Struck

Raphael watched the tired doctor put on a clean uniform and he smirked, "Be sure to tell us how your day went when you come back."

"I'll try." Andrew said with an eyeroll, "There's food in the fridge if you want Rae to cook you something. I don't trust Matt anywhere near the stove."

"HEY!" Matt shouted as the doctor strode out the door. "What a jerk." He muttered as the door shut behind him.

Work, save a turtle, stay up all night, get a relaxing massage, and back to work again without any sleep…It was one of the schedules he hated when he was an Informer. He had missed it though and he had enjoyed talking to Raphael. His perspective on things was refreshing. He signed in on the board and went up to the desk to see who went out and who came in that were going to be under his care. "Morning Grace." He told the receptionist at the desk.

"Morning..." Grace replied but then her pen paused on the clipboard and she looked up, her reading glasses sliding down her nose, "Well, well, Mr. Ortega, you look stunning today. I hope it doesn't make you feel bad, but I'm glad you didn't put that atrocious gel in your hair." She smirked and fixed her glasses, clicking a few places on the screen, and wrote more on the clipboard before handing it to him.

"Thanks." Andrew said, his cheeks blushing a bit at her compliment. "It seems Raph was right in not putting in gel." He took the clipboard and said his goodbyes and he strode off to do his check rounds, and make sure that everyone was in their spots. Then he would have to go up to level three and check his patients there. He flipped the pages as he walked, his eyebrows knitted to drink in the information.

"Hey, man, nice do," one of the patients smirked and gave a thumbs up as he was wheeled on by.

"Thanks." Andrew said as he looked up to see him wheel by. "No no more trying to find those tides you can't surf on!" He shouted after him as he turned back on his heel. Ever compliment he received made him float in the air.

"Casey, the nurse said left, not right," a feminine voice groaned.

"Shut up! If it wasn't for you, she wouldn't be in this blasted place!" Casey growled.

"If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't be alive, damn it, and you wouldn't be seeing her today! Also, if it wasn't for me, you'd be on the other end of the hospital!" the woman hissed in return.

"I said shut u-" Casey was interrupted when he ran into Andrew, "Hey, sorry, doc..." He was wearing a maroon shirt and black torn up jeans, a duffle bag on his back with a bunch of sport tools in them like a hockey stick and a golf club, and a white mask was on the side of his black hair, "Nice hair…but hey, can you help me find someone?" he asked.

"Thanks." Andrew replied with a smile. "What's the person's name?" He asked, watching them both. The guy had muscle mass and considering that he was carrying a sports duffel bag, he concluded that he was either really into athletics, which would be proven hard to say true since it was freezing winter, or he was into sports but also a vigilante, which made more sense. Considering the snippets of the conversation he heard between him and the girl, he was going to go with option two. The person their looking for was probably either a friend or a sister.

Casey bit his lip, "She's like a little sister to me, and a nurse said she was put in this wing…Her name's Angel. She has purple hair and she's only about 15-16…" he fumbled.

Andrew looked at him with a professional look before looking through the papers. When he noticed that her name was in the roster for her to take care of, he looked back over at sport vigilante. "Come with me I was just heading that way." He said smoothly as he walked. When he reached the door he nodded his head inside. "Take your time." He told them with a smile, "She's probably sleeping though, so try not to disturb her if she is."

"I'm not asleep," Angela said stubbornly from inside, "Casey! Is that you?"

"Sure is!" Casey rushed inside.

The girl who was following them had a red sweatshirt on, black sweats, and running shoes on. She looked at Andrew, her eyes changing from teal to purple in an instant, and she tilted her head a bit before giving him a gentle, thank you smile before following Casey to Angel's side.

Andrew watched the two leave and smiled to himself as he continued his rounds. That girl, had no words to describe her, but beautiful was defiantly one he'd use.

Raphael leaned back against the chair, "Where do you think Matt scatted off to?" he asked curiously.

Matt had left two hours ago only blabbering that he had someone to see and ran off without so much as a goodbye. Rachel had finished putting away the last dish on the dish dryer rack and walked over to stretch herself across the couch. "Knowing Mattie, he could have ran off because he felt like it. Or because he really did want to see someone. He's probably over at that warehouse."

"What's so spectacular about that warehouse?" Raph got up and went to sit by her on the floor.

Rachel sighed as she rested her head against her arm, "Nothing in particular."

"There must be something, if that's where you tried to run to," Raph poked her side; "If you can't tell me straight, then edit the truth."

"It is home." She responded. "It's shelter for those who need it really, really badly. Humanity is a cold thing." She clinched her fists. "And it hurts others badly so I suppose the warehouse is actually a Sanctuary."

"Alright, I can go with that," Raphael smiled and rubbed her hand, relaxing her fist.

Rachel smiled at him and gently opened her hand to let his fingers gently touch hers and hold them. "Thanks." She said with a smile as she decided to get off of the couch and lay next to him on the floor with a smile. "If you ever lose the lair, it's open to you." She told him softly, "I promise."

"That's great to know," Raph smiled and played with her hair, "What are your standards?" he asked nipping at his lip.

"My standards?" Rachel asked with a blink. Then her face turned scarlet. "I don't know…" She replied softly as she felt his hand gently pull on her locks, weaving it through his fingers. "I mean…" She huffed, making some of her locks fly from her face and back over her eyes. She lazily pulled it to the side. "I don't really have a standard for any level of a relationship. I usually leave it up to the guy."

"Then we're at a boarder," Raph sighed, "I don't…want to hurt you in any way, or make you run away from me again…because if you do it'll surely be my fault and I'll have no right to follow you."

She gripped his hand tightly and stared at him. "It will not be because of you." She said as she sat up. "I never ran away because of you. I ran away because I was scared for you and because I'm nothing more than a coward. Don't ever think I'm running away from you when I'm running away from myself."

Raph looked at her, his eyes softening to look like melted chocolate, "Of all things, I had to be a creature with a beak…all I can do is nibble on your nose," he pouted.

Rachel decided to experiment. She gently got on top of him and studied her angling, shifting here and there. "Close your eyes." She said as she thought she got it, "No peeking."

He stared at her, his body feeling like it was freaking summer, not the middle of winter, "Rae…" he gulped, struggling not to shift his legs, feeling his tail swell a bit, but he was too transfixed by her eyes to blush, even though his chest constricted. "I trust you," he murmured gently, and took a calming breath before doing as he was told.

Rae was hesitant. Should she do this? Should she really try? Would she hurt him in the end? All of these negative thoughts were pounding through her head. 'It's just a kiss…' She reminded herself. 'To show he can do more…' Nodding her head in encouragement, she lowered herself and steadying herself and then she let her lips fall on his. It was awkward, yes, but it was also kind of…nice.

Rachel pulled away slowly, wondering if she did it right. "You can open your eyes now," She said, not knowing how husky her voice sounded.

"Don't…wanna…" Raph half-growled half-wheezed. He felt like his body was nothing more than jello, and he felt light-headed, like he was walking in the clouds, "Kami…" he prayed, slowly lifting his hands to run along her arms, along her neck to cup her face. He felt the heat of her blush, "You really just did that…" he breathed, cracking a smile.

Rachel smiled through her blushing. "I really did." She answered with a smile. When he had ran his hands up her arms to reach her face, she had held back a shudder. "Did I do it right?" She asked, wondering if he enjoyed it.

Raph's only answer was to pull her back, remembering the angle she had used, and caught her mouth, adjusting so it was a bit more comfortable. He pulled away and nuzzled her neck, holding her tightly, chuckling softly, and it continued to grow until he was laughing, "Oh Rae…you don't know how happy you made this love-struck turtle."

"Love-struck?" She asked teasingly as she gently rested her head against his chest plates, fingering the grooves with curious fingers. "I never knew that." She looked up at him. "I'm glad I made you happy."

"You'll always make me happy," Raph smiled and allowed himself to close his eyes and rest his head against the carpeted floor, "I'd…like to talk more, love, but," he yawned covering it with his hand, and rubbed her back, "I'm…tired."

"Then, steal Andy's bed." Rachel said as she stood up and dragged him to his feet. "No way am I letting you sleep on the floor. Besides, he won't care."

"Only if you rest with me, you've had about as much sleep as I have," Raph smiled at her and let her lead him through the apartment.

She tossed open the door and smiled at the neatness. "Looks like Andrew tossed all of Matt's clothes in the closet." She said as she took off her jeans and dove for the bed and lifted the covers, "Sleep?" She offered.

"Sleep," Raphael agreed and crawled in the bed with her, pulling her into a hug and giving her a small kiss before he quickly drifted, his soft rumble/snore rhythmically vibrating his chest.