A/N: YAY! Should name this chapter '274 Kelvin' me thinks! Also gonna dedicate this one to artykidd. Just 'cos I'm hoping you'll be just a relieved as I am to finally get to this bit. It's been killin' me too! lol! Though rest assured we aren't anywhere near the end of the angst yet -evil grin-.

A big thank-you to everyone else who reviews too! Love hearin' from all of ya!

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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It wasn't that late, only around ten o'clock. However, after Taushas' departure everyone else had found some excuse or other to retire early. Raph hadn't bothered keeping up the pretence of going to bed beyond solidly closing his door just before Leo reached it. His brother had had that 'if I can get him to talk everything will be alright' look about him, and Raph really wasn't interested. Busying himself with bench presses instead on the old weight bench he kept in his room, enjoying the racket of metal on metal as he heavily dumped the bar back on its stand to take a quick breather.

If he hadn't been resting Raph probably wouldn't have even heard the light tap on his door. Glaring over the towel he was using to wipe his face he willed his pig-headed brother to get the message and just leave him alone. Dropping his head back on the padding something niggled at the back of his mind. Leo would never knock that quietly, if at all if he'd decided they had to talk. He'd probably opted for sending Mike or Don to chat to him instead. Raph flung the cloth back on the floor with an irritated sigh.

"What?" he demanded, not too loudly, hoping whoever had knocked may have given up on getting a response already. When nothing happened for a few moments Raph figured he'd won this round and was reaching up to grab the bar again when he noticed his door open slightly. He sat up in surprise as Tausha tentatively poked her head through.
"Can I… come in?" she asked softly, looking like she was ready to bolt at a moments notice.
"Uh…, sure?" Raph shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant though he felt about as nervous as she looked. With a fleeting little smile she stepped inside, pausing uncertainly for a moment before resolutely closing the door behind her. She didn't move from her spot, standing with her hands clasped behind her back and chewing on her lip as they played glance tag for the next few moments.

"What?" Raph asked, his voice a little gruffer than he'd intended, making her start. Tausha started to fidget, mumbling to her hands as she concentrated on steepling them in front of her.
"I… I'm sorry to intrude. It's just that… I, ah, I wanted too…"
"Sit down before ya fall down." ordered Raph. Tausha put her speech, such as it was, on hold as she hesitantly crossed his room. To his surprise she didn't take a seat on his desk chair, or even his hammock as he'd expected. Instead she perched primly on the bench next to him, leaving as much of a gap between them as she could manage. She gave him a brief, tremulous smile, searching for approval. Given he looked shocked more than angry she accepted that as an OK and settled into her spot, leaning forward to support herself with her forearms on her thighs, head bowed.

Feeling a sudden need to be busy Raph scooped up the cloth he'd discarded and gave his face and shoulders another rough towelling down. She waited until the cloth hit the floor once more, Raph bracing his hands on his knees with an abrupt sigh, before taking a deep breath and trying again.
"I just wanted to thank you… for protecting me…, and not making a big deal of it all."
"Hmpf, forget it. Reckon it's easier to deal with that kinda thing on ya own first, rather than getting some know-it-all in ya face, trying to make everything all better straight away. Besides, I know you'll talk when you wanna."
"Hmm, yeah." Tausha agreed, with a grateful half-smile. An odd not-quite-comfortable quiet descended for a few moments.

"Guess Mike don't know you well enough to have figured that out yet, huh?" Raph hoped he sounded like he was just trying to make conversation.
"Huh?" Tausha looked up from her inspection of the floor "Nah. I don't think he ever could anyway. He's a sweet guy, but 'reserved' just isn't his style. I'm just glad he didn't get super-mega-happy on me straight away…"
"Heh! You should be glad you didn't get stuck with Leo for too long. He's got no idea when to quit, and no sense of humour either."
"Uh huh! You're right there. At least Mikey does have a great sense of humour. I feel a bit rotten for not appreciating it too much tonight. Suppose I was just being a selfish cow, 'cos I know he was only trying to help." Raph shrugged and then shook his head resignedly.
"Don't think you were bein' selfish, it's just your way of coping." he murmured to the carpet.

After a moments silence Raph risked a glance to see Tausha gazing off to who knows where, lost in thought. She turned to give him an almost expectant look as he bent forward to mimic her posture, elbows on knees. Feeling the need to say something he asked the first thing to pop into his head.
"So you and Mike seem to have hit it off pretty well." Tausha quirked a curious eyebrow at him.
"Yeah. He's a good friend." Raph fidgeted with his fingers for a moment, before asking in a rush,
"I know Mike, he's probably bugged ya to death about what I've told ya. So what have ya told him?"
"Um…, he did ask me once. I gave him a bit of a summary of how you described him to me, and he hasn't really bothered me about it since." She watched the side of his face for a moment, realising her explanation hadn't eased his tension at all. With a sigh she continued,
"He wasn't too shocked or upset, and I haven't told him anything else. I haven't let slip that you let his pigeon loose or anything." Raph slowly let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding; feeling much more relieved than he'd expected. They shared a cautious little smile.
"You should though." Tausha found the courage to lecture softly.
"Augh! It was years ago, he's probably forgotten all about it. It's not like I meant to, anyway." He shot her a scowl as she chucked lightly, the look softening to an awkward half-grin.

They sobered after a moment, content to sit companionably for a little while. Another thought started to niggle at Raph until he gently broke the peace.
"So what happened tonight? I've never seen you shrink back from a fight before, and I've come at ya pretty hard at times." He felt like kicking himself as she dropped her head to hide her expression. He had almost built up the nerve to apologise when she lifted her head again, though she kept her face turned away.
"I dunno. It was like it was instinctive or something, I just couldn't help it. I've gone up against guys that big in competitions and stuff, and never had a problem." she gave an angry shake of her head "Damn it, he just looked so big, so angry… I reacted the same way I do when Dad…" Even in profile Raph could see her jaw clench as she struggled to keep control. He fought the urge to reach out, knowing full well that would put her on the defensive and make her clam up. What she needed now was a chance to vent.

"I feel so… ashamed, how could I just back straight down like that? If Leo hadn't plonked me on the couch I reckon I would have fled straight to my room like a complete baby. Damn glad I didn't though. Didn't want to give him the satisfaction of making me run too…" Raph hunted for something reassuring to say as she rested her fore-head on her hands.
"Case aint that bad…, usually. I don't think he, or any of us would have thought less of you if you had gone." Tausha gave him a derisive glare.
"Thanks." her heavy sarcasm meaning anything but, making Raph grimace.
"That's not how I meant it." he grumped.
"Sorry." she muttered, a little petulantly, breaking the tense hush.
"Me too." Raph replied, in the same tone.

Cautiously they both turned to look at each other again, offering small, terse smiles as olive branches.
"I am sorry." Tausha started, sounding like she meant it this time "I think it's just a bit of a shock to me that I reacted like that. I hope I can get over it. I'm not gonna be much good if I fold as soon as I come up against anyone taller than me." Raph succumbed to an evil grin.
"I wouldn't worry too much, if I were you. I mean, you certainly don't have a problem goin' up against me." he couldn't help continuing, despite the chill warning in the look she gave him "And it is kinda in our code of honour to assist those that are smaller an' wea…, er, need our help an' stuff, so we'll always be happy ta step in for ya." He had to stop himself squirming in anticipation as she glared at him with an icy, dead-pan expression. Still she couldn't psych him enough for him to miss grabbing her arm as she aimed a sudden back-hand at his midriff. He laughed out loud as she turned away in a huff.
"I'm not that much smaller than you, buddy. You're still a short-arse, even by my standards, and that aint anything to be proud of. And I certainly am not weaker than you!" she struggled to free her captured limb as he wrapped his fore-arm around hers, securing it tightly. Despite his maddening grin Tausha finally gave in to a grudging smile of her own before relenting in the tug-of-war.

As the realization dawned that they were smiling into each others eyes, faces practically touching, they nervously turned away. Almost in surprise they both found themselves staring at their arms and hands clasped together between them.
"So does this mean we're friends again?" Tausha asked quietly.
"I guess so." Raph replied "Just… promise you won't keep anything else from me, OK?" He waited anxiously as she chewed her lip in thought for a moment.
"So long as that's a two-way deal, right?" Raph responded with a slow nod, wondering why she looked so nervous all of a sudden.
"OK." she agreed, then giving an uncertain nod she continued "I'm not sure if you'd ever find out about this…" she coloured slightly "but, if you did it'd probably raise a few awkward questions, so I'll tell you about it now."

Raph fought a quick battle with himself to let go of her hand as she stood, unsure whether he really wanted to hear what she had to say. He waited where he was sat as she paced briefly, wondering how to start her explanation.
"I think I told you already how Dad was really nice to me when I first came over and how we had dinner and stuff with Mr Oroku fairly regularly?" Raph nodded again.
"Well…, after a few weeks Dad asked me what I thought of him. I didn't think much of it, and he was my Dads' boss, so I said I thought he was a nice guy. You know good businessman, blah, blah, blah. But Dad just kept going with it, asking me weird stuff like 'did I think he was handsome?' So I asked him 'why?' Dad got this real excited look on his face and told me he was going to try to arrange a marriage between us."
"What did you say to that?" Raph asked in quiet horror. Tausha looked at him as if she were about to have him committed.
"No."
"And what did Hun say?"
"He wasn't happy. That was the first time he beat me. When I came to…, I had…, this."

'Eyes out on stalks' was a saying Raph had always dismissed as an exaggeration, until now. He felt the need to blink to keep his eyes in their proper place as she yanked up her singlet. She didn't go so far as to expose her breasts completely, but it was clear as day she wasn't wearing a bra. Managing to focus he noticed a small mark to the left of her beast bone, the corner of it travelling a small way up the under-curve of her left breast. It was another tattoo, less than an inch across. A simple black outline of an insignia he recognised all too easily.

Tausha pulled the material back down, holding it in place with stiff arms as she coloured brilliantly in mortification.
"Dad said that I owed my allegiance to him, and he to Saki. So this was to remind me of where my loyalties should be. That I should be honoured and… grateful if he agreed to…" she closed her eyes, swallowing thickly before she continued softly "if I were to give him a son it would be the start of a great dynasty... Damn it!" She stamped her foot in anger, Raph starting at the sudden change in her attitude.
"What is it with boys, huh? I tried to explain that Karai would probably inherit just about everything anyway, but Dad was convinced if Saki had a son he would be favoured instead. What a friggin' crock! Girls can be just as capable as boys at just about everything, except maybe being wankers!"

Raph half-raised a finger to protest, then thought better of defending his gender for now as she stood stiff legged, clenched fists raised looking like she'd happily take on Tyson, and have a shot at winning with a dirty blow.
"Arrgh! And how the hell does Dad think he'll get away with this kinda crap? I'm not some damn doll he can just pretty up and give away to whoever he feels like!" she had started pacing again, emphasising her words with sharp gestures.
"I'm still just a kid for cruds' sake, and last time I checked the dark ages ended centuries ago! There is just no way in hell I'm gonna sit around in some little box waitin' for him to sell me off to one of his dodgy mates who'll just try to keep me in another 'pretty' little box. If he ever managed to set me up with one of his no-good, slimy, drug-dealin', thievin', arsehole 'associates' I'd rip their friggin' head off before they touched me… or at least I'd die tryin'!"

She continued to pace, reduced to evil mutterings under her breath that Raph was kinda glad he couldn't quite catch. The determined edge to her tone had him worried she meant every word she said, and he felt his face go pale at the images that popped unbidden into his head. He started a little as Tausha stopped her movement abruptly to address him directly again.
"Now you know why I was happy you guys put Saki away, but I don't get it? Dad said he went to jail, and you said he'd been put away too. But, on the news the other night they said he was dead. So what is the truth, huh?" Feeling nervous under her searching glare Raph tried to explain.
"He is in jail, sort of. But where he is, there's no comin' back from." Taushas' brow furrowed, obviously not satisfied with his answer.
"I'm not stupid. I know he had a fair bit of pull, so where could they have put him that he wouldn't be able to get out of, one way or another?"

Raph ducked his head as she scowled at his silence.
"You made me a promise." she muttered darkly. With a growl he shot up to grab her roughly by the top of her arms making her gasp slightly, though she quickly pushed back against his grip, refusing to back down.
"I know. But I'm also honour-bound not to let knowledge of some friends of ours become public. So you have to promise me that you won't repeat any of this to anyone. Anyone. Is that clear?"
"I promise." she swore quietly. Accepting the earnest look in her eyes Raph tried to explain.
"He's been exiled to an ice asteroid field in an uninhabited galaxy somewhere in the beta quadrant of the universe, as defined from the Utrom home world."

Silence.

"Huh?" Rolling his eyes Raph repeated his explanation.
"What the hell does that mean? I'm telling you now; this is not a good time to jerk me around." Tausha warned, her dark look returning.
"Saki was an alien. An Utrom called Ch'rell, actually. The 'man' you met was an exo-skeleton. Don't worry," he assured as her expression started to turn to one of dubious revulsion "he managed to fool everyone; even us for a good while. Anyway, the explosion at that party wasn't because of faulty fireworks. That's just the cover story, and him bein' dead is part of that too. The blast was caused by Saki trying to return to his home world on a rocket that took-off from underneath the floor. Luckily we managed to get on-board and stop him."
"Why would he do that, hurt so many people so blatantly? And, if… if he was trying to leave, why didn't you just let him go?"
"I don't think he intended to take-off from there. But, some… 'other' idiots blocked the tunnel the rocket was meant to exit by. And we couldn't let him return to his home world. We're sworn to act as guardians for the Utrom. The vast majority of 'em are really good guys. They don't believe in violence, only peace and knowledge. Guess every race has to have a bad egg though, and Saki took it too the extreme. He's guilty of doin' everything from mass genocide to jaywalkin' throughout the universe."

Raph felt her arms slump.
"So he really was an alien?" she asked in quiet disbelief "What did he look like, actually I mean." Raph grimaced at the memory.
"A kinda red brain with tentacles and a blue scar over his eye, a bit like his symbol." Tausha shivered.
"He was gonna marry me off to an… evil brain-thing?" Raph found himself actually holding her upright as the colour fled her face. Her head lolled forward and he worried she was gonna puke. Hating to see her like this Raph tried to think of something, anything to comfort her.
"I…, I don't think he knew. Hun, I mean." He bit back at the bile rising at having to defend one of his most hated foes. At least Tausha responded, looking up with pleading eyes that made his chest feel like it was in a clamp.
"When he was escaping to the ship, Don knocked Saki out of his exo-suit. I remember Hun seemed shocked to see what he really was…"
"Oh." she dropped her head again.

Realizing she wasn't going to support herself again any-time soon Raph pulled her close, resting her forehead on his right shoulder; relieving the strain to his arms as he curled the right about her waist, trying to comfort her with a rub to her shoulder with his other hand. Tentatively she responded, moving an arm under his to wrap her hand around the shoulder supporting her head. The palm of the other she braced against the top of his plastron, her fingers resting on his collar bone. Despite her trying to take deep breaths, the trembling he could feel through her whole body wasn't subsiding at all.
"It's OK. Just let it go." he murmured by her ear.
"No." she bit out with a determination that surprised him, almost as much as the fist she softly thumped against his chest.
"I'm sick of cryin'. I can't let him win again…" Moving his hand up from her shoulder to gently turn her head, Raph looked her in the eye.
"We won't let him win, ever." Relieved to see her attempt a grateful smile he used his thumb to tenderly wipe away the moisture pooling on her cheek...

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"Darn!" Leo tossed down his brush, scrunching up the paper to toss it with force at the bin already full of wasted pages. Usually concentrating on the brush-strokes for virtues he was hoping to attain helped with getting his mind focused on the goal, but tonight he just couldn't get the kanji for 'patience' right. With a disgusted sigh he hurriedly mopped up the precious ink that had been wasted in spatters across his desk, before he turned to glare in the direction of his pig-headed brother through his own bedroom door.

Sometimes he wondered how Raph and he could have grown up in the same family. Hadn't they both been there for Splinter's lessons on the best way to deal with problems? Didn't he realise the truth in those words 'a worry shared is a worry halved'? He still hadn't figured out why Raph had seemed annoyed with his family's attempts to comfort the girl, but he was sure it was related to the unease he felt. Glancing at his clock it confirmed that his brother had had almost an hour to contemplate tonight's events. Maybe, just maybe, he would be ready to talk. Resolutely Leo quickly tidied away his calligraphy set, firming his course of action in his mind as he did so.

Step outside. If Raphs' light was still on, and he was sure it would be, he had just one question. Why bother protecting the girl so strenuously, and risk getting his best friend off-side, if he was just going to ignore her again afterwards? With a determined nod to himself Leo put his simple plan into action.

He was right about the first point. He didn't bother knocking, knowing his brother would just impolitely tell him to go away, if he responded at all. Swiftly opening the door he halted in shock at the scene before him. For the briefest moment it had looked like Raph was hugging the girl, almost about to kiss her even. An instant later they were stood a foot apart. Tausha roughly knuckled her eyes whilst trying to look innocent, despite the slight colour that sprung up on her pale cheeks. Raph wasn't happy.

"What the hell d'ya think you're doin'? Haven't you ever heard of knocking first?" demanded Raph, clenching his fists in anticipation of doing some 'knocking' of his own.
"What am I…? What are you doing? One minute it seems you couldn't care less about her; the next I catch you being… very 'friendly'. What the heck are you thinking, Raph?" Leo stepped further into the room, readying himself to force some sense into his brother. Alarmed Tausha stepped between them, a hand warding off each.
"Wait. Don't be silly. Leo, believe me when I say that what you saw…, it's not what you think!"
"No. Believe me when I say I don't believe you at all." Leo emphasised his point with a jutting finger and accusing look. Before Tausha could respond Raph shouldered her aside to take a stand between her and his brother. The two turtles glared at each other for a moment before Raph addressed the girl over his shoulder, never breaking eye contact with his adversary.
"Tau, go."
"But…"
"I said, go. I'll sort this out." With a nervous nod she edged her way past the two and slipped out the door.

"I don't understand what you're doing Raph." Leo stated in forced calm.
"What the hell is you're problem, Leo? First you chew me out for not being compassionate, now you're shitty that I am?"
"There's compassion, then there's stupidity. Why set yourself up for even more hurt? You know she is leaving soon. Chances are you will never see her again, so why not just leave it at being friends?"
"We are 'just friends'." Raph gritted out menacingly.
"Bull. I know what I saw."
"And what was that, exactly?"
"You were hugging her." Leo stated; case closed in his opinion.
"Yep." Leo face-faulted at Raphs' frank admission, left searching for a rebuttal.
"W…, Why?"
"She was cryin', needed a shoulder to lean on. That's what compassion is all about, aint it?" Raph crossed his arms smugly; convinced he had the upper hand.

Shaking his head Leo quickly gathered his wits again; fixing his brother with a stern glare he presented another argument.
"You were going to kiss her, weren't you." an accusation rather than a query.
"And you're such an expert on this kinda stuff you could tell that for sure, huh?" Raph looked away as if disgusted that Leo didn't trust him.
"For your information I wasn't. I was just wipin' her tears away." He lifted his head to glare defiantly at Leo again. Feeling on a roll he decided to push it a little, hoping to get Leo off his back over this once and for all.
"Do you really think I'm so stupid I wouldn't learn from your mistakes? You can rest assured, dear brother, that I'm not about to get 'involved' with anyone linked to any of our enemies. I'm not that much of an idiot." Despite the uncomfortable tightening in his gut Raph couldn't help a smirk as Leo closed his eyes, mouth and hands working in frustration. He'd obviously hit his mark.

Normally Leo would argue the point. He hadn't gotten 'involved' with Karai at all, and that was the truth. Heck he'd never even had a chance to really call her 'friend' let alone anything else. But he was sick of Raph throwing this crud in his face at every opportunity; Leo took a deep breath and tried a different tack.
"Fine. I'm glad something good came from that mess. If you say you're just friends then that's fine too. But just be warned; if I ever see proof that she is trying to take it any further, setting you up for a fall, I will drag her butt back to her father without a second thought. Is that clear?" It was Raphs' turn to gape in shock.
"You wouldn't, he'd practically kill her!" he muttered in disbelief.
"I would."
"You'd break the promise we made to help her?"
"To protect you? Yep." Leo watched in grim satisfaction as a range of emotions flickered over Raphs' face. As he settled for self-righteous anger Leo interceded before he could speak.
"Have you even considered the possibility that we are just delaying the inevitable? We can't hide her forever, which was never our deal anyway. She will be leaving. And there is a very real chance she is going to end up back with Hun sooner or later, no matter what we do. It may even be in her best interests for it to be sooner." Unable to come up with a response for that Raph settled for growling,
"Get the hell out of my room."

Satisfied that Raph may finally be starting to grasp the seriousness of the situation, and probably wasn't going to listen to much more anyway, Leo stepped back out into the alcove pulling his brothers' door shut behind him. He did a double take as he thought he caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye, near the alcove entrance. Feeling suddenly drained, and more than ready for bed, he dismissed it as the usual play of light reflected off the pool below and headed straight to his room.