A/N This is an old one I wrote back when the episode "Within the Woods" first aired. I decided to post it here anyway.
"And now all I can do is sit on a chair next to him all day and wait for him to wake up.
His body is full of bruises and cuts; he looks so tired. Is there any chance he can feel that I am always with him, that I never once left his side?
I want to go closer, take his hand in mine, hug him and reassure him that it's going to be alright, but I can't. Not get close to him, nor tell him lies.
When you wake up, Leo, what are we supposed to tell you? New York belongs to the past. Splinter... Leo, had you been with us, maybe then... Maybe things would have gone a different way.
Raph and I keep a constant vigil on you. Neither one of us is getting enough sleep, but how can we leave you here on your own while you are so weak and defenseless? It's impossible.
At first I cried all the time. And that's how the days went by, how they became months. It's already been two months, Leo, when are you gonna get up? There is no way I can help you. I'm sure that when I cry I annoy Raphael, even if he's never said so. So I've stopped. I sit here, look at you, at the floor, at my own hands. And make sure I'm still breathing.
I am not entirely convinced I'm alive, I know I haven't stopped breathing, though.
The same goes for you. I can see your chest going up and down, slowly, each time I dread that it will be the last.
Are you feeling alright in there, Leo? In the tub? When you wake up, you'll be sleeping in a bed, I promise. So wake up!
Leo, what you're going through, is it really like you're asleep? Are you having some kind of sweet dream you don't want to wake up from? Or are you stuck in a terrible nightmare?
I know I am.
Maybe you are lucky. Perhaps when you come round things will be better. They will be for me anyway. You will be with us once again.
No. No, I don't want you to suffer. I'm being selfish. I want you mine, I want you with me, forever. But you would never think like that for me. You would not want me to wake up to this terrible reality. Even if you did, I would forgive you. I allow you to see me any way you want.
But you are not me.
You are something pure, clean. I am like smoke wanting to flea a room with the windows closed. You were -are- my only way out. And someone has taken you away from me.
And that someone has many names, countless faces, the whole world is to blame, so am I. If you had never met me, it's possible you would't be laying like that in there.
Leo, I want you to get better, stay with us, with me. I can't promise you much. I can't tell you for sure that our life will be like it used to. But know this: I am determined to try and be there for you, however I can, all of us are. Together, we will fight for the future.
And one last thing: love is selfish, that's why I want you mine, forever. It's the person that is selfless, though, and that person is the one making that decisions.
I decide to have your back. Forever."
