Chapter 14 The Father

The moment the voices of his sons and April met his ears Splinter was immediately in the main living area. He held his breath as they all scrabbled past the turnstiles and ran across the way their voices raised with alarm as they suddenly called for him.

"Splinter! Master Splinter!"

The rat met them halfway and his heart jammed itself painfully in his throat as his chest instantly tensed at the sight that greeted him. Seemingly carried between the group of them was a bloodied but familiar body.

"Mind his head!"

"Keep pressure on the wound!"

"Damn it! Watcha think I'm trying to do!"

"Yame! Stop!"

The panicked voices silenced.

"What happened?" Splinter asked a levelly as he could.

"He had a tracking chip in his neck sensei!" Michelangelo squeaked.

"He tried to cut it out," April carried on.

"With my sai," ended Raphael.

Without a word Splinter put out his arms and the brothers and April passed the injured fourth mutant turtle to him. The rat rolled the teen into his embrace and held the boy to his chest. The lump in his throat swelled even more and his features creased. "My child," he whispered. "What happened to you?"

Keeping his composure Splinter gave out orders to his family and carried his once missing son to the dojo. He laid him out on his raised tatami mat and kept his hand pressed against the wound as he waited for the others to bring him what he needed.

The boy had lost a lot of blood, his paleness was testament to that. His pressure on the bloody tear increased. He'd be damned if he was going to lose his child all over again. "You're home now my son, stay with us Donatello," he murmured as his children came rushing in with what he needed. "Stay with us."

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Wakefulness returned in random flashes of different senses. A pain spasmed his neck. An excited young voice sounded. Feet padded alongside and away from him. Foreign floral scents drifted up his nostrils and slowly, ever so slowly his eyes blinked open.

GP groaned and tried to move his head. His neck twinged painfully and he let out a small grunt of discomfort. It was then that he realised that he was laying on his front. In a way it made sense he'd torn a hole in the back of his neck and his shell had been cracked. Wait a minute, where was he? He blinked several more times and everything suddenly started to come into focus. What was this place?

GP pushed himself tentatively onto his haunches and scanned his surroundings. It was a large empty space with rugs across the floor, oriental weapons lined the walls and what looked like a keepsake shelf was situated nearby to him. Then he started, before him was the most beautiful looking tree, with sunlight filtering through the tangle of branches. An indoor tree? Of this size? It was incredible!

As the strangeness of this new place started to sink in he laid his hands on his lap only to discover he was unclothed. Oh god! Not again! Heat rushed to his face as he frantically searched around him and saw, to his surprise, most of his belongings laid out neatly beside him. Scarf and goggles, leather hand and foot gloves, belt and what looked like a new set of trousers. They were a darker brown than his old pair but hey, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

With a flutter of nerves and no idea if anybody was watching him, GP pulled on his clothing, struggling as he pulled his left foot glove on. He rolled back and winced with a yelp as the pressure sent a pang of pain up his shell. He quickly rolled on his front and finally pushed himself off the ground.

He wandered into the centre of the chamber and examined it for a second time. "What is this place?" he murmured aloud.

"This is the dojo," said a new but strangely familiar voice.

GP jumped and span about, falling back a step when he caught sight of the owner of the voice. A great tall rat, garbed in a maroon kimono patterned with symbolic black lotus flowers, looked steadily back at him with kind amber eyes. A green crystal cane was gripped in his paws and a slight smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

GP's heart pounded faster and he took another step back.

"Sensei! Sensei! See, I told you he was awake!" The orange banded turtle suddenly bounced alongside the giant rodent who raised a patient paw to silence the young teen's bubbling enthusiasm.

For a moment GP nipped his bottom lip and after several seconds of silence found his voice again. "Who, who are you?" he asked, his words wavering with uncertainty.

"My true name is Hamato Yoshi but here I am known as Master Splinter."

GP recoiled at the word 'Master' and involuntarily wrapped his arms about himself and shrank back. That word meant only one thing to him.

The rat looked concerned and averted his eyes for a moment as if in thought. They flicked back to him. "I hear that you have a different name?"

"GP," GP said in a tiny voice.

"GP," Splinter said in a gentle tone. "You might remember me by another name."

The boy canted his head slightly.

The rat took a steady breath. "Once upon a time, you used to call me, chichi."

The moment the word passed the mutant rat's lips GP felt his knees give way and a memory clear as day slapped across his mind. The purple scarf being tied about his neck, the friendly face and amber eyes that shone with untold pride and kindness. He pressed a hand to his mouth as a breathy whimper escaped. Before his knees struck the ground Splinter was there, catching his shoulders.

"Chichi," he uttered as he felt involuntary tears well at the backs of his eyes.

"Donatello," Splinter said quietly.

The name was the final trigger. That was him. He remembered now. "Chichi, father," he almost sobbed, the tears escaping down his olive cheeks. He reached out and clung to Splinter as the memory of how he was lost slid through his mind like an overwhelming deluge. "I-I waited for you, I waited for so long!" he wept as he pressed his face into the familiar folds of the soft kimono.

For a moment he felt Splinter hesitate but then a pair of strong arms wrapped firmly around him and pulled him in closer. "Oh my child, it is okay. You are home now, everything is going to be alright."

GP clung to his chichi tighter than ever. Finally, finally he had found his true father.

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There was no sense of time being lost in that fatherly embrace that he had longed for all of his life. When it felt right GP pulled back, tears still glistening on his cheeks as he peered up and scrubbed them away. Before he could say anything back the exuberant voice sounded again from the bouncy orange banded turtle.

"I think someone would like to speak to you, my son," Splinter said warmly to GP, gesturing to the small blue eyed turtle teen.

GP turned slowly and the turtle named Michelangelo bobbed excitedly in front of him. "Do you remember me? Do you? Tell me that you do!"

GP felt a smile pluck at his lips and then he nodded. "Teddy bear," he said quietly.

Michelangelo stopped bouncing for a moment and a thoughtful expression seized his features. Then he pointed to GP's goggles and beamed back, "big eyes!"

GP paused and glancing briefly at the ground then nodded. "That's right," he pulled his goggles down and Michelangelo squealed with laughter.

"Dude! It is you bro!"

GP pulled the goggles back on his head and was suddenly greeted by an unexpected hug as Michelangelo wrapped his arms about him. His own arms instinctively slipped about the smaller turtle's shoulders.

"Can I call you Donnie now?" he asked imploringly.

"Er-," GP didn't quite know what to say.

"GP!"

Music to his ears. GP looked up and saw April racing toward him. Michelangelo let go only to have the redhead wrap her own arms about him causing him to fall back a step. "Ow!" he yelped as the girl squeezed a little too tight.

"Oh I'm sorry! I forgot!"

"It's okay," he waved it off with a grin.

Behind April strode the final two turtles, Leonardo and Raphael.

"Good to see you up on your feet," Leonardo said with a smile. "We were all wondering when you going to wake up."

"Or if you were," Raphael interjected.

What a sunny guy he is, GP thought dryly.

Splinter briefly tapped his cane and all eyes fell upon him. "Donatello my son," he said with a growing smile. "Welcome home."

GP looked across at everyone, feeling a twinge of apprehension as they all stared back at him expectantly. He closed his eyes and took a breath. When he felt that he was ready, GP looked back at them and uttered, "thank you, thank you all for saving me," he glanced momentarily up at Splinter and then back down again. "Thank you, for, bringing me home."

Home. What wonderful word.

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Not quite the end but getting close! XD Don't go Anywhere dear readers...