Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT or anything else that I mention in this fic.
BABYSITTING
"Leonardo!" Master Splinter called the nine year old.
Leo came out of his room and looked down at his father from the second floor. "Yes, Master Splinter?" he replied.
"Come on down here for a moment." Master Splinter gestured with his head. He sat down on the couch as he waited for Leo to come down from the second floor.
Leo stood in front of Master Splinter. "What is it?"
"Okay--" Master Splinter began.
"Am I in trouble?" Leo asked nervously. "And if I am, what did I do?"
Master Splinter laughed. "No, you are not in any trouble, Leonardo. I had just wanted to ask you a question."
Leo let out a sigh of relief. "Good."
Master Splinter smiled. "Okay. Well, I was just wondering if you were willing to baby-sit and take care of Donatello, Raphael, and Michalangelo while I went out to the Pharmacy to pick up Donatello's medicine."
Leo nodded. "Sure! I would love to baby-sit."
"Are you sure? You will have to take care of Donatello and keep both eyes on hyperactive Raphael and Michalangelo," Master Splinter didn't lie when it came to describing his three sons. "And I might be waiting at the Pharmacy for an hour or two. You know how long those things can take."
Leo laughed at the adjectives his Master chose. "Of course I'll baby sit them, Master Splinter. You don't need to worry about me, or about them, or about anyone else."
Master Splinter stood up. "Thank you, Leonardo. I will be leaving now. Will you call Raphael and Michalangelo down here for me? Donatello all ready knows that I am leaving."
Leo nodded and turned to the stairs that led to the second floor. "RAPH! MIKEY! COME HERE!"
Master Splinter's ears flattened at his son's booming voice. "Donatello might be sleeping, Leonardo." he stated.
"Oh, sorry." Leo said.
"WHAT?!" Raph called back.
"DID YOU CALL ME OR RAPH?" Mikey replied.
Master Splinter shook his head at the thought of Donnie still being asleep. "Not anymore..." he muttered to himself.
"I called both of you," Leo replied to his brothers. "Come here. Master Splinter wants to talk to you two." Leo explained.
Raph rolled his eyes as he walked down the stairs.
"Why?" Mikey complained in a whiny voice.
"Just come here." Master Splinter responded.
"If we're going to get into trouble, it was all Mikey's fault." Raph decided to skip the accusing part and get straight to the lying part as he stood in front of Master Splinter.
Master Splinter raised an eyebrow at Raph.'
Mikey came over next to Raph and shrugged, totally confused. "What did I do wrong?"
Leo giggled.
Master Splinter rolled his eyes and sighed. "Raphael and Michalangelo, I am going to go to the pharmacy to pick up Donatello's medicine."
Raph and Mikey turned to each other with big grins.
"Leonardo is in charge of all three of you." Master Splinter added quickly.
"What?!" Raph couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"And you mist be quiet. I want Donatello to get as much peace and quiet today as he rests." Master Splinter continued.
"Well, this afternoon is screwed..." Mikey sighed.
"Michalangelo." Master Splinter scolded with a glare.
"Sorry." Mikey muttered.
"All right," Master Splinter kissed each of them on the top of their heads. "Be on your best behaviors." Master Splinter warned Raph and Mikey one last time before he closed the door behind him and left.
"I want Donatello to get as much peace and quiet today as he rests..." Raph mocked. "We should go wake Donnie up."
Mikey smiled, taking Raph seriously. "Okay!"
Raph decided that it probably would be fun, so he raced up the stairs after Mikey.
"Wait, what?" Leo dashed off after his brother. "Stop!"
"HEY DONNIE!" Raph slammed Donnie's bedroom door open.
"Guys, don't!" Leo tried to pull Raph and Mikey out.
"DONNIE!" Mikey screamed to wake him up, ignoring Leo's tugs and pushes.
"AHHH!" Donnie jumped up as he was shaken awake.
"This is going to be harder than I thought..." Leo leaned his shell against the wall and slid down to the floor.
"Master Splinter says that I'm sick and that I need to sleep..." Donnie rasped through a sore throat and a stuffy nose.
"Yes, Donnie, I know. I'm sorry. I'll try to keep Raph and Mikey out of your room." Leo said.
"And quiet. Master Splinter says that it should be quiet for me to sleep." Donnie added.
"And quiet." Leo nodded.
"Because I need to sleep."
"I know."
"Because I'm sick." Donnie sniffed.
Leo nodded as he backed out of the room. "I know."
"So I need to rest," Donnie continued. "Master Splinter said so."
"Goodnight, Donnie." Leo tried to shut his brother up.
Donnie sneezed.
"Bless you." Leo replied.
"Ow...my head..." Donnie reached for a tissue on his night stand. "I need a tissue..."
"Oh, God..." Leo shook his head and closed the door. "I'm glad I'm not Master Splinter." he muttered, thankful he didn't have to deal with Donnie every time he got sick. Leo stopped in the middle of the stairs. It's quiet. He sniffed out something burning. What is that smell? He eyes grew wide. Oh, shell! He rushed into a kitchen. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" he exclaimed.
Mikey was standing on top of the table shouting, "GET IT! GET IT!"
Raph was trying to keep his distance away from the counter, but he was pouring a water bottle on it.
Leo noticed that his brother wasn't pouring water on the counter, but something on top of the counter.
"FIRE!!!"
Leo ripped his eyes away from the flames and turned to Raph.
"Don't just stand there!" Raph shouted at him, throwing his empty water bottle towards Mikey. "Do something!"
Leo hesitated for a moment as he looked back over to the flames and watched them eat the counter top, not knowing what to do.
"LEO!"
Leo was brought back to reality again as Mikey punched him in the shoulder. He ran over to the wall, pulling a fire extinguisher out of its case.
"GET IT! GET IT! GET IT!" Mikey shouted, jumping up and down on top of the table.
Raph ran over to stand next to the table Mikey was on.
Leo hovered the fire extinguisher over the counter and pushed the button. He let go once he could no longer see any flames and waited for the smoke to clear. Once Leo realized all the flames were gone, he lowered the fire extinguisher down to his waist, knowing he wasn't going to need it anymore, and slowly turned to glare at two of his little brothers.
Mikey smiled. "Good job, Leo!"
Leo held his glaring gaze, not moving a muscle.
Raph and Mikey turned to look at each other. "I think we're in trouble..." Raph whispered.
"You bet." Leo responded hearing Raph.
Raph and Mikey hung their heads.
Leo put the fire extinguisher down on the counter and took a step closer to Raph and Mikey. "What did you two do?" he asked sternly.
Mikey took a deep breath to explain.
Knowing Mikey would tell the truth to Leo, Raph cut him off. "We don't know how it happened."
Leo raised his eyebrows. "You don't know what happened?" he repeated. "What do you mean you don't know what happened? How can you not know what happened?" Leo added.
Mikey turned to Raph. It was clear to him that Raph didn't want him to tell the truth to Leo and he had no lies to make up at the top of his head, so he just hoped for the best thinking that Raph had a little something up his shell.
Donnie suddenly staggered into the kitchen.
"What are you doing down here?" Raph turned to him.
"Yeah, I thought you were sick." Mikey added.
"I thought I smelled something bur--" Donnie explained through a stuffy nose. He stopped himself when he noticed that the window curtains were burned and that the counter top and cabinets were black. He shook his head slight and left. "Never mind. I don't want to know..."
Raph and Mikey exchanged confused looks.
"Get back in bed!" Leo shouted to Donnie.
Mikey smirked. He was happy that he wasn't the sick one, but right now, he knew both he and Raph were wishing to be the sick ones.
Leo turned to Raph. "Okay. Now I want you to explain to me what happened in here."
Raph sighed. "I all ready told you."
"No you didn't."
"Yes I did." Raph rolled his eyes.
Leo folded his arms across his chest. "What did you tell me then?"
"I told you that I don't know." Raph explained for the second time.
Leo shook his head. "That's not excuse. How can you not know how the kitchen caught on fire?"
"Because I wasn't in the kitchen at the time when it happened." Raph replied.
Leo swung his arms back down by his sides. "That still doesn't make any sense. Are you telling me that Mikey was in the kitchen when it started and he was the one who caused it and you just happened to walk in here after he started it?"
Mikey squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want Raph to put the whole blame on him.
Raph had no more lies. "Uh, yeah."
Mikey glared at Raph.
Leo turned to Mikey. "Mikey?"
Mikey swallowed. "It was all ready on fire when I walked into the kitchen."
Raph smacked his forehead.
Leo closed his eyes and sighed. "Mikey...why don't you just tell me the truth?" he sighed. It was clear to him that Mikey was lying. He also knew that Raph was lying.
Mikey turned to Raph and shrugged.
Raph sighed.
Leo noticed at and rolled his eyes. "Why don't you both just give up and tell me the truth?"
"Why? You're not Master Splinter." Mikey tried to stall. He was hoping that Raph would start thinking of a good lie.
"No, but Master Splinter is going to find out." Leo shot back.
Mikey sighed. "If we tell you the truth, will you tell Master Splinter?"
Leo stared at his little brother, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"If Raph and I tell you what really happened, will you promise to keep it a secret from Master Splinter?"
Leo smiled. "Sure."
Raph shook his head. "I'm out of here!"
Leo blocked the door. "No. You're staying in here. I may not be able to punish you two, but I think it will better for the two of you to tell me the truth together."
Raph sighed and sat down in one of the chairs.
Mikey finally hopped down from the table and sat in the chair across from Raph.
"Okay," Leo turned to the both of them. "What happened?"
"We wanted to cook chicken." Mikey stated.
"You wanted to cook chicken?" Leo repeated, confused.
"We were hungry." Mikey shrugged.
Raph turned to Leo and put up his hands. "Hey, as dumb as it may sound, this is the actual truth."
Leo shook his head. "You just said that if you told me the truth, I wouldn't tell Master Splinter. Do you want me to tell Master Splinter?"
"We're serious! This is the truth." Raph turned to Mikey. "How can we make him listen?"
Mikey got out of his seat and walked over to the oven. He touched the handle bar and then rejected his hand quickly. Once he knew that the oven was no longer hot from the fire, he opened it and took out a black chicken. He peeked into the oven and shrugged as he looked back over to his brothers. "We had it on a paper plate, but I can't see it."
"Duh. The fire probably ate it." Raph responded.
Leo stared at the black chicken in horror. "You two...you actually...how could you...? Oh, my God!" Leo sat down in Mikey's chair and buried his face in his hands.
Mikey placed the chicken on the counter. "I told you. Can we go now?"
"Sure..." Leo muttered into his hands.
Mikey and Raph ran out of the kitchen as fast as they could. "Remember what you promised!" Raph shouted as the two of them left.
Leo lifted his head. He knew that there was no way he was going to be able to let Raph and Mikey get away with his. Although, he had promised the two of them that he wouldn't tell Master Splinter what they had done. Leo noticed that the counter and the cabinets and pretty much everything that was in the fire was all black and burned now. Leo smiled. He wasn't going to have to tell Master Splinter. He would have to explain it to Master Splinter, but that would only be after he found out for himself and asked what happened.
Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long
The music stopped and Raph and Mikey turned around. "Now what?" Raph asked.
Leo put his finger to his mouth. "It was too loud. Donnie's sleeping."
Raph rolled his eyes and hopped off of the couch he and Mikey were jumping on.
"Do you really want him to wake up again?" Leo asked.
Mikey shook his head. "Oh, shell no! Donnie knows he's sick so he wants attention...not to mention that he acts all smart. He thinks he so smart..." Mikey muttered the last part.
Raph stared at Mikey. "Donnie is the smart one." he couldn't picture Mikey, Leo, or even himself in Donnie's lab actually knowing what they were doing.
Leo smirked at his brothers. "Besides," he began again. "Master Splinter just called and--"
"You didn't tell him, did you?!" Mikey ran up in Leo's face.
Leo pushed his brother away. "No..." he replied slowly. "He called to let us know that he should be home soon."
"Oh." Mikey shrugged like it was no big deal and then sat down on the armchair.
"Master Splinter won't know what we did, right?" Raph turned to Leo.
"Know what? What you did in the kitchen or how you spent the rest of the day bothering Donnie?" Leo responded.
"Uh, both." Raph said.
"Well, I'm going to let Master Splinter know about what happened with Donnie and how you two purposely woke him up and then spent the rest of the day trying to wake him up again, but..." he turned to Mikey, who was looking at him anxiously. "I promised that I wouldn't tell him about what happened in the kitchen, so I guess I'll only tell him about what you two did to Donnie."
"Yes!" Mikey threw his arms up in the air.
"I am home!" Master Splinter walked through the door holding a tiny bag which was carrying Donnie's medicine.
Leo, Mikey, and Raph ran over to Master Splinter. "Hi!" they all gave him a big hug.
"Hello, boys," Master Splinter smiled and then turned to Leo. "How is Donatello?" he asked.
"Sleeping." Leo replied.
"All right, I guess I will give him his medicine when he is awake." Master Splinter turned to Raph and Mikey. "And how were the two of you?"
"Fine." Raph smiled.
"We were angels!" Mikey replied.
Raph glared at him. "Now you're pushing it."
Master Splinter raised an eyebrow. "What did you two do?"
"Right after you left, the two of them purposely woke up Donnie and then the rest of the day, they attempted to wake him up but I stopped them." Leo explained.
Raph and Mikey slowly started making their way to the stairs.
"Boys," Master Splinter glared after the two of them. "Go to your rooms and I will be up there in a moment," he turned to Leo. "Thank you, Leonardo. I am going to go put Donatello's medicine in the medicine cabinet." he walked into the kitchen. "BOYS!"
Leo looked over to Raph and Mikey, who were wincing at the top of the stairs. he couldn't help but smile a little.
Master Splinter ran back into the living room. "What happened in there?"
"Well," Leo started explaining.
"You said you wouldn't tell!" Raph cut him off.
Leo smiled at him. Finally he was going to get payback on the two brothers that were disobeying him all day. "I did, but Master Splinter found out all by himself. He asked me what happened and well, unlike you and Mikey, I don't tell lies."
The End!
Ann: That's all. I hope you enjoyed it. Please don't forget to press the little blue button on your way out. Also, the song was "Life Is A Highway,' by Rascal Flatts. Please review. Thanks!