Leo gazed out the window, watching the rain fall in the yellow glow of the streetlights. The weather seemed to reflect the mood in the apartment. With a soft sigh, Leo turned away from the window and his eyes moved straight to the couch, where his youngest brother still lay under the mound of blankets. He wasn't shivering as much as before, but remained unresponsive and silent, except for his heavy, slightly shaky breaths. Raph still sat slumped in the nearby chair, staring at the floor; Leo would have expected him to be pacing, snarling at anyone who tried to calm him down, but somehow this was even more concerning. What hurt the eldest turtle most to see, though, was the soul-crushing guilt in Raph's eyes, and he could almost hear the red-banded turtle's thoughts.

My fault. My fault.

Leo could certainly reciprocate. And what made it even worse was he couldn't even reassure his brothers, or himself. They had all played a part in this; if they hadn't hidden the truth from Mikey, if they had shown more compassion, tried to understand him rather than dismiss him as the odd one out, Leo somehow knew things wouldn't have happened the way they did.

The blue-banded turtle's eyes moved to Donnie, who was currently in a soft but tense conversation with April and Hamari. Likely they were discussing possible courses of action if things were to turn for the worst. Grace hadn't once left Mikey's side; she expressed thanks to the others' attempts to comfort her and never snapped at anyone, but always refused any suggestion of taking a break in a tone that proved nothing would dissuade her.

What Leo found somewhat unusual was the fact that she rarely spoke. She only sat with Mikey's hand clasped in hers, either deep in silent prayer or softly humming. It was always the same tune, but Leo couldn't place it. Splinter remained by the couch as well, but any attempts he made to question Grace as to the previous events was met by short, curt answers that made it clear his questions weren't welcome. She was never rude, but clearly didn't like him. Leo suspected she was redirecting her anger at the current situation at him, and while it bothered him to see someone acting so cold toward his sensei, he was somewhat ashamed to admit he understood. Whatever the intentions were, Splinter had made just as many mistakes with Mikey as his brothers.

Still, there was no point in placing blame now. Those mistakes were something that they would all have to sort out together once the danger was past. Letting out a tired sigh, Leo walked across the room to join Splinter and Grace.

"Sensei?" he asked softly. "Have you been able to reach Mikey at all?"

The old rat sighed as well, placing a hand on Mikey's forehead.

"I have sensed his spirit, but it is faint… as if behind a fog. I can tell he is trying to find his way back to us, but I cannot get him to respond."

Leo felt a lump rise in his throat but took a controlled breath and placed a hand on Splinter's shoulder.

"Donnie's right that Mikey's strong," he said, keeping his voice calm and encouraging. "As long as we keep supporting him, he has a good chance."

Splinter let out a heavy sigh, a regret in his voice that made him sound vulnerable in a way Leo had very rarely seen him.

"Yes. I only hope that he… is not remaining silent because he does not welcome my presence."

Grace spoke up then, that strange coolness her voice.

"He's not that kind of person. Maybe you just aren't as good as you think you are."

Leo frowned at that, but Splinter only looked at the teen girl with calm, sympathetic eyes.

"I understand your anger, young one. But placing blame on one another now is not the answer… it will not help Michelangelo, and I know you wish to do that as much as we do."

Grace's expression faltered a little, making Leo hopeful that his sensei's words had gotten through, but that hope fell when her face hardened again.

"I can see that works for you, telling everyone not to place blame. Do me a favor and don't try to be my therapist."

Leo finally felt indignant enough to speak up.

"Look, we get you're feeling a lot of pain right now, but Sensei's right, being mad isn't gonna help Mikey."

Grace looked at him, her face still angry.

"What about the pain he's been feeling? No one helped him then."

Those words struck a painful nerve in Leo, and he fell silent, the familiar sense of shame and regret filling him. Grace went on, as if a floodgate had opened and she couldn't stop herself.

"Do you have any idea how long Mikey spent trying to please you? How long he kept quiet about everything because he was afraid you'd just judge him, or not even believe him?" Her fierce gaze moved to Splinter. "All he ever wanted was for his family to be proud of him, for you to be proud of him. You want to know why he doesn't put full effort into anything anymore? Because he thinks no matter what he does, nothing will ever be good enough for you!"

Leo could only stare at the girl with wide eyes. As much as he wanted to deny what she had just said, he couldn't find the words. Had Mikey really told Grace something like that before them? Did he really believe they would just dismiss it? Most sickening of all, had they really hurt him so much that he thought they didn't care? Apparently, his thoughts were clear on his face, because when Grace looked back at him, she let out short, bitter-sounding laugh.

"Surprising he told me and not his own family, isn't it? Although some of it I guessed on my own… I could tell our situations weren't too different."

Those words brought Leo's memory back to the confrontation Grace had with her mother mere hours ago. Even then, he'd wondered if the young ninja was acting on something more than her feelings for Mikey, and it seemed his theory was correct. It would certainly explain how the two had bonded so quickly. Realizing that Donnie and the others had stopped talking, he looked to see Hamari approaching her friend, April and Donnie close behind. The young ninja stooped down, placing her hands on Grace's shoulders.

"Grace," she said softly. "Senpai, please… you need to take some time."

Grace's face immediately changed to a look of complete exhaustion. She looked back at Mikey, holding his hand tight.

"But… but I…"

Hamari knelt all the way and pulled Grace into a gentle embrace.

"Imoto," she whispered. "Believe in him like he believed in you."

After a few moments, Grace slumped against her friend. Her eyes were closed, her shoulders trembling as she stifled her weeping. Hamari stroked her back, murmuring softly in Japanese. Leo watched in silence; the sight was somewhat unexpected but touching at the same time. The girls had always seemed close, but he could see now that the bond they shared was very similar to him and his brothers.

Finally, Donnie moved closer, his tone gentle as he spoke.

"You've both been through a lot, and you need some time. We'll be watching Mikey… anything changes at all, you'll know right away."

After a few moments, Grace let out a trembling breath and nodded. Looking back at Mikey, she gave his hand another squeeze before rising to her feet with Hamari's arm still around her. She stood still for a moment, then leaned down to place a gentle kiss on Mikey's forehead.

"I'll be back soon," she whispered. "Please… please keep fighting."

April came over with a look of sympathy, clearly intending to usher the girls away. But Grace directed one more look at Splinter. It wasn't as openly hostile as before… now there was more sadness in her eyes than anger.

"I know I was harsh, but if you want a genuine apology from me, do some thinking. You demanded respect from him every day, but when was the last time you gave him any in return?"

It wasn't very often that Leo saw Splinter at a loss, but he certainly seemed to be now. He looked back at Grace, his look still sympathetic but also startled. The teen said nothing else, her eyes moving to the floor as April steered her and Hamari toward the kitchen. Splinter watched them for a moment, then looked back at Mikey as his ears drooped. Donnie cast him a concerned look before moving to check his younger brother's vitals.

"She's been through a lot," he said quietly. Raph, who had risen to his feet but been uncharacteristically silent throughout the whole exchange, let out a grunt as he moved to the window himself and crossed his arms, glaring out into the night.

"Doesn't mean she's wrong, though."

Leo cast the red-banded turtle a stern frown.

"Raph."

"What?" the hothead muttered. "I'm just sayin' what we're all thinkin'. We set Mikey on this road a long time ago, if he didn't even trust us t' help him."

Leo narrowed his eyes but found he couldn't think of anything to say in return. His attention was quickly diverted, though, when he felt Splinter tense. The rat's eyes were closed, his head bowed as his hand moved over Mikey's head with slow, gentle strokes, and Leo could tell he was close to losing his composure altogether. Swallowing hard, he softened his tone.

"Sensei, you couldn't have known…"

Splinter shook his head, and Leo could hear the quiver in his voice.

"Perhaps not what happened tonight. That does not mean I played no part in it."

His words were met by silence, broken only by the rain pattering on the windows and April's soft voice coming from the kitchen, along with hushed sobs that Leo could only assume came from Grace. A sudden pang of sorrow and regret filled him, and he closed his eyes as he ordered himself not to break down.

They'd all made so many mistakes, well before the past few months… for years, even. Leo held on to hope that they would be able to make up for them, but he'd gladly accept Mikey never forgiving them if it only meant he would make it.