Turtle Love

Meeting the Girls: Part 4

*Raph's POV*

I followed my brothers and Jewel through Shredder's lair, towards the dungeon.

"She should be in the third cell," Jewel said.

Leo was about to say something but he was interrupted by a bunch of Footbots jumping behind us.

"Raph! Go get the girl! We'll get the bots!" Leo yelled.

I didn't hesitate to run to the cell. But, unfortunately, I was greeted by the Shredder. He was holding the girl by her hair.

I pulled out my sais. "Let. Her. Go."

Shredder laughed and held her higher. "Make me, turtle."

I lunged. I kicked the Shredder in the chest, knocking him off guard and causing him to drop the girl. She screamed in pain when she hit the stone floor. I kicked the Shredder again, causing a piece of his helmet to break off. He growled and threw a smoke bomb on the ground, vanishing. I put my sais away and turned back to the girl.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

The girl backed into the corner, holding her wrist where I could see a nasty bruise forming.

"I won't hurt you," I said, softening my voice to get her to trust me.

The girl's eyes were filled with fear, but as soon as she heard my voice soften, she looked up at me, hope glimmering in her brown eyes.

'Damn.' I thought. 'She's... Beautiful.'

I extended my hand to her. "I'm here to help."

She slowly reached a hand out and took mine. I helped her stand, but as soon as I let go of her hand, she fell. I caught her and lifted her into my arms. My two brothers and Jewel entered the cell.

"Raph we gotta go!" Mikey yelled, knocking a bot over.

"One second!" I yelled back. I turned my head to the girl. "What's your name?"

Her eyes were already half closed, but I heard her mumble, "Katelyn." Then, she fell asleep in my arms.

"Raph!" Leo shouted.

"Alright! I'm comin'!"

I followed my brothers back into the main room.

"Donnie!" Mikey screamed. "Let's get out of here dude!"

"On it!" Donnie tossed what looked like an explosive towards the oncoming Footbots.

"We have about 5 minutes! Let's go!" Donnie yelled as he led the way out. Jewel and Mikey followed. I jumped up afterwards, Leo right behind me. We jumped away from the building and into an alleyway before entering the sewers.

****time skip****

I sat in the living room, watching Mikey flick through tv channels. I wasn't really paying attention, mostly because I was thinking about that girl I saved today. She was laying in Donnie's lab right now, still unconscious. The other girl we saved, Jewel, was cautiously standing off to the side, not sure what to do.

"You can come sit down, dudette," Mikey said.

Jewel carefully edged her way over to the couch and sat down. I scoffed.

"We just saved you it's not like we're gonna hurt cha," I growled.

She glared at me. "Well excuse me for being a little edgy being in the home of those I was raised to believe were my enemies."

Mikey snickered at me. "You just got told off by a girl, dude."

I smacked him. "Look at me I'm overflowing with laughter."

Mikey rubbed his head and muttered something that I didn't catch, but I didn't really care either. I stood and started heading towards the punching bag when I heard loud screams coming from Donnie's lab. I ran in, seeing Donnie standing close to Katelyn's bed while she was backed up as far as the wall would permit, fear in her eyes.

"She woke up, saw me and started screaming," Donnie told me, confusion in his voice.

Leo and Mikey came in a moment later, followed by Jewel.

"Raph," Leo said. "She trusts you."

I didn't know what Leo was talking about until I turned back to Katelyn. There was a small glimmer of trust in her eyes when she looked at me, but full on fear when she looked at anyone else.

"Step back," I growled to Donnie. Then, I softened my voice as I turned my head back to Katelyn. "It's okay. These are my brothers. They won't hurt you."

I extended my hand to her, but she wouldn't budge. I realized it was because my brothers and Jewel were too close to her. I turned around.

"Back up!" I growled, causing all of them to back away instantly. I turned back to Katelyn.

"Come on," I said to her, my voice soft again and my hand extended. She slowly reached her hand forward and took mine. I pulled her away from the wall and closer to me. Not once did I let go of her hand. As I led her out of the lab, she stayed close to me, terrified of my brothers and of Jewel. When we were all in the living room, Splinter came out of his room.

"Raphael," he said. "Who is your friend?"

At the very sight of Splinter, Katelyn shrunk back, closer to me. I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Master Splinter, this is Katelyn. Katelyn, this is Splinter. He won't hurt you," I whispered the last part so that no one would hear me but her. Splinter took a step forward as if to shake her hand or something like that and instantly Katelyn reacted. She gasped and let out a small squeak and turned around, clinging to my plastron. I put one hand on her back.

"Sensei, she doesn't trust anyone but Raph," Leo explained.

Splinter nodded. "It is understandable. I can see the bruises and marks. I do not need to be a mind reader to know what happened here," he told us. That was when he noticed Jewel, who had decided to stay particularly close to Mikey since he seemed like the least likely to punch her at any time.

"Michelangelo," Splinter said. "I believe introductions are in order."

"Oh!" Mikey replied, as if just remembering Jewel was behind him. "Sensei this is Jewel. Jewel this is Master Splinter."

Splinter gave a small bow of his head. "Hello, Jewel. My sons have told me much about you and your extraordinary abilities. I hope you find it suiting to make yourself at home, child."

Jewel respectfully bowed her head. "Thank you, sir."

"And," Splinter continued. "I would like to offer for you to train with us."

Jewel kept her head bowed. "I would be honored, Master Splinter."

Splinter gave a small smile before returning to his room.

"Raph," Donnie said from behind me. "Katelyn needs to rest."

I looked down at Katelyn, who still hadn't let go of my plastron.

"I'll handle it," I told him.

I could tell Donnie wanted to protest, until he saw how much she really trusted me. He nodded. "Just make sure to bring her to the lab when she wakes up. I want to check on her wrist. She might have broken it."

I nodded. "Katelyn," I whispered. She looked up at me as I continued. "Are you okay with sleeping in my room?"

She almost instantly gave a small nod. I led her to the end of the hallway where my room was and pushed open the door. She entered the room in front of me and crawled into my bed with a yawn. I covered her with a blanket before turning off the lamp.

"Goodnight, Katelyn," I whispered to her as she fell asleep.

"Goodnight, Raphael."

I turned my head to her in surprise. That was the first time she had spoken since we first found her. I gave a small smile as I watched her breathing slow and she fell asleep. I closed the door behind me as I left the room.