Disclaimer - Well, I totally forgot to upload this and it's been - about two weeks since I last said I would. My apologies. Also, this is where the story splits in direction, as far as how it's going to end. For those needing a happily ever after between Leo and Beth, head on over to Stealthy Stories and check out my account there. Under Butterfly you'll find your chapter. To everyone else, keep reading right here on Fan Fiction. In either event, I own only the story, Beth, Mrs. Andrews, Det. Horowitz, and any left over tea and coffee cake.

My thanks and appreciation to all who have stuck with me this far and for all who were kind enough to leave a review.

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Chapter 46 - Quarrel

"I tell ya, bro, it's just not right."

"Mike, leave it alone, I know what I'm doing."

"If Raph finds out you've broken her heart…"

"It couldn't be helped and if he does find out it's only because you told him." Leo had all he could do to keep from punching Mike in the mouth. It wasn't as if he wanted to hurt Beth. No, it pained Leo something awful that he had, but - there really wasn't any other way around it. Allowing anyone from his family to befriend her would put Beth in danger. Causing her pain because of this was an unfortunate casualty, but it was far better that than the alternative. "And if you do say anything..."

Mike heard the warning tone in Leo's voice, and so he sighed and shook head. When his oldest brother was this obstinate, there was no reasoning with him. Leo's comment said all that needed saying. Mike had better keep his mouth shut.

Then, the orange-banded turtle tried once more, but from a different angle, "Your reason for canceling her training before even the first lesson won't go over very well, you do know that? He's going to ask more questions and he's not stupid."

"He won't, Mike, and even if he does, Splinter will agree with me. Raph will concede."

Michelangelo chuckled ruefully, "Yeah, and how many times has Raph gone ahead with whatever plans he had in mind? Once he talks with Beth about the matter, you're toast and you know it. He warned you."

Leo shrugged in response, "Doesn't matter, Mikey; it's for the best, we're dangerous to her, she's dangerous to us, it's a simple matter of survival." He suddenly stopped his progress through the darkened sewer tunnel and looked around, hushing his voice, "Quiet."

"What?"

Leo firmly wrapped a hand around his brother's snout, before taking advantage of the immediate peace, focusing on whatever it was that he had heard. Then, still whispering, "Didn't you say Raph would meet us at the lair?"

Before Mike could answer, though, an all too familiar baritone voice broke through the lightless passageway, "I did, but I changed m'mind!"

Berating himself for not paying attention to his surroundings, Leonardo realized that he truly had to get Beth out of his mind - and heart. Just thinking about her caused his insides to go all jelly like. As Leonardo released Michelangelo, it became profoundly obvious to him that Beth was already too much of a distraction. Of course, the fact that Raph concealed his presence as well as he did just a moment ago only proved that point, too

Sounding strangely disembodied within the lightless passageway, Raph addressed his older brother, "What's best and fer whom, and why's 'she' dangerous t'us? Are you talkin' about Beth?"

With his mouth now free of Leo's hand, Mike gave a small knowing chuckle, "Heh, looks like you can add two and two, bro!"

"Mike, I said I'll handle this."

"Handle what, Leo?" Raph growled, for the moment ignoring Michelangelo's sarcasm.

Squaring his shoulders, Leonardo accepted the challenge, "That I've decided Beth doesn't need any training. It seems the police have effectively shut the Foot down. She's safe."

"Right, and I'm going to sprout fairy wings. Give me a break, Leo, the Foot won't go away…" Raph remarked, snapping his fingers, "just like that."

"Yeah, Leo," Don agreed, adding his thoughts to the matter as he also made his presence known, "the Foot won't easily be intimidated to get out of town."

"The Foot soldiers we left behind at Beth's apartment when we rescued her," Leo explained, "were apprehended by the police. There were a couple more arrested a few days earlier and both groups have apparently sold themselves out, they basically helped the police shut the Foot down."

Raph twirled a sai and quickly pocketed his weapon, smirking, "Must have been newbies, then,"

"Or desperate to jump ship…" Mike added wryly.

"They might be more desperate than green, since new recruits don't have the intel on the exact whereabouts of each stronghold," Don countered.

"And where the authorities have them running," Leo added, "I'm certain they're heading out of town."

The four brothers stood quietly for a moment, allowing the news to sink in. It almost seemed too incredible that their enemy, the feud they had carried for their father these many years, was no longer a problem. However, Raphael remembered what he had initially overheard when he had first come upon his two quarreling brothers.

"So, why is Beth dangerous t'us?"

Leo didn't answer immediately, not at first, but when Raphael restated his query, "Hey, I asked ya a question, Leo."

"Actually, Raph, we're more dangerous to Beth," Leonardo finally replied.

"And why's that?"

"Because…well, because you know as well as I do that even with the Foot out of the way, the small crime syndications they've kept under their control will move in to take over their territory. Our fight against evil won't end, it'll just change zip codes and once these organizations find out about us and if they connect us to Beth, she'll still be in danger."

"So, we'll just protect her, then." Raph shrugged.

"Like we did with April?" Don sighed, now understanding Leonardo's point. It was disappointing, too, because hearing about the Foot's demise, Don had enjoyed a brief moment imagining a life far from the one they had been leading all these years. Yet, he had to admit that Leonardo was correct; crime would always keep them busy, whether because of the Foot or someone else. Their bushido code would expect nothing less than keep the general population safe.

A suffocating silence fell over the quartet, then, the truth of Don's words sharp and penetrating. It wasn't lost on any of them that they had failed their friend - and, if any of them had been honest about it, they had failed Casey, too.

"So, what now? We just go and ignore her?" Raph didn't like that prospect at all, not when he considered how Beth felt about his brother and what it might do to her if they abandoned her.

"I…I don't know, Raph. I don't want to do that, but I don't want to put her in danger, either. What happened earlier in her apartment…could become a regular ordeal for her. I just couldn't do that…"

Suddenly, Leo felt a displacement of air as Raph rushed towards him. He reacted, with fists up and ready to exchange blows. Yet, before his brother careened into him, the turtle in red stopped instead, now nose to nose with Leonardo.

"I don't want'er in danger, eitha, Leo," he growled, "but we can't ignore her, not with'er problem. What about havin' her live with us, until she knows how t'defend 'erself?"

Leo's reply was instant.

"No."

"Why NOT?" Raph took a step back and glared at his brother, even though his threatening expression went unnoticed within the black void of the darkened tunnel.

"Because she needs the light, Raph. She's making friends with her neighbor, Mrs. Andrews. They seem to be forming a friendship, talking about going to the theater, and just - living. I saw a light in Beth's eyes tonight that I haven't seen before…well, not since we met. It was like she finally found someone to connect with, someone like her…" Leo's voice then softened, "…someone unlike us."

"Unlike us? You mean, not a mutant? Is that what this is all about, the fact that we're not normal, not human? Are ya afraid she might reject us, reject you?" It was then when Raphael believed he had figured it all out, "That's it isn't it? You don't want t'be rejected, so you just decide fer the rest of us t'leave her first! Yer nothin' but a coward, Leo!"

"I am not a coward, Raphael." Leo could barely contain the snarl from his lips, "I'm just afraid she might end up like April for knowing us and, because we're mutants, we'd be a problem for her, whether she would admit it or not. April had to make too many changes in her social life because of us. She couldn't have friends, not without taking the risk of accidentally revealing our existence. The way April had to do it, Beth would have to live like a hermit and not be as involved with people as she would normally." Leo gulped back his anger - and his grief, taking a breath before continuing, "As I said, what I saw in her expression a while ago was someone who suddenly found out that they had a life to live. To ask Beth to stay underground in the lair with us would be cruel."

"How SO?"

"Because, Raphael," Don interrupted, "Beth would be as much a prisoner in our world as we would be in hers."

In frustration, Raph swiftly removed one of his sai from its sheath and began twirling it. He growled low, allowing his disappointment to build upon itself, before finally releasing his fury. In a flash, he lobbed his weapon deep into the wall of the tunnel, the resonating ching of metal against concrete echoing through the sewers.

Flinching, Mike backed away, as Raph raged, the turtle in red throwing his arms up for emphasis, "GAH, I hate my life; why d'we even bother?" Then, with a few quick steps, he reclaimed his sai from the tunnel wall, and, with a small flourish, returned it to its rightful place along his side.

"I'm sure Splinter will be pleased as punch about yer decision, Leo," Raphael sneered, turning away, "but I fer one am not and I'm not going to just ignore her, either."

Instantly, Raphael felt a hand on his arm and, before he could react, he found himself spinning around to face its owner, "You are going to leave her alone and that is an order." Leonardo demanded, "No one is allowed to visit her. Period!"

"And who's gonna make me, Leo? You?"

"If I have to."

"Well, ya had better start now, cuz I'm goin' up t'see yer, to tell'er what you decided."

"She already knows."

Raph shrugged from his brother's grasp and grabbed Leo by the throat, growling, "You TOLD her we ain't coming back?"

Wresting himself free of his brother's murderous hand, Leonardo stepped back, "How else should I have done it, Raphael?"

"I can't believe you told her that, after all she's been through, knowing how she feels about you…" The turtle in red hissed low and would have charged his brother right then, but he held himself in check. He shook his head, "And I thought you had more honor than that."

"Don't . speak . to me . about HONOR! It is honor that's…that's…"

Suddenly, it all fell apart, his resolve, his self-control. Leonardo found his voice inaudible, muted, choked back, as if something thick and strangling had wrapped its way around his vocal chords. Immediately, in response, he felt an overwhelming burden rise from the very depths of his being. As it towered over him, the sheer weight of his anxiety attack seemed enough to bury him. It took him by such surprise, the lack of control, that Leonardo was unprepared for the personal internal assault. Quickly, as his eyes filled, he turned away, grateful for the suffocating darkness to hide his true feelings. He swallowed hard and inhaled deeply to quell the surge of emotions. Yet, he found it did little good. Consequently, a single, choking sob escaped his lips.

Realizing something wasn't right, "Hey, Leo, what's up?" Mike walked over and laid a concerned hand on his brother's shell, as Don did the same on the other side.

In reflex, Leo stepped away, refusing the comfort from his siblings, but in so doing, he let loose another cry.

Mike hesitated to react, more surprised by his brother's exclamation that shocked. However, when he realized the truth of the matter, he grabbed Leo in a half hug, "Hey, it's gonna be all right, Leo. You're only thinking about Beth's safety."

"I…I wish I didn't have to, Mikey," Leo moaned, "I wish…I wish it didn't have to be this way." Leo paused for a moment, collecting himself, and then straightened, gently shrugging from his brother's embrace. He turned, then, to face the others, his confidence returning once more, "But, regardless of how I feel about her or how she feels about me, or any of us for that matter, this is the way it has to end. I don't like it, guys, but I don't like how we have to live, either."

Throughout Leo's momentary breakdown, Raphael stood stoic and motionless, perplexed by his brother's unusual transparency. It wasn't like Leonardo to show any weakness, that much Raphael knew and had accepted. Yet, Raphael couldn't help admitting that he was the same way, too. Given their precarious living conditions with the constant threat of extinction, feigning strength was a necessity for survival. If any of them became the weaker link, it only weakened the family as a whole.

Just the same, after developing a thirst for friendship because of April, and then with Casey, it was a foregone conclusion that what Raphael and his family needed most, were friends. Beth had begun to fill the void that April had left behind, too, and, in so doing, offered another opportunity for one of them to find companionship. But, to what end would they go to in order to acquire it and how much would they be willing to sacrifice to have it? In the end, it only proved to Raphael that there was sometimes too high a price to pay to have what they desired most.

After a long moment, he remarked, his voice no longer grating or angry, "Guess yer right, Leo. I…I don't want anyone else to suffer the way April did, either. I don't know how Beth will handle it, but - you did say she had a friend, right?"

"Yeah, Mrs. Andrews. Heh, who would'a thought. Seems she was just a lonely old lady," Leo smiled a little, relieved that his brother was accepting his decision, just as he knew he would.

"Lonely, eh?" Raph sighed, "Well, sounds like they're two peas in a pod." He moved towards his brother and placed a friendlier hand on his shoulder, "At least, maybe we can keep an eye on her, just to make sure she's safe?"

"So long as we don't make contact, yeah, I think we can do that."

"Heh, I'd like to see how long you can last without contacting her, bro, not with how you felt about her."

"I don't remember any of it, actually," Leo remarked nonchalantly.

"Oh, yeah, sure…and I bet you think I didn't see you two kiss a while ago?"

"You saw us?"

"Hey," Mike jumped in, "must have been a juicy one, bro. She looked ready to swoon!"

"I did NOT kiss her like that!" Leo protested.

"Yeah, sure," Don chided, joining in as he chuckled a little, "With the way your lips pressed together…"

"You were watching, too?"

"Just about invited us to, out there in th'open. Never think you can do somethin' and not have us notice, bro," Raph laughed, "not when ya got a girl t'worry about! Anyway, we betteh get back to th'lair, 'fore Splinter comes lookin' fer us!"

As his brothers turned towards home, Leo stood there, fully insulted, hands on hips. It didn't help matters, either, when they began chuckling at his expense.

"You spied on me!" he protested indignantly.

"Hey, get a clue, Leo…we're ninja!" Raph laughed, as Mike and Don joined in, "Plus, it's not like you tried to hide it, out there for all t'see."

"Yeah, right, I should have been more careful I guess..." Then, as Leo caught up with his brothers, "So, now that we don't have to worry about the Foot anymore…"

"Let's make certain of that." Don advised, "I don't trust the police to eradicate a problem entirely. The Foot could be laying low until the authorities lose interest."

"Yeah, you might be right, but - still…" Leo shrugged, "If they did chase them out of town, there's a gang over on 25th street that's been getting a little cocky. Wanna pay them a visit tomorrow night?"

"Bustin' heads?" Raph asked, grinning wide, as he and his brothers moved into a more lit area of the sewer system.

Finding themselves bathed in the subdued lighting of the sewers once again, "Is there any other way, o'brother of mine?" Leo grinned, matching Raphael's, as he wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulders.

"Nope, Leo, I don't suppose there is!" The one in red then laughed, while Leonardo walked alongside, their other two brothers bringing up the rear, "And maybe we could check Beth's area, too, just as a precaution?"

Leo nodded, "Yeah, I think that would be do-able."

"Righteous!"

As the four turtles continued through the tunnel in silence, each one seemed deep in thought. Suddenly, a voice, deep and overly theatrical, broke through the stillness…

"And once again the Sentries of the Night, Guardians of the Foolhardy, Protectors of the innocent, plan their next attack against the evils of New York City. We are one…four brothers… braving death, defying odds, the fearless foursome, the…."

'Thwak'

"Ow, Raph, what was that for?" Mike complained, holding his head, now sore from his brother's slap. As he sidestepped out of the way of Raphael's reach, he heard his brother's reply.

"For being you, dimwit."