Part 3: Numb

Paris, 11: 08 am, July 5th, 1999

Don

I fumble with my hands, searching for the towel, and finally grab on to it and wipe the water and soap out of my eyes.
The bathroom air is thick with steam, and I dry myself off and then go over and open the window. The steam will be cleared out of here in a moment. Someone knocks on the door.

"Yeah, I'm coming, the bathroom is vacant now," I yell so they can here me through the door, and then I go and open the door.
It's Paula.

"Uh, hi..." she says shyly.

"Hi..." I reply, not knowing what else I can say.

"Are there any towels left?" she asks.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure there are..." I nod my head.

"So, uh...when are you going back?" she says casually.

"Back? Oh, uh, now that Kylie said we're welcome to stay here, I don't know exactly anymore..." I shrug.

"Oh. I have to get back to my job at the end of my vacation...back to the good ol' Big Apple..." she gives a little laugh, and I smile at her.

We stand there for a moment in silence, her looking at me expectadly, and suddenly I jump into action.

"Oh, sorry-- maybe you wanna use the bathroom now?" I laugh nervously and step aside.

"Yeah, thanks," One edge of her mouth goes up in a little crooked smile and she gives me a backwards glance before she enters the bathroom and locks the door.

After a while I hear a creak when she turns the showerhandle, followed by the sound of water falling on the baby blue tile floor. Paula yelps, and I hear her turning the handle again. She must've gotten cold water. That old shower did that to me too.

I shake my head. Why am I lurking outside a danged bathroom door, listening to her taking a shower?
I go over to the big, old chair in the middle of the hall and sit down. Maybe I should just forget about her before I do something I'll regret. I sigh heavily.
Not only am I a giant mutant turtle, I also have no idea about women. Why would she want to be with me, anyway?
Sure, we were this close on the internet, but that's not real life...how am I supposed to act when I'm around her? Does she even want me to be around her?
Maybe she only stays here out of scientific interest...me and Raph would surely be a big breakthrough in science...

Paris, 11: 21 am

Paula

I feel the water run down my body, and it feels so refreshing.
This is really what I needed right now...
Don looked a little preoccupied...like something's troubling him...I wonder when he will tell me about the whole ninja-thing?

I start shampooing my hair, and the sweet, flowery smell fills the entire bathroom.
A little too sweet for me, but it'll do, in lack of something better.
I didn't exactly plan on staying out here, so I didn't bring anything. I'm gonna drive into the city again, afterwards, and get some things. My brother won't mind so much. He's probably going to have some wild party anyway...

Will I ever be able to tell my family about Don and Raph? Or make them meet each other?
My mom would totally freak out, that's for sure!
One look at them, and she would either call the cops-- or pass out first, and then call the cops. If she didn't meet them, and I only told her about them, she would probably get me commited or something...

I rinse my hair twice and decide that I'm finished. I grab a towel and quickly dry myself off.
This still feels a little unbelievable.
A gigantic chateau, a mutant turtle, his brother and his girlfriend...
It's pretty weird that we just happened upon them, or, shall we say that they um, happened upon us?
I can't get that field thing out of my head!
Why did I--why did he-- or was it just the wine talking? Guess I'll never find out...it felt pretty different. I've never kissed a guy with such a large mouth. Actually, I kinda liked it...

I've got to stop thinking about Don! It'll never work...

Putting on a bathrobe that hung behind the door, I walk into the hall while still toweling off my hair.
I have to borrow some clothes from Kylie, so I hope she won't mind...

I stop dead in my tracks as I see Don sitting in the big chair in the middle of the hall. His head is leaned backwards, and he's sleeping peacefully. He's also snoring quietly.
Why did he have to sit here now?
Here I'm trying so hard to get him off my mind, and this is what I get!

I smile in spite of myself, and carefully sneak closer.
I wonder what he's thinking. His eyelids twitch, and I'm afraid that he's going to wake up. He doesn't.
Letting go of my breath, I start to absently study his face. The sunlight comes in through the window and allows me to see all the details. It's such a strange shade of green...I can see undertones of yellow and brown...I look at his beak, and notice a pretty long scar that extends over his cheek and stops right under his nostrils. But it's no wonder I haven't seen it before, cause it's barely visible, almost transparent...

I look at his plastron, which slowly rises and falls with his rythmic, steady breath.
It's kind of interesting to see somebody with a built-in armor...

"Fascinating, ain't it?"

I'm close to screaming, I'm so startled. Here I am, deep in my own thoughts, and someone decides to sneak up on me!

I quickly spin around and see another turtle standing behind me. It must be Raphael. Apart from being a mutant turtle, he doesn't look much like Don. He's shorter, he's got a much darker tone of skin and his whole facial expression is totally different. He smirks at me, obviously enjoying the fact that he scared me.

"Raph, right?" I say calmly, trying to seem unaffected.

"Yeah, and you must be Paula." He smirks again.

"You know, it's not very nice to sneak up on somebody that way," I scold him.

He only grins. "You're not one to talk,"

I blush and glance down at Don, who's still sleeping, unaware that someone just studied him in his sleep.
Why hasn't he woke up?

"Don's a very heavy sleeper," Raph explains, as if he read my thoughts.
"In fact, it cost him that scar," he points at Don's face,"it's not very smart to go into total Hibernation Mode when you're a mutant turtle," he grins and shakes his head, "doesn't make much sense either. With all that coffee he pours down, he should be awake at all hours..."

"Not safe to sleep? Why? Are you in some sort of trouble? Kylie mentioned that you were ninjas...is that true?" I frown at him.

"I think you should get Donny to answer that one, huh?" he grins and puts his hand in front of his mouth, like a speaker,
"Hey, Donny!!!" he yells, straight into his ear.

This time I yelp out in surprise. Is he a big fan of scaring people, or what?
Donny jumps up like he's got a spring attached to his ass and looks confusedly around himself.

"What?! What!? What's going on?" He says loudly and anxiously.

Raph laughs and slaps his knees and point at Don. "God, Donny, you should've seen your face...!"

He leaves the hall, still laughing, and disappears into the bathroom.

I glance sideways at Don, who still looks a little out of it. He rubs his eyes and shakes his head.
"God, talk about giving a guy a heart attack..." he mubles to himself.

I giggle and he looks at me, blushing.
"Heh. Only an earthquake can wake me up, Paula..." then he grins, "well-- that or Raph!"

I giggle again and clear my throat.

"Don...are you really a ninja?"

He looks at me.

Paris, 11: 53 am

Don

"Who told you that?" I say, baffled.

"Kylie did. She took it for granted that you'd already told me..." Paula says and shrugs.

I stare fixedly at the floor a few seconds.

"Well...?" Paula wants me to tell her the truth.

"Yes. I'm a ninja, and so are my brothers."

"But why didn't you tell me?" she exclaims.

"It was just too much, you know? First you find out that I'm a turtle-- well, I didn't want to seem even weirder...and I didn't want to tell you before I really got to know you..." I move my foot in small circles on the floor.

She crosses her arms over her chest, and cock her head to one side.
"Okay..." she says reluctantly," I can understand that. What do you do as a ninja?"

"Basically beat the shit out of muggers, rapers, murderers etc etc...and there are a lot of them in New York..." I glance at her.
She's got a very skeptic look on her face. "We're sorta patroling the streets...or, that is, we used to, way back."  I have a feeling Leo still does it occasionally, though...he always liked to help others, felt he always had to contribute...
"Now I've got my own place, making money off the internet. But to be truthful, we use ninjitsu more as a self defense, and we didn't or don't really go seeking trouble. We mostly keep to ourselves. Even if we're apart, we still practice the art of ninjitsu...I still do, anyways."

Suddenly her face cracks up in laughter.
"Patroling the streets, defending the citizens, blending with the shadows...that sounds like a job for a comic book hero or something!" she laughs. "Heh, I just got the weirdest mental picture..."

I feel kind of dumb. Here's a woman I've been talking to for three years and fantazised about meeting, an now she's standing here, laughing straight in my face.
"OK, fine. If you think it's that stupid..." I say, insulted, and turn to walk away. I don't need this.

"Don!" she begs, "Come back here, I was just kidding! It's just that I've never met a real ninja before...I was just taken by surprise! You know-- I've been stuck in my job for so long that I've been used to thinking that a job isn't a job without an office, a desk and a payroll," I know she's rolling her eyes, shrugging and smiling,  "Maybe I have to get into my head that there are more exciting jobs than mine, huh? "

She grabs my arm and I swallow hard. I stop, and she comes around to face me.
"I don't mind," she says, "you're still the same, right?" She smiles. "And those muscles had to come from somewhere, huh?"

I feel my face become burning red. I give her a careful smile, and mumble something she doesn't hear. Gawd, how much I want to kiss her!
But I don't have the guts. Not by far.
Looking at her again, I realize that she's staring at me. This makes me even more nervous. I slowly raise my hand to touch her face, but put it down again, only halfway. I decide to take her hand instead-- that's a little less "drastic". She doesn't have any objections, so I put it in mine.

She's got such a soft hand. I wonder what she thinks of me, a creature with only three fingers on his hand...
Paula makes tiny circles in my hand with her other index finger, and I get a tingling sensation in my hand, continuing up my arm. It tickles in my entire body.
I swallow hard again, and I have no idea of what to do.

Lucky that she's looking at my hand, because if she had been looking at my face, I fear that she could've read me like an open book. Is she looking at my hand out of pure fascination, or is she actually caressing it?

Suddenly the bathroom door opens, and out comes Raph, a cloud of steam following him. Of course he hasn't bothered to open the window...
Paula and I let go of each other's hands and look anywhere but at each other.
Raph stops and stares curiously at us for a while, then gives a frown and a half smirk before he walks down the marble steps.

                                    Ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da
                                                It's in
                                              Your eyes
                                          And the way you move
                                         You got music in your step
                                               A kind
                                               Of glow
                                     Like you walk with the heat turned up
                                            So brightly above

                                             Suddenly I see
                                     I go ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da
                                       Everytime you walk in the room
                                           No escape for me
                                     I go ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da
                                        Everytime you're close to me

                                              If I could just
                                            Compose myself
                                 I'd radiate just the right amount of cool and heat
                                           So you'd never know
                                         How I tremble to touch you

                                             Suddenly I see
                                     I go ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da
                                       Everytime you walk in the room
                                           No escape for me
                                     I go ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da
                                        Everytime you're close to me

                                             Suddenly I see
                                     I go ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da
                                       Everytime you walk in the room
                                           No escape for me
                                     I go ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da
                                       Everytime you're close to me

                                          "B-Line," - Lamb

New York, 01:32 am, June 29th, 1999

Leo

Jade, please...leave me alone. It's best for you.
I want to say it, but something's holding me back. What was it she said?

"Think just a little more about yourself from now on, huh? You deserve it,"

But I can't just think about myself. I can't just think that I would really like to get to know this woman better...
I have to think of the fact that I'm a mutant turtle, and that if they captured me, they would probably start looking for more turtles like me, and maybe they would find my brothers...

"I'm a turtle," I suddenly say. The words just fell out of my mouth, I didn't intend to--

"Come again?" Jade looks puzzled.

"Look, Jade...I'm going to show you something, and please promise not to scream, okay? I won't hurt you."

"What do you mean?" she looks at me curiously.

"Promise," I insist.

"I promise, I promise," she says unpatiently.

"I'm a turtle," I repeat, and slowly, so I won't startle her, I reach out my hand so it gets illuminated by a street light.

"Oh." She says simply.

I frown at her. This is not the reaction I expected. "Oh?"

"Now I understand why you didn't want to see me..." she says quietly and stares distantly at the pavement.

"Uh... aren't you afraid?" I ask, feeling confused.

"I promised you I wouldn't scream, didn't I?" she smiles weakly. "But I'm actually scared shitless..."

I grin, even if it's not really funny.

"How and why did this happen? Who are you?" she finally gives me the standard questions.

"Well, it's a long story...can we go somewhere and talk?"

Berlin, 22: 40, June 28th, 1999

Mike

I study the old appartment, and I decide that I like it.
Plants are hanging from the ceiling in pots and I notice the smell of inscent.
The white walls are covered in scattered, black japanese letters and symbols, and I can recognize some words here and there. Brioni is sitting on the wine red coach, keeping an eye on me as I inspect her apartment.
I walk over to her and carefully sit on the couch next to her, keeping a little distanse so I won't frighten her again.

"You've got a nice place," I compliment her.

"Mmhmm...thanks,"

"So...who were those guys?" I look at her.

"They were...well, kind of a mafia...the store I work in isn't exactly booming, so the owner can't pay the rent all the time...it's my uncle who owns it, that's why I work there...and he had to resort to a loan so he wouldn't lose the store.
That's where those guys came into the picture-- my uncle didn't pay them last time, and the time before that, so when they showed up to beat the shit out of him, he and a couple of friends were there to welcome them...
My uncle saw it coming-- he's not stupid. Guess all they want to do now is to get back at him...and anyone who's part of the store..." she sighs, "which includes me."

"But you said you're not German...can't you just go back to the states or wherever you came from?" I suggest.

"Yeah, I'm planning to do that, just had to get my uncle over this tough break first, since all his help left. I'm leaving when he hires more...whenever that will be..." she leans her head back on the couch and yawns.

"You are from the states?"

"Yeah, from New York," she nods.

Great! Maybe I'll see her again some time. It would be really neat to have another human friend. My bro's are always busy, and even they can get pretty boring sometimes.

"Really? I'm from New York, too," I say.

"How about that," she smiles. "But, um, Mike, I'm really tired and--"

I put my hands up.
"It's okay, I understand. You've gotta catch a few z's...I'll leave," I get up from the coach.

She cringes. "Uh, actually...I was kinda wondering if..."

I turn around. "What?"

"Well, you look pretty strong, and...I was wondering if...to say it like it is: Could you sorta be my bodyguard? Just for tonight?"

"Huh?" I frown at her.

Is this chick for real? Did she just ask a mutant turtle she just met to be her bodyguard of all things?

"You know...keep a watch? Those guys could easily find the adress to my apartment...I'll even pay you, just to get a good nights sleep," she looks hopefully at me.

"Pay me?"

I could need the money, but that's not fair of me. Charge a girl to do what I do every day, anyway?

I shake my head. "Naw, I can't take your money..."

"So you'll do it, then?" she asks.

I scratch my cheek. "I guess..."

She smiles contendedly. "Great! Now I'm gonna go brush my teeth. I'm so tired!" she yawns as if to underline her point.

She goes into the bathroom and comes out again, wearing a robe and a pair of pyjamas. She's holding a red tooth brush in her mouth, and she says in a muffled voice:

"There some meatloaf in the kitchen, if you want it,"

She spits out the tooth paste and water in the sink and gargles, and then we go into the kitchen. She sure has got a tiny fridge.
Probably lives alone then...at least she hasn't mentioned anyone else.
She opens the fridge and takes out a plate with Gladpack over it. I spot some meat with a lot of spice on it, underneath.

"Uh, I'm not much of a cook, but I hope this'll do?" she holds the plate in front of me.

I remove the Gladpack and smell it. It actually smells pretty good.

"It's great. At least it's not a bratwurst!" I joke and cut off a slice with the knife that was already on the plate.
I taste it. "Not bad."

She smiles. "OK, I'll go to bed now."

Brioni closes the fridge and walks out of the kitchen.

Now it's time to prepare myself for several long hours of intensive supervision. How come I'm already feeling drowsy?

Berlin, 03: 47 am, June 29th

Brioni

I sit bolt upright in my bed. What was that noise?
Don't tell me that Mike has left, and didn't bother to guard my place? Or worse, that it's him that's robbing it? No, I bet those guys found my appartment...

I stay still as a mouse in my bed, not daring to move. But I get to my senses when I hear another loud noise.
What good will it do me to hide? They're gonna find me sooner or later. I better get the hell out of here.

I slide the covers aside as gently as I manage and tip-toe into the hall, grabbing my gun from my desk drawer in passing.
Pressing against the wall, I sneak through the hall and poke my head round the corner so I can get a look into the livingroom.
There I see Mike, pounding some guy. And I also see another man approaching from behind with a gun in his hand.

"Mike!" I scream, "Watch out!"

I leap forward and pull the trigger of the gun, hitting the man straight in his head, leaving a big red mark. The blood starts trickling down his forehead, and he drops violently down on the floor with a loud thump.
Mike knocks the guy other guy out cold, and steps across his unconscious body.
I just stand there and stare blankly at the man I shot. Suddenly, what I did hits me harder than a eighteen wheeler truck.

"Oh my god, I just killed a man," I whisper and let the gun drop on the floor.

Mike nods and puts his hand on my shoulder.
I let my weight lean against Mike and I cry into his shoulder.

"They were probably just going to scare me or something, or maybe trash the place, and I went and shot one of them..." I sob.

Mike strokes my back, trying to comfort me.

"You just got scared, Brioni. I, for one, am thankful for what you did, or I would've been dead meat," he gives a quiet laugh.

"But now I gotta leave whether I want to or not...I killed him, Mike! They're gonna finish me off first chance they have!" I cry.

"Yeah, that's probably for the best..." he sighs, "...and I think you'd better hang on to this gun," he adds.

"Mike, please help me?" I beg.

Mike lets go of me and stands there for a few seconds, thinking, considering.

"Go pack," he finally says.

I nod solemly and hurry off to my room.

Grabbing a suitcase, I quickly go through the closet and my drawers, my mind not really registrating what the hell I'm stuffing my suitcase with. I can't believe I just killed another human being.
At least it was in self defence...sort of.
I wipe away the tears on my face and check my vallet for my passboard and money. I take some more money and then I go into the bathroom and bring my toothbrush and my toilet purse.
Then I put on some clothes. I giggle nervously. I almost left in my pyjamas...

Mike is busy tying up the burglars who are still alive when I return to the livingroom. He wipes his hands on his trenchcoat and looks up at me.

"You all set?"

"Yes," I nod, "don't you need anything?"

He smiles and pats his backpack. "All I need is in here."

"What are we going to do about...that?" I point a slightly shaky finger at the dead man.

"What can we do? Deliver him at the morgue? I don't know, Brioni...I usually just leave 'em there..." he shrugs.

My jaw drops. What? Leave 'em there? What is he talking about? Is he an assasin or something? Suddenly I feel like I can't trust him at all. And can I really? I mean, I just met him...

"Mike...what are you talking about?" I ask concerned.

"Huh?" he looks like he doesn't know what I'm  talking about.

"You said you usually just leave 'em there...?" I put my suitcase down, and place my hands on my hips.

Mike picks up the gun from the floor, and before I know it, I realize that I'm backing away. He's not gonna...?
Mike gives me a bitter smile. "Relax, I'm not gonna shoot you..."
As to prove that he's telling the truth, he offers the gun to me. "Go ahead-- take it." he says.

I reluctantly accept the gun from him.
I'm not too thrilled about holding the gun I just killed somebody with.
"I'm a mutant turtle, Brioni...I gotta know how to defend myself. The world isn't exactly opening it's arms for me, you know? But trust me. I almost never start a fight, it's mostly them..." he says, a sad expression suddenly creeping up in his eyes.
I look at him for a while, and then he clears his throat.
"Come on. Unless you've got a car, we gotta hitch a ride out of town and back to the states. I wasn't planning on leaving Germany yet, but it was getting boring anyway..." he gives me a little grin.

"Then we have to hitch a ride..." I say and sigh.

We walk out the door and down the path to the edge of  the road. I look at my wrist watch. God, it's only
four twentyfive in the morning! How are we going to get a ride at this hour?

We stand there in the dark night air, listening to birds chirping far away. The sun's going to come up in not such a long time, and it gives the scene a sort of eerie feel.
Like in the closet, I can hear my own breath pretty well, but not a sound from Mike.
I hear another sound, too. An engine. Both Mike and I turn to the direction from which the sound is coming from, and we see a couple of headlights in the distanse, approaching rapidly.

I look at Mike, and he nods. Walking a little bit into the road, I stick out my thumb.
The van stops with a screech, and we hurry over to it.

"Where are you going?" the driver says.

"Uh... to the airport?" I answer.

"OK, jump in."

Mike opens the sliding door and we climb in. Shit, I'm so tired. The car starts again, and the steady, slow sound of the engine makes me even sleepier. I yawn.
There's not much room here in the back, so I have to lean on him to get some sleep.

"Mike, do you mind if I...?" I ask sleepily and lean on his shoulder.

"No, go ahead," he assures me.

I smile and put my head into his lap instead. Soon, I feel my eyelids growing very heavy as I feel him stroking my hair ever so gently. I frown, and fall asleep.

New York, 01:48, June 29th, 1999

Jade

"Leo, did you hear anything?" I ask anxiously as we walk down the street. We don't walk too fast, because of my leg.
We're going to go somewhere and talk, he's going to explain everything to me. Why he's a giant turtle and all.

Leo stops and listens carefully. "Yeah, I thought I heard something, too..." He gets a troubled expression on his face. But we can't hear anything more, not a sound.

"Probably nothing," I say and he nods, but he's not entirely sure. I can tell. Hope he's not in any trouble...anyone following him or something...

Before I know it, Leo ducks, and something just barely misses his head.
I gasp. Somebody is following him!
Leo pulls a pair of katana blades from behind his back, and charges for whoever tried to hit him.

Damn, why did I have to have this bad leg!

I hear a ripping sound as Leo's blades connects first with some fabric and then with flesh. He pulls them out again, and they're dripping with blood.
Who are these guys? All I see is a pack of men in dark outfits, their faces covered with masks. They look like ninja soldiers or something...

They all gang up on Leo, who's holding himself up pretty good, kicking and punching them and slicing them to pieces.
But after a while, I can see that they're beginning to be too many for him.
I decide to help him, and stumble forward, chopping some of their necks from behind when they aren't looking. But I'm too slow for them with this bad leg, and I'm really better at kicking.
Soon I feel someone grabbing me from behind and putting a hand in front of my mouth.

I try to break free, but it's useless. Leo sees it and tries to get to me, but one of the men hit him over the head with a bo.
He goes down fast, head first, unconscious on the dirty city street.
One of them approaches Leo and kicks him in his side. Leo doesn't move. Two of the men turn him over on his back and remove his hat. They seem to be angry.

"What? This isn't him! This is another one..."

Another one? Are there more turtles like Leo? They mumble amongst themselves, and I struggle hard to hear, but I can't.

They turn to look at Leo again. "It doesn't matter. He may be even more useful...and bring the woman too..."

I widen my eyes and try to break free again. Where are they going to take us? And why?

Paris, 12: 35 pm, July 5th, 1999

Raph

Kylie's down in the laundry room, filling the washing machine with dirty clothes, Don's taking care of Sheila for a while and Paula has driven into town again to pick up some things,  so I guess I'm the one who has to answer the phone.

I throw the ruined pizza dough in the trash, and hurry off to pick up the phone. Mike should've been here. I just can't cook.
I would've probably burned water...
Kylie must be the only one who coulda talked me into this, and I have the feeling she knows it.

"Hello, yeah?"

"Hello, freak." someone hisses at the other end.

I narrow my eyes. "What did you say?"

He ignores my question."We've got your...brother."

I try to remember his voice, but I realize I've never heard it before.

"Who is this?" I demand.

Again he ignores my question. "You better get your sorry green ass back to New York, or he's history!"

"What?!" I exclaim."How did you get this number?"

"Well, how do you think we got it?" he snickers. "Don't bother to look for us when you get back. We'll find you."

Oh, I just bet you will...!

The phone gets slammed down, and I'm cut off. I look down at the phone, but it's an old phone and doesn't have caller ID. Damn.
Don is here, Mikey is in Germany, and that only leaves...

"Shit!!!" I roar.

I sit down heavily on the floor, and I can smell the ground meat burning in the kitchen, but I don't get up. I hear light footsteps behind me and then someone lays a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"What's wrong, Raph?" I hear Kylie ask softly.

I wipe a hand over my forehead, cursing heavily.

"They've got Leo, Kylie..." I say after a while. She sits down next to me on the floor and puts her arms around me.

"They've got Leo..." I repeat, "The Foot. I bet it's those assholes!" I say angrily.

"We better tell Donny."
I nod to this and she strokes my cheek, running off to find Don.

How long have they had him captured? They must've kidnapped him a while ago, cause they must've gone through some trouble to find out where I was...somehow I bet this is all my fault, as usual...they were probably looking for me, and mistook Leo for being me...

I shouldn't have got in trouble with the foot clan...again! Shit, I wish Master Splinter was here, he'd know what to do...
But I guess I already know what to do... we have to go back to New York, there's no other way around it.
Don's gotta come with me, but Kylie and Paula...I just can't ask Kylie to join me, especially when she's got a kid to take care of and all...

Wonder what she'll say about that...?

Paris, 12: 47 pm

Kylie
 

"Forget it, Raph!" I protest.

"Kylie..." he says, trying to calm me down.

"I'm coming with you! You think I'm just gonna let you run off and kill yourself ?" I exclaim.

"It's better than killing us both...and Sheila! Ever think of that? You got a kid to take care of!" he replies.

I know he's right, but I'm still coming. He's not gonna leave me again.

"I can leave her with my parents!" I shoot back.

He sighs. "Kylie, you know how easily they can track her down and kidnap her...and blackmail us! Just think of how easily they found out where I am!"

"In that case we have to leave, or they'll just come here and kill you instead...after killing Leo! They know where we are, Raph!" I cross my hands over my chest.

But he's gonna leave anyway...

"Oh, I'm leaving no matter what, and they won't come all the way to Paris just to kill you!" He looks at me.

He's right, of course he's right...

"Raph, I'm going either you want it or not. I'm a grown woman and you can't stop me." I say calmly.

He smirks, and I consider what I just said. Of course he can stop me. That would be the easiest thing in the world for him.

"Kylie...you love me?" he suddenly says.

This question catches me completely off guard and my jaw drops. I widen my eyes. What did he say?

"Um, ah...y-yeah, I guess so,"

"Then stay here," he says triumphantly.

I smile in spite of myself. I can't stay angry at Raph for a very long time. "Why you little--" I jump him and start to tickle him untill he laughs out loud.
We tumble down on the floor in a bundle and I sit on top of him, locking him under my weight.
If we weren't playing, I could've never managed to do that.

"Say I can come," I say playfully.

He puts his arms around me, and I kiss his neck.

"Say I can come," I make him look me in the eyes, "I don't want you leaving again,"

"Okay...you can come to New York, but, err, stay out of our way, okay?" he says reluctantly.

"OK, Raphy Baby!" I smile.

He laughs. "Hey, I told you not to call me that!"

This time he starts to tickle me, and I giggle and try to squirm away. He catches me and gives me a long, warm kiss.
I understand that we can get into trouble if we go back to New York, but hey-- what's the worst thing that can happen?

Go to Part 4 : Roads
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