The smell of fried eggs and bacon reached Raphael's nostrils and made his stomach growl which, successively, obligated him to wake up. The first thing he felt was the numbing pain in his neck; he shouldn't had slept that way in the first place, Mikey's bed was big enough for two turtles but he preferred to rest in a chair while he watched over his brother. Raph rubbed the aching area hoping that would soothe the pain, he yawned lazily, stretched his arms and legs and rubbed his eyes. It was then when he noticed the bed beside him was empty and the smell from downstairs became stronger and he could swear he had heard someone humming a song. Raphael knew there was only one turtle who was always cheery while cooking so early in the morning and the thought alone was starting to make him mad. What in world was his brother thinking? He was supposed to be in bed resting while he or Splinter or Don took care of breakfast!

Raphael was going to make sure his youngest sibling got back to his bed before Donatello knew one of his patients wasn't resting; he didn't want the genius to yell at Michelangelo again, he would just not be able to bear it without punching the life out of Don first. But the last night's image of his genius brother talking to an unconscious Leo, his tearful eyes and shaky voice pleading for the eldest to be alive; those images had opened Raphael's eyes and made him understand why Don reacted the way he did towards Mikey.

People do and say stupid things while they're under stress or unbearable pressure, Raphael knew that very well; he was a good example of that statement. After sighing for the third time now, the sai wielder stood up and walked downstairs, a plan starting to formulate in his mind: first, he would get Mikey back to bed. Second, he'd look for Donatello and try to solve their differences in the best way possible; that's what Leo would've done if he was awake.

"Morning Raphie-boy!" Mikey greeted his red-clad brother as he entered into the kitchen.

"You're supposed to be resting, not cooking" Raph replied.

"Well I was hungry and I thought: since I' m here and making breakfast for one… why not make breakfast for everyone! And I even made your favorite, Raphie, since you were such a good brother taking care of me last night"

"That's… very nice, Mikey. But you know Don could get your shell… no, wait… he could get MY shell if he sees you doing this"

"Oops, I'm sorry" Mikey smiled sheepishly.

The sai wielder walked towards his sibling and gently guided him out of the room. "C'mon, let's get you back to bed"

"Hey, I still haven't eaten!" Mikey protested making Raph chuckle.

"I'll take your food upstairs, just go already"

The youngest turtle complied the order reluctantly but now he was away from the kitchen and on his way to the bedroom. Raphael put Mikey's plate with the scrambled eggs and bacon on a tray just the way his baby brother liked it. Raph was just leaving the room when a very tired Donatello intercepted him by accident in the kitchen's doorway.

"Coming for breakfast, Don?" Raph asked. The genius avoided his brother's gaze and continued his way to the coffeemaker.

"Just coffee"

Raph placed the tray back on the table and followed Don who was too tired to struggle when his brother guided him towards a chair and made him sit down. In a matter of seconds, Raph placed a plate with still warm food and the freshly made coffee in front of Don who looked at him tiredly but in puzzlement at the same time.

"If you're gonna stay locked inside the lab watching your patient the whole night, you might as well eat something"

"You did this?" The genius asked, feeling more awake now he had drunk his coffee.

Raph thought his answer for a moment before answering with a small grin. "Let's say that"

"Mikey was here, wasn't he?"

Raphael's silence was enough answer for Don; the bo wielder just rolled his eyes. "Figures" he grabbed his mug of steaming hot coffee and left the table.

"Don… you know we still gotta talk"

"I have to get back to Leo" Don replied shortly. The red-clad ninja followed his brother and grabbed him by a shoulder making Don tense up immediately.

"Raph, I'm not in the mood for a fight so-"

"-and neither am I, Don. I just wanna talk; honest"

The purple-clad ninja remained quiet for a moment before he decided to return to his chair facing Raphael who looked at lot calmer than last night.

"Look, what happened yesterday… I think we were both being shitheads, you know? We kinda got carried away by the stress of the situation which led us to act like complete assholes"

Don blinked. "O…k? Curses aside, I think I got your point perfectly" he said after clearing his throat "And you're right, we got carried away but that's not excuse for what I said to you and Mikey"

Raph chuckled. "Hey, no biggie"

"Yes biggie, Raph" Don interrupted "We just got Mikey back and relatively safe and what did I do? Treat him like he was a piece of trash! What kind of brother I am!"

"Well, he sure doesn't seem to be mad at you I gotta say"

Don narrowed eyes. "Mikey's never mad at anyone"

Raph sighed. "True, true but my point is-"

"- don't try to tell me to chill out and forget everything because I won't" the genius turtle replied "I shouldn't have yelled at Mikey and yes, I was a complete asshole. Now if you could forgive me for being so brash, I'd be more than happy but if you still want to use me as punching bag…"

"If I still wanted you to be my punching bag, we wouldn't be here talking in the first place" the red-clad ninja said while he laughed at his brother's statement.

Donatello allowed himself to smile shyly too; he knew he was forgiven but there was still one more thing to do to get rid of the annoying guilt. "I have to talk to Mikey; I have to let him now I didn't mean anything I said"

"I already know that, dude" another voice came from the kitchen's entrance. Raph was surprised to see Mikey there; he was also a little angry at his baby brother for disobeying him but he didn't have time for a remark, Mikey was already sitting beside Don who had his apology more than ready.

"Mikey, what happened yesterday… I'm so embarrassed and…" Don didn't had time to finish; Mikey had already pulled him into a tight hug.

"Dude, it's ok. You were worried and stressed, I understand why you reacted like that"

"Still, I'm sorry"

"All forgiven" Mikey slightly noogied the genius, the latter chuckled and returned the gesture. Raphael could rest easy now his family was at peace again; they could worry about other things now they were together, like when was their leader going to wake up. And speaking of him…

"How's Leo?" Raph asked worriedly.

"The meds are doing its job quickly, his breathing is a little erratic so we had to use the oxygen tank just in case; his heartbeats are normal and his wounds are not infected but he hasn't woken up yet" Don informed.

"Can I see him?" Mikey asked.

"Sure but after that you have to go back to your bed" Don ordered.

…

Leatherhead, Casey, April and Splinter had joined them a few minutes later after the three brothers' small talk. They all enjoyed breakfast but held their questions about Mikey and Leo's captive time, there would always another time for asking those questions. Now, they just tried to be positive and talk about other things… some of them silly, some of them important.

Right after breakfast, Casey and April went out to buy medicines for Leo and Mikey among other things; April would have stayed in the lair helping Leo if it wasn't because of Casey's lack of knowledge when it came to buy special medical supplies, only thing he could get right was the name of certain painkillers.

As promised, Donatello took Michelangelo to the lab/infirmary to see Leonardo who remained as still as a corpse… except he was alive… or at least breathing.

"He looks healthy enough to me" Mikey commented.

"Apparently, he looks good. But as LH said: intoxication with oleander leaves causes a lot of damage" Don explained.

"Has Master Splinter seen him yet?" Raph asked, remembering the only one who had not seen Leo was their father.

"Now that you mention it, I think it's ok to let him see Leo now" Mikey added.

"I'll go for him and you Mikey, to your bed. Now!" Don ordered.

"Aww man! You're starting to sound like Leo already" Mikey whined.

While Raphael dragged the youngest towards his room, Donatello went to his father's chambers. He wasn't really sure if Splinter should see Leonardo right now; after all, his brother was still unconscious and covered in bandages looking almost like a mummy but he was relatively more decent than yesterday when he was nothing but a mess of blood and cuts everywhere.

"Sensei, it's me: Don" the genius called before slightly sliding open the shoji door "May I have a word with you?"

"Good morning, my son. Please enter" Splinter said. Donatello could feel a bit of tiredness in the old rat's voice which was confirmed when the genius entered into the room and knelt in front of his father noticing that, in fact, Splinter looked awfully tired.

"You look sleepless, Master. Did you have enough rest last night?"

"I would be lying if I say yes, my son. I am very worried about your brothers' condition" Splinter said.

"Well, I have some good news" Don said trying to sound positive "Mikey is awake, his stitching on his eye is healing nicely and Leo is reacting favorably to the medicines LH and I have been giving to him"

Splinter smiled. "Those are certainly great news, Donatello"

"However, Leo hasn't regained conscious yet" Don proceeded "But I think it's part of the healing process. The poison weakened his system and affected his breathing and heart rate in great part"

"Will he recuperate from such damage?" Splinter asked in concern.

Don nodded. "With time, yes"

"Excellent. Thank you for keeping me informed, my son"

"Sensei, yesterday when we brought Leo, we didn't allow you to see him because of the extension of his wounds but now he's… presentable… do you wish to see him?"

"Certainly, I would"

...

Both rat and turtle left the room and made their ways to the lab; Leatherhead had just finished changing Leo's bandages when Splinter arrived with Donatello right behind him. The old rodent's ears dropped in sadness when he saw his eldest son for the first time after 3 months and how terrible was his actual condition; not as terrible as the moment he arrived to the lab but it was still shocking to see him lying there, with a lot of bandages, a cast, the oxygen mask, the IV and the needle marks on both his arms… if it wasn't for the heart monitor's constant beeping anyone could tell Leo was dead.

Splinter ran a paw over his son's head, caressing it tenderly like he was afraid of hurting him further; he sighed and closed his eyes, breathing deeply and then exhaling. He thought he could reach his son's spirit by make a connection with him using advanced meditation techniques but it was useless, his son was very weak and his soul almost unreachable but it was there, waiting for the right moment to return to the world of the living. Don just stood there and watched helplessly his father's attempts to reanimate his brother o least establish a link with him; if Splinter couldn't do this then there was little hope Leonardo would wake up soon.

After the third try, Splinter gave up. He felt very tired already to keep trying but he would continue later. "How is Michelangelo?" the rat asked once he opened his eyes.

"Let's say he's back to his annoying, happy-self" Don chuckled.

"Heh, maybe too happy for my taste" Raph said from the doorway. None Splinter or Don had noticed when he had arrived but that didn't matter now.

"I'm afraid that happiness will not last for long, my son" Splinter said sadly.

Don's smile dropped. "I know and I'm worried about that"

"Where is Michelangelo now?"

"His room, just tucked him in" Raph said.

"I will speak to him now; Donatello, tell him I want to see him in my chambers" Splinter said, his eyes never leaving Leo's body. Don bowed respectfully before leaving.

Raphael didn't know what to do now, he was just standing there looking how his father whispered some words to his unconscious brother, some of them in Japanese but very familiar to all of them; that had been the way Splinter talked to them back in the days when they were just kids, whenever they had a nightmare o were hurt. Raph could have sworn he had seen a couple of tears on his father's cheeks; the red-clad ninja could comfort 2 distraught little brothers but what about his father? Splinter was supposed to be the strong pillar just like Leo but if this pillar wasn't strong enough, they would all soon fall in despair and grief.

A strong dark green hand reached for Splinter's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I ain't good with this sentimental crud sensei; I know what you're feeling: impotence, anger, sadness… hell, I'm still angry that all that shit happened to my brothers"

"Language, Raphael" Splinter glared at his son.

"What I'm trying to say is that Leo will get better… I just know it" Raph continued "Don't care if your meditation can't reach him, he will come back to us"

Splinter smiled warmly at his tough son's attempts to make him feel better. Luckily, he had succeeded. "Raphael, you and your brother share the strongest bond of all, my son; that is the reason why you are so faithful to your beliefs and I also believe you. Leonardo has passed through harder tests before"

"Did you want to see me, sensei?" Mikey said as he arrived to the lab.

"Yes, come with me Michelangelo" Splinter gave a last look at Leonardo before making his way out of the room with Mikey "Donatello, let me know when your brother awakes"

The youngest turtle followed his father in silence more than aware of what it was coming upon him. As much as he had vowed to himself not to show weakness in front of his family after those traumatizing three months, he knew he couldn't fool Master Splinter.

Now it was time for a little father-son talk, a talk Michelangelo would have wished to avoid at all cost.