A/N: Sorry for the late update, but I have a great excuse! Scared by the ominous sounds off pitchforks being sharpened I've shunned family and friends to get the next two chapters done. Just a reminder that I have put the brakes on this story a little and Chapters 16, 17 and 18 all occur on the same day. The first day Raph has to deal with Tau after her little revelation. I don't think Raph's the kinda guy to forgive and forget too easily so sorry if he's seemed like too much of a jerk in these, but that is kinda the point, lol! Also trying to get Tau's story out in bits 'n' pieces as opposed to one long monologue. Apologise too if each of these chappies seems a bit samey, but to me meal times are family chat times, so it seemed natural these conversations would revolve around the dinner table. Rest assured I won't be going into this much detail for each day she's there (I'm not that nuts), and Chapter 19 starts to pick up the pace again. I'm also trying to tie the other guys in a little more now I have the chance. (They're stood behind me with much scarier stuff than pitchforks. Mikes demanding at least one mention per paragraph and a pizza per chapter. But don't worry their union's not that good!)

A/N2: Have a bucket load of people to thank this time; The REAL Cheese Monkey, artykidd, Canadian Pirate Queen and Dragonfly Rider. Ta very muchly to all for the reviews; does wonders for the motivation! Hope you all enjoy these next two instalments. Also want to thank everyone who has put me on their alert and favs listings. That's a really great honour and it is appreciated. Lastly; my long suffering hubbie. Suppose I better go check he remembers what I look like…

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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Reaching his room Mike swung open the door and waved Tausha through with a dramatic bow and flourish of his arm.
"Entrevue, mon amie!" Tausha stepped hesitantly over the threshold; pausing at the edge of the small area the door swept clear. Most of the floor was visible, but the piles of detritus on the far side of the desk, in the corner behind the door and lurking under the bed were starting to make a bid to reclaim what had obviously been their rightful place in the past. However, what really caught her attention were the walls. Almost every spare inch was covered in what she had first thought were posters. On second glance though she realized the vast majority were hand drawn. Characters and scenes from just about every comic, anime and Disney movie she'd seen, and quite a few she hadn't.

Wandering over to the large desk placed in the centre of the right wall she gave a reverent "Ooh" for the image that seemed to be leaping off the page, only caught by the final corner of trace-lines that had yet to coloured. The picture detailed a short-haired, Japanese woman in a revealing bodysuit, revolver in hand, stood in front of a small blue tank sporting four stubby legs instead of tracks. The city skyline in the background merged into a circuit board in place of a night sky.
"You draw these?" she asked in quiet awe. Mike rubbed the back of his head, colouring a little in embarrassment.
"Yeah, I doodle a bit every now an' then. That one's for Don. Heh! Think he has a bit of a 'thing' for the Major." Tausha's exaggerated sigh was offset with a knowing grin.
"Doesn't every guy?"
"Well she is kinda cute, but I find robots an' stuff a bit too creepy. Prefer a flesh and blood woman myself!"

With that he threw himself down on the double bed that formed the lower level of his bunks. Just how he managed that without crushing any of the comics and mags strewn over the mattress was beyond Tausha. She guessed he usually slept in the single top bunk; at least that had rumpled blankets on it. With a beguiling smile he patted a clear patch at the edge of the bed, inviting her to sit. Feeling a little nervous Tausha declined with a stern look.
"I am grateful to you guys, and I need all the friends I can get. But I want to make one thing clear; if you're hoping for anything more than conversation you can forget it, OK?" Mike's stunned silence made her face colour brilliantly. Shamefaced, she inspected the patch of carpet at her feet as she apologised.
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to insult you. If I thought you'd try to hurt me or anything I wouldn't have come up here. It's just I really don't need any more complications right now."

Her head shot up at Mike's laughter.
"Oh girl! Ya know my bros' have been tellin' me for years that my mouth'd get me into trouble. But you're the first chick to take me seriously enough to tell me to back off!" he sat up, wiping his eyes "It's kinda cool actually!"
"It is?" Tausha asked uncertainly, concerned she was being made the butt of a joke somehow.
"Yeah." grinned Mike, scooting forward to sit on the edge of the mattress before giving a shrug.
"No matter what I say, girls always seem ta see me as some ugly, weird little green guy, only really good for a laugh."
"I suppose I have had a bit of time to get used to what you guys look like already." She offered tentatively, looking at him askance.
"Heh! Well, I guess since you've been 'gettin' used' to the weirdest one of us I'm pretty tame, huh?"

Mike grinned even wider at the brief scowl Tausha shot him, speaking again before she had a chance to.
"Look. If you promise not to take everything so seriously, I swear on my honour I won't touch ya. Deal?" he proffered, along with his hand. Tausha considered for a moment.
"Deal. Though we can't shake on it if ya gonna keep that promise." a small cheeky smile tugged on her lips. Mike chuckled,
"Well, I wont touch ya, any more than ya want me to!" he amended with a roguish wink. With a roll of her eyes Tausha plonked down to sit next to him.
"You know, when Raph first started telling me about you guys there were times when I thought for sure he must be exaggerating. Now, I don't think anything he could've said would've given me a real idea what I'd be in for coming here!"

Mike snickered briefly.
"So, what did he tell ya about me?"
"I probably shouldn't say…"
"Aww, please?" he begged with massive 'anime eyes'. Tausha couldn't resist.
"He said you could be the most annoying, childish, bothersome, irresponsible," Mikes' eyes managed to open even wider as his face fell further with each word "infuriating, optimistic, loyal, funny, caring, cheerful brother he could hope for, or stand." She tried to suppress the smile as she watched the play of emotions on his face. Mike finally settled for small grin.

"So, what else did he tell ya about?"
"Uh, uh. No way. Ask him if ya want, but I'm not about to risk him getting even angrier with me." She gave a small sigh.
"I think I did hang around a little too long when I was trying to leave, hoping he'd show up. Part of me just wanted a chance to say a proper 'goodbye'. Now I'm just hoping it'll be a civil one. I do miss talking with him." Mike gave her an incredulous look.
"You miss talking with him? Hang on, we are discussing Raph here aren't we? Though I guess you were doing most of the chatting, huh?" Tausha shrugged.
"Sometimes, he is a pretty good listener." Mike took a moment to recover his jaw from where it had fallen. Holding up a finger he queried,
"Is the guy you're talking about around my height, green, wears a red bandana instead of stylish orange and looks like this a lot?" Tausha laughed at the exaggerated grimace Mike pulled, hands up as if he were about to throttle someone, complete with comic growl.

"Yeah! That's him!" She sobered quickly, however, as Mike finished his performance.
"I didn't want to let him know about my Dad, I was afraid he'd get pissed off about it. Gees, I shoulda known better and made up something the other night, would've made life a hell of a lot easier." she mumbled to her hands in her lap.
"I don't know about that, babe. Ya know Master Splinter has a saying…, er, how'd it go again?" he scratched his head for a moment "Um…, oh yeah! 'The truth may hurt, but it never does as much harm as a lie.'" Tausha waited a moment for the 'grasshopper' to complete his imitation of an ancient master.
"Hmpf, maybe. But I can't really see how it would've made matters worse."
"Well, I can tell ya one thing. If I found out you'd actually lied to my bro, I wouldn't be talkin' to you at all. Then you'd be really devastated!"
"You're probably right." she agreed with a grateful smile.

They passed a comfortable minute in silence before Mike bounced slightly where he sat.
"So, what comics d'ya like? I've got Marvel, DC, Mirage, Dark Horse, Image…" he pointed vaguely towards sections of the mismatched bookshelves that ran from the side of the bunks around the corner to end near the desk at each name. Tausha figured it was just an approximation of where the majority of issues were located since the comics were all stacked haphazardly, competing for space with various toys and junk. Quickly she wandered over to the section near the desk, not wanting to draw attention to the large trophy sitting pride-of-place on top of the shelves next to the bunks. Mike gave a quick laugh as she returned to her spot.
"What?"
"You like Batman?"
"Yeah, he's alright. Why?"
"Heh! Oh, it's… nothing."

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Leo wandered out of the bathroom, towel still slung about his neck. The hot shower had been welcome after his afternoon of strenuous katas. At least Raph had seemed intent on ignoring him, concentrating on completing his chores on the half of the dojo Leo hadn't been using at the time instead of his usual antics of needing to clean the exact spot Leo was currently training on.

The sound coming from Mike's open door gave him pause. There was none. The light was still on, and on his way past before Leo had listened briefly to Mike and Tausha giggling over some movie they both liked. A range of scenarios flashed through Leos' mind. Hopefully they had gone downstairs and forgotten to turn off the light? Just in case he poked his head in the doorway. Mike was propped on his elbows on his bed, Tausha leaning casually with her back against his carapace, both with comics in hand. A small sigh of relief escaped Leo.
"Hey Mikey, isn't it getting close to dinner?" Leo disturbed them, Tausha immediately looking uncomfortable at the intrusion.
"Is it? Well, better get started then!" Mike leapt of the bed, slowing as he neared the door to sniff the air.
"Can you smell burning bro?" Leo took a deep breath through his nose.
"Yeah." he confirmed dejectedly. Horrified, Mikey fled yelling "Nooo!" Leo, shaking his head in resignation, turned to the girl left standing in confusion.

"Can we talk?" Leo asked, stepping into the room. Looking like a kid caught raiding the cookie jar Tausha nodded slowly.
"Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I figured Mike would get you up here as soon as he could, just to annoy me. I'd actually like to apologise. I admit I don't trust you, and if you ever purposefully do anything to hurt any of my family…" Leo stopped, sounding menacing even to himself, though Tausha didn't flinch at the unspoken threat.
"But I realise that smoke and mirrors aren't Hun's style. So I am sorry if I've treated you harshly." Tausha shrugged slightly with a wary smile.
"It's OK. You're just being protective, well maybe a little over-protective. But I can respect th.." A shrill scream echoed from downstairs.
"What the…?" Tausha would have run out of the room in concern if Leo wasn't blocking the entrance, rolling his eyes with a hand up to stop her.
"I doubt it's as bad as you think. No-one can over-react like Mikey. Come on; let's see just how big a disaster dinner really is."

"And how long did ya cook these for, it's practically mush!"
"Cooked is cooked."
"No it's not! Ya know all those little lines next to the knobs on the stove are there for a reason Raph. There's more options than just full on or off."
"Well maybe if you'd gotten your butt down here on time instead of wasting the day with that…" Raph paused as he left the kitchen, realising everyone was already taking their places for dinner. With a 'humph', and pointedly ignoring the far end of the table he dumped plates in front of Splinter and Don. Mike followed him out looking like he was close to tears, staring dejectedly at the meals he carried. An evil look briefly came over his face as he thought of a way to get back at his brother, putting the plates he carried in front of Leo and himself. Before anyone could comment he started to whinge.
"Master! It's not fair. I was saving these chops for a special occasion or something. Now they're just ruined!"

That scored Mike one dark look from Raph as he returned to the table, a second followed as he realised who was left to serve.
"Thank you." Tausha mumbled, prudently leaving the 'I think' silent as her plate skidded to a halt just in front of her. Despite not looking at her at all Raph stabbed a finger in her direction, leaning over Mike accusingly.
"See! At least someone appreciates the effort I've gone too!"
"She's a guest, idiot. She has too! When are ya gonna learn that cooking is like dealing with a fine lady. It takes finesse…"
"And what the hell do you know about 'dealing with ladies', huh?" Seemingly oblivious to the looming threat in his brothers' narrowed eyes and clench fists Mikey explained smugly.
"Well I think the fact that ladies choose to spend their time with me over the rest of you lot speaks for itself!"

"Hang on." Tausha interrupted the three acts of violence about to be done. "You're not talking about me are you?" Mikey nodded, beaming.
"Oh, you threw me for a moment there 'cos I aint no 'lady', so any 'finessing' you've been trying has just gone shoooo…" she waved her hand in a 'fly by' over her head, with a teasing smile.
"Darn it!" Mike dramatically plonked his cheek on his fist "Just gonna have to try harder then, huh?" his grin ruining the glum pretence.
"Yeah, a lot harder." her light sarcasm failed to dint their expressions. A chuckle from the end of the table distracted the other three turtles from their confusion, relieving what was left of the tension.
"I am glad you are on friendly terms with at least some of my sons, and have not allowed them to overwhelm you too much." Still uncertain just what was going on, but reassured by Splinters' acceptance of the situation Raph slowly took his seat. He struggled to restrain a smirk at his brother being put down again, as he saw it anyway.

They all concentrated on scraping the worst of the charcoal of their meat for a minute. Figuring the cream coloured goop couldn't decide if it was potato salad or mash either Tausha chose to distract her self from looking at the meal, since it didn't taste nearly as bad as it appeared.
"I did have a think about what I need to do, but I can't think of a different plan to the one I had originally." she admitted to Splinter.
"What was your plan, in full, originally?" Splinter responded.
"Pretty simple actually; get out of the city. Then, get a job to save the money get home."
"Is there someone you can stay with once you return to Melbourne?"
"Yes. My kendo-sensei is a really good friend. He knows about my family, and he even offered to foster me before I left. But, the Aussie Government weren't gonna allow it while I still had a close relative they could send me too."
"You cannot request his assistance in returning home?"
"No. Actually he probably would help, if I asked. Kendo isn't exactly a popular sport though, so he runs the dojo more for the enjoyment than the cash. If he sent me the money for the fare home it'd put a real squeeze on the school. At best it'd mean the team wouldn't be able to travel to comps, or get new equipment and stuff for a while. I can't do that to them, it just wouldn't be fair."

"Did your mother leave you any money in a will?" queried Leo. Tausha sighed.
"Yeah, but Mum and Grandad were executors for each other. So since they both went it left it up to the good ol' Government to sort stuff out. They liquefied most of the assets, since they reckon I'm not old enough to manage 'em yet. All the proceeds from that and insurance and everything else have been chucked in a trust fund. I can't touch it till I'm twenty one."
"Wouldn't they allow you a payment to live on or something?" asked Don.
"They already do. But, it gets sent to my Dad. And I'm not about to call 'em up and tell them where to redirect it 'cos they'll just let Dad know where to find me instead."
"Even though he hits ya?" Mike asked.
"They don't know about that."
"Why not?" Leos' turn again.
"'Cos I'd have to report it for them to know about it, and since Dad owns half the cops in this town the report would get 'lost' somewhere along the line; if they even bothered to take it in the first place. Mum had the same problem."

"Leonardo indicated you did not have many funds at your disposal, how will you live before you find work?" Splinter asked.
"I don't have a lot of cash, but I do have a bit of jewellery to hock. I don't want to do it in the city though, in-case I get recognised. Dad has most of the pawn shops in his pocket too. I can also sell off my shinai and ninja-to, if I need to."
"You'd sell your weapons?" Leo was incredulous.
"Yeah. Shinai aren't too expensive to replace, and Dad gave me the ninja-to; won't be too heartbroken to part with it. He confiscated my katana, so that's gone already. That's the only one I'd find really hard to sell, if I had it. Besides, I figure if Dad does track me down a sword probably won't be a huge help anyway."
"D'ya hate him, your Dad?" Mike asked uncertainly. Tausha looked pained as she took a moment to consider her answer.
"Honestly? No. Well, sometimes. But he is still my Dad, and the only family I have left. I don't think I could ever hate him outright. Doesn't mean I wanna live with him, though." She glanced cautiously round the table, relieved her confession had elicited understanding smiles from most, until the grimace on Raphs' face made her wince.

"Do you have any idea where you want to go, once you're out of the city?" Don queried.
"Not really. I was hoping you might be able to help me out with that. I haven't gotten out of the city since I arrived here, so the memories I have of the towns out there are from when I was four. Probably not the best thing to go on, heh."
"Hey! What about the farm?" Mikey exclaimed.
"Too isolated, she would have a tough time getting into town to get work from there." Don explained.
"And there's no way Case would ever agree." Raph muttered to his plate. Ignoring his brother Don continued,
"However, Northampton may be a good idea anyway. We can get you there without any hassles, and we have somewhere close-by we can stay if you do need our help. After practice tomorrow we'll have a roam about on-line and see what's available there accommodation and job-wise, OK?"
"OK." Tausha agreed, more relieved than she expected to be at the prospect of not being left totally alone to fend for her self.

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Raph shook his head as he reached back into the hot water. He hated doing the dishes at the best of times and was already sick of this chore. Making it worse was the fact he had volunteered for this, something he had sworn to himself he was never gonna do again. Plus, since he had made dinner, everyone else had decided to pitch in to help. Usually he wouldn't complain, but he was determined to ignore that girl as much as possible. It was the least she deserved. But, having her wander up right next to him to grab a dish to dry, laughing at something goofy Mike was spouting made it so difficult not to at least glance her way…