A/N: Thanks for all the reviews so far!

Samantha put away the left over pizza, noting that there were two full pizzas left. She smiled sadly to herself. It would have been impossible for Leonardo's brother Michelangelo not to have noticed that the only thing in her fridge was butter. She had planned on going shopping at some point, but she hadn't yet. A good three-fourths of her paycheck had to be saved to pay rent. The remaining fifty dollars was what she'd live on for the week. So, the left over pizza really was a blessing. One she'd be sure to return to Michelangelo whenever she got the chance. Sighing softly, she found the sheets that were in the box. They were worn and thread-bare but they were clean, a far better option than the bare mattress. As she dressed the bed and prepared for sleep, a memory floated across her mind.

-Flashback-

Little Samantha trotted behind her brother. "Joey, I'm hungry and it's cold out here. Can't we find somewhere inside to sleep tonight?"

"I know! I know!" Joey bit his lip, not daring to look at the gaunt face of his little sister. He'd promised to take care of her, but so far he hadn't done a very good job. They were starving and freezing. He heard her cough and couldn't help but look this time. "You okay, Sams?"

She coughed again and noticed his worried expression. She smiled. "I'm fine, I promise."

He frowned. They needed to eat or she'd really get sick soon. They were in the restaurant district, but it was late and some places were closed. They'd been eating out of dumpsters for weeks, but Sams hadn't taken well to it. Her stomach just wasn't built to handle that sort of thing. He sighed, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her off into an alley. He wedged her behind a dumpster. "You stay here. I'll be right back."

She'd waited as he'd told her. A little while later she heard shouting on the street and people running. When it had quieted down a bit, Joey reappeared with a to-go bag from a nearby deli. He handed it to her. "Here, eat up." He smiled encouragingly and she opened the bag.

Inside were several hot sandwiches. She looked back up at him, knowing full well they didn't have the money to buy hot food. "Where did you get them?"

He shrugged. "It don't matter."

She frowned. "You stole them?"

"Look, are you hungry or not?" He said a bit roughly, then sighed when her bottom lip trembled slightly. "Ain't nobody gonna miss one bag of food. I know you're hungry. Just eat, okay?" He folded his arms and looked away.

She looked into the bag and then at her brother. He would do anything for her and she knew it. So, it was her job to take care of him too. "Okay, but you have to eat one too." She pulled out one of the sandwiches and handed it to him.

He smiled slightly, taking the food. "Okay, Cupcake. It's a deal."

-End of Flashback-

Samantha opened her eyes to find the dim light of dusk creeping through her window. She couldn't recall falling asleep, but she must have. Glancing at her watch, her eyes bulged. Was it really that late! She made a mad dash for the shower. She was still covered in a layer of dried sweat, and her arms were still marked with dust and dirt from packing all night. She made sure the shower only lasted about five minutes and then scrambled for clothes. That was something else she was going to have to deal with in the next few days. She'd already had to wash her four sets of clothes once this week. And with the loss of one of her t-shirts, sacrificed for a good cause mind you, she was going to have to go shopping. Which would only put more strain on her already stretched budget.

Sighing, she pulled down the white long-sleeved scoop neck with little blue rhinestones on the collar. All her errands would just have to wait until later. Right now she needed to get ready.

"Are you crazy?" Raph asked with as much emphasis he could on the "crazy" part. "She's a human."

"Gee, thanks Raph. I didn't notice." Leo pulled on his boot, doing his best to ignore his brother. He'd chosen one of their more relaxed disguises – a light jacket over a button-up shirt with jeans and boots.

"I think it's awesome, bro!" Mikey grinned like a wild thing. "You know she is pretty cute."

Leo shot him a quick smile. "Thanks, Michelangelo."

Donnie leaned on the back of the couch, shaking his head. "I still can't believe you asked her out."

"And I still can't believe she said yes." Raph's eye-ridges wiggled in confusion.

Leo put on a baseball cap. "Well, she did. Now I have to go. I told her I'd meet her at nine."

Don stood a little straighter. "You're not planning on walking are you?" Leo shrugged and Don frowned. "Your leg is still healing, Leonardo. If you use it too much, you'll just damage it more. Why don't you take the van?"

"No, I don't plan on walking that much. And if we have to go far, we can take a cab." Leo started for the door but Splinter stopped him.

"Leonardo."

"Yes, Master?"

"I trust you will keep your turtle-com on you this time?"

Leo blushed a bit. "Yes, Master. I've got it right here in my pocket." He patted the bulge.

"Very well, have fun, my son." The old rat gave him a little wink as Leo left. He hoped with everything he was that his turtles would find happiness in all things and that included love. After Leo's crush on the beautiful but aloft Lotus Blossom, Splinter hadn't been so sure his son would make another attempt at a relationship and it warmed his heart to see that he was willing enough to try.

Samantha had just finished brushing her hair when there was a knock at the door. Little butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she hurried to open it, her anticipation outweighing the nervousness. She smiled up at Leo, the light purple of the quickly darkening sky behind him. "The baseball cap is a nice touch." She teased with a grin.

He chuckled and fiddled with the brim. "People get nervous when they see a six-foot turtle, so we try to dress normal out in public."

"They just don't know what they're missing out on." She gave a wink that made him laugh again. Pulling the door closed, she stepped out beside him. "So, what did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking maybe some dinner and a walk in the park." He gestured north of them. "There's a small one a few blocks from here."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know the one. But do you think we could do the walk first, I'm still stuffed from earlier."

Leo smiled as he climbed the steps to the sidewalk. "Yeah, sorry about that. Michelangelo can go a bit overboard at times."

She fell into step beside him. "The gesture was very sweet though."

He looked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "And I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you."

She waved a dismissive hand. "It's alright. I know it must look like I'm as poor as a church mouse, but it's better than crashing in abandon buildings or sleeping behind dumpsters."

They'd made it to the park and Leo gestured to a bench. His leg was starting to throb a bit and he needed to rest it. They settled down together and he frowned at the distant look in her eyes. "You were homeless before?"

She gave a small nod, not meeting his gaze. "Yeah, more or less."

His frown intensified. "I didn't mean to pry."

She shrugged. "Aw, it wasn't all that bad. I had my brother. He took care of me."

"Your brother?" Don had said he was a gang member, but Leo just couldn't see the young woman beside him being related to a street thug.

She smiled, finally meeting his eyes. "His name is Joey." She gave a little laugh. "You might have had some run-ins with him. He tends to hang with the wrong people." She sighed softly, dropping her eyes to her hands. "But it really isn't his fault it's mine. He only started breaking the law to take care of me."

Leo wrapped his hand around hers. "You can't blame yourself for that."

She shook her head. "I can, because it's true. We were still young when we left home. He just didn't know how else to do things. He stole food for us and clothes, and he broke into places in the winter. Just so I'd have somewhere warm to sleep. He was a good kid before we ended up on the streets. He only did the things he did for me."

Leo brushed a curly blonde lock behind her ear, causing her to look up at him. His gaze was full of tenderness. "He wanted to protect you. I can understand that."

She smiled softly, relishing the gentle touch. "Leonardo, do you think you might have seen him? He's been missing for a while."

Leo frowned. "Even if I have, I wouldn't have known it was him. Does he look like you?"

She shook her head sadly. "No, not much. He's a lot taller, probably closer to your height and he had short blonde hair the last time I saw him. But that was ten years ago."

He frowned again. Her description could fit any number of punks he'd beaten up in his time. "I'm sorry, Sams, but that just doesn't give me much to go by."

She sighed again. "Yeah, well, it was just a thought." The wind blew and she shivered a bit. Without thinking she snuggled into Leo's side. His heart raced as she tucked herself affectionately against him. Slowly he wrapped his arm around her. She didn't say anything, just closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder.

After a few minutes, he noticed her shiver. "Are you cold?"

"Just a little." She admitted softly, but didn't move otherwise.

He frowned and sat up reluctantly. "Here." He pulled off his light jacket and put it around her shoulders.

Her smile was bright. "Thanks." His was just as bright when she snuggled back into him.

They sat for a while in companionable silence, until he felt her fingers touch his now exposed forearm. He watched in fascination as she dragged her fingers up and down his arm, creating goosebumps on his leathery flesh. "What are you thinking?"

Her expression held genuine confusion when she looked up at him. He swallowed hard, wondering if she might reject him now that she had a good look at him. But her response had his heart skipping a beat. "I don't understand why people are scared of you, when there isn't anything scary about you. You're really quite beautiful." She giggled at the face he made. "Okay, maybe handsome is a better word."

Leo smiled wistfully. "Humans don't like what isn't just like them. It's usually only the mad scientist type that want to dissect that hunt us down, or the occasional odd fan of April's newscasts that find us fascinating."

Samantha lifted her head with a lopsided grin. "Are you calling me odd, Leonardo?"

He blushed and sputter for a second, until she snickered. He chuckled with a smile, his caramel eyes bright. "Maybe," he stroked her cheek with a callused thumb, "but odd in your case is a good thing." She blushed, catching his hand and squeezing it. He returned the gentle pressure. "You hungry yet?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Come on, I know a place not far from here." He stood, offering her his hand. She took it, but didn't release it as they started to walk down the street again.

Noticing his slight limp, she was reminded of his injury. "How's your leg?"

He shrugged. "Like I said it's almost healed now. But I did kind of promise Donatello, I wouldn't walk on it too much."

"The stiches should be ready to come out soon. I could do it for you, if you want." She shifted a little closer, wrapping her arm through his.

Leo smiled down at her. "Well, you did do a great job on it so far. And I'd bet your bedside manner is a whole lot better than my brother's." She laughed as they rounded the corner into her old neighborhood. She frowned as they approached an all-night café. She knew the owner and the food. And neither was all that pleasant. Leo stopped near the door, but she caught his hand as he reached for it. He frowned at her. "What's the matter?"

"I know this area. Only people that don't live here eat at this place." She glanced across the street. "I've got a better idea. Come on."

He couldn't help but grin as she took his hand and pulled him across the street to a dingy looking door. An unlit sign hung above it that read Corner Pub. But Samantha pulled the door open and voices broke onto the silent street. He stared around as they stepped inside. To one side was a bar with stools and to the other were several tables with chairs.

"Cupcake!" A male voice called over the hum of the others.

"Glasses!" Leo watched as Samantha grinned and strolled over to the bartender. He followed after her a bit wary.

"Hey, kid. Where you been hindin' yourself?" The bartender was already pulling out a coke bottle from somewhere.

"Just been working."

The man laughed and jerked a thumb at the remainder of his bar. "You're doin' better than this lot." Samantha chuckled as Leo came to stand beside her. The bartender eyed him. "Is there somethin' I can help you with fella?"

She waved a hand at the man. "He's fine, Glasses. He's with me. We dropped in for a bite."

Glasses made a face at Leo, who folded his green arms across his chest and straightened a bit. He dropped his gaze back to Samantha, handing her two bottles of soda. "The usual?"

She grinned. "Yep, but make it two." She held up to fingers and winked. Glasses chuckled and walked off, while Sams led Leo over to one of the tables.

"Cupcake?" Leo teased as they sat down.

She smiled. "Nobody around here goes by their real name." She shrugged. "My brother used to call me that. I guess it stuck. Didn't your brothers ever give you nicknames?"

Leo snorted. "Raphael likes to call me Fearless sometimes."

She laughed. "I could see that after the other night."

"Oh, haha." He grinned. "Laugh it up, Cupcake."

She snickered, popping the top off her bottle and taking a swig. Just then the door opened and two men strolled in. They ordered some drinks and one turned in their direction. He frowned as he started towards them. He looked from one to the other, his eyes latching onto Leo. "This green freak botherin' you, Cupcake."

Samantha rolled her eyes. "No, Lugnut. We're actually on a date." She boldly took Leo's hand in hers. "Not that it's any of your business."

The other man had joined them, glaring daggers at Leo. "Red, know about this?"

She glared back at him. "No, she doesn't. It ain't none of her business either."

Leo watched the two men, keeping his gaze cool and even. "Maybe we should go, Sams."

He pushed back from the table, bus she didn't move, only continued her glaring match with them. "No, we don't have to go anywhere. Beat it you two. We were trying to have a nice dinner."

"No way, Cupcake. We promised your brother we'd keep an eye on you." Lugnut leaned on the table, pinning Leo with a death glare. "And you hangin' with this freak, ain't gonna cut it."

A/N: Uh, oh. Looks like we might have a problem here... ^_^ Review please!