I keep saying one more chapter and I'll be done. I gotta' quit lying to myself. I know that some of you are wondering about Leo's secret confession to Splinter. I'm gonna address that but I'm gonna' do it separately in a one shot. I don't want to try and cram it into a chapter, I want to give it as much space and wording as it needs. As always, I don't own 'em, but I love 'em. Enjoy and, as always, read and review please.


Raphael felt as if he was in a fog. His body was stiff and sore, especially his left arm. He could hear an incessant noise that was rapidly getting on his nerves. BEEP……..BEEP……..BEEP. "Shut that off," his voice croaked. His mouth might as well have had cotton in it, the way he was talking. The sound continued, BEEP…..BEEP……BEEP. Wearily he opened his eyes. He had to blink a few times as he adjusted to the light. He turned to see a monitor and an IV sticking out of his arm. For a brief moment his stomach jumped into his throat as he though he was back at the station, this his escape attempt failed. He grunted as he tried to sit up, but fell back when pain shot through his left arm.

"Easy my son," he heard a soft voice and felt a hand on his side, trying to assist him. "You have not fully recovered from your ordeal, you must give your body time to repair itself."

Raphael let out a sigh and leaned back trying to get comfortable. He looked over at Splinter who was preparing a cup of tea. "I thought I fell asleep on the couch. How did I end up in here?" Raphael smiled as he gratefully took the cup Splinter handed him but waited a moment before sipping it. He stared at it, trying to decide if it would taste as bad as the last one.

Splinter must have been reading his son's mind. He stifled a small laugh and patted his son on the arm to reassure him. "I promise you Raphael, this has a pleasant taste to it. Much better than the last one."

Believing what Splinter said, Raphael took a small sip. Surprisingly, it tasted really good, sweet. He licked his dry lips as the fuzzy feeling left his mouth and began to drink more of the tea. He settled comfortably into the pillows, tilted his head back and swallowed the last bit.

Splinter held his hand out and Raphael passed the up back. "More?" he asked.

"Please," the turtle responded.

Splinter turned to begin fixing another cup. As he did, he explained the events of the past day. "After you fell asleep on the couch, we had to bring you in here. You became ill. Most likely it was a combination of fatigue and stress placed on your body from your wound." He finished preparing the second cup and walked it back over to Raphael. "I must say. You were not a very good patient. You fought with us quite a bit."

"What did I do?" he asked, looking over the edge of the cup.

"Donatello wanted to check your wound and needed to remove your shirt as it was long sleeved. You yelled at him several times that he could not do that. You kept repeating that you would not let us see IT. You only calmed down when Donatello suggested that he merely cut the sleeves off of your shirt."

Raphael looked down and rubbed at his sore arm. "Sorry," he muttered, embarrassed by his behavior.

"It is alright my son," splinter gave his son a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You were ill and could not help it." Splinter stepped back over the table and picked up a white envelope and passed it to Raphael. "Casey brought this letter for you at lunchtime. He said that Jacob carried it to Ms. O'Neil's shop earlier today and asked that it be given to you." Splinter turned and headed for the door of the infirmary, "I will go and find Donatello to see if you may get out of bed."

Raphael stared at Splinter as he lingered in the doorway, "Thank-you" he managed to whisper. Splinter smiled, nodded and left the room.

Raphael set the cup down and tore into the envelope.

Hey Kid

Well, I guess its Raphael now, huh? Guess I should start calling you that since it's your name. I'm glad you made it out okay. Overseer believed every bit of it. He had Caitlin and I packing up your stuff and the rest of the station, ya' know, the whole "wiping out your existence thing." Then he went to the main office. He got a nice surprise when he got there. Caitlin had sent out an alert to the agency's finance department. It told all about Overseer's embezzling practices over the past three years. The CIA wanted to stay out of the public eye so there's not going to be a trial. Caitlin gave them enough evidence that he's been put away for good. Where, though, I'm not sure. The agency sent someone down to finish supervising the clean-up, Agent Banks. He got in last night and informed me about Overseer. He and I go back a ways so we can believe him. He's a good guy. He also told me that I can do whatever I want with your personal effects so Caitlin and I will be by with your stuff tomorrow. See you around 2. Caitlin sends her love.

Jake

PS Big surprise tomorrow

Raphael felt a sense of relief wash over him as he folded the letter up and put it back in the envelope. Just as he did, his brothers walked in.

"How are you feeling Raph?" Michelangelo asked excitedly.

"I'm good. A little sore but otherwise okay."

Donatello walked over to the other side of the bed and began unwrapping the bandage. "You heal pretty quickly," he stated, slightly amazed at how well his brother was doing. He began removing the IV, "If you're up for it, you can get up and move around. Just take it easy okay?"

"Thanks," Raphael swung his legs over the side of the bed. When he did, the letter fell to the floor.

"You dropped this," Leonardo picked it up and quietly handed it to him. "Who's it from?"

"Jake. Just letting me know that everything's okay. He said he and Caitlin were bringing my stuff over tomorrow around 2."

"TWO!" Michelangelo blurted out. "That doesn't give me much time," he began to talk to no one in particular. "Now let's see, I'll need to give April a grocery list……..There's gonna be eight of us." He stopped and looked up. "Oh man! This is gonna be the best dinner I have ever cooked. A real celebration!" And he ran out of the room into the kitchen. Shortly after, the sounds of cabinet doors and pots and pans could be heard.

Raphael just grinned. "Hyper, ain't he."

Leonardo laughed. "Give it time. This is pretty mild compared to most days." He paused for a moment, watching his brother get up, making sure he didn't fall. "We've been fixing your room up. I'm afraid there's not much in it," and he pointed to Raphael's letter, "but I don't guess that will be a problem."

Donatello, Leonardo, and Splinter led Raphael to his room and gave him a tour of the lair along the way, pointing out the dojo, bathroom, and elevator to the warehouse at street level.

Raphael paused to look around his room. He had to give his brother's credit. They did their best to make it look comfortable. There was a bed to the right with his backpack sitting on it. On the opposite side, there was a desk with a lamp and a few photos of his brothers on the wall. There was one photo in particular that he stared at. There were four small turtle tots sitting together, each with a stuffed animal. He gently touched the glass on the picture frame. "That's me," he whispered.

"Yes my son. I took that photo only days before you disappeared," Splinter answered. He looked at Leonardo and Donatello. Understanding their father's look, the two bowed respectfully and exited the room.

Raphael hung his head and leaned on the cool brick wall. "I want to remember. I really do, but I can't. I've tried. I really have," he turned toward his father with a pleading look in his eyes.

Splinter directed Raphael over to the bed. "Please, sit," he indicated with his hand. Splinter sat down on the chair at the desk, facing his son. "You memory will return in time my son. You must stop trying to force it to happen. It will come to you when you are ready." The old rat smiled and leaned forward on his cane. "Tell me what it was like for you growing up." he said. "You were well taken care of?"

Raphael shrugged. "Caitlin and Jake are really nice." He picked at the bedspread as he thought for a moment. "They taught me everything I know, languages, computers, some chemistry, mechanics, how to fight."

Splinter tried another question. "Leonardo said there was another voice that was heard over Donatello's scanner." He tilted his head to the side. "Who was that?"

Raphael quickly turned from his father's gaze. Instead he leaned over and gently picked up a very worn stuffed tiger. He traced the stitching with his fingers. "This was mine?" he asked trying to avoid Splinter's question. They both turned quickly when they heard a knock at the doorway.

"Excuse me Master Splinter," Leonardo bowed. "But Michelangelo said dinner is ready."

"Dinner?" Raphael questioned. "What time is it?"

"Almost six," Leonardo smiled at his brother holding the old toy. Raphael immediately put it back by the pillows. "You were pretty sick and out of it for awhile. You hungry?"

"What are we having?" Raphael asked as he and Splinter followed Leonardo into the kitchen and sat down.

"Big Daddy's Pizza!" Michelangelo blurted out as he put three large pizzas on the table. "It's so good, you don't care about the massive coronary that comes with it." To make his point, Michelangelo began to fake a heart attack. His impression left everyone laughing.

Donatello passed out the paper plates and sodas. "Mikey likes to exaggerate, but it is an excellent example of New York's finest pizza."

Leonardo walked over to Splinter with a tray as everyone sat down. "Sensei?"

"Thank-you Leonardo." Leonardo placed a tray with a large variety of sushi and sashimi in front of his father, along with a tea pot and a small cup.

"Well," said Michelangelo, when everyone was settled into their seats. "Dig in!"

Raphael just stared at the two slices of pizza on his plate. Occasionally he would glance at Splinter's tray. Not wanting to be rude, he quietly picked up a slice of pizza and took a small bite.

"Bro'!" Michelangelo said with a large mouthful of food. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Maybe," Leonardo interjected, "your lack of manners made him lose his appetite." He glared at his youngest brother.

"Sorry," Michelangelo said sheepishly. He swallowed his food down with a swig of soda. He watched as Raphael absentmindedly took another bite. Michelangelo took note of the lack of enthusiasm on his brother's part. "Dude, don't you like pizza? 'Cause if you don't, I can make you a sandwich or something."

"Huh? Oh, no the pizza's fine Michelangelo…….really." and Raphael took another bite.

"Mike or Mikey. Whichever, I don't care."

"It's fine Mikey, really," Raphael smiled, trying to convince his little brother. "I just don't eat a lot of pizza. It's not really something I crave a lot of."

Michelangelo opened his mouth several times to try and speak, but he was so shocked that nothing came out.

"Congratulations, Raphael," Splinter said as he slid half his sushi onto Raphael's plate and took the second slice of pizza in trade. "I believe you have rendered Michelangelo speechless. Not an easy task."

"Here! Here! Well done!" Donatello lifted his soda in a show of praise and Leonardo applauded.

After that, dinner became much more relaxed. Splinter retold the story of their origin and how they each received their names. Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo each took turns telling about the Shredder, Casey and April and how he would meet April the next day. Raphael tried to answer their questions as long as they weren't too personal. He was thankful that they avoided even mentioning Overseer. He really didn't want to talk about him. Not yet, anyway.

"So how many places have you been?" Donatello asked as he cleared the table. "Coffee anyone?" he looked around the room.

Raphael nodded yes along with Leonardo and then went to answer Donatello's question. "Oh, geeze, I quit counting. I've been pretty much all over. Russia, Spain, France, Germany, Japan, China, South America."

"Wow! That's quite a few places," Michelangelo responded. "Did ya' get to see the Eiffel tower or the Great Wall of China?"

"Naw, not really. When I'm over there it's not for sight seeing that's for sure. I'm usually in some back alley or jungle or place that's not on the tourist map." Raphael stopped for a minute. "Look Mikey, James Bond is not real. That's just some glorified version made up for the movies. I don't stay in fancy hotels and meet chicks. I have spent days on end in the mud in the rainforests of Cartegena, Columbia and wandering the desert of the Sudan."

"Oh," said Michelangelo, slightly disappointed. "Well," he perked up. "Do you at least get the cool car?"

"Nope," Raphael stated matter of factly. "But," he watched Michelangelo perk up a bit. "I did have a super sweet bike. Unfortunately, it went boom the other night."

It was Leonardo's turn to ask a question. "So how do you mange to get around all those different places? Don't you have to speak the language?"

"I do," he smiled smugly. "I speak French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and I just finished learning Russian."

どれだけうまくあなたの把握は日本語であるか。(How well is your grasp of the Japanese language?) Master Splinter asked.

私はかなり流暢である。Caitlin は私が完全な支配を示さなければテストの私を渡さない。(I'm pretty fluent. Caitlin won't pass me off on a test unless I show perfect mastery.) Raphael responded.

Donatello was amazed. "How did you have enough time to learn six languages? The Japanese and Chinese ones are complex enough as it is."

"Yeah, well," he became a little quiet. "I wasn't allowed to do much of anything else. I was either in a training session with Jake or Caitlin was teaching me something." He noticed everyone staring at him. "It wasn't all bad. Every time I got a perfect score on a test, Caitlin would get me something."

"Well," Leonardo questioned. "Like what?"

"Well, let's see," he thought for a moment. "CD's, a new ipod, and last month I got a new laptop."

"A new laptop!" Donatello perked up at the mention of a new computer. "Can I see it, maybe?"

"Sure, it's in my backpack. I'll go get it." Raphael left the table and went to his room to pick up the computer for Donatello. He stood for a moment in his room and for the first time in a long time, felt relaxed. It was nice to be somewhere that someone wasn't listening in on your every word, controlling your every move. Now if I could only remember my life before all of this started. Just gotta remember what Splinter said. I gotta relax and let it happen. He pulled out the computer and began walking back to the kitchen. I gotta ask why they keep calling him 'master'. I hope they don't expect me too. I can't.

The rest of the evening was spent with everyone seated around Raphael's little toy. Everyone tried to follow along as Raphael and Donatello talked about current technology. Michelangelo was only placated when Raphael pulled up a video game and showed him how to play it.

"That's a sweet machine, Raph. I didn't think they made them that fast." Donatello commented.

"They don't," Raphael replied. "I tweaked it a bit."

Too his surprise, Donatello immediately grabbed his brother into a hug. "Yes! I am no longer the only geek in this family!"

Not sure of what else to do, Raphael hesitantly patted his brother on the back. "Yeah….um... I'm happy for ya'"

"Guys, I hate to break up the moment, but its past midnight." Leonardo interrupted. "We have training early in the morning. We should all," and he glared at Michelangelo who was still engrossed in the game, "get some sleep."

"Awwwwwww…….." the youngest began to whine.

Tak! Splinter tapped Michelangelo on the head with his cane. "Your brother is correct Michelangelo. It is time for bed." He turned to Raphael. "You may join us for practice in the morning if you feel up to it, or you may simply observe."

"I think, I'll join in." Raphael responded as they walked to their rooms. "I could use a good workout."