Chapter 8

There he was, the man they had been expecting. It was killing Raph not knowing who this man was and why he had taken such a special interest in April. He didn't like it. It didn't seem natural to put all this effort and money into a half dead seemingly un-famous news reporter. The man gave April a strange look. Definitely not the look Raph expected. He didn't really look angry or upset with April, but more sympathetic and apologetic.

He swiped his card and opened the door. April stood without having been asked.

"You, too, son." He said motioning to Raph.

Raph looked up at the man not sure what to do, but he didn't want to make more trouble for April so he stood up as well and followed them out of the room. It was a giant maze like the sewers he lived in only immaculately clean and bright white. It was almost painful to be in for too long. It was hard on his eyes. He walked silently right behind April as they made their way through a huge room full of monitors and people operating the computers. They all stopped their tasks when they saw Raph walking in behind April. Some had scared, uneasy faces and others just looked in awe at his form. They ended their long walk in the man's office. He shut the door and clicked a button to close the blinds so they could have privacy, then sat behind his desk. He motioned for April and Raph to take a seat. The chair was in no way going to accommodate Raph's large size so he respectfully declined and leaned against the wall next to April's chair.

"So." He began clasping his hands together as he leaned onto his desk.

April nodded, "So."

"You couldn't even give me one night before you got Vern to sneak you in to see him."

"Vern didn't do anything. I attacked him and took his pass card." She corrected.

He chuckled, "You expect me to believe that?"

"Well, he didn't punch himself in the face, did he?" She retorted.

The man leaned back in his chair, "Oh, I full well believed you punched him, but I don't believe he didn't willingly hand over his pass card to you."

April rolled her eyes, "I guess we'll never really know what happened, will we?"

"Oh, I know what happened." He took the remote on his desk and hit play. There was the video of April punching Vern in the cell. The man hit pause.

"Nice right hook." Raph complimented.

She threw her head back, "You have got to be kidding me! I go to the trouble to punch him and make him look innocent and he can't even go back and erase the recording of it."

"I'm sure you can imagine that was the least of what I saw on the last few hours of the playback feed." He interjected.

Raph's hand ran down his face as if he was trying to wipe the shame away. He just realized he had unknowingly made a porno with April.

"You watched that?!"She asked becoming infuriated.

"I stopped when I realized where it was going. So, what am I supposed to do about this?"

"Let him go!" She snapped.

Raph pushed off the wall, "No. I'm not goin' anywhere."

"Yes, you are! You don't need him for anything. He's here because he made a stupid impulsive choice. He has a family that depends on him." She argued.

The man took a deep considering breath, "April, how about you go get ready for your training session and let me talk to Raphael." Her expression went from anger to concern. Concern he might disappear if he left her sight, "April, look at me. I want to speak to Raphael and you will see him shortly. You have my word."

She gave the man a long considering look and stood up, "Will you show him to the training room when you're done?"

He nodded and smiled, "Or course."

She gave Raph's hand a squeeze, "I'll see you in a little bit."

Raph nodded firmly once and watched her walk out of the office.

"Raphael-"

"I like Raph better." He corrected.

"Raph, I think you and I should talk and try to understand one another." He stated, "I know you are weary of what we've done to her and why I'm so interested in her well being, but I want you to know I have no evil agenda that should have you worried. My interest in April is strictly out of familial."

Raph furrowed his brow, "Familial? Why what are you to her?"

"Well, son, she's family." He replied.

"April doesn't have any family. Her parents are gone and there's no one else." He argued.

"I'm her uncle on her father's side. My brother and I had a falling out due to his work with Sachs and never spoke again before he was killed in the lab. I never came forward personally to April because of the work I did, but I anonymously funded her life while others took care of her. I watched from a distance. My name is Wayne." He explained, "When I learned of her disappearance, I spared no resource to find her. I was the one who found her at the docks when the Foot tossed her out to die. I knew my brother's work with the mutagen was probably the only thing that would save her, so I went to work."

"This sounds insane, man. A secret rich uncle? Don't you think she needed you growin' up? She's tough, but no one deserves to be alone if they don't have to be." He sounded bitter, "I don't know what I would do without my father and brothers."

"And what about them, Raph? What are they to do without you?" Wayne inquired.

Raph shook his head, "I didn't desert them. I'll see 'em again." He said in an almost challenging manner, "They've got each other until I see 'em. April needs me, too. I won't leave her."

"What's your interest in April?"

Raph was quickly becoming offended, "My interest? Okay. My interest is she's my girl. I love her. She saved us when she was a kid, we owe our lives to her and I fell for her. She's our family."

"How did the Foot manage to steal her away from you and your brothers?"

Raph cracked his knuckles and snarled, "Don't you question me like I handed her over or somethin'. Me an her were drinkin' and messin' around when the Foot clan attacked the house."

"How?!" Wayne shouted.

"I died that day!" Raph shouted back so loudly, Wayne felt the breeze from his breath and slammed his fist onto Wayne's desk, "I never stopped lookin' for her. I never stopped bein' there just like she did for me! At least I was in her life and gave her stability that you didn't. Don't try to twist this into something it ain't! She is everything to me and that's why I handed myself over to you. I wouldn't be here if I didn't wanna be… Up until a few weeks ago, I was like a zombie just goin' through the motions tryin' to find her and that's what I'd still be doin'. I'm sorry about that night and I've lived with the consequences of it. So, do what you want to me because I know without a doubt it's real."

April took a deep breath and tried to center herself. Her nerves were shattered. She had the worst feeling in the pit of her stomach that her uncle wouldn't walk in with Raph. The time was crawling by, it felt like hours since she left the office. She lowered herself into downward facing dog and tried to concentrate on positive vibes. Her body came up into warriors pose. She closed her eyes as she fought the relentless bad thoughts.

There was a tap at the door frame leading in the training room and her eyes snapped open. Vern was in the doorway and her heart began to sink until Raph rounded the corner behind him with a cocky side grin on his face. She walked to the edge of the mat.

"So, Wayne wanted me to show Raph where he could workout." Vern said shrugging his shoulders and smiling and his bruise was becoming more prominent.

"Nice shiner." She commented, "Is everything okay?"

Raph walked passed Vern into the training room, "Yeah, your uncle loves me."

"I'm going to go ice my dignity. You two don't kill each other." Vern warned as he walked off.

April turned towards Raph who was already making use of the punching bag, "You good?"

Raph put his head against the bag for a second as he thought about everything, "Mostly. I guess I understand a little better. Ape… You coulda told me he was your uncle. I was thinkin' you were like being brainwashed or some shit."

"It wasn't- isn't that simple for me. I really don't want to be doing this with my life. I'd rather be back in my apartment, completely ignorant to any of this. Just being a New York reporter and sneaking down to the sewers on a nightly basis." She explained, "None of this really makes any sense to me. I don't think about what I do day to day. I'm a robot. I just kick somebody's ass because it's what I'm programmed to do now and that scares the shit out of me. Wayne may be my uncle, but it doesn't make me any less controlled. I hate that part of all of this and he saved my life. My choices are gone. I didn't want that for you. I felt like the less you knew the less involved you were and I would at least have the illusion that we were still just those innocent kids. You were my idea of coming home and they got you."

He knew what she meant. It was the same way he felt about her, the familiarity of the love gave her that high that they had back when everything first started between them. Back when they had the privacy of her apartment and he could run to her when his brothers or Splinter became too much. He was who she ran to when this became too much.

"I get that you are in the position I was in when we first met. The secrets, the fightin', and all that crap that comes with that life. You knew how to handle being my home base, the not knowin' and the worry that came with it. I'm not strong enough to be what you were. Not knowin' damn near put me in the ground. I have to be with you to protect you. I can't be at a distance. I'm sorry, but I won't do it. That's why I didn't listen to you. You're the strong one, you always were. No matter what the Foot does to you, you survive." He shook his head, "I just can't stay away anymore."

She gave him a sympathetic smile, "But what about your brothers and Father?"

He grinned and took her in his arms, "Let me worry about one day at a time. Today, I'm here with you. Let's just leave it at that… for now."

"You're insane. You know that, right?"

"Just another day in the life. Insanity is kinda how we roll."