped suddenly. He was afraid of what he might find. Could Raphael's body be there? Bones would be all that was left of him. He decided he had to look. Leonardo pushed himself forward and looked around the rock.

Michelangelo held up the painting he had just finished of Butterscotch Ruler standing in the winners circle. He smiled in satisfaction and set it down. The phone rang just then. Mike made his way over to pick it up.

" Hello ?"

" Hey Mike." Mike knew the voice well.

" Hey Donny ! What have ya been up to ?"

" Nothin much. Just hangin around. And you ?"

" Well ya know me. I have a lot of books and poetry to keep up on. A few days ago I went to the Gulfstream Park to watch a horse race. I took some nice pictures and started to draw the winner of the Grade III allowance race. It came out nice."

" Cool ! I haven't had a lot of work with that company I work for. Oh well. I am thinking about a vacation in a few months. Would it be alright if I dropped by ?"

" Sure ! That would be great ! Be kinda like old times…"

Mike's voice broke off. Old times meant when the two would watch TV and Raph would argue and try to get the remote. Then Leo would get into it and fight with him and then Splinter would hit them both on the head with a stick. Mike couldn't help but smile at that. Tears threatened the back of his eyes. He missed his hot tempered brother and his master. There was a long silence until Don finally said something.

" Mike ?"

" Uhh ya, sorry Don. I was just thinking."

" I understand. We'll make plans another time, I just wanted to say hi and see how everything is."

" Thanks."

" Well I'll talk to ya later."

" Ok."

" Bye."

" Bye."

Don hung up the phone and stood in silence. It was hard talking to his brother now. His own brother. Don lowered his head in sorrow.

Leonardo came to the surface with the old sai in his hand. He looked at it silently. It was slightly rusted, but he had something that could clean it. He found nothing else. The currents washed his brother away 15 years ago, including the other sai.

Rage

Hate

Despair

Never to love another...again

The memories ran through his head as he remembered the past. Quickly he pushed the thought away and concentrated and what he was going to eat for dinner.

After Butterscotch Ruler was put back into his stall, his jockey backed up and smiled. Her curly black hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her eyes were filled with pride as she looked at her friend's horse. She wished that she could own a horse like him, but she was thankful to even ride him. Cam Russo kissed his velvet muzzle and walked out of the barn. It was getting late and she had to get home. She went out to her truck and pulled out of the driveway to Silverbrook Stables. Victoria Pena rode her 13 yr old gelding under western saddle down the back side of the paddock. The gelding was a gray, but he looked more white than anything else. His hair was black, but had white streaks. He was an American Quarter Horse and was almost 16 hands. He was still in very good health.

"Alright, Country Boy, whoa..." Country Boy stopped and waited as Vicky checked the back gate to make sure it was closed securely. Then she felt a presence. She only hoped that it wasn't a wild animal. Texas sometimes had them around the farm areas, but she hadn't had any problems with them. She opened the gate and mounted up again. Slowly, she walked her horse forward. She felt eyes upon her and it made her nervous. She pulled her Winchester Rifle out and kept an open eye. She trotted down the backside and into the woods. It was getting dark, but there was enough light to let her see around her. Then there was a loud crack and she turned her horse abruptly to the right. She looked to see a figure running into the distance.

"Hey !" She shouted. She hoped it wasn't some of the horse thieves that traveled around. It frightened her to make her think of anything happening to her horses. She turned back to the pasture and galloped into the gate. Quickly she closed and secured the gate and galloped back to the house. When she pulled up and brought him into the stallion barn, she quickly had the groom get him settled and went to check on the other horses. Everything seemed fine to her relief. She closed the barn and made sure the alarms were on. After being sure everything was alright, she went back to her house. "What a day." She grumbled.

Mike went through his racing horse magazines and looked up Silverbrook Stables. He looked at some of their winners and then their jockey's. Then there was an article that caught his attention.

"Fire Light tragically killed in riding accident. Colt's jockey; Cam Russo is suspected in horse's death."

Mike looked below the heading to see a picture of the girl he had liked. He was surprised that such a beautiful girl could be blamed for such a thing. The horse wasn't owned by Silverbrook either. Mike didn't buy it. According to the article, the jockey was just working the horse and he stumbled harshly. The owners tried to say that she had worked him too hard and she caused him to stumble. It had caused a compound fracture in the foreleg and he had to be put to sleep. But something was odd about that whole case. It intrigued him and he wanted to find out the truth about it. He wanted to help her and maybe then he would have the chance to at least be friends with her. He picked up the phone and called up the only one who could get into anything kind of file he wanted.

" Hello ?"

" Hey Don ! It's Mike, I have a favor to ask..."

Leonardo was sitting in the old den cleaning Raphael's sai. It was shined and he replaced the ruined leather with new leather on the handle. He then set it down next to his Master Splinter's old futon and candles. His old robe was there too. As Leo starred at the sai, he then began to think about how he had blamed Raphael. Raph's intentions were to save Splinter, not condemn him to death. Leo believed that he had driven Raphael to his death and he couldn't seem to forgive himself for it. "Oh Raph..." He sobbed.

Donatello went through his computer and hacked his way into police reports and lawsuit records. He found the reports done on Cam Russo and pulled them up. He read the things it had to say. Shaking his head, he turned to the next page. The colt she was riding, had obviously been training and suddenly stumbled, causing his leg to fracture. It also seemed strange to him that this had happened just like that. He also had to remember that horses were sensitive animals and are fragile. He printed the material he had and shut down his computer. He would have to review it later when there was more time. At that moment, he wanted to get some rest. He walked through his large hallway and into his room. Taking off his robe, he laid in bed and closed his eyes after switching the lamp off.

Mike couldn't really sleep. He was starting to like that girl a lot, and it made him wonder what was true and what was not. There must be some doubt in the staff of Silverbrook if they were going to let her ride their champion horses. He wanted to find out more about the case, but he had to wait for Don. Then he began to wonder why helping her meant so much to him. He was still a freak in the eyes of a human and what would he gain from helping her ? Would she even acknowledge him ? He looked at his ceiling and decided that it didn't matter if she didn't want to talk to him. He was supposed to do good, like the old times. He was supposed to protect and help people regardless of what they thought of him. He only wished that wasn't the case.

Chapter 3: Wrongfully Accused

Don had sent the printed files to Mike and still searched for information on the case. Obviously, Mike was really interested in this girl and wanted to everything possible to help her. But Don worried. Nothing good had come to them since they met with humans. He remembered some old human friends, but they had left a long time ago. He smiled as he remembered April O'Neil and Casey Jones. Both had gone on vacation when Splinter was killed and when they had come back, he and Mike had gone and Raph had killed himself. Leonardo was more than likely still talking to them, but he and Mike just lost connections. They practically kept themselves from talking to any humans, except on business. He wondered if Mike would be safe from harm while doing this. Don knew he couldn't deal with another lose. He clicked on Fire Light's highlighted name and waited to see what would come up.

"Please wait, Donatello."

The computer voiced. Donatello waited patiently for the information to come up. When it did, he found out that it was a medical report and record on the animal. "2 yr old . . . chestnut . . . tempered . . . bone fracture . . ." Don looked at the information on the horse's fracture. "Second fracture?" Donatello raised an eye ridge at this. He picked up the phone and dialed Mike's number.

"Hello?"

"Hello Mike? This is Don. I have some new information for you."

"Go ahead."

"Well according to this vet report, that horse Fire Light had already once had a fracture to the same foreleg. The old vet had advised not to race him ever again cause of the pain he would feel and the fact that they could kill him. There were large doses of Novocain found in the horse's foreleg, indicating that they wanted to numb it so the horse wouldn't feel anything when he was running. If this is true, then the horse could have stumbled and not even felt the leg break, so that's why he tried to keep running.

The owners had come down just in time to see Cam trying to stop him when she felt something wrong. The old vet was fired before that when he didn't approve of the colt being fit to perform at all. So the owners could have found someone else to say he was fit and do the examination or whatever. Either way, this is proof that Cam was not at fault and the horse had a previous injury and was told not to run him again. Mike, this evidence was not used in the case. Someone deemed it classified."

"So they were just lying to make her pay money?"

"I guess so. That colt was worth a lot. If the court thought she was responsible for the death of that animal, then she would have gotten a large fine and she would've had her jockey license suspended. That would probably cause some financial problems for her."

Mike took in what was told to him. He wanted to help her so much and now that he knew the truth, he had to get information from someone who knew a lot about horses.

"Don, can you send that information to me?"

"Sure, I'll mail it today and it should get there by tomorrow."

"All right, I'm gonna book a flight to Silver brook today and see what I can get from them."

"All right, bye."

"Bye."

Mike quickly grabbed his clothes and pulled them on. He grabbed his keys and went out to the car. He made his way to the airport. He waited in the airport until his flight was called and then he made his way to his seat. As the plane took off, he wondered if he was doing the right thing for himself. A few hours later, he left the plane and went to a place where he could rent a car. He went through all the different selections carefully and found a Mercedes somewhat like his. It was silver though. He checked it out and left the area. Texas had some nice farm area that Florida didn't. Horses were not exactly something he really got involved with, but he wanted to help out in some way. Maybe he would make a friend.

He finally saw the road that led to Silver brook Stables. He looked above him and saw the large entrance sign to Silver brook. He drove slowly done the dirt road and looked at the huge paddocks and different horses. He had never seen a place so nice in his life. He looked at the large house that was more like a mansion and a training oval on the side. It was about a quarter of a mile away, but it could clearly be seen. He pulled into the parking lot and saw the large barns in the back. There were four barns. He got out and looked at a groom leading a jet black mare to the paddock. "Excuse me?" The groom turned to look at him.

"I'm looking for a. . . . Victoria Pena. Is she here?"

"Yes, she is in the yearling barn. The second to the last one." He pointed and Mike thanked him. Mike jogged down to the barn and looked in. He saw Victoria putting blankets away.

"Um . . . Victoria?" She turned to face him. Vicky gave him an odd look. Probably cause he was dressed so that no part of his body could be seen.

"Um . . . may I help you?" She said uneasily.

"Ya, I wanted to ask you something about horses. I don't know much about them, but there is something I was wondering about."

She calmed down a bit and invited him into the office. He sat down and looked around at some trophy's and pictures. He looked back at her and when she sat down, he went on.

"Ok now I was wondering about an injury. See I wanted to know that if a horse had fractured a foreleg and the vet advised not to run him ever again, but the owners went against it . . . " He paused as he thought of how else to say the rest. "And they gave this horse a huge amount of Novocain, would it still hurt him if he ran?" She seemed surprised by the question, but answered it.

"Well, first of all. Novocain shouldn't be used on a horse about to perform. Um...if the vet advised to never run the horse again that would mean that the leg is very susceptible to breaking again easily. Novocain would be used to mask the pain. So the horse could relax and not feel it."

"Well if they used it when a horse was practicing and he stumbled, would he feel it if it broke again?" He could tell she was beginning to catch on but she answered anyway.

"If it was a large dose of it, more than likely the horse wouldn't feel it and he wouldn't notice until he couldn't walk on it. What are you getting at?" Mike looked away briefly.

"Weren't you at Gulfstream Park and looking at my horse?" She asked suddenly.

"Yes I was. I was taking pictures so I might paint him. I do art work so that's why I was there. But I had heard about what happened with the jockey that rode Fire Light. I was asking, because I did some research on it. My brother got into some files, that the owners of the colt had hidden."

"Oh?" She seemed to be very interested now.

"Well in the medical report, it said that the colt had fractured the leg once before and the old vet was fired when he didn't approve of the horse being fit to perform. The owners gave him Novocain and still made him perform. We think it is possible for him to have stumbled during the workout, but not have felt it and that's why he kept going until Cam noticed him limping. By then the owners blamed her for the accident."

"Do you have proof of that?"

"My brother is sending it today. He said it should get here by tomorrow. I wanted to ask about this because I wanted to be sure there was the possibility of it being the owner's fault."

"And why are you so interested in this case?"

"Because I don't think that anyone should be wrongfully accused for anything. Besides if you let her ride your champion horses, there must be doubt in your mind that she didn't do what Fire Light's owners said she did."

Vicky took that into mind. "Why don't you stay for dinner? You might want to take off that coat and hat though."

"No thanks . . . I am very busy and my brother is probably going to call me at the hotel. Besides it's not a good idea if I show myself."

She saw his eyes turn away from her. "Why do you say that?"

"Well me and my family were born . . . with deformities. We don't like to show ourselves to many people. But thanks for the offer." He stood and she walked out of the office with him.

"Will I be able to get a copy of these medical reports?"

"Yes. But please let these files remain anonymous."

"All right."

She walked with him to his car. "A nice car. I had one myself, but I sold it to get a bigger truck." Mike smiled.

"Ya . . . these cars are expensive though."

"What is your profession by the way? Obviously not horses or you wouldn't have come here."

"No, I am a writer, poet, and I do art pieces."

"Really? What's your name?" He hesitated, but the look of trust was in her eyes.

"Michelangelo."

"Michelangelo . . . are you the one that wrote that book The Tragedy of Love?"

"Yes . . . "

"That was a nice book and very sad. Cam loves your books and poetry. Maybe one day you two should meet. After all she loves your works and you are the one who just shed some hope for her with this case."

Mike was glad that she couldn't see his cheeks turn red. "Well maybe I will sometime. In the meantime, I have to get going." She nodded and watched him back out of the driveway. She smiled when he was gone.

"I knew I was right about Cam . . . thank you God." She turned and went to find her and tell her the news she had just heard.

Chapter 4: Figure of the Night

Victoria walked out to the back paddock to where she had been the last time when she was riding Country Boy. She had her shot gun with her and her warm coat. It was chilly out for November. It usually didn't get that way until right when Christmas came. She looked toward the woods a head of her. She wanted to go out there and make sure there was nothing there that could bring harm to her horses. She went out the pasture gate and secured it behind her. Gingerly, she walked into the woods. The trail she was walking down was covered in branches and leaves. It was hard walking on such slippery ground. It didn't snow there, but the dew and rain would make ground in the woods difficult to walk on.

Victoria noticed something laying on a log. She approached it carefully and when she came closer to get a good enough view of what it was, she gasped in surprise. It was a coyote. It was sliced open and his meat was gone. His organs were still there, but whatever had eaten it, must have been looking for something like the muscles. It smelled really bad. It looked as though it had only been dead for a day or two. Vicky couldn't think of any animal that could do this to a coyote. She held her rifle ready and walked on. She was looking around carefully, but she suddenly felt eyes upon her. She looked around, trying to find someone or something that would give her that feeling, but she couldn't see or hear anything.

Then there was a loud crack as a branch was broken. She turned to see a figure running off. She didn't know what to do, so she raised the gun and took a shot. She missed the thing by an inch. Getting frustrated, she took off after it. It was fast, whatever it was, but she didn't give in. It disappeared into a darker part of the woods. She fired again and stopped. She looked around, but saw nothing. Suddenly, she felt something fly by her head and she looks to see an extremely sharp spear like weapon pierce the tree right next to her face. She screamed in fright and was going to fire again, but she lost her footing and slipped down a hillside.

She screamed in horror as she came closer to the darker part of the woods where the thing had gone. She made it to the bottom and hit a log. Pain cursed through her when she tried to get up and she had the wind knocked out of her so it was hard for to get up. She saw the figure at the top of the hill retrieve its weapon and then come toward her. She could feel the cold of his stare. Suddenly, things became blurry and within seconds, everything went black.

Cam was looking at her books and poetry of Michelangelo and also at the very expensive painting she had bought of his a while back. There was a bright moon in the black sky, with sparkling little stars doting the sky. There were dark blue waters with rushing white waves and a cliff that went half way around the cove. She looked at it, but then noticed something she hadn't before. There was a figure on the cliff. She had never noticed it before, but she could see some type of body. She came closer to the painting and looked at it. It was like a man except . . . green.

It had a red mask over it's eyes and a shell on his back. That was odd. To Cam it looked almost like a turtle. She laughed softly to herself and wondered why the artist put it there. She knew that he was responsible for helping her and getting her ruled not guilty in the trail. "Maybe I should pay him a visit." She said to herself. She knew he lived in Florida, but he was staying at a hotel. No one had ever seen him without his mask and coats, she wondered if she could.

Leonardo sat at the table in April's apartment and sipped his coffee. Donatello was usually the one to drink it, but for a while he had been doing so himself. April came and sat next to him and looked at him. There was a distance in his eyes and she wanted to know what it was. He wasn't one for talking about how he felt anymore, and he had clammed up, almost like Raphael.

Leonardo looked at April and knew he had to tell her about Raphael's sai that he had found in the water. He remembered that she and Raphael had been somewhat close since he saved her life from the foot clan. That was many years ago. April had been so shocked when she came back to find everything in shambles. She hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye to anyone. He looked into her soft eyes and heaved a sigh.

"Ya know. I went to the east coast yesterday." He said softly. She knew where he was talking about. She was all too familiar with the place. She had gone there after Raphael had jumped and stood on the cliff just starring out at the ocean. "I went into the water where Raph . . . fell. Um . . . I find one of his sais." April looked at him.

" Did you find the other one or a sign of his body?"

" No . . . one sai was all that was left."

" Maybe."

"No." Leo cut her off. He knew what she was going to say and he didn't want her to hope for something like that.

"I know what your thinking. But the ocean took him out. He's gone April. I'm sorry."

She could see the pain in his eyes and knew that he had really cared for Raphael even though they did fight over the smallest things. She felt the tears stream down her cheeks and then felt Leo embrace her. Casey was standing by the doorway and had over heard it, but he didn't say anything. He just walked out again. Raphael and him used to be best friends and when he found out about Raph's suicide, he had cursed out all his anger and damned his friend. But deep inside, he knew that he wished he was back and that Raph hadn't done what he did. They never really talked to Don or Mike either. Everything was lost when Splinter and Raph died. Things just weren't the same.

Victoria's eyes fluttered open slowly. She looked around groggily, but she felt as though she couldn't move at that moment. She was in some type of cave and there was a fire burning nicely in front of her. She had an old blanket covering her, but it didn't do much good with all the holes in it. She slowly and carefully sat up. Her back must be bruised. Then she realized that she had no top on. She looked around for her shirt and jacket, but didn't see it. Her shotgun wasn't there either. When she looked in front of her, there was a figure in the shadows, but she could see the gleams of its eyes on her. She scooted away slowly and the figure made no move to stop her.

"Who are you?" She asked quietly. It tilted his head and glared at her, but didn't answer. His stare burned into her and she felt afraid and helpless. She turned away and starred into the fire. She was beginning to wish she hadn't came out there or fired her gun at it. But she wanted so much to protect her horses. Then the figure moved to a corner where it sat down. It remained in the shadows and starred at her intensely. "Why am I here?" She asked without looking at him. He just starred at her. She narrowed her eyes at him. "I have to get home. So where are my clothes?"

The figure looked at her fiercely. "Your clothes were torn badly when you fell. They won't do you no good." He said coldly. It was obvious that it was a man, but who? "What do you want with me?" She heard him laugh softly. She didn't like the way it sounded either. "You shot at me, you bitch!" He said, suddenly angry. She turned to him in shock at his words.

"Well . . . I didn't know who or what you were. I wanted to protect my horses."

"Horses? You shot at me for a bunch of horses!"

" Yes I did! Those horses are worth millions and I don't like no one unauthorized near them!"

He glared at her coldly. "Don't yell at me!"

"Fuck you!" She yelled. Suddenly, he lunged forward with his spear like weapon in hand. It hit the rock wall hard next to her and she found him on top of her pinning her down. The only thing she could see was the gleam in his eyes.

"What did I tell you?"

She pulled one hand free and took a punch at his chest. Pain cursed through her hand and she withdrew quickly. Tears of fear and pain came to her eyes and she couldn't bring herself to meet with his.

"Please leave me alone." She whimpered.

He laughed at her, but didn't let her go. She then realized what his hands felt like on her wrists. Strong and rough. Probably strong enough to break her neck, she worried. She wondered what the hard thing was that she had hit when she punched him.

"Who are you?"

He looked at her closely. "Someone you shouldn't have shot at." He growled.

"I'm sorry already!" She yelled as tears streamed her face.

"Oh poor baby is crying." He teased.

Then she saw his eyes grow serious…

"I hate you humans!" He growled before backing away from her and sitting back where he was. She starred at him in disbelief.

" 'Us humans'? What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said! Didn't you understand plain English!"

"But you said 'us humans'. Aren't you human . . . too?" She looked at him and waited for an answer.

He laughed at her again. "Please . . . if I was, I would have killed myself long ago."

"Then what are you?"

He stood and came toward her again. She backed up slightly, but when he came into the flame's light, she gasped.

Chapter 5: Friend or Foe

Victoria starred in disbelief at the creature before her. Muscles bulged from his thighs, calves, and arms. She starred at the dark plate like shell over his chest and stomach. There was a hard shell in his back with many dents and scratches in it. She looked at his face to see his dark eyes and a scar that went from part of his forehead to his cheek on the left side. It went over his left eye, which was half green and half brown. Whatever caused the scar damaged his eye. She looked at his three fingers and two toes. She was surprised to see such a creature.

"Are you happy now that you know what I am?" He asked coldly.

She glanced at him and then turned away. Maybe he didn't like it when people wanted to see him. He went and sat down again in his dark corner.

"How did you come to be like this?" She asked, turning to look at his gleaming eyes.

"You fuckin' humans dump shit in the sewer so much, we just happened to step in it."

"We?"

"Yes WE! I have three other brothers and I used to have a rat for a father!"

"Oh. Why aren't you with them?"

"Because I . . . " He paused, realizing that he was about to tell her what happened 15 years ago.

"That's none of your business!"

"Sorry. How long have you lived here?"

He looked at her with the same glare in his eyes, but answered. "I have been in this area for almost 14 years. The other year I was in Virginia."

"What is your name?"

He glared at her coldly. "Raphael." He growled.

Cam looked at the door to Michelangelo's apartment. She was somewhat afraid to knock, but she realized that she should thank him for what he had done for her. She knocked on the door and waited. Mike came to the door and looked out the peep hole. He gasped and almost fell over. He slapped his forehead in disbelief. The woman of his dreams was at his door. "SHIT!" He hissed. He ran to the bathroom and grabbed his long robe and his hat with a scarf to cover his face. He put on some slippers and his gloves. He came to the door and opened it slowly. He peeked out and looked at Cam. She looked at him uneasily.

"Um . . . can I help you?" He asked softly.

"Um . . . I wanted to come by to talk to you if you don't mind."

He gazed at her beautiful brown eyes and realized this was his chance to get to know her. He opened the door and made a motion for her to come in. She stepped in slowly and he shut the door behind her. He walked to the table and sat down in his chair. She followed and sat down next to him.

"Do you want something to drink?"

"No thanks."

She looked at him with soft eyes. She couldn't see any part of his body and she wondered what kind of deformities he had.

"So what did you want to talk about?" He asked uneasily.

"Um . . . well, first I wanted to know, why you helped me the way you did."

He looked at her. "Because I was looking through magazine articles after I saw Butterscotch Ruler race and I found that article on you and Fire Light. It was interesting, but something didn't seem right about it, so I researched more. My brother helped me with it."

"Oh. I wanted to thank you for what you did. I would've been suspended from riding as a jockey and then I really wouldn't have had the money to pay for my home."

She looked away as she realized how close she was to losing everything.

"I'm glad I could help. Do you have any horses of your own?"

"I used to have one, but he had to be sold, because of my financial problems."

"Oh. Are you doing better now that you work for Silver brook?"

"Well, I don't really work for them. I'm hoping Victoria will hire me as their full time jockey, but even as a part time, they pay pretty nicely. I just like to be around Butterscotch too."

He smiled. "That's one hell of a horse."

"Ya…Vic says he'll probably be a great horse. She's mainly working on a gray colt that has a temper problem. That's why she wanted me to look after Butterscotch."

"What's the gray's name?"

"Silver Serenity. He is the son of her foundation stallion; Silver brook Champ."

"Is that horse still around?"

"Yeah, he is still there. He is her main breeding stallion."

He nodded in interest. He was beginning to like horses more and more because of her.

"Um . . . I was wondering about something. I had bought one of your paintings a while back. It didn't have a title, but it had a moon with a black sky and dark blue waters at the bottom. It also had a cliff with a figure on the top…"

She saw him look down at the floor, but she couldn't see his expression.

"What about it?" He asked softly.

"Well . . . I was wondering who the figure was. It looked kind of like a…turtle."

She felt almost stupid saying something like that.

"It was my brother. He had killed himself by jumping off that cliff when our father died."

"Oh my God . . . " She whispered.

"And yes I know he looks like a turtle . . . "

There was something about the way he said it that made her wonder if that's why he was covering himself.

"I'm sorry I asked . . . I was just wondering, cause I never saw a figure like that."

"It's ok." He said softly.

"Well, I should get going. How long are you going to stay down here?"

"I'm not sure. Probably a while. I rented out a cabin a little way from Silver brook. I'll be here a while."

"Well maybe we can talk again another time. Maybe you could drop by Silver brook sometime."

"Yes, I guess that would be ok." She smiled at him. He walked her to the door and opened it for her.

"Thanks again." She said before leaving.

"You're welcome." He said softly.

Vicky looked at Raphael curiously. He was quiet, but starring coldly at his spear. It had a fork like weapon tied to the top of it and he was just gazing at it. Then slowly, his eyes moved to stare at her. She turned away quickly and trembled. She felt his stare on her and it was beginning to scare her.

"Don't you know it's rude to stare!" He growled.

She didn't look at him. "Sorry . . . I just never have seen anything like you."

"Ya well, I'm sick of you humans starring at every freak you see and making comments like we actually wanted to be this way."

She turned to him. His eyes scared her, but yet made her stare into them at the same time.

"I never called you a freak." She said softly.

"I know that's what you think."

"No . . . it isn't."

He looked at her coldly. "Don't lie to me!"

He turned away to face the wall and look at his weapon. Vicky was scared of him, but she had to let him know that not all humans were bad. At least not her. Also she might make a good note with him and stay alive. She quietly got up and moved closer to him. The blanket didn't do anything to cover her so she just left it. She hated showing herself to anyone, but he had already seen her and besides, they were in the dark almost. She came right behind him and gently touched his shoulder. He didn't move an inch. She lowered down next to him and tried to see his face. Her hand was on his shoulder and she gently tried to turn him around. But he wouldn't let her.

"Raphael?" She said softly.

She felt his body tense up and she saw the spear move a little. She feared that he would turn and just stab her with it, but she was about to take that chance. She moved her hand to his arm and felt the bulging muscles ripple under her touch. She used to have turtles herself, but he felt somewhat different from hers.

"Raphael?" She said again.

"What the fuck do you want!" He asked in a low growl.

"For one I want you to quit being so mean to me."

Raphael laughed to himself and turned so quickly, she barely noticed until his face was right next to hers and his eyes starred at her with hate. He grabbed her arms and pinned them behind her and came closer to her. She felt the warmth of his breath against her face and neck as he came close to her. For some reason, it didn't bother her in the least that he was close to her and he was what he was.

"I don't like you humans touching me." He growled.

"Why not?"

He seemed a bit surprised by the question and didn't answer it. She looked away uncertainly. She knew she had to get home to check on her horses. The grooms would have already left and she would be the only one home.

"I have to get home."

He gazed at her icily. "Then go." He growled.

He backed up and went to another little cave opening and came back out with her shotgun and torn clothes.

"This is not even wearable!" She said looking at her coat and shirt.

"I tried to tell you that before. Hurry up and go. If you ever tell anyone that you saw me, I will come get you and I WILL kill you."

She looked up at him sharply. His eyes said the truth.

"How am I supposed to get home without a top?"

He laughed. "Walk! Now go." He yelled.

She saw him pick up his spear and turn to her again. She got up with the gun and walked out of the cave. He came at her and poked her in the back with the spear to get her going. It was so cold out that her skin began to hurt and nipples stuck out. He looked at her breast before she covered them and walked on. She climbed the hillside that she had fell down and walked out of the woods. She walked to the opening in the woods and walked to the pasture gate. Raphael stood behind some trees and watched her in silence. He didn't know why he was starring at her, but something captured him when he saw her.

She trembled as she closed the gate. He could see the pain in her face. Her skin was turning a reddish blue color from the bitter cold and he wondered if she would be alright. He then saw a horse trot up to her. The animal stopped and she hugged its neck. But her hug was more like holding on. She dropped her gun. Suddenly she collapsed to the ground and held the horse's legs close to her. But she couldn't get up.

Chapter 6: Debates

Raphael jumped the pasture fence and headed to her. She lay on the ground, shivering from the cold. The horse she was holding stood quietly and allowed Raph to come near them. He touched her lightly and she flinched.

"Go away…I can make it…on my...own." She said through chattering teeth.

"No, you can't."

He grabbed her, causing her to cry out and frighten the horse. The filly side stepped, but returned when she saw no real danger. Raphael realized that her skin was now very sensitive. He gently came close to her and lifted her into his arms. He pulled her close and she wrapped her arms around him.

"Can this horse be ridden?"

She shook her head. "Too…young." She said softly.

His body was warm against hers and she cuddled closer to him and gripped him tighter. She then reached out for the filly's halter. He started walking and the filly was close behind them. When they made it to the barn, Vicky realized that the filly was the only horse out. Raphael carried her into the yearling barn like she said and she slowly stepped on the ground. The aisle floor wasn't that warm, but the heater in the barns made it a little better. She led the filly to her stall and settled her in for the night.

There was already food in their buckets so she locked up and walked slowly to the house. She felt Raphael scoop her up into his strong arms and walk to her house. He opened the front door and went to her living room. He looked around for a moment before setting her down. She trembled as she tried to get warm. He went to the corner where the heater switch was and turned it on. He came back and looked at her half naked body. He hadn't paid much attention to it, but now he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Where is your room?"

"Upstairs. Last door on…right."

He came and picked her up again and started up the stairs. He walked down the hallway and to her room where he set her down on the bed. Her room had horse statues and posters all over it. It was almost like some kids room. He went to the dresser and looked through the drawers. He pulled out a pair of her panties and looked at it with wide eyes. It was bright red with a thong back. He looked at her.

"You wear this?"

She looked at it and her eyes widened. "Put that away!"

She got up and came over. She was warming up more now and was regaining her strength. She took the panties out of his hand and put them back in the drawer. She pulled out a shirt and while she was pulling it over her head, she felt his hands suddenly touch her back. She startled and looked at him. His gentle look went cold.

"If you don't like to be touched, then don't touch me."

He turned to leave, but she grabbed his shoulder.

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

Then it dawned on her that he lived in that cave and that it was he that had eaten the coyote. She quickly pulled her shirt on and got in front of him.

"Don't go."

He looked at her strangely. "I'm not staying with any human." He growled and tried to push passed her.

"No…please Raphael, stay here with me! I don't want you to leave."

"Why not!"

"Because I don't feel like being alone. Besides I can repay you for helping me even though I tried to kill you."

She turned away, feeling bad for doing that. He heaved a sigh and relented. She took his hand and led him back down the stairs. She had no idea why she even trusted him. She felt bad for what he had to go through. Obviously people had treated him harshly and he didn't want to trust again. She wanted to prove that even one human could be good.

Don starred at his computer screen and at the picture of the man who had killed his Master. He hated that man with a passion. Raphael had killed him with one blow, but it didn't matter. It didn't stop the pain that seared through him. He began to think about Raphael. Would he have grown up to become more mature or would he have stayed like the same old Raph always starting a fight? He didn't know how he had made it that far, but it was strange. He missed them all so much, but he managed to survive through it all.

"I just wish we were all together again."

Vicky glanced at Raphael to see him scarfing down the dinner she had given him. It was two chicken legs, three wings, one thigh, a bowl of peas, french fries, a coke, and half of a chocolate cake with whipped cream. She was surprised to see him eat everything there. He belched loudly and looked at her. She gave a weak smile and went to her living room. He got up and followed, sitting next to her on the couch. He took his cape off and relaxed. She noticed that he was naked, somewhat. She glanced down, but didn't see anything. To her relief of course.

He looked around and heaved a sigh. He remembered his old home in New York. It was in the damp, smelly sewers. That was another reason he hated humans. They had such nice homes and cars, some didn't and it made him angry to see humans treat their own kind so cruelly. That's how he knew that if humans couldn't live with their own kind, then they would never be able to deal with them. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the pictures on the wall. There were horses and people and the lord knows what else. He looked at the ribbons on the wall and the pictures above the fire place. One caught his attention and he got up to look at it. It was a certificate for saving wildlife. Specifically; sea turtles. He turned to look at her.

" How did ya get this thing?"

She looked up at it. "Oh that was almost three years ago when a whole bunch of sea turtles were injured because of boats and nets. There were almost 300 turtles that beached that day and I helped save 267 of them. The others were dead."

He looked at her evenly. "Well at least you give a damn." He growled.

"Some of us actually do." She said looking him in the eye.

"Ya well, some of you might, but the majority of you don't."

Vicky didn't feel much like arguing with him so she kept her mouth shut on that.

"What do you do out in those woods?"

He looked at her, and once again, she could see the coldness in his eyes. "I hunt, eat, workout and sleep. Sometimes I go out to see things. Why?"

"I don't know. I have never seen you before, until I went riding that one day."

"I'm surprised you didn't take a shot at me then." He said gruffly.

"Raphael I am SORRY!"

He looked at her expressionlessly.

"Can we try to get along?"

"No."

She gave him a shocked look and her mouth practically fell.

"Why not!"

"You're human."

"WHAT! I know you must have had some rough times with humans, but will you please stop acting this way with me!"

"I don't think you should yell at me. This may not be my house, but my manners are gone now and I don't care what I do to hurt you."

She looked away. He turned to look at some of the pictures and she looked back at him. Her eyes traveled down his body in amazement. His muscles bulged and he had so much detail in his shell. His arms were built and veins stuck out, showing that he was fit and strong. She also noticed that the dents in his shell were deep.

"Where did you get those dents in your shell?"

He looked at her solemnly. "Many fights me and brothers used to get into. For some reason I was always the one to get these marks."

"Oh. Do you and your brothers know how to fight?"

"Yes...Ninjitsu is what we were taught."

"What's that?" She knew a little about it, but she wanted to keep pressing him on.

"It's a style of fighting. We used it to kill people."

She backed up in surprise. "Well! That's always great."

He glanced at her to see her nervousness. "I hope I won't need to kill you if you keep your mouth shut."

She looked at him. It amazed her at how he could just say these words so bluntly and not give a damn how he made others feel.

"Do you have any sisters?"

He laughed lightly. "No. Just three brothers."

"Then…are there any females of your kind?"

He turned to face her, staring coldly into her eyes. "No there isn't. Why?"

"Well I was just wondering…I mean when you and your brothers are gone…wouldn't that be the end of your kind?"

"Yes and I don't think it matters."

"Why not?"

"Because if I ever had children that had to grow up in this world with humans, I'd kill them myself."

She gasped. He picked up his cape and spear and started for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Home. Thanks for what you gave me, but I don't want to stay. I want nothing to do with humans or you, so make sure that you stay away. If you tell anyone about me or come near my home, I will kill you. That's a promise."

He walked out the door and she went after him, but when she looked outside, he was gone.

Chapter 7: Recalling the Past

Victoria pulled back on the reins and the gray colt slowed a bit. He was being mischievous and playing little tricks again. One was surely going to show up on her rear as a big purple bruise. Serenity didn't exactly live up to his name, except when he was in the barn and you had a treat in hand. She had finally gotten him to safely get out of the starting gate and gallop half way down the track. It wasn't the easiest thing she'd ever done, but she got it done. She trotted the head strong colt to the gap and pulled up. Cam greeted her with a smile and patted the colt's neck.

"I saw that spill." She said with an evil grin.

"Yeah! I felt it."

She jumped off and ran up her stirrups. She handed the reins to Cam and held her rear as she made her way back to the house. She heard Cam giggle and take the colt to the yearling barn to cool him out. Now that she was off the horse, her mind went back to that creature she had met. Raphael. Why was he so mean to her? And why were humans such a sensitive subject? She wondered what could have hurt him to make him think so badly of humans. She didn't have a clue, but maybe his brothers did. If only she knew where they were or what their names were.

She opened the door to her house and went into the kitchen. She checked her answering machine, but had received nothing. Then she noticed her Winchester Rifle wasn't there. She remembered that she had dropped it the other day when she had almost froze in the paddock. Quickly, she went out the door and to the stallion barn and brought out Country Boy again. The tall gray waited patiently as she pulled his bridle over his head. She put a blanket on his back and hopped on without the saddle. She urged him forward and went to the back paddock and opened the entrance gate. When she was in and away from the fence by about 3 yards, she trotted her horse up another 20 yards and then moved into a canter. His movements were not very smooth, but she knew had to make the ride less bumpy.

When she came to the back of the paddock, she looked around to where she had fell. Her gun was rested against the fence. She walked the gelding up to it and picked it up. There was a piece of black material caught on the barrel. It was part of Raphael's cape. She took it and put it in her pocket and checked out the gun. Country Boy threw up his head and eyed the woods. Vicky knew he was near by. She didn't dare want to go near the woods. She used to ride in there when the trails were good, but she hadn't in a while and she was afraid to know.

Raphael sat in the tree and stared at her. She was still checking her gun for problems. His odd eyes wouldn't leave her. Even with a damaged eye, he could still see. For some reason, the wound only caused the iris to change color half way and it had made him temporarily blind in that eye, but it was fine now. He held his spear close to him as he watched her. He had vowed never to befriend another human again. He promised himself that he would remain a secret and never let his brothers, Casey or April know that he was alive.

So far Vicky was the only one that knew, but she didn't know his dark secret. Finally, he saw her cluck at the horse and canter off. He watched her go in silence. She rode the horse like it was nothing. They looked as though they were one. He remembered he used to be that way once or twice with his brothers when they fought against evil. He remembered the Shredder and how Leo had ended him. Mike always acting like an idiot and fooling around. Donatello stuck to that damn computer. Raphael would most of the time be out and fighting. Blowing off steam half the time.

He used to go to the movies and watch the strangest things; as he recalls when he first watched "Critters". His Master Splinter would speak to him and tell him that he shouldn't forget about his brothers and that he should try to control his anger. Then Raphael remembered that it was his anger that had caused his Master's death. The man was holding the poor rat against his will and he called Raphael a freak. Both had made him so angry, and he didn't stop to think about what he was doing. He just lunged forward, but not in time to save his Master.

He also remembered how his brothers had been so angry with him for what he had done and because he didn't cry. And for the last 15 years he hadn't shed a tear. Not when Splinter died and not when he saw his brother's horrified expressions as he jumped. He lowered his eyes to his sai and then back to the paddock. He had to get home and find dinner. He'd enjoyed the one he had at Vicky's house, but now it was back to rabbits and coyote's, with an occasional bird here and there.

Leonardo looked at the art magazine with a painting of Michelangelo's in it. It was a racehorse. The painting he had done of Butterscotch Ruler in the winner's circle was on the front cover. April came in and looked at it and smiled.

"He always was a good artist."

"Yeah."

"Maybe we should pay him a visit." April said.

"I don't know. After what happened, Mike and Don have completely lost contact with us. That must mean that they don't want to talk to us. They might also have some problems with being near humans now."

"But…they know me and Casey and know that we wouldn't do anything to harm them."

He could hear the hurt in April's voice and he turned to face her. Casey had come up then and put his arm around her for comfort.

"I know that, but things are different now. I know them. If they wanted to talk or see us, they would have said something. You know…called or wrote. I have to admit that I even have a hard time dealing with humans. I have nothing against you two, but the fact is, that we lost a father and a brother because of a human and we are just…trying to deal with it."

He felt bad for feeling the way he did, but he couldn't help it. Hardly anything good had come to them because of humans. He was beginning to think somewhat like Raphael. He didn't want to totally believe everything that Raphael said. His brother had hated humans and only made friends with April cause she seemed to understand. He and Casey hadn't exactly got off on the right foot, but in the end, Casey had come to help them when Raph had been injured. Keno had also been a friend. They were the only three human friends they had, but now he didn't know if Mike or Don wanted anything to do with them.

"It's all right Leo. I understand. It's just still hard to think about this. I mean I loved Splinter and Raph too. I just wish Mike and Don hadn't split from us like this."

April heaved a sigh and looked at the magazine. "I guess Mike is into horse races now."

Leo looked at it. She was right. He realized that most of the horse race art he made was at Gulfstream Park, Florida.

"He must live there." Leo said, pointing to the state on the map.

"Yeah…I guess so. I wonder where Don is."

Leo didn't know the answer to that one. Don would more than likely be almost impossible to reach. If anyone was going to make contact, it would be Don or Mike. He set the picture down and looked out the window.

"Donatello?"

He looked at the computer screen. "What?"

"Are you alright? You seem to be down again."

"Yeah…I guess I am."

"Is this about your brothers?"

"Yeah. I miss them."

"Then why not go see them?"

"I don't know. I can talk to Mike, but I have a hard time talking to Leo."

"Searching through my database, I recall in your voice diary that you have lost contact with Leonardo. You do not participate in meditation any longer, and you miss your deceased brother Raphael, and when you think about what happened 15 years ago, you get angry. You attack the punching bag you have in your living room and then you cry. Why is this?"

"Because it hurts to think about what happened."

"Do you think leaving your family made it any better?"

"No."

"Then it is not logical that you felt pain and then left to feel more. According to my programming, I believe that a family should stay together and move on with their lives. Is this not true?"

"Everyone's different."

"What does that have to do with you?"

Donatello looked at the screen, but said nothing. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to stay with his family or not. He had to deal with this confusion on his own.

Raphael sat in his cave with the fire burning nicely. His large rabbit hung over the fire and cooked while he stitched the fur into a belt pouch. He set it down when he was finished and looked around. He realized that Vicky's torn jacket and shirt were still there. He picked it up and made sure nothing was in the pockets. When he found nothing, he held them before him and starred at them. She had fallen through some really sharp branches and trees and torn the clothes badly. They were somewhat dirty, but he had taken them off of her to make her more comfortable. He wasn't sure why he cared though.

He set them on his lap, but raised them to his nose and smelled them. It was a sweet smell. Like some sort of fruit perfume. He could smell the horse and hay on them, but it didn't bother him. It smelled good. He began to think about what he saw again. Her frail face, hazel eyes with green specks in them, her silky brown hair and her lush lips. Then his mind went to when she had left the cave and he caught a glimpse of her soft, full breast.

He remembered when he had pinned her hands back and how close he was to her. It was strange that she didn't scream. But the feel of her body against his made him tremble with excitement. Then he remembered she was still a human. One of them. He pushed the thought of her aside and grabbed the meat of the rabbit and hungrily bit into it. He wanted to forget about Vicky, but for some reason…he just couldn't.

Chapter 8: Running to Win

Victoria Pena jumped out of the large truck to look at the race track in Saratoga Springs. She had been there a few times with her mother when they ran some of their old horses, but she hadn't seen it in a long time. It had been almost seven months since she put Butterscotch Ruler in his first allowance race and now here she was racing him and Silver Serenity. She looked at Cam who unloaded the horses and had a groom lead them to the barns. Cam seemed to be a lot happier now and Vicky knew it was because of her friend Michelangelo. Though she had never seen him without his masks and coats, she knew that he was a kind person and she wasn't worried about his deformities.

Victoria had entered Silver Serenity in the $400,000 Whitney Handicap. It was a grade one race, but the gray colt had proved to be most impressive on the track. Now she would see if that would happen again in this race. Of course, Butterscotch Ruler was in a more rewarding race with a purse of $750,000. The butter scotch-colored colt was entered in the Travers Stakes. It was also a grade one. Vicky would be staying in New York for three and a half weeks. Serenity was due to race tomorrow and Butterscotch was racing on the 29th.

She walked to the barns and looked around. She hadn't really checked who her competition would be, but now was a better chance to find out. She walked along the stalls and checked to see if there were any horses she had ever competed against. Then a bay colt caught her eye.

"Son of Fire." She read next to the stall door.

Then she realized who he was. It was the son of Fire Light. They must of had frozen sperm of his before he died. She knew that he was a good horse and that he would pose a threat. She looked at the horse next to him. His name was Hell's Fire. He was a chestnut colt and she knew that he was entered in the same race as Butterscotch Ruler. He also had Fire Light's blood in him. But it wasn't the horses she was all that worried about. It was also the owner. They hated her and Cam with a passion. Then Vicky remembered what her mother had said to her when she was dying of a gun shot wound to the chest in the hospital.

"…Be careful. Fire Light's owners will do anything to win. Anything…!"

Vicky knew that his owner; Richard Claymont was responsible for shooting her mother. He had aimed for Silver brook Champ when he had won the Kentucky Derby 4 years ago. Her mother had jumped in the way to save the horse. But no one could prove that he did it. But Victoria knew the truth, but she hadn't told a soul about it. She backed away from the colt. Being near any of his horses made her angry. At him, not the horses. She turned and went back to Ruler's stall where Cam was standing. She saw Vicky's expression and frowned.

"What's wrong, Vic?"

"I just saw two of our competitors. One is Son of Fire and the other is Hell's Fire. Son of Fire, is Fire Light's son. He is racing against Serenity and Hell's Fire has Fire Light's blood in him and he is racing against you and Butterscotch."

Cam's face went almost white. She began to tremble in fear and Butterscotch nuzzled her to see if everything was alright.

"It's alright Cam. Just stay away from them and the horses. I don't want to lose my best jockey."

She nodded weakly and turned to Ruler who was starring at her with his big brown eyes. He looked concerned in a horse's way. She patted his neck to reassure him that everything was all right. Vicky told the grooms to guard the horses well and not let anyone but Silver brook staff near them. They nodded and sat outside the stalls. Victoria turned and walked out of the barn. She went to her truck and moved it closer to the barns. When she pulled up, she looked to see Richard and his snobbish wife talking to some high standard racing people.

"Yeah…talk to them while you still can. At least I know how you really win your races." She mumbled.

She was determined to make Silver brook one of the best and pass Claymont Farm in the racing business. She jumped out of her truck and walked by like she didn't even see them. She went back to the barns and looked at her colt's. These races would determine who goes to the Breeders Cup Classic and then the Kentucky Derby. She knew that she could count on her horses to run their hearts out, she just didn't know if she could trust Richard anywhere near them.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Silver brook horses and staff."

She turned to see Richard and his sneering wife. Cam looked at them uncomfortably, but Vicky stood her ground.

"Do you really think your Butterscotch Ruler can beat my Hell's Fire?" His wife laughed at them.

"We will find out." Vicky said angrily.

"And who is this horse?" He asked pointing to the gray stallion. "I know many horses, but I don't keep up with the amateurs."

"That is Silver Serenity. Maybe you know his sire . . . his name is Silver brook Champ."

Richard turned sharply to face her and in her eyes, he knew that she had known it was he that tried to kill that horse, but killed her mother instead. Cam noticed both their stares were cold and Richard's wife was now quiet. There was something that she didn't know and it began to scare her to think of what it was. Richard breathed in and smiled.

"No matter. My horse is sure to win the Whitney Handicap, so it makes no difference to me who his sire is."

"What are you going to do? Give him large doses of Novocain so he doesn't feel anything incase his leg breaks…?"

Richard glared at her, but said nothing more. He took his wife by the hand and left. The Silver brook staff all looked after them. Everyone at Silver brook hated them and their eyes clearly said that. Cam then looked at Victoria.

"Can we talk?"

She turned to her and sighed. She knew that Cam would have to know because she was racing against him. There was no telling what he might do. They turned and went out to the truck where they could talk. When they were out of earshot, Cam spoke.

"What is going on between you two? I know there is another problem that didn't have to do with me."

"Cam there is something I have to tell you that is going to be a real shock. Listen to me. Fire Light used to race against Silver brook Champ and he lost to him in the Kentucky Derby 4 years ago."

"That I know."

"And you know how someone had tried to take a shot at Champ and how my mother jumped in the way…"

"Yeah I know that too…"

Cam was afraid of what she was getting at.

"Cam . . . it was Richard who took that shot."

Cam practically fell to the ground in shock.

"What! But why?"

"Because he wanted his horse to win the rest of the Triple Crown, so he thought he could kill Champ and win. But it didn't happen as planned and Champ still won, only because before my mother died, she demanded that I make a Champion out of him. It was the last thing I could do for her. No one could prove that he did it, because they never found the weapon or the car he was in. But she told me herself, because she saw him before he took the shot. I never told anyone and the reason I am telling you is because I want to make sure that you are safe and you know what you are up against. My mother told me that he would do ANYTHING to win a race. Be careful."

Cam took her words seriously. She was afraid now, but she also was determined not to let him ruin her and Butterscotch's future.

"I will."

Leonardo, April and Casey walked along the backside of the Saratoga racetrack. They wanted to see the Whitney Handicap that day. But they also wanted to see if Mike would be there. That was probably the main reason they were going. April walked through the barns with the two of them and looked at all the beautiful Thoroughbreds being tacked up and prepped for the race. She turned to see the Silver brook sign above two of the horse stalls.

"Leo! Casey!"

They came over quick and looked at the horses she was looking at.

"Look at the one right there." She said pointing to Butterscotch Ruler.

"That's the horse Mike painted!"

They looked at him to see she was right. The grooms glanced at them, but was too busy tacking up the gray horse. Cam came out and looked at them. Leonardo caught her eye first. He was heavily clothed like Mike was all the time. He had practically the same body shape too. Her eyes widened. Could they be related? She didn't want to ask, but she wondered. Vicky called her just then and she went over to her. Victoria was riding Serenity in the race that day. She was practically the only one who could actually stay on him.

"Vic, I have hired a guard to stand watch while we are out there. He'll be watching Butterscotch until we are back."

"Good."

Leo, April and Casey exchanged looks, but said nothing. Why would she need a guard for Butterscotch Ruler? Sure they wanted to keep the horses safe, but this guard had a gun and it seemed somewhat strange. Was Butterscotch Ruler's life at risk? Vicky left the barn to go the jockey's room and dress out. Cam closed Butterscotch Ruler's top stall door so that he might rest without being disturbed. The guard sat down in a chair next to the horse and Cam gave him instructions that they couldn't hear.

"Hey guys? We better go get our seats cause the race is going to start soon."

They nodded and went with April to the stands. They had a perfect view of the track and waited as the post parade began. Cam led Serenity out and the crowd turned their heads to the colt. He was the heavy favorite, but so was Son of Fire. She felt the admiring eyes on her and the horse as she led him into the saddling paddock. Vicky came over and mounted up. The pony leads came and took Serenity out for the post parade. He had pulled the number 9 slot in a ten horse field. That wasn't too good, but at least he was away from Son of Fire who had pulled the 3rd slot. Serenity would have to make up a lot of ground though. He was a late closer so getting him to the front of the pack and on the rail would be a problem.

Cam went to the stands and held her camera. Mike for some reason didn't want to come down. He said that he had too many things to do, but he had asked Cam to take pictures for him. She watched as the horses loaded into the gate. Her heart thumped in her chest. Son of Fire was often compared to Serenity and now the world will see them rum against each other for the first time. Son of Fire had a good chance of making it to the Kentucky Derby, so more than likely he would be racing against Serenity or Butterscotch Ruler. She wasn't sure which one would be running. It just might be both. She looked at Serenity in the nine slot and waited as the last gate was closed behind the horse. Suddenly, the gates flew open and 10 powerful horses pounded down the stretch.

"And they're off!" Cried the announcer.

Cam started to take pictures when they passed by her, but she stopped and watched after they made the club house turn and were hardly in eye shot.

Now she listened to the announcer.

"Son of Fire is in the lead by four lengths. In second is Lady's Man and in third is Summer Run. The favorite Silver Serenity is in last place behind the pack."

Cam almost cried out in horror. He had to start moving up soon, or he would lose the race. They were already making it to the second turn. Vicky couldn't see an opening in the pack. She had to make a hard decision that could mean losing the race, but it was the only chance she had. She checked her horse to the right and went five horses wide. Cam's mouth dropped in shock.

"And Victoria Pena has taken Silver Serenity 5 horses wide into the middle of the track!"

The announcer cried with just as much shock in his voice. April couldn't help but stand and stare. Leo and Casey had gotten just as into it as April and they watched as the only gray horse started to move up.

"What's this! Silver Serenity is moving up at an incredible speed. They are coming around the turn and his jockey is giving her horse rein."

Suddenly, Serenity charged forward and past by three more horses. Now he had to move up on the three leaders. Vicky then gave him all the rein he wanted and he exploded with another burst of speed. April, Leo and Casey found themselves cheering him onto the finish line. Serenity pushed passed Summer Run and Lady's Man who were tiring and made his way to Son of Fire's flank. His jockey saw them coming and started to whip his horse for more speed. But Serenity wasn't about to be lost that easily. He found another gear and pounded in front of Son of Fire.

"Look at this!" The announcer shouted again.

"Silver Serenity has come from the back of the pack and taken the lead. And he…is under the wire two lengths a head of the pack! Silver Serenity wins the Whitney Handicap by two lengths!"

Cam found herself jumping with joy. She had taken some great pictures and was now running to meet them in the winner's circle. April, Leo and Casey cheered and now their throats hurt because of it.

"Wow! I have never seen a horse run like that!" April exclaimed.

"Actually I've never really seen a horse run." Casey said thoughtfully.

Leo laughed at him with April and walked down near the winner's circle so they could get a better look. The crowds were still cheering as loudly as they could. Vicky dismounted and hugged her horse and then Cam. Serenity blew out puffs of air and Vicky knew he could use the rest. But after she went to weigh in, she came back and smiled for the camera's. Cam took some and then joined the winner's circle. Vicky dismounted and prepared for the reporters to mob her. The grooms and Cam took the colt back to the barns to be cooled out. But Cam stayed behind to listen.

"Ms. Pena, how does it feel to have another Silver brook Champ?" A reporter asked.

"It feels great."

"Are you planning to run him in the Breeder's Cup Classic and Kentucky Derby?" Asked another.

"If everything goes well, I am aiming toward it."

"What about your other top horse; Butterscotch Ruler? Do you have great expectations for him also?"

"Yes I do. I will also see how he does and decide where he goes next."

"Will you be riding him in the Travers Stakes?"

"No. Cam Russo has proven herself to be a very reliable jockey and I think she knows this horse best. I see no reason what so ever to switch jockeys."

Vicky stayed and answered more questions, but Cam had heard what she had said and she smiled in happiness. Her future was indeed looking up.

Chapter 9: It Took Heart…

Victoria Pena woke up early on the 29th. It was the day of the Travers Stakes with Butterscotch Ruler running against Hell's Fire; his only real competition. She pulled on her jeans and a nice a shirt before grabbing her keys and heading out the hotel door. She jumped into her truck and started to make her way to the Saratoga Racecourse. Serenity had been sent back with one of the grooms to Silver brook Stables to rest and also because she wanted to keep him safe from Richard in case he decided to do something. She pulled into the parking lot and stopped. Jumping from her truck, she made her way to the barn to check on Butterscotch. Not to her surprise, Cam was already there, grooming him. She smiled when she saw Vicky.

"He's looking good." Vic said with a smile and patted his velvet nose.

Cam smiled as she toweled off his back. Vicky came in and checked his forelegs for any signs of heat, just in case. He was fine. She stood and pulled a piece of hay from his mane and patted his neck.

"Hey Cam? Do me a favor and wisp his neck and shoulders?"

"Ok."

Wisping means to massage the large muscles. Vicky walked out of the stall and went to look around. The guard was still there and she was glad that she could feel safe leaving the horse for a little while. People were there, but not a lot. There were still a few more to go before it started to get really crowded.

Michelangelo smiled at his second painting of one of Silver brook's horses. He had received the pictures of Serenity a while back and had painted it in no time. But he missed Cam. He often talked to her on the phone, but she was in New York and he was back in Florida. The only reason that he had said no to going with her was because he was afraid of seeing Leonardo, April or Casey. He didn't want to see them. He felt as though he weren't ready. It was strange how he had felt before. He had never wanted to befriend a human and he had told himself that he wouldn't talk to April or Casey again, but here he was talking to Cam like there was nothing wrong. If only she knew what he really was.

Leonardo, April and Casey were looking forward to seeing Butterscotch Ruler run in the Travers Stakes that day. They quickly hurried to get themselves ready to go. When they were dressed, they rushed out the door. They wished they could see Mike or Don there, but it was obvious that it wasn't going to happen.

"Who do you think will win?" Leo asked Casey as April started the van and left the parking lot.

"Well I got my money on Butterscotch Ruler."

"You're really betting money?"

"No. It's just a figure of speech. Besides there is no point. He is almost the guaranteed winner and he is the favorite. If I bet on him, I wouldn't get much money. I'd have to bet on a long shot and win to get a whole lot of money."

"Oh."

Leonardo looked ahead of them and waited quietly to get to the race.

Now the track was busy and full of people. Vicky checked Ruler one last time and had the groom take him to the saddling paddock to be tacked up. Cam was dressing in the Silver brook silks and would meet them out there. Vic looked at her horse and smiled.

"Run your heart out boy." She whispered as she gave him one last pat before he went.

Leo walked with April to the stands again. Casey had already taken off to get there before them for some reason. When they found him through the crowd of people, they sat in the seats he had saved and waited. The post parade began and the horses were being led to the starting gate.

Mike watched with excitement as the race was about to start. He was glad for his big screen television. He was also recording the race. He spotted Butterscotch Ruler prancing about to the starting gate. He had pulled the 5th slot and Hell's Fire had pulled the 4th. He didn't like the fact that the two rival horses were so close to one another.

Vicky waited patiently for the race to start. This race would determine a lot. She wasn't sure who to race in the Kentucky Derby or the Breeder's Cup Classic. She was thinking about both, but she didn't like to run two of her own horses against each other. But that was a while from then and she wanted to look at what was happening now. There were nine horses in the field and every one of them were good, but it was Hell's Fire that was one of the best. Then the horses were loaded and in a split second the gates flew open.

"And they're off!" The announcer cried.

Hell's Fire was close to Butterscotch Ruler and suddenly, her colt bolted away almost in fright. She gasped as she saw her colt stumble to the ground.

Mike jumped up in shock. "No!"

But Butterscotch Ruler managed to get his feet under him and start running again. He was so far behind, and it was almost useless. Leonardo and April stared in shock.

"Did you see him jump like that?" She asked astounded.

"Yeah! And I don't like the way it looked…"

She looked at Leo to see his glare as he watched the colt try to catch up. Something wasn't right.

Victoria watched her colt run as fast as he could to catch up. Cam wouldn't let him run himself all the way or he would loose strength and fall back when it was time to close in on the pack.

"Hell's Fire is in second and moving up on Give me Something who is in first. Sassy Boy is in third and Butterscotch Ruler is in last. He is five lengths behind the pack and after a stumble like that, his chances are very slim." Cried the announcer.

Vic didn't understand what made him bolt like that and she hoped that he was all right. Butterscotch began to move up. He was pouring his heart out to run and win and it was starting to pay off. He moved up on three of the fading horses and made his way to the next five. But something still wasn't right. Vic starred at her horse and wished she had remembered to bring her binoculars.

Coming around the last turn, her horse pushed a head of two more and made his way up to the third horse. Cam saw an opening between the second and third and went through it and gained on the first. But suddenly, Cam felt Butterscotch waver. Something wasn't right. He started to groan and she began to pull him up.

"What's happening here! Butterscotch Ruler had moved up on the leaders and his jockey Cam Russo is trying to pull him up!"

Vic jumped up and realized that her horse was injured. Then Butterscotch jerked his head forward and pulled the reins practically from her hands. Having the bit between his teeth now, the pressure Cam put on the reins wouldn't matter. He would still be able to do what he wanted. Vic couldn't believe it when her horse lunged forward and suddenly took the lead. Now it didn't matter if her horse won, she worried about his health. Butterscotch Ruler flew under the wire and the crowd cheered.

"Butterscotch Ruler is under the wire…wait a minute! Butterscotch Ruler is down!" The announcer cried.

Vic screamed in horror as her horse stumbled to the ground, causing Cam to fall over his head.

"No!" Mike cried as he watched in horror.

Vicky jumped the gate and ran out onto the track as fast as she could. The track vets were already headed their way and Cam knelt over him to calm him down as he was looked over. Vicky quickly took his saddle off and rubbed his neck. It was covered in white sweaty foam. She looked at his legs and noticed his foreleg had heat and his hind leg had a large rash like mark on it. She touched it and the colt jerked slightly. Cam stared through her tears at it. She whirled around to look at the stands where Richard was standing. Suddenly she bolted toward him and gave him a good hard punch to his face. He fell back in shock.

"You son of a bitch! You had your jockey whip my horse's leg so he would fall!"

She came at him in anger and hate. His nose bled and she wanted to make sure it hurt. The track officials grabbed her and held her back.

"You son of a bitch! Is that what it takes for you to win a race! Is to cheat by whipping my horse! Just like when you tried to cheat four years ago when you shot Silver brook Champ and killed Nancy Pena instead!"

The track officials paused long enough to look at him. By then, the crowd starred in astonishment at Richard. Leonardo, April and Casey also looked just as shocked. Richard got up and glared at her.

"I didn't do that!"

"That's not what she said before she died!"

She lunged at him again, but Vic came and helped to hold her back. Richard left without another word. He disappeared into the crowd. Then they heard the announcer speak and everyone stopped to listen.

"According to the video taken of the race, Butterscotch Ruler was indeed hit in the hind leg, causing him to jump and stumble. He is the official winner of the Travers Stakes and I regret to inform you that he will not be standing in the winner's circle."

Cam cried as she turned to see her beloved horse being loaded into the vet's van. Vic looked at her.

"Cam, go to the vets' clinic with him. I am going to go back to Silver brook. I have a bad feeling about something. Butterscotch has a fracture to his foreleg. They are going to do surgery to see if they can fix it."

Cam nodded through her tears and one of their grooms walked her to the van. A reporter came up to her just then and asked her questions.

"Have you found out how he is?"

"He has a fracture to the foreleg, probably damaged it when he stumbled, but it must have gotten worse when he started down the stretch and that's why Cam tried to pull him up."

"Do you believe what Cam Russo said about Richard Claymont? About him killing your mother?"

Vicky took a deep breath, it was out now so she might as well confirm it.

"Yes. It is true. 4 years ago, he had taken aim at Silver brook Champ, but as it is known, my mother jumped in the way to save him. She told me of this before she died. It could never be proven and it was kept under raps. I'm sorry the world didn't get to see their champion in the winner's circle and I am sorry that this had to happen."

The reporter looked as though she felt just as bad. The crowd also seemed sad. Vicky noticed a little girl crying next to her mother about the accident.

"Ms. Pena, it is obvious that he won't be racing in the Breeder's Cup or the Kentucky Derby, but will you ever race him again?"

Vic had thought about that briefly, but she remembered what had happened to Fire Light.

"No. As of now he is retired from racing and if he survives the surgery, he will be turned out for stud."

"One last question before you go. What do you think kept this horse going even with his injury?"

Vic smiled a little and she felt tears burn her eyes.

"It took heart…"

Chapter 10: Satisfying Revenge

Two days after the race where Butterscotch Ruler had been injured, Victoria had been receiving threats from Richard. No one could find him anywhere. His wife had already been arrested for accessory to commit murder. Victoria had asked three different stables to take in some of her horses. She watched the last van leave with her grooms to the next stable. She wanted to make sure they were safe from harm so she would send them away to another farm until everything was under control. She turned and went into the barns and looked at her empty stalls. There were no horses to nicker and greet her when she came in anymore. There was nothing there. Heaving a sigh, she walked down the barn aisle.

Butterscotch Ruler had survived the surgery and was in recovery. He was still in New York. He was under surveillance by the police and Cam stayed with him. Vicky's yearlings had gone to her friend's house. Angel Martinez had promised to watch them for her. Her mares had gone to one of her groom's friend's house. He also owned a large barn and had room to spare. As for her stallions and geldings, they had been sent to Samantha Larsen. She was also a friend of her and Cam. Vicky just looked at her stalls and wished this hadn't happened. But it did and she had to deal with it. She walked out of the barn and closed it. Locking the door securing, she checked the area before moving to the other barns and locking them.

Leonardo read the newspaper with the headlines that read:

"Richard Claymont suspected in killing Nancy Pena. Victoria Pena could be next!'

"So that's why she was so careful with her horses." Leo said setting the paper down.

"Yeah…it must be hard. Someone said that the horses were sent away to different farms and no one knows where. They just know that Silver brook is empty now. She must feel horrible." April said sadly.

Casey sipped his coffee that Donatello had made him start drinking more than 15 years ago. Casey was always drunk and the turtles wanted him to change so they stuck coffee in his face when he wanted a drink. Now he couldn't get off it.

"I wonder how she is doing?" Leo wondered.

"Beats me! I hope she is all right though." April said.

Michelangelo sat next to Cam outside Butterscotch Ruler's stall in the clinic. He had finally decided to come down to New York to see her. The sound of her tears on the phone had broken his heart and he wanted to do everything he could to comfort her. He looked at her with his soft eyes and saw tears stream down her face. He reached over and pulled her close to him. She wrapped her arms around him and held him as she cried. Still she couldn't see him for anything, but the way his body felt was strange. His back was roundish and hard. She could feel his muscles through his clothes.

"I can't believe this happened to my favorite horse!"

"I know it's hard, but he's alive."

"I know…I just wish I could have seen him race again. I wanted him to be a champion."

"Cam he is a champion. It doesn't matter how many races he won, it matters how much heart he had."

Cam thought about it and realized he was right. She held him tighter and snuggled closer to him. Everything he said and did made her fall in love with him. She wasn't sure what she would find under the clothes, but she wasn't all that sure if it really mattered.

Vicky picked up the phone after it rang twice.

"Hello?"

"I'm gonna get you bitch!"

She screamed and set it down hard. There was a loud crash and a rock came flying through her window. It was getting to be very dark and she began to feel scared. She picked up the phone quick to call 911, but the line was now disconnected. She went for her shot gun, but something came past her head and into the case where she kept it. It was a bullet. She turned and ran as fast as she could out the door.

Her truck tires were flat and she screamed in fright as another bullet came her way. She turned and bolted for the pastures. She needed to get out of there. Then she remembered the woods that she said she would never go in because Raphael didn't want her to. She hadn't seen him in seven months, but she knew she had to find some way out.

"I'll get you!" She heard a loud angry voice say.

She screamed and ran through the pasture as fast as she could. Richard had brought his motorcycle and was now coming after her. But she was already at the back gate where she jumped over and ran into the woods. She heard the sound of the motorcycle coming toward her. He had shot the lock off the gate and came through.

She ran over the trails quickly, not wanting to look back. She ducked behind a tree and took another trail. She began to fade from him, but he was still behind her. He shot at her again and missed. She dodged another tree and suddenly ran smack into something hard. She backed away in fright. Raphael's eyes were on her in a cold and hateful glare.

"I told you never to come here!"

He raised his sai, but she screamed and took off the other way. He paused long enough to see a motorcycle pass through some bushes and head her way. He bolted after it and when he was close enough, he lunged at it and pushed it into a tree causing Richard to fall off of it. Vicky heard the crash and stopped to look at Raphael punching Richard in the face. He stabbed him in the leg with his sai causing blood to spill.

Richard managed to get away quickly and grab his bike. Raphael followed him as Richard went through some trees at an unbelievable speed. Suddenly there was a loud crash and Raphael and Vicky saw him go right into the road and into a large truck. The sight was so gruesome, Vicky nearly screamed in horror. Richard was now dead.

Raphael turned to face her. His eyes were cold and his sai had blood dripping off of it. She turned and ran from him. She heard his foot steps behind her and she tried to run faster, but she was tired and hurting. Then she felt strong arms grab her and stop her from running.

"Leave me alone! I didn't mean to come down here! I'm sorry!"

She trembled in fear and tears streamed down her face. She felt his grip lighten a bit and he turned her to face him. His hood was now pulled back and she could see his face in the dim moonlight.

"It's all right…" He said gruffly.

He heaved a sigh and realized that he shouldn't have threatened her.

"I'm sorry."

She looked in his eyes to see softness and caring. It was a look she hadn't seen in him before. He pulled her close and felt his arms wrap around her. She found herself wrapping her arms around him also and resting her head on his shoulder. He breathed against her neck and she snuggled to him more. Raphael tried not to think about the shivers that ran through him, but he couldn't help it. Her body felt so good against his and his hands along her back made him just want to touch her all over. He laid a hand on her hair and stroked it gently. It was soft and smelled sweet, like rose petals. Her skin was soft like a rose also. He didn't want to let her go, but he didn't think she would want a freak like him.

Donatello had heard about what happened and tried to phone Mike, but he wasn't there. He knew Silver brook had been closed down, so he wasn't sure if he would be there either. But then he had an idea. He logged onto his computer and pulled out files on Butterscotch Ruler. He was recovering in a large horse clinic not too far from Saratoga Springs.

Don called the airport for an immediate plane ticket and packed some things. He knew that Cam Russo wouldn't leave that horse's side, and that Mike would probably not leave hers. As quickly as he could, he grabbed some things and headed out the door. He wanted to make sure everything was ok with Mike, and he also wanted to see him again.

It had been hours since the police left Vicky's house. She sat on her couch alone now. She wasn't about to send for her horses yet. She would have a few more days to recover from the shock. She got up and went upstairs. Raphael was at his home. He hadn't wanted to leave the woods, not even to walk her back home. She began to run the bath water and undress. Slowly, she set her aching muscles into the warm water. She was laying on a resting spot in her tub. It was more like a spa. It was large with a nice waterfall like faucet.

She closed her eyes and relaxed. She remembered the feel of Raphael's body against hers. Was she falling for a giant turtle? It would be strange, but he captured her in a way that no one else ever had. Not once had she even been kissed and now she wondered what it would be like to kiss Raphael.

Vicky was quickly jolted from her thoughts as a cool breeze went over her wet skin. She jumped in fright and realized that Raphael was standing above her. She backed away a little and realized that she was totally exposed to him. She quickly jumped into the deeper part of the tub.

"I thought you didn't want to come down here." She said uncertainly.

"Not while the police were gonna be here. But now that they're gone, I can come out. Do you want me to leave?"

"No." She said more quickly she would have liked.

He tilted his head to one side and looked at her suspiciously. He heaved a sigh and set his cape and sai down.

"Mind if I join ya?" He asked gruffly.

"I don't care. Go ahead."

He turned and took off his kneepads, elbow pads and belt and set it down where his cape and sai were. Slowly, he lowered himself into the tub and looked at her.

"Is this your normal bath tub?" He asked looking around.

"No, that one is…" She said pointing to the shower in the corner of the bath room.

The room was large, almost like a living room. He glared and faced her again.

"You must be rich."

She looked at him. She could see that he must have been jealous. But why wouldn't he be? He lived in a cave.

"Yeah I guess I am. Mostly cause my mom earned the money."

"Where is your mom?"

"She was killed by that man on the motorcycle."

He looked at her sharply and then began to understand why she had been so afraid and sad.

"A pathetic human is what he is." Raphael said with disgust.

"He is…but that doesn't mean all of us are."

Again Raphael glared.

"I believe we had a talk about this almost seven months ago. I still think all humans are bad."

"Then why are you here with me?"

"Good question!" He said angrily and went to get out.

She jumped at him and pulled him back. He faced her with a look of surprise at her sudden action.

"Don't go! Please!"

"Why do you want me to stay here with you? I'm a freak! Not one of your human friends!"

"You're not a freak and I don't want my human friends right now! I want you!"

He looked at her in surprise. He gazed into her eyes and she gazed into his. He had never disgusted her in the least. It had amazed her that such a creature could come to be. She wondered if he was capable of kissing and feeling love. He hadn't acted like it. He felt her hand move to his thigh and make its way up his stomach and to his chest. He trembled with excitement as her hands went over the muscles in his arms. She watched them tense and ripple under his skin.

Raphael eyes traveled down her face and neck and to her chest. Her breasts were so close to him, and he could feel them brushing against his chest. He breathed in and reached out to pull her closer. Her body came against his and he felt the ache between his legs grow stronger. Vicky rested her head on his shoulder and Raphael then began to give her little kisses on her neck. He hardly believed what he was doing, but it was happening. She threw back her head and let his mouth curse over her neck and make his way to her lips. Raphael gave in to her and passionately kissed her mouth.

Waves of shock went through them both and Raphael found himself touching her body everywhere and kissing her with more passion than before. He moved his mouth down her chest and over her breasts. She groaned in pleasure and felt his tongue move down her belly, trying quickly to get between her legs…

Chapter 11: Long Lost Friends

Donatello walked into the clinic and breathed in sharply when he saw Mike and Cam standing outside a stall. He took a deep breath.

"Mike?"

He and Cam turn to face the clothed figure. Cam realized that he was dressed almost like Mike. Michelangelo stepped forward.

"Donatello?"

"Yeah…I uh…heard about what happened and I wanted to make sure everything was ok."

Mike smiled under his hat and gave Don a hug.

"It's good to see ya bro!"

Cam looked at him curiously. "You two are brothers?"

"Yeah, this is my brother Donatello. Oh and Don? This is Cam."

"Donatello?" Cam remembered Mike mentioning it once.

"Yeah, this is the brother I told you about. He helped pull those hidden files to help you."

She smiled and shook his hand. "Thanks." She said somewhat shyly.

"You're welcome. So Mike, this is the young lady you're so interested in?"

Mike's face turned red and Cam's did too.

"Oh sorry . . . I'm kind of a big mouth."

Cam smiled. "That's ok."

"So what are you doing?" Don asked, looking around.

"Watching Butterscotch Ruler." Mike said.

Don nodded and walked with them to the stall. He looked in to see a large Thoroughbred horse with a cast on his foreleg.

"Nice looking horse."

Later that day, after Mike, Don and Cam had left, they went to a nice little restaurant to eat. Mike and Cam told Don about the horse and the accident in a more descriptive way.

"I heard that Richard was killed riding his motorcycle." Don said.

"We heard. He almost killed Vicky. I talked to her late last night, but she said she was busy. There was someone there with her. One of her friends I guess. She was pretty shaken up, but she was getting over it. Her horses won't be coming back for a few days though. She wants to rest a while longer." Cam said.

"When do you two go back?" Don asked.

"I am not sure. I have to ask the vet to see when Ruler is fit to travel, but probably not for a few more days. I want to wait until the rest of the horses are back at Silver brook." Cam said.

"Oh I see. Hey I have to go to the restroom, so I'll be right back."

Don got up and walked to the rest room, but before he went in, there was someone he noticed. Suddenly, his heart jumped into his throat as April turned to face him.

"Leo?"

"Um…no…Don."

April backed up a little from the shock.

"Donatello!"

"Yea."

" Oh my God!"

She was about to approach him, but he backed away.

"April don't. I...I just…"

She stepped back, the hurt clearly expressed on her face.

"Don, you left 15 years ago without even goodbye and now that we meet again, you won't even hug me?"

"April I'm sorry…it's just…"

"I know what it is. Leonardo explained to me and Casey how you guys might feel."

Tears streamed down her face now.

"But I hope you know that I loved Splinter like a father too and Raph as a brother. You remember that."

She turned and walked away. He quickly went to follow her, but she got into her car and sped away. Don looked after her in pain.

"I'm sorry April."

He felt the tears come to his eyes. He didn't want to hurt her and he had longed to see her. Why did he have to be so stupid and say the wrong things? He had been too shocked to acknowledge what he was saying to her. She had helped them so much and this is how he repays her. Now he felt horrible. April stormed into her apartment and threw her bag down and was about to go to her room, but Leo and Casey came out to look at her.

"Honey what's wrong?" Casey asked with concern.

She whirled around. "You were right Leo! Your brothers don't want to see us! Don was at the restaurant I went to and he wouldn't even let me near him."

She turned and went into her room and they could hear her cry even through the shut door. Casey looked at Leo who looked sadly looked out the window.

"I wish she hadn't seen him here." He said quietly.

Casey nodded in agreement.

"I'm gonna try to comfort her."

Leo nodded and Casey went into the room with her.

Cam was back at the clinic with Ruler. Mike and Don were at their hotel room talking. Mike looked down at his green hands when Don mentioned that he had seen April.

"I didn't mean to hurt her. I just…I don't know. Things were weird when I saw her. I felt weird. I mean…I haven't seen her in over 15 years and then all of a sudden she pops up out of no where. I hadn't wanted to talk to her or any human ever again, but that was a long time ago. I hadn't thought about that in a while."

Mike nodded solemnly. "Leo might be mad at us now if he hasn't already been for the past 15 and a half years. Man I miss the old times. I miss them all, Don. I miss Raph so much."

Don leaned over and hugged his brother. "It's ok Mike."

"I used to think about doing exactly what Raph did ya know..."

Don jolted up right in shock.

"I did. The only thing that ever kept me sane was you; then Cam came along. But I am afraid of losing her. She doesn't even know what I am. We've known each other for almost seven months and she hasn't even seen a part of my body. Don…what if she rejects me?"

"I don't know Mike. You two are so close of friends. But with humans…I just don't know. It's hard to tell what humans do anymore. Half the time it's for no reason. Like Richard, the only reasons he had for killing Vicky's mom, and then trying to kill her, was greed. I don't know how Cam would react if she saw you or me. It's a risk you'll have to think about, before you take it."

Mike nodded in agreement. But what would his decision be? Would he show himself for what he was and risk losing her? Or would he keep himself a secret and still take the same chance? Now he was sure, he didn't know what to do.

Chapter 12: Secrets Revealed

Raphael sat in front of the fire place in Vicky's house and starred at the flame. She came in and sat next to him. His eyes went from the flame to her. She gave him a loving smile and leaned forward to kiss him. His arms wrapped around her and she leaned in closer. Her lips were soft on his and her hands went to entwine her fingers with his. He pulled her closer and gave her a deep passionate kiss. He never thought he would get this close to anyone, but he had. He had even made love to her. He pulled away slowly and gazed at her. She smiled and sat closer to him. She began to kiss his neck gently and then wrapped her arms around him.

"I never thought you could be so loving." She whispered to him.

He smiled a little and turned to her. "I never thought so either. Not with a human. But...I love you."

She smiled and kissed him again.

"Haven't you ever been in love before ?" She asked quietly.

He turned to her. "No."

"Do you like it so far ?"

He smiled. "Yeah, I do. I never thought I could love anything again…"

His voice trailed off, and she wanted to know what was exactly wrong with him.

"Why do you say that ?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

She heaved a sigh.

"Raphael listen to me. I know that something happened to you and that your hurting from it. I want to know what it is. I want to know your life so that I can try to help out in any way that I can. I need to know how you feel. I love you Raphael, but I need to know that you trust me."

he couldn't see his face. He was turned away from her and looking at the fire. She cuddled closer to him and held him tighter. She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"It happened 15 years ago..."

She looked up at him. "What did?"

Raphael heaved a sigh and turned to face her. His eyes were soft and full of sadness; but no tears.

"I had a sensei who taught me and my brothers ninjitsu. He was a rat and had been mutated like us. One day a man had taken him and threatened to kill him. I was angry and my brothers told me not to go without a plan. But I was hot headed back then. I always fought with them and I didn't want to listen. I wanted to save him so I went in. The man called me a freak and warned me to stay away...but I didn't listen. I came at him with hate because of what he was doing and what he called me. But he was too quick. He cut my sensei's head off and laughed. I killed him.

Splinter was our father and after he was killed, my brothers blamed me for what happened. I couldn't take it. I started to blame myself and so I went to a cliff on the east coast of New York City. It's where we used to live. I jumped. I was trying to kill myself, but it obviously didn't turn out that way. I had landed hard in the water. I had landed on something hard. It knocked me out. The ocean pulled me out and a few days later and I ended up in some fisher's fishing nets. Of course he almost died when he saw me, but I got away. I had gotten this scar from the fall. It's one thing that knocked me out. It also had blinded my eye. I don't know how it changed color like this, but it did and after a while my sight came back.

After that I went to Virginia, but then I traveled here to live. I promised not to ever have anything to do with humans again. I lost everything because of one. And I am still angry with humans. They have everything we don't. Like you...you have this huge house, famous racehorses and millions of dollars. We used to live in a sewer and fight crime, but we never got recognition for it. I never understood why I even helped half the humans I did. I had more pleasure killing them."

Vic took in everything he had said. He had killed people and hurt them; but he had also saved some.

"Raphael...I understand now why you hate humans so much. I don't blame you at all for doing what you did. But it wasn't your fault that your sensei was killed. Your intentions were good. If anyone is to blame...it would be your brothers only for blaming you. Nothing you say that you did will make me love you less. I'm not like half of the humans you have met. I love you just the way you are and I would never think of you as a freak. I promise."

Raphael turned to face her again and the truth was spoken in her eyes. Suddenly he pulled forward and kissed her deeply. She held him tighter. He kissed her neck and slipped his hands under the skirt she was wearing. She groaned in pleasure.

"Raphael...I want you.." She said almost in a whisper.

He clearly understood it and quickly took her clothes off her body. She kissed him passionately as he spread her legs and moved up on her. She gripped his shoulders as she prepared for the intrusion.

Michelangelo looked nervously out the window while Cam sat in the chair he had set out for her.

"Mike, why did you call me over here ? Is something wrong ?"

He didn't face her. He couldn't.

"Cam, I...I need to tell you something about me and my brothers. This going to be a real shock for you and I can understand if you don't want to stay here after you find out. Donatello told me that I should tell you before...I fall for you…"

Cam looked at him in shock.

"You like me ?"

"Yes...I do. But you might not like what I am about to say."

She waited.

"I know this is going to sound strange, but this is where I used to live 15 years ago. That accident that I told you about that had to do with my brother happened not too far from here and that's why I went to Florida and Don went to California. We used to live in the sewers and we were exposed to a radioactive substance."

"Is that what deformed you ?" She asked uncertainly.

"Cam I am not deformed. I only say I am as an excuse not to show myself."

"Then...what are you ?"

He could hear her fear and he felt tears come to his eyes.

"I am a turtle. A mutant turtle that went from a regular house pet into what I am now. That picture you asked about, was a pic of my brother like I told you. He is a turtle, and so is Donatello and my other brother Leonardo."

"What! Your joking right ?"

He shook his head and slowly took off his robe and hat. She gasped and backed away.

"Please don't scream. I understand if you don't want to be near me anymore. I'm sorry I lied to you for so long."

He went quiet and turned away from her. He faced the window and just stared out it. Cam looked at him. He had muscles sticking out and a shell on his back. She looked at the patterns and came to get a closer look.

"I never knew this was what you were. I always wondered what this hard thing was." She said gesturing to his shell.

"I suppose you want to leave now..."

"No Mike, I don't. I can't believe that you are what you are, but it doesn't matter now. If it weren't for you, I'd be nothing right now. You gave me support, hope, love and anything I could want. I fell in love with you a long time ago. I'm not about to waste it just because you're a turtle. You mean too much to me."

He turned to her in shock.

"Do you...do you mean that ?"

"Yes I do."

She reached out and touched his hand gently. He looked down at it and watched as she held it in hers. Butterflies began to flutter all over him.

"I feel more nervous now than I do at the race track." He whispered.

"It's ok..."

Slowly and softly, she leaned forward and kissed his mouth. His body went rigid and he tried to absorb the shock waves that went through him. He put his arms around her and kissed her more passionately. He wasn't sure how far he should go, but he'd stop when she told him to. So far she had said nothing and he was already moving his hands into her shirt.

Donatello waited as the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello...Leo?"

Leonardo realized who it was and sucked in a deep breath. "Donny...I wasn't expecting you to call."

"I know. I uh...wanted to apologize to April for being so rude."

"You really hurt her you know. I don't even know if she wants to talk."

"Leo, I'm really sorry. I just lost it. I haven't been myself since...what happened."

"I know Donny. I don't blame you for it. I felt the same way, but April and Casey are different."

"I know and I shouldn't have said what I did or acted the way I did."

"There are a lot of things that he had done that we never should have done. But I understand how you and Mike feel. I know it's hard to deal with what happened, but we all have to deal with it now. It is in the past."

"I know, but it still hurts."

"Donny, it always will."

Donatello went silent. He was right. The pain would always last, but making it worse by splitting up hadn't made it any better.

"I'll consider what you said and I'll talk to Mike. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright bro, bye."

"Bye."

Leo hung up the phone after he heard the click of Don's. He turned to see April looking at him along with Casey.

"Donatello said he was sorry. He didn't mean to do what he did and is going to talk to Mike. I don't know what will happen next."

Chapter 13: Surprise Meetings

Victoria drove her rent a car through Manhattan, New York. She was going there again to see Butterscotch Ruler and to see if he was fit to travel. She missed Raphael already. He was still at her house and she would talk to him on the phone.

Finally, she saw the clinic near Saratoga Springs. She pulled up and got out of the car and made her way to the office. Walking through halls, she came upon the horse stalls and went to greet her loving horse. Cam and Mike stood to greet her.

" Vic, are you ok?"

" Ya I'm fine. I just had to get some free time from everything after what happened."

" Well, thank God you're ok."

" Ya . . . and what about him?" She said gesturing to the butterscotch colored colt.

" He is doing much better. The vet said that he will be fit to travel in a few days."

" That's good. Hello Mike. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

" I know. I came down when I heard about what happened and saw it on TV."

" How are you doing, Cam?" Vic asked.

" Much better. I wish that he was still racing, but as long as he's alive, I can deal with it."

" That's good. Well I'm going. I'll talk to you guys later."

" Ok." Vicky left the clinic and Mike leaned over to kiss Cam's cheek.

" Maybe we should let the horse rest a while. I have to get back to the hotel."

" Do you have to go?"

" I'm not leaving without you." He said with a grin.

" Oh, I see how it is." She smiled and kissed him back.

" Donatello, are you going to come down here?" Leo asked on the phone.

" I can't. Something came up and Mike is leaving soon. I can't get a hold of him." He lied.

" I have to go home though. I will call sometime and maybe we can meet another time. I'm sorry Leo." Before his brother could say anything more, he hung up the phone. Don packed his things and dialed in Mike's number.

" Hello?" Don noticed that he was breathing kind of fast and he wondered if he was all right.

" Um . . . Mike this is Don. What are you doing?"

" Nothing. Cam is over and we are talking."

" Oh." Don could tell that is not at all what they were doing.

" Listen Mike, I am going to go back to California. If the invitation stills stands, I'll come by your place for a vacation."

" Ya sure, you can come over. But why are you leaving so soon?"

" I talked to Leo. He wants to see me and you again. I told him I couldn't get a hold of you and that I had to go back to work. I just ain't ready to see him again. I want to go home."

" All right well, then I guess I will see you later. Call when you want to stop by. Although you might want to call the cabin in a few days. I am going there for a while."

" Ok then bye."

" Bye." Don hung up the phone and grabbed his things before heading out the door. He quickly set them in the car he had rented out and drove to the airport.

"So how is everything down there?"

" Fine I guess. I wish you were here though." Raph said to Vicky on the phone.

" I know. I want to be there with you so bad, but I had to come down here. I'll be back soon though. Cam and Mike are going to bring Ruler down in a few days and I am coming back tomorrow."

" Mike?"

" Ya. I guess he is Cam's new boyfriend. They looked kinda close when I saw them at the clinic."

" What does he look like?"

" Um . . . I don't know. He is always covered in a whole bunch of clothes." Raph felt his heart jump, but he wasn't sure if it was him or not.

" Is Mike his first name or is it Michael or something?"

" It's Michealangelo. He's a poet, author and an artist." Suddenly there was silence.

" Raphael? Babe are you ok?"

" Ya I'm fine. I just thought it was someone I knew."

" Oh."

" Well anyway, you better get your butt back here soon. I'm getting lonely."

" Oh really? You haven't talked or lived with anyone for more than 15 years and all of a sudden I am gone one day and you are lonely?"

" Hey what can I say? Once you're alone for a long time and all of a sudden this sexy person comes and gives you a life, you get used to it even if it's a few minutes. I can't help it." Vicky laughed lightly and thought about him.

" I'll be home tomorrow as soon as I can. I love you Raphael."

" I love you too."

" I'll talk to ya later."

" All right bye."

" Bye." Vic set down the phone and sat there thinking of Raphael. She missed him too and she wished he was there with her.

Casey kissed April lightly on the mouth and then became more passionate. She laughed and let him lay her down on the bed. He kissed her mouth and started to tug at the blouse she was wearing.

Leonardo turned away from the window he was looking in so that he could give them some privacy. He turned and headed into the kitchen for a drink. He knew that Don was lying to him about having to go home for something. He knew that Don was having a hard time dealing with everything that had happened and that he didn't want to see him or April and Casey. What he didn't know was if his brothers would have that feeling forever.

" Oh Don, Mike, please brothers come home. I'm losing my mind." He whispered. He had been able to stay in control for a while, but not anymore. He came closer and closer to losing it. Maybe even the way Raph had. He hoped he could stay in control longer. It was so hard being what he was in a human world. It was hard before, but he had his brothers to cope with it with him. Now he didn't have his own kind by his side. He had April and Casey, but he needed his family to feel complete.

" Boy I wish I was fighting with Raph right now." He mumbled as he drank some coffee.

Chapter 14: Birthday Surprise

It had been a few weeks since Butterscotch returned to Silver Brook. Cam had been so thrilled to have him back at the barns. Vicky had bred him to a mare two days ago, which Cam thought was odd. She didn't think the horse would be breeding until he was in top shape again, but she never questioned Vicky's view of things. The mare that had been chosen was named; Dazzling Serenity. She was Silver Serenity's dam. Cam couldn't wait to see the foal when he or she was born. Dazzling Serenity had been a great racehorse and so had Silver brook Champ. Now they had taken Silver Serenity's mother and bred her with her favorite horse; Butterscotch. She couldn't wait to see the results in that.

Vicky sat tall in the saddle as she rode Midnight Wish. She was a jet black mare with a white blaze on her face. She used to be a racehorse, but she retired after 3years due to a twisted gut. The mare had colic and had kicked and rolled so much that her gut twisted and Vicky had to have part of it taken out. She was lucky to still have the horse though. Next to her, sitting rather uncomfortably was Raphael on her gentle gelding Country Boy.

" You ok babe?" He side eyed her.

" Fine." He said flatly.

" Oh so now you're mad at me? You wanted to be with me and I said you'd have to ride a horse to do so when I came out here. And you agreed."

" Ya I know. Now I wish I hadn't. I like being with ya and all but my ass is getting swollen." Vicky let out a laugh and looked at him.

" Ok now, gently kick your horse's side with your heels." Raphael did so and Country Boy broke into a canter. He let out a yelp of shock and held onto the horn of the saddle. Because Vic was riding an English trained horse, she pulled her horse's head out to the right and kicked with her left leg. The mare broke into a nicer and smoother canter than the gelding and she easily caught up with him. Raphael glared at her as he tried to hold on.

" Vic, my ass is really starting to hurt!" He growled. Vic smiled at him.

" Lean back and pull back on the reins." Raphael did that, but pulled a little harder than he should have. The horse came to a sudden stop and Raphael flew forward and over his head. Vic gasped and pulled up and jumped off. She came to Raph's side and knelt beside him.

" Raph are you ok?" He opened his eyes slowly and looked at her.

" Well . . . he stopped." Vic smiled and started laughing as Raphael tried to sit up. She leaned over and kissed him gently. He looked at her.

" You made my face feel better . . . can you kiss my ass and make that feel better too?" She flattened her brows and looked at him.

" Very funny." He laughed this time and pulled her close to him and kissed her passionately.

The next day, Cam and Mike sat at a large table with Angel Martinez, Samantha Larsen, the grooms of Silver Brook and they were waiting on Vicky.

" C'mon Raphael. You could at least meet them for the party. It's Cam's birthday."

" I know. But I can't. Listen to me, I don't know Cam, they don't know I am here so it won't make a difference. Babe . . . " He came forward and pulled her close.

" When they are gone, I will tell you why I can't come down there. Please . . . I'm sorry baby." He kissed her lips softly and looked at her.

" All right, but you better have a good reason for not coming down."

" I do." He said quietly. She kissed him again and smiled at him before leaving. She went downstairs and outside. They looked at her and she sat down at the table.

" Ok." She took the cover off of the cake she had set in the middle of the table. Everyone starred at gasped. It was a large cake with a painting of two horses running to the finish line. One horse was Butterscotch Ruler.

" We can all thank Michealangelo for the lovely art work on Cam's cake here." Vic said with a smile. He blushed and was thankful that no one could see his face with all the clothes he had on. One of the grooms took pictures and they all began to sing happy birthday to Cam. She blushed and turned away a little. When it was done, she blew out the candles. She was 25 now. Vic was 24 so they weren't that far apart.

" Ok now, you have to open some presents before we eat this huge cake." Vic said. Cam smiled and was passed the first present from the grooms. She opened it shyly and pulled out a nice pair of riding silks.

" Are these the Silver Brook silks?"

" Ya . . . I wanted to change them around a bit. There's more red and you have a silver horseshoe on the back. You're still our jockey." Cam smiled and looked at her new racing silks. She set them down neatly in the box and opened the next present which was from Angel. She smiled as she pulled four picture filled books of all horses. She thanked her and opened her next present from Samantha. It was a red horse blanket with the new Silver Brook horseshoe on both sides. It also had Butterscotch Ruler written in silver across both sides. There was a small present from Mike that she slowly opened and gasped when she saw it was a gold necklace with a horse pendant on it. The pendant was a horse's head and there was a diamond for an eye. She smiled through her tears and he gave her a hug. He didn't want to kiss in front of them.

" Well that's all the presents from them and now I have to give you mine." Everyone looked at Vic who pulled papers from her pocket. They had a small ribbon on them and she handed them to Cam. She looked at them curiously and opened them to read them.

" Vic, these are Butterscotch Ruler's papers." She still didn't quite understand what they meant but Angel and Sammy gasped and looked at Vic.

" You need those papers. Butterscotch Ruler is yours now." Cam turned sharply to face her and her mouth dropped.

" W..what!"

" I am giving you Butterscotch Ruler. I will need to breed him though as you understand and most of his offspring will be sold and that's why I bred him to Dazzling Serenity. Consider it a late birthday present, but the foal she has is also yours." Cam had tears in her eyes and she couldn't even say anything.

" You and that horse work well together. I was going to give him to you after the Breeder's Cup Classic if he had run, but under the circumstances that won't happen. I know you wanted him to run again, but I can't risk that and I know you understand that. That's why I am giving you that foal. At least you can run Butterscotch's young in the race. I am also giving you . . . " She came over and handed her a check.

" 3 Million dollars!" Cam gasped.

" Vicky this is too much!"

" No, it's not. If it wasn't for you, I don't think that horse would have made it half as far as he did. I know that the house you have isn't all that great, so I was wondering if you'd be interested in moving over here. I have the construction workers planning out a house to put about a quarter of a mile from mine. That way you can see Butter every day. I am also asking that you be our full time jockey. I know this is more of a present for me, but still." Cam nodded and hugged Vicky. Everyone was clapping and they were all happy to see her happy.

" All right, let's eat this thing, before Cam goes to the barn to see her new horse." Cam smiled and sat back down. Before they ate the cake, she had Mike put her necklace on her. He leaned over to her ear and whispered.

" I love you birthday girl." She smiled and faced him.

" I love you to." She whispered back. He kissed her cheek and they began to eat the cake. Mike was happy and sitting with his arm around Cam's waist. Little did he know that his supposedly dead brother Raphael, was standing by Vicky's window watching them in silence.

" Good work Mike . . . you deserve her." He smiled at him and his girlfriend. He looked away and went to lie on the bed. He smiled and looked at the picture of Vicky. He held the picture close to him and closed his eyes.

Leonardo walked out of the house with his katana's on his back. He looked around in frustration. He wanted to get his anger out and relieve his stress. He looked around and saw some kids on the street. They were fighting and a little boy happened to be in the middle of it. Silently, he moved through the shadows and hid. His eyes were like glowing beams in the dark. The kids looked his way and stopped fighting with each other. The little boy ran off. They starred at him and drew out some weapons.

" Hey! What makes you think you can come on our turf!"

" I can come anywhere I want to." The boys snickered and one jumped at him. Leo quickly unsheathed his katana's and swung at him. The sharp sword sliced his skin so thin that he didn't realize it until blood began to spill from his stomach. Suddenly, the anger from more than 15 years ago emerged and he attacked with hate and vengeance. The boys gasped in surprise.

" It's a freak!" The word only fueled to Leo's anger and he swung again with his katana and sliced one boy's arm almost completely off. Blood gushed everywhere, but the boys still attacked him. He kicked another in the face and sent him flying backwards.

" I hate you humans!" He swung again and ended up cutting the boy's head completely off. The other two boys ran and Leonardo starred at the head that lay in a pool of blood on the floor.

" That's what you get!" He spat and wiped the blood from his blades. He turned and disappeared into the night. It wasn't like him to fight like this and kill without caring. He made his way back to April's apartment and went inside. April and Casey starred at him as he washed the blood off with a towel.

" Leo what happened?"

" I killed some boys." He said flatly.

" Sheesh! You don't even care!" Stated Casey. Leo shrugged and set his katana's down. He turned to stare at them with a glare in his eyes.

" I guess I am more like Raph than I thought." He said before turning to go in the kitchen.

Cam and Mike stood alone next to Butterscotch Ruler's stall. She smiled at her new horse and held Mike's hand tighter.

" I can't believe she gave him to me. I can't even believe she is having a new house built for me and I am her full time jockey and that I will be owning Ruler's foal." She smiled again and felt Mike fidget a bit. She looked at him to see a nervous look in his eyes.

" Are you ok?"

" There is one more present I want to give you, but you have to decide if you want it or not." She looked at him strangely and curiosity crept into her mind. Mike pulled a small box from his pocket and handed it to her. Her heart began to race as she wondered what it was. Slowly, she opened it and gasped.

" Oh Mike!" She starred at the ring that had three diamonds on the band. They were large diamonds and looked beautiful on the ring.

" Will you marry me Cam?" She looked into his eyes. Never had she felt so much love for anyone or had she felt so much given to her. She smiled through her tears.

" You bet I will!" He smiled in joy and also relief and pulled her close to hug her. He kissed her mouth and closed his eyes. Things were definetely looking up.

Chapter 15: Plans

Vicky sat down next to Raphael the day after the party.

" You wanna go ride some horses?" She asked teasingly. He eyed her and grimaced.

" I guess not, huh?" He shook his head and heard her giggle.

" Oh ya, I forgot to ask you, why didn't you come down to the party yesterday? You said you would tell me?" He heaved a sigh and turned to face her.

" All right babe . . . it's because of Michealangelo . . . "

" Mike? But he's a nice guy . . . "

" I know . . . it's just . . . he thinks I'm dead."

" Well . . . wait . . . how would he know you? ..."

" Vic, he's my brother." Vic almost fell off the couch at the sound of that.

" Brother? He's a turtle too?"

" Ya. I didn't know he lived around here . . . "

" He doesn't. He lives in Florida. But he came down here to visit Cam."

" Oh." Raph was silent and just starred at the floor.

" I never thought Mike would be your brother. I wonder if Cam knows."

" I think she would. They were holding each other during the party and when you left I could see them kiss."

" Well, obviously she has no problem with him being a turtle." She said and looked at him.

" So I guess she's all right too." Vic smiled and kissed his cheek. She looked at his belt to see something red there. She pulled it out and looked at it.

" A mask? I haven't seen this before."

" I know. I like to keep it hidden. It's my ninja mask. Splinter gave it to me a long time ago. He gave us all one." She smiled lightly. She knew that his father and brothers were a sensitive subject for him so she tried not to press on it.

" Were they all red?" He shook his head.

" They were different colors. Leonardo's was blue, Mike was orange and Donatello was purple."

" Hm . . . Renaissance artists. I don't know why I didn't make the connection before. Where do the other two live?"

" I'm not sure. If I know Leo he would still be in New York with April and Casey. As for Don, he could be anywhere."

" Don? Cam told me he went to see Mike at the clinic. Of course she didn't tell me he was a turtle, but she said he came from California. I guess that's him."

" Ya. He's a computer nerd. We already know what Mike is and Leo? I don't know. He was like our leader. We never really got along. A brotherly kind of fight that happened like everyday. I don't know."

" What were your brothers like?"

" Well I already told you about Leo . . . Mike is nice and we used to get along better than anyone else. Don . . . he was shy kind of. He liked to stay stuck to his damn computer. He never really fought with anyone. He stayed out of the way a lot and he liked to skateboard. He also hung with Mike. I guess everyone liked Mike. Leo was usually with Splinter. I liked to go out and bust skulls with Casey. I was a hot head then. I think I still am."

" Ya you are." He looked at her and she smiled at him.

" Are Casey and April...human?"

" Ya. April O' Neil and Casey Jones. Of course they are married so she might have Jones as her last name."

" Nice."

Mike and Don had talked on the phone for a long time. He told Don about how he proposed and she accepted. Don was happy for them and he was glad to hear Mike so cheerful. He was also asking Don to come down and see them.

Donatello packed his things neatly. He was thinking about moving and he wanted it to be close to Mike. He packed some things and loaded them into his car. He would be driving down to Texas this time. He wanted to have his car with him this time around.

Vicky cantered her horse down the road with Cam at her side. Vicky sat tall on her bay stallion Solid Heart. He was yet another one of Vicky's retired racers. Cam was on Break Away who was a nice looking chestnut brood mare, currently not pregnant. Cam pulled up and started to walk her mare next to Vic. She took a deep breath and looked at Vicky.

" Vicky there is something I need to tell you." Vic turned to look at her and stopped her horse.

" What is it?"

" Ok...Mike proposed to me last night . . . and I said . . . yes." Vicky's eyes widened.

" You two are getting . . . married?"

" You're not mad, are you?"

" No of course not! That's great news . . . but . . . he." Vic didn't know how to Cam that she knew what he was. She couldn't let her know that she and Raph were together or that Raphael was alive for that matter.

" But Vic, there is something about him you need to know."

" Cam. I already know. He's a turtle." Cam's face showed clearly the shock she was feeling.

" How did...you know that?"

" I've known. I...I just know. I'm happy for you though. When is your wedding date set anyway?"

" Um . . . I don't know. We were kinda hoping to have it at Silver Brook. I mean it's not like we can just walk into a church and get married."

" True. Well set a date and it will be arranged. By the way, the construction workers are gonna start on your new house today. Everything you mentioned that you wanted to be in it is being put into the plans. It should come out nicely. I guess you and Mike will be living together?"

" Ya I think so. He will move his things over as soon as the house is done. Which shouldn't take that long since you have a whole bunch of people working on it and paying them to do it quickly."

" Ya I know. I just want you to move in quickly. It will be nice to have you around to give some company and take care of your new horse."

" Ya. I still can't believe that you gave him to me and his first foal."

" Believe it. You deserved it just like I said. I have plenty of horses to take care of and after you having to give away your horse because of financial problems...I thought Butterscotch and his foal would make a nice present. And I can guarantee that you won't be having those kinds of problems anymore. I pay my staff quite nicely for their work." Cam smiled and was happy now that she had a stable job and good pay to help her through it all.

" Thanks Vic."

" You're more than welcome." They cantered on a little ways more before turning back.

Mike looked out his cabin window a few days later to see Donatello pulling into his driveway in his violet Eclipse. He smiled and walked out to greet him.

" Nice car. Your color too." Don smirked and threw his bag to him. Mike laughed and carried some of the stuff inside. Don followed and looked around.

" Nice looking place."

" Ya, but I'm only renting it. I will be moving in with Cam when the house is built."

" Built?"

" Ya. Vicky gave her a large birthday present and I do mean large. She gave her Butterscotch Ruler, his first foal when it is born, a three million-dollar check, assigned her as their full time jockey, and she is building a house for her. I guess they like each other a lot."

" No shit!" Don was impressed.

" Must be a rich chick!" Don stated as he set his bags down.

" Ya she sure is. I hear she has more than 70 million dollars in the bank. A lot is from her mother, but she earns a lot too from her racehorses."

" Boy. She's got more money than me."

" How much do you have?"

" About 40 million from being a computer specialist. It's good pay too."

" I have some, but only about seven million. It's enough though. I'm still earning too."

" Cool. I guess we are doing well for ourselves." Don said casually.

" Thank God. All though I do kinda miss the old place even if it was a sewer. I guess it was more like home when all of us were there." Don nodded in silent agreement and sat down at the table. Mike made them some coffee and Don sipped it quietly.

" I wonder if I should call Leo."

" Go a head if you want to." Don picked up the phone that Mike set in front of him and dialed the number.

" Hello?" Don froze.

" Um, April...this is Don. Is uh...Leo there?" He heard her heave sigh.

" No, he isn't. He's losing it."

" What do you mean?"

" Well the other day he had come home with blood all over him and we asked him what happened and he said that he had killed some boys without a care in the world. He's more like Raphael now. He went out again and is probably doing the same thing." Don was shocked that this was the same Leo that had been telling Raphael all his life to stay calm and try not to do too much damage.

" Well um...can you tell him I called? I'll try back another time."

" I will. Bye." Before Don could say bye, she hung up. He turned to Mike.

" I think she's still steamed at me, but she said that Leo was out. He had been killing people like Raph used to." Mike looked at him shocked.

" Shit! Is this our brother Leo!"

" Ya I think..." Don wasn't entirely certain what the problem was, but he could take a logical guess. Mike seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.

Chapter 16: Friends

Donatello walked with Mikey down the stallion barn aisle. He looked at all the different colored horses and patted a few. He looked in on Silver Serenity and smiled.

" So this one is going to the Kentucky Derby?"

" Ya. I think she might be running him in the Breeder's Cup Classic before then. After the Kentucky Derby and if he is still fit, then she is going to enter him in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. If he wins the Derby and the two Stakes then he wins the Triple Crown. He'll be a champion just like his sire."

" Where is his sire?" Don asked as he curiously scanned the stalls.

" Right here." Mike pointed to a dark dapple-gray stallion that stood almost 17 hands high. He was large and had very large muscles. He had one blue eye and one brown like his son.

" Wow." Don said almost at a whisper.

" Ya that's what I said." They moved on and Don looked at a young horse that was a chestnut color.

" Hey she's cute." Mike started to laugh at him.

" Don this is called the stallion barn." And then he pointed under the horse's belly. Don's mouth dropped and his eyes went wide. Mike laughed and moved on.

" Oh my God! Look at the size of that!"

" Don! Just get over here." Don turned and quickly went back to Mike who was now going to the mare's barn. They were spending a lot of their time looking at the horses.

" What other horses does Vicky have racing?"

" Um.. I'm not really sure if she has any other." They went to the yearling barn and looked around.

" I think Cam mentioned this one going into a small race about two months from now. Her name is Baby Lady." Don looked at the young horse. She was a 2-year-old filly and was a liver colored chestnut with a dark mane and tail. She had one white sock on her foreleg. The filly nickered softly and budded Donatello with her nose. Don smiled and rubbed her velvet muzzle.

" I like her." He stated. Mike smiled and went on to look at the others.

Vicky walked with Angel toward the training barn and talked with her. Angel was a light-skinned Hispanic with light brown hair and hazel eyes. Her hair was short and layered. She was a trainer of jumpers and hunters. She had her own farm not too far from where Vicky lived. They walked into the training barn and suddenly Angel backed up in fright.

" Don't scream!" Mike said. But she didn't listen. She screamed and then fell to the ground. Vicky looked down at her casually and then back at the turtles who hadn't clothed themselves before they came out. Mike shrugged with a little shy grin on his face.

" We didn't know you were having company. Sorry." Vic smiled.

" I hope that didn't upset you." She said. Don shook his head.

" Don't worry, we get it all the time." Vic raised a brow and heaved a sigh as Don came to help carry Angel to the house. Mike laughed lightly and walked behind them. They brought Angel into the house and set her down on the couch.

" I'll be right back." Vic went up the stairs and to her room where Raphael was laying.

" Raph, I just wanted to tell you that your brothers are here. If you don't want to see them then stay up stairs."

" Why are they here?"

" Well they were looking at the horses and my friend Angel happened to see them without their disguises and well...she screamed and passed out." Raph started to laugh and sat back on the bed.

" Oh God...do I remember all the times that happened to us. What did Don and Mike say?"

" Mike said that he was sorry and Don said that it didn't bother him cause he was used to it." Raphael started to laugh again and Vic tried to hold it in. She came over and kissed his mouth softly.

" It's not funny." She whispered. He turned to her and smiled.

" Yes it is." He pulled her down and kissed her before letting her go back to taking care of Angel.

April looked at Leo.

" Leo you need to stop going out like this. Your gonna get hurt. Stop killing all these people."

" Why? They would kill us in a spilt second, why not do it before they do? Raphael did it that way."

" Raphael was different. Everyone expected this out of him, but not you. You're supposed to be the level-headed one."

" Ya well that was a long time ago."

" Just because Raph and Splinter are gone doesn't mean you have to change. Do you think Splinter would approve of this? And don't give me any bullshit about how he's gone and how you don't care because I know you do."

" Well...maybe he wouldn't approve, but I..." Leo broke off and sat down. He cupped his face with his hands and remained quiet. April came over and sat next to him.

" Leo I know it's hard for you to deal with, but you have to deal with it. You have no choice." She hugged him gently, before leaving him alone to think about it.

Casey came home and handed some papers to April. She went through them and smiled as she took out a picture of a little girl at the age of six. She had straight blond hair with brown streaks in it. Her eyes were a nice green color and she had a cute, yet sad smile. April looked at Casey.

" What does she like?"

" Beats me. We have to go meet her. But I like her. I say we adopt this one." April smiled and got up.

" I think that would be a great idea. Let's find out what she likes so we can make plans for this."

" All right." Casey smiled and he and April both looked at the picture again.

" Sarah Jones...I like it." April stated.

Vicky fanned Angel's face and she finally started to come around. She opened her eyes and looked at Vicky. Slowly, she sat up and looked around.

" What were those things in your barn?"

" Angel...they were mutant turtles. I know this is going to be a shock for you, but that's what they are and one of them is Mike. Cam's boyfriend." Angel looked at her with widened eyes. She tried to absorb all that in one dose but it didn't seem to be registering.

" I want you to meet them and I promise you that they are harmless." Angel looked at her and waited as she called the two turtles in. Angel's eyes went wide again as she looked at the large muscled turtles.

" This is Mike, as you know to be Cam's boyfriend and this is his brother Donatello." She looked at the two turtles back and forth and then she looked at Vicky.

" Where did they come from?"

" New York I believe. I just recently found out they were turtles too. I just didn't scream to death and pass out." Angel's cheeks turned a rose color and she looked away sheepishly.

" Sorry." She mumbled.

" I think you guys need to talk and get to know each other." Angel looked up at Don and Mike who sat on the couch across from her. Vicky went to the kitchen and grabbed some cokes for them.

" So Angel, how come you're not in the racing business with Vic?" Mike asked casually as if nothing was wrong. Angel was hesitant at first, but she began to relax when they didn't seem to do anything wrong.

" I don't know. I just don't have many horses fit for racing. I have always been into jumping that's all."

" Oh. Are you a good rider?"

" Yes."

" Are you any type of champion or do you just ride for the hell of it?"

" I am the state champion. But I don't really compete that much anymore. I breed and sell jumpers and hunters. Sometimes I teach a few lessons, but that's it."

" Cool." Don remained quiet and just looked at her. For an instant he remembered himself picking up her soft body and taking her to the house. He shook the thought from his mind and realized that she was looking right at him. He turned away quickly and she could see his cheeks turn red even with his green skin.

" Um..Mike, I'm gonna go outside." Mike looked at his brother and watched him go. Angel looked at him strangely as he left. Mike seemed to know what she was thinking.

" Sorry about that. Don is kinda shy. He didn't mean to make you scream and scare you. I guess he kinda feels bad."

" Is he normally like that?"

" Uh...ya. He's always been shy and the kind to stay away from people that didn't want him near." Angel began to feel bad for screaming at him. She quickly got up and followed him out the door. Mike grinned evilly and looked at Vic who had her eye brows raised.

" What? It's the truth." Mike said.

" Except you tried to make her feel bad so that she would go out and talk to him. I can only imagine what you're up to." Mike's grin grew even wider.

" I think Don likes her. What can I say? I'm just trying to help him out a bit." Vic turned away and started to laugh.

" Oh my goodness, Mike."

Don jumped when he saw Angel standing right next to him by the pasture fence. He turned away to look at the horses. He was trying not to look at her for many reasons that he didn't wish to say.

" Hey Um..Don? I'm sorry that I screamed and passed out on you back there."

" It's ok. We're used to it."

" Um...that doesn't make me feel any better." He gave a small smile and kept his eyes on the horses.

" Don't worry about it." Don said. Angel wondered if he was upset with her. She hadn't meant to do what she did. It just sort of happened.

" I'm sorry..." He turned to face her, but she was looking down at the ground. Before he thought about what he was doing, he reached out and touched her face. She looked at him a bit startled, but didn't move.

" It's all right." He pulled away and blushed. He turned and walked to the barns again. Angel just stood there looking after him. He seemed so nice and she had been so rude. Heaving a sigh, she turned and headed back to the house.

Don stood outside Baby Lady's stall and starred at the filly.

" Boy I can be stupid." The filly whinnied softly as if she understood.

" I shouldn't have even touched her..." He breathed in deeply and looked down at the horse's feet. He wasn't sure why he did it or why he felt the way he did.

" I hope this isn't some at first sight love thing. I don't think I can deal with heartbreak." He whispered to the filly who was willing to listen even if she didn't understand what he was saying.

Chapter 17: Adoption

April and Casey sat across from Sarah in the Orphanage. They were there to see what her interests were and what things she wanted to do in her life. They were getting to know her better before determining wether or not they wanted to adopt her.

" So Sarah...what things do you like to do?" The little girl just shrugged. April knew that she was scared and that she wasn't used to this. Her parents had been killed in a car accident and her grandparents refused to take her. It had happened only a year ago and April felt that she and Casey could give her a nice loving home.

" Well Sarah...what is your favorite animal?" She was hoping it was a puppy so she might be able to get her one, but Sarah's answer was not at all what she was thinking.

" Horse."

" Really? Well...did you ever have one?" The little girl nodded solemnly.

" What happened to it?" Casey asked.

" We had to sell her. After my mom and dad died, I was not able to take care of her cause it costs too much." April and Casey felt so sorry for the little girl. She had tears in her eyes as she remembered when the Child Protection Services had sold her horse for her. She had cried so much after that. The mare had been a gift from her parents on her birthday and it was given away like it was nothing. After a little more talk, April and Casey got up and went to talk to the lady that would be helping them.

" We would like to adopt her."

Don sat at Mike's cabin and relaxed. It had been three days since he had seen Angel and he was trying his best not to think about her. He didn't think he would be as lucky as Mike and he didn't want to try. He hadn't talked to her either. He stayed at Mike's cabin and watched TV or went through the computer he had brought with him.

" Boy this sucks!" He grumbled. He got up and paced the cabin, trying to think of something to do. Then the phone rang.

" Hey Donny. Come down to the stable. Me, Cam, Vic and Angel are setting up the wedding plans and we'd like you to come down and help out."

" Mike, I don't know if I want to..."

" Please? It will give you something to do." Don sighed and realized he was right. He had to do something and sitting around the house wasn't doing much.

" All right. I'll be there in a few."

" Cool!" They hung up and Don went out to his car.

Angel pulled the lacy drapes over the entrance. Vicky set roses all over the place and Cam set up some chairs. Not very many since it was going to be a private wedding. Mike checked off the list as they went, when a violet car began to pull into the driveway. Angel stopped what she was doing to look over at it. Donatello jumped out and went over to Mike. He didn't say hello to anyone; just did what he was told to do.

Raphael stood at Vicky's trophy room window and watched in silence. He silently wished that he could come down and greet his brothers and bother Mike. He wanted to tease him about everything and be the pain in the ass that he used to be. But he didn't want to go and show them that he was alive. For the first time, he really felt afraid. He turned away from the window and went to sit on a stool that Vicky kept in that room. As he sat alone in the room, he looked around to see many trophy's and pictures. There was a saddle on a saddle rack that had the nameplate that read: Silver Brook Champ. It was the saddle used when he ran the Triple Crown and after that, never to run again. He got up to look at her pictures. So many were there with all the Silver brook champions. He looked at a picture of her mother and her standing in the winner's circle. He remembered when he and Splinter used to talk and have fun. Well, not exactly the kind of fun he usually had, but he missed the old rat.

Donatello did the last of the things he was told to do and talked with Mike after that. Angel watched him curiously and wondered if he was so withdrawn from them because of her. She watched him, hoping for something, but not exactly knowing what. But he didn't react at all, he just turned and went to his car. He jumped in quickly and without even a glance, he turned and left the stable. She looked at Mike who walked by her to go to Cam.

" Mike, where is Don going?"

" Probably back to the cabin."

" Where's that?" Mike knew what she was getting at.

" It's the one close to the woods about a mile from here. It's to the east."

" The one with a Mercedes in the front? The beige one?"

" Yep! That's it." Angel nodded and Mike went to Cam who was in the stallion barn. Angel turned and went to her truck. She got in and drove to the cabin where Don was staying. She pulled into the driveway and got out. Slowly and cautiously, she passed by his car and went to the door and knocked. Don answered it and was surprised to see Angel there.

" Um...Don I'm sorry to bother you. I know you just came from Silver Brook and all, but I was wondering if you'd be interested in having dinner with us." Don looked at her and saw the nervousness in her eyes.

" No." She flinched at his answer.

" Why not?"

" Because I have work to do. I'm sorry, but I have to finish."

" Oh...ok." He backed away from the door and shut it. She turned and went back to her truck. She quickly got into it and started the engine. She put the truck into reverse and slammed on the gas pedal. Don watched in shock as the truck backed out and skid when she turned it. She put it back on drive and drove away.

Angel had tears in her eyes. She hadn't meant to scream at them and then be so rude. Now she felt horrible for doing it and regretted it. He wouldn't even hang out with his brother at the barn any more because of her and she knew that it might cause some problems. She headed back to her house to relax from her stress. She wanted to be far away from them all.

April led the little girl into the house and she looked around uncertainly. But her eyes went to a figure in the dark. Casey looked at Leo who just sat at the table and said nothing. He wouldn't even look their way.

" Sarah...this is going to be strange for you, but remember that he will do nothing to hurt you. His name is Leonardo and he is a big turtle. I know that sounds weird and all, but it's true." She turned on the light and Sarah's green eyes went to the turtle before her. She looked at the swirly patterns on his shell and the large muscles that bulged from his arms and legs. She didn't scream or say anything, she just looked at him. April tapped his shoulder lightly, but Leo merely looked at her. He didn't turn to the little girl who was now standing next to him. Sarah looked at his face and his eyes. Leo turned them to look at her. His eyes were soft and kind, but still he said nothing. Sarah looked at him a moment longer and then put her head down as she walked to the living room where Casey was. April looked at Leo strangely, but he made no motion. She didn't understand what was with him. Maybe he had killed someone else and it was starting to set in.

" Sarah...why don't you go a head and set your stuff in that room..." April pointed to her new room and she went to it without a word. April looked after her sadly.

" Poor girl." She whispered.

" This isn't the place for her." Casey said.

" She needs to get away from New York and to some place where there are country and horses. She might be a lot happier there." April nodded in agreement, but she didn't know where to go. If Mike were there right then, she knew that he could cheer her up in no time. April turned back to see Leo now standing by the window. He was silent and wouldn't speak to anyone. So much pain in all their hearts and no one to make it stop.

Chapter 18: Coming to Silverbrook

Donatello talked with April about Leonardo.

" Well I have no idea what's wrong with him. But he needs to get out of there. Me and Mike will think of something." April said ok and hung up. Don didn't know what to think or do for that matter. He got up and went to his car.

Vicky was out side her house drinking some tea and looking around when she saw Donatello pull into her driveway. She looked at him get out and come up to her.

" I wanted to ask you something."

" Go a head."

" Well I was wondering who lives in that little cottage about half a mile from here. I know it's your property, so that's why I'm asking."

" Well we used to have a groom that lived there, but he had gone to a home a while back and died. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with that house cause I have no real use for it. Cam and Mike are moving into the house being built and the grooms I have now live not too far from anyway. Why do you ask?"

" I was wondering if someone could use it. My brother...Leonardo who lives in New York is going through some problems. We have human friends named April and Casey and they just adopted this little girl who is in love with horses. I wanted to know if maybe they could come down or something and live there." Vicky took into mind what he was saying.

" Well now...I'm not sure. I wouldn't mind I guess. Well I am going up to New York tomorrow anyway to purchase a horse being privately sold to me, so I could talk with them. They may as well get to know me before we make any kind of decision."

" You would?"

" Ya just leave the address and I'll drop by."

" All right." He quickly wrote down the address and handed it to her. She took it and he left quickly. She got up and went into the house. Her things were packed for one day of stay and she had everything she needed to travel with the horse. She would be taking a private plane with a built in stall to travel. Raphael sat on the couch and gazed at her.

" What's wrong Raph?"

" Nothing. I've just been thinking about Mike lately. It's so nice that he's getting married and all, but he still thinks I'm dead."

" I know. Maybe you should..."

" No! I can't." Vicky looked at him strangely.

" You know, your brother Donatello just dropped by." Raphael looked up at her. She came and sat next to him.

" I know this is going to be difficult for you, but Don asked that I allow your other brother Leonardo and his friends to move down here." Raph jumped up.

" To this house!"

" No! No! I have a cottage about a half a mile from here that a groom of mine used to live in. According to your brother, Leonardo is apparently having a hard time with things. He is losing it so to speak and he needs to get out of New York. He lives with April and Casey who have just adopted a little girl. Don asked about that cottage so that they can get away from it all. It will do them some good to stay there. Raph please say that it's ok. I need your permission."

" Why? It's your house."

" Raphael. This has to do with you. I know that they are still trying to deal with all that happened. I want to know if it would be all right for him to come down here."

" Yes it's all right."

" Are you sure?" Raph looked like he was considering it. Then he slowly nodded his head. She smiled and kissed his cheek.

" I love you babe. I have to get ready to go. My flight leaves early in the morning."

" Do you always travel?"

" How do you expect me to get horses? You wouldn't want to live in that cave again, would you?"

" No."

" Well horses make the living here. I have to make sure my money doesn't go down."

" Babe, you have over 70 millions bucks. How much more do you need?"

" As much as it takes to make this a happy home for me, you and the horses." She kissed his cheek and went upstairs.

Victoria arrived in New York at 9 a.m.. She had talked with the owners of the colt she was purchasing and considered him. She ran her hands over his legs expertly and checked his body for signs of illness or lameness.

" Well, he looks good."

" Yes he is a very good horse. I hope that he will make a good racer. We are not sure of it so that's why we wanted to sell him at a decent price. I know for sure that he has the body to become a jumper, but you are into the racing business."

" That's all right. If he doesn't run well then I can train him in eventing or have my friend Angel do that. I can always think of something. But I'll take him." The owner smiled and Vic signed the papers. She took one last look at the chestnut colt. He was a lovely looking horse and she would see if he ran like one or if he was meant to be a jumper. She told them where to drop the horse off and when for the flight and she left.

Vicky pulled out the paper that Don had given her and a map. She made her way to the apartment address and pulled into the driveway. She made her way to the door and took a deep breath before knocking. A woman came to the door and looked at her curiously.

" May I help you?"

" Hi, I'm Victoria Pena and I was looking for April O' Neil."

" I'm her. Victoria Pena? The owner of that racer that was injured?"

" Yes. I wanted to talk with you."

" Oh well...ok." She invited her in and Vic looked around. She saw the little girl and smiled at her.

" Nice looking kid."

" Thanks." They sat down at the table and April made her some tea.

" Well, what is it you're here to talk about?" April asked.

" Well I was hoping that I might talk to you, Casey and Leonardo." April seemed surprised that she knew them, but nodded and called Casey out of the room.

" Um...Leonardo is a bit...strange."

" I know what he is." April nodded and called him out also. Leo sat down at the table uncertainly and looked at Vicky.

" All right. Now I am friends with Michealangelo and Donatello. Don has told me that he would like to have you leave here and move down there with him. He said that it would be good for all of you. To save the trouble, I already know what happened over 15 years ago and that's why he said to come down. I um...have a cottage that he asked about. He would like it if you moved in there."

" All of us? Is there enough room?" April asked. Still, shocked at what she was hearing.

" Yes. The cottage is actually larger than most cottages are. Any house or barn built on my property...I usually make them large so that the occupants are comfortable and happy. It has four bedrooms. A large living room, two bathrooms, a large back yard. Actually an extremely large back yard. The house is really large, but is a single floor. I also am to understand that the little girl loves horses..." Sarah looked up with interest.

" I have over 30 horses there and some are kid safe. The house is in good condition so it's prepared to be moved in at any time."

" What about Michealangelo? I mean does he mind?"

" No. I think he is looking forward to having you move down. That's another thing I came here to talk about. You know my jockey Cam Russo right? The one who rode the horse that fell in the race?"

" Yes. I remember her."

" She and Mike have been friends for a long time and she just recently found out what he was. It was a few days ago that he proposed to her and she accepted. The wedding is going to be at Silver Brook. You all are defiantly invited." April, Casey and Leo starred at her in shock.

" Married? Mike?" Leo said shocked. He couldn't believe that any of them would even be lucky enough to befriend a human more or less marry one.

" Yes. The area is being set up and I'm not sure what day they are planning on. I think they are waiting on you."

" Wow! This is all a shock for us. I mean...I never thought about moving over there."

" Trust me. It's nice. The area I live in is really private. The cottage is about half a mile from my house. The barns are about an eighth of a mile from the house. I have a house being built for Cam and Mike and it's about a quarter of a mile from my house also. The cottage and Mike's house are very close together."

" There aren't any wild animals, is there?" April asked. Vicky briefly remembered the coyote that Raph had killed but didn't want to mention that.

" No not really. There are some coyote's, but they normally don't attack. Not even the horses. I am also having electric wire put on the paddock fences so that none can get in, but they don't come by the houses. None ever had."

" Ok...are the horses dangerous for children to be around?"

" Well I have to admit that some of the horses can be. Most of the stalls with dangerous horses are marked with a warning sign. The yearlings can be dangerous, but not on purpose, it's just cause they are young. Most of the horses I have are nice. You would just have to know how to ride some of the high-strung ones I have. I have a few suitable for children though."

" Well...I guess...we'll take you up on the offer if these two agree." Casey nodded his answer and Leo nodded his as well.

" All right then." Vicky smiled. April and Casey went to packing their things, which wasn't really a lot. Sarah seemed to be a lot more cheerful, but didn't speak much. She went over to Vicky who was sitting calmly looking at a magazine. She came and looked at her.

" Hey there Sarah. I hear you like horses." She nodded shyly.

" Well, now that your moving down there on my farm, you can see them every day. Just ask me when you want to ride and we'll find a horse for ya." She smiled and nodded her head before heading back to the room to pack. Leo came out and set some things on the table. One shiny piece of metal caught Vicky's eye. She lifted the three pronged weapon carefully. Leo looked at her, but didn't say anything.

" This was your brother's?"

" Yes. Do you know which one?"

" I believe it was...Raphael." Leo nodded silently.

" Doesn't this sai come in the pair?"

" Yes. He lost this one when he jumped in the water. The other I guess is still with him or lost somewhere in the ocean."

" Oh." She felt so guilty about not telling them that their brother was actually living at her house and alive. She set the sai down and looked back at her magazine. Everything was packed. The furniture would be left and sold. There was nice furniture at the cottage already and many other things they could use. They were all ready to go.

" We are going to have our manager sell that junk of a van for us. We'll get a new car when we get down there. Do we head to the airport now?" Casey asked.

" Sort of. We are going on a private class A plane. It is constructed to have a stall in it so that I might be able to bring my new horse down with me."

" A horse? On a plane?"

" Yes. The plane was built to accommodate one." They nodded and were defiantly impressed and walked out the door. It would be their last time seeing this apartment.

Chapter 19: Old Friends

Sarah looked around anxiously as Vicky turned her truck onto the Silver brook path. April, Casey and Leonardo looked around as they passed by acres of green grass and rich land. Sarah saw dozens of horses in the pastures and gasped with delight.

" Do you want the tour now or should I wait until after you're settled?" Vicky asked, knowing the little girl wanted to see some more horses. April looked at Sarah who had the look of anticipation in her eyes.

" We'll take the tour now." She said with a smile. Vicky nodded and slowed down when it came to her house.

" This is my house right here..." She drove to the barns and pulled up.

" I'd invite you in, but my house is a mess and I need to fix it up first."

" It's ok." April said. They all got out and went into the stallion barn.

" This is my stallion barn. I keep all my breeding males and geldings in here." They all looked at the different horses and Sarah patted almost each one of them. But one had a sign on the front that said: Danger. She looked up at the black horse and read the nameplate.

"Black Knight..." Vicky looked at Sarah.

" Be careful with him. He isn't a very nice horse." She nodded and walked to where everyone else was standing. She smiled when she saw Butterscotch Ruler. She pet his nose and gazed at him.

" Sarah, do you know who this horse is?" Casey asked. She nodded her head.

" I watched him race when I was at the Orphanage. I saw when he fell down..." She looked at the horse's cast sadly.

" Well...that was a bad day for us, but he's all right now. Cam is taking good care of him."

" Is Cam his groom?" Leo asked.

" Naw...she was his jockey and I gave him to her as a birthday present. Along with his first born when he comes along."

" Wow." April said. They moved on and went to the mares barn where they met the brood mares. The yearling barn was much more busy. The grooms had learned of the turtles already, but didn't recognize Leonardo. One groom brought in the young colt that Vicky had purchased.

" Where do you want the colt?" He asked.

" I have prepared a stall for him at the end, just put him in there." She said with a smile. He nodded and moved on. Sarah looked at the chestnut colt and watched him being stalled before she went to the training barn. After the barn tour, Vicky and the group got back into the car and started to make their way down the path again.

" This is the training oval or track." Vic said, pointing to the large oval that was a mile long. April, Casey and Leo looked at the house being constructed.

" How much more time, before that house is done?"

" I think it should be sometime this week. They work fast." They passed by the house and she made her way to the cottage. April gasped at the sight of it. It was a large cottage with a somewhat country look to it. They pulled up and got out. Sarah looked at it and smiled. She had lived on a farm before, but not as nice as this one. Vicky opened the door and everyone came in to look around. There was already furniture and things they would be able to use. Vicky noticed the living room had more surprise to it than the house. She smiled and brought the group in. Sarah stood back and watched. April, Casey and Leo looked at Don and Mike who were standing in the living room. After a moment Mike came up to Leo and gave him a hug. April found herself hugging Don and then Mike as each of them were reunited. Mike smiled through his tears at everyone and then his eyes went to the little girl. Her green eyes met with his and he smiled at her.

" So this is your new kid?" He asked coming up to her. April and Casey answered yes with pride as Mike knelt before her.

" Hey! I'm Mikey. What's your name?" She looked a little shy, but answered quietly.

" Sarah..."

" Pretty name." Mike stuck out his hand and she took it and giggled when he shook it. He smiled and turned to face the group.

" It's nice to see all of you again."

" It's nice to finally be reunited. We also heard of the wedding. Congratulations Mike." Casey said. Mike blushed a bit and turned away. Vicky smiled and tossed April the keys.

" Well I have to get back to the house. I have an agenda to keep."

" Ok. Thank you." She said happily.

" Thank Don. He made the arrangements." It was Don's turn to blush as Vicky left the house.

When she arrived home, she jumped out of the car and raced inside the house.

" Raphael?" There was no answer. Fear crept inside her and she wondered where he was. She darted up the stairs and to the room. She smiled in relief as she looked at Raph laying on the bed asleep. He was snoring softly and she crept up to him quietly as to not wake him. She reached out and caressed his cheek. Before she could turn away, she felt Raph grab her and pin her to the bed. She looked up at his laughing face and his eyes that were soft and loving. He came down and kissed her passionately. She pulled her arms free and wrapped them around his neck. He reluctantly pulled away to look at her.

" So...did you bring the other brother and old friends with you?"

" Ya, along with the new horse. But they are at the cottage right now. Mike and Don were already there to greet them." Raph nodded silently and kissed her again. His kisses moved to her neck and she groaned in pleasure as she realized what was coming.

" I can't believe that we are all back together again." April said when they had all sat down to talk together.

" Ya...it's great to be back together. I missed buggin Leo." Mike said, grinning at his brother. Leo looked at him and smiled.

" I miss fighting with Raphael." He said, suddenly serious.

" Ya, but we can't dwell on it forever. He's gone now and we are together again, so let's make the best of it." Don stated quietly. He only wished he could do exactly what he said. But they all nodded and started to talk about Mike's wedding and the new house that was being built for them. Mike looked at the little girl who had gone out side to look at the huge back yard.

" So...you adopted this girl?" April nodded and smiled as she looked out at her.

" Where are her parents?" Don asked. Casey looked at them sadly.

" They were killed in an auto accident about a year ago. Her grandparents wouldn't take her for some reason and she lost everything. The thing that really hurts her though is losing that horse she used to have. It was a gift for her birthday from her parents, but there was no one to take care of it so the CPS sold it."

" Poor girl. At least she'll be happy here. I can assure you that they'll be plenty of horses to play with here."

" So Mike, do you ride horses now?"

" No...not yet. I am going to wait until after the wedding. Then we can all get a horse and go riding." He smiled at Casey who wasn't looking forward to riding a horse.

Angel came by and looked at Vicky who was fixing her hair. Her nice clothes were untucked and she quickly buttoned up her shirt. Angel raised a brow and looked at her.

" Hey Vic...um what are you doing?" She turned to look at her, but one of the turtles came behind Vicky to look at her as well. Angel looked at him curiously.

" That isn't Don or Mike..." She said looking uncertainly at Vicky.

" I know..."

" Don't tell any of them that you saw me..." He said gruffly. She looked at his scarred eye and nodded solemnly.

" This is Raphael." Angel nodded and looked at Vicky. They had come down to the barns and Raph had tried to make love to her again, but Angel had come in. At least she hadn't seen anything.

" So you two are...are..." She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Cam was with Mike and now Vicky was with Raphael.

" Yes we are." Raph said somewhat annoyed.

" Sorry..." She began to feel bad for being so rude. For some reason she always managed to piss one of them off. Vicky gave Raph a look and he softened a bit.

" You'll have to excuse him. He gets agitated easily."

" Ya...so does Don." She mumbled. Raph laughed.

" You're the one that passed out on him aren't you?" She glared, but nodded. He chuckled.

" Don must think that he isn't wanted around you or something. It's hard to get Don agitated."

" Great! That makes me feel a whole lot better."

" Sorry chick. Don is just a shy guy. You have to kinda earn his trust and show him that you want him to be around. Just be nice to him."

" I tried that! He blew me off." Raph raised an eye ridge.

" Well...that's not really like Don. Talk to Mike about it. He might be able to do something."

" Why don't you talk to him?" Angel asked curiously.

" Because they think I'm dead and I'm not ready to show that I'm not. So make sure you don't say anything about me to any of them. K?" She nodded and turned to Vicky.

" You wanted me to look at the new colt." She nodded and they made their way to the stall. Angel was most certainly going to keep quiet about Raph. Something about him scared her. Probably his bad attitude, but it didn't matter. His family affairs were none of her business.

Chapter 20: Wedding Day

Mike sat nervously at the table in April's new cottage. It was the day of his wedding and he was nervous about the whole thing. He hoped that nothing would go wrong and that they would all have a great time. Leo glanced at Mike to see his nervous eyes scan everything around him over and over again. He smiled and patted his brother's shoulder, making him jump.

" Don't worry Mike. Just calm down."

" Sorry I...I just...I don't know...it's a new thing for me."

" I know, but you got to calm down. There is nothing to be nervous about." Mike breathed in and nodded. It calmed him a little more, but not enough.

Angel looked at Donatello who was sitting on the rail to the training oval. There was no one in there and several jumps had been put up so that she could practice. Of course, she put them there to do more showing off than anything else. Angel turned and went back to her black and white pinto stallion. She mounted up and went around to the other side of the track, acting like there was nothing wrong and that she didn't even see him. She wanted to get his attention and she knew that this might be one way to do it. The stallion she was riding was named; Crash Dash. He lived up to the name somewhat. He liked to dash at things and instead of crashing into them, he would suddenly stop causing Angel to fly over his head and land hard.

She moved him forward and nervously entered the oval. She glanced at Don who had suddenly laid his eyes on her. He didn't think she knew that he was there, but he stayed where he was to watch. Angel felt Dash pull on the reins and try to get going before it was time. She moved him into a trot and warmed him up by going half way around the track and then she moved him into a canter and headed to the first jump.

Donatello watched in silence as she made the jump easily and the horse cantered to the next one. She looked so concentrated on what she was doing. She raised herself out of the saddle and got into jump position as Dash made it to the next jump. Don noticed that the horse was moving faster by the minute and soon enough, he threw his head and took the bit in his mouth.

" Shit!" He heard Angel yell as the horse took off around the track. She wasn't prepared for the jolt she felt when he lunged forward and she fell back into the saddle. He began to feel a bit nervous as she tried to pull up the head strong horse. He lunged again and now she was beginning to feel really stupid for trying this.

" Well...I defiantly got his attention." She mumbled in embarrassment. The horse made his way over jumps and headed for another. Angel wasn't ready to take it and Dash knew it. At the very last second, he slid to a stop, sending Angel over his head and right through the jump. Donatello jumped off the rail in shock and ran toward her. She sucked in a breath, but pain cursed through her as she tried to move. Nothing was broken, just bruised.

" Angel..." She opened her eyes slowly to see Donatello kneeling over her. She didn't even say a word. She was embarrassed even though it got the attention she wanted. She felt his arms gently lift her body and she groaned in pain. She rested her head against his chest and sucked in a deep breath.

" Are you ok?" Don asked with concern.

" No..." She grumbled. He smiled and realized that she was all right, but bruised. He lifted her up and tried to stand her on her feet. She wobbled to the fence and he jumped to help her stand better.

" Why the hell are you riding such a crazy horse?"

" Because...I have to at some point or another. I was trying to train him...obviously the only good quality he has are his looks." She grumbled and moved her hand to her back. Don saw her flinch in pain and went to look at her.

" It's ok..." He said softly as he gently lifted the back of her shirt to look at her back. He looked at the purplish bruise on her lower back and then the soft milky skin around it. He visualized himself touching her face again, but shook the thought from his head as quickly as it came in. She turned slowly to look at him.

" I didn't think that you were out here...why are you here anyway?"

" I was just doing some thinking."

" Oh...please don't tell Vicky about this." He looked at her curiously, but nodded his ok. She limped over to the stallion and ran up his stirrups and took his reins. She wobbled as she tried to walk and Don decided to help her. He came over and put an arm around her waist and helped her walk, but it was hurting her. He heaved a sigh and stopped.

" I hate this." He mumbled. Angel suddenly felt bad for making him help her.

" I can do it. Go back to doing whatever you were doing." He turned to look at her and noticed the tears in her eyes as she pulled her horse along. He looked after her strangely. He watched her lean against her horse and walked away as fast as she could. Tears streamed down her face.

" He really doesn't like me..." She whispered as she made her way to the training barn where she had a groom settle her horse. She limped out to her truck and passed by the wedding area. It was such a lovely design that they had all done, but she wasn't in the cheerful mood anymore. She turned and went to her truck and got in. Then she noticed Mike looking at her curiously. He came over and stopped her before she could close the door.

" Angel, what happened?"

" Nothing."

" Don't lie to me. You wouldn't be crying and limping for nothing."

" Look I fell off my horse and Donatello had an attitude about helping me, ok? I just want to go home." He looked at her knowingly and backed away. Before she backed out, she noticed Donatello and Leonardo gazing at her intently. She backed out quickly and made her way back to her house. They had heard what she said and now she felt even more embarrassed.

Samantha Larsen was also invited to the wedding and she looked around Silver Brook as she pulled into the driveway. Three turtles were sitting on the porch just drinking tea. She knew about them from what Cam and Vicky told her, but she hadn't seen them until just then. Mike smiled and came over to her and greeted her.

" So, you're Cam's man? She talks about ya all the time."

" I know she does." Mike said with a laugh.

" Is Angel here?" Sammy asked, looking around.

" Um...there was a little problem this morning. She fell off her horse while jumping the track course and my brother Donatello had a bit of an attitude about helping her. He likes her and he's afraid to admit it. Besides when she first saw us, she kinda screamed and it made him think that she didn't want anything to do with him. So he's been kinda weird lately." She nodded and walked with him to the front door. Samantha wasn't the type to get scared that easily and she was actually blunt when it came to speaking her mind. She jumped onto the porch and Mike introduced his brothers. She looked at Don and Leo and smiled. Mike threw an orange at Leo like he had asked and he missed catching it. He glared at his brother and bent over to get it.

" So where is Vi...Oh baby! You have a nice ass!" Leonardo swung around and looked at her with wide eyes. Donatello's eyes were equally wide and Mike just laughed. She shrugged and smiled at Leo.

" What? It's the truth and a complement." She saw his face flush red and she laughed lightly.

" You're cute." She said thoughtfully. Don couldn't help but smile at Leo who turned beet red. Sammy turned and went into the house to talk to Vicky.

Cam sat Sarah on Vicky's gelding; Country Boy. She smiled with excitement, as Cam mounted onto Solid Heart and they made their way to the training oval to ride. They were going to avoid the jumps though. She didn't want to rush the little girl. Casey and April stood at the rail and watched as Sarah rode next to Cam.

Angel was on her back porch as tears fell from her eyes. She could hear distant horse sounds, but paid no attention to them. The grooms had already put them away and fed them. It was getting close for the wedding to start, but she suddenly didn't feel like going.

" I heard what you said." Angel jumped up and fell out of her chair in shock. She backed away from the dark figure and starred at it.

" I didn't mean to have an attitude." Then she knew who it was. He came into the light of the porch and she looked at him wide eyed. He had a belt on with kneepads and elbow pads and a stick like weapon could be seen on his shell. She looked at the purple mask he wore and wondered if he was upset again. She got up and walked into her house quickly, but felt him close behind her.

" What do you want?" She asked quietly.

" Mike wants you to come down soon. The wedding is going to start in about two and half hours."

" I know...but...I don't want to go." She walked through her living room, but the weapon he had swung in front of her and stopped her dead. She looked at him with fear in her eyes.

" I don't mean to hurt you or scare you. But you need to go to the wedding. I want you to." The sound made her heart jump and she began to think of why she even cared about what he thought.

" Fine I'll go." She growled and went upstairs. He followed her, but she slammed the door to her room in his face. She tried to contain her emotions, but the tears spilled over her cheeks. She went back to the door to apologize to Don, but he was gone. She went back into her room and sat down on the floor. Everything she did seemed so wrong.

April and Casey sat with Sarah in the front row. Leonardo was sitting next to Sammy and the grooms sat on the other side. Don stood nervously at Mike's side. He was the best man. Vicky had explained to the priest about them and he didn't seem all that disturbed at the sight. He had been a little nervous at first, but not anymore. Don looked around, but Angel couldn't be seen. He heaved an anger sigh and looked at Mike. The music was turned on and everyone waited. Angel then showed up and sat down next to Sammy who gave her a hug. Don's butterflies went everywhere, but she wouldn't even look at him. Everyone smiled when Cam walked in. She looked so beautiful in her white gown and with her black hair tied up. Her parents were dead also and she didn't have anyone else in her family to invite so whoever was there was all she wanted. She walked to the end of the aisle and stood next to Mike. Vicky glanced around and smiled when she found what she was looking for.

The priest began to speak to them and all Don could think about was how Angel had treated him. Here he was at Mike's wedding and he couldn't even make friends with Angel. Jealousy was there, but not a lot of it. He knew that it was partly his fault. He started to pay attention when the ring was asked for. He handed it to Mike and watched as he placed it on Cam's finger.

" I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." He pulled back the veil and kissed her mouth gently. Everyone cheered and clapped for them as the day Mike had always dreamed about finally came true. They turned and went to the table that had all the refreshments and the cake. Everyone went around and got some cake. Music started to play and Mike pulled Cam to the dancing area that had been set up and they began to dance.

Samantha eyed Leonardo who looked around nervously. She came up to him and stopped right in front of him. He slowly let his eyes go from her waist to her chest and then to her face.

" Hey! Is your dance as nice as your ass?" She asked. His face went red again and he was stuck on what to say.

" I have...never danced before."

" Really? Well there's a first time for everything." She reached her hand out and he took it. They went to the dance area and started to dance. Leo was a little stiff at first, but he relaxed once he got the hang of it. Angel turned to see Don looking right at her. She didn't know what to say or do.

" Angel, I was trying to say I was sorry for being such an ass, but you kind of slammed the door in my face." She turned away.

" Look I'm sorry for being so rude, but if you don't want anything to do with me...you should have just said so."

" That's not how I feel." She felt his finger under her chin and turning her to face him. His eyes were soft. Then she knew what she had wanted from him all along. The same thing Cam had. She felt weird around him now, but she made no move to back away. He gazed at her and then pulled her gently to a private corner that was pretty much in the dark. She felt his hands go to her waist and his body come against hers.

" What are you doing?" She whispered as he began to gently kiss her shoulder.

" Something I've wanted to do to you since we first met." She didn't say anything; just let his kisses move up to her mouth. His mouth was soft and gentle and she felt the warmth of his tongue touch hers. He reluctantly pulled away and gazed at her.

" Let's go dance." He whispered. She almost didn't want to.

Leo stopped dancing and walked over to the table to get a drink. Vicky talked with Sammy while he did so. He couldn't help but notice that Sammy's eyes were on him every now and then. He turned and noticed someone standing by the entrance. The moon was bright, but whoever it was, was in the dark where he couldn't see that well.

" Who are you?" Leo asked curiously. The figure turned to look at him. Those eyes...looked so familiar.

" It's been a long time, Leo." Leonardo backed up a little.

" You know that I really didn't mean for Splinter to get killed..." Leo gasped. Raph came into the light and he looked at Leo solemnly. Leonardo starred at his brother and looked at the scar and his odd colored eye.

" Raph...you're..alive?" He nodded. Before Raph knew it, he felt Leo embrace him and hug him tightly. Raph returned the hug and then looked around.

Michealangelo suddenly stopped dancing and so did Don. April and Casey turned to look at the turtle standing next to Leo. Vicky smiled at him as he walked to Mike. Mike walked toward him and looked at him.

" Raph?"

" Ya...what are you going to do? Stare at me or give me a goddamn hug?" Mike lunged at him and grabbed him into a hug and Donatello came at him as well.

" Oh my God...it's Raphael." April said through her tears. Raph grabbed her into a hug, but instead of hugging Casey, he punched his arm. Casey laughed and punched him back.

" I can't believe it's you."

" Believe it. You won't find another turtle this good looking." They laughed even though they were still astonished at him being alive.

" Raph...how is it that you are alive?" Mike asked. Leo looked at him curiously.

" When I fell, I kinda landed on coral or something. That's where I got this scar from. It blinded my eye for a while but I awoke in some fishers net and escaped from there. I lived in Virginia for a while and then moved down here and have been here for the past 14 or so years. I met Vicky about half a year ago. Of course, not exactly the best meeting but after a while...like about seven months of not seeing each other, we started to get along. Mainly after I killed that Richard guy."

" You killed him?" Leo asked.

" Ya. So what. The guy shouldn't fuck with a chick I like." Leo smiled and was actually relieved to have his bad mouth brother back. Raph turned to look at Vicky.

" Hey babe, you wanna dance?" Vicky smiled and came over to them. The whole family was united and everyone was now happy. Everyone resumed dancing with each other and Leo found himself gazing into Sammy's eyes. She smiled mischievously at him.

" You like me don't you?" He blushed and his eyes widened. Raph snickered since he had heard it. Samantha leaned in closer to him.

" No need to be shy. I like you too." She looked at his face and came to kiss his mouth. Things just kept getting weirder. Raphael twirled Vicky around and then pulled her into his arms. He came down and kissed her mouth gently and looked at her. Before he came down to kiss her again, he looked at Leo.

" Hey! Do you have my other sai?" Vicky laughed and looked at him.

" Ya, don't worry. It's at the house." Leo said, knowing his brother would probably die without it.

" K." Raph nodded happily.

" Well now. Mike..." He turned to look at his brother.

" You going to the new house to make some babies?" Cam flushed red and Mike's mouth dropped. Vicky smacked his arm and tried not to laugh.

" Um...if you mean the honeymoon, then ya...it will be at the new house."

" Cool. Well tonight we can celebrate everything that has happened. So Mike, Leo and Don...go make some babies." April and Casey burst out laughing and Vicky turned away trying not to laugh. Angel laughed and hugged Don tighter.

" I like that." She whispered to him. Don blushed and kissed her cheek. Samantha laughed also.

" Well I'll see ya guys later. I got some babies to make." They laughed as Raph picked up Vicky and took her to the house. Mike kissed Cam and smiled at her.

" I love you Cam."

" I love you too." She whispered. The family was now together and they could all move on with their lives. Sarah went with Casey and April back to the house. She was happy to finally have a family again. She looked at April before she left the room to go to bed.

" You'll be happy here, Sarah." She smiled. Even with Splinter gone, they knew that they could make it. Now that the family was a whole again.

Epilogue: New Hope

Over 15 years of torment, hatred, and self blame were over.

Raphael gazed upon his family as they played in the pasture with little Sarah and new born horses. Everyone seemed to be happy now. All of them were loved by someone other than their own family. He turned to look at Victoria who was working with a young Thoroughbred. Donatello and Angel were watching.

Cam and Mike stood at the rail, watching the young horse. Everything seemed to be so much better. Raphael was thankful that he had met Vicky. If it hadn't been for her, he might still be living out in the middle of nowhere and his brothers would remain forever lost.

Raphael felt like a weight had been lifted from his heart. He felt as though someone had taken away the pain of the pain of the past and gave him a second chance. He knew that Splinter would be proud of them all.

Raphael got up and headed toward the pasture fence. April and Casey were there watching their new daughter play with the foals. Leonardo and Samantha were walking along the road side talking to each other quietly.

Vicky jumped from the young, energetic Thoroughbred and smiled as Raph gave her a hug and a kiss.

" How's your new racing prospect?" He asked with a grin.

" Oh I think he'll do some good. Probably not going to be like Butterscotch or my famous gray, but he'll be alright. I'm looking forward to the young ones that Sarah is playing with though." Everyone turned to look at the new young horses. Cam smiled at the little butter-scotched colored foal. The son of Butterscotch Ruler would be in the races one day and finish what his sire couldn't.

Serenity's foal galloped along side three others and beat them to the other side of the pasture. Sarah watched with admiration and she wondered what it would be like to ride one of them in the races. Maybe one day she would find out. Now she too had a family. She had a mother and father and she had horses all around her. Her uncles were happy again and reunited. Everything seemed to be coming together and she hoped that it stayed that way.

Raphael hugged Vicky and kissed her cheek gently. He knew that at that moment, Splinter was smiling down at them. Mike smiled at him and knew exactly what he was thinking. Good things were sure to come.