A/n: Not much to say, except a small disclaimer that I don't own TMNT or Gilmore Girls which there is a small quote taken from. Enjoy

After finally getting Raphael to talk to him, and mending fences between them, Master Splinter had approached his daughter and asked her for help in mending the relationship between his two sons, which Venus quickly agreed too, wanting to mend her relationships with both boys herself.

Not wanting to appear as if she was taking sides, she spoke to both Donny and Mikey, asking for suggestions on how to approach the subject with the two of them. The three younger siblings came up with a plan, now they just had to put it in action…

"Hey Raphie, what's going on?"

Mikey asked, bouncing into the kitchen. Raph was staring at the fridge, frowning as he debated on his snack.

"Hey, you wanna spar? Master Splinter finally gave me back my chucks again!"

Mikey asked, pulling out his weapons and grinning. Raph shook his head slightly in response, causing Mikey to frown. Determined to get his brother's attention, he jumped up on the kitchen island and sat cross-legged, leaning forward to peer over his older brother's shoulder.

"Do you want me to punch you in the face?"

Raph growled, leering at his brother.

"Listen Raph, if it would help you go back to normal, I would gladly do it."

Mikey said sadly, pulling away for his brother. Raph blinked, looking at the other turtle in surprise.

"Do you know how hard this has been for me? You're my best friend, and one day you just… disappeared. You found a bunch of new friends and left me here alone, and then you came back and you barely talk to me anymore. Why can't I help you? You always turned to me before why can't you now?"

Raph blinked, not knowing what to say to his little brother. Mikey slid off the island, heading back to his room to regroup. Venus stopped him on his way, looking at him in concern.

"Mikey? What's wrong?"

She asked as she gently wiped a tear off of his face. She was ignored, watching in concern as the orange bandanna turtle ducked around her and slunk into his room in silence. She watched him go, fists clenched in anger.

Marching down the hallway, she swept into the kitchen, grabbing a chair and leaving the room with it. She appeared again to grab another chair, leaving with it also before returning and addressing Raph, who was watching her in shock.

"You. My room now."

She stated firmly before sweeping into the dojo where Donny and Leo were in the middle of a session with their Sensei. Splinter raised an eyebrow at her, not used to seeing his usually composed daughter so distressed. Venus bowed deeply before addressing the elder rat, trying to control her tone of voice out of respect.

"Master Splinter, I'm sorry to interrupt but I need to take Leonardo for a bit."

Splinter tilted his head at her request, looking over at his sons for a minute and nodding.

"Once this is over, you make take him, I'm sure Donatello would like a break from sparring with his brother anyway."

Venus nodded, standing and watching the two boys. Since Raph had stopped sparring with Leo consistently, the eldest of the turtles had spent more time focusing on his other brother's training, and the results had been remarkable.

Venus witnessed that now when Leo attempted to back flip over Donny to attack him from behind, only to be met with the back end of Donny's Bo Staff. Leo managed to get away, but Donny was able to get him off guard log enough to pin him, smiling down at his eldest brother in triumph while Leo groaned. Splinter called the match, and Donny let his brother up, nodding at Venus while he stretched.

"Well done, my sons. Leonardo, you must work on your awareness at all times. Donatello was able to win because you think you know how he fights, and you were unable to respond when he did something different. Donatello, you did well with your counter strikes but you continue to not use your weaker leg when needed. That extra step to plant your preferred way could be the difference between a hit and a miss."

Both boys nodded, bowing at their sensei.

"Donatello, you will stay here with me and practice. Leonardo, you will go with Venus, she has requested your help with an issue."

Leo nodded, bowing again with his brother before smiling at the Shinobi.

"What can I help you with V?"

He asked, wiping his face with a wet towel to help cool off. Venus didn't answer, choosing instead to hook two fingers under Leo's mask and drag him away while Splinter and Donny watched in concern and slight amusement.

She opened up the door to her room, nodding at Raph who was sitting cautiously on her mediation mat. Pulling Leo inside, she pointed at a chair for him to sit in, then did the same to Raph. She stood in between the two, arms crossed as she glared at them.

Raph sighed, folding his own arms and glaring at the wall, Leo quickly following suite. After a few minutes, Venus started chuckling, covering her face with both hands as she tried to contain herself. The two boys looked at her in alarm, not knowing what was wrong with her. Venus continued to laugh, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I never thought I'd actually have to do this."

She whispered, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. She settled on her bed, sitting cross legged and stretching herself out to appear taller than she actually was.

"This feud between the two of you ends now. I am tired of being a go-between, of having to watch what I say in case one of you is offended. I'm tired of being angry, of not being a team, of suffering because you both chose to act like children."

Both boys opened their mouths at that remark, ready to defend themselves to her.

"I don't care. You two are brothers. You are family, as we all are. Talk, don't talk, argue, punch each others lights outs, whatever it takes to make this get better."

Raph stood up, ready to walk out the door when Venus stopped him with a look. He settled back in, knowing that when Venus was serious about something, she wouldn't back down until it was done. Leo remained immobile, attempting to block out his surroundings so he wouldn't have to participate in this adventure at all.

Venus glanced at the clock, silently checking the time. When 10 minutes passed ad neither of them said a thing, she stood back up, stretching.

"I'm going for a walk. I'll be back in half an hour to check on you two, let me see you make some progress."

With that she slipped out of the room, shutting the door firmly on her way out. Venus stood outside the door, exhaling slowly before she left to go find Mikey. The youngest of the group had decided to settle in on the couch, watching one of his favorite shows. Venus tapped him on the shoulder before leaning over and giving him a hug.

"Is there room for one more?"

She asked, smiling at him. Mikey nodded, patting the seat next to him. Venus sat down, looking over at the TV for a minute before breaking into another laughing fit. Mikey looked at her, blinking at her in confusion.

"I've locked those two in a room, and they are either coming out reconciled or in a body bag and believe me I'm find either way."

Venus managed to stutter out between giggles, causing Mikey to start laughing too. The two friends relaxed together, enjoying a moment.

"Somebody has been watching way to much Gilmore Girls."

Mikey teased her when they finally stopped, winking at her and smiling.

"I know, I can't help but love a good dramedy."

Venus responded, leaning back against the couch. Mikey watched her for a minute before asking

"Did you really lock them up somewhere?"

Venus nodded, frowning as she looked over at the clock.

"I've decided that' it's time to throw caution to the wind and get them talking gain. I know that's not what we decided on but I'll take the blame if it backfires."

Mikey nodded, pointing at the TV screen.

"Want to watch some mindless entertainment with me?"

"Of course!"

Venus smiled, winking at him while she slyly stole the remote.

xxxix

Leo stared at the wall, counting seconds in his head and wondering how long he could hold out without talking. His ninja training taught him how to stay completely still for long periods of time, but if there was one thing he knew with certainty it was that Raph could out stubborn him with little issue. Tracing his finger along a newly formed bruise on his left arm he sighed internally before speaking.

"Donny beat me in a sparring match today."

Raph ignored him for a few, making Leo wonder if he actually did not speak at all. Finally, Raph answered in a casual, breezy tone, almost as if he was speaking to a stranger.

"You getting out of shape in your old age?"

"No, I'm getting out of shape because my sparring partner won't look at me anymore."

Raph's head snapped up, looking over at Leo with a raised eyebrow.
"You and I have had more fights over the years than I care to know about. I know one of the biggest failures of my life is not being able to connect with you and help you understand my point of view. Through all of it, the fighting, the yelling, everything, you've never shut me out like you are now. I don't know how to fix this. I don't know how to make this better, how to help you through what you are dealing with if you won't talk to me."

Raph rolled his eyes at that, sliding down in the chair and propping his feet up to show his annoyance. Leo stood up angrily, pushing the chair out of his way in his march to the door.

"This is pointless. If you don't care about fixing anything, then I won't care either. Good luck getting out of this funk, I hope you're happy right now."

He snarled, opening the door and leaving the Raph alone in the room. Venus and Mikey were in the living room along with Master Splinter and Donny watching a show when Leo came storming out past them on his way to the dojo. Mikey glanced over at his sister before smiling sadly.

"I didn't realize that stomping around the lair was an option?"

Venus glared at him before getting off the couch, ready to go drag their leader back into the room. Donny stopped her, pointing silently down the hall.

"Raph hasn't left yet, give them a few minutes to breathe and see what happens."

"Yea V, we still got half a show to watch let's finish and deal with this then."

Mikey suggested, already engrossed back in the show. Venus sighed and plopped back down on the couch, pulling the bowl of popcorn off Mikey's lap before eating it herself. Right before the last scene Raph appeared, standing silently behind Mikey and Venus, startling the former so much that he dumped the remaining popcorn in his lap.

"Jeez Raph, give a guy a heart attack will ya?"

Mikey grumbled, wiping the crumbs off his plastron. Raph half-smirked at that before glancing around the room.

"Where's Leo?"

Venus looked up at that question, as did Donny and Mikey. All three pointed towards the dojo, watching silently as Raph disappeared through the doors. Master Splinter smiled softly, rising to wish his three youngest children good night before exiting to his own room.

"So… what now?"

Mikey asked, looking over at the other two. Venus looked at Donny who shrugged.

"I say give them a few minutes then we take turns checking on them to see what is going on."

Donny suggested, rubbing his forehead as a headache began. Venus nodded, tossing Donny the remote so he could pick the next show.

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Leo was running through a kata when Raph entered the dojo, picking up his sais and twirling them while staring at his older brother.

"What do you want Raph, I'm not in the mood."

Leo said, getting into a ready stance. Raph didn't answer, instead he ran at his brother full force, deflecting Leo's first strike with his sais. Managing to slide under Leo's swing he stood, readjusting his sais while Leo came at him.

They continued to exchange blows, neither one wanting to admit that they had been getting soft lately. For what seemed like hours they went back and forth, giving each other breaks and making off handed remarks for improvements.

Neither noticed the audience they had gained, the other three floating in and out of the dojo to make sure that things weren't getting out of hand. Finally, Raph slipped, and Leo managed to pin him, kneeling down next to his younger brother as the red-wearing turtle struggled to catch his breath. Remember that Raph was still recovering from his injuries, Leo helped him up, trying not to stare at the still healing marks on his brother's face from when he had smashed the mirror.

"They're still there even if you choose to ignore them Leo."

Raph stated calmly, running his fingers over his face. Leo continued to look away, not wanting to admit that Raph was right.

"I don't like looking at them alright. I can't believe that you would do something so-"

Leo stopped himself, not wanting to say what he was thinking.

"Were you going to say stupid?"

Raph asked, looking over at Leo and waiting.

"Yes I was, but I'm not allowed to say that because it might hurt you feelings and affect you while you healing and I don't want to be blamed for that too."

Leo replied, allowing a little bitterness to enter his voice at the end. Raph snorted, rolling his eyes for empathizes.

"Never knew you to be scared of hurting my feelings Leo. You've said a lot worse than that to me over the past months. Well, before your big trip to China at least."

He commented, staring at Leo straight in the eyes.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Leo asked, subconsciously gripping his katana tighter.

"Do the words 'you are destroying this family' mean anything to you?"

Raph asked, watching as the sentence triggered something in Leo's brain that caused him to stop talking altogether.

"I knew from the beginning that none of you supported what I was doing. The other three tried to hide their concerns by acting like they cared but you couldn't even do that. Every little thing that happened to this family while I was dealing with my clan was my fault, even if I wasn't here. I worked hard to protect us all by dealing with the local gangs and helping pull kids out of the gutters that society was throwing them into, and I got no thanks for it. I didn't need it, but at the least I could have used someone telling me that I was trying to make a difference instead of the continuous crap that you gave me."

Raph snarled, marching out of the dojo and leaving Leo alone.

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Leo grunted under the weight of the trash bag he was carrying, trying to shift it into a better position. His shoulder hurt, a result of the fight they had gotten into last night with a few members of the Foot while on patrol.

A hand reached out to help him, and Leo turned to smile at his brother in thanks. Raph nodded back, lifting up his own bag and following his older brother. It had been almost two weeks since their fight in the dojo, and while they still were not talking much, the tension between them had soften a bit. Splinter had ordered his children out of the lair with garbage bags, insisting that they stalk the streets at night and pick up trash.

The lesson was two-fold- the less trash on the streets met less in their sewers, and they could practice their skills darting around the city picking things up without being seen. Leo was enjoying himself, glad to be out of the lair and back in the streets with his whole family.

While things had been relatively calm on the surface the past few months, the family knew that it was only a matter of time before the Foot would rear their heads up and attempt to go after them again. Leo pushed those thoughts out of his mind before handing his trash bag to Donny who was piling them up in the back of the Hummer.

Venus and Mikey were at a different spot with April and Casey, cleaning up around April's neighborhood. The two humans were working on graffiti while the turtles practiced their stealth skills, taking turns checking in on Shadow who was sleeping peacefully in her dad's apartment.

The two turtles would appear behind Casey, enjoying making the older man squeal in surprise when they startled him.

Finally he had enough, and grabbed Mikey right before the youngest turtle jumped him yet again. The two wrestled on the ground for a bit, Venus and April chuckling at them. Leo pulled up in the Hummer after a few minutes, shaking his head at the two on the ground.

"Nobody told me it was tackle Mikey day."

Raph commented, jumping in to grab his brother in a head lock, much to the delight of Casey. Mikey yelped in protest, causing Donny and Leo to both jump in to defend their brother. Venus shook her head, glad that the boys were on the road to getting normal again. Once the wrestling match was done, she addressed Leo.

"Did you guys have any luck getting rid of those trash bags?"

"Yea, we found some empty dumpster space a couple of streets down, we figured that since the trash is being picked up in a few hours it was safe."

Donny commented, rubbing at a scratch on his arm. Leo looked around at his family and grinned.

"Well guys, I think we did pretty good tonight… what do you say we clean up and head home?"

His suggestion was met with cheers, and after a few good nights the group split up and went to their own homes.

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Akira sat on the roof, watching as the group below finished talking with each other. His eyes were trained on one figure in particular, the man he had once called his brother. Once he realized that the turtles were back out on the street, he had started stalking them, looking for any opportunity to get his former 'leader' alone.

Akira touched his neck, feeling once again the scars that had been left by his Master, The Shredder. The master of ninjitzu had not been pleased when Raphael had turned down the spot as his head lieutenant after Akira had lobbied so hard for the turtle to join them, and he took out his displeasure on anyone who was associated with the former clan.

Akira's closest friend Hinata had been the most recent recipient of Shredder's disapproval, and Akira had barely made it to the ER in time to save the young man's life. Akira was still haunting the hospital, floating in and out of his room to check on his friend, paying for the bill with as much as he could afford with money he had gotten from years of being part of the Foot.

He checked his watch knowing that there would be a change in staff soon that would allow him to sneak into his friends room more easily. He glanced once more down at the group below him, noting in satisfaction how Leonardo glanced around, as if looking for him but not being able to find him.