WhoAmI659: Sorry for the cardiac arrest! To be fair to Donnie, he's about to make a few giant leaps forward; so he can afford this one, little setback. I'm glad you're loving Raph. :)

Turtlecrazy714: Flatterer! :) I'm thrilled that you're enjoying the story as much as you are. Thank you.

AlessandraDC: Thank you, kindly! Unfortunately, I've never read the comics. I watched the 90's movies and then (of course) the 2003 series but stopped after season 5. I am seriously trying very hard not to kill anyone since in my original outline, I did kill someone of...significant importance; however, as the story has progressed and because of the general love you guys have for it, I'm slowly veering away from that ending. I don't think I can find it in my heart to kill anyone, not in this fic, at least. Still, I have the original end-scene. :)

Leolover9999: Thank you, hon! That's very kind of you!

2ndGenGeek: I was tittering to myself as I watched Don in my mind's eye. He's quite active when he's frustrated and I enjoyed describing his movements. I'm glad you found him as funny as I did. As for Leo, "hiding" might be an improper term but an explanation is still a few chapters away. Sorry. :)

Susan: I am feeling loads better, thank you. Take note, guys: Get your flu shots! Very important!

Guest: Wondering what Splinter is going to say on the matter is also going with the assumption that Don is going to tell him something in the first place. Thank you!

Anonymous: I hope you figuratively died. ;) And give Donnie time. He'll make the connections soon enough.

Also, thank you to all! I now have sixty followers and fifty-seven favourite'd! You people are amazing!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 29

"I'm really sorry, Raph, but I can't come down today. It's been a madhouse all day and I've two clients coming for dinner tonight to discuss a bust in my shop that may or may not be worth half a million dollars. Do you think you can come get the lightbulbs sometime after dark?"

"Don wants 'em in as soon as possible," Raph replied, the phone tucked between his ear and shoulder as he rubbed Leo dry from his bath. "I'll talk to him. Sensei doesn't like us goin' topside in daylight but, hey, desperate times, right?"

"For a few lightbulbs? I sure hope not."

"Ya didn't see it, April. The things just exploded, and now the wirin''s all messed up. Scared us all half ta death. We're still findin' bits of glass, and the outlet's sparkin'. Leo's not allowed on the floor now and it's drivin' him nuts that he has ta be carried all the time. We got calluses on our feet. He doesn't."

April sighed heavily. "All right. Do what you have to do. I'll set the lightbulbs just inside the window if you decide to come by early."

"Thanks, April. Yer the best."

"So you guys keep telling me. Take care, Raph."

"You, too, April. Bye."

He hung up and set the phone on the counter, tousling the towel across Leo's head and producing a laugh.

"April coming?" the toddler asked.

"Not today, little man. She's got some stuff to do."

Leo pouted but it didn't last long. "Okay. All done?"

Raphael smiled. "Yes. All done. Come on." He threw the towel over the rack to dry, settled the kid on his hip, tucked the phone into his belt and walked out.

He met Don halfway to the kitchen. His brother was a lot more twitchy since yesterday's events. Donnie hadn't said a word about what had happened to him during meditation, not even to Master Splinter, and Raph was convinced that the coffee wasn't helping. His purple-masked brother was drawn and pale but he tried to not let it show.

"Oh, hey, Raph," he greeted. "How'd the talk go with April?"

"She can't come down," replied Raph. "She's got business but she did say she'd leave the bulbs by the window if we want to go get them."

"You want to take Leo topside?" Don's brown eyes bulged.

"Go-go?" Leo piped up cheerily.

Raph stared at his elder brother. "Shell, no, Don! I'm no idiot. I can take care of him for a few hours. 'Sides, Splinter and Mikey should be back in another couple hours with supplies."

Donnie frowned and exhaled heavily. "All right. I'll go. You sure you can manage until I get back?"

Raphael smiled, resettling Leo on his hip. "Come on, Don. It's me." He followed his brother as he went to get ready to go, and kicked around an idea in his head before speaking. "Hey. So. Leo has gotten really antsy these last few days…can I take him out inta the sewers?"

Don regarded him with wide eyes. "You're asking permission?"

"Do ya not want me askin'?" Raph retorted. "And this ain't about me. Donnie, the kid's been trapped in here for three weeks. As big as this place is, and as much as he enjoys swimmin' in the pool, I think he needs ta stretch his legs."

"You have a point," Don conceded. "All right but…no more than a mile, got it?"

"Sure thing, Don!" Raph mock-saluted him and Donnie rolled his eyes.

"You're incorrigible, you know that?"

"I don't even know what that means."

"Maybe you should look it up?"

"Maybe ya should take off? I ain't the one who's worryin' 'bout lightbulbs."

"Bye-bye, Donnie!" Leo chipped in, waving at him.

Don's expression faltered a fraction at the beaming child but Raph simply chalked it up to stress and waved him out the door.

"All right, Leo," he informed the tiny turtle on his hip, "are ya ready ta go-go?"

"Go-go!" exclaimed little Leo. "Go-go! Blue, too?"

"I almost forgot!" Raph tweaked the kid's beak, was rewarded with a laugh, and fetched the mask from the couch where Leo had left it that morning. He watched his baby brother hug it to his chest with both hands for a moment before walking out the door for the first time in three weeks with Leonardo.

Raph set him down but kept tight hold of his hand while Leo stared about in open awe and then abruptly yanked forward, his eyes and smile shining in the gloom.

"Come on, Raphie! Come on!"

Raphael kept his grip tight and restrained him. "Hold up there, kiddo. This ain't the lair," he said. "It's dangerous out here so ya gotta hold my hand. If ya let go, we're goin' straight home, okay?"

"No go home! Okay, Raphie," the toddler replied and side-stepped closer to him.

The red-banded turtle smiled down at him, said, "Come on. I know a place" and took the lead.

Careful to avoid ladders, whirlpools and narrow ledges, Raph held Leo's hand the whole way and, keeping one eye on their surroundings, watched the child take everything in. He gazed about with wide, navy eyes and didn't flinch from the dripping and gurgling pipes, the dusty brick and concrete, or the eerie shadows. In fact, there was an unexpectedly intense curiosity in his face that was not unlike Don's when he was examining a new piece of tech or solving an equation. Leo was a sponge: soaking up new experiences and knowledge like water.

Although it was genuinely adorable (not that he'd ever admit it), a tug in his gut reminded him that this was still his eldest brother and that this was not the way things should be. He did wonder, though, and often asked himself if his brothers and father did, too, if – when! – Don returned the toddler to his proper age, Leo would remember any of this. Watching his brother swing from his hand, a smile that would make Mikey proud plastered on his face, he half-hoped he would. The picture books, the finger-paintings, the forts and cuddles…yeah, it'd be nice if Leo knew that Mikey was able to be careful and attentive, that Don was able to be inclusive, that Sensei could laugh and that Raph was capable of being kind and gentle.

Yeah, Raph thought with a smile, it would be nice.

Not even a mile from the lair, their current tunnel came to an abrupt end and opened up into a cavernous shaft with seven drainage pipes, all of which emptied into the pool twelve feet below them. A rusty railing lined the edge with an opening for the old ladder descending down to the walkways, allowing for workers and the more daring to test their footing on the slippery concrete. Raph had discovered this place years ago and had often come here when Leo-the-sixteen-year-old had gotten on his nerves.

The older turtle brought the younger to the railing and crouched, one arm wrapped protectively around the little torso.

"Ooooh!" Leo murmured, tilting his head upward to take in the ceiling some thirty feet above their heads. His voice was barely audible over the roar of the waterfalls but Raph still caught his "Pretty, Raphie."

Raph smiled and squeezed his little brother. "I think it's pretty, too, little buddy."

Leo leaned back until he nestled in the slope of Raph's shoulder and chest, and Raphael curled his other arm around him, shifting his weight on the uneven floor.

Wait…uneven? It had always been more or less intact before. Now, though, massive fissures ran along their lookout post and the ground sloped marginally towards the open shaft.

Horror plunged through his whole body as he realized his gross error, as the ground crumbled under the weight of a one-hundred-eighty-pound turtle and his much smaller companion.

Eleven years of ingrained reflex and instinct made him move. Pivoting on the balls of his feet, he pushed his brother hard – too hard! What if he broke something? – onto more solid ground.

Metal squealed when part of the railing was ripped from the wall, and Raph fell. His stomach and heart leaped into his throat, preventing him from shouting. At least it was only twelve feet down. Maybe he would land in the water? Maybe, if the ladder was intact, he could climb back up? Leo would be scared. Leo would need his brother.

Leo was screaming.

Over the roar of water, the agony that shot through his leg when he landed on something sharp, and the rattle of stone and metal raining down on him, he heard his brother scream "Raphael!" and then the world went black.

-:-

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