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Chapter 25

Pain

When Raphael opened his eyes he felt a wave of nausea wash over him. He knew it was a bad idea to skip his pills the night before but he was low and was unable to go out for more. When he tried to move his whole body was stiff with pain and a full body shiver overcame him.

"You okay?" Tello asked, propping himself up to look down at Raph. "You don't look so hot."

"Some mornings my body is a little stiffer than others," Raph replied. "It all depends on the level of activity from the previous day." It wasn't entirely a lie. Taking a deep breath he let it out slowly while he forced his body to move. "I'll be a little slow but once I start moving I'll get better."

"Okay," Tello said with a slight nod. He waited for Raph to work his way out of the hammock, assisting him when needed, and then got up. "Do you need any help?"

"No," Raph waved him off and tried to hide the fact that the simple act hurt. "You go on down to breakfast. I'm gonna do a few stretches to get my muscles warmed up and then I'll join you."

"Alright," Tello said as he headed to the door. "If you're sure."

Raph forced a smile. "I'll be fine." He waited for Tello to leave before allowing himself to wince in pain. By sheer will and determination, Raph made it over to where he had his pills hidden. He dumped four into his hand and looked into the bottle to count how many he had left. There were only ten so he put one back. It was going to be a rough day. He had to somehow make it out tonight to get more.

He managed to make it through breakfast well enough. Any time someone asked him if he was alright he simply answered that he was stiff from the day before. They all chided him for pushing himself too hard. He quipped back, "How else am I supposed to get better if I don't push my limits?"

By the time they entered the dojo for morning practice the drugs had fully kicked in. Since he had only taken three he was still a little stiff but not enough to slow him down. He was even able to beat Mikey and Don a few times. It was a good boost to his ego.

"Don't overdo it, Raph," Leo chided. Splinter had let Leonardo oversee the training for that morning. It was his way of slowly passing full control of the clan to Leonardo. He managed himself well in the role. It helped that Raph cooperated more than he did when they were younger. If Splinter had tried this three years ago, Raph would have given Leo a run for his money. But now, Raph was glad to see his brother taking over the head of the family. One thing was for sure, Raph didn't want it. Not anymore.

"I'm fine, Leo," Raph replied. "I know my limits. I might be stiff in the morning but that's what comes with building muscle. I've been through all of this before. I'm not going to overdo it."

"Good," Leo said, nodding his head. "And, it's good to see that you are almost back to your old self."

"Almost?" Raph turned and faced Leo. "I think I'm better."

Leo smiled as he stepped forward. "Oh?" His moves were graceful and calculated. Even though Leo's body looked relaxed, Raph could tell that he was ready to move at a moment's notice. It was time for another test and this time, Raph was determined to pass.

"Yeah." Raph moved into a stance. Neither of them had their weapons so that meant that Leo wanted to test Raph's hand to hand combat. That was fine with Raph. He liked getting up close and personal in a fight.

"Let's test that theory. Shall we?" Leo moved with such speed that it almost took Raph off guard. Where Leonardo was the water, Raphael was the mountain. Though he was fast, by most standards, Raph wasn't as fast as his brothers due to his bulk. But he was stronger and a strike against his solid muscle was painful for the attacker. He could deflect or absorb hits with ease and wait for an opening.

Of course Leo knew this. Being the leader it was his job to know each of their strengths and weaknesses. Despite the fact that Raph was still recovering in Leo's eyes, he wasn't about to hold back. Like before, Leo wanted to test Raph's ability. He would determine whether or not Raph was ready.

The fight was an even match and they each got in a few good hits. But in the end, Leo was the victor. Raph knelt on the ground, his chest heaving with each breath. His eye stayed fixed on Leo as he waited for his verdict. The one thing Raph knew he was going to take away from the fight was that Leo was as winded as he was.

A smile spread across Leo's beak as he nodded his head. "Alright. You were right. You're now fighting at the same level, if not better, than before the attack."

Dropping his head, Raph heaved a deep sigh and fought the overwhelming urge to cry. It meant that he would be included in patrols more often and would be allowed to fight. When he looked up again Leo was there with an extended hand. Raph accepted the help up. "Thank you." There was so much in those two little words, so much for him to be grateful for.

After practice they headed to the shower. They took turns scrubbing each other's carapaces with a rough brush. It was a good way to insure that they got all of the grime out and the fact that it felt good didn't hurt. The group shower had been a little intimidating for Tello in the first few weeks since arriving. He was used to showering on his own. Over time, he grew more comfortable and now he joined in the occasional banter and roughhousing. The more Raph talked to Tello the more he wondered how different his life would have been if Splinter had been a mutated human instead of a mutated rat.

When they finished their shower Raph headed down to the kitchen to get something to eat and was met by the smell of freshly baked cookies. He headed for the platform and heard voices coming from the dining car. A smile spread across his face as he rushed in to greet his guest.

"Mrs. M!" Raph said and went straight for her. "When did you get here?" Mrs. Morrison was sitting at the table drinking tea with April and Casey. A plate piled high with snickerdoodle cookies sat in the middle of the table. After giving Mrs. Morrison a kiss on the cheek, Raph grabbed a couple of cookies.

"You boys were still in the dojo practicing," she answered. "I had called Mr. and Mrs. Jones this morning and asked them if they could bring me here."

"We called Master Splinter to see if it would be okay," April added. "We wanted it to be a bit of a surprise for you."

"Thank you," Raph said as he sat next to Mrs. Morrison. He missed being able to go visit her regularly. It was too dangerous to make it a regular thing now. Besides the fact that Raph was forbidden to go out on his own, if Bishop ever found out about her, he could use her to get to the Turtles. Raph would do anything to keep her safe.

"I wanted to visit with you for a while," she said with a smile. "That and I wanted to finally meet that baby of yours."

Raph was on his feet as soon as Mrs. Morrison mentioned Snow. "I'll go get her now."

He rushed up the stairs to where Leatherhead was watching Snow while she played. "Da Da," Snow cooed as soon as Raph entered the room and her arms shot up towards him.

"Hey, baby girl." Raph reached down and picked her up, kissing her plump cheek. "There's someone here to see you."

"Who might that be?" Leatherhead asked.

"Mrs. Morrison," Raph replied as he made his way out of the room. "You should come down and meet her too. There're cookies on the table." Raph didn't wait for Leatherhead to respond. He was out the door and back down the stairs as fast as he could go.

His brothers were already in the dining cart by the time he returned. It was a good thing he had already nabbed a few of the cookies. The once full plate now sat empty. Raph walked over and glared down at Mikey, who had occupied the seat next to Mrs. Morrison. "Move."

"You see?" Mikey complained as he got up. "He can be mean." Raph swatted Mikey's arm. "He just hit me," Mikey said, not moving from his spot.

"Mikey," Raph growled, in no mood to deal with Mikey's antics. Mrs. Morrison was special to him, his surrogate grandmother, his peace and he didn't want Mikey moving in.

Mrs. Morrison reached over and placed her hand on Mikey's knee. "Be a dear and let Raphael sit there. I would like him near as I am introduced to the baby to help keep her calm."

"Alright," Mikey relented and got up. Raph glared at him the whole time and made sure to wordlessly make it clear that Mikey was in for a painful payback later. As soon as his brother was out of the way, Raph sat down and scooted the chair closer to Mrs. Morrison.

"This is Mrs. Morrison," Raph said softly to Snow. "She is a dear friend of mine."

Gently, Raph placed Snow on Mrs. Morrison's lap. The child's head swiveled up and her blue eyes studied the old woman's face as Mrs. Morrison's hands moved to examine Snow. "She is a good size."

"Considering how small she was when she was born, she has grown a lot." Raph agreed.

"Turtle and Crocodile babies tend to be a good deal smaller than their parents," Mrs. Morrison stated as a matter of fact.

"It was a good thing she was so small," Donny added before taking a sip of his coffee as Leatherhead entered the dining cart. "If she were the size of a human baby, I don't think I would have been able to give birth to her. My hips aren't made to separate." He pulled out a few cookies that he had been hiding in his lap and handed them to Leatherhead.

Snow babbled up at Mrs. Morrison as if trying to have a conversation. Mrs. Morrison smiled and softly replied with things like, "Is that right?" and "You don't say". A wide, toothless smile spread across Snow's face every time she got a reply out of Mrs. Morrison.

"You have such a sweet voice," Mrs. Morrison said to her. "And you are such a sweet baby."

"It's hard to believe she's Raph's," Mikey quipped, earning himself a warning glare from Raph. "Maybe she gets it from Donny," he dared to continue. Mikey sure liked to press his luck. It was a good thing for Mikey that there was nothing in the area that Raph dared to throw and that he was currently sitting out of Raph's reach.

They sat and talked for about another hour. Snow remained in Mrs. Morrison's lap the whole time. Donny had even let Mrs. Morrison feed Snow her lunch. It was a good visit, enough to help get Raph's mind off the pain. But it was over too soon.

As they said their goodbyes, Raph thanked Casey and April for bringing her over. "Make sure she gets home safe."

"We will," Casey assured him. "We're not going to take her directly home. We've got it all planned out so we don't risk her being seen with us. We're going to make our way to one of the other subway stations that is close to her home. I'll be back later today and we can watch the game together."

"That sounds good," Raph nodded. "I'll see you around four then. It's Leo's turn to cook so come hungry."

"Oh?" April chimed in. "If that's the case, I think I will be stopping by later on tonight as well. There's some things I want to go over with Don anyway."

They led Mrs. Morrison out while Donny took Snow to get her ready for her nap. Raph turned and saw Mikey making his way up the stairs and ran up after him. With a squeal of terror Mikey ran up the steps, taking three at a time. Raph wasn't really going to hurt his brother but it was fun to make him think that he was.