Well, its official. Raph is the hardest character for me to write. Not necessarily complaining; I like a good challenge, but sometimes I worry I'm not doing it right… its so hard to keep him in character! I mean, I've seen so many fics that just portray him as a mindless slab of muscle… I'm trying to really get that essence, that he's, ha know, a real tough guy in the outside, but a sweetheart on the inside if you're lucky enough to catch that side of him. I'm thinking, or at least hoping I captured that ok, but I'll let ya'll decide ;)

Another thing that's official? I've officially caught whatever icky respiratory bug that's had my sisters out of school and sick in bed for nearly two weeks… ickth :( wish me luck battling this!

…Ya know what else is official? The sad fact that I don't own TMNT and most probably never will )';

Anywho, on with the story!

Raphael would never, ever admit it, but he was suddenly glad his show off, teachers pet of an older brother had insisted he have a 'real' bed in his room. He was always perfectly content in his hammock, but it was nice to have somewhere to put the human, and he could still afford some comfort for himself. It was at least something that didn't make this situation maddening.

Now, anger was no stranger to the turtle in red; in fact, it was a constant companion, it seemed, always there, as consistent as his shell or annoying little brother. But this… situation… pushed him into a whole new level of anger and rage he'd yet to reach in his sixteen years.

How, in all his 'perfection', did Leo think this was still a good idea?! One of them, somehow, knew! She actually knew! She knew what they were! That just gave him more reason to be distrustful. Everything about this irked him. Here they were, playing nurse to four complete strangers! It went against everything they'd ever known, ever feared; these side effects wouldn't last forever. They'd know eventually. And when they did… he knew exactly what would be coming. Screams of terror, hysterical threats and stinging insults that would make him want to cut their throats out.

The very idea, the very notion of someone, anyone, insulting his family, threatening them, it made his blood boil, made him clench his fists and bite his lip till there were fingernail indents in his palm and blood on his bottom lip. He couldn't stand the thought. He couldn't wait to berid of these nuisances. That's what they were, nuisances; they were pests that needed to be exterminated, strangers, threats in his home that, for whatever reason, his siblings were hell bent on keeping and caring for.

Why?

Mikey, he could see, because his youngest brother was such a social, pitifully naïve thing. Donatello, maybe, for the sake of his precious 'research' and 'science' (ugh, nerd). But Leo? He was fairly certain, by now, his only older brother had completely lost his mind. Leonardo had always strived for perfection, his main goal always to protect what was his and let nothing threaten anything he held dear.

So what in the all the universe had possessed him into thinking this was a good idea?!

Growling like a caged tiger, the resident hothead stomped across the room for hat must have been the twenty four thousandth time, it seemed. He tossed a loathsome glance at the unknown girl lying in his bed. She was sprawled out carelessly, semi-short, spiky hair in her face. An ice pack was balanced lopsided on her forehead, but that was all he cared to do.

He looked her over again. What made her so special? Why did Leo and Sensei think she was worth saving? Why was she worth risking their safety? She wasn't anything special that he could see; fair skin, oval shaped eyes framed with brown lashes, a heart shaped face, black hair with the ends dyed crimson red and magenta pink. Why were they risking their necks to help her?

Rolling his amber eyes, he practically hear his brother say, in his annoyingly perfect voice, 'It's the honorable thing to do, Raphael'.

"Honor. Pfft… yeah." It wasn't that he had any disrespect for the concept; quite the opposite. But… but he just couldn't make himself stomach the idea of doing the honorable thing possibly jeopardizing their very existence.

"Mmm…?"

He froze mid-pace and turned to the bed against his better judgment, curiosity drawing his gaze. She was stirring, for the first time since their arrival, she was stirring. Oh, wonderful.

She shifted about for a moment. His keen eyes saw her eyelids twitch, her mouth move, her shoulders lift just slightly. Then she did the oddest thing.

He was pretty sure she was stretching, but it looked more like an exorcism to Raph. The unknown girl began to twist and stretch, her body bending in ways he didn't known humans could bend. Giving a half yawn, she lifted her left hand, rubbing softly at her eyes a moment. "Hm… girls?"

Then her eyes flew open, and she gave a strangled scream, shooting into a sitting position. "GUYS!"

…

Memories came crashing back into Reyna's mind, and she panicked. The last thing she remembered was the lights going off, the sound of gunshot, and then pain erupting in her left calf. Then it all went black. "GUYS!"

Suddenly, it felt like a hand had closed around her throat, and against her will, she bent over harshly, coughing. She brought her hands up impulsively, catching whatever disgusting mess her apparently full lungs needed to eject.

"I swear girlie, if you puke like that Mickie girl-"

That was all the farther he got, because she lashed out with unimaginable speed, a tessen already in hand, the blade stopping a few millimeters from his throat.

"Wha- Wha'did you do ta her?!" she managed to wheeze out around her still-going coughing fit. "If- If you laid a filthy hand on her, I'll kill ya!"

He blinked at her once, before shoving her wrist away. "Relax, she's fine."

"You- You liar!" she gasped out, coughs slowly tapering off. "Where is she?! What did you do to her!"

"I didn't do nuttin' to her." He scoffed, stepping back and folding his arms.

"Where is she?!" she demanded. "Tell me where she is! NOW!"

That really rubbed him the wrong way. She was in his home, his bed, a potential threat to his existence, and she was trying to order him around?

Oh, uh-uh.

Acting more upon reflex than conscious decision, within exactly point four seconds he had a sai out, aiming it right at her face. It was poised directly in front of her nose, just barely brushing her soft skin, one lunge away from cleaving her skull in two. "Watch it, lady," he hissed, amber eyes lit with an enraged fire, corners of his mouth pulled down in a disdainful sneer. "And listen. She's fine; sleepin', s'far as I know."

"Let me see her!" she demanded, seemingly unfazed by the deadly blade poised to kill her in one blow. Raph may have almost thought she hadn't even notice, if not for her eyes, a strangely intense midnight blue color, flitting to the gleaming metal. "I hafta know she's ok!"

He rolled his eyes. "Look, lady, the doctor says-"

"Please!" even Reyna was surprised by the emotion, the pure desperation, that was poured into that single word. Even more surprised by what came next; her hands came flying up, dropping her blade and latching onto his wrist. Her fingers curled around his thick forearm in a death grip, and had it not been for the pleading, tearful look in her eyes, he may have thought it threatening. "Please… she- she's my baby sister! I- I just gotta know she's ok!" her voice dropped to a trembling whisper, her blue eyes string deep into his. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was mildly surprised that she didn't seem to notice his appearance. "I gotta! Please!"

Raphael forced a scoff and rolled his eyes. He would not show weakness, of any kind, in front of this intruder. He shook her off, but his amber eyes never left her blue ones. "…I'll see what I can setcha up with."

"I- I need to see her now!" she coughed again, harsher this time, forcing her to bend at the waist, fists curling, coming up to cover her mouth and provide some support as her body pitched violently. Even as she was coughing violently and her eyes streamed in result, she continued to plead. "I- I have t- to… see her…!"

Sheesh. This one was stubborn. Even coughing up her lungs she was insistent to access her sibling. He'd never admit it, but that was an admirable trait.

Raph heaved a sigh, already internally kicking himself.

Almost against his will, he approached the bed again, kneeling down to be level with the girl. She was slowly calming down, and, fists still over her mouth, she turned to look at him, her wet eyes staring straight into his. Her eyes, her deep midnight blue pools, were deep with anger, but also… desperation. Hopelessness. Exhaustion. It was pretty pitiful.

"Hey, quit it, c'mon," he urged quietly. Not necessarily any less gruff or commanding, but just… quiet. Again, almost against his will, his hand raised, thumb roughly scrubbing away a tear on her cheek. "I swear, she's fine. You gotta relax- you'll get sicker if ya get too worked up."

She blinked almost owlish eyes at him, watching him in an almost… hypnotically, curious way. Something about this was familiar, but she hadn't a clue what. "But… Mickie…?" she practically whimpered.

"Look…" he glanced over his shoulder, toward the ball. "Tell anyone, and I'll hunt ya down and slit yer sorry tongue. But… ya ain't the only one with siblings. I got brothers too; I get it."

She squinted at him curiously. Then, as if finally seeing for the first time, her head tilted, coincidentally into his palm. "…You're a talking turtle."

A humorless smirk was his answer. "Yup, pretty much."

Another blink, and her eyes left his, travelling over his body curiously. There was no disdain, no fear in her sleepy midnight orbs, just curiosity. Wondering. How many head games was this girl going to play with him? "And you have brothers." It wasn't a question, but he gave a curt nod. "And ya wanna protect 'em…" again, not a question.

"…Yup, pretty much."

"Swear ta me…" her voice was nothing but an intensely soft whisper.

"Huh?"

"Big brother ta big sister." She leaned forward, their eyes meeting again, equally as intense. Equally as wary. Equally as wide, equally as deep, equally as dark. "Swear to me my lil' sister's ok."

"I swear," the words were a mere breeze n his lips, they were so silent. "I swear."

It was as if a switch had been flipped, and the emotion and passion and energy drained her fide, and she practically collapsed backwards, landing with a soft little thump on the mattress once more. Her upper body bounced once. "Ok… I'll trust ya. For now." She suddenly seemed more exhausted than ever. "Wha's yer name, turtle-boy?"

"What's yers, prissy princess?"

"I asked you first."

"Yeah, and I asked ya second; s'it make a difference?"

She smirked sleepily, pulling the blanket up to her chest. "Touché. Name's Reyna."

"…Raphael."

She grinned teasingly, raising one perfectly black eyebrow. "Well, there's a first. Ok, Kame."

And there we go! Hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter! Leave a review and let me know what ya think of how I portray Raph and Rey. Anyone wondering why she isn't surprised he's a turtle? Anyone? Well, first person to guess my favorite turtle, emphasis on guess- it doesn't count if I've already told you!- and I'll pm you a sneak peek of the reason! ;)