Leonardo rolled over, practically on his stomach; sleep was almost impossible with so much on his mind. He usually stayed away from missing persons cases. Especially if he thought they'd take him out of the city. Picking up the 2x3 photo, Leo studied the scowling boy, realizing yet again that there was just something about this person, something that he couldn't put his finger on. Could've been the look in those brown eyes, a look that what Leo saw in most pictures he associated with the mood, "Get that camera out of my face". Nevertheless, in this picture, it looked more like a permanent expression.

Then again, maybe what bothered him most was he had learned the kid had talked about LA before he disappeared. There was more then enough reason to suspect the kid was a runaway, and if he had run away then that was likely where he'd gone. Yet, why was that important? Leo shook his head. Yeah, he'd wanted to apologize for years. Yeah, he regretted what he'd said. Would he ever actually do it?

The answer, once a resounding no, suddenly came into his head as a 'maybe'. He'd usually turn down something like this. So why wasn't he doing that now? He tried to tell himself it was the distraught tone in the voice of the boy's mother, but in all honesty, he usually passed desperate people off to one of his colleagues. Cold as it was, he typically never felt he could handle them. Maybe it was the father. Acting so similar to how Leo himself had behaved ten years ago. That the day had changed their lives forever and it was one of three events that had occurred in just under five years that had made such an impact on him and his family.

Ten years. Had it really been that long? Raph may not even be living in LA anymore. He'd contacted Mikey once or twice since leaving...but Mikey was reluctant to talk about it around Leo. He received most of his information on Raph third-hand from Donnie. Still...he hadn't even talked to Mikey or Donnie for months. Their last conversation had been a three-way call on Christmas Eve. He'd never really forgiven himself for letting the family split up.

It was his fault anyway. He'd blamed Raphael at the time, and he'd regretted it ever since. Still...he'd had his reasons for forcing Raphael to leave, hadn't he? Hadn't he?

He really should quit thinking about this and get some sleep...but the moment he closed his eyes, the memory overwhelmed him. Tempted to sit up, he decided, instead, to live with just the flashbacks. Maybe, then, he'd be able to get some sleep.

FLASHBACK

"You WHAT?" Raphael demanded to know, his anger rising.

Leo sighed as he repeated for the 'nth time "I signed up for a correspondence course in Private Investigating. What's wrong with that?"

"And they're letting you in?" Raphael asked in disbelief, nearly barking out a laugh.

"Look, Raph, it's the closest way I can get back to doing what I was trained to do. You know we'll never be able to go back to 'life as usual'." Leo paused, then added, "Besides...don't think I didn't see you going through the help wanted ads earlier."

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it." Raph argued. "How long do you think this acceptance is gonna last, huh? You know the world only stopped thinking of us as monsters when Master Splinter died. Only reason we got citizenship is 'cause the government felt sorry for us. You don't really think it would last, did you?"

"Whether it will or not, we can't just turn our backs on it." Leo argued. Raphael remained silent, with Leo continuing. "I know it's not easy...and I...I feel like I'm turning my back on everything I ever knew. Still...others recognize us as people, even if we're not human beings. That doesn't just mean we don't have to hide anymore...it also means we can't break the rules."

"That's your opinion." Raph responded. "I never agreed to any of this."

"None of us did!" Leo practically shouted. "But don't blame me for it!"

Well who else should I blame?" Raphael snapped.

The argument had grown out of hand, and they both knew it...but nether were willing to back down and apologize. Leo's response was instant...and he regretted it immediately afterwards. "I don't know, maybe you?"

He knew he went too far that time...so he wasn't surprised when Raphael took a swing at him. It was easy enough to duck, but the kick coming from the other direction sent him falling backwards. Leo back flipped and sprang to his feet. Still, by the time he was up, Raphael had his sai drawn.

Leo only hesitated for a moment, but that moment was long enough for Raph to charge at him. Leo had his Katana out less than a second later. The two weapons clashed...and Leo found himself asking his brother, "You really want to do this?"

Raphael spun and slashed. Leo ducked expertly, while Raph simply answered, "You saw this coming three years ago."

It was true...he had seen this coming. Everyone had, actually. It wasn't as if this was the first time they'd ended up in a physical confrontation. There was something different about it this time, though, some feeling that Leo sensed. The fact that Raph's comment about how it had been building up for three years had hinted at it, too. It wasn't their usual fight...something had changed. Leo didn't want to think about it...but a nagging voice in the back of his mind insisted it knew the difference. This time...it was for real.

The continuation of their physical dispute lasted for several minutes...neither of the brothers willing to stop or call it off. Despite both knowing that it was getting out of hand, it had gone from a simple argument to a fight for the sake of settling the argument. Now, somehow, the fight had escalated into a full-fledged battle.

Leo didn't even notice when Mikey entered. The fight had intensified nearly to the feel of a life-or-death situation. He and Raphael were fighting with all of their skill...proving once again how close to being evenly matched they were. "Raph..." Leo said, his voice calmed since the last time they'd spoken. The fight had done its job...and Leo could think clearly again.

Raphael didn't listen. Instead, he twirled, his sai coming straight at Leo. Leo jumped backwards and knocked Raph's hand down, kicking out as he did so. His brother went down for an instant, but rolled forward, head down. The tip of his shell crashed into Leo's knees, forcing the blue- masked turtle down. Raph was on his feet an instant later, standing over Leo, who back rolled again, right into the wall.

Standing up, Leo realized his back was literally to the wall. He made eye contact with his brother. For the first time, the feeling of fierceness to the fight seemed justified. He'd seen that look in Raphael's eyes before...and suddenly he realized for the first time he may have actually put himself in danger by engaging in this fight. For the first time, Leo was afraid of his own brother.

"Raphael, stop." Leo demanded. Raphael didn't. He advanced. "Raph..." Leo said, trying to force a light tone into his voice. "That's enough...you got me." Raphael didn't seem to hear him. There was something wrong. Leo realized that he'd been practically whispering. His brother may have had no idea what he'd been saying. "Raph!" He shouted "Back off!" his voice was commanding even as it betrayed his sudden fear.

What happened next occurred too quickly to observe. Upon later reflection Leo would realize that Raph had started to stop, but before he could, arms came around from behind pulling him back. Instead of stepping back, however, Raph turned, his left sai coming down and slashing. The turtle who had attempted to interfere collapsed to the ground with a cry of pain a cry that finished snapping Raphael back out of the daze he'd been in since the fight began. "Mikey?" He said worriedly, kneeling by his brother and dropping his weapons. "Mikey! Oh, man Mikey? Are you alright?"

Leo grabbed hold of Raphael's shoulder, yanking him back. Raphael fell, too stunned by his own actions to resist. "Stay away from him!" Leo ordered, taking the place by his brother. "Mikey? Mikey? Are you O.K.?"

Mikey's hand pressed tightly against his face while tears rolled down his cheeks. He looked like he wanted to curl himself up inside his shell and hide there. When Leo gently touched his arm and said "Let me see..." Mikey flinched away, crying.

Rage surged through Leo unexpectedly as he rose back up to his feet, standing over a stunned Raphael. "Get out." he ordered, voice sharper then either of his swords had ever been.

"Leo..." Raphael protested, sounding lost and afraid.

"No." Leo snapped, still beyond furious. "Whatever you're going to say, I don't want to hear it. I want you to go. Now."

"Leo...I..." Raphael stumbled over his words. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean..." He was clearly devastated; however Leo either couldn't, or wouldn't, see it.

"You just tried to kill me and you've injured Mikey. We don't know how badly either. You've always been a loose cannon, Raph, but now you've proven yourself too dangerous to stay around. Now get out, and never come back."
END OF FLASHBACK
Later, he'd been guilt-ridden. He'd tried to find Raph...but it was too late. He'd tracked him to the bus station and arrived a half an hour after a bus had departed for Los Angelus. Leo then learned that one of the passengers matched Raph's description. Donnie had told Leo later that he'd done the right thing, or rather, what was right for the moment.

Mikey hadn't been able to talk about it, not ever. He'd tried to act as if it was normal for there only to be three of them...but soon, he enrolled in police academy, throwing himself into his schooling and his part-time job. However, once Donnie moved out, not even all of that was enough to hold off the awkwardness. Mikey still came home, but with Don gone, there wasn't a buffer to make their problems easier to handle. Consequently, Mikey continued to have difficulty being around Leo, the scar over Mikey's eye a constant reminder of what Leo had come to consider as his greatest mistake.

Now, all four of them have their own, separate lives with at least three of them happy, or, as close to happy as you could get when at odds with family. Yet, one runaway brown-haired boy had changed that...at least for Leo. Maybe it was the story behind this kid...maybe it was simply that the boy reminded him of Raphael. It didn't matter. Leo was going find the kid and bring him home safely, no matter what - even if that included a meeting with his long-estranged brother. He'd do it for the kid and, truth be told, Leo was almost hoping for one.