A/N: Just a little idea that popped into my head earlier. He's always giving his whole self to everyone and never asking anything in return.

Told from Leo's POV.

Selfless

Sweat drips down my face and gathers in my mask, turning the fabric dark. My muscles burn as I complete my final set of katas. I've been training for the past seven hours - one with Sensei early this morning, three with my brothers after that, and the other three by myself - and I'm ready for a nice, hot shower. But just as I reach for my towel, a higher-pitched voice rings through the Lair.

"Hey, guys! Is Leo around?"

"Oh hey, Ape. Yeah, he's waiting for you in the dojo."

Crap. It's Thursday, isn't it? I forgot that I'm supposed to teach April today. Looks like the shower will have to wait.

A freckled face pops around the doorframe. My kunoichi friend smiles sheepishly. "Sorry I'm late," April apologizes. "They were having a parade or something on Second Street so I had to find an alternate route."

"It's okay," I tell her, even though my body is so tired that all I want to do is sleep. Not practice more katas for the next hour-and-a-half. But I grab the wooden practice swords off the weapons rack anyway, offering her a smile as we warm up.

After all, I'm a teacher now. And students come first.

Nearly three hours later, April waves goodbye to us and heads out the door. I walk into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, only to realize that we're completely out. A sigh escapes my lips and I add the items to our ever-growing list of groceries.

I grab a glass instead, filling it with the thirst-quenching clear liquid and drinking half in one gulp. The water sooths my parched throat and makes my eyes close in a moment of pleasure.

"Hey, Leo?"

Moment of pleasure over.

Judging by the look on Raph's face, whatever he has to say isn't going to make my aching body feel better. "Yes?"

"Could ya...uh...could ya give me a hand with somethin'?"

My eyeridges shoot up in disbelief. Raph wants my help? In the back of my mind, I wonder vaguely if Hell has frozen over. "Sure. What's up?"

The brawler shuffles his feet, obviously on the fence about asking me for anything. "Case got drunk in that bar on Broad Street an' I need help ta get him home."

Yup. My body is definitely not liking the thought of lugging our comatose hockey-stick-wielding-friend out of a bar and into his apartment.

But I sigh anyway, placing my half-finished glass onto the counter and following Raph out of the Lair. Because like it or not, Casey is a valuable team member. And as leader of that team, it's my job to make sure my followers are safe and healthy (or, in this case, as healthy as they can be).

After the grueling process of getting Casey back home and then trudging back to the Lair myself, I eagerly head for the bathroom - where the promise of a hot shower still waits. The only problem is that the bathroom is already occupied.

My heart drops when I hear the sound of retching from inside the white-tiled space. I slowly open the door to discover my youngest sibling hunched over the toilet. His face is pale but his eyes are puffy and red and filled with a look of exhaustion I recognize all too well.

Swallowing a sigh, I wet a wrag and press it to the back of his neck, then rub circles onto his shell until his vomiting has calmed down into heavy breathing. "You okay, little brother?"

"Been better," Mikey rasps. "Think I caught the bug that's going around."

Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that he was playing in the ice-cold puddles after our most recent thunderstorm.

Either way, I help him stand up and maneuver him down the hall to his bedroom, where he sags into his bed. After pulling the covers up around him and placing a trashcan directly next to him on the floor, I find a couple Tylenol to ease his fever. He's asleep not long after swallowing the medicine. Just to be on the safe side, I go and inform Donnie of the incident so that he can properly check Mikey out. Then I walk back to the bathroom to clean up the mess.

My shower has waited this long. It can wait a little longer.

Family first. Always.

I've been going for fourteen hours straight.

The thought echoes dully in my brain while I grab a late-afternoon snack. I don't pay much attention to it, though. Long days are nothing new to me. I just wish that all this stuff wouldn't happen at once.

My stomach growls as my pizza heats up in the microwave. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast this morning - nearly twelve hours ago. And with all the running around I've done today, I'm absolutely starving. But it seems like our Turtle Luck has other plans for me.

Just as the microwave dings, Master Splinter calls out from the living room. "Leonardo, come here please."

Only twenty-three years of discipline keep me from swearing aloud. I release a quiet, long-suffering sigh and leave my steaming pizza sitting on the counter. "Hai, Sensei?"

"Would you aid me, my son? I seem to be having trouble accessing my stories, and your brother is currently occupied with one of his projects."

"Sure thing, Sensei." Within a few minutes, I've opened up the correct folder on the DVR and selected the recording he was looking for. He accepts the remote again happily, murmuring theories about the episode as I reenter the kitchen to retrieve my rapidly cooling food.

I down the pizza in three huge bites, chase it with a glass of ice water, and head to my bedroom to hopefully get some rest. Once again, Fate has other plans.

I find Donnie sitting on my bed waiting for me. He appraises me as I step into the room, his mahogany gaze troubled. "You seem tired, Leo."

You have no clue. "I'm fine. Is there a particular reason why you're in my bedroom?"

"Oh, yeah. I was wondering if you'd be willing to accompany me on a junkyard run? There are a couple pieces that I need to pick up for the emergency generator. Plus I just know I found the right part for the broken heater in Raph's bedroom. I couldn't grab it the other day, but I've got a little spare time now."

What he doesn't say - what he doesn't have to say - is a silent reminder about Sensei's rule that at least two of us have to go to the junkyard. Nobody goes alone (thanks to a disastrous event that had to do with a flaming bicycle, rubber gloves, and a faulty string of Christmas lights).

At this point, I'm just about done with life. I'm about to drop dead from exhaustion, my feet are killing me, and my eyelids want to stay closed every time I blink. But Don just looks so hopeful, and he really hasn't had time of his own lately to do with what he will. Who am I to crush his dreams?

So I nod, grabbing my Shell Cell and katana. Casting one last, longing glance at my pillow, I follow him out into the tunnels.

It's almost midnight when we return. I've officially been awake for nineteen hours. Which means I have training in five, and the whole cycle is about to start all over again.

My body shudders at that realization. I drop the scavenged parts off in Donnie's lab and head to my bedroom, locking the door behind me before anyone else can ask me to help them with something. I quickly slip off my belt and pads, depositing them neatly on my desk with my katana. And then, finally, I lay down in bed.

As soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm out.

Just another day in my life.

A/N: Yeah...wasn't sure how to end that. Be on the lookout for a part two called "Selfish." I have an idea for it, and hopefully it'll be written soon.

Thanks for all the awesome support, guys. Seriously. Couldn't have done any of this without you, and lord knows that I've been a really crappy friend at times. So thank you for sticking with me this far. It means a lot.

~ Queen