"What did you do now, Raph?" came the exasperated voice of the genius. He walked into the main living area from his lab and stopped short. "What. Did. You. Do." He repeated thinking of the lecture Leo was sure to give.

"Nothin'! Just thought they could use some help!" Raph puffed himself up self-righteously.

Don sighed and came closer, saying, "I can see that…" Rosa shifted uncomfortably, holding Rayne a little tighter. Her sharp, dark eyes regarded Don suspiciously. He picked up on this right away, and decided to be friendly and introduce himself. "Hello, Ma'am. My name's Donatello."

"Hey." She hefted the three-year old higher on her hip.

Don's eye-ridges drew together when he focused his attention on the sick child. "Oh, dear. I take it her health is the reason you're here?" Raph nodded. "I have some antibiotics that won't hurt delicate digestive systems. She needs to eat first though. Do think she'll eat some cheerios?" He had gone into "doctor-mode" as Mikey called it.

"She should." Her speech was minimal. It was obvious she trusted each new person she met less and less. Only for the sake of her child was she there.

Don nodded and led her to the kitchen. Raph followed, keeping a watchful eye out for his other two brothers. He was not looking forward to their reactions.

"Where the hell is the cereal?" Donnie hissed at him, his top half swallowed by the cabinet by the fridge where they usually kept the cheerios. Raph went to another cupboard on the other side of the kitchen, reached behind Don's precious coffee, and presented the box to Rosa. Don raised an eye ridge.

"Mikey don't dare touch yer coffee. He's been stealin' the cereal 'til there's none left."

"Oh." Don handed Rosa a small bowl. "Milk?" he offered.

"Is there a small cup? She'll eat the cereal dry, but I want her to wash it down with something."

"Hold on a sec…" Raph dragged a chair over to a storage cabinet above the coffee cupboard. He had to reach so far back that only his green rear end and legs could be clearly seen. "Found one!" his voice was muffled as he hollered victoriously. He clamored down from his perch and replaced the chair. As he made his way over to the sink, Rosa could see he held an old red Sippy-cup. As he washed it out, Don made a surprised face.

"I didn't know we still had those. I thought we left them behind when we moved."

"I went with Master Splinter when he went to scavenge some stuff from the old place. He mostly brought back pictures and our childhood things. I think it's a dad thing." Raph explained, wiping the old, slightly cracked Sippy dry. Double checking that the milk hadn't gone bad, he poured some for Rayne.

"Wake up, Little One. Time to eat," Rosa roused her sleeping daughter.

"Cheer-os!" She crowed happily when she saw her meal. An indulgent smile quirked the corner of Raph's mouth. Don saw it and smothered his own smile. To shell with what Leo thought, having a kid in the lair was good for him.

"Here ya go, Lil' Lady," Raph said, handing the Sippy-cup to the excited little girl.

"Than yoo, Waff!" She cooed, mouth half full of cheerios. He couldn't help it. His face split into a wide, friendly smile.

"Yer welcome."

"Raphael. Donatello." A cold voice called. Both turtles jumped and looked to the kitchen's entrance. Leonardo stood rigid, arms crossed over his plastron. Rosa's grip on her daughter tightened. This turtle was nowhere near as friendly as the other two. His scowl as he regarded her said volumes. None of it was complimentary.

"Leonardo." Rosa jumped. Up until now, Raph had been nothing but warm towards her. His now ice cold voice scorched its way across the room to his brother.

"What is going on?" the tension crackled and rose as Leo and Raph stared each other in the eye.

"It is rather obvious, my son. Raph found a young mother in need of help and brought her here for assistance." The new voice was old and soft. Raph hadn't been joking, Rosa realized as she gazed upon an old, clean, robe-wearing, mutated rat. "Hello, my friend. I am Splinter. Welcome to our home."

"Thank-you." Her hoarse voice sounded grating to her own ears. "I am Rosa Lone-Wolf. Introduce yourself, Little One."

Rayne looked up from her bowl of cheerios, which she had now moved on to playing in. She had been blissfully unaware of the rising tension. Seeing the new people in the room she smiled big. "Hai! I Rayne. I three!" She held up four fingers.

"Hello, Little Rayne." Splinter's wide smile was warm and welcoming, and Rosa relaxed somewhat.

"I thirsty!" Rayne made grabby hands at the Sippy-cup just out of her reach.

"What do you say?" The young mother admonished.

"Pease?"

Raph's goofy smile made a reappearance as he pushed the cup toward her. "There ya go."

"Waff!" she giggled madly when, instead of grabbing the cup, she grabbed Raph's hand.

"Hey, you!" he said, trying to sound tough and disapproving, but only managing a teasing tone. Her mischievous grin made him smile wider. Playing along, he placed his free hand on top of hers. She squealed in delight, recognizing the game. Her free hand went on top of his. He tugged his first hand out from the bottom of the pile and placed it on top. She did the same. They kept going until Rosa cleared her throat. Two pairs of gold and jade eyes respectively looked at her, wide and surprised. And in Raph's case embarrassed.

Rosa just couldn't help but laugh. "Rayne needs to finish her food, and take her medicine," she gently chastised them both. Rayne pouted, and Raph tried to hide his rising embarrassment.

Don took the hint, and went to get the antibiotics.

Shorter than usual, but this is a good stopping point. I really love Rayne. She's my favorite OC to date!