Raphael looked at Lana, who was sobbing, shocked. He'd never thought her dreams could be that bad.

"Whoa," he managed. "Mikey didn't...he hasn't tried..."

Lana shook her head. "No."

"Then why would you dream something as horrible as that?"

"I-I don't know," Lana wailed. "Mikey's never...never hurt me - ever."

"Jeesh!" Raphael said as he pulled her into a hug, not knowing what else to do.

"I-I don't wanna be...be afraid of Mikey," Lana sobbed. "He's...he's my...my hero."

"I know Kid, I know," Raphael sighed, then soothed, "Shh. It's okay. Don't cry. Shh."

He sat there for quite some time, just holding her and telling her that everything would be all right. He didn't know what else to do. He was mad at Michaelangelo for being an idiot, and letting her see him lose control. But, he was also pained, as the hurt and fear in her eyes was so evident it was unbearable.

"Raph?" Lana began, looking up at him, "you're not gonna tell the others my dream, are you?"

"Not if you don't want me to," Raphael replied. He, too, knew what it was like to have a horrible nightmare, and not want anyone else to know. "Do you want me to?"

"No," Lana choked out. "It's.it's just.too.too."

"I know Kid, I know," Raphael replicated, hugging her tighter. "You don't have to explain it to me. Trust me. I know."

Lana buried her head in his plastron and cried her heart out; she hated being afraid of Michaelangelo, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make the dreams go away.

"You wanna just go straight to my room tonight when you go to bed?" Raphael questioned. "I mean, you might as well, seeing as you're always there in the middle of the night."

"I'm not bugging you, am I?" Lana queried worriedly, looking at him with a tear-stained face. "If I am, I'll just sleep in my room or something."

"Lana, I already told you, I don't mind. I understand completely," Raphael informed her. "I know what it's like. I've had nightmares myself too. One plagued me for months when I was little. Wound up in Splinter's study with him every night."

"Really?" Lana asked surprised.

"Yeah," Raphael admitted. "Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Okay," she shrugged.

They sat there in silence for a couple minutes, before Lana voiced her question.

"What was the dream about?"

Raphael closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as the memory flooded through him.

"I was being dissected by some mad scientist," he answered. "He began to dissect me, after making me watch him dissect the others and Master Splinter."

"Eew," Lana responded, crinkling her nose up. "That's gross."

She glanced up at Raphael, who looked sick to his stomach. She knew how he felt, and understood why he kept saying he understood her fear.

"It's okay Raph," she said softly, hugging him again. "I'll make sure no one dissects you."

Raphael looked into her eyes and saw the sincerity of the statement.

"I'll make sure no one hurts you as well," he stated, with, he hoped, as much sincerity in his eyes.

"Raph?"

"Yeah, Lana?"

"Mikey....Mikey wouldn't do that, would he?"

Raphael thought a moment before replying.

"No. He wouldn't do that to you," he rejoined. "He loves you too much to ever hurt you like that. He may get mad once in a blue moon, but he'd never ever raise a hand to you. Not even if you really deserved to be spanked, would he raise a hand to you."

Lana let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. "Thank God."