a/n Thank you all so much for your kind words and for all those alerts. I really appreciate the support Here's ch 21 for you all. Enjoy

Ch 21 Recovery

A couple of weeks past and things were going much better at the Hamato home. Raphael and Donatello's shells were healing up nicely and they were both able to move around without assistance. Michelangelo was healing nicely as well and he could now speak at a normal volume. Leonardo and Karai were training non stop in preparation for their next battle with Shredder. April and Casey were stopping by everyday not only with updates but to train as well. Casey's training was very limited as he still had the cast on his ankle. "Man I can't wait until this damn thing comes off," the dark headed boy grumbled as he crutched his way to a nearby chair and sat down. "This is gonna be the longest two weeks of my life!" he groaned.

"Be glad that's all it'll be," Michelangelo said, coming into the room with the assistance of Splinter. "I still got at least another month before I can even think about starting training again." Michelangelo sat beside Casey, who gave him a sympathetic smile.

"You know Mikey it could be worse," Leonardo said, from his place in front of the punching bag.

"Yeah," Raphael said, from his place of the floor where he was doing exercises to strengthen his shell. "You could be dead ya know."

"Yeah I know," Michelangelo grumbled, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. "I didn't need the reminded Raph. I've already got one of those thank you very much." Michelangelo indicated his scarred throat when he said this part.

"Ah quit your complain'," Raph growled as he began his exercises once again. "Both of ya. Or I'll pound the both of ya flat."

"C'mon Mikey lets get away from the grouch," Casey said as he grabbed his crutches and stood.

"Right behind you," Michelangelo said as he began to stand.

"Here Mikey let me help you," Karai said, getting on the side of Michelangelo and putting her arm around him.

"Thanks sis," Michelangelo said with a smile. Karai smiled back and helped Michelangelo walk into the living room. Once he was settled on the couch Karai went back to the dojo for training.

TMNTTMNTTMNT

Once Karai was gone Michelangelo let out a sigh and leaned his head back on the couch. "You ok there Mikey?" Casey asked, scooting closer to his orange masked friend and patting his leg.

"Yeah," Michelangelo said softly as he absentmindedly rubbed the scar on his neck. "I'm good Casey."

"You sure Mikey?" Casey asked. Michelangelo opened his mouth to respond but before he could a loud crash was heard from the dojo followed by Raphael cursing. Michelangelo and Casey both exchanged worried looks as they stood. But Michelangelo still wasn't at his strongest and he swayed on his feet and flopped back down on the couch.

"You good ahead Casey," Michelangelo said before Casey could get a word out. "I'm gonna stay here." Casey hesitated for a minute, not quite sure if he should leave Michelangelo alone. "I'll be fine," the orange masked turtle insisted. "Go."

"If you say so Mikey," Casey said as he crutched his way into the dojo to check on Raphael.

"Damn it all why the Hell do I have to be so weak," Michelangelo thought with a scowl. "This sucks." Just then Leonardo came into the room and smiled at Michelangelo. The youngest turtle looked up at his oldest brother and smiled back.

"Just checking on you Mikey," Leonardo said.

"I'm good Leo," Michelangelo said. "But what the heck happened in the dojo?"

"Oh Raph got all pissy because his shell is still bothering him," Leonardo explained. "So he threw his sai across the room and it knocked over some of the weights. That's what the crash was."

"That's Raph for you," Michelangelo said with a slight chuckle as he shook his head. "But I feel his pain." Michelangelo ruefully rubbed his neck when he said this part. "I still feel so damn weak. I can't even walk on my own without getting dizzy."

"Mikey that's normal," Leonardo said, sitting beside his orange masked brother and patting his leg.

"Yeah I know," Michelangelo said with a sigh. "Its still frustrating though."

"I'm sorry Mikey," Leonardo said, a guilty look on his face.

"Leo its not your fault," Michelangelo said. "I really wish you'd stop blaming yourself for something that wasn't your fault."

"Mikey..." Leonardo began.

"This was my own doing Leo!" Michelangelo cried out, causing Leonardo to jump slightly. "I should have never confronted Shredder by myself. But I was lucky and managed to take him down. But did I leave? Hell no I didn't! Because I was stupid! I should have listened to April and Karai when they told me to leave! But I didn't and Shredder nearly killed me! So this is no one else's fault but mine!"

"Alright Mikey calm down," Leonardo said, putting his arm around Michelangelo and pulling him close. Michelangelo laid his head on his oldest brother's shoulder as he tired to steady his breathing. "Mikey this isn't anyone's fault," the blue masked turtle said softly. "No one but the Shredder's. He's the cause of all this pain and misery."

"He's right ya know," a voice said. Michelangelo and Leonardo turned and saw Raphael there with Donatello, Splinter, Karai, April and Casey right behind him. "Mikey you've gotta stop blamin' yourself for all of this," Raphael said as he slowly made his way towards the couch and sat beside his younger brother. "Both you and Leo do," the red masked turtle continued. "This is all on Shredder. Period. And he's gonna pay for it!"

"Now is not the time for revenge," Splinter said in his kind yet firm voice. "This is a time for healing. There will be other times to take out the Shredder."

"Father's right," Karai said, surprising the rest of the group. "What?" the dark headed teen said, crossing her arms.

"Sorry but you're the one that's been the most vocal about getting revenge," April said.

"Yeah we're just surprised that you'd back down just like that," Donatello chimed in.

"Oh I still want revenge," Karai declared. "Make no mistake about that. Shredder will pay dearly for taking my mother from me and stealing me away from my father for all those years. But Father is right though. We all need time to recover from this. And I'm not just talking physically. I'm talking mentally too. We need to rest up properly otherwise we'll all be dead."

"I'm willin' to wait," Raphael said.

"Yeah same here," Donatello said.

"I think we all agree that we need to recover," Leonardo said. "Right Mikey?" Leonardo looked at his youngest brother when he said this part.

"Yeah," Michelangelo said softly. "I definitely agree bro." With that the group sat down and discussed what their plan would be once they were fully recovered.

TMNTTMNTTMNT

A month past and things were almost back to normal around the lair. Michelangelo had healed up nicely although he still got dizzy from time to time. What was even more amazing was that his visions had seamed to disappear overnight, which suited the freckle faced turtle just fine. The cast had come off of Casey's ankle and he was able to go on patrol once again. Donatello and Raphael's shells had healed up and they were back to training normally. Leonardo had stopped feeling so guilty about Michelangelo nearly dying and he was back to taking full control as leader. Karai had been keeping watch for any signs of Shredder or his goons. April and Casey were helping her with this as well. But today the entire group was in the dojo training. Splinter was watching this with a smile. But the brown coated rat knew it would only be a matter of time before his old enemy would return. But he knew that when that time came he and his children would be ready to take them down at any cost.

The End

A/N well folks there you have it the story is done. I hope you all enjoyed this story and as always Please review and thank you in advance.