Chapter 4

A Tour, Some Questions, and COMICS!

NOTE: I do not own anything in the TMNT universe, just my lovely OC's.

After dinner was finished, and the dishes were done, (Mikey was grateful that everyone helped, he sure didn't wanna clean up the huge mess him and Seren made) everyone made their way to the living room to relax for a while.

Mikey and Seren started talking about their comic book collections, their animated faces and overuse of hand gestures had everyone tearing up with laughter. The subjects bounced around so quickly, and so often, that it was next to impossible to keep it all straight. After about an hour of it, Donnie came up with a great idea. "Hey Seren, why don't you and Mikey go down to the comic book room and read for a while."

"Donnie, my bro, you are a GENIUS!" Mikey, grabbing Seren by the hand, took off for the room in a flash.

"Well, he will be occupied for a while," Leo stated, kicking back in one of the oversized chairs. "At least he can't get into any trouble." However, seeing the look in the girl's eyes, he amended his previous phrase, "Uh… can he?"

The three girls looked at one another, silently communicating to see which one would tell Leo the news. Brissen won this time. "Well… let's just say that Seren can get a little bit wild when it comes to her comics. On more than one occasion we have found her knee deep in comic books, hair wild and eyes wide, wanting to try out something or another that she saw in said comic book." Trying to contain her smile, Brissen went on, "And on more than one occasion we have had to stop her from attempting to do many sorts of… unique, things."

The three remaining brothers groaned, knowing that Mikey would be right next to Seren, trying out some crazy stunt, should she want to. Isleen put their fears to rest... for the time being. "No worries though, Seren s just getting to know him, so she won't spring any surprises on him… yet."

"Well, things could be worse," Donatello piped up with, "Be thankful that they don't like to parachute out of planes, or play with fire, or…"

"We get it Donnie, now zip it!" Raph growled.

"OOOOhhhh, Mr. Grumpy Pants is back!" Rose teased, making a sour face at him. She ruined it by sticking out her tongue.

"Hey sista' don't stick it out if ya ain't gonna use it!" Raphael retorted, a lop-sided smile coming to his face.

"RAPHAEL!" Splinter shouted, "Is this how I taught you to act?"

Rose interjected, seeing where this might lead to. "I'm sorry Splinter, the fault was mine." Bowing her head to him, she continued, "I should have not said what I did, and I apologize for it."

The turtle's sansei returned the bow, "Thank you child, you show much responsibility." Then smiled slyly, "Maybe you could teach some to my sons sometime."

Giggling softly, Rose snuggled in closer to Raphael and whispered to him, "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine Rosie." Raphael wasn't mad, how could he be? She was just teasing him, and anyways, he rather liked it… made him feel good inside. He placed his muscular arm around her shoulders, pulling her in closer. "I'm gonna get ya for that one girly." He teased, whispering in her ear.

"Bring it on big boy!" Was her response. "I got more of it for ya!" Giggling like a schoolgirl, Rose was having a great time.

"Wouldn't expect any less from ya woman!" Raph grinned down at her, his heart racing some. Those emerald green eyes of hers mesmerized him to no end, and he could stare at them for hours.

"Er, this is getting awkward," Donnie added, clearing his throat. "Uh…" thinking quickly, the younger turtle came up with an excuse to get him out of there, "Isleen, you said something about showing me the security system here?"

Taking his hint, the oldest of the girls smiled. "Oh yeah… sure, let's go and check it out! I think you will be impressed, it all runs on solar power!" Getting up from their places on the sofa, the two made their way down the hall towards the room that held what they were discussing. "Everything is run by solar power here… it's fantastic, really. Wait till you check this out."

"Well that will keep Donnie busy for hours." Leonardo came with. He had his own excuse in mind to get away from the smooch birds, as Mikey had dubbed them. "Brissen, how about we go down to the workout room and you show my all those wonderful weapons you girls have."

"Dude, you read my mind to a T! Let's get outta here before things get above awkward!" Laughing, Brissen turned and winked at Rose before showing Leo downstairs. The two could be heard for several moments, chatting about swords.

Sitting in silence for a moment or two, Rose came up with an idea for Splinter that she knew he would like. "Um… sansei, I have something wonderful to show you, and I know you will be most interested in it!"

"Well, what is it my child?" His interest peaked, wondering what she had in store for him.

"Have you ever heard of Bruce Lee?

"Yes, I have."

"Then you will be interested in a documentary that I have on him. It is filled with all sorts of things… from his private live, to his movies, and of course, his martial arts experience. They show him doing a number of maneuvers that you would find both informative and interesting. It is almost 3 hours long though." Rose could tell he was hooked, his eyes danced like fireflies on a summer's night.

"I would be most appreciative to watch this my child." Splinter rose from his chair, bowing to Rose, he waited for her to escort him to the movie room where, not only would he watch the documentary, but also a few other films of Mr. Lee's.

Raph caught Rose by the hand, turning her around to face him. "Well now, looks like it's just you and me left kiddo… so what ya got planned?"

Looking up into his big green eyes, she sighed softly. "Oh, I have a few things for ya to see big guy."

"Well, what are ya waitin' for girly, let's get crackin'!" Before Rose could say anything, Raphael turned her around and smacked her ass, causing her to yelp in surprise. And off they went, Rose and her silly grin leading the way.

"Underground passageways?" Raph began, checking out the dimly let path. "Why would yer parents do somthin' like this?"

Glancing up at him, Rose smiled. "Being… well-off, there are those that want to know every single detail of everything, and you would not believe the lengths some of them go to get information! My parents decided to put these in so we could come and go as we please, and nobody could bother us or snoop on us."

"Sounds like yer parents knew what they were doin'" Smirking, he added, "So, if… say… decide to dig into the ground to get here, Id…"

"Hit a concrete wall about two feet thick, these walls run the full length of the passages. So no digging snoops either." Laughing, Rose lightly smacked his arm. "Can we get on with the next part then?"

"Yep… can't wait." Another light smack on her ass. Raph was indeed enjoying himself.

"Damnit Raph, me arse is gonna be all black and blue, you keep this up!" She was enjoying this just as much as he was, though she wouldn't admit it to him… not yet at least.

As the tour went on, the two chatted about a number of things. Raph found out that Rose was Irish, her mother being born in Dublin Ireland, and her father, who was born here, had Irish ancestry. His great-grandfather was born in Co. Kerry Ireland. Rose's accent was slight, and it really came out when she would speak of her parents, and when she was mad. Thankfully, Raphael had not seen the latter… for now. He had also found out that her parents passed away two years ago, about 4 months after Rose got discharged from the Marines. He had asked her why she didn't reenlist, but all he got for an answer was, 'It was complicated." He let her be on that, figuring that eventually, she'd tell him when she was ready.

He really was drawn in by her time in the Marines. He had never known anyone to be in a real combat situation. He and his brothers had fought the foot, and Shredder, but this was different. She was in another land, a very hostile land, and she killed… a lot. The only one that he and his brothers had seen die was Shredder, and that was from the fall, not by their hands. Her nickname in her unit was 'Death', which she said suited her well. Being a sniper, she did most of her dirty work at a distance. However, there were also times when, her unit being under attack, she took to a number of tactics to successfully defeat the enemy. Raph didn't know it, but he was beaming like the sun while Rosie was retelling her stories. She noticed, but said nothing, letting him bask in her words that seemed to keep him spellbound.

"I gots a question for ya Rosie," Raph began, "How did ya come about to learn all the stuff that ya did?"

"I'm a fast learner I guess." Shrugging her shoulders, she went on, "I guess I… well, never thought about it. I would just watch something being done, and then I could do it."

"Was it always like that?" Raphael asked, wanting to know more and more about her. He was definitely intrigued with her, to say the least.

"No, not always." Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked down at the brick pathway for a few moments, "It began when I was 17, really strange, it just suddenly happened and all. Maybe it was just me being a late bloomer an all?" The last part sounded more like a question than a statement.

Not wanting to upset her, the muscular turtle let the matter drop… for now. He wanted to find out more, but didn't want to push things. Changing the subject, Raph piped up, "So, where to next Rosie?"

"A barn?" Raphael groaned, not liking the smell one bit. He thought that the sewers smelled bad… but this… EW!" Seriously Rosie, is this what ya wanted to show me? Cuz if it is I…"

Cutting him off with her hand clamped over his mouth, (which took a lot, seeing as how he was almost a foot taller than her. However, she managed to do it while standing on her tiptoes.) "No silly, not this! Yes, we have all kinds of farm animals, and yes, it stinks… but you get used to it after a while, just like the sewer smell, doesn't bother you, anymore, does it?"

"Mmmm-nnnn." Was all that could escape from his covered mouth.

Pointing upwards, Rose showed him what they had come there for. "That is what I wanted you to see. It's my own little space that I go to when I wanna be alone, or just need time to think about things." Removing her hand from his mouth, she slid it down to his own hand, grasping it. "Come on, we have to go through the barn to get to it, but when you get up there, the view is well worth you having to inhale the animal smell." Winking up at him, she let him through the barn to a set of stairs. Making short work of it, they reached the top where Rose flipped a switch.

The wooden blinds covering the wall-to-wall windows slowly rose, revealing acres of beautiful fields and woods, dotted with cows, goats and horses. The setting sun only added to the beauty of it, and Raphael, who was noted to be 'one of the grumpiest turtles I have ever seen!" By his youngest brother, stood there in awe, mouth agape and hands limply by his sides. "Wow!" was all he could say.

Smiling, Rose stood beside him, resting her head on his shoulder, she sighed. "Quite the sight, isn't it? Only other place I've been to that is more beautiful than this is Ireland… you just can't get that kind of green here."

"Ireland," Raph whispered, transfixed on the outside. "I think I'd like to go there some day… with you perhaps?" Coming out of his trance, the big guy looked down at Rose, smiling warmly.

"Perhaps…" Rose responded, her hand moving up to caress his cheek for a moment, "Someday…"

The two stood there for long moments, staring into each other's eyes. Slowly, their heads moved towards one another, lips desperately wanting to meet. Just a little more… a breath away… both wanting so badly the moment that would seal their future…

Only to be interrupted by the loud and annoying voice of Michelangelo, "Guys? Hey guys, come on down here… Seren and I found this comic book that you just GOTTA see!"

NOTE: Ok, so, if y'all didn't notice, Raph and Rose are a thing, and the reason why I'm hitting on them so much will be made evident in… say… about 4 more chapters or so. I'm trying to set things up bit by bit, because what I have planned afterwards is going to be one HELL of a roller coaster ride, I can guarantee that! A wee bit of a warning though, some stuff is going to be GRAPHIC, and may contain things that are… let's just say it ain't gonna be pretty. And, since I forgot to mention, this is, for the main part, the turtles in the 2014 movie, with a dash of the other turtles series added in for fun. I hope y'all enjoy reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it!