Kinda a short chapter, but enjoy!

Thank you forgottenforever for reviewing pretty much every chapter! And thank you I love Athrun as well! rinpup14 thank you and hopefully this chapter makes up for the sadness!

Chapter 33

Leonardo fought against, but lost the battle against sleep. He was so very tired. He had tried so hard to fight the angel, but he couldn't win against him. It was like he was nothing but an observer in his own body. He could see and he could hear, but he couldn't control anything that his body was doing. It was the most horrifying experience he had ever had. But he figured it was nothing compared to what Katherine had suffered. Having someone you love betray you. He knew there was nothing he could do to make up for what he had done. No punishment would ever come close to atone for what he had almost done.

It was still dark in his room when he opened his eyes. He looked over at the nightstand and saw the glint of silver in the moonlight. He looked at the dagger. He smiled humourlessly. Had one of his brothers left this for him, known what his intentions were and was allowing him his honour? He wondered. Would it be cowardly to kill himself without apologizing, or would it be kinder for Katherine to not have to face her attacker again, to know that he could never hurt her again?

"Only you Leonardo, would see a dagger sitting on your nightstand and believe it was meant for you to use upon yourself." Katherine said softly. She sat in chair in a darkened corner of his room. His whole body froze. He felt as if he had ice in his veins as dread, horror, pain, guilt and sorrow washed through him in a painful torrent. He didn't know how she did it. She was the only person he knew who could catch him completely unaware of her presence, and she was the only one who ever seemed to know exactly where he was, even when hidden in the shadows.

She stood up and walked over to him. She was wearing a white silk housecoat, something he had never seen her wear. She picked the dagger up off the night table and studied it intently, finger touching the dagger's pointed tip. He looked at her and swallowed. No words could express his regret, his hurt, his horror at what he had done. His throat had closed up, and his tongue felt too big for his mouth. She looked at the blade and looked at him with emotionless eyes. He closed his eyes and turned his head away. If she wanted to kill him he would let her. He would make it easy for her. He pulled his shirt off. "My plastron," He swallowed. "It covers my heart, you will have to stab straight down behind it to reach my heart. Strike hard and true, make it quick. That is all I ask."

"I am well aware of where your heart is Leonardo. I do not need you to tell me where to strike to kill you. There are numerous other unprotected areas I could choose that would be just as effective." She said, voice devoid of any warmth or feeling.

He nodded, his eyes still closed, face still turned away from her. He felt the cold steel press against his skin just above his plastron. The blade moved tracing the line of his throat to stop just under his chin. "What I should like to know is, what makes you think that this blade was meant for you? " She asked as he felt the cool steel leave his skin. His eyes shot open in shock as he looked at her. Her robe was hanging open slightly exposing the top of her breasts. The blade pressed directly over her heart. "I can take the place of the white hart." She whispered.

He went cold with fear. "Katherine, what are you doing?" He asked desperately.

She looked him in the eyes calmly. "If it had not been for me, the angel would never have possessed you in the first place. He was after me, not you. You were just a tool he used to attempt to attain his goal." She looked at him steadily as a drop of blood formed and slowly trickled down her pale flesh.

"Katherine, no, stop. Please stop. It was my fault, he almost...because..."

"He hijacked your body Leonardo. You did not ask for that. You were violated just as much as me, more so because your mind and your body were no longer your own. That must have been horrifying." She said to him softly."The fault is mine for putting you in the position where the situation happened in the first place, therefore the punishment must be mine." She pulled the dagger away from her chest to plunge it through her heart.

He lashed a foot out knocking the dagger from her hand. The dagger skittered across the floor.

She looked at him calmly, his heart beat wildly in his chest. He stood up quickly not even thinking about his actions. He clutched her to him in fear.

"So if it terrifies you and breaks your heart at the thought of losing me, why do you believe I would not feel the same way?" Katherine asked softly into his neck.

He clutched her harder. "You can't feel that way about me Katherine. I almost..." He choked.

"No, the angel did, not you. I knew it wasn't you Leonardo. I knew as soon as I walked into that room that it wasn't you." She said softly.

"My own brothers didn't even know it wasn't me, how could you have known?" He asked desperately.

"Because I never just use my eyes, they sometimes lie." She said softly. "You didn't sound right, didn't move right, and didn't smell right. But his eyes, there was nothing of you in his eyes." She pulled away and looked at him. "Make it right." She said.

"I don't know how. I can never make this right." He said wretchedly.

"Do you blame me?" She asked.

He looked at her. "No. Never." He said softly.

"And I do not blame you, but you have to make this right."

"How?" He asked in a barely audible whisper.

"Kiss me, kiss my lips, kiss my cuts, my bruises. Take away the memory and replace it with a better one, for both of us." She said softly as she leaned in and kissed him.

He wanted to take the memory away but he didn't know if he could. She pushed him and they fell backwards onto the bed. She rolled over pulling him on top of her. "Katherine I can't." He said desperately.

"Yes you can." She said softly as she pointed to the stitched up slash on her cheek. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. She moved her hands and pulled open her robe revealing her naked body beneath. She then pointed to the cut on her chest from the dagger. He kissed her chest, her blood was hot and coppery. There was a bruise beginning to form on her belly from where the angel had kicked her. He stopped. He looked up into her eyes. She looked down at him steadily. He kissed her belly. Goosebumps formed on her stomach. He looked up at her and watched as her breasts tightened. He felt himself stir. He kissed his way across the shallow cut on her stomach and stopped. He took a breath and pulled himself farther down her body. He carefully pushed her legs open. The insides of her legs were badly bruised and scraped. He could see where the angel had scraped his shell along the delicate flesh between her legs. Anger coursed through him, but he pushed it down. Katherine had taken care of herself and exorcized the bastard. He began at her knee and worked his way up her thigh. He switched legs and worked his way up the other leg. He pulled his head up and looked at her.

"You aren't finished yet Leonardo." She said softly. "You can't touch, but you can still kiss.

He looked down and spread her wider. He kissed the delicate flesh between her legs and then licked. His tongue rasped along as he tasted her. He closed his eyes as emotion crashed through him. He had never thought he would ever touch a woman, let alone taste one. He flicked his tongue and marvelled at her taste, at her gasp of pleasure. He swirled and flicked his tongue and was encouraged by her moans. She lightly grabbed his shoulders as her body arched off the bed. She called his name in pleasure as she pulled him up. She kissed him fiercely as her hand went beneath his pants.

Leonardo shook his head. He was sore as well, but he figured he was less sore than she was. "Katherine I can't let you..gagh." She squeezed his hardened length. Pleasure began to build as she gently stroked him. Her hands disappeared as she moved to take his pants off. He helped her and she rolled him onto his back.

"I'll be gentle." She whispered as she took him into her mouth. She gently built the pleasure up until his orgasm roared through him making him buck. He managed to muffle his scream as he yelled into his pillow.

He pulled her up and kissed her. He could taste himself in her mouth. He clutched her to him in a fierce hug. He closed his eyes. The memory and the horror wasn't gone, it was still there, would always be there, but she didn't hate him, didn't believe he had betrayed her, and that acted like a balm against his injured soul.

"Would you have done it?" He asked fear coursing through him again at the thought of losing her.

"Would you?" She asked him.

He looked at her in shock, not because of the question she had asked him, more because looking into her eyes he knew she would have done it. "Why?" He whispered.

She just closed her eyes and put a finger to his lips. "Go to sleep Leonardo, I love you." She said softly kissing him.

He closed his eyes and wondered why she would have done it, because he didn't think that it would have been the same reason that he would have had.

Raphael looked at Katherine's door. He sighed. Michelangelo came up behind him followed by Donatello. Casey and April were staying up with the girls.

"Goin' to bed?" He asked his brothers.

"Yeah." Michelangelo said gloomily.

Donatello nodded. "I'm just going to check on Leo before I go to bed, see if he needs anything."

Raphael nodded and walked with Donatello down the hall to Leonardo's room.

"Donny, you think Kitten will forgive him?" Michelangelo asked.

Donatello's shoulders drooped. "I don't know Mikey. I don't know if she even blames him."

"Then why doesn't she want to see us?" He asked miserably.

"I don't know Mikey." Donatello said unhappily.

Donatello opened Leonardo's room and stopped dead in the doorway.

Raphael looked at his brother's shocked face. Dread ran through him.

"Is he okay, move out of the way Donny." Raphael growled as he shoved his younger brother out of the way.

Raphael stared at Leonardo who was sleeping soundly, Katherine wrapped in his arms. Michelangelo pushed him out of the way. They all looked at the couple in silence.

Raphael walked to the bed. He looked down at Katherine. He knelt down beside her. "I was so worried." He whispered.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. She smiled at him, love filled her eyes as she reached a hand out to him. "I'm sorry I worried you." She said softly. "I had to make things right before I could face you again." The smile left her face replaced by regret and sorrow. "It was my fault this happened to him."

Raphael touched her cheek gently. "Is he okay?"

"He will be." She said with a gentle smile.

"Katherine, can I stay?" Michelangelo asked in a small voice.

"Of course." She said holding out her hand. Michelangelo took it and crawled in next to her burying himself in her side. Raphael frowned at his baby brother. "Move over Mikey" He said as he crawled in next to him.

"It's okay Mikey." He said to his baby brother. "We'll protect her."

"Come to bed Donatello." Katherine said softly. Donatello crawled into the bed next to Leonardo.

"Katherine," Raphael asked miserably.

"The angel did not succeed Raphael." She said softly.

Raphael nodded in relief and closed his eyes.

April and Casey had just finished putting the girls to bed and they had wearily made their way upstairs. April looked at Katherine's door as she passed. She felt miserable and did not know what to do for the younger woman. Her shoulders slumped. She walked to Leonardo's room and decided to make sure he was alright. The guys said he was in pretty rough shape, but she hadn't had the courage to actually sit with him in his misery. She also didn't think Leonardo would appreciate her witnessing his breakdown.

Light was just beginning to stream through the curtains hitting the figures on the bed. She blinked in shock at the bed. Katherine was sleeping between Michelangelo and Leonardo. Raphael was sleeping on his stomach one arm over the side of the bed, while Donatello lay on his side, his carapace butting up against Leonardo's.

"Looks like you have everything handled." She whispered to the woman who was looking at her.

"Thank you April." She said softly as she closed her eyes to go back to sleep.

April gently closed the door and walked down the hall into her and Casey's room. She gently closed the door behind her, a worried expression on her face. "What's wrong April, is Leo...?" Casey asked her.

She looked at Casey and walked over to him letting him pull her into his warm embrace. "Leo...I think Leo's going to be okay." She said softly. Casey nodded. "I think Katherine made it right somehow." She said quietly.

"So Katherine's okay?" He asked in surprise and relief.

"She seems to be." She answered.

"Why do I hear a but coming on?" Casey asked her.

"It's just...I think I have finally figured out what is bothering me." She said slowly.

"Which thing, besides everything?" He asked with a shake of his head.

April frowned. "The guys all sharing her for now, and the girls and angels and demons. The whole situation is just..." She shook her head. "But that isn't really what I am talking about. Watching the guys and Katherine I have had this feeling, but I couldn't really figure it out, but...I am in awe of how much they love each other." She said looking into Casey's eyes.

He frowned at her."I don't understand April, so they love her, I love you, how can you be in awe of them?" He asked in confusion.

"I love you Casey, I love you with all of my heart, but...the way they love her, the way she loves them...it's different. Its..." She waved her hands around. She knew what she was getting at, but couldn't figure out a way to explain it. "It is like Romeo and Juliet, like Paris and Helen of Troy, Lancelot and Guinevere. What they have, is that kind of love, the kind of love that love stories are written about." She said softly.

"I don't know who those people are April...except that Romeo guy, he sounds familiar." Casey said looking at her in confusion.

"The thing is Casey, that those stories are so moving because their love was so great, burned so fiercely, so passionately, that you cannot help but be moved by it." She said solemnly.

"Okay...Not seein' the problem April." Casey said looking at her with concern.

"With all of those love stories, the depth of their love is awe inspiring, but it is their tragic endings that make the stories so moving, so utterly heart wrenching." She said miserably. Casey looked at her in surprise.

"Their love burns so brightly, because it's time is so short." She said burying her head in Casey's shoulder.

"But those girls April, they say that the guys and Katherine are their parents, but you are tryin to tell me that what, it isn't going to end well? I can't believe it April." Casey said with a shake of his head.

"I know it doesn't make any sense Casey, it is just this feeling I get, and as for the girls, I don't know how they fit into this. Katherine told me that she knows she isn't their mother." She shook her head. "How are they supposed to stop angels and demons from killing her Casey?" She asked desperately.

"Hey, if anyone can find a way April, it's the guys." Casey said to her confidently.

"I hope you are right." She said worriedly.

thoughts, opinions?