In the morning, Irma woke up before Raphael. She didn't remember falling asleep and she certainly didn't remember falling asleep on top of a giant turtle. At first she was embarrassed but then she figured it didn't matter. They were friends. Nothing had happened so it was pointless to worry. She gently got up from Raph and the couch and went to get ready for the meeting. Raph's body noticed the sudden weight change but he did not wake up. As Irma got out of the shower, she returned to the living room in her robe. Finley had jumped onto Raphael's stomach and made his way to his head. He was licking his neck and the mutant groaned, "You're really good at this." The girl began to giggle in the hallway and put her hand to her mouth so not to ruin the moment. Finley crawled up Raph's neck and began licking his mouth. The teenager let out a small snicker, "You're a little freak aren't you? I like it." Irma was about to die in the corner. The cat decided to nip the turtle's lip slightly, then continued to lick him. "Don't stop." Irma couldn't hold in the laughter anymore. Her giggling finally caused Raph to open eyes. "Aw yeah that's the sp-"He freaked out and screamed which caused Finley to jump. He scratched the mutant's cheek as he made his escape. Raph fell flat on his face in between the couch and the coffee table. Irma rushed over to his side as he rolled over and rubbed his head.

"Are you okay?"

"Besides the fact that I just made out with a cat and he's the aggressive type, I'm fine."

"I don't know. It sounded like you were enjoying it."

"You're a horrible person for not waking me up." He was laughing through this statement, so it was hard to take him seriously.

"Sorry if I didn't want your make out session to end."

"Jerk." He jutted out his neck in her face.

"Horndog." She did the same. They began laughing as they sat on the floor. "Sorry about falling asleep on you. Probably made it hard for you to sleep."

"Surprisingly no. It was fine. Don't worry about it."

"Do you ever worry about anything?"

"A majority of the time. This is like vacation time. So I don't have to."

"Well take another vacation while I get ready. But stay away from Finley. He's still upset about you rejecting him." She walked down the hall laughing and Raphael mocked her with a "Haha very funny". He was slightly embarrassed but he got over it quickly as his tPhone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Raph, it's Leo. Are you two on the way?"

"She's getting dressed. We'll be there in a few minutes." The line went silent for a moment but was followed up by a judgmental Leo asking,

"Raphael."

"Yes Lameanardo?"

"Did you try anything?"

"Geez Leo cut a guy some slack. You're not the only ninja that has self-control."

"Well I've yet to see yours."

"Ah shut up."

"Are you in a different room?"

"What?"

"You said she's getting dressed. Are you in a different room?"

"God Leo yes! I'm in the living room and she's in her room."

"Just making sure. So you'll be over in a few minutes?"

"Roughly 15. I found a new shortcut. If you go down the 2nd tunnel outside of the lair you'll find a manhole a few yards down. It opens up right next to her fire escape."

"I'll remember that. See you in a few bro."

"See you."

"That one of your brothers?"

Raph turned around and found Irma waiting patiently in the kitchen. She'd changed into a navy ruffled blouse, mustard yellow cardigan, jeans, and brown boots.

"Yeah. Just checking on us. Are you ready to go?"

"Yep. Let's go." The walked to the bedroom and opened the window. "I would say ladies first. But I don't think you can make the drop by yourself."

"Turtles first," she said. They both smiled and Raph climbed out. As she heard a thud, she gently climbed onto the fire escape. The day was cloudy and her street was quiet and shrouded in clouds. Irma began to climb down the ladder. It was not long enough for her to reach the ground by herself so Raph stood beneath her. "Are you sure Raph?"

"I'm sure Champ. Come on down." She let go of the final bar and fell safely in Raphael's arms. He helped let her down. He faced the opening to the alley and she faced the wall. Suddenly Raph's eyes changed from subtly happy to pure horror.

"What's wrong?" He did not answer but stare directly behind her. She turned to see what had caused her friend to become silent. Before Irma could see who was behind her, Raph made his way in front of her; a human shield between her and the foot soldiers at the head of the alley.

"Is she the one," one asked another.

"No, so beat it."

"She must be. Look at the way the mutant freak hovers over her." The one speaking extended his hand and slowly transformed it into a fist. "Foot, hajime."

The leader threw a kunai in Irma's direction. Raph grabbed her and dived behind the dumpster resting opposite the apartment building. It began to rain in that moment and Irma opened her eyes. Raph was urgent and whispered, "Stay here and don't move." He turned around and began to fight off the small army. She began to think of the night they met, his swift movements mimicking those of that night. The rain pelted all of them, even those who had been thrown aside by Raphael. Irma was scared, but she quickly became terrified as one of those throw aways crawled toward her with ferocity. Raph was preoccupied and did not notice. The soldier grabbed at the girl demanding to know if she was "the one".

"I-I don't know!"

"You lie! Tell me who you are and where she is!" A green fist glided across the ninja's masked face. He flew away but was quickly retrieved by the turtle.

"If you EVER touch her again I will personally see to it that you never signal your men again."

"Where is the one the Kraang look for?"

"She disappeared without a trace."

"How do I know you are not lying, turtle?"

"Do I need to adjust your ears so you can hear me better? I have no idea where she is. Besides I think we know who has the upper hand in this one. Did Bradford and Xever think you could handle yourselves without them?"

"Not important."

"Neither are you." Raphael threw the soldier to the ground with distance. "Get out."

"We will find her turtle, eventually."

"Go now!" The ninjas disappeared up the halls and out of sight. Irma watched Raphael stand in the rain with fatigue. A sudden edge shot through him and he ran to her side behind the dumpster. Irma was shaking and her teeth were chattering. He reached for her hands and held them in his own. "Are you okay?" She remained silent and looked deep into his eyes. Something was wrong.

"Who were they?"

"Shredder's men."

"Who were they looking for and why did they think it was me?"

"Don't worry. The person they're looking for is in hiding and completely safe."

"Oh my God." Irma's shaking became violent and she began to cry. Raphael was put off by this and unsure of what to do.

"It's going to be okay Irm."

"No it's not." Her shaking multiplied and her breathing became scarce. "It's happening again."

Raph decided the best thing to do was get her inside. He managed to get her to hang on to him while he climbed back up the fire escape and into her room.

"Irma, I need you to answer me. What's going on?"

"Get me out of these clothes." In one of the rare moments of his life, Raphael was speechless. She was soaked to the skin from the rain and liable to catch something, but he was not sure he wanted to be the one to help her. His nervousness disappeared as he helped her undress. For a small girl, Irma got out of the boots and jeans fairly quickly by herself. She needed help with her shirt and cardigan because her breathing was already limited. He knew what had to be next. Raph took a deep breath and peeled off her shirt. Thankfully she was wearing a camisole so it wasn't completely awkward. "Is that better?" Irma looked deep into his eyes with the same frightened look. As they continued the staring contest, she took in a deep breath as they stood in the middle of the room. As she exhaled, her body grew limp and dropped. Raphael caught her and picked her up. He carried her to her bed and tucked her in. As he covered her body, her head became reanimated she told him, "I'm sorry. I should have told you that this happens."

"It's okay. Is there anything you need?"

"I could use my inhaler," Irma instructed as she pointed to the drawer on her nightstand. Raph fished threw miscellaneous objects and found the inhaler. He gently placed it in her hands and she performed the actions. The tears had slowed but still flowed and her breathing became more regular. As she finished inhaling her medicine, she began to cry again.

"What is it?"

"I should have told you."

"Irma it's okay. You don't have to explain yourself. It's fine." Raph sat on the floor next to her bed still soaked to the skin.

"I'll go call for a doctor so you can get some-"

"No," Irma choked through her tears. Raph had gotten to his feet during his statement and was now held back by the small girl's grip on his hand. "Please don't leave me!" He looked down at her desperate eyes. He remembered her abandonment issues and cursed himself for trying to leave her for the sole purpose of comfortableness. He sat back down and looked at her.

"I'm not going anywhere."

After a while Irma fell asleep to the rain and Raph stayed seated. He watched her chest gently rise and fall under the covers. He leaned toward her and rubbed his cheek against her forehead. And, quickly without thinking, he kissed her forehead. He leaned back and continued to watch her sleep, sighing with bliss.

"She's pretty Raph."

Raphael turned quickly to find his older brother standing behind him.

"Leo. When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes."

"How?"

"Window's still cracked," he gestured to the rain soaked cracked window. "Snuck in when you had your head down."

"So do you know what happened to her?"

"She had a panic attack."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"She's fine thanks to you."

Raph hid his blush and stared at the ground.

"What made you come?"

"I figured you could've gotten to the lair in the time between our call and now, so I thought something must have been wrong. And I used the instructions you gave me."

"You're smarter than you think."

"And you nicer than you seem." Raph's head retreated to the floor again. "You really do like her?"

"Yeah so?"

"So I'm proud of you."

"For what?"

"For taking charge and not leaving her." Leo's head peeked around Raph's shoulder and they both watched the girl sleep. Her cheeks were red and stained with tears, but she was calm as her chest repeatedly rose and sank under the pile of sheets. "I texted the guys and let them know what happened."

"They upset?"

"Yeah. April although was acting really strange. She kept saying 'I'm not ready to see her yet'."

"What does she mean?"

"I'm not sure. I guess she's still thinking about how to explain leaving her best friend for mutants in the sewers."

"But isn't she just making it harder for herself when they do see each other again?"

"Yes but I don't think she cares."

Raph shrugged. He knew how stubborn April was. "Well, I'm not going to pressure her into it. When she's ready she's ready."

"Well, I'll leave you two alone. You going to be around for dinner?"

"I'll let you know how she's doing. If not better, I'll be here."

"Alright." Leo walked to the window and perched himself on the sill. "Oh, and Raph?"

"Yeah Leo?"

"You're a good guy."

"Shut up." His older brother shrugged and disappeared into the storm as Raphael stayed next to his best friend's bed and waited for her to wake up and ask him to do something for her.

I thought I'd return to the darker side of this comic for a change. Things have been too cute for a while :) Now while I don't suffer at the level Irma does, I do however experience anxiety and panic attacks every so often. I haven't had one in about four months now so that's pretty good. But I did want to convey the type of things that go down during one. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and reviews are always welcome!