It was Monday. Emily knew she should have been starting lessons, but she didn't want to. Her body was sore, her head hurt, and she didn't think she could remember any other moves. Today she was supposed to start working with Raph. She had worked with sai before, so she hoped that Raph would let her sleep.

She hoped.

She was right.

Sort of.

It was around three when she finally dragged herself out of bed, shuffling down the stars in old athletic shorts and a shirt that Austin had given her when she was fifteen. It wasn't only a miracle that it still fit, but she could probably fit two of her in it even then.

She padded into the kitchen, searching for coffee. She found the coffee, but no Raph.

She checked the bulletin board in the living room to see if anything had left her a message. One from Casey reminding her that tonight was her turn to get pizza, but that was it. And no Raph.

Finally she made it to the dojo. There was a cloth pile in the middle of the floor, but no Raph.

Curiosity won her over and she walked over to the pile. It was actually something wrapped in a dark silk cloth. And on top wrested a note with her name on it. Em flipped it over and recognized Raph's handwriting immediately.

Em,

I know where you just came from. That black hole you call a bed that you've been sucked into for the past fourteen hours.

And you know I know where you should have been.

Take these and practice a bit on your own.

I'll let you have the day to yourself if and only if you meet me at the rooftop on the corner of 5th and Madison as soon as the sun goes down.

Raph

Emily was intrigued. She carefully opened the wrapping, gasping when she got it open. In her hands lay a beautiful pair of sai. And she knew they weren't a pair of Raph's old practice sai. They had a midnight blue leather wrapping on the handle and the tips had been sharpened to a shining point. Raph didn't even trust Don with a pair of pointed sai. That was shocking to her.

But once the shock wore off, she did what Raph had asked and stated forcing herself to remember most of what she had been taught.

It was five at night and Emily had already set out from the lair. She wore dark jeans and a tight t-shirt. Bagginess was not something you wanted when working with sai, especially when they were sharpened. The weapons in question were carefully wrapped and placed in her backpack with two bottles of water, and two power-bars. Along with a small first aid kit. She trudged down the streets that were becoming more and more alien the longer she lived with the brothers. 5th and Madison wasn't that far away.

Raph was sitting on the rooftop he told Emily to meet him at. He'd been there all day, just thinking. He had been turning things over in his head. Things he couldn't think about back home. He kept thinking about Emily.

There was fighting and working out, but they only took him so far. He wanted more and she was that something more for him. He went out at night and patrolled the streets with his brothers, protecting the great city they lived and loved. Emily was always that something more that he craved after the rush of a fight, after the burning work out in the dojo. She filled that aching feeling in his heart that yearned for another touch from someone and she was good enough a person to see past the fact that he was different.

But he couldn't love her. He didn't even really know what love was. But he couldn't love her. Could he?

When Emily climbed up the ladder, he banished the thoughts and put on his trademark smirk. "Enjoy your nap, sleeping beauty?"

She smiled. "Yes. Thanks for letting me sleep." She dropped the backpack by the low wall and pulled out a water bottle, tossing it to Raph.

"Ya needed it." He smiled, looking at the backpack. "Did ya plan on running away or somethin'?"

She laughed again and opened the bag to show him. "Just the provisions I thought we'd need to spend the night on a rooftop with pointy weapons. But why did you want to bring me out here?"

Raph sighed and pushed himself off the wall, walking towards her and letting his eyes wander of her body. "I know ya like the guys and all, but I know they pressure ya. Ya need space. And I'm goin' to try to give ya what ya need."

Emily's smile grew even more and her cheeks flushed cherry red. "Thank you, Raphael." She never called him Raphael. She didn't know what was taking over her.

Raph didn't pay much attention. "Did ya do what I asked?" He pulled out his sais and walked over to Emily.

She pulled out the sais Raph gave her and spun them how she remembered to. "For the most part." She replied sheepishly. "I still don't remember much. I haven't used stuff like this in years."

"Well, don't worry too much." He smiled as he twirled his pointed weapons. "We're going to start from the basics."

So he spent the night on the roof with her, teaching her, laughing with her, and laughing at her when she fell on her face or smacked herself with the handle of her sais. But soon they had to go back to the lair, and Em had to stop off for pizza. Raph helped carry the bags as they trudged through the sewers, trading pointers and stories of sais. But halfway home, they heard a rustle behind him in the sewer.

Raph turned around quickly and rested his hand against the small of Emily's back. He pressed his finger to his lips, shushing Emily silently. She nodded and slid her sais out of her backpack silently and held them tightly.

Raph slowly and silently walked back down the sewer back towards the sound, leaving Emily alone. She watched his receding shape in the shadows as long as she could before she was left completely alone. But she was scared, very scared.

She gripped the sais very tightly, feeling the metal and leather rub and press against her hands. Out of the darkness, she saw a shape too small to be Raph dart across the sewer. She readied the sais to attack, hoping it wouldn't come to that. But out of the shadows came a dark-clothed figure.

Foot.

She blocked the sword as the shadow virtually flew at her. Before she knew what had happened, warm, think liquid run over her hand as the ninja slumped on top of her. She pushed him off and fell against the wall.

In the dim light she could see the red blood flowing over her hands and onto her clothes. And in the dim light she could see the foot ninja lying beside her.

He was dead.

Her mind and body shut down. She couldn't move. She barely recognized Raph coming over to, calling her name softly. She barely registered his picking her up and cradling her in his arms, rushing to the hidden door.

She heard whispers in her ear, probably from him, but she couldn't hear. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't feel anything except for the blood. She couldn't think of anything except that she had killed someone.

Raph carried her into the living room and dropped the bags. Emily was shivering in fear and shock, staring down at her blood stained hands. He told his brothers what had happened and carried her upstairs to the bathroom. He turned on the water and tried to shake her out of the trance. He pried the sais out of her hand and stripped her blood stained jacket off of her shivering arms.

"Em, Emily. Please, Emily, shake out of it. Emily, look at me." He started peeling off his battle gear and bandana as he carried Emily into the shower.

Her clothes soaked through as he tried to wipe the blood off of her. Her t-shirt stuck to her small body and her jeans turned black. His skin was covered in water as he tried to snap her out of the trance. "Emily!" he hissed in her hear, her black hair sticking to his face. "Emily, please. It's alright. Ya didn't mean to hurt him. And if ya didn't kill him, he woulda killed ya. Em, come on; snap out of it, please. For me."

She let out a shaky sob, her whole body vibrating. "I killed him." She whispered. "Raph, I killed him." Tears were streaming down her face and mixing with the warm water.

"I know, Em. It wasn't your fault." He whispered back, gently touching her face.

She sobbed again, buckling against him and holding his tightly, pressing her body against his. "I didn't mean to. But all the blood…Oh God, Raph, I killed him."

"Shh, Em, shh. Don't worry. Better him than you. Now come on, you, let's get ya dried off. It's gonna be okay, Emily." He hoisted her out of the tub again and sat her on the counter, grabbing a towel out of the cabinet and wrapping it around her shoulders.

She kept shivering, out of shock. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding tight to his smooth skin. "Thank you." She managed to whisper in his ear.

"Don't worry ya pretty little head off." He smiled as he lifted her up, cradling her protectively in his arms.

He set her down on her bed, brushing her hair back. He walked around the room, grabbing the clothes she knew she slept in and handed them to her, turning around to face the door as soon as he did. Raph heard the rustle of fabric and the thud of wet clothes hitting the ground. The sound reminded him that all his battle gear and his bandana were sitting in the bathroom. He felt exposed to her, every inch of his skin open to be seen. Especially his face. His caramel eyes were open to be seen clearly since his red bandana lay on the ground across the hall. But he cared about Emily more than his clothes.

"It's safe." Emily whispered. Raph turned to see her curled under the blankets, her wet hair spread over the pillow. "Thank you, Raphael." She smiled.

He smiled back and sat at the edge of her bed. "I'll stay with ya tonight." He gently brushed her hair out of her face.

"Can you stay closer?" she asked sheepishly, holding up the blanket for him to lay next to her.

He nodded and slid under the covers with her, holding her close, telling her it would be alright. And that's how Emily fell asleep, her arms wrapped around his body and her face pressed against his chest, breathing in the smell coming off of his skin that was as warm as his eyes. And that's how he lay awake, his arm around her small shoulders, thinking about the look on her face as she clung to him.

She needed him.

I'm back!

It's me, C M.

So, what will happen next? Wait a few minutes and you shall discover.

Seriously, I have another chapter already typed, just need to load.

Message me for questions, comments, or concerns, anything. I love talking to you guys. Sometimes your comments shape the next chapter or even the whole rest of the story.

Love you all! Thanks for sticking with me!

Sincerely,
C M
idkaname