The light rain provided an almost soothing backdrop to the chaos of the world outside. At the same time, the drops tapping against the windows were also a consistent reminder to Raphael of the vulnerable position in which the small group of refugees were trapped.
The red-masked turtle was seated on the soft carpet by the end of the couch, watching his daughter explore everything new to discover in the apartment. Raphael was doing his best to revel in the distraction that she provided from their unsettling circumstances. Olivia was finding plenty of things to get into, and acting as a major source of exercise as he continually had to get up to stop her from hurting herself or something else.
He had only just finished pulling Olivia off the shelf of a small side table upon which she was insisting on perching, and she squawked in protest as he carried her back to the living room. April gave him a sympathetic look as she entered from the kitchen. The woman was carrying a large plastic bowl in one hand, and a set of measuring spoons in the other.
"I don't have many things to entertain a baby around here, Raph, but see what she'll do with these."
"I think she'd be perfectly happy to destroy the place if I let her," he said tongue-in-cheek.
"That's no way to thank Auntie April." Karina's voice called from the hall, before she joined them in the living room. "What's my angelito getting into now?"
Raphael turned his head to glance at Olivia as the little turtle swung the measuring spoons around so accurately that she almost hit the bowl on her first try.
"Dadada..."
Raphael grinned as Olivia stared at him, almost like she was seeking his approval. He tapped his hand across the bowl to produce a sound that would encourage her to try hitting it again. He had to jerk his hand out of the way as the spoons came down with a bang. Olivia squealed and repeated the motion, as if she'd discovered her new favorite toy.
Raphael shook his head at her. "Boy, it doesn't take much to satisfy 'em sometimes, does it? Forget about all the fancy toys. What we really need is more Tupperware."
"I'll get right on that." April smirked as she walked out of the room.
Karina chuckled as she crossed around the front of the couch, and drew her legs up on the cushion underneath her. Raphael focused an appreciative gaze on the woman for a few seconds, admiring the muscles in her legs before shifting to take in the rest of her figure. Karina's burnished hair was pulled back mostly from her face so that only a few wispy strands fell across her cheek.
The woman's light green eyes appeared uncertain at first, but she relaxed into an inviting look when he grinned. Raphael rose under an irresistible urge, and smoothed dark hair off her face before leaning in to kiss her. The feeling of her fingers playing across the back of his neck sent a chill down his spine, and he barely repressed the need to shiver. Karina settled against his plastron, pillowing her head on his shoulder. Her eyes lingered on Olivia for an instant before she gave Raphael a bittersweet smile.
The red-masked turtle considered her expression for a moment, questioning inwardly whether or not he should pursue it. There were plenty of reasons for Karina to be upset, not the least of which was that their home had been turned upside down, and no one knew when or if they would be able to return. There was something besides sadness in her eyes, though; a flash of insecurity that had passed so quickly he might have missed it if he wasn't paying attention.
"Kari?" he asked softly, as he kept half an eye on the baby at their feet. "What's going on?"
"With what, Raph?"
"With you." He clasped a hand over hers.
Karina didn't say anything for a long moment. "It's nothing, Raph," she said finally. "A lot of things are happening really quickly, and I'm trying to keep up."
"C'mon, Kari." He kept his tone low. "That ain't all there is to it. Why did you just look at me like that?"
The Latin woman sighed noisily. "Please don't read into it. I'm feeling a little bit silly, Raph."
Raphael cocked his head curiously. "Why?"
Karina met his gaze. "I don't think...I'm not as strong as I wish I was," she answered haltingly.
"What are you talking about, Chica? You're plenty strong. Our little girl down there proves that if nothing else."
"Why, because I survived the pregnancy?" Karina snorted.
"Kari, where is this coming from? I know there has to be some reason you're feeling this way."
Karina withdrew partially from his plastron, and the absence of her body heat made him feel colder inside and out. "It's just...I'm practically the old lady of the group, and I feel a little worthless sometimes."
Raphael's brow furrowed with confusion. "You aren't worthless." A trace of frustration made it through with the proclamation. "How can you say something like that?"
Karina hesitated. "I see the growth in others, I see the way that...Raph, I told you this was silly, didn't I? Can we drop it?"
"No way we're gonna drop it," he said stubbornly. "What's this really about?"
Karina bent down to retrieve Olivia, who had just started pulling herself up on the couch.
"I'm not going anywhere, Kari. Tell me."
"It's Calley," she admitted. "She was so amazing through the whole quake experience. She knew exactly what to do, and she kept me from panicking. Raph, she bluffed four idiots into walking away from easy prey."
"How does Calley knowing what to do translate into you being worthless?"
"She's changed and expanded so much since she joined the family, Raph. Calley has tapped into all of the potential that she already had underneath."
"And she needed help to do it, didn't she?" Raphael reminded her.
"No one can deny that. Leonardo has been by her side since-"
"I ain't just talking about Fearless, Kari. You and Jen have been there for her too, and even Becky. Calley's an amazing woman, but she's also been surrounded by amazing people, who've been there for her every step of the way. You trained her, Kari, you helped her get into shape again. You got her back into the dancing world."
Karina shook her head. "What Calley has is something that I couldn't teach her, or even hope to attain myself."
"Shell, Chica, don't you get it?" Raphael managed to keep his voice down, though he was fighting irritation tooth and nail. "This isn't about Calley, or you. It's about all of us. Sensei used to say that a team operates kind of like a body. Every single part is important, even though they do different things. Being a team means that everyone matters, and no one is worthless. No one has it all together, and that's okay, because we complete each other. Am I making any sense to you?"
Karina nodded, but that wasn't enough of a response for Raphael.
"You ain't got nothing to prove here, Kari. You've been strong-willed right from the get-go, when you defended yourself from big, bad Mikey with the fireplace poker."
That earned him a chuckle at least.
"What was I supposed to do? He shocked the heck out of me showing up like that!"
"There are a lot of things you could have done, but standing your ground to fight is what separates you from a lot of other people. Some of them just faint." He grinned.
"You'll never let Greg hear the end of that, will you?" Karina rested against his chest again, cuddling Olivia closer in her arms.
"I'm never going to let you hear the end of it if you don't accept how great you are," he said evenly. "I don't want to hear any of that worthless talk again - do you understand me?"
Karina locked eyes with him, communicating a message of silent gratitude before turning her head to kiss him. The red-masked turtle could feel himself starting to get lost in the warmth of her lips, but a knock at the door promptly made him crash back down to Earth. Instinct had him nearly leaping over the back of the couch before the correct coded knock was repeated.
Raphael released the breath that had been captured in his chest as Karina handed him Olivia, and got up to answer the door. Both hands went to her hips as she let Greg inside.
"Way to almost give us a heart attack," she chided. "Could you maybe use the right knock to start with next time?"
Greg shuffled into the room sheepishly. "Sorry - I wasn't thinking straight. Where is everyone?"
"My brothers didn't get much sleep last night," Raphael grumbled, his amber gaze flicking down the hall. "Jen and Calley are out foraging for food, and the others are resting."
"Foraging. You make it sound like a jungle out there," Greg remarked.
Raphael opened his mouth to respond, but his sound was cut short by a tremor that rumbled underneath them. He felt Olivia stiffen in his arms, and immediately covered her protectively as he leaped to his feet. He wasn't sure what to do when he got his legs underneath him, except hold on to his daughter and not let go. The temptation to panic still existed, even though they'd already been through several small aftershocks.
This tremor wasn't ending as quickly as he expected. When he saw furniture shifting, he stretched one hand toward Karina.
"Look out, you guys!" His sharp warning came seconds before the bookshelf tilted forward, and crashed to the floor.
Karina backed against the turtle, and he withdrew one arm from Olivia so that he could gather his wife in too. He could feel the woman's heart racing in her chest and saw that every ounce of color had left her face. Raphael caught himself still breathing a little hard as the rumbling faded out of earshot, and he became aware of the fact that Olivia was crying.
After a couple of motionless seconds he released the death grip he had on Karina, and bounced Olivia soothingly at his side. "It's okay, baby girl, its over. It's finished," he reassured her.
Karina exhaled deeply. "I don't know if my nerves can take much more," she murmured. "Want me to hold Liv, Raph? You could check on your brothers."
Raphael handed the baby to her, and caught Greg's eye as the man made a move toward the hall too. April came flying out of the kitchen before they made it another two steps.
"Is everyone okay?" She sounded breathless.
"I think your shelf might have bitten the dust, but we're all fine," Raphael replied. "We were gonna check-"
Before he could finish, doors were already opening down the hall. A bleary-eyed Michelangelo met Raphael first, with Rebecca hovering closely behind him.
"That felt a little intense." The orange-masked turtle shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "Are we sure that was an aftershock?"
"Some of them can be bigger than others," Donatello mentioned from behind them. "Occasionally an aftershock is stronger than the original quake."
"Thanks, Genius, we all needed to know that," Raphael offered sarcastically.
"Everyone all right?" Leonardo called briskly as he emerged into the living room behind the others.
Raphael noticed the way the blue-masked turtle's eyes lingered longer on Michelangelo as he gazed around the room, but decided to try and ignore it.
Marcus rubbed sleep out of his eyes as he brought up the rear of the group. "So much for sleeping," the man complained.
Raphael felt himself drawn back to Michelangelo. His youngest brother wasn't even standing up straight. The red-masked turtle continued to watch him as Mike sagged down onto the couch, and his head flopped against the cushions. Raphael shot Donatello a questioning glance, and the purple-masked turtle shook his head.
Shell, this can't be good. Mikey looks awful. I just don't get it. The night before last Mike's telling me he thinks he's over the worst of it, and now it looks like he's coming down with this stuff even harder. He doesn't need this.
The root of worry that had never completely left his chest was beginning to grow again. Raphael noticed that Donatello was fingering his phone, and the purple-masked turtle avoided looking at anyone else. Raphael couldn't even get Leonardo to meet his gaze now.
Dang. What did I miss last night?