Chapter 5

Shit Happens

"I'm going to die, Alex," Kerry said, head against her locker. "I'm going to die slowly and painfully." she bemoaned slumping farther down.

"And why are you going to die now, Kerry?" Alex sighed, seeing as far more of their conversation that Alex cared to admit started that way.

"It's not like you'd care." Kerry mumbled blandly, her outlook obviously dark about something.

"Oh, don't be like that," Alex sighed, closing her locker after getting everything she needed out of it. She stepped across the hall and leaned against the locker next to Kerry's. "What's going on?"

"Dr. Freemen is the problem," Kerry mumbled. Dr. Freemen was the teacher of the advance placement biology class her mother had put her in. She wasn't a scientist but her mother seemed to forget that! "She's going to kill me."

"Why is she going to kill you, Kerry?" Alex asked, turning on her phone's ringer back on. She always turned it off during school.

"She's implementing a critical criteria exam this year. A skills test that will be worth, oh I don't know, 60% of my average!" she hissed as she hit her locker and pain radiated up her knuckle. "It's bad enough I'm skimming by barely on a B!"

Alex could see her struggle. "You know, you could ask Don for some help on homework. Maybe some tutoring."

"Are you kidding? That's like asking Einstein to teach the quadratic formula to Scooby Doo," Kerry scoffed a bit. "Things will no doubt be lost in translation. Not to mention I don't want him to think I'm that stupid."

"Don knows how to dumb things down, I mean, he did it with Mikey," Alex said. "Just because Mikey doesn't learn that way, doesn't mean it wasn't good material. And he would never think you're stupid."

"Because he's never tutored me," Kerry grumbled. "Been trying really hard to hide my incompetence here."

"You're not incompetent," Alex reassured her, guiding Kerry out of the school. "Youre a very capable girl."

Kerry slumped against her, eyes closing as she allowed Alex to lead her. "Yeah, at drawing and punching things."

"You're logical too," Alex said. "You're strong willed and persistent, which is how you've gotten this far in the class on your own. Now you just need a little help. And Donatello's the fellow for the job."

"...You make a fair point,"Kerry grumbled. "And I guess I'll have to come along since you are supporting my weight and I don't want to walk anymore."

"You are such a pain in my ass," Alex muttered jokingly.

"But I'm a fabulous pain in your fine ass." Kerry joked right back without missing a beat.

"Shut up," Alex muttered.

"This was a bad idea!" Kerry whispered to her, her legs locking up in the hallway on the way to the normal gather spot for the boys.

"No, it's not. You're just being difficult," Alex insisted, grabbing her arm and pulling the copper skinned girl in.

"I will go limp! It's a defense mechanism!" Kerry hissed.

"Then I'll drag your ass on the floor," Alex told her. "Which will it be, dignity or embarrassment?"

"...I have no dignity but I can pretend I have some," Kerry mumbled and let her best friend pull her.

"Hey guys!" Alex called out. "I brought Kerry."

"Does that mean it's a no learning day?!" Mikey asked with hope as he looked between the girls. In his mind Alex + Kerry= Distracted Alex.

"Uh, not a chance, Mikey," Alex told him, slapping Kerry on the back. "Kerry's here for work too." The red haired girl turned and looked over to Don's work station. "Donatello," Alex sang, pulling Kerry behind her. "Kerry's got something to ask you!"

Kerry blushed and looked away. "I hate my best friend, how about you?" She grumbled a bit glaring at Alex.

"What?" Don asked, looking rather confused.

"She's being far more difficult than she has to be," Alex told him.

"I am not!" Kerry argued

"Yes, you are, Fruitcake," Alex told her, pushing her towards Don. "It's not a big deal, just ask."

"Ask me what?" Don pressed.

"Uh, umm," Kerry started. "Well feel free to say no if you don't want too," Kerry started out looking away. "But I kinda need a little...okay a lot of help in my advanced bio class."

"Oh, is that all?" Don ask with a relieved sigh. A blush then crept onto his face as he nodded. "Of course I'll help! I'd love to."

"R-Really, I mean. It's kind of a big job to take on, I promise you that." Kerry sighed. "It's creating our own blood slides and classifying different white blood cells in 30 minutes...I'm doomed." Kerry groaned.

"Oh, it's no problem!" Don told her, reaching under one of the tables to take out a microscope with two eyepieces. "It'll be fun! Like I have a lab assistant."

Kerry blushed darkly when he said that but rushed to hide her thoughts. "Thanks Donnie! You're saving me again, huh?" she laughed nervously.

"Of course, whenever you need it," he said with a thick blush, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh God, I'm going to be sick." Mikey groaned a bit looking away.

Alex turned to Mikey and followed him out of the lab. "That's not something we'd normally hear from you, Mike. Normally you love all that cute stuff. Something wrong?"

"Uh, yeah," he muttered, taking a seat on the couch. "Emily and I kind of broke up. Well, we were never really dating, but I don't know what else to really call it."

"Oh, Honey, I'm so sorry," Alex said. She sat down on the couch and placed a comforting hand on his knee. "If it makes you feel any better, I know it isn't you. Emily doesn't know what she wants. Ever."

"It's okay," he said with a slight strug. "She's nice and all, but I think I just liked the attention more than I really was into her, you know?"

"I understand," Alex told him.

"I told him he's a good guy any girl would like to date," Leo said. "Was that okay to say?" he murmured shyly to Alex.

"Yes," she whispered back. She then turned back to Mikey and said, "Leo's right, Mikey. You're sweet and funny. You're active and love to make people laugh. You're cute yet incredibly hot all wrapped it one!

"Face of an Angel!" Kerry yelled as she slipped on the lab coat Don gave her. "Mwah!" she said blowing him a kiss.

"Face of an Angel," Alex repeated, nudging him with her shoulder. "You're going to find a girl that's going to need to have you around to make her laugh and to make her feel like she's the only girl in the world."

Mikey blushes, a small smile on his pale freckled cheeks. "Thanks guys," he muttered, a small smile dancing on his lips.

"Anytime sweetie," Kerry smirked at him. "Wanna repay that compliment with some blood for my project?" she asked with a chuckle, motioning to a needle.

"Yes?" Mikey answered, getting off the couch.

"Don't sound so enthused. It's not a life time contract, I promise." She said putting an arm around him comfortingly, still worried he was still depressed.

"It's just a weird way of asking for a sample," he told her.

While Mikey was gone, Alex took out the materials she needed for tutoring. There wasn't that many. She was just going to be helping Mikey with his homework that afternoon.

Raph watched all this go down before planting himself down next to her, arm behind her on the couch. "You came in all smiley, what's up?" he asked a smirk in place.

"Nothing," she told him, leaning into his side. "Just a good day. Though not for Mikey, apparently."

"Just you wait," Raph smirked bigger. "He'll bounce back in no time, find a new girl to crush on."

"I just hope she feels the same way he does. He deserves someone that'll be as crazy for him as he will be for her," Alex told him. "But enough of that. How was your day?"

"It was good, I was finally able to change my bikes tire," Raph said thoughtfully trying to think of anything else of interest from a typical day. "Other than that it's been a slow day, a good day in my book."

"Me too," Alex told him. She glanced over her shoulder at the lab and whispered, "Looks like Operation Korny is going in the right direction."

Raph looked over as well as Kerry started working on blood slides as Mikey walked away rubbing his arm, grumbling about leeches or something. Don stood pretty close to her, under the pretense of watching her work. "Oh so that's why you started being all giggly, you sneak," he said pinching her side gently

"Ow, watch it," she muttered, swatting his hand. "Still kind of sore."

"Sorry,"he said kissing her temple on instinct. "God, Don's kind of a creep," he said lowly to her, smirking slightly, peeking at the two in the lab. Kerry blushed as Don leaned in close to her, explaining the dyes to her as his hand rested on her shoulder lightly.

"It's not creepy," Alex told him, taking out her own homework to work on while she waited for Mikey to come back over. "He just wants to be close to her. And to smell her...Okay, maybe part of it's a little odd. But honestly, I'd probably do the same. I mean, you have that one cologne that smells incredible," she practically moaned.

"Okay, weirdo," he murmured softly though it was jokingly. "Thanks," he said but furrowed her brows. "Umm, is Kerry okay?" The girl was turning redder by the moment as Don always found a way to be touching her. She didn't mind, but he was getting awfully close to her back.

Alex giggled softly. "Yeah, Kerry's just got a sensitive back," Alex told him.

"Oh good god, Don's going to have a field day with that." Raph murmured.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, glancing up from her own homework.

"Don loves small touches like rubbing backs and kissing shoulders, it's kind of like a fetish for him or something, tracing a girls spine or something." Raph grumbled, thumbing through a magazine. Mikey sat down at Alex's feet, getting his own work out.

"And how the hell do you know this?" Alex asked, looking over Mikey's shoulder. She glanced at the work he already had done and pointed to question four. "Check that one over once more. See if you can figure out what's wrong with it before I help."

"Kay," Mikey said. "And we know because of how he looks at Kerry's back. We asked if he liked her butt and he said no. It was weird," he grumbled as he looked over the problem again.

"Why would you ask in the first place?" Alex pressed. "I mean, isn't that a little weird to know that about your brother?"

"Doesn't Kerry know about what you like on guys?" Raph scoffed at her.

More like what I like on you, she thought. "Yes, but she's not my brother," Alex pointed out. "I prefer not to know what my brothers prefer, you know what I mean?" She shivered just thinking about it. "Uh, gross."

"Well you're a girl with brothers, we're all guys, doesn't bother us too much. That doesn't mean we want details. Just the basics like that." Raph chuckled. "It's a bit different."

"Weirdos," Alex teased, just as he had done to her.

"Takes one to know one," Mikey shot back.

"Okay, I won't deny that," Alex chuckled.

Kerry gave a slight whimper as Don's hand gravitated back to the center of her spine after helping her adjust the microscope properly. Oh god this was distracting, what could she say? Hey can you not do that because it does things to me I don't want you to see? NO!

"Having any trouble with that sample?" he asked her.

"A-a-h a little bit," Kerry said, having to clear her throat. Focas! You can do this. "It's just, umm, is it normal for there to be very few eosinophils?

"Yes," he told her, leaning in closer to have a look. As he did so, he put more pressure on her back as he leaned in. "Basophils are the most common and the ones you'd see most of."

Kerry quickly slapped a hand over her mouth and looked away for a second, face red.

"D-Did she almost..." Raph blinked looking back at her.

"Oh my God, I think she almost did," Alex gasped, eyes wide as she watched.

"It's like watching a movie, or a soap opera," Mikey added. "Or porn."

Raph turned Mikey's head back to his paper and said, "Do your work."

"How can I when that's going on behind us!" he exclaimed, keeping his voice down for once in order to prevent the two in the lab from hearing.

"Ignore it." Raph murmured though he was watching out of the corner of his eye too. The hypocrite. At least he didn't have homework to do. "Operation Korny really is underway."

Kerry tried to get it under control, breathing through her nose a few times, making it look like she had stopped a sneeze. His hands was so much bigger than hers-No focus you need this Kerry. "Okay so how about these monocytes huh?" she laughed humorously. "They look exactly like basophils to me."

Don leaned in even more, his hand moving to her side, grasping it gently but firm as he looked at the sample to answer. Kerry bit her lips harshly another whimper breaking out. "The center is darker," he told her, his breath tickling her neck. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem a little tense?"

"Ooh, ahh, umm nerves! Over this test, you know? It's got me stressing big time." Kerry mumbled. Yeah it has nothing to do with that you're doing to me. God I'm a freak.

"You'll do fine," Don told her, squeezing her side slightly to reassure her. "I know it."

"Ahh-ahaha." Kerry forced a grin, covering up the noise as a laugh. "Just you wait, I'll make it harder for you."

"I can't believe she just said that!" Alex gasped. She turned to Raph, eyes asking him if she had just heard right.

"Oh god, this is turning into operation Horny." Raph grumbled a bit.

Alex gaped at Raph, a blush on her pale cheeks. "I can't believe you just said that," she muttered.

"Well it's true! I mean obviously...just...just look at her!" Raph grumbled.

Kerry now had her eyes shut, realizing just how wrong what she said could be taken. Her breathing was becoming harder to control as Don's thumb rubbed circles on her rib cage. Okay, at least he isn't on the back now.

"You're doing most of it right," Don told her. "You have nothing to worry about."

I don't know by what miracle though, Kerry thought. And good god he's good with his hands.

"Uhh what?" She asked, having lost her train of thought.

"You just needed a little nudge in the right direction," he added.

"Oh right, thanks Donnie, you're a good nudge I guess." Kerry laughed peeking in the microscope again. Brain...we are going to have a very serious discussion about what you're telling my mouth to say when we get home.

"Anything else you want me to take a look at?" Don asked softly, his chest basically pressed flat against Kerry's back.

That did it. The straw that broke this poor unfortunate camel's back...oh the irony of this saying. Kerry let out a soft moan, barely able to slam her hands on the lab table to keep from falling to the side as her knees gave out for a brief moment, turned to jelly as her body gave a shiver.

"Oh my God, Kerry! Are you okay?" Don asked frantically, grabbing her sides to right her. Or try to, at least.

"Ahh, ooh, uh. I-I ahah yeah. I'm f-fine Donnie," Kerry stuttered. Kill me...Right here, right now. Let me die! Or at least make Donatello stop breathing, his chest is still against her back! Oh God! Her hands landed on his, trying not to show how...out of sorts she was.

"Are you sure? I mean, it's not normal to just almost collapse like that,"

"I-I umm. Ye-eah." Kerry tried to calm down, almost falling again this time back against him. "I-I just up. I-ignore me!" he said looking out for Alex for her to come save her. To which Alex refused, trying to get them closer.

"Impossible," he told her. "Do you need to sit down? How much have you had to drink today? Are you hydrated?

"I promise, I'm fi-ine." Kerry said, drawing out the last word to hold back another moan. "I've drank plenty, I promise."

Don's expression was pained and worried. He needed to figure out what was wrong and he didn't understand what was wrong? Was she okay? Was she sick? Was she hurt? "Kerry," he tried again. "We could take a break," he suggested. "We've got all night to do this."

"Yes!" Kerry said quickly, but then her face turned a dark red at the next sentence he said. "A-All night. I-I umm oh. Uh."

"This is weird," Mikey muttered.

"But hilarious," Raph said covering his mouth to keep from laughing.

"It's so awkward and cute at the same time," Alex said. "I don't know if I should cringe or to gush."

"Uh, both?" Mikey asked tilting his head. "Alex are you going to go help her?"

"Nope," she answered. "This is going swimmingly," she told him. "The plan is actually starting to get somewhere."

"Alex," Mikey murmured. "You scare me sometimes with how cunning you are."

Alex gently ruffled his hair before smoothing it back into place. "Don't worry about it, Honey," she told him softly. "When your time comes, you'll appreciate it."

"Stay out of my love life." Mikey glared a bit. "I might go insane."

"Aw, he doesn't trust me, Pumpkin," Alex pretended to pout to Raph.

"He's right too, Firecracker." Raph snorted. "My little puppet master."

"Hey, I'm not controlling them," Alex protested. "I'm just providing service or withholding it when necessary."

Raph gave a knowing look. "Whatever you say," he said giving a strand of hair a playful and gently tug.

Alex squeaked and jumped slightly at the tug. "Raph," she complained, her face slightly red. "Don't."

"I'm evening it up for poor Kerry," he joked as he went back to reading his magazine.

Alex rolled her eyes and reached up, grabbing a fist full of his hair and giving it a small tug. She smirked, seeing his bright red face.

"Hey hey hey no! I was gentle!" Raph groaned. "Butch."

Alex leaned up and whispered deeply into his ear, "Whatever you say, Loverboy." She shifted so that her legs were laying across his lap, her back leaning against the arm rest with the pillow behind her. She had a better view of Mikey's work that way.

Kerry's brain was no longer focused on her work but on the boy basically hugging her from behind, who was now going to get them something to eat and drink. He still wasn't convinced that she was properly hydrated. "I-I can't take much more." She muttered to herself. "I'm going to lose it, it doesn't help that he's so freaking sweet and adorable about all this. Bad thoughts, bad thoughts," she scolded herself, hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand.

Don walked back in with popcorn and some water. "Here we go," he muttered.

"Thanks Donnie, you always got my back, worry wart," she chuckled, composing her self again, taking a piece of popcorn and popping it into her mouth.

"If I don't, who will?" he asked, a small blush on his face. He quickly added more in order to prevent himself from further embarrassment. "Well, besides Alex, of course."

"I don't know, Alex might abandon me!" Kerry yelled pointedly across the room.

"Fruitcake!" Alex yelled from her spot.

"Not talking to you," Kerry yelled back and took a drink. "Thanks again for your help Don. My mom would kill me if I did any worse in this class."

"Hey, I'm happy to help whenever you need it. Even if it's three in the morning. Just give me a call," he told her. "I mean, I've probably helped everybody with something at some point. Mikey with science, Leo with economics, Raph in federal government and Alex in math."

"You want me calling you at three in the morning? For biology and math questions?" Kerry teased with a raised eyebrow.

"If it's what you need, yeah," he said with a blush and a shrug. "I want you to know I'll always be here to help you. No matter what it is."

Kerry looked at him, eyes going dark for a brief second. Anything? Even in the wee hours of the morning when she couldn't sleep and reached for a small white box that she had swore she had thrown away? She shook her head banishing the thought. "Thanks once more Don," she mumbled, hand coming up to touch his cheek gently. "It means a lot."

Don took her hand, keeping it against his cheek for a moment longer as he leaned into it. "Well, you mean a lot to me," he told her.

Kerry smiled and kissed his other cheek briefly. "Same...for me I mean. Y-you mean a-a lot to me as well."

"S-So, uh, back to work?" he asked, turning back to the table completely red.

"Y-Yeah, I got to ensure I pass!" Kerry said nodding seriously.

"Oh my God that is the cutest thing I have ever seen," Alex gushed, hugging a pillow to her chest.

"Firecracker, don't let your head explode." Raph scoffed patting her head gently.

"Oh, come on," Alex sighed. "You have to admit that was so touching!"

"You mean Donnie was touchy," Raph snickered a bit.

Alex leaned forward and took Raph's face in one hand, pinching his cheeks slightly. "Mind out of the gutter, Loverboy." She kissed his cheek before leaning back into her spot.

"Get your mind in the gutter, Babe." Raph smirked at her. Mikey smirked a bit, maybe getting Don and Kerry together was helping Operation Ralex get together. He was an amazing double agent.

Alex smirked, knowing very well that Raph wasn't really being serious. However, just to mess with him, Alex shifted and sat on his lap, straddling his waist, facing him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her chest up against his. She nudged her nose with her own. "Mmm, wouldn't you like that, Loverboy," she muttered deeply, her face almost as red as her hair.

Raph blushed, gulping a bit as she looked at him. His hands went to her hips, holding her in place. His thumbs gently rubbed circles through the fabric of her shirt. "Y-yeah, I would," he said hauntingly, not willing to lose to her.

Alex held back a gulp. He wanted her to? Honestly? She didn't expect that and had no idea what she should do now! Oh, she didn't think this through all the way. Stupid, stupid, she scolded herself. Do I move away, or do I kiss him? The hell do I do?

"Please don't," Mikey begged.

Alex blinked and blushed even more, having completely forgotten that Mikey was there. She moved off of Raph, missing the warmth of his body and sat back into her spot, her legs resting on his lap. "Sorry, Mikey," she told him.

"It's fine. It's just, Don and Kerry are okay cause they aren't, you know...that forward." Mikey said finishing up his work and handing it to Alex to check.

"You know we've never actually done anything, right?" she muttered, looking over his answers. She scanned, doing the math of the problems in her head. She smirked, handing it back to him. "Aced it, Mikey," she told him, ruffling his hair.

"Booya!" Mikey yelled jumping up and hugging Alex and even Raph. "And yeah but still."

"Sorry," she told him again. "Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's cool, bro," Mikey said hitting her knee gently as he sat down to pull out his game controller. "Anybody else want to play?"

"Hell yeah!" Alex exclaimed. "I'm always up for some Call of Duty Ghosts."

"Well we can't let Mikey have all the fun." Raph chuckled as well and got up to get them both controllers.

Kerry smiled as she leaned away from the microscope once more, rubbing her eyes. "Alright, I think I calculated them alright. As long as I counted correctly our results should be the same."

Don moved in, not touching her this time. "Uh, you're off a little on basophils, but we got the same number of esophiles," he told her. "See here?" He told her, moving so she could see. "I found a mono and a baso here."

"Dang it." Kerry groaned a bit and came over and looked in the other side. "S-s-so mono has one big nucleus, thus it's called a mono. Basophils have pinched off ones?" Kerry asked shily, as if scared she sounded stupid and he'd say so.

"See, you've got it!" Don exclaimed, a large smile spreading across his face.

"I-I did?" Kerry mumbled looking at him in shock.

"Yeah," he answered. "You've got more of this retained than you thought. You just needed a little more practice."

"D-Donnie," she said in shock. "I-I'm actually going to pass this exam." She blinked, feeling like crying all of a sudden.

"I told you," he said. "You don't give yourself enough credit. You're smart, one of the smartest girls I've ever met."

"You just don't say that to make me feel better, do you?" Kerry mumbled softly.

"Of course not," he told her. "Honestly, Kerry. You're really smart. You're smart and kind and beautiful and strong and creative," Don started to ramble.

Kerry turned to him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, hugging him hard. "You're the best guy in the world, Donnie. Love you," she mumbled, not being confident enough to say it seriously as she dreamed about.

Don froze mid hug, a deep blush on his cheeks. It took him several moment to regain himself enough to say, "Love you too, Kerry."

Kerry blushed but couldn't help but smile against his shoulders. "...good." she mumbled.

"Die!" Alex yelled, madly pressing buttons on the controler. "Take that you son of a b-"

"Woah, rage much?" Raph chuckled.

"Weird hearing you say that, Raph," Mikey shot back, earning a hit on his head.

"Hey, he shot my Mikey," Alex muttered. "Nobody shoots my Mikey. Nobody."

"Aww, Alex, I love you too." Mikey cooed a bit. "B-but I got it, Alex. Really, I can handle it."

Alex just glared at the screen, shooting at the enemy. "Whatever you say, Mikey. Doesn't mean I'm not going to stop shooting the balls off of those dicks."

"I thought Kerry was bad!" Mikey whined a bit scared of Alex now.

"That's my girl!" Raph laughed as he helped her fend off the offending side.

Alex laughed when Raph got the last guy. "Nice head shot," she complimented, kissing him on the cheek.

"Thanks, Babe." Raph smirked, "Oh you got that guy right as he spawned!"

"Well, you know me," Alex said. "Always there to protect my boys."

"You're the best." he said grinning at her. "Love you!" he laughed hitting her shoulder.

"I love you too, Raph," she replied as if it came perfectly naturally to her, and as if she had been doing it for years. She froze slightly when she realized she had done so, causing her to get shot several times, killing her character on screen. The last time, that she could recall saying that to Raph while he was conscious (since she has done so when he spent the night with her and he was asleep) was on New Years when she had accidentally gotten drunk and made a complete fool out of herself. She had revealed things to Raph and she had hoped to keep with herself.

"Oh man! Don't worry, we're get them back for you." Raph grinned as if nothing had changed. "Posers are going to pay!"

Alex sat there stiffly. Maybe it doesn't mean the same thing when he says it, she thought. Maybe he just means like a best friend. Alex glanced back into the lab at Kerry and Don. Both of them meant it when they said it. But maybe Raph didn't. Maybe there really wasn't any hope in thinking there was a chance for us to be together.

"Alex?" Raph paused his character. "You okay?" he asked in worry looking over at her.

"Hm?" she hummed. "Oh, uh, yeah. Fine."

"For real?" Raph sighed looking at her. "What's up?"

"Nothing," she told him with a shrug. "Just, uh, getting tired, is all. Kind of not looking forward to going to bed." She knew he'd get that she was still getting nightmares. On good nights she'd be able to get in about three hours of sleep before waking up.

"Oh, well I'm still cool with you calling me if you have problems sleeping, Alex," Raph promised.

For Alex, the problem wasn't falling asleep to begin with. It was waking up and then not being able to. Truthfully, she hadn't felt rested at all in the past several weeks. The best sleep she had gotten was when Raph had spent the night. Sure, she still had a nightmare, but she slept longer and felt much more rested, safer even, just having him right next to her.

And she couldn't possibly ask him to stay the night again. It had been a one time deal. Elliot would flip if she even thought about it, let alone proposed the idea to any of them. And she most certainly couldn't just invite herself to stay the night there with them. It would be rude and inconsiderate.

"Right," Alex muttered, sliding down in her seat slightly. It seemed as if she was trying to let the couch eat her whole so nobody would see her. Raph especially.

"I mean it," Raph said bumping her leg with his. "No matter the time, I want you on that phone."

Alex just nodded her head. She knew that she'd like to talk to Raph, but it wouldn't help. Once she was up from a nightmare, she was never able to go back to sleep, which was her main cause of fatigue. It was trying to still get rest with the nightmares that was the problem. And so far, she had only figured out one way of doing that.

Raph sighed suddenly before setting his controller down and taking her hand, pulling her up from the couch and tugging her towards the door. "Don, Kerry, why don't you have a turn?"

"Okay," Don said, heading toward the couch with Kerry. He gave the two redheads an odd look but ignored them for the most part. Whatever was going on was their business.

"Be prepared to kiss my ass boys." Kerry smirked picking up Alex's controler. "I'll avenge you Lexi!" she called.

"Raph?" Alex asked in shock as he dragged her out. "What are you doing? Where are we going?"

"We need to talk," Raph told her leading her to his room so no one would hear.

"About what?" she asked. She followed him into his room. She huffed and sat down on the bed as he shut the door. "You already told me to call when I need to. I know that already. What else is there to talk about?"

"That's not going to help, is it?" Raph mumbled standing in front of her, arms crossed.

Alex sighed. Of course Raph would know what's up with her. He almost always did. And sometimes it was a right pain in her ass. "No, it won't," she admitted. "Not much we can do about that. I just have to get used to it."

"You slept fine when I stayed over," Raph murmured softly. "Was that the last night of sleep you got?"

"Pretty much," she told him. "I can get in an hour or two a night. That's about it."

"...stay here,"Raph said simply with a shrug, as if it was no big deal. Like he was commenting on the weather.

Alex blinked, believing that she heard him wrong."I'm sorry, what?" Alex muttered.

"Stay here a few nights. I mean you can't afford to be tired. If you want we can even make it a big thing, camp out with the guys in the living room. Cushion forts and all that jazz. I might even consider inviting the hick if she promises not the bug me."

Alex blinked once more, a small blush creeping onto he pale cheeks. "I couldn't intrude like that," she muttered. "I mean, even one night is a big deal."

"Dad loves you." Raph scoffed. "He'd love it if you stayed, it's keep us out of trouble."

Keep you out of trouble? I think you and I could get into some trouble, that's for sure. Alex wanted to roll her eyes and smack herself for her thoughts. "Yeah, but-" She cut herself off, seeing the stern look on Raph's face. Another sigh escaped her lips. "I'm not going to win this one, am I?"

"Nope," Raph said heading to the door. "I'll go tell Dad, you go tell the others."

Alex got up off the bed and grabbed his arm, stopping him before he got to open the door. "Raph?"

"Yeah?" He asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"Thanks," she muttered, feeling embarrassed that he went out of his way just to make sure she was okay. "I...You…"

"Hey, I told you, I'm going to always be there and care for you in the way you deserve." Raph said seriously. "I don't lie."

Not knowing how to respond to that, Alex stood up on her tiptoes and gently placed a lingering kiss on his lips. Her eyes were closed, left hand resting on his neck while the other was still on his arm. Raph breathed through his nose slowly, relaxing into the familiar action, kissing her back.

Raph pulled back, and Alex almost whined at the loss of contact. "Alright," Raph chuckled at her a bit.

"What?" she asked him. She didn't know what he found so amusing.

"You always do that when you can't find words to say." Raph teased.

Alex rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you complaining?"

"Obviously not." He smirked and left out the door.

"Well then, if you're not complaining," Alex muttered, grabbing the back of his shirt to stop him. She walked around him so that they were facing and pulled him down by the front of his shirt to kiss him again.

"Ga-" Raph called before being pulled down into a kiss, protest lost in the open air as he kissed back.

Alex wrapped her arms around Raph's next, holding him in place so he couldn't pull back again. Her lips moved against his, almost as if they were dancing. Raph's hands went to her hips, rubbing circles through the fabric. He backed her up in the wall, pinning her there as he moved from her lips to her ear.

Raph nibbled at her earlobe. Alex's knees started to go weak. If Raph hadn't pinned her there, she would have fallen to the floor. A soft moan escaped her throat, causing Raph to smirk against her skin.

"So this was what you two went off to do…." Mikey muttered.

Alex jumped, bumping her head against Raph's. "Ow…" she muttered, rubbing her forehead.

"...Michelangelo."Raph growled, turning to his brother with a dark look.

Mikey chuckled and turned back around to yell towards the other room. "I found them!" he yelled. "They were making out!"

"You get some!" Kerry yelled back out, head popping out into the all. "Get you some girl!" she grinned mischievously at Alex. Payback is such a bitch and Kerry's an even bigger one.

Alex shrank back, hiding behind Raph slightly. Her hands gripped his hair tightly. Her head went to rest against his back, hoping that nobody could see just how red it was.

"I'm going to kick both of your asses!" Raph yelled at them, fist clenching rightly. Mikey blinked at him and started backing up.

"Bring it you son of a-" Kerry yelled but Mikey slapped a head over her mouth.

"Sleep over?" Alex whispered up to Raph, reminding him that they were supposed to tell them.

"I'm for it if Kerry and Mikey sleep outside!" Raph glared.

"If you let them sleep inside I'll let you put up a hammock in your room," Alex tried to persuade. "I'll stay with you there."

"...Fine." Raph hissed. "I have to talk to Dad, you tell the guys?"

Alex groaned. "Fine."