I took a nap. But my sleep deprived ass came up with this one, eh? I hope ya'll like it, I wrote it tonight and it's longer than the last one, but not by much.

WE HIT 40 REVIEWS TODAY, GUYS. 40. YASSSSSSS THANK YOU SO MUUCCCHHHH!

I forgot what I even posted yesterday. Completely slipped my mind. But it must've been okay, judging by these awesome reviews!

5Mississippis: Thank yoouuuu! Yeah he seems to do that a lot, doesn't he? Or he will in future stories... I'm not nearly as organized as I seem, heh heh...

Yukio87: I GOT THE IDEA TOGETHER! JUST GOTTA PUT IT ON PAPER, ER, COMPUTER DOCUMENT NOW! THANK YOU FOR THE SOCK IDEA lol IT INSPIRED THE NAP! I LOVE YOUR LONG REVIEWS THEY EXCITE ME SOOO MUCH YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW!

Roxygoth: Would you like to become an honorary regular? Because that would be awesome. THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING. My email showed up with just one review but then I clicked on it and it was actually three reviews, so that was AMAZING. Thank you for being here :D

Me: *At Dave's house who owns 67 dogs* Hey what do you call a fly with no wings

Dave: I swear Kevin don't do it

Me: a WALK!

*We both die in a tidal wave of dogs*

I don't own anything. EXCEPT for spoon

17. Mystery- Leo isn't quite sure why he does it. But it happens, just the same.

It was a mystery as to why he did it. Why Leo woke up around 3:30 a.m. just to walk around and check on his brothers.

They were always fine, sleeping in their rooms.

Okay, that wasn't true. Donnie pulled all-nighters sometimes, and the latest record for Raph coming home was five in the morning. Mikey just couldn't put down his comics or was watching something on his cell.

And Leo couldn't judge, as they had all made clear to him when he asked what they were still doing awake.

'Couldn't I ask you the same thing?' Donnie would reply.

'Dude, you certainly aren't sleepwalking, and I'm not even tired.' Was Mikey's response.

'Shut up.' Was the usual answer from Raph.

But nights like tonight, when they were all asleep at once, were rare. And Leo cherished them.

Maybe he did it because it was what their Father had done for them. Maybe he did it to make sure they weren't getting murdered silently in their rooms.

But it was probably the first reason.

He crept out his own door without a thought. His steps were silent against the floor as he made his way to the closest room: Raph's.

He smiled slightly at the notes on the door. He'd put one up about the leaky pipe later.

The door opened without a creak and Leo poked his head in. The smile dropped when he saw his brother twitch in his sleep. Another nightmare. He was just deciding on staying or leaving when Raph bolted awake so hard he fell out of his hammock with a small yelp.

Leo only stared as Raph looked up, feeling someone watching him. Their eyes met for a moment, masks down. Then Raph shook his head as if to clear it and gave him a look that said 'Seriously? Again?'

Leo muttered a 'sorry' and closed the door as soon as Raph was back in his hammock.

He sighed. He'd never walked in on a moment like that. Next time, he would stay. Make sure his brother wasn't worrying about something that hadn't happened.

Next, Mikey's room. His door was the trickiest. It stuck to the top of the door-frame and the latch was squeaky. In the early days of Leo's early morning room checks, it had woken his youngest brother up and earned him a 'What the shell, dude?' look.

Now, though, it proved to be no problem. He pulled back from the latch and down on the handle, releasing the door and latch without a sound.

Mikey was sound asleep, curled up with his blanket and teddy bear. Klunk slept at the end of the bed, out of kicking distance. Everything was okay here. He closed the door with the same silence as he did opening it, and moved further down and past Donnie's room.

The room of his purple-banded brother was nearly never occupied. The last time anyone was even in there was when an excited Mikey and a not as enthusiastic Raph needed extra pillows and blankets for their fort by the couch.

Needless to say, the room remained empty. Leo hopped quietly down the stairs to the lab, stopping by the couch to grab an old woolen blanket and one of the larger pillows.

As he suspected, Donnie was leaned over his computer, face on the keyboard. On the screen, multiple 'F's made their way across the page he must have been typing.

He set the blanket aside. Leo was no genius when it came to electronics, but he knew enough to save whatever work Don had been doing, 'F's and all. With that done, he turned off the computer, eliminating the soft glow around the room.

Despite popular belief, Donnie was the hardest to wake up, not Mikey. Leo blamed it on the way his brother would run himself ragged, refusing sleep even when it plagued him the most.

It was a blessing and a curse, but the sleep deprivation let Leo move Donnie's head off the keyboard and onto the pillow, with the blanket draped around his body to top it off.

Don would notice it in a couple hours when he woke up. He would tell Leo to stop getting up at the butt-crack of dawn just to make him feel comfortable. Leo would just shrug and go back to doing whatever he was doing.

Leo closed the lab door on his way out. Maybe his brothers could sleep in for a change. He would make them breakfast, but it seemed the kitchen appliances hated him. Maybe they could call a truce, just for this morning.

He made his way back up the stairs. He had until five to wake up and he begin meditation and warm-ups on his own.

Donnie's door remained quiet, as always. Mikey's was stoic as ever. Raph's didn't make a sound as he passed it.

But as he reached his own door, Raph's opened just in the slightest.

"Leo?" A whisper.

"Yeah, Raph. I'm here."

"Ya shouldn't keep doing this every morning. Get some sleep once in a while, idiot."

"Whatever you say."

A grunt, and the door closed.

Leo smiled as he stepped into his own room, sealing off the outside.

Yeah, they could sleep in. And Leo could brave the kitchen toaster. It might not turn into a volcano, just this once.

It could have been out of habit that he made sure they were fine in the early morning. It could have been that he was just making himself feel secure. Or maybe it was just that he cared about his brothers.

Yeah, that was it.

Maybe it wasn't such a mystery, after all.