Chapter 12
Painful Past
"Okay, spill!" Alex exclaimed as the two girls left the school to head to tutoring. "How was your date? I want to know everything!"
"It was okay," Kerry mumbled a bit. "I had fun, lots of fun." she shrugged a bit, looking away.
"Oh come on, Kerry! Don't leave me hanging out to dry! Tell me!" Alex yelled, grabbing her arm dramatically.
"Okay, okay! Now stop before my shoulder dislocated," Kerry growled pulling her arm away. "It was an all day thing, getting there right when the exhibits opened. And we just kind of...well talked a lot. Held hands, walked from exhibit to exhibit, debated the pros and cons of Grecian archeological development. And um we-" Kerry cut off.
"What? What?" Alex asked eagerly with wide eyes.
"The deep sea exhibit was interactive and stuff which was fun, but it got dark in there and he...well he used opportunity to his advantage, I guess. Kissed me and stuff." Kerry said. "Oh and Don almost punched a guy." Kerry said in a rush at the end. "Look light changed, let's go."
"He what?" Alex laughed, following after Kerry. "Wow, must have been something good to bug Don."
"He had asked what a girl like me was doing in a place like this, to say it politely." Kerry mumbled.
"Ouch," Alex muttered. "Well, then I suppose he has valid reasoning for it. Don is forgiven." She shrugged.
"Don was scary," Kerry corrected. "I've never seen him so...emotionless before. His face just went blank."
"Well, that's what happens when he's protective," Alex said. "It should get better as you two continue to go out. He'll see that you don't need as much protection as he wants to give." She adjusted her backpack over her shoulder.
"He wants to go ice skating next time." Kerry mumbled softly, a smile on her face.
"Cool," Alex said. "Ice skating is always fun. Plus, you can laugh at everybody that falls down."
"Yeah, not everyone is fortunate to have awesome ninja training," Kerry laughed.
"Ain't that the truth," Alex agreed. "But you had fun, right? You want to go out again?"
"Other than being insulted and Don almost punching a guy? Yes. Is it bad I didn't want to go home?" Kerry sighed, a bit love sick now.
"Not at all," Alex told her. "Trust me. This is a good thing!"
"I don't know, I kind of want to swallow some pesticide to get rid of the damn butterflies." Kerry snorted.
"It gets easier," Alex told her. "You get more comfortable with it as you hang out more. It's less embarrassing to express and do stuff too. It'll get better, much better, I promise."
"So how are you and Raph doing after the confession?" Kerry asked quick to change subject.
"Fine, I guess," Alex muttered with a shrug. "Haven't really seen him since that night. But then again, it's only been, like, two days. The game was Friday night and it's only Monday."
"Looks like we both had an entertaining weekend." Kerry chuckled a bit as they approached the Hamato home.
"Entertaining is one word for it," Alex laughed, walking up the steps.
"You know what we should do?" Kerry asked her suddenly.
"What?" the redhead asked. She had absolutely no idea what Kerry was thinking about doing.
"Watch The Room," Kerry said smirking as she walked through the halls of the house.
"No!" Alex yelled as they entered the common area.
"Oh come on, it's hilarious!" Kerry laughed.
"No, it's a crappy movie that only you find funny because it's so bad," Alex said. "It's not supposed to be funny!"
"Which in turn makes it even more hilarious." Kerry grinned.
"No, I'm not doing it!" Alex huffed, plopping down on the couch.
"Oh come on! We'll do it at like 2 a.m. everythings more funny at 2 a.m" Kerry prompted.
"No, I'd rather be sleeping at two in the morning, thank you very much," Alex grumbled.
"Where is your sense of halari-" Kerry said then looked around. "Why have I not been tackled in a hug by Mikey?...Where are the guys?"
Alex looked around. She hadn't even noticed that nobody was in there as they entered. "Huh, beats me," she muttered, leaving her bag on the floor next to the couch as she got up. "Come on, let's go look."
Kerry put down her heavy bookbag and jacket before following after her. "This is freaky, I mean, they're always waiting for us in that room. Always."
"Not always," Alex shrugged, leading Kerry down the hallway where the bedrooms were. They peaked in, finding nobody. Alex then turned down another hall where she knew they dojo was. "Once I came and nobody was here except for Raph, who happened to walk out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. Turned out they forgot to tell me tutoring was cancelled for Christmas shopping."
"Yeah, yeah that sounds like them,." Kerry chuckled a bit. "So...only a towel?" she asked eyes flashing mischievously.
"Mhm," Alex hummed. "All wet from a shower. It was the sexiest thing I've ever seen in my life!"
"Mine was when they guys found us on our run and had been playing basketball shirtless," Kerry mumbled a bit.
Alex laughed. "I would say that too, but the towel was extremely low and...yeah, I'm going to stop talking about this now."
"Yeah please? Raph is basically my brother, ew." Kerry shivered a bit. "Let's check the dojo- Oh Master Splinter," Kerry said as she rounded the corner and almost ran into the man. "Hello." she said and was quick to bow.
"Hello Kerry, Alexandra," Splinter said, bowing his head to them.
"Hello, Master Splinter," Alex said, bowing in return.
"My sons shall be with you momentarily," he told them. "They had an extra training session this afternoon. I apologize if this is of any inconvenience to you."
"Oh, that's no problem," Alex said. "We just got curious and went looking, is all."
"It was the perfect horror movie set up, couldn't resist." Kerry joked a bit, nervous around the man.
"You are welcome to meet them in the dojo, if you so wish," he said. "Please excuse me."
"Thank you, Master Splinter," Alex bowed.
"Thanks, Master Splinter, enjoy your stories." Kerry said bowing with a little wave. "God, he makes me nervous." Kerry mumbled to her friend once he was out of earshot.
"Why?" Alex asked as they entered the dojo. "It's not like he doesn't like you."
"I know, and I don't hate the guy. Quite the contrary, I love Master Splinter. But he makes me nervous! It's like he can see every little secret you've ever had, just by looking in your eyes." Kerry sighed.
"Okay, I see your point," Alex said. "Maybe I'm just good with the pressure?"
"You don't normally have very much to hide though. You're an honest person, Alex." Kerry said seriously. "Me, not so much."
Alex gulped, thinking about how she had been hiding the whole Guardian thing from everybody for over a month already. "Right," she muttered, not catching the fact that Kerry said she wasn't an honest person.
"My girls!" Mikey yelled extremely weakly, laying flat on his back on the mats on the floor.
Mikey wasn't the only one on the ground either. Each Hamato boy was laying on the ground in various positions. They either looked tired or in pain, and in Mikey's case, both.
"What in the world...?" Kerry trailed of, blinking in shock at their poor state. She unzipped her boots before taking them off and stepping onto the mat.
"What the hell happened to you guys?" Alex asked, following Kerry's lead. She left her shoes at the door before entering.
"It's damn Leo's fault," Raph grumbled, glaring at his brother who was laying next to him on his stomach.
"My fault?" Leo scoffed. "As I recall, it was your fault."
"Say that to my damn face, prick." Raph snapped back at him.
"Okay, easy," Alex sighed trying to keep the peace. She knelt down between the two. "Does somebody want to tell me what happened?"
"And can anyone feel their legs?" Kerry tacked on with a scoff crouching down to poke Mikey's back.
"Nope," Mikey answered Kerry.
"You should be able to feel them soon, Mikey," Don huffed, completely out of breath. "As should I, I think." Kerry bit her lip and gently patted both their sweaty backs, not wanting to cause any more pain for either one.
"It's both of thier fault!" Mikey accused woefully. "And Donnie and I are just victims of being good brothers!"
"What did you two do?" Alex sighed, helping Leo sit up. She gently rubbed his back as he groaned in pain from the movement. Raph gritted his teeth glaring at them both.
"Me and Raph kinda had a small disagreement," Leo answered softly, trying to downplay it obviously.
"Small disagreement?" Kerry asked crossing her arms slightly with a raised eyebrow.
"None of your disagreements are ever small," Alex muttered. She helped pull Leo to his feet, having to grab onto his arms to steady him from his wobbly knees. "Easy now," she muttered. She put his arm around her shoulders and lead him over to one of the benches. Normally the boys kept their water bottles on said bench.
Alex then turned, making her way over to Mikey to help him over to the bench as well. "What was this 'disagreement' about?"
Kerry eased Don up as well as he answered. "I-I don't even remember, but it ended with someone crashing through the door." He groaned slightly, almost tripping over his own foot. Kerry caught him easily. He blushed and smiled at her sheepishly. "Hi Kerry," he greeted.
"Hey Don, take it easy." Kerry said leading him over.
"I'm okay," he assured her. "But thanks for helping."
"My pleasure." Kerry said with a suggestive wink.
"Crash threw as in breaking the door?" Alex asked, turning to go and help Raph. As she touched him Raph shoved off her hands and got up on his own, though it was harder and more painful. She blinked, confused as to why he was acting that way. She'd have to ask him about it later.
"Yeah, tossed Losernardo over here through the dojo door," Raph glared at his elder brother.
"Raph," Alex sighed, moving to help him walk over. She grabbed his arm gently, but she was met with resistance. He pulled his arm out of her grasps and made the rest of the way to the bench on his own. Her stomach dropped and not in a good way. Did I do something wrong? she thought. But what could she have done? She had only just gotten there. Unless...Unless he regretted telling her that he liked her.
"Anyway," Raph grumbled. "Sensei was not happy, but no one told him who did it and so he added on three more hours of training."
"Shit guys." Kerry huffed a bit going over to the small refrigerator in the corner to get them some ice packs.
"Well, nobody can ever say you guys don't stick together," Alex muttered, sitting down next to Mikey on the bench.
"Well, me and Don kinda owe them for not ratting us out on more than one occasion. Raph didn't want to get grounded because he wanted to go out on Saturday." Mikey said almost moaning as Kerry put the cold pack on the back of his neck.
"I guess we can call off tutoring for today," Alex sighed, making sure Mike kept the pack on. "You've gotta rest up so you can, you know, actually move tomorrow."
"Thanks, Alex." Mikey mumbled leaning against her slightly. Kerry moved on to Leo and Raph, easing the ice packs on to the ideal places to cool them down.
"He really kicked your asses, huh?" Kerry mumbled as she place the last one on Donnie's neck. "As if I needed anymore of a reason to be nervous around him." she scoffed.
"Kerry," Alex sighed. "Seriously, you've got nothing to worry about from Master Splinter."
"Yeah, he loves the two of you," Don told them.
"Plus, you're not his kid so he can't really punish you," Leo added.
"But still, he sees into my soul." Kerry grumbled a bit sitting down between the two boys and holding the ice packs in place so they didn't have to raise their arms too much.
"I'm surprise he doesn't see the demon then." Raph shot at her with a glare.
"And all he sees is a good person," Don told her, taking her hand.
Kerry blushed a bit. "Yeah," She mumbled quietly, though her voice wasn't convinced. "Anyway, how you boys feeling?" she quickly changed the subject.
"A little better now," Mikey muttered. "I think I'll be able to make it to my room on my own for a long, long nap." He slowly got up and started to hobble his way towards the door. "Wake me up next week."
"I'll bring you something to eat before I leave if you want." Kerry said to him as he passed. "Don't think Master would appreciate a kitchen raid at midnight."
"I can help you with that," Alex told her.
"I love having the two of you here," Mikey muttered before he was out of earshot. "It's like having sisters or a mom."
"I'm not that old." Kerry joked with a laugh.
"But you are a mom," Alex giggled. "Gabriel, remember?"
"Yeah, but takes care of himself basically." Kerry chuckled.
"Okay, so since there's no tutoring, what are we going to do?" Alex asked. "Do you guys want to do something or should we go...?"
"You don't have to go," Raph said almost too softly for anyone but her to hear. Jealousy aside, he still wanted her there.
"So something relaxing? Movie?" Alex suggested.
Raph peeked at her before nodding slightly. "Sounds good," he said taking her hand in his.
The group slowly migrated to the living room to watch the movie. Kerry, once she knew Don was on the couch, went to the kitchen to make a snack while Alex set up the DVD player.
"The Room!" Kerry called back to her. "It should be on netflix!"
"We are not watching that movie!" Alex growled. "I'll leave if we do!"
"The Room?" Leo asked her oddly. "What's what?"
"A terrible, terrible movie," Alex muttered, shaking her head. "Trust me, you don't want to watch it."
"It can't be that bad..." Leo trailed off when he saw the look she shot him. "...Really? That bad?"
"It is that bad, why do you think Kerry likes it?" Alex said.
"I like it, ironically." Kerry said as she walked back in, her waitressing skills allowing her to carry multiple things without breaking a sweat. "It's so bad it's hilarious," she said setting everyone's drinks down before placing a bowl of popcorn in each of the boys laps.
"No, it's so bad that it's excruciatingly painful," Alex stared, loothing through the movies on the netflix screen.
"You're tearing me apart, Alex!" Kerry cried out dramatically.
"O-kay," Raph mumbled. "Kerry how much have you had to drink today?" he asked scoffing at the girl.
"Oh you know, just a couple bottles of Better Than You," Kerry shot back, avoiding an attempt to hit her, which only caused the red head more pain. She sat down on the couch next to Donatello, sticking her tongue out. Raph grumbled and attempted to lean forward to reach her.
"Easy," Alex told Raph, easing back onto the couch. "Take it easy," she insisted. The boy sighed resting his head on her shoulder and putting an arm around her possessively.
"Hey, uh, can I ask you something?" she asked Raph softly, only so he could really hear.
"Yeah?" Raph asked her just as quietly.
"Did I so something wrong?" she asked, referring to his attitude earlier.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when I tried to help you earlier you kind of shrugged me off." she said.
"...You're my girlfriend. Not Leo's," Raph grumbled.
Alex couldn't help but laugh. "Is that what this is about? Because I helped your brother?"
"You're my girlfriend, not Leo's," Raph repeated.
"Honey," Alex chuckled, running her hand through his hair. "You have nothing to worry about. Trust me," she kissed his forehead. "I helped Leo because he was right there. I can't try and play favorites just because we're dating, you know. Even if I love you."
"I know, doesn't mean I have to like it," Raph grumbled to her, still pissed, but more so at himself instead of her. Leo's always been better...
"Think about this every time you start to get jealous," she whispered, moving to his ear. She bit the lobe before sucking on it, turning Raph's face red. "You're the only one that gets the perks."
"A-Alex, stop it," Raph huffed a bit, face burning a fiery red.
She nibbled on it again, chuckling darkly. "Then maybe you shouldn't get jealous, Raphie Boy."
"W-what do you mean?" Raph asked her oddly.
"I have to reassure you that I'm yours, don't I?" she chuckled. "I mean, that's what you're worried about, isn't it? Well, sometimes I have to reassure you in a not so appropriate time. And you have to deal."
She was doing that intentionally. She knew that he didn't like doing things like that with the others around. It was a way to reassure him that she was all his, but also a form a punishment at the same time. After all, wasn't it slightly insulting to be doubted like that?
"O-okay, Alex I get it. Don't get jealous, just stop," he mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut.
Alex giggled and pulled away from Raph completely, making him have to sit up on his own. She didn't make him for long though, because she pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and laid down. Raph laid down next to her, his head resting against her stomach. She put the blanket over him and the her lower half.
"...Thanks," Raph mumbled, finally relaxing his tense muscles.
Alex smiled down at him, smoothing out his hair. "Mhm," she hummed softly.
"Ahaha! Found it." Kerry said looking at the tv, hand clutching the remote she had snatched while Alex was distracted. The Room was selected and ready to be played.
"Kerry!" Alex groaned. "I swear, if you play that, I'm leaving!"
"Gee, see what you've done now? Now that a threat has been place, my rebellious attitude forces me to do exactly what you tell me not to." Kerry said as-matter-of factly.
Alex sighed, rolling out from under Raph and got up. She started to make her way to the door. She turned down the hall and grabbed her shoes from the dojo before walking back to the common area to put her shoes on and to grab her backpack.
"Alex, sit down before Raph rips off my leg!" Kerry cried using the remote to beat, said boys hand on her foot.
"Nope," Alex said, putting her left shoe on. "I'm not watching that horrible movie. You know how much I hate it."
"We won't watch it then!" Kerry groaned. "Just make him let go!"
Alex sat back down and took her shoe back off. "Thank oof," she muttered, laying back down before Raph roughly plopped back down on her stomach. "Easy there, Loverboy," she groaned, patting his hair.
"No one messes with my pillow." Raph grumbled as he let go of Kerry's foot, which the girl pulled closer to her.
"Jackass," Kerry shot at him.
"Bitch," Raph snapped.
"Can we stop being mean to one another now?" Don asked, pulling Kerry under his arm, covering himself and her with another blanket.
"Calm down you two," Alex sighed, playfully pulling a strand of Raph's hair as punishment.
"Fine, only because I'm comfortable now," Kerry huffed, head pressed against Donnie's chest lightly, not wanting to hurt his sore muscles.
"Ow, Alex cut it out." Raph said slapping her hand gently, before taking her hand and intertwining their fingers.
"Then stop being an ass," she scolded him.
"She started it," Raph complained as Kerry found a movie that would be unoffensive.
"And I'm ending it," Alex stated.
"Alex, they have the first season of Once Upon a Time," Kerry interrupted her.
"Watching it!" Alex instantly said, pointing at Kerry!
"What's that?" Leo asked.
"Doin' it!" Kerry said pressing play. "Our favorite show to watch together. It's about fairy-tail characters that are cursed into live in a town in our world, frozen until the savior comes and breaks it."
"We are not watching that! It sounds so stupid." Raph snapped. "Totally girly."
"I'll make it worth your wild," Alex whispered teasingly to him.
"Alex, come on!" Raph groaned a bit at her continuous teasing. "Fine, whatever, I'll just nap though it, I guess."
"There are fight scenes in it." she told him, running her fingers through his no longer spiked hair. It had deflated during the training session.
"Girly fight scenes." Raph corrected her.
"More like sword fights," she told him.
"Whatever, just press play," Raph grumbled though his interest was slightly peaked.
"Hey Alex, if you could be any character who would you be?" Kerry asked Alex. "No matter the gender, mind you."
"Can I be a female Hook?" Alex asked. "That man is sexy as fuck. And he would make an incredibly sexy woman."
"Yes yes you can." Kerry laughed as Raph looked at her oddly.
"What?" Alex asked, noticing the look.
"You two are weird," Raph grumbled a bit. "Who are these people?"
"Oh, I wanna be Rumpelstiltskin or Regina." Kerry said.
"Good choice," Alex told her.
"I'd make a good villain." Kerry winked.
"You'd tempt people into the dark side," Alex said. "Don wouldn't be able to resist!"
"I'd rip out your heart any day." Kerry winked at the boy she was laying against.
"Again, who are these people?" Raph asked.
"You'll see," Alex said. "Though Hook doesn't come in until much later."
"Shh, we're getting to the good part." Kerry mumbled as she watched Charming racing to wake up Snow White. "...their relationship is too perfect." she groaned.
"I know!" Alex agreed. "I mean, they're really cute together and I wouldn't want them to be with anybody else, but come on! Every relationship has their troubles."
"...But you have to admit they made a very pretty baby." Kerry muttered.
"That is very true," Alex agreed.
"Are we going to watch or do we have to listen to you two fangirl?" Leo asked glancing at them.
"Sorry," the two girls muttered, shutting their mouths.
Alex laid there watching the show, subconsciously running her fingers through Raph's hair, massaging his scalp. Raph sighed happily head resting against her stomach. Alex glanced down at Raph, a soft smile gracing her lips. She removed her hand and moved it to his shoulder, gently rubbing the tender, overworked muscles. He winced at first but then became butter in her hands almost falling asleep from being so relaxed.
As Alex did this, Raph slipped his hand under the hem of her loosely fit tee-shirt, gently placing his hand on the warm skin of her stomach, never moving any further than that. His thumb gently rubbed circles on her stomach, making her blush. His action was hit by the blanket covering them.
Kerry had shifted so her back was against Don's chest, careful of her hypersensitivity as she took his hand and massaged the calloused palm, working out the knots that had formed there from his lab work and bo staff. Don's attention was pulled from the show because of this. He stared at her hands working away at his own, a small blush dancing on his cheeks. Kerry however took no notice as her eyes remained glued to the tv, movements subconsciously smooth and gentle.
"Ouch." Kerry suddenly muttered, wincing a bit and looking away from the tv. "That's gotta hurt," she sighed sadly. The scene of Snow White watching Charming take her newborn baby from her, barely getting to say hello before goodbye was forced onto the family. It kinda hit home for her slightly, she wondered if her mother would have cared if she was taken away.
"I hate this part," Alex muttered. "Always have. It's so sad."
"Wait...so she doesn't go with Emma to our world?" Leo asks. "Who takes care of her?"
"You'll see," Alex told him. "That's all part of the show."
"But who goes with her?" Don asked again. "It only takes one."
"Exactly, it can only take one," Alex said. "So nobody can go with Emma."
"But then who takes care of the kid?" Raph asked, surprisingly invested.
"Umm no one she," Kerry blinked as she realizing maybe this was a bad idea. "She's put into foster care."
Alex glanced over at Kerry, thinking the exact same thing. A silence filled the air, almost pliable with a knife as all three boys tensed. Alex glanced down at Raph, who suddenly clenched her side under her shirt where his hand had been rubbing circles into her skin only seconds before. She moved her hand up to his hair, smoothing the hair away from his forehead in an attempt to see his eyes. His green eyes an steeled into emerald metal. hard and unmoving.
Kerry gave a jump as she felt Donnie's nose brush against the curve of her neck, effectively hiding his face away, lips pressed in a straight line from what she could feel at the back of her shoulder. His fingers clenched around hers like a vice, as if scared to let her go. Even Leo seemed to be having a hard time keep his emotions in check, hands clenched in front of him, blue eyes focused on the ground.
"I-I'm sorry," Kerry mumbled, leave it to her to break the silence. "This was a bad idea," she said trying to free her hand from Don's so she could turn off the TV.
"...We were scared," Leo said out of the blue, "that we'd never be adopted, or worse; that we'd be separated."
"I'm so sorry," Alex muttered, her hand firmly on Raph's head, but not enough to hurt him. "We can watch something else, if you'd like. We don't want you guys to have to go through any bad memories."
"No, it's fine," Leo said. "I mean, you guys obviously are going to be around a lot. We can't tiptoe around it forever. We were orphans," he mumbled, though he looked worriedly at his two younger brothers. "You're going to find out about our pasts eventually, why not just do it now?"
"G-Guys, it's okay," Kerry's voice shook, she didn't want to watch any of them in pain. "I-I don't want anyone upset-" Kerry bemoaned in dismay. Oh she just had to find OUAT on netflix didn't she! Why did she never think ahead!? Stupid stupid stupid.
"Chill, hick." Raph mumbled finally saying something. "Like Leo said, your family now."
"And the past is the past," Alex said. "We're in the now. We don't have to go back if you don't want to," she told Raph, gently petting her head.
"But the past makes up who we are," Raph sighed. "Donnie...you don't have to say anything if you don't want," he said in concern for the youngest brother. His arms tightened around Alex, as if she were a teddy bear.
Don was silent for the longest time before weakly saying, "I-It's okay."
Kerry looked to him in worry. Green eyes darkening in worry as she nuzzled his head with hers, wrapping his arms around her.
"I'll go first," Leo said, wanting to give his brothers time to compose themselves. "Well...Mikey actually never knew his parents so he had it easier. His dad actually served as a Marine, being KIA on an important mission. His mom died giving birth to him so he went right into foster care. He was always told his dad was a hero, however, by the caregivers at the home."
"That's why he likes superheroes." Kerry said in realization. "He's thinking of his dad."
"Oh Mikey," Alex sighed.
"He adjusted well, I guess that's why he's so open to meeting and befriending new people, he did it a lot growing up," Leo sighed. "I came in next, I was about 5..." Leo trailed off. "My parents and I were coming back from a movie and it was raining really hard," Leo mumbled. "I remember looking out the window, the rain so thick I couldn't see the trees. Visibility was bad and so a truck didn't see us coming, T-boned . My parents were killed on impact. They didn't feel a thing."
"Leo, I'm so sorry," Alex said, her voice filled with strong emotions.
"It's okay Alex, like I said it was really quick." Leo said though his voice wavered. "I'm not saying it doesn't hurt, but I've accepted it over time. I love my mom and dad, even if I can't remember much about them."
"They loved you too Leo, who couldn't love you?" Kerry said reaching out and taking his hand, but was careful not to dislodge Donnie from his hiding spot.
"Thanks Kerry." Leo smiled at her before looking to his brothers, unsure who would speak first.
"I was around the same age as Leo," Raph spoke up first. "My dad wasn't really the greatest guy. I think my mom protected me from most of it but he would sometimes get really mad." Raph sighed, closing his eyes. Alex's arm tightened around Raph protectively, not wanting him to be in pain. "I remember sometimes getting thrown into the wall, or maybe slapped across the face. Then my mom suddenly packed up and left with me. She took me out of there and away from him. But as sweet as my mom was for doing that she had her own problems..." Raph cleared the lump in his throat. "S-She got involved with another guy, one she shouldn't have and he got her into trouble. Like 30 years to life in prison kind of trouble."
"Oh Raph." Kerry said looking at him. "I-I can't say how sorry I am about that having happened." Kerry said and if she said that she meant it. They all knew how she didn't like saying sorry for stuff like this, because she didn't see the good in it. She must really be at a loss for words.
Alex was silent. The arm that was wrapped around him shook as she tried to prevent herself from crying. She had to be strong for him. But she just couldn't take it. Imagining Raph in such a situation was too much. A small boy unable to defend himself again someone who was supposed to protect him, like her father. And his mother, a woman who tried her hardest being taken away from the boy, who needed her then most of all.
Surprisingly Raph sat up and hugged her tightly. "It's okay." He said speaking to both girls. "I'm happy where I am now, and if that hadn't happened I would have never gotten here."
Alex pulled him closer, completely forgetting that he was sore from training. She bit her lip, holding back a sob as she hid her face into his shoulder. No, I should be the one comforting him, not the other way around. It wasn't me that it happened to! Suck it up, Alex. Be who Raph needs you to be now!
"I don't want to say that I'm happy that happened to you," Alex said. "Because I'm not, but," she paused, trying to think of how to say it, "Raph, I…"
"I understand, you're happy to have met me, right?" Raph smirked slightly, looking at her with a gentle understanding look. "There's nothing wrong with that. I mean that's how me and my bros feel about it too."
Alex gently kissed his forehead. "I love you," she whispered. "And I just, I wish you didn't have to go through all that pain."
"I love you too." Raph said kissing her lips. "and I said I understood." He peeked at Donnie. "So how about we finish this girly show huh?" Raph said, still trying to protect Donatello.
"My dad died from cancer," Don blurted out so softly that they had almost missed it. "M-Mom kind of broke down after that. Started hurting herself." He pressed his face harder against Kerry's shoulder, trying to hide the tears that were falling. "I-I found her in the bathroom one night…." He shook his head, trying to compose himself. "But a six year old's hands can only do so much."
Kerry froze in his arms at the part of his mom hurting her self. "Oh my god." she whispered almost more quietly than he had. After he told her about having to stop the blood from slipping out of his mother she snapped out of it. She picked up his hand, lips pressing against his palm, turning her head so it rested against his. "Donnie, I'm so sorry." she mumbled against his hand, kissing it over and over again.
"I called 911," he continued, closing his eyes as Kerry kissed him. He continued telling his story between the kisses. "S-She was deemed unfit to…."
"Hey," Alex said softly. "It's okay, we understand the rest," she told him, allowing him to stop.
"I'm sorry Donnie, so so sorry." Kerry said voice sounding oddly panicked as she pressed his hand against her face, turning to her side so her other arm could wrap around him tightly. "So sorry."
"I just, I don't," he muttered. "I don't understand how…"
Alex looked at Raph, both of their eyes showing how worried they were for Donatello. "It's okay. Don," Alex told him. "Breathe, Honey. Just breathe."
"Donnie, hey," Kerry said slipping back to take his face in her hands and lift it up to look at her. She brought him out of hiding and smiled reassuringly, though sadness tinged it. "Baby, look at me," she coo'd gently, thumbs rubbing through his tears. "It's okay. We're right here. I'm right here. I'll never, ever leave." she swore to him, understanding just what was hurting him the most.
"Thanks," he muttered ever so softly. He glanced up, looking at Kerry straight in the eyes, almost directing that towards her more than anybody else in the room. He leaned his forehead against her, taking in a deep breath before kissing her lips ever so gently, as if making sure she was real and actually there with him.
"Thank you."