Blankie

A/N: Well, I've decided to write another chibi fic, though the first part of it will be in the present. This is based on an experience I had when I was little, which I'll elaborate on after the fic is finished. I hope that you'll enjoy. Please feel free to leave a review once you've finished reading the story.

Summary: After searching the ruins of the Lair, Mikey uncovers an old friend and remembers when he had to let him go.

Disclaimer: If I owned the TMNT, I'd be making a lot of money right now. TMNT are owned by Peter Laird and Mirage.

New York City was bustling with activity as cars wove through traffic and people walked hurriedly to get to their destination. But unbeknownst to any of them, four mutant turtles and a mutant rat were making their way through the underground sewers to their old home. Yesterday, Karai had demolished their Lair in her rage. Three of the Turtles and Splinter were forced to separate just to escape alive, while Leonardo was making his way home after the Ancient One had told him of an ominous vision. They had reunited and had found another home, but they were still mourning the loss of their old home.

As they approached the remains of what had once been their old home, all they could do was gaze at the ruins in silence. Even Michelangelo couldn't think of a witty remark to sum up what had occurred. Splinter warned them to be careful as they made their way into the Lair. The five of them split up to see if they could salvage anything to take to the pumping station.

Everything on the lower level was destroyed and couldn't be salvaged at all. Mikey gazed wistfully at the bank of televisions where his Battle Nexus trophy had been so proudly displayed. He knew the televisions and even the trophy couldn't be fixed, but he wished they could just repair them easily so everything would be okay again. It would be so much better.

Donatello was mourning the loss of his beloved laboratory and all the inventions he had made there. The huge chunks of debris made it impossible for him to enter, and he concluded that all of the items would have to be replaced, especially some of the inventions he'd never finished.

Leonardo surveyed the dojo, but there was nothing that could be saved except for the tatami mats. After gathering them up, he made his way to the upper level where the Turtles' rooms were. He found that his door was off its hinges, and the table he used to set candles on was smashed to bits. Books were scattered on the floor from where they'd fallen off his shelf, but they seemed to be intact. He picked them up as well as a few candles that hadn't managed to get smashed and left. He didn't need his futon, since he could get a new one.

Raphael discovered that his weights were damaged beyond repair as was the stereo system. He gathered some of his compact discs that weren't broken and some magazines he had found that were still in good condition. As he did this, he got angrier over what had happened to cause all this. He wanted to find Karai and rip her to shreds for destroying his possessions and nearly killing them all. He vowed that when he found her, she'd pay.

Donatello was able to recover some of his books as well as some of his plans for future inventions he'd stored in a special place. He thought about all the times he'd stayed in this room to avoid the chaos of the Lair when he didn't want to stay in his lab. Don knew it was no use mourning over things that couldn't be fixed, but he couldn't help wishing that there was a way he could fix the damage. The brainy Turtle had been christened "Mr. Fix-It" and had been called upon many times to fix things around the Lair. Now that he was faced with things that were damaged beyond repair, he felt a wave of sadness at the fact that he was utterly useless here.

Michelangelo surveyed his room, which was even messier than before. He managed to salvage a few comics that weren't damaged but had to throw most of them away, which was hard to do. He spotted some of his artwork lying on the floor and rescued what he could, including the pad of paper he used to draw pictures. Mikey eyed the drum set he'd acquired and fondly remembered times when he'd annoyed his brothers with it. There was no way he'd be able to carry it back and decided to just leave it behind. Most of his action figures were ruined, but there were a few that had escaped damage, so he decided to take those and leave the rest. Maybe there was a way to replace them somehow.

After gathering what he could, Mikey went downstairs to see how Master Splinter was faring. He found his father gathering books that weren't damaged and putting them in his box, including a few photo albums. Mikey spotted the remains of the orb the Utroms had given Splinter that contained memories of his Master Yoshi. A lump came to his throat as he realized that they had all suffered great losses and that some things could never be replaced.

"Need any help, Sensei?" Mikey asked his father.

"Yes, I would like some help gathering things," Splinter replied. "Just be careful, my son."

Mikey made his way carefully into Splinter's room and began to assist his father in salvaging items. Suddenly, his eyes fell on something wedged in some debris. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that it was a strip of material and made his way over to pull it out. After a few attempts, Mikey managed to retrieve the item and was shocked when he saw that it was Blankie, his beloved blanket. Splinter had told him he had given Blankie to the birds so they could line their nests in the winter, but it was right here. What was going on?

"Sensei, look what I found," Mikey said as he held up Blankie. The blanket was stitched with smiling teddy bears.

The other Turtles had joined them to help search for items, and gasped when Mikey held up Blankie. None of them had seen Blankie since Splinter had taken him to the birds.

Splinter turned to see what Michelangelo was holding. "Ah, yes, I remember this blanket," he said fondly. "You carried it with you everywhere, Michelangelo. Do you remember when you gave it up?"

"Yeah, I do," Mikey replied, and his mind wandered back to when he was seven years old when he thought Blankie would be with him forever.

Flashback

"My sons, it is time to wake up!" Splinter called.

Three seven-year-old Turtles came out of their room, wondering what was for breakfast that day. The fourth Turtle had to be woken by his older brother with the threat of a spanking if he didn't get up. Michelangelo emerged with Blankie in his arms. Mikey loved Blankie because Splinter had given him a new friend to cherish.

"Mikey, why do you gotta carry that blanket around?" Raphael complained.

"'Cause he's my friend," Mikey replied. "We're gonna be friends forever."

"But, Mikey, you're too old to be carrying a blanket," Leo told him. "You need to give it up."

"Yeah, you should've been rid of it last year," Donatello added.

"I'm not too old!" Mikey protested. "I can have Blankie as long as I want! You guys are just jealous 'cause I have a best friend and you don't." He stuck out his tongue to show them that he didn't care what they said.

Raph laughed. "We ain't jealous of you,' he said. "We're better than you 'cause we're grown up and you ain't."

"I'm grown up!" Mikey insisted. "I'm the same age as you."

"You're still a baby if you carry a dumb blanket around," Raph retorted. "If we went up to the surface, everyone would laugh at you."

"They would not!" Mikey yelled. "Everyone has a blankie. You did."

"That was before I grew up," Raph told him. "All you have to do is ditch the blanket, and you'll be grown up too."

"No! I won't give up Blankie!" Mikey shouted. "I won't give up my best friend!"

"Raph, cool it," Leo ordered. "If he wants to keep Blankie, you can't stop him."

"Oh, yes, I can," Raph replied. He launched himself at Mikey and tried to pry Blankie out of his hands.

Mikey held on with all his strength. "No, you can't take Blankie!" He kicked out at Raph to see if he'd let go, but it didn't work. Both were yelling loudly and doing all they could to hurt the other one.

Splinter heard the noise and came out of the kitchen where he had been cooking breakfast. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded. "Raphael, Michelangelo, stop fighting this minute!"

Raph managed to tug Blankie out of Mikey's hands, causing Mikey to land on his shell with a thump. Mikey began to cry while Raph smiled in triumph. But before he could make a getaway with his prize, he saw his father looking at him sternly.

"My sons, I am disappointed to see you fighting," Splinter began. "I would like to know what has caused this behavior out of the both of you."

Mikey sniffed. "Raphie said I'm not grown up 'cause I have Blankie," he replied. ""Leo told him to stop, but Raph didn't listen and took Blankie away. I want him back!"

"Raphael, give Blankie back to your brother," Splinter ordered. " I am disappointed in your behavior. Why did you do this?"

"'Cause he's always carryin' that blanket, and I don't like it," Raphael replied. "It's annoying."

"And your solution is to physically attack your brother and try to take the blanket away?" pursued Splinter.

"Yeah, I was tryin' to make a point," Raph said. "He's too old for a blanket."

"If you recall, you had a blanket that you cherished for a long time," Splinter pointed out. "You got rid of it when you felt you did not need it anymore."

"Yeah, well, Mikey don't need his blanket anymore," Raph replied.

"It is not your place to decide when Michelangelo will give up his blanket," Splinter said firmly. "That decision is Michelangelo's alone. Now, you will give me twenty flips for provoking your brother and write a one hundred word essay on why you should be more respectful of your brother's choices."

"Yes, Sensei," Raph said meekly and went into the dojo to carry out his punishment.

Splinter turned to his youngest son. "Are you all right, Michelangelo?" he asked.

Mikey nodded. "I don't wanna give up Blankie," he said. "He's my best friend."

"You do not have to, my son," Splinter reassured him. "It is up to you to decide when you are ready to let Blankie go. However, I know of a good place he can go when the time comes."

Mikey perked up at this. "Where?" he asked.

"He can go to the birds in the trees in Central Park," replied Splinter. "In winter, the birds get cold and must be kept warm. I think Blankie would suit that purpose nicely. And when the birds have their babies, Blankie will make a good friend for them and comfort them when they're scared."

"But if Blankie becomes friends with the birds, he'll forget that he was friends with me," pointed out Mikey.

Splinter shook his head. "That will never happen," he said. "Blankie will always remember you no matter what, just as you will remember him when you get older. Do you understand?"

Mikey nodded his head. "Yeah, I do," he said. "I'll give Blankie to the birds when it's time to let him go. Thanks, Sensei."

"You are welcome, my son," Splinter said, giving him a hug.

A few days later, after much reflection, Mikey felt that he was ready to let Blankie go. He gave Blankie to Splinter and told him to make sure Blankie went to some nice birds. Splinter promised that he would and took the blanket that had been his son's companion. He noticed writing on the tag and lifted it up to see what it was. In orange crayon Mikey had written, "Blankie and Mikey. Friends Forever." When Splinter asked his son why he had written this, Mikey replied, "So Blankie won't forget me." Splinter thought that was very cute and stored Blankie away until it was time to give him to the birds.

End of flashback

"But why did you keep him?" Mikey asked his father.

Splinter smiled. "Because I could not bear to give your friend away," he said. "In fact, I kept all your blankets because I wanted a memory of your childhood." He opened his chest, which had miraculously not been damaged, and took out three other blankets. Raphael's had cars on it, Donatello's had letters of the alphabet, and Leonardo's had dogs and cats.

"So, you're sayin' that you never gave our blankets to the birds?" Raphael inquired.

"That is correct, Raphael," Splinter said. "However, it is your decision whether they should be taken with us or remain here."

"I think we should keep them," Mikey suggested. "That way, if we have kids of our own, we can pass them down."

Splinter knew the possibility of his sons having a family of their own was very slim, but he didn't want to say so. "Yes, that is a good idea," he said. "What do the rest of you think?"

"I think that's a great idea," Leo replied.

"Yeah, it makes sense that we should keep them safe," Don added.

Raphael smiled, and Mikey thought he was going to make a joke, but he didn't. Instead he said, "Yeah, better that they're with us instead of gatherin' dust."

"Good," Splinter said. "Now, let us finish up here and then go home."

That night, Splinter went upstairs to check on his sons. He'd been doing this ever since they were little and couldn't get rid of the habit. As he made his way to their rooms, e couldn't help but think about how lucky he was to have them. As he looked into the rooms, he saw that his sons were fast asleep in different positions: Leonardo was on his back, Raphael was curled on his left side, Donatello was on his stomach, and Michelangelo was curled on his right side. However, Splinter noticed that one thing was the same about each of his sons.

All of them were curled up with their blankets beside them.

A/N: And that's the end of the story. When I was little I had a blanket I loved to carry with me. When it was time for me to give it up, Mom told me that she would give it to the birds. So, I gave it to her and thought that the birds would be nice and warm because of it. I discovered later that she didn't give it to the birds at all, but she kept it. In fact, I still have it, though it's in storage now. That's why I wanted to write this story. Feel free to leave a review once you've read it.