A/N: We haven't met our "villain" yet, because I want you guys to get to know him from a different angle. But first we have to lay the groundwork. Btw, I'm loving the reviews!
Leo stared blankly up at the ceiling in his alcove. He'd been berating himself for hours. How could I do that! I should never have agreed to let Donatello dig into her past! It's not right! Not after what she did for me. Her face sprang unbidden in his mind's eye. Soft blonde curls framed her round cheeks, and her bright blue eyes looked up at him without a hint of fear or disgust. She was breathtakingly beautiful. The sunlight dancing across her porcelain skin from the sole window in the tiny apartment. She was spunky and fragile, brave and breakable. She was something -someone- that needed to be protected and cherished.
"Leonardo?" Raphael approached the end of his bed. "I know you can't do much, but would you want to watch the Zombies from Planet X with me?"
Leo sighed, turning onto his side. "No. I don't feel like it."
Raph frowned and was about to suggest something else to get his brother out of the funk he'd been in since they'd gotten home, but Donnie appeared with a folder in hand. "Hey, Donatello. I hope you have some good news for us."
Donnie paused, looked down at the folder and then at Leo. His expression didn't make Raph feel any better. Leo sat up slowly. He and Don exchanged a long quiet look, before he spoke. "I don't want to know any details. Is she a threat or not?"
Don's eyes held sadness not anger or fear. "No." He said softly. "But I really think you should hear the rest."
Leo shook his head and laid back down, hating himself even more for the intrusion into her life. "I told you she wasn't an enemy."
"She may not be, but her brother might be." Don pointed out quietly.
Raph turned towards him. "What do you mean?"
"He ran with a gang on the lower east side for years. He's got a rap sheet three miles long. Then he just up and disappeared one day." Don explained.
"Disappeared?"
Don nodded. "Yeah, no one knows what happened to him. He was just gone. That was ten years ago."
Raph frowned. "Since he used to hang with the gangs, do you think we might have run into him at some point?"
"It is possible, if he's one of the bad ones." Don said solemnly. He glanced at Leo, who was pretending to ignore them. "Leonardo, this girl she's pretty damaged from what I've read."
"I told you, I don't want to hear it. She was kind to me. And she wasn't scared, not even a little bit."
Don sighed. "You're right. Her past doesn't matter. There's nothing in it that would indicate she poses any kind of danger to us." Don angled his head away from the bedrooms and Raph left with him to give their brother some peace.
But that was not what was happening in Leo's head, but something far from it. Damaged? What had Donatello meant by damaged? He stared at the wall, not seeing it. It doesn't matter, how or who might have damaged her. Her spirit is so pure. But then the second thought tugged at him. Her brother could have been in one of the gangs they'd fought? He was some sort of street thug, just like the ones he'd beaten up last night. It was hard to reconcile the sweet and innocent Samantha with a street punk. The two just didn't make sense together. He pushed the thought away, marking it down to nothing. His gaze moved to the clock on his nightstand and he frowned. Samantha would be going to work soon and she'd have to walk back through the same neighborhood she'd gotten jumped in last night.
The sound of Mikey humming approached his alcove and Leo sat up a bit as the younger turtle started to cross the room. "Michelangelo?"
The turtle turned, pulling down his headphones. "Hey, bud. Do you need something?"
"Actually, yes, I do…"
Samantha looked at the empty apartment. The mattress on the daybed, which had been relatively new, had little speckles of dried blood on it. And the tiny table was scattered with the supplies she'd used to heal Leo's injury. The pan she'd made the toast on sat empty on the counter. The apartment she'd been so excited to move into last night seemed suddenly lonely. Sighing, she went to the kitchen nook to straighten it up. She took up the bottle of chlorhexidine and the roll of gaze, putting them in an upper cabinet along with the fishing-line and needles. With friends like hers it was likely she'd have to use them again at some point.
She rinsed off the pan and put it up. Turning she saw the loaf of bread and frowned. She'd spent most of her sixty-five dollars on the medical supplies and the meager groceries. Well, I've lived off less than a loaf of bread and peanut butter before. She had only managed to afford a small tub of butter and some cheese as well. It would just have to work for the week. No sheets right now though. She shrugged. I'll just sleep in my clothes. Glancing down at her watch, she decided to take a small nap before work.
Crawling into the small daybed, she closed her eyes. The smell of green peppers and herbs met her, bringing with it an image of Leonardo. She felt her heart ache with that same pain it had when he'd left with his brothers. She'd never felt this type of loneliness before and it baffled her. Drawing in a deep breath, she realized she missed him. They had only spent a few hours together, but his presence had felt so normal that it almost didn't feel right for him not to be there.
Their conversations rolled through her mind and soon they turned to dreams. She woke a few hours later. Checking her watch, she sat up and ran her hand over the bare mattress, wondering if his scent would still be there when she returned home from work. I hope he's alright.
In short order, she'd changed and headed out the door just as the sky grew pink with dusk. Her job wasn't anything to write home about, even if she'd had someone to write to. But it was stable work. She worked on a line at a factory in the packaging department. She'd been there for the last two months and she had to admit the walk was a lot shorter now. A mere five blocks compare to the usual ten was a nice break, especially since she hadn't gotten much rest the previous night. Although, she had to cross through the same gang's territory, she wasn't worried. She had a feeling they wouldn't bother her after the beaten they'd gotten.
It was five thirty in the morning when her shift ended. The old warehouse was hot and left her covered in a layer of sweat. She rubbed absently at her back as she started down the street. When someone stepped out of the shadows she nearly jumped. "Red! Sheesh, what are you trying to do! Give me a heart-attack!"
The older and larger woman scowled. "I should do more than that to you! What's this business about you gettin' jumped last night?"
Samantha groaned. "It was nothing." Well, of course, she'd heard. News between gangs moved fast. She had to defuse the situation quickly before there was some sort of turf war. That was the last thing she needed right now. "Look, I'm fine." She gestured at herself with a grin.
Red frowned. "You got a bruise on your cheek. I don't count that as fine."
Samantha's hand went to her face. She hadn't even thought about the bruise. "It doesn't hurt." She started up the street, Red falling into step beside her.
"And what's this I hear about one of those green lizard things helpin' you?"
"Turtles. They are turtles, Red. And yeah, he did help me out. Do you have a problem with that?"
Red wagged a finger at her. "Stay away from those freaks, Cupcake. They're bad news, trust me."
Samantha frowned as they reached her block. "Why? Just because they stop people from committing crimes."
"Yeah, people like us."
Samantha looked away as they stopped near her apartment. "Not like us. You've all made it clear to me that I'm not one of you."
Red heaved a heavy sigh and dragged a hand down her face, before turning and taking the younger girl's shoulders in her large hands. "Cupcake, you are one of us. We all just wanted better for you. You know that, right?" Samantha gave a slow nod. Red put a hand under her chin, making her meet her eyes. "Now, if anyone else bothers you, you're gonna tell me right away. You hear me?"
Samantha gave another small nod. "Okay, Red."
"Michelangelo, what are we doing here?" Raph complained as he sat on the edge of the roof overlooking the factory.
"Come on, Raphael, have a heart. Leonardo is worried she might get jumped again." Mikey responded looking down at the street below.
"He does have a legitimate concern. The likelihood of the gang wanting retaliation is very high." Donatello agreed.
"Yeah, and ol' Leonardo can't be here to keep an eye on her himself." Mikey reminded them.
"So, you volunteered us." Raph grumbled. "Great. So instead of watching TV in our nice damp sewer, we have to sit out here on this cold roof playing babysitter."
"Well, we don't have too much longer." Donnie pointed to Samantha as she emerged from the factory and started up the block. The three brothers followed, keeping an eye on her. When a large red-headed woman came out of an alley they nearly sprang off the rooftop.
Raph put up a hand as he watched them. "Wait. Those two look like they know each other."
Don nodded. "Yeah, they must be friends or something."
They followed as the two women strolled down the street chatting. When they reached Samantha's apartment the other woman left and she headed inside. Raph huffed. "Boy, Leonardo owes us for this. We have better things to do than to shadow this girl."
"And exactly what would that be, Raphael? Watching the comedy channel?" Donnie asked sarcastically.
"Besides, now Leonardo can relax. His girl made it home safe and sound." Mikey started to leave, but Raph blinked at him.
"His girl?"
Mikey shrugged. "Yeah, his girl." His brothers stared at him blankly. "Come on, dudes, you can't tell me you didn't notice."
Don gave a soft sigh. "Michelangelo, there might have been some attraction on Leonardo's part. But we are turtles and she's a human."
The younger brother shrugged. "So?"
"So, she ain't gonna have no interest in him." Raph pointed out.
"But he likes her and I'm pretty sure she likes him too." Mikey protested.
Don gave another sigh, trying to be gentle with his overly sensitive brother. "I'm sorry, Mikey, but it's just not likely to happen. Now come on, let's go home. I'm hungry and tired."
Mikey frowned as his brothers started to leave. He glanced down at Samantha's door. His brothers may be willing to dismiss this, but he wasn't. He'd felt the pull between the two. It was definitely mutual.
The week went by rather uneventful for Samantha, but each night that she returned home she was reminded of how small and lonesome her new place was. That is until she found a familiar van sitting outside her place when she got off for the weekend. She struggled to keep her pace even as she approached it. She couldn't however, prevent her eyes from lighting up when a familiar head leaned out the window.
"Hey, Sams." Leo's smile was bright, making hers grow.
"Hey! How are you feeling?" She stopped beside the passenger window.
"A lot better. I'm almost all healed up."
"Yep, he's back to his grumpy, stick in the mud self." Raph commented from the driver's seat.
Samantha giggled. "That's good to know." Her gaze shifted back to Leo. "I'm glad you came by. I was a little worried about you."
Leo's eyes shined. "Really?" She nodded, her cheeks tinting a slight pink which was graciously hard to see on the dark street. "Well, I do have a bit of a confession to make. I didn't just come by to say hi."
She lifted a blonde brow. "Oh?"
The back doors opened on the van and Mikey appeared with a small dresser. "Yeah, Leonardo told us you'd just moved in. We had a few things around our place we weren't using and thought you might want them."
Samantha's mouth hung open as Leo eased himself out of the cab. She shook her head. "Oh, no…I couldn't…"
Leo put a hand on her shoulder. "Really, it's fine. We weren't using these things anyways."
Her blush grew to a very noticeable state now. "Thank you."
"So, how about we take this stuff in." Donnie appeared with a small television tucked under his arm.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry." She hurried down the steps to unlock her door. Mikey followed her in first, setting the small dresser across from the daybed. He looked around as Donnie appeared and sat the TV on top. She smiled at the two brothers. "Thank you, um…"
"I'm Michelangelo." Mikey grinned. "And this here's Donatello."
"Sorry," Leo stepped into the small apartment. "I guess I kind of forgot the introductions last time."
Raphael appeared with a box and Mikey pointed at him. "And that's Raphael."
"It's nice to meet you all. I'm Samantha, but I suppose Leonardo has already told you that." She moved around to pull out a chair at the small table. "Here, sit down." She gestured for Leo to sit and to the others surprise he did. Raph set the box on the table and she frowned at it. "What's this?"
"Just a few odds and ends. I know it's not much but we all wanted to thank you for helping me the other night." Leo watched as she opened the box slowly and stared at the sheets and towels.
She looked away, shamefully. "Um, thank you. I just haven't had a chance to get any yet." She was very conscious of the fact that her mattress was still bare. Leo's hand landed on top of hers, but he didn't say anything. He wasn't sure what to say. He hadn't meant to embarrass her.
Mikey decided to break the awkward silence. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but all that work made me thirsty." He strolled over and opened the small refrigerator.
"Michelangelo!" Leo admonished. This wasn't there home. His brother was being rude.
But Mikey didn't answer right away. When he slowly turned to his brother, revealing the nearly empty fridge, his gaze was sad. But Mikey being Mikey, he quickly shut the door and plastered on a big smile. "You know, actually I'm pretty hungry. How about I go grab us some pizzas. Is that okay, dudette? You don't mind us hanging out a bit, do you?"
Samantha smiled weakly, though her words were genuine. "No, of course not. You just brought me a ton of stuff. I'd love for you to hang out for a while."
It wasn't long before they had a stack of pizzas and were scattered around the small room chatting. The guys found Samantha to be just as kind as Leo had described. She seemed as comfortable with them as their longtime friend April did. She smiled and laughed, blushing when Leo wiped some tomato sauce off her cheek. When he frowned at the bruise, she'd brushed it off as nothing. The mark had already faded quite a bit over the week. It was late morning when the others finally suggested going home. They'd been shadowing Samantha home nearly every night that week, just to make sure. Now as they filed out the door, they were all three glad they had. She was definitely a unique individual.
Leo paused in the doorway as the others climbed into the van. He shifted a bit nervously. "Sams, I was wondering. Would you maybe want to…I don't know, go do something sometime? Just the two of us." He blushed, not daring to meet her eyes.
"You know what?" He lifted his head a little to find her smiling at him. "I'd really like that."
He beamed. "Really?"
She giggled. "Yeah."
"Come on, Leonardo!" Raph called from the van.
He smiled at her. "See you then." He hurried up the steps, but her voice stopped him at the top.
"Leonardo?" He turned back to look at her. "How about later tonight?"
He grinned. "I'll be by around nine then."
A/N: Smooooth Leo! Haha! Review pretty pretty please!
Oh, and we'll be learning more about Samantha's brother in the upcoming chapters.