This is a One-Shot request for Faith, who's father's death anniversary is on July 7. God bless you and give you strength, Faith! D,: It's a 1987-fic, something I haven't done before. What if the Turtles hadn't gotten to Splinter in time after he got shot with the Medi-Laser? Enjoy!

Donatello set the settings to healing on the gun. "Alright, it's set on healing frequency. I sure hope this works."

He shot Splinter with the healing laser, and all of them hoped and prayed that it would-

"Wait, why isn't he breathing?" Raphael asked.

"What?" Donatello got on his knees and but his head to Splinter's chest. "No. No, no, no..."

"Why isn't it working, Donatello?" Leonardo asked heatedly, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms as April gasped.

"C'mon, you stupid thing, why aren't you working?" Donatello muttered to himself as he shot Splinter again.

Nothing.

"M-Master Splinter?" Leonardo asked, taking a hesitant step towards his teacher. He then fell to his knees and and put his head on Splinter's chest. "There's no pulse..."

Michelangelo cried out, burying his head in Raphael's shoulder as Raphael patted his youngest brother's shoulder as tears streamed down his own face.

Leonardo's tears were filled with anger and sorrow as he turned to Donatello. "Why isn't he waking up?!" he growled, a side of him that no one had ever seen coming out.

"I - I don't know..." Donatello sobbed as he kneeled near his master, tears streaming down his face.

Leonardo's eyes widened as April sobbed into her hands. He then growled lowly and stalked away. "I'm going to my room," he ground out as tears streamed down his face, whipping the curtain - which he'd had Donatello install - closed.

No one was ever the same after that. They's had a small funeral with just them and April, burning the father's body and putting the ashes in a jar that they kept in his room. Michelangelo had lost his appetite, always moping around the Lair, if he was there, and not out with Raphael kicking shell to let out excess energy. Raphael himself was nearly never in the Lair, hardly ever even sleeping there anymore, finding a rooftop or abandoned park bench more comfortable than his own bed, apparently. He was constantly drinking under the table when he wasn't crime-fighting. Donatello had locked himself in his lab, trying to make healing devices for others that April would present for him at science expos and things like that. He hardly ever talked to anyone.

But Leonardo was taking it the worst. He was constantly in the dojo, trying to improve his skills, his speed, feeling it was his fault that they hadn't gotten to Splinter in time.

April sometimes came over to give them pizza, as they were to busy in their own lives to think about eating. While she was trying to keep them together the best she could, she had also become colder to her boss, and Vernon, whom she hadn't even liked anyway. But he had no idea what she and her friends were going through, and he was just as annoying as ever. She'd actually gotten a pay cut for slapping him in the face one time after she'd had a particularly bad day with the guys.

But every year, they all went to Splinter's room as one to pay their respects.

And that was all it took to keep them together as they all tried to make do with their new situation.

And April was perfectly fine with that.

Wow, that was a lot shorter than I imagined it. I'm sorry, Faith! Please, give yourself the strength that you need to grieve your father, and let the Lord guide you through it all! I hope everyone liked this! And sorry I haven't updated my other stories in a while; I get distracted easily. Anyways, review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, vote on my poll, and give me questions and dares for my Q & A! BYE!

TMNT LLII