Tripping Over Me, Over You
A/N: Okay, this story is progressing as planned. I'm really happy about that. I'd like to sincerely thank my reviewers; it makes the story worthwhile to know that some folks appreciate it. Thank you guys!
I know my spelling and grammar could use some work, but my college's classes have just started and I don't have as much time as I'd like to work on that. I'll just have to get better through trial and error.
Chapter Three,
Turtle Time After Nine!
"Turtle Time After Nine!" She proclaimed excitedly, brandishing the sign she held at Raph and Leo. Donnie and Mikey had left an hour earlier, on Leo's orders, to inform Master Splinter about the situation.
George saw Raph's eye twitch. It was a brilliant idea, she explained. After nine o'clock people could come in dressed as turtles and get discounts based on how good the outfit was.
"That way you guys can walk around the shop all unnoticed and what not," she said, taping the sign to the door. The little rays of dawn were creeping between the buildings. George was putting on a tough show, but she was dead tired and was having some trouble walking. She leaned on the walls, and counter for support when she thought no one was watching. Just a little while longer, she kept thinking, and then I can go upstairs and die. It was Sunday tomorrow (today?) and that meant it was her day off.
They'd spent the last few hours together talking, and cleaning. Leo had offered to do it, but George had browbeaten Raph until he finally snapped. He begrudgingly too up the dust pan and swept up the shards, before sweeping the entire store. It had been hilarious (to George), he was the most muscular of the brothers, and seeing him knelt down with a tiny dustpan had been too comical to not laugh at.
Donni had helped fix the fallen shelves, and organize the books better that George had ever done. She'd considered trying to hire him. Leo had already looked around the building for any architectural significance (pentagrams, or ninja symbols carved into the walls—or so George guessed). Mikey had tried his best to keep out of the way, and mostly talked to George. He reminded her of a younger brother, and George was starting to develop a soft spot for him in that sense.
"Why can't you jus' keep the shop close for a few days?" Raph asked.
George lowered her arms slowly, after smoothing out the wrinkles on the sign. Her shoulders dropped and she turned to face the two. "Listen," she began quietly, "Business has been slow lately, real slow. I'm worried about paying the bills. I won't loose this shop. So, I can't afford to keep it closed for a few days. A few hours, sure, no problem, but looking through these books will take some time—time I can't loose."
Leo bowed his head, "I'm sorry for my brother's foolishness."
"It's okay," George smiled, and put a hand on his shoulder. "I really like you guys," her voice was starting to get weaker. "And I owe Raph a lot, he really saved me today."
Raph came from around the corner, he'd put her apron on, and was clutching the broom like a bo staff. He'd never done any real house work before, so this was new for him. He was really clumsy with the broom, and kept knocking things over, Mikey had cried buckets full of joyful tears at the sight. Something in George's voice had made him stop cleaning.
"Are you alright?" Leo asked, he too had started to worry. She hadn't taken her hand off his shoulder; in fact she'd actually applied more weight to it. She's really hurt, they both realized.
Sometimes the brothers forgot how fragile humans were, how soft their skin is, and how easily they bruise.
"She's been up all day," Raph said in dawning realization. "She's been up all day and she'd hurt. She said earlier she felt like she was gonna pass out. Why didn't you tell us you were this bad off?" he demanded, "We coulda' taken care a' this mess ourselves!"
"If fine," she insisted, straightening back up, and smoothing out her shirt. Liar, her brain hissed, You need rest and you need it now!
The last thing she saw were the faces of the two worried turtles.
When George collapsed Leo was there to catch her, he lifted her small frame with relative ease, mindful of her severely injured side.
"What the hell did she go and do that for?" Raph snarled, setting the broom against the nearest shelf. "Why didn't she tell us she was still hurtin'."
Leo began to make his way back to the stairs to her apartment. "Maybe she didn't want us to worry, or maybe she didn't know she was about to collapse."
"That's a load a bull," Raph replied eloquently. "I bet she was just tryin' to suck it up and act tough—"
"Like you?" Leo interjected, he did not look back at his brother as he ascended the stairs. He was beginning to draw the similarities in the two's personalities and it worried him.
Leo had begun to like George, but if she was going to ignore her body's needs every time they were around her…well then maybe they shouldn't stick around longer than they had to. All four of the brothers were desperate for human company, or company of any kind, but it put someone in danger (even from themselves) then maybe it was best they weren't around. Leo pondered all this, but said nothing; he would discuss the matter with Master Splinter later.
"Well, I was gonna say Casey…" Raph continued. "But, hey, maybe she is like me. Tough girl, ain't she?"
"Yes," Leo said.
They reached the apartment door, and found that George hadn't locked it when she'd left.
"Should we put her on her bed?"
"I think so," Leo agreed, and walked down the small (and only) hallway. There three doors at the end of it. The one on the right led to a small bathroom, the middle was a closet, so the left was her room.
Raph went first and opened the door. George's room was small; the majority of the room was taken up by the large bed with clean, white sheets. There was a small vanity to one side with a laptop and printer covered up with magazines, books, cosmetics and hair junk.
"Wow she's a slob," Raph whistled.
It wasn't that George was a slob, nothing in the room was dirty--besides the pile of laundry—she just wasn't organized. There were stacks of books everywhere, magazines, and there collages glued to the walls. Old black and white photos were plastered to one wall, and clipping from newspapers. Mobiles and wind-chimes hung near one of the large windows that ran the length of the back wall so that she had a perfect view of the alley below.
Raph noticed that one of the windows was open, and it was probably the way that one of the ninja had gotten in…and would more that likely be the way that his brothers (and himself) would be coming in from now on.
The only thing that wasn't decorated, painted, or glue to anything was her bed. It remained plain in a roomful of insanity; just a queen-sized bed with plain white linens, and three large pillows.
Leo laid George gently on the bed, and took off her shoes before drawing the sheets up over her. She sank a little into the mattress, but remained asleep. Leo checked her pulse and felt her forehead.
"Well, her pulse is fine, and she doesn't seem to have a fever. I'm sure she was just exhausted."
"Yeah, well, she deserves a rest after what happened," Raph admitted. She looked so small to him, while she was lying in the bed. Her face was relaxed and looked peaceful; she didn't have the usual scowl he's gotten used to seeing over the past few hours. She did that a lot, he realized, he'd only ever seen her relaxed when she'd been joking with Mikey. There was an odd twinge of jealously in his chest.
"Hey, Raph," Leo said, waving a three-fingered hand in front of Rah's face.
"Huh?"
"I said, should one of us stay with her?"
"Yeah, sure, I'll do it. You go on back to the lair and I'll call you when she get's up."
Leo nodded curtly and went to the window. The sun had just come up and Leo could already see some people coming out of the buildings on the street outside the alley. A few of them were heading out, and a few were stumbling home. The air smelled clean, and wet, the way it always smelled the morning after it rained. He took a moment to enjoy it, while he was sitting in the window, and to get his bearings.
Then he leapt out of the window, raced along the sill of the building and jumped into the alley. He jumped onto a dumpster and kicked off, launching himself at the open man-hole that Donnie had left open for him. There was a flash of a green arm, and the hole closed up. Leo was gone.
Raph watched silently from the window after his brother. Damn he's quick, he thought grudgingly, I'm gonna hafta train harder if I wanna beat him.
Then Raph realized something; what was he going to do until George woke up?
