A/N: Hey guys! Here's another one for you!

This is one about Raph and Casey, taking place long before the Invasion, but after Newtralized. I saw that the last few chapters had mostly fluff and stuff, so I tried to incorporate some action and a bit of angst into this one!

P.S: There is some subtle Raph/Casey in this one. Interpret it however you wish, but if you don't like it, don't read it. But if you do, then okay, cool!

I OWN NOTHING!

Enjoy!

"…Raph…?"

Unaware that he'd been holding his breath all this time, Raphael finally let out a heavy, relieved sigh as he looked down at his charge. He was awake again. Though he was disorientated, and had already lost a lot of blood, he was awake. Thank god. "Casey! Are you okay?! Speak to me, buddy!"

"I can't...feel…my legs…" the boy panted weakly behind his mask. "…R-Raph…I can't stay…awake…"

"Hang on, Casey! Save your breath, and don't you dare close your eyes again or I'll pound you myself, you hear me?!"

"…okay…I-I'll try…"

As he powered over the rooftops with the taller human boy held tightly in his arms, Raphael swore he could feel his heart in his throat as it pounded rapidly. His breaths came out in exhausted ragged gasps as he ran, not stopping for even a moment though his legs and lungs burned in protest, and his bruises begged him to stop at least to catch his breath.

But Raph knew better than to give in to the pain. He knew that if he paused, it would mean that Casey lost more blood. It would mean that he would be minutes or even seconds closer to losing him.

He didn't even know how it had happened. Everything had come and gone so fast, it felt like he was in some kind of dream…no, a nightmare would be more fitting…

All they were doing was what they normally did almost every night. They were just on their evening patrol of the city, looking out for whatever gangs they could beat up or whatever crimes they could put a stop to. For the first hour or so, it had actually been just as much fun as it ever had been. Just the two of them together doing what they did best; kicking ass and taking names.

But Raph hadn't expected that one guy to pull out a gun on him just when he'd thought he'd taken the creep down. He hadn't expected to freeze like he had, his eyes going wide as the goon pulled the trigger.

But he should've expected Casey to dive in front of him to take the shot instead. He should've expected it, and yet he'd done nothing to prevent it and only watched in horror as Casey's body jerked as the bullet made contact with his back, before crumpling limply to the concrete, where he lay in a pool of his own blood whilst Raphael took his rage out on the unfortunate man who'd dared to take Casey away from him…

Now he was racing back to the Lair with the barely conscious human held limply in his grasp, praying over and over that he would make it in time. He prayed that he could right this terrible wrong…

He prayed that he wouldn't lose his best friend because he was too stupid to move out of the way.

It was a slow, agonizing process, but Casey eventually found the will to crack his eyes open once he'd dragged himself out of unconsciousness. At first, everything around him was while and blurry, and Casey almost believed he had died and gone to heaven. But as his surroundings came into focus and the irritating ringing in his ears finally ceased, Casey blinked once as he realized he was staring at the ceiling of Donatello's lab.

Wait…how did he get here? The last thing he remembered was…

His face went pale as the memory of what happened came flooding back to him. "Holy crap…" he murmured breathlessly.

….

"Casey Jones shoots!" he hollered, swinging his hockey stick and sending the puck flying into the face of the unfortunate robber as the guy cried out in pain and toppled to the floor on top of his already K.O'd companion. "He scores!" he hollered victoriously. Not far off near the mouth of the alley, he could hear his partner's laugh as he threw his opponent to the ground.

This was what made life worth living for the young vigilante. Beating down the scum of the earth, side-by-side with his best friend, who also happened to be a mutant and a ninja, was by far better than anything Casey could've ever imagined. Heck, the whole international bounty hunter thing that he'd once told April about seemed so dull in comparison to something as amazing as this!

Zipping on his roller-skates as one of the last few goons attempted to whack him over the head with a metal bar, Casey grinned devilishly behind his mask as he raised his stick and delivered a hard blow to the back of the head that sent him sprawling. Letting out a whoop of joy, Casey planted his foot on top of the unconscious robber's chest. "And that's how it's done!" he snickered smugly, turning to find his green-eyed partner standing only meters behind him with his arms folded over his chest and a weary yet warm smile on his features as he shook his head.

"Come on, ya goon," he said, "Let's get outta here before the cops show up."

"You're going nowhere, ya freaks!"

Eyes widening, Raph spun around, his sais at the ready, only to come face to face with the end of a gun pointed directly at him, the holder of the gun grinning smugly at him though his teeth were bloody from a blow to the chin.

Raph froze in place, and Casey gasped in horror. Why hadn't he seen the gun on the guy before? Better yet, why hadn't he seen him get up?!

The gun holder chuckled darkly. "Heh, not so tough now, are ya?" he taunted, clearly taking a deep, sickening satisfaction upon watching the young mutant turtle gawk in utter terror at the gun as he took a step closer, and Raph took a shaking step back.

From where he stood watching everything unfold before him, Casey's eyes widened. He was going to shoot Raph. Raph had never faced a guy with an actual gun before. Laser guns from the Kraang, no problem…but this kind of gun…he wouldn't be able to dodge the bullet, not at such close a range. He was done for…

But not if Casey Jones had anything to say about it!

"See ya in hell, freak!" the goon laughed, ready to pull the trigger. Flinching, Raph squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the inevitable pain before his untimely death.

But Casey would be damned if he let that happen! "RAPH, NO!" he screamed, rushing forwards and roughly shoving Raphael out of the way.

The goon's finger moved.

An ear-shattering bang echoed through the air. Time slowed to a crawl as Casey let out a strangled gasp of pain, his body jerking violently as the bullet pierced his back and came through his stomach...

'Oh god it hurts,' was all that he could think of as he clutched his stomach, blood already seeping through his gloves and splattering on the cold floor.

And as his limp body fell forwards, all he could hear was Raph's ragged, broken voice as he screamed out his name, before his head hit the concrete and everything went black.

….

That's right…he'd been shot in the back by that psycho goon. After he'd blacked out, Raph must have carried him all the way back to the lair to save him before he bled out. Well, after he pounded the other guy into the ground, probably.

With a light groan of pain, Casey managed to look down at his now bare chest, and as he lifted up the blanket draped over him with his right arm, he found white bandages wrapped securely around his middle. He could just see the blood seeping through the bandages, and his everything burned like hell, but other than that, he deemed that he was fine, though he'd have to wait until Donnie came in again to give him the full diagnostic.

However, his brows furrowed as he tried to move his left hand, only to find that something as strong and unyielding as metal held it down.

Turning to his left, he was both surprised and not surprised at all to find that Raphael was sitting on a stool at his side, holding Casey's limp, pale hand in his own larger hand, fast asleep. His head was pillowed on his free arm at the edge of Casey's bed as he dozed peacefully, though his monster grip on the boy's hand told him that the red clad turtle was anything but.

Casey couldn't help but smile at the sight of his best friend at his side, though it stung him a little to know that he'd undoubtedly scared the poor guy to death after pulling that little stunt. He was surely going to hear about it later, but Casey, oddly enough, found himself not caring in the slightest. If he hadn't blocked that bullet in time, then Raph probably wouldn't be here anymore…

The thought of what could have happened made Casey inwardly shiver as he frowned deeply in anger, and though his hand was easily dwarfed by the turtle's, he returned his hold as his fingers curled around one of Raph's thick digits, holding it fast and not daring to let go. No matter what, Casey was certain that he would lay down his own life to protect Raphael. And he knew that Raph would do the same for him.

He laid his head back against the soft pillow again, closing his eyes again as he allowed himself to smile. "…thanks for the save, hon," he said under his breath as he settled himself to go back to sleep, feeling far too drained to stay awake for much longer.

"Don't freaking call me 'hon' again, or I'll kick your ass all the way to Jersey."

Casey let out a snicker. "…whatever you say, Red," he yawned. He heard Raph chuckle softly beside him, before both of them slipped back into a more peaceful slumber in knowing that the other was going to be just fine.

A/N: Yeeeeeee! I love these two so much! I hope you liked it, and there are more on the way. Btw, I read the comments and requests, and I gotta say...some of you guys out there just wanna watch the world burn, don't you? XD