Leo sighed as he entered their home. The weight of what had happened still lying heavy on his shoulders. The others followed him, all of them silent as they filed in. It was as if they were all on auto pilot as they stripped off their war gear, hanging weapons up. For once Leo didn't make a fuss about cleaning them first. That wasn't what his family needed right now.

"Get some rest. All of you." His tone was quiet, partly so he wouldn't wake his by now sleeping daughter, or Brooklyn and the baby. He nodded to Daniel's mother. Silently thanking her for keeping watch on their home while they were all out, and babysitting. Daniel himself was fast asleep on the couch, with a grammar textbook draped over his chest much to Leo's surprise. "Let him sleep here." The leader quietly murmured. "No need to wake him, and I'll be up anyway to watch him."

Helen nodded and stood up, smiled at her slightly snoring and drooling son, and shuffled off to her own underground home. Leo watched her go a moment, then turned his attention to Lotus who had wormed her way to his side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "This, has been a long week."

Lotus nodded in agreement, watching as Holly led a still somewhat despondent Raph towards their room. The worry clear to see on her face. Donnie was watching too, then turned away with a sigh and headed for his lab. His task now going to be sorting through the information they had all gathered tonight. Full well knowing that tonight's revelation would weigh heavy on all of their minds for a very long time.

Leo just watched it all, his head still shaking slightly. This was rapidly becoming something much more than any of them had ever anticipated. So many questions they needed answers for.

"Tea?" Lotus asked even as she broke from his embrace and meandered over to the kitchen area of their home. "It would help to calm you."

"Tea sounds great." He agreed with a sigh, following her to settle down onto one of the chairs surrounding their dining table.

"It seems like a necessary beverage at the moment." The kitchen was filled with the quiet rattling of Lotus fixing the tea, and Leo just watched her with unseeing eyes. His chin resting in his hand. He was just as disturbed as his brothers had been by tonight's revelation, but was forced to hide it from the others. The only one he really couldn't hide it from was Lotus, who knew him far to well for that to even work. She had been his assistant for so many years, learning everything about him before they had ever became a couple. And Lotus had learned very well. "You are troubled and it seems to calm you."

"It does." The reply was sent with a soft smile at her even if he was still lost in thought. "But not as much as the woman making it."

"You attempt to charm me." A fine brow was raised at him, a knowing smile on her face. "You should know the effort is not needed."

"I do know that, but I felt like it anyway."

"I see. Then I shall let the slight pass."

Leo chuckled a little as she set two large mugs onto the table before joining him. "I don't know how I ever got along without you."

"Very disappointingly." The quip was set right before she took a sip of her tea, eyes sparkling with mischievous mirth as she watched him over the rim of her mug.

Leo suddenly had no interest in the tea, or much of anything else at that moment. What he needed was far more personal and rooted deep within. Reaching out, he pulled Lotus from her chair and set her into his lap before wrapping his arms tightly around her. His face buried into her raven colored hair. Eyes clenched tightly shut as he began to shake, shake bad.

Her arms were comforting as they wrapped around him, and she was silent as she just held him. He needed comfort, and she would give it. Lotus didn't offer words stating that things would be alright, because not even she knew how the current events would turn out. But there was one thing she did reassure him of. "I am here, my love. Always will I be here."

Nothing else was said, and the tea grew cold, unnoticed as Leo let himself be lost in the one constant in his life. His family.

.

.

Rest was hard for him to come by. Holly saw that immediately.

He tossed and turned, a variety of mumbled words coming out of his lips as he struggled to find peaceful sleep. So much so that the redhead had propped herself up on an elbow and watched him worriedly. For once, she didn't know what to do to calm the large turtle. No snark, tricks or her usual spunk would fix this. Deep down she knew that. This was something that was affecting them all, and on levels that nothing had reached since they struggled so hard to break free of their former master.

This was hitting them where it was literally hurting.

Mikey was already isolating himself, blaming things that had happened to Brooklyn on himself, Leo's shoulders had been slumped the entire way home, Donnie was driving himself nuts in the lab trying to come up with answers. And Raph was struggling to come to terms that he had sired offspring that had more than likely killed the woman meant to carry it. And he had never even met the girl before. Someone was playing a very twisted game.

Holly didn't like the rules to this one, not that she knew them anyway.

"Raph?"

Her tone was just as soft as her touch. A gentle hand barely ghosting his shoulder as she shook lightly.

"Raph, wake up."

Holly knew from experience that waking any of the brothers unwanted from sleep could back fire. They had been through so, so much already that any startled interruption to their rest had them springing to their feet, battle ready with weapons in their hands. Weapons that were stashed in every bedroom. Sometimes, you just can't completely shake off these things and the evidence lingers throughout a lifetime.

She had seen him roll out of the bed, with these startled awakenings before, so that was what she was expecting when she woke him, but he surprised her. Completely.

He didn't fly out of the bed with battle ready curses and weapons in his hands, instead when his eyes opened, tears spilled forth. As if his closed eyelids had held a dam's worth of moisture behind them. And the look he gave her, it was tortured, haunted and full of guilt.

"Oh Raph..." Holly's own eyes filled with tears as she watched him, then instinctively moved closer to hug him, to comfort him. To try and do something to ease his soul. He wouldn't let her however, pushing he away again as he sat up. The sheets viciously flung off the bed.

"I did that to her." His voice was bitter, angry. At what, Holly wasn't sure yet. "If it hadn't been for me being alive, this wouldn't have fucking happened to her! And that poor tyke... It didn't... Didn't deserve...that..."

Holly bit her lip. There was nothing she could think of to say that would help. Not without it sounding condescending and, well, full of fake hope. All she could do was agree. On some of it anyway. "No. It didn't deserve that. Neither did the mother, and you didn't deserve this either." She sighed heavily, still wanting to give him that physical comfort but all he would do was push her away again. "Raph, you didn't know, Mikey didn't know. This isn't your fault."

"The hell it ain't! The fact I didn't know don't get rid of the fact that it was...my kid..." Just as quick as the outburst hit, it was mellowed again when his face dropped defeated into his hands. "My kid... If I would have known, I coulda done...somethin'."

"I know." Holly moved slowly closer again until she was sitting next to him. "But you didn't know. All we can do now is find out who did this, because it wasn't you Raph. This is not your fault."

He didn't move after that. Just sat there, hunched over and his face still hidden from view by his hands.

"I just, keep thinkin'." His voice was quiet when the hands finally dropped, his head still bowed. "I keep thinkin' about what if it hadn't died. If it had been normal. And what if there is another one out there?"

Now it was Holly's turn to squirm. Biting her lip, she forced herself to look away from him. Choosing a spot on the wall to stare at instead. "W-would, would you want one?"

The question was a shock to him as his head whipped up. Raph went from staring to narrowing his eyes at her. "Kind of a bad time to ask, cupcake, but I'm gettin' the feeling that there is more to the question." He raised his hand, gently cupping her chin before turning her head back to look at him. "And I'm wantin' to know why you are askin' it."

Maybe Holly should have kept her mouth shut. But seeing what he was going through, how he was taking the fact that he seemed to kind of wish that the child had survived... Maybe it was time for the topic to be broached. "I can't give you one." Her tone was quiet, almost ashamed as she admitted that.

"I know. I mean, Lotus had to have that science stuff done to he before she could. Maybe one day when we are both comfortable with-"

"Raph, I can't give you one!" Tears brimmed in her eyes now. "I already talked to Donnie. I can't have kids... I'll never have kids..."

Raph's mouth dropped open, now it was his turn to not know what to say.

"Raph, I guess... I guess I'm just worried." She went on, now wiping her eyes. "Worried that out there is a woman who actually was able to carry one. And if you really want a baby, and I can't..."

"That I would dump ya and take her instead?" Raph raised a ridge as he asked that, then almost glared at her when she nodded in agreement. "Not gonna happen." He didn't even try to cushion the flat tone. "Cupcake, I think we are both a bit rattled by what's been goin' on. Thing is, you are the one I want. You were there when I needed someone. Not them. Sure, if a kid were found, it would make a huge mess of things. But I'll find a way ta make it work, with you next ta me. Okay? And if it never does, I'll still love ya. I'll always love ya."

Finally he relented and let Holly hug him, and he returned the embrace. Both trying to comfort each other through the oceans of doubt that seemed to be cropping up.

For now, this was what they needed. But later, Raph fully intended to talk to Donnie and Holly together and find out the details of why she couldn't carry a child. The more he knew, the less likely he was to insert his huge foot in his mouth.