Ch 21 Forgiveness

He blinked his eyes open against the white light that beat down on him. The warm familiar feel of the mattress beneath him made him burrow further into the blankets that surrounded him. It took him a moment to register the feel of the caressing fur-covered hand that gently lingered on his forehead. He leaned into the touch and hummed approvingly.

"Usagi." Leonardo whispered.

"Leonardo?" The familiar voice sounded so far away. Leo again forced his eyes to open.

He attempted to focus on the tall furry being that was before him. "Usagi?" He said again as he blinked his eyes into focus.

The hand continued to caress his cheek. "My son?" Splinter said to him as he leaned closer. "Do you know where you are?"

"Sensei?" Leo questioned as his eyes finally took in the tall brown rat that looked upon him with concern on his face before relaxing into a smile.

"Yes my son." Splinter said to him as he bent down and nuzzled his temple. Leo felt a slight amount of wetness on his father's fur. He had been crying. "How I have missed you my son." Splinter whispered to him.

"Leo?" Mikey now stood before his brother. "You're awake!" He cried joyously. "Guys, Leo's awake!" Splinter stood and allowed Leo's brothers to gather around him. They hugged him gently one after the other.

"I had the weirdest dream." Leo moaned as he hugged MIkey first. He whinced as he tried to bring his left arm up. It was then he realized his shoulder was bandaged.

"Wasn't a dream bro." Mikey said, chuckling. Leo looked up at his brother's baby blue eyes and then at his brother's plastron which was still wrapped in bandages, he gently rubbed his hand over them. "I'm fine." He told him.

"You were gone almost a week Leo." Raph told him as he pulled him gently into a hug.

"We..." Donnie looked away from Leo feeling guilty. "Almost gave up on finding you."

"It's okay Don." Leo said as he gently moved himself up to give him a hug. "I don't blame you after what I did."

"That's the thing Leo." Raph looked at him, his eyes blinking back tears. "We...I'm so sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it." Raph looked away from him. "I was angry because of what happened to Mikey but it wasn't your fault. You were just doing what you always do. Protecting the ones you love. The ones we all love." He voice trailed off as he looked toward his sensei.

Before Leo could protest Donnie stepped forward. "I'm sorry to bro." Donnie laid a hand on his brother's good shoulder. "I should have said something to you. Make you feel better. Instead I just let you walk away thinking you screwed up." Donnie gave him a warm smile. "I'm glad your home bro."

"But it is my fault for what happened to Mike..." Leo began but this time he was cut off by Mikey himself.

"No it's not dude." He told him. "What happened to me is totally my fault. I let that foot bot get the drop on me." Mikey began to look angry. "I should have torn that thing in half, instead I just pushed it out of the way and left it there." He fumed.

"You saved my life." Leo reminded him. He could feel his eyes start to droop. He was starting to get tired.

"But you left that night." Mikey said looking sad.

Before Leo could say anything further, Donnie interrupted. "Maybe we should let Leo get some sleep. We're eager to hear all about your adventure. But you need to rest up first." He said as he gently coaxed Leo into laying back down and covering him up with the blanket again.

Leo watched as his brothers stood up to leave. They each gave him one last hug goodbye and walked out of the lab leaving Leo alone with Splinter.

Leo looked over at his father, his back was turned to him and his head was down. he opened his mouth to speak but he was uncertain of what to say. After several seconds of silence, Splinter turned to him.

"I keep thinking of that night we last spoke." He told him. "I was wrong to say the things I did." He looked down at his son, Leo could see the regret that filled his eyes.

"Sensei, I..."Splinter put up a paw to quiet his son.

"Let me finish Leonardo." He said to him. "I know you are just as concerned for your brothers as you are for me and for karai and regardless of your feelings for any of us, you would do anything you could to help anyone in this family come home." Splinter looked away in shame. "And I was wrong to question that." He looked back at his son, tears now flowed steadily. "Can you forgive this old rat for saying the things I said." He sat on Leo's cot and placed his paw on his shoulder.

Leo sat back up and wrapped his arms around Splinter waist. "I forgave you long ago sensei, and I too have missed you." Splinter held Leo for a long while til Leo fell asleep in his arms. His gently laid his son back down and began to once again caressed his forehead. He placed the blankets back over his Leo's shoulders and got up to leave. He took one look back at Leo's peaceful face and smiled. "Welcome home, my son."