Chapter 26 - Puzzle Pieces

Leonardo awoke from his sleep and stretched, grimacing as he felt the tension in his neck. He stood, still moving his shoulders around. He must've slept weird.

He walked downstairs, still rubbing the back of his neck. He stopped, as he could hear voices coming from the kitchen. It wasn't often that all of his brothers were awake before he was.

"Hey, good morning, sleepy-head." Mike looked over as Leo entered the kitchen and grinned.

"What's the occasion?" Leo asked, bewildered, as he sat down at the table. He noted all the different breakfast foods on the table.

"April's awake." Don said, putting the paper down. "The hospital called to let us know that she'd be having a few more tests, but she can probably come home today."

"That's great." Leo said, and grabbed a mug, filling it with orange juice.

"Yeah." Mike added. "And I'm gonna have a huge lunch ready for her when she gets back."

Raph grinned as he shut the fridge door. "Slow down, there, Mikey. We don't know when she's getting home yet. Maybe not until tomorrow."

Leo nodded.

Mikey's face fell a bit, but he perked back up again. "Well then, whenever she gets home…" He said.

Don stood up, setting down his paper. "I'm going to get Lindy up now." He said, taking the last few sips of his coffee. "Be back in a few." He continued, then left the room.

There was silence for a few minutes while everyone worked at the food on the table. Leo jumped as Mike began talking, jarring him from his thoughts.

"Is he acting weird?" Mike asked suddenly. Raph looked over at Leo, then moved his gaze to Mikey. His brother was looking intently at his plate.

"For Don, you mean?" Raph joked, but stopped when he could see Leo shake his head slightly.

"I think," Leo began. "That maybe this whole thing has him more worried than we know." Leo looked over at Raph, and they shared a quick glance before he continued. "I mean, April and Donnie are friends…" He said, knowing he was treading on dangerous ground.

Mike nodded. "I know that, but…" He looked up at his brothers. "I dunno. I'm just getting this odd feeling from all this. From Casey, too." He shifted uncomfortably.

Leo bit his lip. He wasn't so comfortable talking about this now. Especially when he didn't know exactly what was going on.

Mike opened his mouth again, but closed it when they could hear Lindy babbling, coming from down the hall.

A few moments later, Don reentered the kitchen, carrying Lindy. He put her in her highchair, then glanced at his brothers. They were all looking down at their food. Cocking a brow, he went over to the cupboards and grabbed Lindy's cereal. He glanced back at his brothers. They were still avoiding all eye contact with each other. He sighed heavily.

"So." Don said, still facing the counter. "What's going on now?" He turned back around, placing the cereal and a bottle in front of Lindy, who happily grabbed the bottle.

He faced his brothers, crossing his arms. Leo and Raph were holding a silent conference through looks alone.

Don sighed again. "Mikey…?"

Mike looked up quickly. "Nothin', bro. Really."

Leo finally tore his gaze away from Raph and looked over at Don. "We were just talking about… April." He began.

Don narrowed his eyes, watching his brother.

"We just were thinking of what she was going to have to do after she got home."

Don seemed to relax his stance a bit. "Well," He began. "I'm sure they'll be sending home instructions. Not to mention, they'll tell her and whoever picks her up what to do." He was silent for another moment. "Speaking of… maybe someone should go with Casey when he…"

"When Casey what?" Casey interrupted, walking into the room. He took in the table scene, and his eyes widened slightly. "Jeez, Mikey. You trying to kill us by over-eating?"

Mike grinned. "Nope. Just felt like making a big breakfast." He moved over to make room for Casey, who sat down and grabbed a plate.

"So," Casey began, grabbing a plate. "Just what am I doing now?" He looked over at Leo and Raph.

"Um… well…" Leo began.

"We need you to pick up some more food." Mike interrupted cheerfully. "I sorta went overboard."

"No kidding." Casey breathed, but he grinned. "Sure. I can use a ride into town."

"I'll get you some money for the groceries." Don mumbled, moving towards the door again.

"Cool." Casey said, shoving a spoonful of eggs into his mouth.

Leo wrinkled his nose a bit at Casey's obviously hurried meal. Raph sat back, smirking.

"So," Casey stood, taking his plate to the sink. "Whatta we need?" He asked, grabbing a few pieces of toast from the counter.

"List's on the fridge." Mike answered him, looking up from his own plate.

Casey nodded, then finished off the toast and grabbed the list.

"Here's some money for it." Don returned to the kitchen, shoving a few bills at Casey.

"Coupons." Mike added, and Don nodded, grabbing an envelope from the counter. He handed it to Casey, who looked at it, a frown on his face.

"What, you guys clip coupons?"

"It saves quite a bit of money." Don said, frowning.

Casey shook his head. "You guys gotta invite me to that event." He said, grinning. "I wanna see Raph looking through the ads…"

Raph grunted at that, but grinned.

"All right." Casey said, taking the envelope. "I'm goin', then." He got to the door, then looked back. "I might stop and visit April while I'm out. I'll tell her you said hi." He said, then left.

Don wrinkled his nose.

"Well," Leo said, a bit surprised. "That's helpful…"

"Yeah." Mike joked. "Casey, helpful. Who knew."

"Well." Don said finally. "Let's hope he doesn't take too long getting back home…"

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"Well," Leo began a while later. "Good thing Mikey left enough for us to make supper with."

"What do you think happened?" Don asked, looking at Raph, who shrugged.

"Whatever happened, I hope he gets home soon." Mike added, patting his stomach. "He's been gone forever and I'm still starving."

Casey had been gone for a good portion of the day, and they had no way of reaching him. Though, Leo thought. The police would call if he'd done anything stupid…

Raphael, however, was a little more worried than the others. He just kept thinking about their talk the other night, and how Casey had mentioned being followed. Raph knew that Casey could take care of himself, but what if he led them to the house? Raph shook his head. He hated to worry. When had he begun to do so this often? He sighed. Maybe he should have told Leo…

Don sighed, irritated. "Let's just hope there was nothing perishable that he bought…"

Suddenly, it grew silent, as they could hear a car coming up the road.

A moment later, they heard a car door open, then slam shut. Leo tensed, looking over at Raph.

The door to the house flew open, and Mike jumped.

"Hey, guys!" Casey peeked his head in. "I picked up somethin' real interesting while I was shopping…"

Seeing Casey, Leo relaxed a bit. He could see his brothers do the same from the corner of his eye.

"Is it something good?" Mike asked.

"It better be, to take this long…" Raph could hear Don mutter.

"I stopped by to see April while I was out." Casey began. "And stayed for awhile…" He glanced over at Don. "And while I was there, they were finishing up her tests, so I just waited it out and… brought her home."

"She's… home?" Leo repeated, and Casey nodded. Mikey brightened at this, and even Raph perked up.

"Where is she?" Raph asked.

"In the car." Casey nodded his head towards the door. "Said somethin' about not being ready… I dunno."

"I'll go get her." Leo offered. He looked back at the rest of them, then went out the door.

"Maybe she'll be hungry…" Mike jumped up from his seat.

"Ah, I don't know, Mikey. Maybe not tonight." Casey broke in. Mike's face fell at that.

"It's just… the meds they got her on." Casey explained. "They kinda make her a little… sick. I think that's why she's takin' a minute out there."

"Oh…" Mike nodded, wrinkling his nose slightly.

"Well," Casey began. "I'm gonna go get these groceries put away. Anyone wanna help, since I have no idea where they go?"

"Yeah." Mike agreed, following Casey into the kitchen.

Raph looked at Don, who was watching Casey and Mike leave the room. Don had a look on his face that Raph couldn't identify.

It was silent for a long moment, before Raph cleared his throat, breaking the spell that had settled on the room. Don jumped a little, then looked over at Raphael.

Raph shifted uncomfortably at first, then spoke. "This is good, right? That April's home, I mean." Don just stared at him for a moment. "I mean, the doctors wouldn't just let her out if she wasn't… alright. Right?" Raph tried again, appealing to Don's vast knowledge; trying to get him to talk about something, anything…

Don seemed to snap back into it, and he smiled. "Of course it is!" He said finally. Raph let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"The doctor's wouldn't have released her unless they felt that she was certainly out of the woods, in all areas." Don continued, his eyes brightening.

"We'll have to ask Casey what they said." Raph added, but was surprised when Don's eyes clouded over again. He glanced at the kitchen door again, and suddenly it snapped into place in Raph's brain. The look before, his odd behavior… Don didn't like Casey knowing so much more about April than he did. The realization hit Raphael like a ton of bricks, and he groaned inwardly.

Another silence descended on the room. This time it was Don who ended it.

"I wonder what's taking Leo so long." He said, looking at the clock. "He's been outside for awhile now."

Raph shrugged his shoulders. He was quiet for a minute, then sighed. "Donnie…"

He cut off his words, however, as they heard the doorknob turn.

Leo came through soon after, holding April in his arms.

Both Raph and Don looked over at them. April's head was facing the ground. After a moment, she looked over at them, and gave a tiny smile.

"Hey guys." She said softly.

Don's face lit into a smile, and he walked towards her.

Raph stood where he was for a moment longer. He looked at April. Her face was bruised, and swollen a bit. He clenched his hands without even realizing it. She really didn't deserve this. It was an accident, he knew, but… this was April. She just didn't deserve that.

Taking another moment, Raph cleared his head of all those bad thoughts. Then he looked over at them again, and noted how his brother's demeanor had suddenly shifted. Raph had noticed the smile that had appeared on Don's face when April had entered the room, and it stayed on his face as he spoke to her. Raph rarely saw his brother that… happy looking. Jeez… He thought. He really does love her…

And for some reason, that thought filled him with dread.

To be continued…

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A/N - Ah yes, the middle chapters… I had what I wanted in the next chapter written out, but needed this chapter in there… Though, this chapter is important. They all are. This one just gave me a little more trouble, is all. Ah well… It's written now, and I like it, so no worries, right?

See you all soon!

Next chapter - Beginning the recovery process…