I entered the area with the cats and saw Chloe playing with them. She stopped when she saw me.
"You wanted to see me?" I asked.
"You haven't set foot in your lab for the past couple weeks," Chloe replied. "I don't mind helping you out but I'm really worried about you."
"I wish I could've done something to save Master Splinter," I said, my voice breaking. "We did our best and it did no good and now he's gone."
"It wasn't either of our faults that nothing worked," Chloe said. "You shouldn't blame yourself for his death."
Chloe and I had taken care of Splinter in his last couple weeks. Sometimes it got to be too much for me and Chloe would allow me to take a break and she would handle things until I felt OK enough to return to the room.
I sat down on the sofa and took several deep breaths to calm myself. I squeezed my eyes shut but I wasn't able to stop the floodgates from opening.
I felt Chloe gather me in her arms and I wrapped my arms around her and broke down completely. Chloe gently rubbed my shell while I released the pain of losing Splinter.
Several minutes later, Chloe and I released each other. Then she wiped my eyes with her thumbs.
"What should we work on next?" I asked.
"We need to get you to start spending time in your lab again," Chloe replied.
"Any ideas?"
"I'll go with you every day until you start going on your own."
"When should we start?"
"After dinner."
"I'm not really hungry."
"You need to eat something."
I reluctantly agreed to eat some dinner later. I hoped I would be able to since I currently had no appetite.
"Should I get Raph next?" I asked.
"Sure," Chloe replied.
Chloe and I wrapped our arms around each other and released each other a few minutes later. Then I left the cat area wondering if Chloe's plan to get me back in the lab would work.
When I entered the living room, my brothers were sitting on the sofa. They stood up and came over to me when they saw me.
"You all right, Donny?" Leo asked with concern.
"A little better than I've been lately," I replied.
"Glad to hear it," Mikey said with a grin.
"By the way, Raph, it's your turn," I said.
"Be back in a while," Raph said.
Raph and I wrapped our arms around each other and we released each other a couple minutes later. After Raph left the room, I sat down on the sofa with Mikey and Leo and we talked for a while.
To be continued…