A/N: Sorry for missing last weeks update. Got a bit carried away with some other writing, namely another little 'future' one-shot I couldn't get out of my head any other way. Don't know if I'll post it anytime soon though, it is a little racy and I may just leave it till the series catches up, unless you wanna read it now? I've already started on the chapter after this, so next weeks update shouldn't be a drama!

A/N 2: Apologies in advance for the useless detail I've gone into describing the lair in this chapter. My hubbie, and a few friends that are more familiar with the comics are hopefully reading this, so it is mainly there for them. I have already re-written sections of the first half of this fic (no major plot changes, just a few tweaks here and there) incorporating some suggestions re: new tat details (thanks heaps GW) and improved martial arts terminology care of my hubbie (ta muchly babe!). Once this tale is completed I'll go back and update all the chapters, so if you do have any suggestions, complaints, reality checks or tips send 'em my way. All input is considered (if not necessarily accepted) and definitely appreciated!

Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT, or any related characters (much to their relief, I'm sure!) If there is anything else in this story you recognise from somewhere else, then I don't own that either.

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Tausha wasn't sure if she was still dreaming. There were no windows or other obvious light sources in the room, though it was dimly lit with an odd blue luminosity. It reminded her of swimming underwater on a dark night, so much so she found herself taking a deep breath to compensate for unconsciously holding it for the last few moments. Sitting up she noticed the glow seemed to emanate from a small number of strange crystals embedded randomly around the otherwise bare walls.

Cautiously she opened the door and slipped outside. The passageway was lit a little better; there were more of the crystals on these walls. She stood with her back to the door for a moment, trying to remember her bearings. Leo materialising from the room opposite made her start. He didn't say anything, just stood, arms crossed with a guarded look.
"Um. Bathroom?" Tausha asked hesitantly, feeling a need to explain where she was headed. Leo pointed to the door at the end of the alcove. With a nod she followed his direction.

Again she stood still for a moment as she re-entered the passage, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the gloom. Again she jumped as Leo seemed to appear from nowhere beside her. His expression was still grim, his tone impassive.
"It's almost time we usually have breakfast. Are you hungry?" As she nodded he started to lead the way out of the alcove. Hoping to maybe break the ice a little she forced a small laugh.
"Heh. You know I'm surprised I managed to wake up before breakfast. I was that tired I was sure I'd sleep right through!"
"You did."
"Huh?"
"You slept all day yesterday. It's Monday morning." Leo's tone remained neutral.
"Oh. Sorry…"
"Don't worry. You obviously needed it." Tausha just stopped herself from walking right into him as he halted a short distance from the bottom of the stairs. She couldn't help feeling a little apprehensive as he turned to face her. She almost flinched when he raised his hands in a sharp movement, then baulked as the room flooded with light at his two sharp claps.

Leo adopted his guarded stance again as he waited for her drop her hand from over her eyes and give him her full attention.
"Master Splinter believes we should follow through with our original agreement. So long as you don't prove to be any more of a threat than you initially seemed to pose."
"I really don't mean to hurt you guys…" Leo silenced her quiet protest with a stern look.
"Do you remember the rules we discussed?" Tausha nodded, starting to chew her bottom lip nervously.
"That is an elevator." Leo pointed to a large, hexagonal metal door next to a bank of TVs.
"You will not enter it without an escort, nor without a blindfold. That is an exit to the storm drains. You will not use it without an escort. That room is our armoury. I've stored your ninja-to and shinai in there. You will not go in that room without permission. The shoji screen over there leads to Master Splinters' room. You will not enter without Sensei's permission. Over there is Donatellos' Lab. You will not enter there without Dons' permission. The first passageway up there " he indicated the ledge this time "leads to our rooms. It's best if you stay out of there all together. Is that clear?"
"Yeah." she offered softly, feeling a little overwhelmed.
"Good." With that Leo strode off towards the far end of the room leaving Tausha to hurry a little to catch up.

As they walked she realised for the first time that she could fully open both her eyes once more, although the right was still a little blurry and tender. Not bothering to attempt conversation again she took the chance to have a good look round. Leo led the way across the top of a foot deep step that snaked across the chamber, dividing it in two.

To her right the lower section was dominated by a large rectangle of tatami mats, with a couple of well used punch bags hung along one wall. The only doors leading off this area were those that Leo had indicated led to the armoury and to the tunnels outside. The armoury door was back, close to the bottom of the stairs. The other was near the far end of the room. It actually consisted of two doors, the main was hexagonal in shape and large enough to allow a vehicle through, the other was a normal sized door, set within the first. There was also a fair sized pool of water situated between the dojo and the step. A small wooden bridge crossed it where it narrowed in the middle.

On her left, under the stairs, there was a dilapidated subway car. The seats had been replaced with a bench running the length of it. The bench top covered in all sorts of mechanical detritus. Between the railcar and the elevator there were two more doors. She had thought one was the 'lab' Leo had mentioned, but now she wasn't so sure. As for the other, he hadn't forbidden her from that one, so she determined to explore what was in there as soon as she could!

Opposite the elevator the higher level was broken by a ramp joining the two sections. On the far side of this was the bank of TVs. The old couch, a mismatched armchair and outdoor recliner were set around a low coffee table in front of the screens. To the side there was a small study desk set at a right angle to the wall, sporting a desktop computer. Nestled between the living area and a six seater dining table was the shoji screen door Leo had indicated earlier.

The final door led from behind the dining table into a long, remarkably well appointed kitchen. Leo flicked on the light as they entered, Tausha surprised to smell the subtle aroma of cooking rice. She waited near the entrance as Leo busied himself checking the timer on the steamer, putting the kettle on to boil and fetching a toaster and a heap of bowls and mugs from the cupboards.
"Are you OK with rice and miso soup for breakfast?"
"Uh, yeah." Tausha agreed with a shrug. "Whatever you guys normally have is fine by me." Leo finally allowed a little resigned emotion into his voice.
"Well, that's what I try to encourage my brothers to have. But we do have cereal and all sorts of other rubbish, if you prefer." Tausha couldn't help but smile a little. She was definitely starting to see Raphs' point about his brothers' penchant for interference. Unfortunately that thought quickly led to others concerning her friends' reactions to finding out just who her father was.
"Is there something I can do to help?" she asked, as much to distract herself as anything else.
"Hmm, do you know how to make tea?" Tausha managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes, just.
"Yep. Just show me where you keep everything."

A few minutes later she managed to escape Leos' fussing to follow his exact instructions on where to set things on the table. She'd just placed the tea pot when something creeping rapidly up her back made her yelp in shock. Contorting quickly around in an attempt to brush off the offending critter she was confronted with an inanely grinning Mike, his hand nonchalantly tucked behind his head.
"Good morning, sunshine!" he practically sang, completely unfazed by her glower.
"Augh. Was that you?" she demanded, still desperately trying to sweep off her back.
"Dunno what you're talking about…" Mike chirped innocently over his shoulder, walking past a concerned looking Leo leaning out the kitchen doorway.

"Sorry 'bout that." Don stepped up with an apologetic smile. "I'm afraid Mikey doesn't really have an 'off switch', though he's not usually this bad first thing in the morning."
"It's OK…" Tausha muttered in a tone that meant it was anything but. She almost walked into Leo as she tried to re-enter the kitchen.
"Oh! Here, I've already served yours out." Leo managed to prevent the soup slopping out of its' mug. Instead of handing the meal over he carried it to the table, setting the bowl and cup on the long side so she faced the rest of the chamber. She was a little taken aback as he pulled the chair out for her and waited politely for her to sit.

Despite the protests from her stomach she didn't start to eat straight away, worried it might be considered rude. Instead, beginning to feel self-conscious, she took the opportunity as Leo left her alone to duck back to the kitchen, to attempt to finger comb the mess of her hair. There was no mirror in the bathroom upstairs and it had just occurred to her that she must still look an awful mess. The rough mats and tangles she had no hope of easily straightening out quickly confirmed that fact. She opted for just trying to get the outer layer in some sort of order for now, too distracted by her task to notice Don taking the seat to her right until he scrapped his chair up to the table, making her jump.
"Oh sorry, didn't mean to startle you." he gave her his shy smile once again.
"No. It's OK, my bad. Just don't want you guys thinkin' I'm completely feral, heh!" she flustered, quickly tucking her hands in her lap.
"Don't worry. We know you've been through a lot. And, hey, who are we to judge you on what you look like? Just don't do the same to us, OK?" Don coaxed with a friendly grin.

Tausha smiled in return, but didn't get to answer. Distracted by the juggling act Mike performed not quite flawlessly as he dumped a bowl filled to practically overflowing with 'Fruit Loops' topped with a sprinkling of cocoa powder, a plate piled with jam toast, two apples and a mug of warm milk tinted with coffee on the table opposite her. After a huge yawn and stretch he started demolishing his feast, looking up after a few noisy moments to answer her bemused look with a cheeky grin.
"What? I'm a growin' lad, so's I gotta eat me victuals!" his cockney accent way off.
"Growin' inta what!" she muttered under her breath as Mike went back to inhaling his food, sharing a conspiratorial grin with Don as he sniggered slightly into his mug of soup.

She wiped the expression off her face, feeling a need to be serious as Splinter arrived at the head of the table, next to Don. Despite Leo immediately appearing to serve his Master's breakfast, the rat didn't take his seat. Tausha kept her head bowed as he shared his morning greetings with his sons, feeling all the while like he had one eye on her. Leo left the kitchen for his final run to take his own seat at the opposite end from Splinter.

Almost as if that were his cue, Splinter moved around the table to stand next to the girl.
"And how is our guest this morning?" he asked kindly. Tausha turned on her seat to face him as best she could.
"Much better, thankyou." She ducked her head in an uncertain bow, keeping her eyes averted for the most part as he gave her a critical look over.
"Hmm, yes. You do seem to be healing well. May I…?" he moved his paw towards her face, waiting until she nodded to actually touch her. She winced a little as he deftly ran his fingers over the damage, gasping as he manipulated the bridge of her nose for a moment. The pain making her eyes tear.
"Forgive me. I do not intend to hurt you un-necessarily. I don't think your nose is broken, though it will obviously still be tender for a few more days." She tried to give him a brave smile past her hands as she gingerly patted her face, surreptitiously trying to wipe the wetness from her eyes.

"…are the Winx. We are…" Tic.
"…ood Morning, New York. In breaking news…" Tack.
"…and we'll even include the steak knives, absolutely fre…" TACK! Rolling his eyes Mike heaved himself up from the table, taking an extra slice of toast to sustain him once he finished the one still half hanging from his mouth. Deftly he rescued the remote, earning an evil snarl from his brother, and flicked it back to the first channel.
"I'm not watchin' this fairy crud." Raph's voice carried a definite threat.
"Transformers are on after this, bro." Mike explained over his shoulder, taking the remote with him.
"Better friggin' be…" Raph muttered under his breath as he stalked into the kitchen without as much as a glance toward the table.

"So Master, I was thinkin'" Mike started as he resumed his seat "one of us should sacrifice our training today to make sure our guest is well supervised and…, stuff. Wouldn't wanna be rude and let her get bored or anything! And since I've proven my martial prowess I'd be willing to take the first shift…" Splinter's level gaze, and the dirty looks from his brothers, made it clear Mike plan wasn't gonna fly.
"Your training has suffered enough the past couple of days. I am sure Tausha is capable of entertaining her self for a few hours." Splinter stated.
"Is there something you'd like to do while we train? You can watch TV, or we have a few books…" Don queried.
"Well, is there any chance I could move the tiles out of the shower upstairs?"

Mike jerked his head up with a look of horror.
"No. You can use the bathroom down here." Leo asserted much to Mikes' relief, as he pointed to the door he hadn't explained earlier. Tausha couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, though she realised she should have known better. It was fairly obvious that no room she wasn't restricted from entering would contain anything hugely exciting.
"Um, actually it might be better if she uses ours Leo. I've managed to rig up the shower down here for Master Splinter to use, but I'm still waiting on that adjustable head Casey promised us after he broke the old one." Oblivious to Leo's dark look Don continued, addressing Tausha instead.
"You might find it a bit low to use comfortably. Our bathroom is just at the end of that first hallway up there."
"Oh, is that OK?" Leo found himself at the point of his brothers' curious looks along with Taushas' query. Even Splinters' eyebrow twitched slightly. Raph placing his plate laden with pop tarts and mug of black coffee on the table did little to distract from the silent interrogation; especially since he sat sideways, his shell to most of the table, intent on watching TV. Though Leo noticed Tausha did look slightly crestfallen, despite not obviously glancing towards his ill-mannered brother.

"I suppose it is the best solution, but you are not to enter our rooms under any circumstances." Leo sternly instructed. Tausha gave him a relieved smile.
"Of course not, thank you." she said quietly, Mike quickly talking over the top of her.
"What d'ya mean 'under any circumstances'?" he demanded "What if I invite her to my room, huh?"
"No." Leo answered calmly.
"No? It's my damn room Leo!" exclaimed Mike.
"No." Leo was implacable. Mike was speechless for all of a second before turning to the other end of the table, Don following suit.
"Master?" Mike pleaded with his best puppy dog look.

Splinter carefully balanced his chopsticks on his bowl before he answered.
"Michelangelo is correct in this Leonardo. You do not have the right to dictate who may, or may not enter your brothers' rooms, only your own." Leo bowed his head in acceptance, and to hide his gritted teeth.
"Booyah!" Mikey did a quick victory shuffle in his chair, arms in the air. Then he leant his elbow on the table, finger pointed as if giving a stern lecture, though his grin ruined the act.
"You know your problem Leo? I reckon you're jealous!" Raph's head perked up slightly at that, though he didn't turn from the TV. On a roll, Mikey didn't pause.
"Considering the company she's been stuck with till now, Tau's obviously the kinda gal that goes for tough kinda guys. So you aint got a chance in heck! We all know I'm the toughest of the lot of us. I am the Battle Nexus Champion after all!" This last declaration addressed to Tausha with a huge grin and a wink.

Don groaned. Splinter closed his eyes, praying for patience.
"Mikey." Leo warned in a dangerously low tone before all three levelled their gazes at the girl, awaiting her response. Raph didn't move, his mug still held half-way in its journey to his mouth. Tausha fidgeted nervously for a moment under the scrutiny. Taking a deep breath she looked Mike straight in the eye.
"I'm sure I'd be suitably impressed…, if I had any idea what the heck that means!" her voice heavy with sarcasm. She could almost feel the tension drain from the table as Mikes' jaw almost hit it.

"You don't know?" Mike almost whispered in disbelief. Tausha shook her head with a look that loudly spoke 'obviously'.
"You never told her about the Battle Nexus?" Mike accused his brothers' shell. Raph slowly finished his drink.
"Nup. We only talked about important stuff…" he murmured, still seemingly engrossed in the cartoon.
"Important stuff! Like, what's more important than having a brother that's the 'Champion of the Universe', huh?" Mike demanded, almost in hysterics. Raph chortled quietly to himself, both Leo and Mike taken down a couple of pegs in as many minutes? Maybe having Tau hang around for a few days to stir things up wasn't gonna be as unbearable as he'd feared. Didn't mean she was forgiven though. With that sobering thought he bit resolutely into his last tart, hunching his shoulders defensively.

"Enough!" Splinters' quiet command immediately gained everyone's attention.
"Michelangelo, no one ever choked swallowing their pride. And your insolence was uncalled for. I suggest you contemplate that as you undertake twenty flips." With a moan Mike neatly stacked his empty dishes together, making a show of dumping them heavily in front of Raph before he meandered over to the dojo.

Raph groaned resignedly himself as he started collecting as many dishes off his end of the table as he could carry. Don and Leo gathered the rest to help cart them through to the kitchen. The two quickly reappeared to head down to the mats, preparing for their training session.

Quiet descended on the table, Tausha starting to feel uneasy under Splinters' inscrutable gaze. There was no malice in his look, but whilst she had no idea of his thoughts, she had the disconcerting notion he could read hers like a book.
"I'm sorry. I just seem to keep causing trouble. I don't mean to…" she murmured to the tabletop. The Master smiled reassuringly.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same. Rest assured that for the most part you are but a catalyst, not the cause, of my sons' discord. I apologise if they have caused you any offence."
"No." Tausha shook her head with an uncertain smile. Splinter stood before he continued in a kind but firm tone.
"I suggest you spend some time today considering your options for the future. I would like to openly discuss your plans at dinner. My sons' contributions can be quite helpful at times and an appropriate escape strategy may take some preparation."
"OK." she agreed with a nod as she stood to share a bow with him before he made his way to the dojo.

She traced the back of her chair with her fingers for a moment, thinking the best course of action would be to head straight upstairs. Her curiosity over what Raph was up to in the kitchen won out, however. Warily she peered around the doorway. She'd always considered him to be a bit wild, so seeing him immersed in suds up to his elbows in an incongruous picture of domestication coaxed a small half-smile onto her face. It evaporated pretty darn swiftly though as he spotted her, pausing in what he was doing to glare maliciously. He didn't say a word; he didn't need to as she felt the colour drain from her face under that look. Hesitantly she followed his silent order, ducking her head back through the door to head off towards the stairs.

Chink.
Raph roughly plonked the dish he'd been washing on the rack. What the hell right did that bitch think she have to laugh at him doin' the dishes?
Chunk.
Alright, maybe she wasn't laughin' exactly… and at least she'd looked pretty contrite when he'd caught her at it. More than just contrite actually, she'd seemed sad…, and hurt? Damn it! He wasn't gonna fall for a ruse like that. He had every right to be pissed off, and that was how he was gonna stay.
Crunk!
He'd been forced to listen to Casey bitchin' about how chicks excelled at makin' ya feel bad over nothin' way too many times to be caught out by anything that stupid. No matter how sorry Tausha looked there was just no way in hell he was ever gonna feel…
Crack!
"Aww, damn it!" Guilty of breakin' another cup.