A/n: Hi guys. Sorry for the wait. School has been pretty hectic and just life in general. My muse went on a little holiday and has only just decided to return. Thankfully though most of my school work is out of the way so updates should be faster if my muse doesn't suddenly vanish again ^^

I was lucky enough however, to be hit with a bolt of inspiration. I know now what will happen in the next two or so chapters, and whilst they may be full of angst and a hurt Raphael, at least this fic is finally starting to move in the right direction.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and review this so far. You guys have definitely been a reason for me to keep going ^^

Now enough of my babble and enjoy.

The three turtles were silent during the trip to the crash site. Each brother was on edge, fear and worry shining in all their eyes. Michelangelo had his eyes peeled to the front windshield, eyes scanning the road for any signs of his missing brother. Donatello gripped the steering wheel in a death grip, his hands shaking and his knuckles bone white. Leonardo sat up straight in his seat next to his other brothers, his posture stiff and on edge, as if he were ready to jump into a fight at any moment.

"Okay, so does every one remember the plan?" Leo asked after slowly letting out a deep breath in the hope to calm his jittery nerves.

"Yes," Donnie said, not taking his eyes off the road. "We keep in contact with Casey and April via shell-cell whilst we search the north and west area whilst they search the east and south."

Leo nodded in confirmation before turning his attention to his youngest brother. "Mikey, do you have any problems with that plan?"

"No," Mikey whispered, resting his head against the cold panel of glass that was the window.

"Hey, we'll find him Mikey," Leo said gently, placing his hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "You know we will."

"I heard what Donnie said before," Mikey snapped, his baby blue eyes filled with pain. "I'm not stupid Leo. Donnie said that there was no way a person could survive that crash!"

"Exactly, a person," Leo stressed when Donnie didn't say anything in response. "But we aren't exactly human Mikey. There's still a chance Raph is out there. And we will find him," Leo said quietly, though it was mainly to reassure himself.

April pulled the car over to the side of the road, killing the engine and sitting back in her seat.

"We'll park here," she said, glancing over at Casey. "We're hidden from sight, so hopefully we won't have any police asking questions."

"Whatever," Casey muttered, watery eyes focused firmly on the floor.

"Casey, look at me," April said firmly, forcing Casey to look up at her. "We're going to find Raphael," April said softly, stroking Casey's cheek. "Even if we have to search all damn night. I will search every inch of this place until we find him. You got that?"

"Yeah," Casey swallowed the hard lump in his throat and opened his car door. "Yeah I know we will."

"Good," April said, joining her boyfriend out on the road.

The night air was chilly, bringing with it the promise of the coming season. April pulled her jumper tighter around her body and looked around the dark landscape that surrounded them. We have to find Raph soon, she thought, biting her lip in worry. We have to find him before it gets any colder out here. In his state, he might freeze to death.

Raphael shivered as the wind picked up, sending icy shivers down his spine. It was so cold. His skin was numb with the cold, the frozen ground beneath him sucking away all the heat within his body.

Must admit though, Raphael thought ideally as another shiver racked his body, the cold does take my pain away.

With the numbness of his body from the cold, it was acting as a good barrier at keeping the pain at bay, though Raphael could still feel it. It was always there, coming and going like the tide, but never truly leaving.

He had managed to crawl a further twenty metres into the forest. He had been slipping in and out of consciousness over the past hour or so, trying to remain alert for any indicators that the police were getting close to his hiding spot. So far he had had to move twice to avoid detection, and each movement he made only reminded him of the pain that laced his body.

Raphael groaned and bit his lip to stop a scream from escaping his lips. Though the cold did help somewhat, it wasn't enough to completely eradicate his pain. Especially the pain in his leg. He knew without looking at the limb that it was completely shattered. Through the pain that constantly flared through that limb, he could feel that his leg wasn't the way it should be. He could tell that it didn't even have a shape at all now. It was just broken bone.

At least my suit is keeping me a bit warm, Raphael thought dully, looking down at his torn and blood stained leather suit.

I wonder if the others know. The thought sprang unbidden to Raphael's mind. Did his family know what had happened? He wondered how much longer they would wait before realizing that he should have been home. Raphael moaned when he realized they probably wouldn't notice until the morning. He was always going out late at night, and never usually returned till the early hours of the morning. They probably wouldn't start looking for him until midday.

That is, if they even want to find me, Raphael couldn't help but think bitterly. He remembered the fight he had had with Leo before storming out of the lair. He remembered the things he had said, not just to Leo, but to his other brothers as well.

"I'm done with you! I'm done with all of you!"

Raphael winced as his words replayed in his mind. Why would his brothers want to find him after he had said that? They didn't know that he didn't mean it, that he had only said it in a moment of rage.

Raphael shook his head before realizing that wasn't the best idea. His head swam and his vision grew blurry. He could feel the darkness trying to pull him under again, and this time he was more than willing to comply. Anything to take this pain away.

Just as he was starting to slip under, a slight sound in the distance had Raphael opening his eyes again. He squinted through the darkness and the haze of his pain into the undergrowth that lay in front of him. He had managed to pull himself to the base of an old oak tree, but hadn't gotten any further than that. He was still out in the open.

That's when Raphael heard the sounds of voice becoming closer, until they had turned into shouts.

"Let's try this way!" A voice Raphael didn't recognize called out, only about fifty or so metres away from where Raphael lay, immobilized.

Cops, Raphael thought, a stab of panic hitting his heart. Shit! I can't let them find me, I can't let them see me, I can't-

Suddenly a beam of light swept across the area and landed on Raph. Voices started yelling and footsteps started approaching at an alarming rate. The police were getting closer and closer-

Raphael froze as he was caught in the light of a torch.

A/n: Sorry for leaving it at a bit of a cliff hanger folks. Now that most of my assignments are done and my tests are finished, the next chapter shouldn't take as long to upload. Word of warning though, you may want to bring tissues.