Silence was deafening. Alex had always known this fact to be true in some corner of her mind but never knew the extent of that truth until now. When she and Michelangelo had returned he had gone off in search of Donatello and that was the last she had seen of the four brothers and their Sensei, Splinter. She knew they were…somewhere. She would hear the occasional raised voice or a muffled groan, all of which made her incredibly curious. But either than those few noises there was only the silence.

Alex shifted positions on the couch, folding her legs beneath her. In front of her the screen of the television reflected her figure. She didn't feel like watching anything. Even if the silence was a little overwhelming, the thought of turning the television on just didn't appeal to her. The clock on a rough looking DVD player told her it was already six. Almost time for supper. Would it consist of more left over pizza? Maybe she could do something to prevent that from happening. An idea slowly started forming in her mind. Michelangelo had said his brothers were bringing back groceries.

Making sure she was truly alone she reached for her bag, pulling it up on the couch beside her and digging through it for a pair of jeans and a light tee shirt. When she found what she was looking for she set it aside and dug further, wondering what else Casey had thought to pack for her. Her hands brushed against something cool and flat and she smiled, pulling out her phone. Beneath it was the case housing her air pods.

"Remind me to thank that man the next time I see him," she murmured as she stood and traded her sweat pants and sweatshirt for a pair of low rise, boot cut jeans and an incredibly worn white t-shirt with red sleeves that she'd picked up from some random thrift store when she'd moved to New York. She was in the process of pulling it on, standing in the middle of the wide-open living room with her arms raised and her back and the narrow strip of her lace bra completely exposed when she heard a sharp intake of breath. Cursing vividly she yanked the shirt down the rest of the way only to see Raphael staring back at her, his dark eyes wide and a smirk playing at his mouth.

"Uh…hi," he said.

Alex could feel the red rising in her cheeks. "Is there anyway that you didn't just see that?"

"Nope. But-." He took a few steps closer to her. She could see a thin layer of perspiration clinging to his dark skin and wondered what he'd been doing to work up such a sweat. "I can act like I didn't see anything if you want."

She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, trying not to notice how defined the muscles of his arms were. "Really?"

"Sure, why not." A brief smile flashed across his face. "Can't promise I'm not gonna think about it later though."

She didn't know whether she should laugh or act offended by his unexpected statement so she settled for somewhere in-between, wrapping her arms around herself and giving him a wry grin. "Well, that's kinda ballsy, don't you think?"

Raph's grin widened but he also retreated a step, recognizing that he had crossed a line somewhere. "Yeah, I guess so. I…ah," he stalled, pointing helplessly towards the direction she assumed he had come from, "better get back to training. See ya." He beat a hasty retreat, almost as if he were afraid to stick around much longer.

Alex wasn't able to tear her gaze from his retreating form until he had disappeared into the darkness of a large tunnel in the far end of the lair. Her heart was fluttering madly. The thought of him revisiting that moment in his mind made her feel warm and oddly pleased. "Easy girl. What's wrong with you? You don't even know the guy," she murmured softly, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. She needed to get her mind off of him, and definitely off of what he had said.

With a look of determination she tied her long blond hair up, grabbed her phone and air pods and went into the kitchen to scrounge up something suitable to cook.


Raph bit back a groan as he slammed into the unyielding stone wall.

"Welcome to the floor bro," Michelangelo said amicably. He hadn't bothered getting up from the last time Leo had knocked him down.

Raph sat up, rubbing his shoulder. Previous argument forgotten, he glanced ruefully at his younger brother. "Is it just me or is he bein' a bit on the brutal side tonight?"

"He's pissed at himself." Mikey tilted his head back, receiving an upside down view of Don and Leo facing off. "He said some stuff to Alex, got on her bad side."

At the mention of her name Raph stilled, a picture of her slender back among other things flashing in his mind. "So ahh…how's she doin'?" he asked, trying to sound uninterested. The last thing he wanted to do was let his brother see how easily the thought of Alex distracted him.

Mikey shrugged. "She's coming around. She's still a little scared but she's got a pretty good reason to-." He cut off in mid-sentence and jerked up. "Dude…do you smell that?"

"Mikey-"

"No! Seriously. It smells like-" He stopped and inhaled deeply. "Food! Really good food!"

"Hey! Who's cooking?" Don called out, quickly dodging Leonardo's attack.

A clear soprano voice carried to the training dojo and Mikey smiled. "There's a cooking, singing woman in our kitchen. Later guys!" He started to jump up but Raph's hand on his shoulder stopped him. Using Mikey as leverage the older turtle pushed himself up and took off for the kitchen. "Come on Mikey! I'll race ya!"

"That's not fair Raph!" the orange masked turtle yelled, stumbling to his feet and running after his brother.

Don put his bo away and shrugged. "At least they got over that fight they had earlier," he said, leaving Leonardo alone in the dojo.

Leo sighed as he put his weapons aside. He hadn't seen Alex since she had snapped at him in the hallway. Something which he had deserved but now he was defiantly a little wary of being around her.

Maybe I'll just stay here and meditate. I can always get something to eat later, he thought. But whatever she was cooking smelled so damn good and he had worked up enough of an appetite that ignoring his hunger was impossible. Wary or not, there was no way he could turn down something that smelled so good. Steeling himself for Alex's frosty dismissal or possibly worse, he followed his brothers to the kitchen.

Raph slowed as he approached the kitchen, silently moving into the doorway. Amused by what he saw, he leaned on the doorjamb, content to watch. The kitchen table had been cleared and set for six. The counters were actually clean and bowls of freshly chopped vegetables were arranged neatly on the scrubbed Formica tops. The floor had been swept, dishes had been put away. It didn't even look like the kitchen he remembered. And standing in the middle of it all, her voice accompanying whatever song she was listening to, was Alex, stirring something in a large ceramic bowl. He couldn't help thinking of her standing in the living room, all those curves and skin tempting the hell out of him.

"Dude. I didn't know we had that many dishes!"

Raph turned around to see Mikey, Don and Leo crowded behind him, all of them staring into the kitchen in awe.

"I didn't even know that was the color of our counters," Don added to Mikey's previous statement in a hushed voice.

Hitting a clear, high note, Alex whirled around and gasped, dropping the spatula she was holding when she saw all four of them standing in the doorway. Color flooded her cheekbones as she smoothed a hand self-consciously over her hair, tucking a few wispy tendrils that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. "Um…hi," she offered lamely. "I hope you don't mind. I…I guess this is kind of my way of thanking all of you for saving my life and letting me stay with you." She bent to retrieve the spatula and tossed it in the sink. "I know it's not much but it's all I could think of."

"It smells great," Don said, reassuring her flustered nerves. "Did you need any help?"

"Actually-."

Before she could say another word they were already helping, setting food on the table, digging through the fridge for various things and for the most part doing the rest of Alex's work for her.

Turning back to the oven, Alex grabbed a mitt and opened the door, letting out a blast of hot air and the pleasant sound of sizzling. Two large trays sat on the racks under the burning glow of the broiler. Both were laden with golden tipped tortilla chips. Shredded Monterey Jack cheese had been layered on top and was now melted and bubbling. Alex had left the top sheet plain and added peppers, onions and a few jalapenos to the bottom sheet.

"What's that?"

Alex tried not to smile at the sound of Raphael's rough accent behind her. She pulled the two trays from the oven, setting them on the range to cool then turned the oven off. "A whole bunch of nachos," she answered, putting the mitt back on the counter and facing him with a small smile, trying to remain as calm as possible. At least on the outside. Something about him set her nerves on edge, and not in an entirely unwelcome way. "You have had nacho's before, right?"

He stared at her, his dark gaze unreadable and doing things to her insides that made her want to squirm. "Sure. Mikey usually nukes 'em though."

Alex made a face. "Gross. That's college level nachos." She leaned against the counter, picking one free from the tray. "I worked as a waitress at a Mexican Restaurant in Manhattan. One of the line cooks there made the best nachos. When I told him I usually just cooked mine in the microwave, he cussed me out in Spanish for a full ten minutes while throwing together a tray of the best nachos I've ever had in my life."

"Never used a microwave again?" he asked, leaning against the counter across from her and taking a chip from the tray with all the extras.

"Only to warm up my coffee."

This time, he was the one who made the face. "Nuking coffee? I'd cuss you out in Spanish right now if I knew how," he muttered, his mouth turning up in a slow, easy grin.

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Hey, I get distracted sometimes."

Like right now, she thought, her gaze drifting down to his broad shoulders. Lord, he was impressive. He was taller than his brothers, more solid looking. That was the only way she could think to describe him - like if she tried to shove him, he wouldn't move at all. She wasn't usually attracted to muscles but when combined with a rough accent and an attitude with an edge, she couldn't deny it did something to her.

"Let's eat guys. I'm starving!" Mikey exclaimed, startling Alex. She quickly pushed away from the counter, feeling the heat of mortification creep into her face. Hopefully, he'd be clueless to how blatantly she'd been checking him out. His smirk widened and he gave her a slow once-over that clearly told her that he wasn't.

"I could eat," he murmured, his voice low and suggestive.

Alex's eyes went, her cheeks now burning. Grabbing a sheet of chips, she dropped her gaze, walking hurriedly to the table. Needing to put some space between herself and Raph, she sat between Mikey and Don, thinking she was safe there. He was quick to prove her wrong, taking up the spot next to Leo and directly across from her. She should fake sick and just walk away. She wasn't that hungry anyway. She looked up to claim she had a headache, saw Raph grinning arrogantly at her and quickly changed her mind, narrowing her eyes dangerously. Without thinking past the moment, she lifted her foot and kicked his shin, hard.

"Ow! Hey, what the hell was that for?"

"Well you keep looking at me like that!" she shot back, "What did you expect me to do?"

Around them the others snickered, wisely choosing to stay out of the fray. Alex glared at Raph, refusing to look away. She felt like she had just signed her own death warrant. Judging from the look on his face maybe she had, but she was not going to allow him the satisfaction of knowing she was scared. He had worked her emotions over enough for one day and she was tired of not being in control of them.

"If you weren't a woman-," he growled threateningly.

Alex slowly leaned forward. "You'd what? Kick my ass? Go for it."

Splinter chose that moment to enter the kitchen. Hearing the tap of his walking stick on the floor Alex sat back in her chair, crossing her arms smugly over her chest. To add insult to injury she smiled and made a face at him.

Mikey broke down laughing uncontrollably as Don and Leo tried hard not to. Across from her, Raph rolled his eyes and made a sound of disgust. Alex almost would have believed that he was actually angry if she hadn't seen the briefest flash of a smile cross his face.

"My…what is the occasion?" Splinter asked as he walked slowly over to the table, moving to the chair at the end between Mikey and Leo.

Mikey jumped up, pulling out the chair for him. "Alex cooked for us."

"That is very kind of you child. I, for one, could most definitely use a break from left over pizza."

"Usually I'd take offense to that Sensei," Mike said as he sat back down and eagerly rubbed his hands together, "but this looks way too damn good to complain about."

Alex blushed at the compliment, her eyes sparkling with warm pleasure. For the rest of supper she remained quiet, content to play the casual observer. Though she was truly appreciative of what they had done for her, getting them together had been a larger part of why she'd cooked a meal for them. She wanted to see how they interacted, how they worked off of one another. She wanted to trust them and needed a reason to beyond having them rescue her. That, and she'd never sat down to a family meal before. She'd never had a family to do such things with and outside of going to a restaurant, she usually ate alone.

She listened to the flow of conversation around the table, finding the easygoing banter among the four brothers and their Sensei highly amusing. They shared such an amazing bond. Alex hated to admit it but she was slightly jealous. She would have given anything to be close to at lease one person in her life time without having to fear for her own life. Maybe…maybe she still had a chance. She looked around the table at the five mutants, her gaze landing on one in particular. Leonard. If she wanted to be close to any of them she had a few things to fix first.

Gradually the food disappeared and there was nothing left but six well satisfied stomachs. Alex stood and started to clear the table when Splinter's hand at her wrist stilled her. "You have cooked. It is only fair that my sons should take care of the cleaning."

"Oh no," Alex protested over their pained groans. "I don't mind…really."

"Nonsense child. Besides…while you were out with Michelangelo I believe the others prepared something for you in your absence." He nodded towards the doorway. "The room across from Michelangelo's. Down the hallway opposite the one Leonardo and Donatello occupy."

She turned surprised eyes on the brothers. "You-."

"Go. We shall clean up in here," Splinter insisted.

Hesitating for only a moment, Alex nodded and left the kitchen. She went to the living room and grabbed her bag, a thrill of excitement rushing through her. Whatever was in that room could possibly be just an old mattress on the floor for all she cared. What mattered to her was that the three had gone out of their way to make a place for her. It made her feel special and she didn't get a chance to feel like that very often.

Taking a right down a hallway she had yet to be in, she easily found the room Splinter had been speaking of. She reached around the corner after pushing the door open, flipping the light switch up and bathing the room in the soft glow of warm light. Alex took a cautious step into the cozy area, a smile spreading across her face. "Oh wow-."

On the floor, tucked in the corner under a massive Pink Floyd poster was a large mattress. A massive, black faux-mink blanket with a brightly colored Japanese style dragon slithering up the middle covered the entire thing and collection of pillows, consisting of the same hues as the dragon were thrown carelessly at the head of the makeshift bed. Next to the bed was a small table and on top of that an ornate antique lamp with a shade of brown, gold and green stained glass. A deep green area rug covered the cold floor. There were two small dressers against the wall, each made of dark cherry oak. On one was a larger version of the bedside lamp and on the other a small radio. Posters from old 80's movies ranging from horror to comedy decorated the wall opposite her bed and even a full-length mirror had been added. It was more then she could have ever asked for.

"Do you like it?"

Alex whirled around to face Donatello and, without thinking, threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "It's perfect!" she released him spun around, once again taking in the view of her new room. "Where did you guys get all this stuff?"

"We have connections," he said, his face turning a ruddy shade of green from her unexpected show of emotions. "The movie posters are Mikey's. He's got a pretty extensive collection so I highly doubt he'll notice them missing."

"And the Pink Floyd?"

"Raph's idea."

"This is really great Donnie. Thank you so much." She smiled and he rubbed the back of his neck, not used to such attention from a young female.

"It's no problem. Really. You needed something better then the couch."

Alex laughed softly. "I could have used the couch a few more times. That thing is really comfy. So…um…where's everyone else?"

Don leaned back against the doorjamb. "Raph and Mikey went top side to check out you apartment and make sure no one had tried to break into it."

At the mention of her apartment Alex's shoulders drooped slightly. "I wish I could have gone with them. There's some stuff I'd like to get out of there if I'm going to be here for a while."

"You can go with me and Leo tomorrow night if you want."

"Really? That would be great. Where is Leonardo?"

Don grinned. "Training. Where else?"

"He does that a lot?"

"Whenever he can."

Alex admired that. By the way Don said it she could tell how much conviction Leo poured into his training. He was strong, strong enough to help save her and she'd repaid him by practically biting his head off. Guilt slowly started eating away at her as Michelangelo's words echoed in her mind. "Trust us."

"I should go talk to him," she murmured, wrapping her arms around herself. "I think I owe him an apology."

Donatello nodded in understanding. None of them actually knew what had happened between Alex and Leonardo but they could tell by the tension that radiated from their brother that it hadn't been good. "The training dojo is out the hall to the left. You'll find him there."

Reaching over and taking his hand Alex smiled, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Thanks Donatello." She turned on her heel and went to find the eldest brother.

In the darkness of the training dojo lit only by a handful of candles, Leonardo practiced his katas, moving with fluid grace through the exercises. He breathed steadily, concentrating only on his movements. Behind him the door slid opened unnoticed.

Alex stood in the doorway, one hand resting on the solid frame as she watched Leonardo in silent awe. Every movement was so precise and effortless, almost like art in motion. She almost regretted having to interrupt him but the need to apologize for her actions was growing stronger and manifesting itself into a bundle of anxious nerves that made her feel sick every time she thought about how she had reacted to his words. Taking a hesitant step forward, she carefully closed the door behind her, leaving it open only enough to allow a tiny sliver of light to filter though. "Leonardo?" she called softly.

Hearing her voice, Leonardo spun around to face her, his concentration immediately broken. "Did you need something?" he asked cautiously.

Alex took a deep breath and crossed the room. She stopped in front of him, wringing her hands nervously. "I…I'm sorry for the way I reacted earlier. I went a bit overboard and let my emotions get the best of me and…and I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry Alex. I understand why you were upset. I should have chosen my words more carefully. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know that now," she whispered, offering him a small smile. "But still...biting your head off like that wasn't really necessary."

"Yeah well...making it sound like you weren't human wasn't necessary either," he muttered with a grimace.

"So-" Alex rocked back on her heels, clasping her hands behind her back. "We start over?"

His relief was almost visible. His shoulders slumped and he breathed out a sigh, smiling a little. "Yeah. We start over."

"Good. I'll let you get back to your katas."

"You know what I was doing?"

She nodded. "I used to practice daily when I was in…when I was younger."

She had slipped and he had easily caught it but he stayed silent. She would tell them when she was ready and he accepted that, knowing it was all he could do really. Michelangelo had told them that she needed to learn that she could trust them. He could see that not only did she need to learn but also that she truly wanted to. Deep in those bright blue eyes lay a naked longing to have someone she could depend on, someone she could trust. Well, now she had five someone's. "You want to join me?" he asked, giving her an opening.

The bright smile that spread across her face melted his heart and made him incredibly glad that she had sought him out. Now that everything was behind them they could start again. He motioned for her to stand next to him and she did, her movements almost giddy.

Leo laughed. "How long has it been since you last did this?"

"Oh…years." She stretched her arms high above her head, wincing when the muscles in her shoulders protested, the aching skin around the gash on her shoulder pulling. "Nothing to strenuous if that's okay. I don't think I've gotten close to full recovery yet."

"You look much better," he admitted. "But we'll keep it simple."

As they began, Leonardo watched Alex out of the corner of his eye, moving through the katas methodically. Her movements were stiff at first but as they progressed they became much smoother. Her gaze remained focused straight ahead and her breathing was deep and even. She might have been out of practice, but she recovered easily enough, taking to the movements with practiced ease. He was mesmerized by her, wishing for the briefest second that he could stop and watch her-just for a little bit.

After fifteen minutes, Alex started to tire. One particular motion caused a grimace to flash across her features and Leonardo stopped, coming to her side and resting a hand between her shoulders. "Why don't you go get some sleep Alex," he suggested lightly.

"Okay." She gave him a tired smile. "Thank you Leonardo. I'm really glad we got this whole mess settled."

He returned her smile. "So am I. Now go…you look like you could use the rest."

Alex was sure he was right. If she looked anything like she felt, it had to be pretty bad. She left somewhat reluctantly, trying not to stumble out of the dojo in her state of complete exhaustion. As she passed by the couch she gave a halfhearted wave to the three sitting there. "Night guys."

Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael returned her wave with distracted ones of their own. "Turning in?" Michelangelo asked.

Alex watched the three for a moment, amused by how immersed they were in their movie. "Yeah. See you in the morning."

"Night," the mumbled in unison.

Shoulders shaking with quiet laughter, Alex turned and started in the direction of her room. Once there, she slipped into a loose pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt, then crawled under the thick fur blanket, sighing as the dark fabric slid over her bare skin, enveloping her in sudden warmth. Not long after she was settled, Alex drifted off to sleep.

Hours later, she was jolted from her sleep by a nightmare that Danny had found her. He'd discovered where she was hiding, almost killed her new friends and was in the process of dragging her away, kicking and screaming when she had awoke.

Perspiration dotted her forehead She reached quickly for her bedside lamp, filling the room with comforting light. Wide-eyes, she searched the room, looking for the man who had so rudely disturbed her peaceful slumber but there was no trace of him. The only thing stubbornly lingering behind from the nightmare was the constant fear that seemed to plague her no matter how hard she tried to suppress it in the far recesses of her mind. She tried to lay back down, turning restlessly on her back and staring up at the ceiling. The walls seemed to be closing in around her, forcing a sense of claustrophobia that set her heart racing and made it difficult to breath evenly. She needed to get out of here.

Alex pushed her blankets back, crawled from her bed and dug through her bag for a sweatshirt. Finding a gray hooded one, she pulled it on and left the room, not knowing exactly where she was going but knowing it had to be above ground.

She crept out into the living room, her feet padding lightly across the concrete floor. Rounding the television, she came to an abrupt stop, stifling a gasp when she saw Raphael stretched out on the couch, legs crossed at the ankles, one arm tucked under his head serving as a pillow while the other lay across his stomach, a hand resting over a very deadly looking weapon. Alex knew right away that it would only take the slightest amount of noise to have him on his feet, ready to attack. She held her breath as she moved passed him. Only after she had slipped her shoes on and ascended the short flight of stairs out of the turtle's home did she dare to breath again.

She picked her way through the tunnels, mentally keeping track of every turn, every tunnel so that she would easily find her way back. "How the hell am I supposed to get out of here?" she muttered as she came around the corner.

"You might want to try the manhole at the end of the tunnel," a rough male voice called out from the darkness.

Alex's heart leapt into her throat and a cold wave of fear swept through her. She waited, body tensed for the coming attack but nothing happened. After several minutes of silence in which she truly doubted her sanity and started wondering if she'd imagined the voice, somewhere in the darkness came a short scrapping noise. The faint smell of sulfur carried to her nose as a small flame briefly illuminated the darkness, casting dancing shadows along curved walls and exposing the chiseled profile of Casey Jones several feet away. Alex breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Jesus Casey, you scared the hell out of me."

He grinned, holding the match he had lit to the top of a cigarette that dangled from his lips. After taking a long drag he tossed the match aside, throwing them back into darkness. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." She moved towards him, her eyes adjusting gradually to the dark. "What are you doing here?" she asked, leaning against the wall next to him.

He looked down at her, his deep hazel eyes regarding her warmly. "I'm here to ensure your safety, babe." His grin widened when she laughed. "And ah…me and April got into it again."

"Your girlfriend?"

"Yeah. She's a tough woman to make angry but when you do-." He let the sentence hang, figuring Alex was a bright enough girl to guess the rest on her own. Silence fell. Casey took another drag of his cigarette.

"Hey," Alex said, breaking the silence. "Could I…um…could I-."

Casey chuckled softly as he reached into the pocket of his loose fitting jeans and withdrew a pack of cigarettes. Flipping the top up, he extended it to Alex. After hesitating for a brief second, she took one and allowed him to light it for her. "Beautiful woman like you smokes, huh?" he asked, watching her as she dropped her head back, closed her eyes and exhaled a lazy cloud of opaque blue smoke.

"No," she replied after a while, once again opening her eyes. "I actually quit years ago. Apparently it's very bad for you."

"No kidding?!"

Alex laughed, dropping her gaze to the floor. She felt so foolish for falling back on an old habit in hopes that it would ease some of her anxiety.

"Didn't work, did it?" Casey asked understandingly.

She shook her head. Of course it hadn't worked. Nothing worked.

"What are you doin' up here anyway? It's kinda late."

Alex shuddered as her mind pulled up lingering images of the nightmare. "I…I couldn't sleep. I needed to get some air."

He pointed down the sewer tunnel with a jerk of his thumb. "All the way down. There's a ladder leading topside, into an alley. On the right you're gonna see a fire escape. Take that up to the top."

Resisting the urge to hug the taller man, Alex pushed away from the wall. "Thanks Casey." She flicked her cigarette carelessly aside and started for the end of the tunnel. "Oh yeah!" She turned on her heel, once again facing Casey. "Thank you for bringing my phone and air pods down."

"No problem," he replied, watching her as she disappeared up the ladder. He tilted his head slightly to the side, seeing no harm in innocently checking out Alex's shapely legs and the gentle flare of her hips. "Man…if I was still single-," he murmured appreciatively, leaning back against the cold, damp wall and took another long drag of his cigarette.

"Gross habit, Case."

The dark haired man grinned and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Quittin' a month ago doesn't really give you a right to comment, bud."

Raph stepped out of the darkness, smirk in place, absently twirling a sai in his right hand. To the casual observer he may have looked calm and relaxed but to a long time friend it was the complete opposite. Casey could see the trace of anxiety well hidden in his friend's eyes and knew immediately what he was looking for. With a nod of his head in the direction Alex had just disappeared he said. "She's up top…building on the right."

"She went topside alone?"

"Cool it, Raph. I spent the last few hours scanning everything within six blocks of this place. She's safe."

Raph slowly relaxed, slipping his sai back into his belt. He couldn't believe how worried he had been. He hardly even knew Alex yet he was following her around, making sure she was safe. It wasn't like him at all. He couldn't even remember exactly why he had got up from sleeping when she passed by him. Sleep at three in the morning sounded like a much better idea then chasing some woman around. Unless, of course you had seen that female half dressed and standing in your living room as if she owned it.

"You going to go after her?"

He thought about it for a minute. Why would he go after her?

Because she's beautiful. Because you're interested in her. Because you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if something happened to her.

Sighing, he gave his old friend a tired grin. "Later, Case."

"You like her, don't ya?"

His only response came in the form of a simple shrug then Raph disappeared up the ladder, leaving Casey to his habit and the empty sewer tunnels.

It took him minutes to get to the top of the building using the old fire escape. Once there, he searched the rooftop for Alex, finding her on the opposite side. Her back was to him, her long, blond hair unbound. What small breeze there was caught little fly away strands, tossing them lazily around her shoulders. "Alex," he started after taking several steps towards her.

She raised a finger, motioning for him to be silent. "Hang on." A second later a jagged bolt of lighting illuminated the storm clouds hoovering over the city. Thunder rolled gently, sounding miles away. It wouldn't take long for the storm front to move in, not with the coastal winds dragging at it.

He approached her carefully, not wanting to crowd her or scare her off, even after what she had pulled at supper. In truth, he actually admired her nerve. Sure, his leg still stung slightly but maybe he had deserved it. And if she had the guts to retaliate that way against a mutant turtle that had a good foot on her, more power to her.

"You know if you just count the seconds between when lightning strikes and when you hear thunder and divide it by five you'll know how many miles away the storm is?" came her soft questioning voice, washing over his senses.

"Nope, never knew that." He came up behind her. "Why did you come up here?"

She turned her head to the side, allowing him a view of her profile. "I…had a nightmare." She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, releasing a humorless laugh. "Kind of amazing that I can tell the difference between nightmares and my shit-show of a life, huh?" She hung her head. "Jesus, I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry. I'm just tired."

Raph knew she hadn't meant the kind of tired that could be cured by sleep. She meant the kind of tired her life had forced on her. The mysterious life none of them knew a thing about, the running…the fear. He could remember the many times he had felt like that. He could relate to what she was going through. Not entirely but he figured if he could just relate even a little it would matter.

"Why did you follow me?" she asked, turning to face him with a curious look.

"I-," he started, searching for the words. Her haunted eyes had thrown him and he was having difficulties remembering exactly why he was there. "Because I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Define okay," she muttered sarcastically. "Sometimes I wonder if all of this is just some huge nightmare that I'll eventually wake up from. That's what it feels like. I try to convince myself that it's not real and…jeez, what the hell is wrong with me." She took a step away from him, looking small, helpless and miserable. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be unloading all of this on you. I don't even know you that well. I'm turning into one of those people that talk as long as there's someone to listen."

"Listen, Alex." He closed distance between them, placing strong hands on her shoulders, ignoring the sudden desire that flared up within him. "It's gonna get better okay?"

She cocked her head to the side, her eyes filled with such weary sadness. "Can you promise that though?"

He sighed. "No, I can't. But I can damn well try and make it better. Unless you're gonna try stopping me with another kick to the shin."

She laughed softly. "Sorry about that."

He briefly tightened his grip on her shoulders. "How about we go back down before we both get soaked? It doesn't look like the storms gonna hold off for long."

She agreed and in silence they made their way back down to the alley and into the sewer system. Alex only made it a few steps before stumbling, too tired to hold herself up straight.

"Come here," Raph murmured, carefully picking her up and cradling her slim body in his arms. Warning signals went off in his head. He fought to ignore them, concentrating only on getting her back to her bed where she could get some much needed sleep. At her door, he carefully lowered her, keeping an arm around her waist while she gained her footing and woke up enough to make the short trip her to bed. "Get some rest, okay? I'll make sure no one bothers ya in the morning so you can sleep in."

She smiled up at him, her eyes clouded with what he assumed was sleep.

"Thank you Raphael," she whispered. Her hand came up, resting lightly on his chest and he knew right away that he had mistakenly judged that look in her eyes. His heart slammed almost painfully against his ribs as she leaned up and fearlessly brushed her lips across his. She murmured a soft goodnight, turning away from him and closing the door.

A million excuses for her sudden and unpredictable action leapt into his mind. She was tired, she was delusional, she was overwhelmed with everything that had happened over the last forty-eight hours and wasn't thinking straight. He could keep thinking up reasons as to why she'd kissed him, but none of the excuses silenced the one prevailing thought that dominated his mind and left him shaken far more than he cared to admit.

She had kissed him-and she had meant to do it.

With a shaky sigh he ran a hand over his face and quickly retreated to his own room where he could deal with these new, foreign emotions and hopefully be able to figure out how the hell all of this had happened. And why he suddenly felt as if his entire world had just been turned upside-down on him.