Chapter 6: Awaken from the Nightmare

"LET ME GO!" Madison thrashed madly as her father pinned her to the bed.

"Did you honestly think you could get away from me?" he sneered, ripping at her clothes. "Now just shut up and take your punishment like a good little girl."

"Get your hands off me! You can't do this to me!"

"Oh but I can, Madison, I can," he laughed like the devil. "And when I'm done with you I can finish with them."

Madison turned her head just slightly and saw the half naked beaten bodies of Kaylin and Molly lying unconscious on the floor. "NOO!" she screamed. Her eyes widened when they caught sight of Peter's lifeless body laying face down on the opposite side of the room, a pool of blood forming underneath him.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THEM?"

"Nothing I'm not allowed too," he smirked. "Now…what oh what to do with brat here…"

Madison eyes grew with terror as a crying Brian suddenly appeared in her father's arms "Let him go! Please! I'll do anything!"

"Oh you'll do it anyway," he said moving over a newly placed window. "But it's just probably best if you don't have any distractions…" he let the child slip from his hands. Madison threw herself at the window but was caught by her father. Brian's bawling child form falling further and further from her, disappearing into nothingness.

"NO! NO! NOOOOOOOO!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Madison's eyes flew open and she launched her body upwards. She was caught by unknown arms. "NO! Get you hands off me! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"

" MADISON!" shouted a familiar voice next to her. "It's me!"

Madison stopped trashing; the voice wasn't the cruel mocking sound of her father. She turned and saw the muscular green arms wrapped around her protectively; a blue ribbon along side her face, lightly brushing against her cheek, "L…Leo?"

"Yeah, it's me, Shhhh its ok, it's just me."

"Oh god… Leo, I heard him," she said, starting to shake again, her heat pounding like a frightened rabbit's. "I could feel him. He was grabbing me, ripping my clothes, laughing at me the whole time! Then I saw Molly and Kay and… oh my god! Where are the kids?"

" Madison, stop it! They're fine!" Leo said, keeping her from getting up. " Madison, if you don't hold still, you're going to hurt yourself."

"Please, Leo, I have to make sure…!"

" Madison, will you cut this out already!" he said, not fully letting her out of his embrace. "Your brothers and sisters are fine. You have got to knock this crap off or you're gonna kill yourself with worry and then where are those kids gonna be?"

Madison laid back down looking rather sheepish, "Where am I?"

"You're in the sick bay," said Don, as his shadowy figure appeared into the light. He was holding tray with a bottle of something and a syringe on it.

"What is that for?" Madison asked, her eyes narrowing.

"It's to help you," he said. "Calm you down."

"I am calm."

"I'm gonna give it to you all the same," he said, filling the needle. "You could use the rest since you for some reason have a habit of pushing yourself way to hard."

"You are not sticking that thing in me," she glared.

" Madison, it's gonna help you."

"I don't need it, Don," she snarled.

"Yes, Madison, you do, whether you think you do or not you do."

"Donny, you come any closer to me with that thing and I swear to god…"

"Miss Miller, that is enough," said a firm ancient voice from the door way. Master Splinter's face looked weary and worried but his eyes told her very bluntly to stay where she was. "Donatello is merely trying to help you. That is what we are all trying to do but you keep fighting us. Are you so hard now that you will not accept the help of those who have come to care very deeply for you or has your faith in our friendship been destroyed before it ever truly began?"

Madison looked away feeling very ashamed, "I…I'm sorry…" she laid back and allowed Don to finish preparing the shot.

"You need to allow us to help you, Madison," he said, walking over to the bed and resting his boney hand on hers.

"It's just… I'm not a big fan of needles…"

"You should see Raph," Don chuckled as he pierced her skin with the needle and pushed the contents within it out. Leo gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze when Madison winced and made a whimper sort of noise. She squeezed Master Splinter's hand hard and squeezed her eyes shut harder. "He is the biggest baby about shots."

"I heard that," muttered a gruff voice from a chair in the corner. "And I am not."

"Liar," Donatello muttered.

"Ah, shut up, Donny," he snarled, stretching in the chair he had been occupying for something close to six or seven hours now. Molly had fallen asleep in his lap awhile ago, clutching the stuffed rabbit he had givin her and sucking her thumb. His leg had fallen asleep and he was very stiff. Not in the mood to deal with sarcasm.

"Is that Molly?" Madison asked.

"Yeah," Raphael nudged Molly awake. Her green eyes fluttered open and she stared up at him, her thumb still in her mouth, "Hey, Kido, yer sister's up." Molly turned around and hopped off his lap, the rabbit stuffed up under her arm. She went over and crawled up on the bed, wedging her body into the nook of Madison's like she had done the first day they had met her. The little girl closed her eyes and looked as though she had instantly fallen back asleep. Madison hugged the little girl close, nuzzling the back of her head with her nose.

"He's not gonna take you away from me," she whispered so that the others couldn't hear. "I won't let him."

"You won't have to, Madison," Master Splinter said. Madison looked up at the old rat with a bewildered expression. He just smiled gently. "I am old, Miss Miller, not deaf."

Madison just chuckled slightly and laid back down, "I'm sorry to be so much trouble."

"It is no trouble, my child," Splinter said, patting her hand. "This is what a family does for one another." Madison looked at him with a pain expression. "You have had a very trying day, Madison; I believe that we should take our leave. I shall have Leonardo bring you some food then you may rest."

"We don't have anything left," Madison remembered as Leo disappeared out the door. "I was gonna go shopping but…"

"Ms. O'Neil and Mr. Jones were kind enough to bring some groceries down to us," Splinter replied, motioning his sons to leave. "Raphael…"

Raph looked over at his master and caught on to what his gaze was saying. He went over and scooped the child up off the bed. She woke up immediately and looked back over at Madison, and rubbed her eye sleepily.

"You listen to Raphael, Molly. Do what he tells you," Madison said. The little girl nodded. "Would you mind reading to her tonight?"

"No prob," he said, leaving the room. Molly waved to Madison over Raph's shoulder, her thumb still planted firmly in her mouth and the rabbit still tucked awkwardly under her arm.

"I've read to her every night since she was born…" Madison said aloud, absent mindedly, before she thought better of it. She blushed and looked away.

" Madison, will you please share with me what happened to you today," Master Splinter, kneeling next to her.

"I…I don't know," she said, half truthfully. "I guess…that flyer just really got to me."

"I think it is more than that," he said. "There must be. A flyer alone, no matter how upsetting, should not have the power to cause someone to lose all sense of reality and attack a loved one."

Madison's eyes widened, "I didn't hurt one of the kids did I?" she sounded panicked. Stupid, Madison! Stupid, stupid, stupid! She screamed in side her head. How could you lose control like that! Damn it!

"No," he said. "Though you did try to eliminate one of my sons."

"What!" Madison exclaimed. "Master Splinter, I…I! I couldn't of! I…I didn't did I! Oh god! I didn't see Mikey…! "

"Michelangelo is in the kitchen caring for the children. It was not he whom you attacked but Leonardo," he said simply.

Madison looked horrified. She did remember wondering why he had a white bandage on his arm when she had first woken up, "Master Splinter, I am so sorry! I swear I didn't mean to, I don't even…"

"I do not blame you for this attack," he said, holding his hand up to stop her furious apologies. "But rather the cruelty your father inflicted upon you. I do not think that you knew who it was you were attacking."

"I…"

"What did you see?"

"I…" Madison looked away. She just couldn't. "I don't remember."

"I see," Master Splinter said. He could tell she was lying for the most part but did not want to push his luck by forcing her to tell him. She already seemed to find it difficult to trust them despite their attempts, not that he could entirely blame her. Even thinking about what her father must have done to her made his very blood boil. He wanted so very much to show her that not all fathers were so cruel. "I must go and tell the children that you are alright. If you need anything, please Madison, do not be afraid to ask."

"Yes, Master Splinter."

"We are your féminin now, Madison," he smiled gently at her wondered look. "You are safe."

Madison leaned into her pillow and mentally kicked herself over and over again after Splinter had left the room. How could she of been so stupid! How could she of lost control like that. UG! The very thought of it infuriated her. And she hurt Leo! If he had stitches because of her she would hate herself…

"Oh man, he must hate me," she groaned.

"I don't hate you," said a soft voice from the door way. Madison looked over and saw Leo standing in the door way with a tray of food. He walked over, set it down on the floor before kneeling next to the bed himself. Madison eyed the bandage and grimaced. He gave her a smile, "Don't sweat it I've had worse."

"I am so sorry," she said, biting back the urge to cry. "I never…"

"Hey, I said don't sweat it," he said, picking up a bowl of what looked like beef stew. "You hungry?"

"A little."

"Here," he said, dipping the spoon in and holding it out for her. Madison laughed a little.

"Leo, I'm not paralyzed, I can feed myself."

"True but that shot Donny gave you is gonna hit you any time now and when it does yer gonna go straight to sleep and when you do it would probably suck to be holding a steaming bowl of hot soup."

Madison laughed, "All the same, I'd feel weird having you feed me."

Leo didn't argue he just handed her the bowl. She picked up the spoon, blew on it and began to eat the delicious stew.

"My complements to the chief," she smiled.

Leo just gave her a half smile before sighing. He had a pondering look on his face. Like he wanted to ask something but wasn't sure if he should.

"Penny for your thoughts" Madison smiled over the bowl.

" Madison…why don't you trust us?" he asked.

Madison was completely taken back by this, "I…I do."

"You don't act like it," Leo said.

Madison frowned, "Well I do, whether you think so or not."

Leo just kept his other comments to himself. If she trusted them, she wouldn't freak out every 10 minutes about the kids, she wouldn't feel awkward about letting him feed her because she was not well. She would feel like she could tell them the truth about what ever bothered her.

"Oh geez…"

"What?"

"I forgot to have Peter and Kaylin do their assignments today," Madison said. She set the bowl down, threw back the covers and tried to get out of bed. Leo wrapped her in an embrace and wouldn't let her get up. "Leo! What are you doing, let me go will ya."

"No," he said firmly. "You need to for once not be so stubborn and stay in bed. We can do what you need to have done."

"But I'm the only one who…"

"No, Madison, you're not."

"Leo, please let me go."

"No."

"Let me go, Leo."

"No!"

"Leo!" Madison struggled a bit. She hated being retained like this, it was to much like… "Please! Let me go!"

" Madison, I am not letting you go."

"No! You don't understand! You…"

"I don't understand because you won't tell me," he snapped. "You won't tell anyone anything."

"There is nothing to tell, now let me…"

" Madison, for the love of god can you just trust us for thirty seconds!" Leo exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Madison said, trying harder to wiggle her way out of his embrace. "I already told you, I do trust you guys."

"No, Madison, you don't!" he nearly yelled, holding her at a distance so that he could stare firmly into her eyes no matter how frightening they were. "You don't trust us! You don't trust anyone! Not even yourself. You are so caught up in your own pain that you aren't allowing yourself to heal. You are so determined to build a safety wall around you and your brothers and sisters to keep out your enemies that you're even refusing to let you allies in! Damnit, Madison, just trust us! We are NOT going to hurt you and we are NOT going to use your pain against you. Or Peter, or Kaylin, or Molly or Brian! You don't have to harbor all these feelings until you feel like you're gonna explode. You're all a part of this family now. And in this family we do not throw you to the wolves."

She must have been a sight to see. Her wild brown hair falling around her bewildered face with tears forming in her frightened eyes. Leo's words stabbed her right through the heart like a knife because she knew how true they were.

"Why are you keeping us out, Maddy?" Leo asked more gently this time, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. The knife twisted. "What are you so afraid of?"

Madison let the tears start flowing down her cheeks; she threw herself onto Leo's chest and began to sob, "Everything." Madison cried herself to sleep in Leo's arms; he gently laid her back down, covered her in a blanket and kissed her fore head with a brotherly affection. Then he gathered up the tray and left the room, stopping just outside of it to find Raph and Molly standing there. Molly was still carting around that rabbit.

"She asleep?"

"Yeah," Leo said. "She has some much pain in her. I don't know how she even still stands."

"Yeah," Raph said, looking at the ground. "I just don't get it. How does a person treat someone, anyone, as amazing as she is like that… "

Leo arched an eyebrow, "...You… you like 'er don't you?"

Raphael blushed, well as much as turtles blush, "I just don't think she shoulda had to deal with that kinda crap. She's cool. All the kids are."

"Ummmhmmm…"

"Shut up, Leo," Raphael snapped, following his brother back to the kitchen, not noticing Molly didn't follow.

The little girl faced the door with an unreadable expression on her face. She gently opened the door, careful not to let it creak so that she wouldn't wake up Madison. Molly walked across the room, her bare feet making no noise on the ground. She went right up next to Madison and studied her sleeping sister carefully. She hadn't ever seen her look so peaceful. Molly quietly leaned over and gave Madison a quick kiss on the cheek before setting the rabbit next to her on the bed; she wanted to make sure that Maddy wouldn't be all alone tonight and her new buddy was just the one for the job. Molly looked pleased with her self and made her way back towards the door. She grabbed the door knob, which was only slightly shorter than she was and began closing the door, "N...Night, night, sissy…love you…"

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