Birthday fic written for AngelDormais! Happy birthday, Angel! :D Missing scene from 2k3 season 4 episode "Prodigal Son"
Checking In
April eased back the edge of her curtain and glanced down at the street. The Foot surveillance van was gone. It had disappeared sometime after 3 AM, and now, over an hour later, it had not returned. Instead of giving her a feeling of relief, though, the knot in her stomach only pulled tighter. That van had been there to watch for signs of Leonardo's return. For the surveillance team to be pulled off, it could only mean one thing: Leo had been seen.
April also knew that Leo wouldn't be seen unless he intended to be seen, but that didn't make her feel any better. She didn't know if his time away had helped him cope with the fallout of the near-disastrous mission several months before, but even if it had, to come back and have his family torn away from him…
She swallowed hard against the aching knot in her throat, afraid for Leo's mental and emotional state as much as she feared for his safety. His family was everything to him. What would he do now that they were gone? What would vengeful rage make him capable of? Perhaps it was doing him an injustice to think that way, but the Leo who had left for Japan was nearly a stranger, tangled in his own self-recrimination and fear. She hadn't heard a word from him since Angel had taken her note just after nightfall.
April stepped away from the window only after she realized she was holding her breath - and that she had been unconsciously listening for the shriek of sirens. She moved by feel through her darkened apartment towards her bedroom. She should get some sleep, but she didn't know how she'd manage it. Not with her heart thudding heavily in her chest and her hands tingling with nervous energy.
Only years of being friends with a family of ninjas allowed her to hear the faint scrape of her bedroom window sliding open and shut. She halted in her tracks halfway across the living room, straining her ears, pulse double-timing with a turbulent combination of fear and hope. The next moment, a familiar stocky silhouette emerged and stepped into the main room. "Leo!" Her breath rushed from her lungs in a relieved gust, and she crossed the remaining distance in a handful of steps. Leo hardly had time to set his duffel bag down before April pulled him into a fierce embrace. "I've been so worried! Are you okay?"
Leo hugged her tightly in return. "I'm all right."
"Thank God…" She squeezed her eyes shut against the sting of tears.
Leo patted her back. "It's okay," he said against her shoulder. "Everything's okay. I found them. They're alive."
April sucked in a startled gasp. "You - what?" She pulled back a step but kept her hands on his shoulders.
"They're okay," he repeated. "Sensei and my brothers."
"They're - they're not hurt?"
He shrugged, but not enough to dislodge her hands. "They're a little banged up, but they're okay." In the weak light from the street lamp outside, April could see one side of his mouth lift in a faint smile. "Even Klunk."
Now tears stung April's eyes for an entirely different reason, and she reeled Leo in to hug him once more. "Do they have any idea how worried I've been?! It's been two days! I thought…!"
"They know, and they're sorry," Leo said. "They were separated - couldn't contact each other, let alone calling you. It was really close, April. Close enough that none of them wanted to take the risk of showing up at your place." He sighed. "They didn't know you thought they were dead."
"No, it's okay," she replied. "I know." She took a step back and dried her eyes on her sweatshirt sleeve. "How did you find them? Casey went by the emergency meet-up spots and they weren't there."
"The Foot attacked the Lair. If our home was compromised, none of the other safe spots could be trusted either. They weren't easy to track down, but luckily I know my brothers better than the Foot does."
That made April smile. "That you do." Her smile didn't last long, though. Now that the initial shock was starting to fade, she was starting to notice just how tired Leo sounded, and she recognized the slump to his shoulders that told her he was just about done in. "Hey, you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. It's just…" He huffed out a humorless laugh. "It's been a long trip."
And just like that, April felt everything settle into place. She still had a lot of unanswered questions about what had happened to Leo in Japan - and in New York that night - and she didn't know what they were going to do about the Foot. But she knew what to do with a weary turtle, and she decided that everything else could wait. "Leo. When's the last time you slept? Or ate?"
He hesitated. "It's been a long trip," he said again.
"That's what I thought. Come on," she said, putting a guiding hand on his shell. "Let me at least get you something to eat."
Despite the gentle pressure of her hand, he didn't move. "Thanks, April, but...I've been gone a while already and I don't want them to worry."
"Oh, you don't want them to worry," April said, the fond tone in her voice taking the edge off her sarcastic words. "Leo, sit down. This won't take long. Tell you what, I'll even call Great Wall around the corner and order takeout for you to bring back to them. They've got 24 hour delivery."
Leo knew that tone and knew better than to protest any more. "Okay." He allowed her to steer him to the kitchen and sat down at the table while she headed for the phone to call the nearby Chinese restaurant.
It didn't take long to place the order, which she placed from memory and long practice. "Okay, food should be here shortly," she said when she was done. "Gives us enough time to get you breakfast, at least." April reached for the light over the stove. Even though it wasn't very bright, she still winced a little at the sudden glow after walking around in complete darkness. "Sorry to keep you in the dark," she said, pulling a carton of eggs from the fridge. "But even though the surveillance van is gone, I feel better keeping the lights off."
"It's okay," Leo replied. "It won't be back."
A chill ran down her spine at the finality in his voice. She froze halfway through cracking an egg and lifted her eyes, taking a good look at him for the first time. He had told her he was all right, and he'd been telling the truth; he showed no sign of injury, but even in the dim light she could recognize the telltale signs that he'd been in a fight. "Leo," she asked carefully, "what did you do?"
"I paid Karai a visit," Leo answered. He spoke calmly, but the words were hard as stone. "She's not hurt. But she knows what the consequences will be if she dares to lift a hand against my family again."
"You - " April swallowed the rest of her reflexive outburst. She wasn't sure what to think about his cryptic answer - or what to think about his solo visit to the Foot headquarters - but Leo's voice was still ominously cold and she didn't want to press him.
But Leo had known her too long to miss the questions in her eyes, and he thawed as he explained. "She wasn't going to give up searching for me. As long as she thought I was alive, she'd keep trying to hunt me down. It would only be a matter of time before she found out she'd failed to kill my brothers. Better to let her know how things stand now while she still has a chance to walk away."
April finished cracking and beating the eggs, then poured them into the hot frying pan, keeping herself half-turned to face the table as she stirred with one hand.. "Do you think she will?"
"I guess we'll find out," Leo replied. He spoke lightly, but leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table and scrub his face with his hands. "I think we're going to lay low for a while until we're back on our feet, so don't worry if you don't hear from us for a little while. But you and I still have shell cells that work, so you can reach us if you need us."
"Can you at least tell me where you are?"
"We're at an old pumping station in Central Park." He smiled tiredly. "It's a bit of a fixer-upper, but it's got a nice view."
"Well, you'll let me know if you guys need anything," April said. She scooped the eggs onto a plate and set it in front of him, then put the kettle on.
Leo's hunger prodded him to eat quickly, so by the time the water had started to boil, he'd emptied his plate. He stood and washed his dishes and the frying pan while April set the tea up to steep, waving off her protests that she'd take care of it.
"So aside from everything that happened, how are you?" April asked when she rejoined him at the table. "How did everything go while you were in Japan?" She sat down in the chair next to him, lifting her tea for a sip while setting Leo's on the table in front of him.
Leo huffed a laugh. "Japan was...not what I expected." He curled his hands around his mug. "I did track down Yoshi's master. Or, well. He tracked me down. It's a long story. I don't have time to tell you everything now, but I promise I will when things settle down. But I got a lot of things figured out while I was there. I'm okay, April. Really."
April gave him a long, searching look. He was exhausted, and she could still see the traces of worry and tension that had harried him until he knew his family was safe. His eyes, like those of his brothers, still carried a look of life experience that was far too old for someone so young. But underneath all of that, she could see peace in his face again; and instead of the turbulent anger that had radiated from him for all those months, she could feel the familiar steadiness of spirit that she'd come to associate with him.
She smiled at him, tears pricking her eyes for the third time that night. "We've missed you."
He laughed a little, but ducked his head, and if the sound perhaps was a bit watery, April pretended not to notice. But when he looked up, he was smiling and his eyes were clear. "I missed me, too."
April jumped a little as the sound of the door buzzer echoed in the silent apartment. She glanced at the clock. "Wow, that was quick. Guess they really don't have much to do at four in the morning." She rose and headed for the door, pausing only to give the top of Leo's head an affectionate rub as she passed by.
She handed the yawning delivery boy a generous tip, then carried the bag full of warm takeout boxes up to the kitchen. "Here you go. I think I managed to remember everyone's usual. Extra egg rolls for Raph, since Mikey always steals his."
Leo smiled up at her. "Thanks, April. For everything." He stood and stretched, carefully packing the food away in his duffel. "I'd better go," he said reluctantly. "I want to make it back before dawn." April followed him through her room to the window. He slid up the sill and glanced out at the fire escape to make sure the way would be clear, then shrugged and sighed. "Coast is clear."
April hugged him tightly, dropping a kiss on his forehead before letting him go. "Be careful. And don't be a stranger too long, okay?"
"We'll be in touch as soon as we can," Leo promised. He climbed out the window and up into the sky full of stars that were just beginning to fade.
April sighed, letting the cool night air slip in and out of her chest before gently closing the window once again. Her apartment felt empty and unnaturally quiet now that Leo was gone, but she couldn't find it in herself to feel lonely. Her family was safe. As she moved to sit on her bed and hug her pillow, she couldn't keep the brilliant smile from dawning on her face.