Chapter 8: Keep on Trying

A/N: I know it has been a long time since I updated this story, but life and other stories happened and I just lost inspiration for it. But now inspiration has struck again so I'm updating this story with a new chapter. I hope that all of you enjoy it. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed thus far. Your kind words and encouragement mean the world to me.

Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon. I only own the plot and nothing more than that.

Leo woke up, still reeling from the events of the previous day. He knew it wasn't real, but it felt real to him, and he never wanted to feel like that again as long as he lived. He glanced down at his injured knee and knew the only thing he could do was to keep working on it.

He crept out of bed and left the room, careful not to wake up Raph. He went downstairs and out the door as silently as he could. Once outside, he made his way to the woods. They day was nice and sunny and the birds were chirping happily, but Leo paid it no mind. He had work to do. He walked until he reached the creek that Raph had wanted him to cross on his first day of training.

Leo stared at the creek rippling and flowing and the stones that were the bridge. He wasn't sure if he would be able to do this, but he had to try. He had to get better so they could go back and take down the Kraang once and for all.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped onto the first rock with his good leg and then with his bad leg, using his cane to balance. Okay, that wasn't too bad, but now he had to jump to the next stone. He planted his cane and used it to substitute for his bad leg. He made it to the second rock with little difficulty. The third rock was a bit further away, but Leo knew he could do it. He used the same technique as before, but when he went to jump, his bad leg gave out, causing him to lose his balance and fall into the creek.

He went under and came up as the creek started carrying him away. Desperately, he tried to grab onto the rock, but the current was too strong and carried him away before he could do so. Panicking, Leo tried to swim to beat the current, but it was too strong and he was too weak to fight it. What was he going to do now? His brothers didn't even know he had come out here. They would never find him and he probably wouldn't ever see them again.

How could he have been so stupid? He should have waited to get Raph to go with him so if something like this had happened, Raph would have been able to rescue him.

As luck would have it, he spotted a cluster of rocks and grabbed onto the biggest one. He pulled himself up with all of his might and managed to get onto the rock and then onto shore. Breathing heavily, he lay there and thought about what could have happened to him if he hadn't come upon these rocks.

Knowing it was foolish to stay here, he got up and made his way back the way he had come. He was halfway to the farmhouse when he almost ran into Raph.

"Leo, thank goodness you're okay!" Raph said as he gave his brother a hug. "What the shell possessed you to go off like that, and why are you all wet?"

"I was trying to cross the creek and fell in," Leo answered. He began shivering as the cold from the water finally seeped into him. He must have been so determined to reach his goal that he hadn't noticed how cold he was.

"Let's get you home," Raph said gently. He put his arm around his brother and helped him to the house. The others were back and were glad Leo was okay. Donnie checked him over while Mikey put a towel around him and gave him some hot tea.

"Don't ever do that again!" Raph scolded. "You scared the shell out of us!"

Leo hung his head. "Sorry, guys. I just wanted the chance to prove I could get better."

"Well, wait for us the next time you want to do that," Raph told him. "I told you not to do things you can't do."

"But I did do it, Raph. I just fell in after the third rock."

"Then we'll work on that, but someone has to be with you. I don't wanna lose you, Leo. I almost went through that twice now. We all did."

"Well, he seems to be okay for now," Donnie said. "No hypothermia so that's a good thing."

When the others left to go train, Raph stayed with his brother so he wouldn't run off again. "What was this about, bro?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said you did this to prove you could get better. Why did you want to prove that to yourself?"

Leo sighed. "Because ever since I woke up, you guys have been telling me I can't do things. And after what happened yesterday, I just felt like I needed to prove all of those voices and images wrong."

"You're still freaked out about that, huh?" Raph asked softly.

Leo nodded. "Yeah. I just hate being weak and helpless. I want to get back to my old self and go back to the city so we can claim it back."

Raph put an arm around him. "We will, Leo, but healing takes time," he said gently. "Don't push yourself too hard or you'll get worse. Take your time and you will heal just as you should. Sensei wouldn't want you to do this to yourself."

"I know. Do you think he's alive, Raph?"

"I want to believe he is, but I don't know," Raph answered. "I thought you believed he was alive."

"I do, but I wanted to see if you did too."

"Well, I think we should just keep on hoping and see where it goes."

Leo nodded as Raph led him out the door so they could watch the others train for a bit.

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The next day, Leo had a weight on his bad leg and was lifting it up and down to exercise it. It hurt a bit, but he continued to do it so he could get better. After that was done, Raph had him gently bend the knee to stretch it out. This was a bit more painful, but Leo gritted his teeth and did it so they wouldn't think he was weak.

"Good job, bro," Raph praised him.

"Okay, now I want you to try to hop on your right leg," Mikey instructed.

"Why does he need to do that?" Raph asked him.

"Just to see if he can."

Leo tried it, but it was too painful and he almost fell until Raph caught him.

"Okay, that was totally a bad move," Mikey concluded. "Sorry, bro."

"You should be sorry!" Raph lectured. "Leo can't do that yet!"

"Raph, don't be mad at him," Leo said. "Mikey was just trying to help."

Raph grumbled a bit, but then lapsed into silence as they continued a few more exercises before the session was done for the day.

"That was a good session, Leo," Raph said. "We'll have you back to normal in no time."

Leo knew Raph was trying to encourage him, but Leo didn't have the same confidence that Raph did in his recovery. It was taking too long, and the longer they were away from the city, the longer they were away from Splinter and their shot at defeating the Kraang. He hated that he was holding them back. Maybe it would be better for him to stay behind while they went back to defeat the Kraang.

"Leo, what are you thinking about?" asked April.

"I was thinking that maybe it would be best if I stayed behind while you guys went back to the city to defeat the Kraang," answered Leo.

"What?" Raph gasped. "You're nuts, Leo!"

"I'm holding you guys back with this injury. I know you think I'll be up in no time, but I know I won't be getting better anytime soon. We need to stop them, and the best way to do that is to let me stay here while you guys go back. You can come back for me once the city is safe."

"No way," Raph declared. "We're a team and no one gets left behind."

"We need you, Leo," Mikey begged. "You're our leader."

"We can't take the city back without you," Donnie added. "We're a family and we do things together as a family."

"I guess you're right," he said. "Okay, we'll take back the city together."

The brothers engulfed him in a hug and were glad he had decided not to stay behind. They watched some TV together and ate lunch and dinner too. April found some board games and they played them until it was time for bed.

Leo settled into bed and thought about what he had proposed to do. It definitely wasn't fair for him to stay behind, but he didn't want to be a liability to the team either. He would just have to work harder than ever before to get back to where he was so they could go back to New York and reclaim the city they loved the most.

A/N: So glad I finished this chapter though I wish it could have been a bit longer. I think in the next chapter, I'm going to skip to after they defeat the Kraang and continue this from there. Originally, I was going to leave this at the farmhouse and then end it at the point where they went back to take back the city, but I think there might be more potential for this from beyond that point. I just hope I can keep this going for as long as I can. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.