Leo's POV

"When Luther told her parents that I was Cassie's brother...I was taken back to my cell, and they reopened the court." Mikey mutters. "Retried my case"

"And they set you free" Don filled in, and Mikey nods painfully. "Mikey.. I don't even know what to say" He continues, and I could feel my heart squeeze painfully at the thought. Mikey allowed himself to suffer that whole year so he could protect his youngest sister, he gave up everything.

And Luther ruined everything. Of course he would be mad at the FBI agent, even if he was just doing his job.

"But does that mean your little sister already knows about you?" I ask softly, glancing at the tears streaking down Mikey's face. The blond looks at me for a few seconds before shaking his. He pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his knees. He took a shuddering breath, shaking his head again.

"No… no she doesn't" He says, voice surprisingly clear, but the tears were still all too evident. "Her parents dropped her off at her grandparents before they went to the station"

"And the police? What did they do when they found out she was your sister?" Don questions. Mikey doesn't visibly react, eyes glued to the floor.

"The parents didn't do anything illegal, so they had no reason to take her away. After they were cleared, they visited me." Mikey takes a deep breath, lifting his head up. "They asked about my side of the story, why I dropped her off in the first place, why I didn't go with her, and if I was okay with all of this."

I glance to the side for a moment, but we all understood what Mikey was referring to with this. If he was okay with the parents caring for his little sister. And we all understood that Mikey was perfectly okay with it. If he hadn't been, he would've done something the moment he was released.

This is what he wanted, a normal life for his little sister.

"Why didn't ya go with her?" Raph asks softly. Mikey glances at him, another tear streaking down his cheek.

"Because I was too old. I knew the outside world, people knew me from school, and they would link me to my parents. They would link her to them as well, and I didn't want that." Mikey explains, voice barely above a whisper.

It made sense, in Mikey's own messed up way. His sister had never been outside, probably didn't know where she lived, what her parents were called, and barely knew Mikey's name. She wouldn't figure out where she came from. Mikey, on the other hand, would. He was old enough, people knew him from school. And going with his sister meant that his sister would still know who her parents were.

"So when your parents said you had to kill her, you dropped her off at the police station instead?" I ask, and I can't get myself to speak loudly or clearly at the moment. The tension was too much almost, as if it could even be cut with a dull knife. And I didn't want to be the one to do so.

I didn't want to be the one to scare Mikey off, not now he was finally telling everything.

"They said I had to drop her off in the nearby forest, so I didn't have long. I had already packed a bag, and I waited until Amaya was asleep before putting on her jacket and leaving the house. She wa- is a deep sleeper so she didn't wake up, and she barely weighted anything because we weren't fed much" Mikey explained.

My breath hitched slightly, and I had to do everything to keep myself from walking over to him, hug him and tell him everything would be alright. Again, I was too selfish to comfort him. I wanted to hear the story, I needed to hear the story right now.

"I didn't see many people, but no one stopped me, or was suspicious. I put on gloves, a hat, and wrapped her up in a thick blanket" He stops for a moment, wiping at his eyes. "I knew I had to.. but I just couldn't leave her like that y'know? She was my little sister" Mikey murmured, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks.

It was Raph who cracked first, slowly standing up and walking over to our youngest brother. Mikey didn't recoil at all, he didn't react badly. No, completely the opposite. He immediately leaned into Raph's embrace, bursting out in tears. Raph wrapped his arms around Mikey tightly.

Don creeped towards me, and I wrapped a comforting arm around him as well.

"What happened then Mike?" Raph whispers softly when Mikey's cries died down just a little. The latter sniffles, revealing his face again. There was a look of regret but also embarrassment on his face. He wipes, or tries to, wipe away the tears on his face.

"I wrote a note to the ones who would find her. 'I'm sorry, I had to. She deserves better than the life I could give her. Look after Cassandra for me'. I couldn't get myself to write more, too afraid to get caught, and too afraid that the longer I waited… the harder it would be leaving her"

He sniffles again, but made no move to wipe away the tears that were now endlessly cascading down his cheeks.

"Why the name Cassandra?" Don questions softly, and Mikey looks at his immediate older brother.

"A classmate of mine had these comics he would let me read in the breaks." Mikey explains. "Cassandra Cain was one of my favourite heroes. I just needed a quick name so I could find out where she ended up if I ever wanted to know. And Amaya would tie her to our family."

"But they knew there was a younger sister when they arrested you almost 2 years ago, which is why you told the cops you killed her"

"It was what my parents thought as well, if I would've denied it, they'd know something was wrong. I couldn't risk them spilling their doubts to the cops" Mikey muttered in a low voice. Raph nudged him ever so slightly, but Mikey didn't react to the physical contact.

"What happened after you dropped of Cassandra?" Don asks.

"I left her at the station, and called them from a payphone. I waited until someone brought her inside, so I knew she was in good hands, before I left." Mikey explained, voice filled with regret. "When I got back to the house I knew I couldn't just walk in.. So I cut my own leg to get my hands bloody"

I can feel my heart plummet at the sudden explanation. So that's where the scar on his leg came from.

Oh god, my little brother had cut himself to protect his little sister from being discovered.

"I told my parents I had slit her throat, and buried her in the forest." Mikey finished slowly, an embarrassed look on his face.

"But why did they take you with them, and not your sister?" Don asks with a slight frown on his face.

"She was a girl, she wasn't worth anything to my dad." Mikey scowled. "They kept her around because it was more trouble to get rid of her when the police weren't aware of us"

"But when the police discovered your parents' operation it was better to get rid of her" Don fills in, and Mikey nods.

"I don't know, maybe dad wanted me to follow in his footsteps or something like that. Not like I ever would" Mikey mutters, loosening the hold he had on his knees. "We spent the next 5 years on the run, travelling from place to place. No matter how much I despised my parents… I would rather be free than be in prison"

I lower my gaze slightly, staring at the floor at the clenching feeling that attacked my heart. He would rather be free than be in prison. Of course he would, of course he'd rather be free. Of course he'd rather not be in prison or juvie. That's why he didn't turn himself in, or betray his parents.

Not out of love for them, but purely out of self-preservation.

The only thing that mattered was that his little sister was safe.

"And the police probably thought we had taken Amaya with us, they had no idea she had died. When we were caught, I had to confess to avoid them looking for her. If she was dead, they would have no reason to look for her" Mikey whispers, fully leaning into Raph's side after the sentence.

We were all silent for a moment, soaking up all the information we had been given. So this was the secret mom and dad had kept from us all those months, this was the secret Mikey didn't want us knowing. And it only caused another big question, one I was too afraid to ask almost.

Why didn't he want us knowing that his sister was alive?

But I guess I also knew the answer to that one. It was because he didn't want to see her, he didn't want to see Amaya, or rather, Cassandra right now. And telling us meant that we knew about her, that we knew about what he had done to protect her. But most importantly, that she was still alive.

He didn't tell because he knew we would encourage him to see her.

"Was Luther talking about your sister?" Don asks. I glance at him, frowning slightly. I had almost forgotten, Luther's conversation with Mikey a few days back. And come to think of it, I still didn't understand what either of them had been talking about, but right now I could make an educated guess about whom they were talking.

"I merely wanted to tell Mikey something" Luther had said. And Mikey had responded with "I already know". But the question was, what did he know? I mean, it was probably about his sister, since Luther was the one to tell her parents who Mikey really was.

"He was" Mikey confirms, taking a deep breath. "When I was on the run, and in these last few months I've been keeping tabs on Cass, whenever I could. Just to make sure she was safe, and that she was happy. I don't know much about her, but I know she's safe. And two weeks ago, she moved back to New York"

"You mean she lives close by?" I question, and Mikey nods.

"She lives in Belmont, the Bronx." Mikey says, and I frown ever so slightly. Belmont, that was so close to our town, barely a 20 minute drive.

"Luther came by because he knew too, and he wanted to convince you to visit her"

"But I already knew that she moved, and I wasn't planning on visiting her" Mikey finished. "And I had no desire to see him either" He mutters tiredly.

"When are you going to see her?" I ask softly, and Mikey glances towards me with tear streaking down his face. He looked so small, miserable almost.

"Never" His voice was hoarse, but his tone was determined. "I don't want to see her, not if it means telling her"

"I think you do" I counter softly, and Mikey frowns in shock.

"I don't" He whispers, almost too soft for me to hear it.

"You didn't tell us because you knew we would encourage you to see her" I explain, ignoring the glances from Raph and Don. "But you told us, because you want us to. Because you actually want to see her"

"Maybe I just told you because I didn't want secrets between us" Mikey counters, but there's absolutely no bite in his voice, no matter how hard he tries to.

"I know you better than that Mikey, I know you want to see her."

"Always" Mikey countered in a whisper, a single tear streaming down her face. "But I can't Leo… I can't hurt her like that"

"What is she wants ya to?" Raph suddenly cuts in, voice just as soft and gentle. "What is he would want to know ya, what if she feels like that's worth the pain?" He continues, and I nod slightly.

Mikey shakes his head desperately. "No.. guys I can't. Not to her, she doesn't deserve that." He mumbles. "She had the perfect life, great parents, friends, she's talented… I can't ruin that"

"Not perfect" Don shakes his head. "You're not in it" Mikey frowns, staring at Don.

"But she doesn't know me, she can't miss me" The blond counters. This time Don carefully stands up. It was as if he was approaching a wild animal, testing Mikey's reaction to the movement. Mikey didn't object, didn't show any signs of being scared. Don eventually relented, walking over to him.

Don sank to his knees, looking at Mikey, before glancing at the ground.

"I know it may seem like it. I have that perfect live as well" I can feel my breath hitch ever so slightly. Because I understood what he was trying to say. "I have perfect parents, I have 2 older brothers, and an amazing little one"

Mikey laughs at that, but the smile is still sad, and tears are still lingering in his eyes. Don smiled fondly for a moment, taking a deep breath.

"I'm a nerd, but I have so many friends. I don't get bullied, I don't get shoved around for loving to learn new things, or for getting good grades. A perfect life, right?" Don asks, and Mikey nods. "But I don't know my parents Mikey, no matter how good my life is, there will always be an empty spot because I don't know them"

"What if your parents are as bad as mine? Would you rather know that your parents tortured and killed all those girls instead of not knowing?" Mikey bit back, but his voice was too soft, I could see he was tired. Not physically, but emotionally.

"I don't know Mikey, I honestly don't know" Don admits honestly. "But I do know that I want to know my parents right now. I want to know where I'm from, and why I was abandoned"

There's a short silence, and Don takes a deep breath. "Take it from someone who has been abandoned by his parents, knowing your parents is something important. I want to know them, meet them, no matter who they are. And I'm sure your little sister feels the same"

"I know ma parents Mike, but I never got ta know them. Even if they were assholes like yours." Raph adds. "I would want nothing ta do with them, but I still wonder why they did what they did, or what I inherited from them" Mikey glances at Raph with a frown on his face, close to crying again.

He sniffles, wiping his tears away.

"But what if she hates me?" Mikey whispers softly, whirling around to look at Don. "You said you'd still hate your mom, even if she had a good reason. I can't…. I can't handle if she hates me"

"I said I wouldn't know how to react" Don defends himself. "I said it would depend on the reason they left me. If she did it for the same reason you left your sister… I would only be mad at you for leaving me alone for that long. I would only be mad at you for sacrificing your life like that"

"She could never hate you Mikey, not when you did all this because you love her so much" I nod, and Mikey glances at me, a wary expression on his face.

"Do you really think that?" Mikey asks softly, and I nod again. I stand up slowly, walking over to him, and sitting down in front of him.

"I could never know, and neither can you, before you meet her." I tell him honestly, because even if I wanted Mikey to meet his little sister, I could never lie to him, give him false hope. "But I know I could never hate any of you if you did something to protect me."

Mikey glances down, avoiding our gazes. Then, slowly he lifts his head again, fresh tears again streaming down his face.

"Okay" He eventually relents. "I will see her"

TMNT

So just to clarify because even I get confused sometimes xD

Mikey and Cass/Amaya were born in Queens, Mikey dropped off Amaya in Queens and Mikey fled with his parents. Cassandra was adopted by a family in Queens, but they quickly moved to New Hampshire, Dover. (To give Cass a fresh start and all).

Mikey moved all over the area, but was eventually caught by the police, taken back to New York, and sentenced to prison. He got out, got fostered by the Hamato's, who live in New Rochelle. (So Mikey in New Rochelle, just 30 minutes above NYC, and Cassandra in New Hampshire)

And now Cassandra moves back to New York, to the bronx, which is like the top of New York City, for the ones who didn't know (Cause I sure as hell didn't :D I barely know where New York is, let alone where all the subthingies like Queens, Bronx and Manhattan are)

So for the ones wondering, the episode this is based on is Criminal minds, season 1 episode 14, Riding the Lightning. Now I fully explained everything I can finally tell :D