I noticed I'm progressively getting less and less reviews for each chapter. I hope this doesn't mean the story is starting to lack in quality or something. If there's something you want me to write about, don't hesitate to tell me! Anyway, I am proud to announce that the back story has arrived! Thank you all for sticking around this long, to find out what the heck Mikey was thinking. But it's not over yet, there's still one more chapter left, one more mystery to uncover. Until then, read, review, and enjoy :)

It wasn't until late afternoon that Mikey woke up. He was a little disoriented, but at least his head felt much clearer than before, and the pain in his ribs had been reduced to a dull ache. At the moment, he was too comfortable to move from where he rested and continued to stare at the high celling of Don's lab with half-lidded eyes. I wonder…what happened to the black cat. I hope it's okay. Well, knowing Donnie, I'm sure it is.

When Mikey tried to move into a sitting position, he instantly felt something holding him down. Have my bros tied me to the bed or something? Though I wouldn't put it past them…I ran from them like twice already. Craning his neck forward, Mikey discovered Leo and Raph next to him on either side of the bed. They were both asleep, their bodies hunched over the bed.

Oh, so they must be weighing me down. Mikey smiled silently. And if they're here, then Don should be—Mikey rolled his head to the side and caught his purple-banded brother across the room in a large chair, slumped over his desk.

Mikey wanted to stay as he was, safe and sound in the presence of his sleeping siblings; but he knew he couldn't sit still for long, thinking about the cat. Decision made, Mikey lifted his arm—the one not pinned down by Leo—and weakly shook Raph's shoulder.

Raph's reaction was instant. In seconds his eyes shot open to see his little brother awake and smiling. He stood straight up, knocking his chair over with a loud clang clang clang that immediately woke Leo and Don as well. Mikey couldn't have asked for a better wake up call.

"Easy Raphie, you could have woken up half 'a New York for all we know," Mikey said with his trademark smile. He glanced at the digital clock on Don's desk. "Unless it's the afternoon of course…"

"It was yer fault, ya nutball!" Raph exclaimed childishly, trying to mask the smile that had automatically lit up his face. He settled for a slightly annoyed look. "An' don't call me that."

Mikey made another attempt to get up now that Leo and Raph were off of the bed, but Don walked swiftly to put a gentle hand on his chest, signaling for the youngest to stop. "I don't think you're going anywhere, mister," Don said sternly, pulling back the covers to examine Mikey. "Well, the swelling has gone down a bit…" he trailed off, silently going over his mental checklist.

Raph peered over Don's shoulder. "So how long is Mikey…outta commission?"

Don sighed. "Well, I can't say for sure, but the healing process can be anything from one to two months. There isn't much treatment for broken ribs."

Mikey's eyes widened. "Two months?" he squeaked. He coughed a couple times from the use of such a high voice. That sounds waaaay too long to be stuck like this!

"But that doesn't mean you won't be able to do normal things," Don added quickly. "Moving a lot or deep breaths will hurt a bit, but if you leave it alone, you'll be back to morning practice in no time."

Mikey breathed out in relief. Who knew I'd be so grateful for being able to train. "So, I can get up now—"

"—Today, you should rest." Don interrupted, holding a pleading stare with Mikey.

The youngest pouted. "Fine," he grumbled. He closed his eyes for a second before snapping them open. "Oh I almost forgot! How's the cat doing? Is it okay?" Mikey looked around the lab as best he could from where he lay.

Don smiled at Mikey in reassurance. "It's fine. I cleaned and bandaged up its injury, which isn't too serious if we clean it regularly, of course. It's in the corner—" Don paused as he looked at en empty cushion and litter box.

"Where did the cat go?" Leo said, turning to the only exit to the room, the lab door. It was open with just enough space for a cat to get through.

Raph huffed. "Man, that cat could be anywhere in the lair!" His face was pulled into a frown, but when he looked to Mikey it turned into a teasing smile. "It's always the things that you bring home that get us inta some kind 'a trouble, ya know that?"

Mikey shrugged, flashing an innocent smile back at Raph. "I prefer to think of it as a talent."

Suddenly, the four turltles heard a shout from beyond the lab door. "Boooooys!"

Leo, Don, Raph and Mikey all looked at each other in surprise. "Master Spinter!" they shouted in unison.

Before the turtles could make a move, Splinter entered the lab furiously, his face twisted into a displeased frown. "Would anyone care to explain what this cat is doing in our home?"

Leo, Raph, and Don looked away sheepishly while Mikey laughed openly. The black cat in question was attached to the Sensei's long tail, its sharp claws pawing at sensitive skin.

Mikey kept on laughing heartily, clutching his aching side. At this point, he didn't care how much it hurt. "Ah ha ha—ow, ow, OUCH! Ha ha—ow—"

Raph clapped a hand over Mikey's mouth, trying to muffle his little brother's laughter, and Mikey sent an annoyed glare at his brother. Jutting out his thumb, Raph motioned to Splinter who wore a very intimidating scowl. Mikey gulped.

Splinter cleared his throat. "Michelangelo, would you care to explain how this cat got into the lair?"

Mikey bit his cheek out of nervousness. Should I tell them everything? I mean, I know that they deserve to know…but am I really gonna do this now? "Um…I-I found it?" Mikey's voice rose uncertainly, and gave a pleading look to his brothers.

A few seconds of silence went by before Leo sighed, defeated. "It's, uh, a long story Sensei—"

Raph snorted impatiently, interrupting Leo. "—Yeah, an' long story short, Mikey found a hurt cat an' we helped bring it home."

"And then we sort of…lost track of it," Don finished with an apologetic smile.

At first, Splinter looked skeptical, but his expression changed when he understood what his sons were trying to do. He heaved a loud sigh. "Very well, I will let the cat stay and heal its injuries."

Mikey's face brightened instantly. "Sensei!"

Splinter held up a hand. "But you must return it to the outside when it is well again."

Mikey nodded vigorously. "I'll ask April if she knows anyone who wants a pet cat."

"That would be a good start," Splinter answered with a warm smile. He turned to Don. "Now, if I may have your assistance…?" He pointed to his tail.

"Of course, Master Splinter." Don tried to coax the cat off of Splinter's tail, calling to it gently. "Come here, kitty, kitty…"

Eventually the cat let go and allowed Don to lift it up and place it back on the cushion in the corner. Splinter gave a light tap on Leo's shoulder, a gesture that meant Leo would talk with him later in his room, and quietly retreated out of the lab.

As soon as he Raph saw the door was closed, he spun around to gaze at Mikey expectantly. "So…"

Mikey lowered his eyes as he smiled sadly. "I know, I know. You guys want the true story." He took a deep breath as his three brothers crowded around his bed and sat down. It definitely hurts a bit, but it's all I can do to calm my nerves.

"Make sure ya finish the story this time," Raph said with a smirk, trying to ease the tension.

Mikey gave an appreciative smile back. "I said before that I was walking through the sewers, taking the long way back from the comic store, and that I heard this…sound." He paused as his brothers nodded accordingly. "It was faint, but I could still barely hear it getting louder as I walked through the sewer. It was near the Laird Street sewer entrance that I finally could make out what it was—a cat's cry. And suddenly, this gray cat appeared in front of me. I was like, 'Dude, what's a cat doing in the sewers?' And I guess I thought it accidentally got trapped under here or something. I tried to edge closer and grab it, but it kept getting away, despite my unparalleled ninja skills." Mikey chuckled a little at the memory. "I finally had it cornered in that huge drainage pool room, on that broken platform. But the cat, it…it just wouldn't stop. It kept going, I knew it would jump…"

Trying to calm himself down again, Mikey took another big breath and let it out, wincing. He felt someone put a comforting hand on his shell. Don.

"Sure enough, it leapt off the platform, as if it didn't even see the huge drop below, or that the end of the other platform was too far away. I dove after it and managed to get a hold of its hind leg, dangling from one hand on the other platform. And-and then, I kinda…freaked out. Maybe it was how close I was to falling, or I was just out of breath, and all this adra-something pumping through me—"

"—Adrenaline," Leo corrected softly.

"—yeah, that. And it was too hard to pull myself up with the gray cat in one hand, so all I could do was hang there. Then when my hand started slipping, I really got..." Mikey bit his cheek again. "I was really scared." And I'm still scared now.

Don felt Mikey starting to shake, and rubbed his brother's shell tenderly. "It's okay, Mike," Don encouraged. "Go on."

"I was…panicking, and then the cat started struggling, so I tried to lift the cat up to the platform above me. But it just wouldn't give up. The more it struggled, the more scared I got, and when it bit me—" Mikey cut off, his voice cracking. "It bit me and—" his voice caught again. "I let go," Mikey whispered.

"Ya…what?" Raph said, thinking he didn't hear right.

"I let go!" Mikey cried, squeezing his eyes shut at the spike of pain it caused. "A-and when I came to, I was laying on one of the lower pipes. I knew I fell pretty far, 'cause as soon as I started to move, my side really hurt. All I could see was a little blood though; I made myself believe it was nothing bad. As soon as I remembered what I was doing down there…I searched everywhere." Mikey shifted uncomfortably. His side was still throbbing from his earlier outburst. "The cat was gone. I thought it died," Mikey almost sobbed. "I thought I killed it."

Leo reached to wipe away the stray tear that had trailed down the youngest's face. "But you didn't—"

"—It doesn't matter what happened later!" Mikey shouted before his brother could say any more. His ribs instantly acted up again, and Mikey curled in on his side with a pained grunt. The three older turtles stood up to help their brother, but stilled when Mikey relaxed against the bed.

"I'm okay, sit down, I'm fine," Mikey pleaded quietly. Leo, Raph, and Don reluctantly followed Mikey's request. "It was because of me that made it fall in the first place. It could have survived on its own." Mikey looked at brothers miserably. "Leo would've had everything under control, no distractions. And Don, you might've figured out some awesome plan by then. Or Raph, you…you wouldn't be so afraid. But I'm Mikey, and I messed up."

The youngest dropped his head to keep his tears hidden. "I should've—I wanted…" I wanted to tell you. "I was scared." I'm always scared of things. Mikey tried to say more, but couldn't without crying. So he stayed silent.

Finally, after Mikey calmed down a bit, Leo spoke up again. "Mikey, don't beat yourself up over this. Who knows if we would have been able to save that cat if we were there; maybe we'd still be in the same situation as you."

"And we make mistakes too," Don continued, brushing off the last of Mikey's tears from his face. Mikey sniffled in response.

"But ya damn well should'a told us about this, Mikey," Raph said gruffly. Mikey flinched, and Raph's hard expression softened. "We're bros, right? We all gotta trust each otha'."

Don nodded. "For better or worse."

Leo placed a firm hand on Mikey's shoulder and looked the youngest straight in the eye. "Dragging yourself down in guilt will not get you anywhere; neither will ignoring your injuries. I would know, I've been there." Mikey lowered his head in shame, but Leo lifted his chin back up gently. "Please, promise us you'll never do this again."

Mikey glanced at each brother before mumbling quietly, "Yeah…I promise."

"Then that's a lesson well learned," Don said as he began rubbing Mikey's shell again. "I think we should all learn from this experience."

"And we should be thankful that everyone is safe," Leo responded. "Including our new feline friend," he added with a smile.

"About that…" Raph started. "Ya kept takin' about a gray cat, but I think ya need ta get yer eyes checked, 'cause the cat we got is—"

"—black, I know," Mikey answered with a sigh. "That calls for another story…"