Chapter 4: One Step At A Time
A/N: Happy Halloween, everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update, but school has been keeping me busy. Oh, well, I'm here now. Big thanks goes out to: pacphys, coldsunshin, Rat Queen Valarian, shellsboy24, Cynlee, Pi90katana, Chibi Rose Angel, Eldarsevenstar, innocent-rebel, and Tewi for reviewing my story. Thanks a million, guys! You rock! Now, let's get down to business.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Turtles. I know I forgot to put this down in chapter 3 but you should know the drill by now. Enjoy!
"Concentrate, Raphael!" Splinter chastised as the Turtles had their sparring session. Usually, Don paired with Mikey while Raph paired with Leo in these sessions. Now, Don paired with Mikey and Splinter paired with Raph so that he wouldn't feel left out. Right now, Splinter noticed that his second oldest son seemed preoccupied with something. He knew it had to do with Leonardo and decided that he would talk to Raphael after the session was over.
"I'm trying, Sensei," said Raph. "I'm just a little out of it right now."
Splinter knew that he needed to talk to his son. He decided that now would be the best time to do it. "Donatello, Michelangelo, you are dismissed," he said. "Practice is over. I need to speak to Raphael alone. Tell the others that we will be in shortly."
"Yes, Sensei," said Don. The two Turtles bowed to their sensei and left the barn. As they trudged through the snow, Mikey asked, "Do you think Raph's in trouble, Donnie?"
"No, I don't," answered Donnie. "Sensei didn't sound mad. I think he's concerned about Raph."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Mikey. "Raph did look a little out of it. Why do you think he's like that?"
"Because he's worried about Leo," replied Donnie. "You know those two are close. What happened to Leo really scared Raph senseless."
"It scared me, too!" protested Mikey.
"Me, too," Donnie agreed. "But I think it scared Raph more. He feels guilty about all the times he's fought with Leo."
"You've got a point there," Mikey said. "I just hope Leo gets back to his old self soon."
"He will," Don reassured him, "but it will be up to us to help him."
"Well, I can do that," Mikey said cheerfully. He went into the house and spotted Leo reading his Harry Potter book. The orange-clad Turtle went to the couch and poked Leo in the shoulder. "What chapter are you on?" he asked his brother.
"Chapter eighteen," Leo replied.
"Oh," Mikey said. "Has anyone died yet?"
"Nope," Leo said. "I don't think anybody dies until the end."
"Aw, man!" Mikey moaned. "That's lame. I hope they kill off Snape. He's such a jerk."
"Yeah, he is," Leo agreed. "He's definitely got it in for Harry. I think I'll stop here. I can read some more later."
"Oh, don't stop!" Mikey begged. "I didn't mean to bother you!"
"It's okay, Mikey," Leo reassured him. "I was thinking of stopping anyway. Where are Raph and Master Splinter?"
"In the barn," Mikey answered. "Sensei wanted to talk to Raph about something."
Leo was a little worried about this. What was wrong? He knew that Raph was upset about what had happened. Had it caused him to hurt someone or lose concentration in practice? Leo decided that he'd have to talk to his brother when he came back inside.
Meanwhile, Splinter was trying to get Raphael to open up. The old rat knew it wasn't going to be easy, but he felt he had to try to peel away the layers of sadness that were making his son act in such a manner.
Raphael was a little worried when Master Splinter requested to speak with him. Had he done something wrong in practice? What was going on?
"Raphael, I sense that something is troubling you," Splinter began. "Am I wrong in assuming it has something to do with your brother?"
"Yeah, it does," Raph replied. "I've been feelin' real guilty about what happened to Leo. I just keep thinkin' that I should have gone out with him. Maybe if I had, he wouldn't have gotten hurt."
Splinter sighed. "Do you know why I forbade you to go after your brother when you wanted to, Raphael?"
"No, I don't," Raph answered. He had often wondered why Splinter wouldn't let him go rescue Leo.
"It is because I did not want you to get hurt as well," Splinter said. "I could sense that your brother was in trouble, but I knew that we could not help him."
"But we got him out of there, Sensei," protested Raph.
"Yes, but we had to make a retreat in order to do it," pointed out Splinter. "You also know that you and your brothers could not hold off the Elite in Miss O'Neil's shop. You would not have been able to stop them on the roof."
"I would have tried!" said Raph angrily. "I would have done all I could to keep those jerks away from Leo!"
"And you did just that," said Splinter gently. "Do not blame yourself for what happened, Raphael. You must be strong for your brother. He needs support from us to heal properly."
"I will, Sensei," promised Raph. "I'll do all I can to make sure Leo gets better. Then I want to go to New York and kick Shredder's butt."
"I believe we all feel that way, my son," said Splinter with a twinkle in his eye. "Now, we should get inside. I believe the others will be wondering where we are."
Raph and Splinter left the barn, never guessing that this building would serve as a hiding place for Leo. It would take some time for the Turtle to open up to his family.
Leo was talking to Mikey about what was going on in his book when they heard the front door open. They looked up to see Raph and Splinter come through the door. Leo looked at his brother with concern in his eyes. He could tell that Raph was upset. Had Splinter yelled at him?
"Hey, Leo, how's the book comin' along?" Raph asked.
"Pretty good," Leo answered. "How was practice?"
"Not good," Raph replied. "I got distracted and messed up."
"Well, maybe you should talk about what's bothering you," Leo suggested.
"It's nothin'" Raph said hurriedly. "I just let my mind wander, that's all. I'm gonna go take a shower. After that, Don suggested I start helpin' you walk."
Leo's eyes brightened. "Cool," he said. "I've wanted to do that ever since I was able to wake up."
After Raph took his shower, he found Leo sitting on the edge of the couch. "Leo, what do you think you're doing?" he asked.
"I just thought I'd get a little head start," Leo said innocently.
"You're supposed to wait for me!" Raph chastised.
"Raph, I wasn't going to walk without you," Leo said, though this wasn't entirely true. If Raph hadn't come down, he would have gotten off the couch by himself because he wasn't willing to wait.
"Yeah, right," Raph said, rolling his eyes. "I know you, Leo. You're too stubborn. Remember the time when you got sick with the flu? After you got better, Master Splinter told you to take it easy 'cause you were so sick. But what did you do? You went and started training anyway, and you ended up havin' a relapse. Remember that?"
"You don't understand, Raph!" snapped Leo. "I want to get better! I'm sick of having to depend on you guys for everything! I did that back then because I wanted to train and I want that now, too! I'm sick of just sitting here while Shredder's at large! I feel so darn helpless, Raph, and I hate it! I'd be better off dead!"
"Stop that talk right now, Leo!" commanded Raph. "I don't wanna hear that! You talk about how you hate what's happened to you? Well, how do you think we feel about it? Leo, ever since this happened to you, I've had nightmares. Shell, I've had them before this, too. I've had a dream where it's you and me against the Foot. Somehow, I screw up and you end up gettin' killed. And you want to know what was botherin' me in practice? It's the fact that I could have prevented this from happening. How did you manage to fight them off by yourself?"
"Just luck, I guess," said Leo. "It wasn't easy to do. It was scary because I didn't know if I'd come back to you guys. I'm the one who feels guilty. You shouldn't feel that way, Raph. You did all you could to protect me."
"That's what Sensei said," explained Raph. "And you shouldn't feel guilty, either. You should be proud that you fought like that. It took a lot of guts to do what you did."
Raph's praise made Leo feel good. He was lucky to have family and friends who were supporting him. He was glad that they were proud of him instead of angry at him. It made him even more determined to get better.
"Okay, Leo, let's get you off that couch," declared Raph. He put his arm around his brother to support him, while Leo did the same to Raph. "On the count of three, I wan you to try to stand, okay?"
"Okay," answered Leo. "I'll try."
"One, two, three," counted Raph. Leo leaned against his brother and tried to stand. His legs were very wobbly. It took two attempts for Leo to stand, but he did it.
"Good job, Leo," Raph praised him. "Now, we ain't gonna walk real far. We're just gonna walk to that chair." He indicated the chair that April had set out so that Leo could sit if he needed to rest. Raph had decided to take it slow with Leo as Don had suggested.
"Okay," responded Leo. "I'm ready."
Raph nodded, and they started to walk. It was very slow going, which frustrated the Turtle in blue. Plus, every step brought pain to his lower plastron, making him wince. However, he was glad that Raph was there to help him because his legs felt like jelly. He probably would have sunk to the floor if Raph hadn't been holding him up.
"Leo, you're doing good!" commented Mikey. "That's awesome!"
"At the rate you're going, you'll be on your feet in no time," added Donnie.
"Yeah, and Shredder won't know what hit him," gloated Casey.
Leo managed to make it to the chair. He sank into it as though he'd been running a marathon instead of just walking.
"You okay?" asked Raph anxiously.
"I'm fine, except that I feel like I've been climbing Mount Everest," answered Leo.
Raph smiled in understanding. He knew that Leo was really sore, but that Leo could still get better. After letting Leo rest for a few minutes, the two of them got up and made their way back to the couch. Leo sank down while Raph tried to make him more comfortable.
"Well done, my son," Splinter praised his oldest. "You are improving at a high rate of speed. I did not think you would be able to do so much in so short a time. You have remarkable strength, Leonardo. I am proud of you."
"Thanks, Sensei," Leo said. "And thanks to you, Raph. Without you, I'd never be able to do this."
"Hey, what are brother's for?" Raph said, squeezing Leo's shoulder gently.
"Man, where's the video camera when you need it?" Mikey complained. "I could have gotten that on tape and sent it to America's Sappiest Home Videos."
"Mikey, there's no such thing as America's Sappiest Home Videos," Don pointed out.
"I know that," Mikey said. "I just wish there was. Then I could've taped this moment and the one where Raph was crying."
Raph got angry. "You are so dead, Mikey," he growled. He ran at his little brother, ready to beat him to a pulp. Mikey squealed and ran around the room, while Splinter reprimanded his sons. Raph managed to get Mikey into a headlock and wouldn't let go until Mikey took it all back.
"Okay, okay, I give!" whimpered Mikey. "I take it all back!"
Raph let him go with a mean glare. "Don't ever mention that again!" he warned. Then he stormed upstairs.
"Geez, what's with him?" asked Mikey innocently. The others glared at him. Mikey went to the TV and sat down to watch.
Every day after the Turtles had practice, Raph would help Leo walk. A few times Mikey and Don helped, too, but it was mostly Raph who did it. The reason for this was because Leo trusted Raph the most to help out. He trusted Don, also, but he was a little nervous when Mikey led him around. However, Mikey was very gentle with Leo and didn't make him fall.
"I really wish I could go upstairs," said Leo wistfully one day while Raph was helping him walk.
"You must be patient, Leonardo," said Splinter gently. "Healing takes time, as I have told you before. You have made good progress so far. You need to let your body heal at its own pace."
Leo knew that Splinter was right, so he stopped complaining and let himself heal. In a few weeks, Leo was able to walk upstairs. Raph stayed by his side, which Leo was grateful for. They were also rooming together, and that was useful. The first night that Leo was upstairs, he had a bad dream.
"Leo, what's wrong?" Raph asked, coming to his brother's side.
"It's nothing, Raph," Leo said hurriedly. "It was just a dumb dream."
Leo didn't want to talk about it, but he knew that he had to. "I dreamed about Shredder," he said. "He was laughing at me, saying that I had failed. He said that he had finally destroyed me. What does this mean, Raph? Why am I having these dreams?"
"It's just your fear talkin', Leo," Raph replied. "Remember how Sensei would tell us that when we were little and had bad dreams?"
"Yeah, I do," Leo said. "I just don't know how to stop it." He hid his face in his hands.
"You just need to think about good things, Leo," Raph said, putting his hand on Leo's shoulder. "When you have the dream again, just think of us. Maybe it will help."
"I'll try," Leo said. "Thanks for the advice, Raph."
"No problem, bro," Raph said, giving his brother a hug.
Raph's advice worked. Leo thought of his brothers when he had the dream the next night. It gave him more courage as Shredder's laugh was drowned out by his brothers' taunting. They were laughing at Shredder and promising revenge. Leo couldn't wait to get better. Then, he would get his revenge. With his family and friends beside him, he would destroy Shredder once and for all. He was sure of that.
A/N: Well, that's it for this chapter. What did you think? I have one more chapter to go until this story will be finished. I'm working on it now. Okay, it's question time. 1) If you could hang out with the Turtles, what would you guys do? Clean answers, please. Nothing dirty! 2) What song or songs make you think of the Turtles when you hear them on the radio? Okay, my answers are: 1) I'd watch TV with them and listen to music. Then we'd go catch a movie and just hang out. 2) There are many songs but here are a few: "Us Against The World" by Play, "Survivor" by Destiny's Child, "Who We Are" by Hope Partlow, "I Believe In You," by Hope Partlow, and "Bye Bye Bye" by NSync because of how Karai betrayed Leo. I know that sounds dorky, but it's how I feel. Please read and review!