Author's note: I've decided to put all my oneshots into a long story. I will post them in order of how I published them. My page is getting cluttered lol.
Dennis ran. He didn't really know where he was running too, his legs just carried him along. Tears were streaming down his face, blocking any chance of seeing clearly. Not that he could anyway in the dark moonless night. He was too upset to care.
He heard his mother's cries to him, calling him back, they just didn't register to his confused, hurt mind. Dennis stumbled on into the darkness, unaware of the cold and dangers of being out here alone. His foot got caught up in a clump of field grass and he tripped, hitting the frozen ground with an ummph, but stubbornly got back up and kept right on going.
He couldn't hear Mommy anymore as he ran into the wooded area, and a slight pang of worry hit him at that thought. But he couldn't stop himself, anger and grief pushed him on deeper into the small forest. Finally his little legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily and fighting back more tears. Daddy was leaving, he was leaving! And didn't even come to say goodbye!
He couldn't understand it, why did Daddy not like him? Why did he never come to spend time with him? What had he done wrong to make Daddy not care? He struggled to bring his young mind to understand, but couldn't. Didn't Daddy know that Dennis loved him? Didn't want him to go? Didn't he know that Dennis needed him? He pulled his knees to his chest as he leaned against a tree and brought his head down and cried into them.
There was a coyote howl not far away and for a moment fear broke through the little boy's anguish. Mommy and Gramps had said to never come out here alone. They said he could get hurt real bad out here and they would never know. The only time he was allowed to come out this far was if someone, besides his annoying sister, came out here with him. Listening to those howls, he understood why but he couldn't bring himself to stand back up. He was still confused and frustrated and too tired from all of the running. Maybe if he stayed real still they wouldn't hear him.
What he didn't count on was that canine sense of smell however and he heard the animals rusting through the vegetation, heading his way. There was another frightening howl, this time very close, and it scared him enough to where he forced himself up and ran again. He tried to go back home, but was all twisted around out here, he didn't know which way to go as he stumbled along until he just finally stopped and huddled into a ball, shivering and crying. He was so cold and scared and just wanted to go back home...
Once again the howls ripped through the night, but was cut off this time by pain filled yips. "Get out of here you mangy, flea infested cat shit eaters!" Dennis blinked a moment as he heard that. That was Mikey. Mikey was out here? Maybe he could find him.
He started to get up when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he let out a startled squeak, jumping away from it. "Hey, there you are." Leo calmly told him. "We've been looking for you. Got your Mom pretty worried." Dennis looked up at the large turtle as he knelt down next to him and gave him a quick look over. He was expecting to get yelled at and was a little surprised when Leo didn't. "What do you say we go back home? It's cold out here."
Dennis just nodded and Leo took his hand and began to lead him through the woods. "Mikey! I found him!" Leo called out as they went.
"Little guy moves kinda quick." Mikey came out of the woods near them with a grin. "Totally nowhere near where we saw him slip into the woods at."
"Almost as quick as your mouth." Leo smiled at him.
"Nothing moves as quick as my mouth, bro."
"Except your feet when you piss Raph off."
Mikey let out a quick laugh as they kept moving. Dennis let out a shiver due to the cold and Leo caught it, frowning slightly at the little boy. "Mikey, give him your sweater."
"Can do!" He replied before unwrapping it from his waist and sliding it onto Dennis. "You're lucky Dennis. I don't let just anyone wear that." He winked.
Dennis looked up at the two turtles that had come out after him. Now he felt so bad that they had to do that and his eyes watered up again. His emotional limit finally having been reached, he sat down and cried, again. He was embarrassed to do it in front of these tough, don't take crap from anyone guys but couldn't stop the flow once they started. Like a dam breaking, it all came out.
Leo just leaned over and picked him up, holding him close as he began to walk back towards the house. He didn't seem to mind the little boy crying, sniffling and sobbing all over his shoulder, he just held Dennis close to him in a hug. For the first time in a while he actually felt...safe. Leo wasn't going to let the coyotes get him and he was going to take him back home, where he should have stayed all along.
Wrapped up in those secure arms, Dennis started to feel more than a little bad about his actions tonight. He couldn't help it though. Something had just taken over it seemed. The normally sensible little boy that would come running inside at the first crack of a thunderstorm, be inside before it got dark and never ran off like that had been replaced by and unthinking silly head. Then it hit him that Mommy had already been hurt, and she probably hurt herself again trying to catch him. Once he processed that thought he cried even harder. Still, Leo remained calm and silent. He wasn't angry at all, even though he should be. Dennis knew he loved Mommy very much and hated to see her hurt like that but he didn't fuss at the boy, a fact Dennis was enormously grateful for.
After a chilly walk they made it through the front door and Leo headed straight for the lair, keeping Dennis turned away as he walked swiftly with Mikey through the lab. They all remained silent as Raph and Donnie fussed over Mommy, but they were too busy to notice them anyway.
Leo didn't stop until he was in his room, where he gently set Dennis on the bed and sat next to him for a moment. His calm blue eyes watching Dennis. He had by now cried himself pretty much out and exhaustion was setting in. He found it extremely hard to keep his eyes opened and actually let out a big gaping yawn that caused Leo and Mikey to chuckle a little.
"Get some sleep Dennis." Leo smiled at him. The little boy just blinked. He was still expecting to get yelled at, not all this nice treatment and smiles. Daddy would have yelled at him...Mommy too to a lesser degree. Leo just settled him into bed and covered him up. "When you wake up we will talk, ok?" He moved to stand back up.
Dennis looked up to Leo as he got up, and reached out a hand to take his and held it firmly for a few seconds. The leader of his turtle friends looked a little shocked at that, but settled back down on the bed, looking curiously at the child as he did.
"Thank you." Was all he could get out before another yawn hit and his eyes started to drift closed.
Silence was his answer, but there was a reassuring squeeze on his hand and a moment later there was another one on the other hand as Mikey took it. Together they sat with him as he drifted off to sleep.
.
.
How long he slept, he didn't know. It couldn't have been long, just an hour or maybe two. He was still tired and knew he probably should rest more, but he couldn't. To many things were going on in his little head to let that happen. Things he couldn't even begin to understand how to deal with.
The room was dark, so dark he couldn't see anything. Someone had apparently turned the lights off. Normally he would freak out, he was still a bit afraid of the dark, but not this time. He just somehow knew he wasn't alone. That instinct proved correct when a quiet voice reached out to him.
"You didn't sleep very long." Leo said to Dennis as the boy slowly sat up and wiped his eyes a little.
"I can't." Came the half mumbled reply.
It was quiet again for a moment before the lamp next to the bed popped on. Leo had been so quiet Dennis hadn't even heard him move from the chair in the corner where his voice came from a moment before. Leo frowned slightly, Mommy calls it his "Thinking Face", as he watched the little boy a moment. "I see. Too much on your mind?"
Feeling the tears well up in his eyes again, Dennis just nodded.
Leo reached out a hand and took his and helped him off of the bed. "Come on, let's go for a walk."
"But...Mommy..." Dennis was so worried. He really shouldn't have run out like that. He knew she would follow him, even as hurt as she was, but he did it anyways.
"She'll be fine." Again Leo squeezed his hand reassuringly. It was kinda funny, as big as his hand was and with the finger count difference, it should have felt weird holding the turtle's hand...but it didn't. "Donnie is fixing her back up and she is sleeping now." Leo finished as they walked from the room. "And you need to work some things out. I'm sure she won't mind if we leave for a little bit."
Dennis just nodded as he let the turtle lead him towards the exit. Chance had it that Donnie was coming out of the lab as they entered the living area where Mikey and Raph were sitting. Raph dozing on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table and Mikey flipping through a comic book. All of them turned their attention to the smartypants turtle as he walked out. Donnie ignored the other two however and looked at Leo and Dennis. "Everything went fine and she's still asleep. If we can keep her in bed long enough, she should make a complete recovery."
Leo snorted with amusement. "Good luck. You know as well as I do she's going to fight you over that."
Donnie just returned Leo's amused look with a level one. "Then I'll tie her down to the bed if I have too."
"Never thought of you as the tying up type Donnie." Raph rumbled from the couch before opening his eyes. "You strike me as more the-"
"Not in front of the boy!" Leo snapped, cutting Raph off as Donnie began to blush. Dennis just looked on confused over it all. Mikey thought it was funny though as he chuckled. Raph just grinned widely but didn't say anything else.
Shaking his head, Leo just kept leading Dennis to the door. "We are going for a walk. If she wakes up before we get back let her know he's with me." He told Donnie as they passed him. Donnie just nodded in reply and soon after they were out in the tunnels.
Again Dennis was amazed on how quiet the larger turtle was. He didn't make a sound as they went and his little scuffing feet sounded very noisy in comparison. He caught himself trying to see exactly how Leo walked to try and find out how he was so quiet doing it. Then he tried to copy it...and made even more noise. Leo just chuckled a little as he watched the boy's attempts. Frustrated Dennis just gave up and went back to normal walking.
"Why are you giving up so soon?" Leo asked him.
"Because I can't do it." Dennis grumbled.
"And you never will if you don't try." Leo stopped and Dennis didn't really have a choice but to stop with him since Leo still held his hand. Then Leo knelt down so he could look Dennis in the eye. "It's always easy to give in when things don't go the way you want them too. To keep trying, that is the hard part. But it's not so hard when you have a little guidance." Leo reached out and took a hold of Dennis' leg and positioned his foot over the ground. "The trick is to not let your foot flop down as you normally would. Bring the heel down gently and bring the rest of your foot down in a rolling motion."
"Feet don't roll." Dennis told him in his most matter of fact tone. If feet were meant to roll they would be round.
Leo gave him that amused half smile as an answer before he chuckled again. "Ok, not roll then." Leo thought a moment. "How about we say we bring it down in a more fluid motion."
"Isn't fluid water? Or soda? Or milk? Or..." He quit when he noticed Leo giving him that amused look again. "What?"
"Yes, you are right. All those things are fluids. But it also means to move smoothly, gracefully."
"I didn't know that." Dennis admitted a bit sheepishly.
"Dennis, if you knew everything at your age then there would be no reason for anyone to teach you. It's not your job to know everything, it's our job to teach you."
"I thought that was Mommy's and Daddy's job." Dennis said quietly.
Leo gently placed the foot back down before giving Dennis his full attention. "It is. But other adults will teach you things if they choose to do so, and if you let them."
"Like the teachers at school?"
Leo smiled again. "Yes them too. But I meant all adults. If they are trustworthy. Sadly, there are some out there that will try to lead you astray. But you have plenty around you that will make an effort to do right by you. I know your Mom tries, as do your grandparents and uncle."
Dennis returned that calm gaze. He was still so confused. He had trusted Daddy like that. Had wanted Daddy so much to teach him stuff like playing baseball, football and all kinds of stuff. But now Daddy was gone. For the countless time tonight he found himself asking why...
Dennis wanted so much to have his Daddy here with him, but was starting to understand that wasn't going to happen. He had thought Daddy was one of the adults he could trust, and now he didn't know what to believe anymore. "Daddy doesn't try like that anymore." He finally slipped out, then wished he could take it back. He didn't want to bother Leo with this. Didn't want to be a burden.
That wasn't the look he got in return though. Leo just regarded him quietly, with sympathy and understanding in his eyes. There was no indication that he was getting on Leo's nerves at all. "Dennis, I can't comment on that really because I don't know your father. I don't know why he does what he does. He has his reasons. I'm not saying they are good ones or bad ones, just that he has them." He took the boy's hand again. Each time it happened, Dennis felt more and more comfortable with it. Like it was just natural for both of them. "I don't know what happened tonight, and I really don't want to upset you by talking about it if you don't want too. But know that if you do ever need to talk, you can come to me. It's not just your mother I care about, I care about all of you and I'd rather you come and talk to me before running off like that again."
"I...I...just don't want to get on your nerves... Daddy always said I talk too much sometimes..." Dennis admitted to the turtle in front of him. He felt the tears form in his eyes again. He had tried so hard to make Daddy like him...had tried so...hard... He began to cry.
"Dennis, listen to me." Leo gently lifted the crying face towards him. "I am not him. You won't get on my nerves." He let out a smile then. "Come on...I live with Mikey. Nothing is worse than that." Inspite of himself Dennis found himself chuckling a little at that. "If the question is important enough for you to ask, I will take the time to answer it. If you need to talk, I will listen. If you want to learn, I will teach, OK?"
Dennis just nodded and Leo pulled him into a hug. As earlier, Dennis found himself feeling warm and safe in those strong arms. He knew Leo had meant what he said. Dennis just held onto the big turtle finally feeling the trust in him that Mommy apparently already felt. Dennis liked the turtles, but wasn't sure how to place them into his life. Somehow that just got a lot less complicated to figure out. He knew Leo would always be there. He didn't know how he knew, he just did. After a few minutes Dennis settled down again, but still held Leo in a hug. "Leo?" He finally asked.
"Yes?"
"Will you teach me how to walk like you do? I want to learn to walk quietly so I can scare my sister."
Leo's body shook with his laughter. "And here I was thinking you wanted to learn to be a ninja."
"Well...that too..."
Leo pulled back and looked at him with a raised eyeridge. "You know I'm going to have to teach her too, just to be fair...right?"
"Fiiiine...but I get first dibs!" Dennis was now very excited. Leo was going to teach him how to ninja walk!
"Ok, goes back to what I was trying to show you earlier before you made me thirsty with all the milk talk..." They spent a long while out in the tunnels, Leo teaching and Dennis eagerly willing to learn. Dennis did eventually get the hang of it, with a lot of patient instruction from Leo. No matter how many times he messed up, Leo kept working with him until it got to the point that on the way back Dennis was already walking a lot quieter than before. He walked alongside the master ninja and got a nod of approval and a smile from the turtle. That smile lit up Dennis' night.
The evening had started with a dark curtain forming around the boy. A curtain of confusion, sadness, hurt and betrayal. Dennis was already starting to adjust his thinking on the way back. Maybe things weren't so bad as he thought. Daddy may have left, and that hurt, would probably do so for a long time, but he understood better now that the others here would always look out for him, be there for him, and that thought made him feel better. That dark curtain didn't seem so dark anymore. There was a pinpoint of light slowly growing in it, pushing it away. A soft blue glow that would not stop until there was no darkness left for him to fear. Dennis wasn't afraid of the dark anymore, he had a new light to guide him. He reached out a hand and slipped it into Leo's again and it stayed there as they walked, quietly, back home.