Chapter 6

"But Leo, I can go. You can't just leave me behind!" He yelled.

"Raph, I've already told you, you are not coming and that is final. Your leg and arm are still healing, I will not risk putting you in danger, and risking the rest of our lives because you are not up to fighting."

"It's just patrol Leo!" He protested.

"And we don't know if anything will happen. My answer is final. Stay here protect the lair...and Katherine." Leonardo added as an afterthought. Leonardo frowned as if deciding to change his mind about leaving. Leonardo shook his head.

"Fine." He grumbled arms crossed, anger radiating from every line of his body.

He watched as all of his brothers left the lair to go out on the nightly patrol duty they had been neglecting since Katherine had been dragged into their lives.

He heard the sound of clapping behind him. He turned around in surprise to see Katherine standing hip cocked to the side, smile on her face, clapping slowly. "Truly a magnificent performance Raphael, why I think you may just win the Oscar for best outraged character."

He looked at her in shock, then his lips moved into a half smile. "Saw right through that did you?" He asked her.

"Like a window." She said shaking her head.

He laughed. "Think Leo bought it?" He asked.

She just shook her head. "I don't get why the protest if you didn't care if you went anyway."

He shrugged. "Cause if Leo thought I didn't want to go, he would think there was something up."

She looked at him in confusion then narrowed her eyes. "What are you planning Raphael?" She asked him suspiciously.

He grinned at her. "You and I are going to play hooky." He said deviously.

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "From what?"

"From that damn couch we have been forced to sit on for too damn long." He said pointing to the couch.

"Okay." She said slowly.

"Grab Leo's coat, we are getting out of here. I'm going to show you a little bit of New York." He said with a smile.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Granted it's not going to be very exciting, but I figure we can take a walk through the park, get a little fresh air."

"You want to walk, through Central Park, at night?" She asked surprised.

He chuckled. "Don't worry babe, I can protect you." He boasted.

"Don't call me babe." She said to him, but had turned to go grab Leonardo's trench coat. He grabbed his own jacket, and pulled the hood of his hoodie up over his head.

She came back dressed in her jeans, and a slightly wrinkled hoodie. She had been borrowing their clothes when she had run out of her own. They were going to have to do laundry soon, and if they didn't do it soon she was going to. She had already been complaining that she was running out of underwear. He shook his head trying to get his mind off of her wearing the damn lacy barely there underwear he had seen the first day she had woken up.

She put Leonardo's coat on and pronounced herself ready.

He grabbed her hand and led her out to the surface. The entrance to the lair closed behind them and he led her through the park. It was dark, but the occasional couple or group of friends walking along the park's pathways.

She was looking around curiously and he wondered if she had even noticed he was still holding her hand. He noticed she tended to be a little like Donatello at times. When she was focused on something she tended to be completely oblivious about what was going on around her.

She looked over at him shoulders bumping together as they walked along. He looked over at her and wondered what it would be like to be able to actually be with her. He wondered, as he watched couples pass by them, a few stopping to have a quick kiss here and there, if this is what it felt like to be human. Just two people walking together, enjoying the other person's company. He squeezed her hand a little harder, anger coursing through him at the thought that he would never actually know what it would be like to be human, to be normal, to not be a freak of nature.

"You seem to be thinking about something serious Raphael." Katherine said to him.

"I thought I was at least your friend." He said to her instead of answering. She looked at him in confusion. "The only time anyone calls me by my full name is when I am in trouble, why don't you call me Raph?" He asked her.

She scrunched up her nose. "Because I like your name, I'm not going to brutalize it by calling you Raph. Raphael is much better."

He looked at her in confusion. "Say Raph again."

"Raph." She said.

"Say Raphael."

She smiled. "Raphael." His name rolled off her tongue like a sinful invitation. He swallowed hard.

"You're right, Raphael is much better." He said.

She laughed. "So what were you thinking about?"

"I can't remember." He said to her.

"Liar." She said with a smile.

He pulled her off the pathway and under a tree. "I want you to look back at the path and tell me what you see." He said to her.

She watched the pathway intently. "People walking by."

"Right but we aren't on the same path as them, we're just watching them pass us by, and they don't even know we are here." He said quietly. He didn't know why he was telling her, didn't know why he wanted her to know. It was at that moment watching the humans walk by that he realized how lonely his life had been, until she had tumbled into it.

She looked up at him in shock, but he didn't want to meet her eyes. He didn't want to see the pity he knew would be there. "I see." She said slowly turning him to face her.

He looked down at her, words tumbling unchecked from his mouth. "I'll never know what it is like to be human, to be normal. They don't know how good they have it." He said motioning towards the pathway.

She gave a half smile. "Normal is overrated, besides what is normal anyway?" She ask him. Her back was pressed up against the bark of the tree, and somehow he found himself pressed against her. Her face, her lips were so close to his, he wanted to reach out and touch the velvety smoothness of her cheek, maybe try kissing pink, cupids bow lips that made his name sound like the sweetest word ever said.

He heard the crack of wood breaking over something hard as he stumbled more into her.

He looked over his shoulder at a couple of punks who were looking in confusion at the piece of wood that had broken over his shell. "On the other hand, there are some days I love being a turtle." He said into Katherine's shocked and frightened face. "Don't worry Kitten I've got this one." He growled as he spun around kicking the guy with the broken piece of wood.

Raphael cursed as he remembered that his leg was still injured. The park was oddly quiet and he swore because he hadn't realized how late it had gotten. The thugs had obviously waited until there wasn't anyone around to call for help. The other punk hit him hard in the face. He tumbled to the ground Katherine jumping in front of him.

"What do you think you're doing!" He yelled in horror as the thug punched her hard in the face. She tumbled to the ground and rolled to a stop in a crumpled lifeless heap.

Rage roared through him. That punk bastard had hit the woman he loved. He saw red. He rolled to his feet and he punched the one punk that had hit her. A bat crashed against the side of his shell. He turned quickly as he tried to deal with his damn arm and leg. He wasn't in top fighting form. He hadn't brought his weapons with him. He hadn't wanted to bring along the very weapons that had almost cost Katherine her life. He should have known better than to leave the lair without them.

He was on the ground again, punk #2 smiling down at him. His kicked out tripping the punk. He rolled on top of him and punched him hard. His eyes rolled up into his head falling into unconsciousness. Raphael was tempted to continue to beat the unconscious punk to within an inch of his life for daring to touch Katherine, but he knew there was still one more punk to deal with. He looked around and spotted punk #1 holding Katherine up by the coat collar. He stood looking at her intently. There was an intensity to his gaze that Raphael didn't like. Katherine struggled as Raphael caught the glint of metal in the moonlight. She glared at him defiantly, her hand lashing out striking him right in the throat. He started making gagging, choking sounds as he dropped her.

"Be glad I didn't break your windpipe, jerk." She said shaking her hand in pain. Raphael stared at her in shock. "I don't know how to fight, but I did grow up with two brothers, and it is amazing what you can learn in an anatomy class." She said with a weak smile. She looked like she was smiling but Raphael could see the barely contained tears of fear in her eyes.

He pulled her into an embrace, one hand clutching her to him his shoulder, the other hand entangled within the silky confines of her hair. "Let's get out of here." He growled into her ear. She nodded. They stumbled and limped back to the lair as fast as they could. Her arm was wrapped tightly around his waist, his arm around her shoulders. They were silent on the way home. He wasn't sure what she was thinking but he knew his own thoughts and emotions were pinging around in his head like a pinball machine. He stole a glance at her out of the corner of his eye and grimaced. When did it happen? How did it happen? He asked himself. He loved her. Somewhere along the way, even though he had known he liked her and was attracted to her, he had completely fallen for her. And the worst part was, he had no idea of what her feelings were towards him, if she could even have feelings towards him. And that didn't even scratch the surface of the fact that within the next week, week and a half, she was going to walk out of his life forever. He pulled her closer to him as hopelessness rolled through him.

Raphael breathed a sigh of relief when they finally reached the lair. It was quiet so his brothers weren't back yet. They took off their jackets and he pulled her along into Donatello's workroom. He lifted her up onto the worktable.

"Are you okay she asked him in concern?" He looked over her face. She hadn't been crying which was good, but unshed tears still glittered on dark lashes. There was an angry red welt forming over her left cheekbone which he knew was going to turn into an angry black bruise. She also and a scrape on her right cheek.

"I'm going back to the park and I am going to beat those punks to within an inch of their lives." He growled. She was clutching her side in pain. He remembered that she had hit the ground with a jarring force, she had probably injured herself again.

He reached out and touched the side of her face brushing his fingers lightly over her welt. She flinched back in pain. "I'm sorry." He said with regret. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen."

"What have you done Raphael!" His older brother's voice roared from behind him. He quickly turned around and looked into Leonardo's rage filled eyes. Leonardo took one menacing step towards him, hitting him hard in the jaw. The punch had shocked him so much he stumbled and fell to the ground. He looked at his other brothers who were looking at him with a mixture of anger and shock. He heard the scrape of metal on metal as Leonardo drew his swords.

He looked at them and realized what it looked like. His brothers didn't know that they had gone out, so it looked as if it was he who had given her the angry welt on her cheek. And after all, he had just been apologizing to her. Anger and betrayal raged through him as he realized what his brothers thought he had done.

"Just because I would not let you accompany us, did not mean you had to take your rage out on her!" Leonardo yelled at him as his blades arched down towards him. Raphael's rage died as he realized that his brother was beyond reason, having been consumed by a red rage filled haze. Leonardo probably didn't even realize that he was attacking his defenceless brother.

Raphael closed his eyes as he waited for his brothers blades to strike him down, but did not feel the bite of cold hard steel. He slowly opened his eyes as he saw Katherine holding Leonardo back.

"It isn't what it looks like Leonardo." She said softly.

"I don't need you to..." Raphael began angrily.

Hand still clutched to her wounded side. She put her hand gently on Leonardo's chest.

Raphael saw red as Leonardo looked down at her.

"Do you really think Raphael is capable of what you are accusing him of, even if he was within one of his rages?" She asked him.

Leonardo reached out and brushed her injured cheek. He closed his eyes. "No." He said finally.

Tension that had formed in Raphael's shoulders loosened. "I'm sorry Raph." Leonardo said as he sheathed his swords and pulled Katherine into him. "What happened?" Leonardo asked as he held her tightly encircled in his arms. Leonardo finally let her go and passed her to Donatello.

Donatello took hold of her and swung her up into his arms. Rage was still pouring through Raphael at Leonardo having touched Katherine, but he had to remind himself that he had no right to get jealous, she wasn't his, could probably never be his. And yet. He looked at her, her arms around Donatello's neck. And yet, she hadn't pulled away from him, not once. She had even held his hand when they had walked together, and she had not protested, not even once, when he was pressed against her.

Raphael sighed as Leonardo helped him up. He moved out of the way as Donatello placed Katherine on the workbench to look at her face and check her side. "I took her out. We just went for a walk. I just thought it would be nice to get some fresh air. We've been stuck in the lair for nearly three weeks. At least you guys have gotten out when you've done runs to April's house to pick up the groceries from that delivery guy April and Casey set up for us while they were away. " He said quietly. " Anyway some punk-ass kids decided to pick a fight. No idea why, they didn't even talk. I took one out, Kitten here took out the other one." He smiled a lopsided smile. "You should have seen her."

"Kitten?" Michelangelo asked.

"I punched him in the throat, it wasn't very spectacular." She said with a shake of her head. Donatello took her hand and inspected the cuts, frowning slightly."Then we gimped back here." She said with a shrug.

Donatello lifted up her shirt, then pulled it back down. "I want everyone out, now." He growled.

Everyone looked at Donatello in shock. Donatello was never angry, ever. Frustrated yes, angry, no, raging, even more no, but right now Donatello was in a rage. Katherine began sliding off the table. "Not you." He said angrily. Her eyes widened but she slid back on the table.

"Donny?" Michelangelo asked in concern.

Donatello looked at all of them. "Now." He said softly. They looked at each other and Raphael looked at Katherine worriedly. She shrgged.

Raphael moved with his other brothers and left Donatello's workroom. "What's wrong with Donny?" Raphael asked in confusion.

Leonardo frowned.

"Kitten?" Michelangelo asked.

Raphael shrugged. "She wouldn't let me call her babe, besides she took out a guy twice her size with one punch, Kitten's got claws." He said with a smile.

Donatello looked at Katherine who was looking at him wide eyed. Anger like he had never felt was coursing through him and he didn't know what to do with it. He never got angry, ever. It wasn't in him to feel this much anger but it rolled and raged through him none the less. He didn't know what specifically was making him angrier; that she had been hurt; that he knew he would have beat his brother unconscious if he actually had been the one to put the welt on her beautiful face; or the fact that he was absolutely and unimaginably jealous of both Leonardo and Raphael for touching her.

He looked at her and he didn't know what to say.

Her arms went around his neck and she pulled him into her. His arms went around her and he clutched her tightly to him. "I'm okay Donatello, I'm okay. Breathe. Just breathe in and out." She whispered in his ear. "I'm okay."

He took a deep breath the smell of flowers washed over him, calming him.

When he had typed the word love into the search engine, what he had read confirmed his suspicions that he was at least falling in love with her. He had been determined then to spend as little time as possible with her and he hoped that perhaps the feeling would just go away. But tonight, seeing her injured, seeing his brother standing in front of her, touching her. He couldn't deny his feelings for her. He was in love with her, and he didn't know what to do.

He wasn't sure how long she held him, how long he held her clutched to him like some sort of lifeline, but finally he was able to pull away. He looked at her eyes which looked back at him with concern and something else. She touched the side of his cheek gently. He put his hand over hers and closed his eyes enjoying the sensation.

He felt her cheek brush against his other cheek. "Thank you for caring." She whispered brushing soft lips across his cheek. She pulled back and smiled at him. She slid forward not letting go of his hand, but forcing him to move back. "I told you I would show you something, but I haven't." He looked at her in confusion as she began rummaging through her bag. She pulled her camera out. She smiled softly. "Let's go kick Michelangelo off the couch and look at some dinosaurs."

He nodded because really what else was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to tell her he loved her, was he supposed to ruin the tentative friendship that had formed between them? Besides, it wouldn't matter, she would be out of their lives soon enough and all he would have to remember her by would be the soft smell of flowers and the time he spent with her.

Leonardo dripped with sweat. Shame burned through him at what he had almost done. No. At what he had done. He had attacked his unarmed, injured brother. Granted he was under the impression that Raphael had lost his own temper and Katherine had somehow gotten in the way, but it still did not excuse his actions.

He dropped his swords to the ground. They landed in a clatter of metal hitting metal.

He had never felt so much anger. He had been blind. All he had seen was red, and he hadn't been able to control himself. He suddenly understood what is was like to be Raphael. He had felt a rage that was so all consuming, that it had swallowed him up until there was nothing left.

He loved her. He closed his eyes. He couldn't love her, and yet, he did. He had tried so hard to keep her away from him and his heart, but it hadn't listened, and the thought of her leaving made him feel as if the breath was being crushed from his lungs.

The object of his torment looked at him from the doorway. He looked at her and looked away. He couldn't stand to see the disgust or the accusation in her eyes. He knew he had lost it, knew he had almost hurt Raphael, and would have if she hadn't put herself in harm's way. Only then had he realized what he had done, what his intentions had been, and his intentions had not been pretty. If she had not stopped him, he wasn't sure if he would have been able to stop himself from gravely injuring his brother, perhaps even more than just hurting him. That thought froze the blood in his veins and made his heart clench in fear. That the wellbeing of this woman had superseded any thoughts of the wellbeing of his own brother frightened him in ways he didn't even want to contemplate.

Katherine stopped in front of him. He had hoped that if he hadn't acknowledged her presence that she would take the hint and leave him alone. Apparently she wasn't going to leave him alone. He glared down at her angrily. It was all her fault. If she hadn't made him feel this way, then he wouldn't have attacked his brother.

She knelt down and picked up his swords. He frowned and wondered what she was doing. She hadn't said anything just held his swords as if getting a feel for them.

"I've always wanted to know how to fight with a sword." She began softly. "Although I will admit to having more of an interest in Scottish medieval swords." She said handing one of his swords to him. He continued to frown at her in confusion. The problem with Katherine was that every time he thought he knew what she was thinking, thought he knew what she was going to say, he was always wrong.

She held his sword two handed then shook her head and smiled. "It feels too strange." She said as she handed the sword back to him. "At least I know that in your hands, no one will be hurt with these." She said with a smile as she turned to leave.

"I nearly hurt Raph, could have done more than just hurt him." He found himself saying. How the hell did she do that? He thought angrily to himself. He didn't want to talk about what he had almost done, especially not with her, and she hadn't said a word, and yet here he was, talking about it.

"But you didn't." She said crossing her arms.

"I could have hurt you." He said wretchedly, the whisper of hurt and horror threading through his words.

"But you didn't." She said as she assessed him. It felt as if she ripped open his very soul, looked at the dark horrible part of him that had cried out for Raphael's blood, and accepted it. He couldn't move or breathe.

"Intention is not the same as implementation." She said softly as she turned and held out her hand for him.

He realized that she knew exactly what his thoughts had been. She had known that both Raphael and even herself had been in danger from him, from his anger, and yet she was unconcerned with it. As she trusted Raphael never to hurt her, even in his rages, she trusted that he too would never harm her, and by extension, harm his brothers.

He looked at the swords in his hands. He hoped he would never see that trust waver and fail, because the person he had thought he was, he wasn't. He sheathed his swords and took her offered hand in his.