A/N: THIS IS THE SECOND CHAPTER OF THE DAY. Make sure you didn't skip the last one!

*)O(*

As much as it annoyed him, he had to smile. Something had changed in the dynamic of them and while it was almost painful to watch, it brought hope at the same time. Becca and Mikey did everything together. They ate together, they played games together, they trained together. Hell, so far the only thing they weren't doing was sleeping together. Part of the reason it got under his shell was because they didn't even realize they were doing it. Raph sat in the chair, watching TV with them.

Besides maybe holding hands while they watched a movie they hadn't been 'love dovey' like Sara and Donnie had. They were like two best friends from high school who liked each other. There was too much laughter. The squealing, Raph clenched his teeth just thinking about it. It had always been one of Mikey less redeeming qualities but now it was even worse. Every time it happened his head hurt. Seriously, he knew they were excited, but come on, did they really need to do that every time? Just why in the hell did they have to be so in synch with each other anyway.

Covering his head as the main character confessed their love, Raph prepared for another attack. The sound was grating, never fraying, and annoying. Yet, as he watched them together even he couldn't gripe about it too much. His little brother was happy. He couldn't, wouldn't, ruin that.

Raph and Leo would be able to survive being alone. They were the strongest. Mikey, on the other hand, well, he needed this. He needed Becca. Even if they turned out to be just friends, Mikey need her. She was everything he needed. While he and his brothers put up with Mikey's goofiness, Becca embraced it. They were all proud of him as he became a published author, but Becca was amazed and overjoyed. She took the few small pranks she'd received in good humor and had even paid him back for one or two. Inside she shone as brightly as Mikey did.

Raph hadn't noticed that Mikey's light had started to fade until Becca had showed up. He'd noticed something, but he hadn't been able to name it. Emotions weren't something he was good as showing or picking up. Depression, fear, loneliness, desperation, those weren't things he often thought about. He'd felt them, but didn't have any out let but anger for them. Mikey had always hidden his somewhere in his heart. Mikey had been the light in their lives for as long as Raph could remember. Now Mikey had another light, one that nurtured his own.

Raph grinned at the two of them. If Donnie had been able to get Sara, surely Mikey could get his girl too. Raph chuckled to himself. One day he might even find someone too. This was New York after all. If they had found the number of friends they had already, surely there was hope that one day, just maybe, they would all be as happy as Donnie and Mikey.

*)O(*

Her hair was in his mouth. It was in his nose. It had even crept into his eyes, but he didn't care at all. Pushing the pillowy mass away from his face, Donnie smiled at Sara. To any human her body might feel hard and unforgiving with all the muscle she had put on during their time with them. To him it was as soft as a cloud in heaven. She lay next to him, curled up around the arm she used as a pillow.

These were the moments that Donnie took to relish in her. When she was as defenseless and as open as she could be. His heart swelled and once again he thanked whoever might be looking out for them for sending her to him. It was no small feat for her to have happened to end up with him. So many different things had happened that he'd almost convinced himself that it hadn't been coincidence. Maybe it really had been fate, destiny, that had brought them together.

If that was the case then he could stay hopeful for his brothers. He didn't have to feel like he was being selfish. Looking down at Sara, her red hair a mess and a line of drool pooling onto his arm, he grinned. Even if he was selfish, it didn't matter. He would do anything to keep her. If it wasn't for logic he'd say that she had his heart. But logic said that it was pumping too hard in his shell for that to be the case. Metaphorically though, he was all hers. Heart, body and soul. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. She was a fierce woman, determined and strong willed. She was also soft and kind with a heart that could rival Mikey's.

His little brother seemed to have found his own little cache of luck. He wondered if Becca would be for his brother like Sara was for him. Then he shook his head a little. He rested back against the pillow. His body was tired. Sara made sure of that, but his mind was still a little active. Closing his eyes and holding onto his mate as his scent clung to her bare skin, he drifted away again, hopeful for their family.

*)O(*

It was not a good morning. Fog clouded her head. Her mouth was unusually dry. Her eyes felt large in her skull and she almost thought that she might have had a hangover. Her stomach twisted into knots then rolled. It felt like she was a little girl again, hanging onto the merry-go-round for too long. Her heart started to race and she took a few small deep breaths. She knew it would happen, she just needed to buy herself some time.

Stumbling and waking up Donnie in the process, she lurched out of bed. The trashcan became her friend for about ten minutes or so. Donnie had climbed out of bed and was holding her hair out of her face as she emptied her stomach of what was left from dinner the night before. "Stomach bug, bed and lots of fluids," Donnie ordered.

"Sure, sure," she groaned. "I need to brush my teeth first."

*)O(*

Sara was in bed. Donnie's orders. Becca pouted. She was supposed to practice her throws some more today. Leo stood in front of her, trying to show her how to shove someone's nose into their brain on Mikey, who didn't have a nose. Sighing, she looked on. Leo grabbed Mikey by the shoulder again. Mikey smirked and kick Leo in the shin, punched him in the throat then elbowed him in his armpit when Leo grabbed his throat in shock, making Leo fall over, clutching different parts of his body. "Best way to drop someone, really," Mikey grinned. "Cause if it's a guy he's going to expect you to go for his jewels."

"I wanna try that one," she laughed.

"Let me go get the shin pads." Mikey spun and started to walk away. Leo kicked his knee and sent him to the ground before groaning again and holding his side. Mikey scrambled to get back up as he laughed.

Mikey showed her the combo in slow motion a few times then let her try it. Half and hour later her toes hurt and her elbow needed ice. She was sweating, her hair sticking to her face, panting and thrilled to be doing something new. "Alright, that's enough Mikey. Becca, I want five solid push-ups and twenty sit-ups before you do five laps around the dojo. Try not to walk today," Leo ordered.

"Hai, Sensei," she teased. Mikey laughed a little before Leo glared at him. Becca quickly set to her regimen before she could receive the same. "Mikey, it's time for us to spar. You're warmed up, I hope." Becca snickered, lost control of her arms and plopped onto the floor. She hurried to get back into position and started over. Staring at the floor she knew Leo would have given her a momentary glare, although she was most likely safe now. She transferred around the time she heard metal hit metal.

It was scary to see sparks fly and metal clash. They were scarier when they fought like that. Eyes locked on each other, but open to everything around them. She cringed as she got to fifteen sit-ups. Her stomach was the least in shape out of her whole body. She took in a few deep breaths before doing another one. Taking time to watch them as they nearly killed each other. She had never been too big on working out or eating right, but she had a high metabolism which helped to make sure she never got fat. Still, standing next to people like Sara or April still made her a little uncomfortable.

Redoubling her efforts she pulled out the last three and stood, ready to try and run around the dojo. She kept her path close to the wall until she got close to the weapons. She gave those a wide berth, just to be safe. She watched Leo and Mikey. Something was different today as they went blow for blow. She couldn't place it. Usually Mikey was the one doing the bobbing and weaving. Today it looked like Leo was taking that place.

No matter how fast Mikey seemed to move Leo was already gone. Instead of Leo looking annoyed from all of Mikey's teasing, he was throwing it back at him. Today Mikey was the slow one. Today Leo was the provoker. Then, as she rounded for her third lap something changed. Leo could only mock Mikey for so long. He wasn't as long winded as Mikey was. Along with that, Mikey also had better natural stamina and didn't tire out as quickly as Leo did. Suddenly a nunchuck hit Leo in the arm and Mikey dropped them to his sides. Leo hissed. "Alright, alright, I give," Leo groaned. Sweat rolled off both of them. They were a sight to behold.

Her eyes were drawn to Mikey. His light green skin glistened in the pale light. His shoulders heaved up and down. She hadn't noticed before but the sides of their shells were more flexible than the rest, letting the shell move a little as Mikey huffed. She'd noticed that their shells weren't completely rigid before but now the difference was more noticeable. No wonder they were able to move the way they did.

Not paying any attention she ran smack into the weapon shelf. Her ear rang as it had taken most of the hit. She tried to put her hands out to stop its and her fall but something cut her palm. She jerked back, trying to send her body the other way, to save herself. Her momentum was too great. She headed down as weapons littered the floor with a chorus of clangs and thumps from the sharpened steel. To say her life flashed before her eyes would have been incorrect. What she saw was countless stitches and constant teasing. She threw her arms over her face and neck, hoping to save at least that much.

Her shirt nearly choked her. Then the pressure was gone, a hand snaking around her middle and stopping her. Then pulling her harshly against something hard and warm. She was moved again and vertigo consumed her for a moment. When it subsided she looked up. Mikey's bright blue eyes stared down at her, going over her. Someone said something from across the room but she couldn't hear them. Her head buzzed and she was a little light headed. Her brain was still trying to figure out why she wasn't in pain. Then Mikey's free hand, it only took one arm to hold her bridal style, opened her left hand. She hissed and wanted to hit him but her right arm was pinned to his plastron.

Then they were moving and Mikey was yelling. If fire could burn in water, it would like something like his eyes did as he stared into hers. "-fix you up." When had he started talking? His lips were moving but she couldn't really hear him. Adrenaline had filled her body and was trying to decide if it needed to leave or not. As her blood slowly rejected the help adrenaline was trying to give her, she heard more. They were already in the lab. Donnie was there, gauze and scissors in his hands. "-your hand?" He'd probably asked to see it. Becca extended it but didn't open it.

The sight of blood oozing between her fingers made her stop. It was dribbling onto the floor and pooling there. "-you'll have to hold her. She's in shock." Shock. That word registered above the rest. Seeing her blood gushing from her hand, and maybe the pain of the injury had put her into shock. A potentially cationic state where she lost parts of her senses and would become useless, from what she was experiencing at least. She took deep breaths. "That's good," Mikey's voice soothed. Had he been telling her to breathe? She stopped herself from hyperventilating. In through the mouth, out through the nose, deep and even, she pulled air into her lungs then released it. Her surrounding became clearer.

Mikey was holding her arm. His grip almost hurt. She luckily couldn't feel her hand. Donnie was wrapping layers of gauze around it. One, two, three, all of them started to soak up blood and stain before Donnie continued. From the forth layer to the tenth or so, no more blood soaked through. How badly had she sliced it? The rest of her hand was starting to turn the color of rust. Blood drying and coagulating together. "Becca?" Donnie's soft voice called to her, asked her to look at something besides her hand. "This is probably going to hurt, but it's going to help." He held out a needle. Gulping, she nodded but looked to Mikey. She hated needles, hated them with a passion.

Mikey's eyes burned hers as the fire within them still hadn't gone out. With her right hand she reached for him. He held her, as well as he could. His right hand still holding her left. Her fingers gripped the top of his carapace until her knuckles were white. She buried her head into his shoulder as the needle pricked her. She hadn't felt the pain, not really, until Donnie stabbed her. The suddenness of it made her gasp and try to pull her arm back. Mikey didn't let her arm move. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Mikey groaned, his voice hoarse.

She cried as Donnie withdrew the needle only to stick it in again and again. Around the forth time all she felt was the pressure of something sliding into her skin. Still she clung to Mikey who had started to kiss her cheeks, kissing away her tears as they spilled. He went to kiss her cheek again and she turned her head. She rested her forehead against his, feeling closer to him that way. "I'm okay," she reassured them both.

"I'm sorry." A few tears eked out of his eyes. She smiled at him, pain making her strain in effort not to grimace. She removed her hand from his shell and held the back of his head. She pressed his forehead closer to hers. It felt like she was holding them both together. "Donnie, I said I was, fine, let me help." Sara's voice was muffled under a surgical mask. She looked like she was dressed for the ER. "I'm not going to contaminate her, and I told you, I don't feel sick anymore. I scrubbed down and everything."

"Sara," Donnie tried to warn.

"She's my friend, Donatello, now move." Becca and Mikey both laughed. Something that had been straining in Becca's chest loosened.

"Hey, how are you feeling," Becca said. She kept her head pressed to Mikey's. Mikey gave a soft laugh, shaking his head. "Seriously?" Sara growled. She and Mikey grinned at each other.

"She filleted it. It's going to bleed for a while, but it's not nearly as bad as it looks. The pain meds should be kicking in here any minute."

"Pain meds?" Sara asked, amazed.

"Yeah, but I'm okay," Becca tried to reassure her. Sara and Donnie knew, Sara had already told her that she'd told Donnie. Mikey didn't. Hope plummeting, Sara's voice escalated. "You used a needle on her?" Venom dripped from her friends voice.

"I had to-"

"You could have given her a pill, or something!"

"I wasn't just going to let her suffer until a pill started to work," Donnie said, obviously hurt.

Becca bit her lip. Looking into Mikey's eyes, she knew he wondered what the fuss was about. Sighing to herself she looked over to Sara. The redhead looked like she might kill Donnie. "Sara, I'm fine. That was a long time ago. Donnie was gentle anyway." She tried to smile. She was hoping that maybe Sara would drop it. If she did, maybe Mikey would ask about it. "What happened a long time ago?" Damn it, she huffed inside of her head. "Becca?"

She couldn't look back at him. She couldn't lie to him. She couldn't write it off as nothing and tell him that was all that it was. There was pain in her past. Betrayal that ran deep inside, leaving a permanent wound that had only started to scar up. I'll have to tell him the truth, she realized painfully. "I had a really bad experience with needles," she started.

"What do you-" She used her hand to press his head hard against hers.

She took a deep breath. "My ex, he was… nice. At least, I thought so. My dad is… well let's say he has a lot of money. My ex was an All-American kind of guy. My dad liked him. I fell in love with him." She tried not to mock herself. "We had been dating for a year. I thought that I might end up marring him. He hadn't popped the question yet, but I thought, like every girl does, that he'd be the one.

"One day I was dragged into the side of a van. He was there. There were some other guys." Mikey gave off a threatening growl. "They didn't do anything that I was expecting. He… he had a long needle. It was too long, actually. He drugged me." She took a minute to swallow down old fear as it tried to resurface. "They didn't hurt me, not like I thought that they might. But there was always a needle there, in someone's hands. Whatever it was, it didn't last long. I would wake up and they would put me back under, after they were done. He'd hold a gun to my head and tell me to call for my dad. Now I know how long I was really gone. At the time it had only felt like a day or two maybe.

"He had kept me for ransom for a week and a half. SWAT broke down the doors on the barn they were keeping me at. When they opened them he missed with the needle. That's why I have that scar on my arm now.

" At the hospital they tried to put even more needles in me. They… they strapped me down. For my own safety. I was close to starving and dehydrated. I didn't even know it had been him. The drugs made my head fuzzy. When they told me… I had to know why." Her body was shaking and she was trying not to cry. "He-he said it was so he could buy me a ring and get the rest of my dad's money. He put me through hell just for…" She didn't finish. She didn't have to. Mikey had moved and was holding her now. His arms engulfed her as she let a few more tears fall. Her ex wasn't someone to cry over. She'd shed her tears for him and herself before. Now she cried because of the way Mikey held her.

His body trembled. He squeezed her tight. He kept saying he was sorry. He was nothing like her ex. He was nothing like anyone else. He was everything she needed. She pulled away, making him look her in the eyes. Sorrow over holding her down for Donnie was clear. Pity that she'd went through that was over laid with empathy because he'd gone through the same things in his lifetime. He was an open book with an amazing cover. The pages inside drew her into him and she never wanted to stop reading his story.

Letting go of more of her past she leaned in. Her lips pressed against his. They were rougher than a humans and the feel amplified everything she felt because of them. The spark that started in her stomach, the ache in her heart, and the peace her mind found were greater than anything she'd ever felt before. She started to open her mouth, to deepen the kiss when Mikey pulled back and started to rain kissed on her face. At first it was sweet then she started to laugh as he kept it up. Finally she pushed him away, giggling. No sooner did she get some space did he close it, his lips over hers again, making her melt.

From somewhere in the room someone coughed. Jumping like she'd just been caught sneaking a cookie before dinner, she pulled away from Mikey. Donnie and Sara were smirking at them. "Oh, shut up you two," Mikey growled before turning back to Becca and kissing her again. "Well, she's going to need stitches." Donnie warned. Mikey turned away, making Becca growl herself. "Like hell!"

"Mikey," she reached out to him. "I'll be okay, as long as you hold me." Mikey looked back at her, unsure. "I can do it if you're with me." She reassured him.

Sara let out an, "Awww." Becca tried not to blush. Mikey looked into her eyes. The clear blue was burning again but he nodded. "Anything for you, Becca." He murmured then kissed her again.

*)O(*

A/N: Hell yes, even I like this chapter! Even though it didn't have any Mikey in it, it turn out to be pretty good. Please leave a review and Happy Memorial Day!