"Wow, this thing is going better than I thought it would."

" May I do your disclaimer this time my child?"

: Rubs the back of her neck nervously :

" Uhhh, sure Master Splinter but, Why would you want to do the disclaimer?"

" I do not wish to be left out."

" Ok,Sensei,anytime you're ready."

: He straightens out as best as he can and clears his throat :

" This young woman does not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or any other item or person involved with them."

: A clatter is heard in the background :

" AAHHH! MIKEY!"

: Her eyes get wide when she realizes that her counter prank has just backfired and hit someone else :

" UH OH."

: Sensei looks at her and walks away:

" Kids"

((Well, looks like I gotta go and do some damage control before Mikey gets an undeserved pounding. Enjoy.))

Raph heard the sound of squealing tires and by instinct turned in it's direction. As he reached the source of the noise he saw two men hurry back into a van and

speed off. Than he saw a figure laying on the ground. The first thought to run through his head was.

Please don't let that be her '

Hurrying to the figure,his fear was realized. There was Bira laying on the ground and she looked unconscious. She was still breathing but,it was shallow. Wasting

no time,he picked her up and got her home. Running the whole way he burst through the door of the lair.

"DONNY !"

He screamed,the anger and pain in his voice apparent. The others rushed into the room to see what was wrong. They saw that he was carrying a woman who was

badly hurt. He didn't wait for Don's instructions and immediately took her into the med lab,laying her on the bed. Don began checking her out,and as he did he

noticed that there were more wounds underneath her clothes.

"I need to get these clothes off in order to treat her properly."

He said to all of them. Raph was the first to step up and volunteer to help Don, Leo and Mikey were instructed to leave. As they began to lift her shirt off Raph

caught sight of the deep wounds on her back and it pissed him off even more.

' I'm gonna kill whoever did this. She better not die'

Raph thought as they finished removing the shirt.His thoughts were broken by Don's voice.

"She's lost a lot of blood Raph,she needs a transfusion or she won't make it."

Don told him.

"I'll give than."

He shot before Don even had a chance to speak. Don was surprised at his brothers sudden interest in this womans life but,was more concerned with getting her on

her feet again. He finished undressing her as Raph got himself ready. Don sewed up her worst cuts and gashes. They could see the color return to her face as the

blood was transferred and Raph felt relieved,as well as a little tired. When Don finished treating her he covered her with a med gown and placed a light blanket

over her so that she could rest and recover. Than he turned to Raph.

" She'll be fine but,we need to let her rest."

Raph was still dizzy from giving his blood so,Don let him sit there for a minute or two and gave him a small glass of juice to drink. When he was feeling more like

himself they both left the room. Leo and Mikey were sitting in the main room waiting for them.

" What happened?"

Mikey inquired, pointing at Raphs arm.

"She needed it."

Raph told him.Mikey didn't say anything more and went somewhere else. Raph didn't seem to have his usual attitude, infact he appeared quite the opposite and

the others noticed. Raph didn't care what his brothers thought of him at the moment,the only thing he was worried about was Bira. He realized that he loved her

and as soon as she woke up he was going to let her know. Raph found comfort in the thought of her opening her eyes and smiling at him. His thoughts were once

again broken when Mikey came back into the room curiously.

"Hey, anyone seen "J"? He was supposed to meet me an hour ago."

Raph froze for a second.

"I have."

He said not looking at any of them.

"Well,where is he?"

Mikey insisted. Raph pointed towards the room he had just come from and stared at his younger brother.

"In there."

Raph said, motioning towards the med lab. Mikeys jaw hit the floor and he dropped the Gameboy he held in his hands. Everyone was silent for a minute.

" Let me get this straight,the girl in that room is "J"?"

Came the question from Leo.

"Yeah."

"OK,Now I'm confused."

Said Don scratching his head.

"Yeah,"

Chimed Mikey, as he bent down to pick up his Gameboy.

"I thought "J" was a dude."

"Look, it's a long story,she can explain better than me."

Raph told them.

"Just give her time to recover."

Without waiting for anyone else to comment, Raph went to his room and closed the door,turning on and blaring the stereo. Everyone knew that was the signal to

leave him alone so,no one pushed the issue further and agreed that an explanation from her would be best, since she could provide more details.Flopping down into

his hammock, he closed his eyes and let the music sink into him, a few rogue tears finding their way down his face. For the days to follow, Raph could be found at

Biras side. He had rigged up a set of speakers to her portable CD player and played "HIM" repeatedly,waiting for her to wake. Her breathing was steady now

and she shifted her head from time to time but, her eyes didn't open. Occassionally, one of the others would check in to see how she was doing. A few times Mikey

walked in and saw Raph quickly take his hand away from hers. It was becoming clear to the young turtle that his brother may be in love with this woman but,in

typical Raph style, didn't want anyone to know. He even saw him mouth the words to a song once in a while and was in awe that his brother could be this openly

emotional. Almost a week and a half went by and Raph remained at her side day in and day out, the CD continuously playing. Than, one morning Raph woke to the

sound of a soft voice singing along to the song "Dark Light". At first he thought he was dreaming but,when he opened is eyes,there she was,staring at the

ceiling,singing. He was so relieved to see her awake that he couldn't speak. Kneeling down beside the bed he took her hand in his,kissing it softly and she looked

over at him with a smile. Her smile was more wonderful than anything he could imagine. He wanted to tell her how he felt so badly but, was at a loss for words.

So,he did the only thing he could think of. Slowly,he moved closer to her,closing his eyes,and softly pressed his lips to hers. She kissed him back and a tear rolled

down his cheek. Little did they know,Mikey was peeking around the corner and saw the whole thing. With a very large grin on his face, Mikey walked away

silently.

Please read and review. I'm kind waiting for payback from my backfired counter prank,You can only guess who it hit.

" YOU'RE GONNA GET IT!"

: Whimpers as Raph chases after her :

"help!"