Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT. Nope, I don't. No, really! It's true, I swear! If I did, I'd be getting thousands of dollars for this story idea, instead of lots of reader hits and reviews. Although, honestly, I'm dealing with this news very well, thanks to all those hits and reviews! I mean, look at them all! I feel so special and loved:D

Copious amounts of gratitude and appreciation to Tewi, Ted, coldsunshin, BubblyShell22, AncientHistory, Pi90katana, Digmon Girl, Sewer Slider, bionicle-girl and Janajyo for reviewing Chapter Ten. You guys are the ones that really make this worth it. The fact that I stayed up 'til midnight to post that chapter is completely made up for, in my opinion, by the fact that I had six reviews for it by the next day, and a record breaking (for me) total of TEN reviews for that chapter. Thanks so much!

Now for the most important order of business: I AM SO SORRY! I seriously cannot believe that it has been nearly a month since I last updated. Things have been crazy around here, and I'm once again right at the end of a deadline for my AP class, which means that all of my time lately has been spent on (actually, wasted on) reading Hamlet. Another reason it's taken me so long is I've been in a bit of a limbo with the story; I wasn't sure if I wanted Chapter 11 to be the last chapter or not. I eventually decided that it would be the last, but that didn't work out; at the most recent check, it was 38 pages and still not done. So I looked through it and found the best place for a chapter break so that I could at least get something out to you guys. After all the support and compliments you guys have given me, I feel really bad about falling apart with updates, so I wanted to get something out. This chapter might not be that exciting, but it advances the plot and sets everything up for the conclusion, which I personally think will be worth the wait. The last chapter, Chapter 12, will be out as soon after this as I can manage; my deadline ends Tuesday for my AP class, so after that I'll be able to dedicate my free time to just this. Again, thank you all so much for being so patient with me, because I appreciate it more than I can say. And I'm very sorry again for not keeping up with this more, but hopefully these chapters will make it up to you all.

Now then, get ready for the second-to-last installment of "Bleeding Heart". Are you ready? Here it comes!

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Leo's rediscovery of his penchant for art made the remaining days of his recovery much more bearable than the early ones. When the family couldn't find him around the Lair, he was most likely in his room. However, much to their relief, it was now because he was drawing rather than practicing; it was a much quieter pastime, not to mention better for his family's blood pressure. Several sketches soon littered his room, drawings of various subjects from his brothers to different weapons to landscapes of the Lair.

After dinner, on the day that marked two weeks since Leo had been shot, the whole family gathered as Don removed the bandages. When the last layer of wrapping came off, it revealed a smooth, healed patch on Leo's plastron, with only a small amount of scarring visible.

Raph gave an appreciative whistle. "Damn, Donnie, it sure as shell didn't look like that tha last time we saw it. Nice job, bro."

"Raphael, language," Splinter admonished. "Though I must admit, I too am most impressed with your medical skills, Donatello."

The brainy turtle grinned. "Thanks, Master Splinter."

"No matter how impressed you guys are, you're nowhere near as happy as I am that Donnie knows his stuff," Leo pointed out.

"What, you didn't like having a bellybutton, Leo?" Mikey joked.

Leo laughed and swatted at his youngest brother. "Not when it was in the middle of my chest, Mikey." He turned to Don. "So, 'Doc', what's the diagnosis?"

"Well, after a thorough analysis and careful determination, I'd say…" he trailed off, grinning at the impatient looks on his family's faces, "you're good to go."

Raph and Mikey cheered, and Leo's face was almost split by his smile. Even Master Splinter looked happy, though Don suspected that this was because it meant Leo wouldn't be driving him insane anymore.

"There is one more thing I'd prescribe, though, Leo."

At Don's words Leo's face fell, accompanied by a sigh. "What? Two-hour naps for the rest of the week?"

Don did his best to keep maintain the serious look he wore when dealing with medical matters. "You know, that's actually not a bad idea..." When Leo continued to glare at him, Don grinned, no longer able to keep a straight face. "But I was thinking something more along the lines of a run topside. Although, if you want the nap, I have absolutely no objections…"

The brainy turtle had barely finished speaking before Leo had sprinted for the door. He was out of the Lair and making his way through the sewers in less than five seconds.

"Leo's back!" Mikey cheered. He and Raph high-three-ed each other and took off after Leo with Don close behind them.

The last turtle in the procession out of the Lair, Don called over his shoulder to Master Splinter. "We'll be back in a bit, Sensei!"

"Have a good time, my sons," the old rat replied. "And be-" The door to the Lair slammed shut. "-careful," he finished, sighing. Shaking his head, Splinter made his way to his chair. As he sat down, he looked around the Lair. It was always surprising to him how quiet their home could be without his sons around. He fancied he could almost see them as they had been recently: Michelangelo was watching TV alone and casting sad, anxious glances at Leonardo's room, the fact that he sorely missed his big brother clearly evident; Donatello was all over the Lair, in and out of Leonardo's room changing bandages, and being driven everywhere either trying to find Leonardo or hide from him; and Raphael was most often in the dojo, taking out his anger at his brother's injury and situation out on the punching bag and target dummies. The past two weeks had been hard on more than just Leonardo; even though they weren't injured, it had been difficult for his brothers as well. The four had been raised to depend on and work with one another; they were more a single unit than four separate beings. When one part was missing, all the rest suffered. And now, finally, for the first time in far too long, they were whole again.

And, Splinter thought with a grateful sigh, the Lair is quiet again.

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The four turtles sped across the rooftops, letting off carefree shouts. The fact that Leo did not admonish his brothers in their loudness showed just how happy he was to be out of the Lair.

Raph, Don and Mikey dropped back a bit as Leo took the lead. The three younger turtles watched as their brother executed leaps and flips easily, the grace of his movements making it hard to believe he'd been out of practice for two weeks. After one particularly showy maneuver, Don shook his head ruefully.

"Leo just doesn't do "take it easy", does he?"

"Can ya blame 'im? Don; he's been stuck in tha Lair fer two weeks an' he ain't been able ta do anythin'. Bein' a ninja's everythin' to 'im, just like all yer techno-crap is everythin' to you."

Don cast a surprised look at his brother. "You, defending Leo? Now I really have heard everything."

"Ah, can it, shell-fer-brains."

By this point the trio caught up to Leo, who was standing quietly on a rooftop, looking up at the starry sky. The brothers silently took up positions around him, joining him in his stargazing. All four felt a moment of complete contentment; it was a beautiful, peaceful night, and they were all together again.

And then Mikey started whining. "Can we go now? I'm bored!"

"Talk about ruining the moment," Don grumbled. "I'm guessing you're referring to a patrol?" At Mikey's nod, the brainy turtle sighed. "So much for a quiet evening."

Raph snorted and twirled his sai. "An' why tha shell would we want a quiet evenin'? Aftah gettin' in touch wit' his "artistic side", we gotta make sure Fearless here still knows how ta fight."

"You're telling me," Mikey quipped. "I swear I saw Klunk stick his tongue out at Leo when he walked past this afternoon." Don and Raph joined him in his laughter.

"Is that an offer, Raphael?" Leo's quiet voice cut off the chuckling of his two youngest brothers. They gulped as they saw the predatory grin on his face as he slowly unsheathed his katana. "Without me to ride your shell the past couple of weeks, I'm willing to bet you've been slacking in your training. No extra katas, no additional practices, no sparring…you've probably gone soft."

"Ooooo…" Don and Mikey chorused. Even without looking at their short-tempered brother, they knew a fight was imminent; if there was any insult Raph did not take kindly to, it was an insult to his fighting skills. And it was a well-known fact that Raph was, to put it mildly, "touchy" on the subject of who was the better fighter out of him and Leo. Don and Mikey's eyes darted to Raph; one glance at his narrowed eyes and the dark look he wore sent them to a distant corner of the roof.

"This is just to be polite, you realize," Don said as they slowly edged away from their older brothers. "It's not like we're worried or anything."

"Of course," Mikey blustered. "The Battle Nexus Champion fears no one!"

The two brothers looked at each other.

"Next roof?" Don asked.

"Next roof," Mikey agreed.

The pair snickered as they cleared the gap between their current building and the next. They both knew very well they were giving their brothers space out of self-preservation; when Leo and Raph sparred, no one within a ten foot radius was safe. Don and Mikey had learned long ago to give their older brothers those ten feet; and often times an extra five, just to be safe. They took up seats on the edge of the roof. Even with the fights being as dangerous as they always were, Leo and Raph's battles were always great to view (from a distance), and they had become something of a spectator sport for their younger brothers.

"Since I'm feeling generous, Don, I'll let you choose first for the betting," Mikey offered.

"The regular rate?"

"Yep. Five bucks. Pick your bro, bro."

"Cool." Don watched his brothers silently as they circled each other. He could hear from here the taunts and trash talk the two were exchanging. "Huh. This could be a hard one. On one hand, Leo hasn't been doing his normal training sessions lately, so he's not quite up to his normal standards. But he's still been doing some training, so he's not totally out of shape. But on the other hand, there's Raph. He's still been keeping up with training, and he's a bit of an upper hand on Leo because of getting practice fighting with Purple Dragons. However, Leo's right; with him being out of commission, no one's been on Raph's case, and he hasn't been practicing as much. But, Leo still has been injured, and isn't at his best."

"Donnie, if you don't make up your mind soon, the fight's going to be over," Mikey complained.

"Well excuse me if I want to think hard about where my money's going."

"Dude, we're turtles with no allowances. We've got little cash and fewer places to spend it. You don't have much money to worry about."

"Five bucks is five bucks."

"Donnniieeeee…"

"Alright, alright, keep your shell on." Don watched as his two brothers continued circling. Don's mind went over some last minute calculations, quickly going over probabilities, before he finally threw his hands up in defeat. "Ah, what the shell. I call Raph."

"Really?" Surprise colored Mikey's voice. "Dude, you normally go for Leo. Why the change of heart?"

"Part guess, part wishful thinking."

"And…I'm lost."

Don sighed. "I normally bet on Leo because my statistics show he has a higher average of winning, and because he normally has the benefit of extra practice. But since all the contingencies cancel each other out, neither of them have a definite advantage over the other. They've each got a fifty-fifty chance of winning, and we both know there's no chance for a tie because they'd both throw themselves off the roof before that would happen. And for some reason, I'm just kind of banking on Raph tonight, so I picked him."

"Alright, I get the guess part, but what about the wishful thinking?"

"Think about it, Mikey. Raph lives to beat Leo in fights. And if he doesn't beat Leo when Leo's been injured for two weeks…well, let's just say it won't be pleasant living with him."

Mikey shuddered. "You've got a point, Don. I think this will be one time in my life I will be grateful to lose a bet." He glanced up. "Here we go."

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Leo and Raph came together in a clash of steel and sparks. They struck rapidly, their blades flashing in and out faster than the untrained eye could see. Blow after blow came from each brother, strikes and parries meeting attacks and blocks. They were evenly matched, as usual. Locking their blades, they quickly fell into their old routine of trash talk.

"What's tha matter, Fearless? Scared ya can't take me?" Raph taunted.

Leo smirked at his brother. "Hardly. I'm just taking it easy on you. Wouldn't want you to get beat by an invalid fresh out of recovery."

Raph growled. "No chance in shell yer gonna beat me, Leo. Ya've gone soft."

"Really? I beg to differ. I've been keeping up with training; just ask Don."

"Fine, I will. Hey, Donnie; tell Mr. Perfect here I could kick his shell with one arm tied behind my back." When no answer was forthcoming, Raph looked around, confused. "Don? Mikey? Where tha shell'd they go?"

Leo joined his brother in his search as they withdrew their weapons. He quickly located their younger brothers on the next roof over and nudged Raph to get his attention. "Raph. See anyone you recognize?"

Raph glanced over and a disbelieving look came to his face. "You gotta be kiddin' me. We ain't really that bad, are we?" Leo's look spoke volumes. "Right. Stupid question."

"Raph."

The hothead turned to see his brother standing beside him calmly, examining his katana as though he didn't have a care in the world. "Yeah?"

"I'm willing to bet that Don and Mikey haven't been keeping up in their training while I've been laid up either; am I right?"

Raph grinned at the devious smile taking over his brother's face. "You thinkin' 'bout some double-teamin'?"

"You bet. I've missed being a big brother."

The two turtles' dark chuckles reached their younger brothers even from across the gap of the buildings. Mikey was the first to see them approaching.

"Uh oh. Um, Don? We've got a problem."

Don looked up from where he had been working on his shell cell. "What?" Before his brother could answer, a sly voice drifted towards them.

"Oh, Don…Mikey…" Raph called in a sing-song voice, twirling his sai with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Come out and plaaay…"

The younger brothers' eyes shot to each other in panic. Things never went well when Raph was like this. Especially not when Leo was also in a "good mood".

"Come on, guys," the blue-clad turtle cajoled. "I've just called a little practice session…"

"Oh shell. We're screwed," Mikey stated bluntly. "So thoroughly screwed." Turning to his brother, he gripped Don by the shoulders. "It's been nice knowing you, bro."

"Right back at you, Mikey."

As the two pulled out their weapons and readied themselves for their brother's attack, Leo and Raph slowly walked closer.

"Hey Raph," the blue-clad turtle remarked casually to his brother.

"Yeah, Leo?"

"Is it just me, or do our brothers look a little worried?"

Raph grinned as he spun his sai back and forth. "It ain't just you, bro. Ya wanna go give 'em somethin' ta be worried about?"

"Ready when you are."

The two older brothers were about to jump across the distance separating their building from Don and Mikey's when a scream suddenly tore through the night.

Raph growled. "There go our party plans. You up fer it, Fearless?" He turned to look at Leo.

"Definitely. Let's g-"

Right before Raph's eyes, Leo's right knee wrenched to the side and a sharp crack echoed across the rooftops.

"Aghh!" Leo's scream followed the cracking noise as he dropped to his side, falling clumsily on his left knee.

"Shit, Leo!" Raph was at his brother's side in an instant. "What tha shell happened!"

"Leo!" Two more voices followed Raph's as Don and Mikey leapt over from the neighboring building, Don reaching Leo first.

"Don, what tha shell happened to 'im! What's wrong with his leg?"

Don quickly sheathed his bo staff, then turned to support his oldest brother. "I don't know! Help me get him onto his back so I can find out." They carefully maneuvered Leo so that he was leaning against an air conditioning unit. Don looked over Leo's leg, gently prodding his knee in different places, then leaned back with an unreadable look on his face. "Shell."

"What's wrong?" Mikey asked anxiously.

"His knee's dislocated."

Leo's eyes slid shut at the news. "Great."

"Mind telling me what happened, Raph?"

"How tha hell should I know? We were standin' there talkin', an' all of a sudden, it's like someone kicked his knee out."

"That's it?" Don's expression was bemused. "That doesn't make any sense. You can't dislocate your knee just by standing in place, and nothing even touched him." His face filled with frustration, the analytical part of his mind searching for answers and coming up empty-handed. "Knees don't just dislocate themselves!"

"Don, if you don't mind…I'd really appreciate it…if you would just fix it," Leo ground out between clenched teeth. His face was slowly paling from pain and discomfort. "You can figure out why it happened…when we get back to the Lair."

"Right. Sorry, Leo." Don quickly shifted so that he was in front of his brother. "Raph, Mikey, I'm going to need you guys to hold him. Leo, I'll make this as quick as I can, but it's going to hurt."

Leo waved him on. "That's fine."

"Ready?" The purple-clad turtle waited as his brothers moved to support Leo and hold him still, then turned to Leo. "Here we go." Don gripped his brother's ankle, then straightened the leg out and pulled. A loud pop resounded through the air as the knee snapped back into place.

Leo's face quickly lost the rest of its color and a strangled yell made its way from his throat. Raph and Mikey tightened their grip, holding their brother down as his body jerked. Sweat began to bead on Leo's forehead as he sagged against the side of the cooling unit. "Thanks, Don," he managed, breathing heavily.

"How does it feel?"

Leo slowly bent his knee, though he had to grit his teeth to do so. "Other than like shell, it feels fine. Normal, anyways."

"Good. We've got to get you home and wrap that. We'll also want to get some ice on it so it doesn't swell too badly."

"Well, there go our plans for a night on the town," Leo quipped dryly. He held onto Raph and Mikey as they carefully hauled him to his feet.

"You've just always gotta be a party-pooper, don't ya, Leo?" Mikey joked.

"Someone's got to keep you guys from having too much fun." Leo winced as his brothers helped him over to the edge of the roof.

"So now what? How're we gonna get Gimpy here down ta street level?" Raph asked. "Chuck 'im over tha side?"

Don shot a disturbed look at his brother, unsure if he was joking or not. "Um, no. Leo, as much as I hate to have you do this, I think you're going to have to go down the fire escape."

Mikey's eyes were huge at this statement. "With one leg!"

The brainy turtle shrugged helplessly. "There's no other way. We can't carry him down, and no, Raph, we are not throwing him over the side. We've got to get out of sight before the Foot show up. If that happens, with Leo's leg like it is, we'll be in trouble."

Leo carefully pushed off of his brothers. "I'll be fine, Mikey; let's just get home."

The turtles made their way down the ladder. Raph, Don and Mikey went first, while Leo followed slowly. He first tried climbing, shifting his arms as he struggled to maneuver with one leg; however, he soon gave that up and settled for carefully sliding down the outside of the ladder. A trip that normally took the ninjas seconds took nearly five minutes. By the time Leo reached the bottom, his arms and legs were trembling. Mikey immediately ran to his side and slung Leo's arm around his own shoulders. He led Leo over to the manhole they had found by the back of the alley, and the pair rested for a couple minutes.

"You okay to get down this, bro?" he finally asked Leo hesitantly, watching his big brother's face.

"Oh, sure," Leo drawled sarcastically. "I love ladders."

The second trip took nearly as long as the first, and Leo was once again shaking by the end. Raph and Don were waiting at the bottom, and Leo joined them, leaning heavily against the sewer wall.

"Where are we at, Don?"

Don pulled out his tracker and checked the readings. "We're at 17th and Oak Street, about five minutes' walk from the Lair."

Leo sighed. "I guess it could be worse. Don, you and Mikey go scout ahead and make sure we're not going to run into anyone. Raph, if it won't cramp your style, I'd appreciate a hand."

"Why not," Raph replied, pulling Leo's arm around his shoulders as Don and Mikey led the way. "Just don't get used ta it. We're gettin' yer butt some crutches when we get back. I ain't carryin' ya everywhere."

"Trust me, Raph; I'm not enjoying this any more than you are."

The trip was uneventful, and the turtles were soon home. As soon as they got inside, the turtles split off; Don went in search of a knee brace and an ice pack, and Mikey headed for the kitchen for some Advil. Raph helped Leo over to the couch, where the injured turtle carefully propped his leg up on the table, wincing as he did so. He sighed heavily, resting his head on the back of the couch and staring at the ceiling stonily.

Raph eyed his brother. "What's rubbin' yer shell, bro? I'm normally th'one who does tha moody thing."

The corner of Leo's mouth turned up slightly in a weary smile. "I'm just so tired of this."

"Tired of what?"

"This." Leo waved vaguely at his knee. "I only just got out of here, and already I'm back, laid up for who knows how long again. It's like the Fates are against me; everything was so close to being right. I had just gotten my life back, just gotten back to things being normal, and it's all snatched away again."

"Bro, it ain't like yer never gonna walk again. Yer just gonna be out fer like a week or so, right?"

"More like a few weeks, Raph." Leo and Raph turned to see Don walking up with a brace, a pair of crutches, and a bag of frozen vegetables.

"A few weeks?" Leo echoed.

"Sorry, bro, that's how it goes. Patella dislocations, or rather meniscus injuries, don't have a short healing time."

Raph stared at Don uncomprehendingly. "This is New York, Donnie. We speak English here. Now what tha shell are 'spatula dislocations' and 'mucus injuries'?"

"That's patella and meniscus." When Don was still met with blank stares, he sighed. Sitting down and beginning to carefully slide the brace onto Leo's knee, he explained. "The patella protects the knee, or rather the joint; patella is just another word for kneecap. The meniscus is a section of cartilage that's found in joints, in this case the knee. There are two of these sections, the lateral and the medial, and they act as cushions for the joint. When a kneecap dislocates, which is what happened to Leo, the meniscus tears a bit. Fortunately, it appears that Leo only has a minor tear, so it should heal completely. After it heals and Leo goes through some rehab physical therapy, his knee should be good as new."

Leo's face was hopeful. "So, no long term effects?"

"Nope," Don replied. "But you will have to stay off that leg for about two to three weeks; otherwise fluid could collect around the joint and make everything worse." Finally settling the knee brace into position, he looked up. "How does that feel? Do you feel like you have a little more support?" At Leo's nod, Don smiled. "Good. Here." He handed Leo the bag of vegetables he had brought with him.

The leader's face was a study in confusion. "Don, what on earth am I supposed to do with a bag of frozen corn?"

"It's for your knee. I couldn't find the ice pack. And another thing; even though you've got the crutches, I want you to keep movement to a minimum in order to minimize the swelling."

"In other words, act like Mikey," Raph supplied. "Be a couch potato."

"I heard that." Mikey entered the family room, a glass of water in one hand and a bottle of pain medicine in the other.

"You were meant ta hear it. 'Sides, it's tha truth."

Mikey stuck his tongue out at his brother and handed Leo the pills. "There ya go, bro; strongest ones we've got."

"Thanks, Mikey."

The youngest turtle waited while Leo shook out the medication, and his gaze wandered towards Leo's knee. He saw the bag and frowned.

"Don, is that the corn from the freezer?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"That was supposed to be for dinner!"

"Well that's too bad. Leo needed something to keep the swelling down." Don eyed the vegetables; even he had to admit it wasn't ideal. "Tell you what, find me the ice pack and you can have the corn back."

"Dude, you're ransoming my cooking supplies!"

"Hey, if I recall correctly, you were the last one to use the ice pack, so why shouldn't you have to find it? And it's not ransom, it's a trade," Don said defensively.

"Fine. Will you help me look for it?"

"In your room? That's like asking me to walk barefoot across a glass-covered floor. It's a danger zone in there."

"It is not! I cleaned it just yesterday!"

"Meaning what, you shoveled a path from the door to your bed?"

"Hey, at least you never have to worry about the contents of my room exploding and killing us all in our sleep."

"No, with your room, we just have to worry about whatever lives under the piles on your floor reproducing and eating us in our sleep."

The two brothers argued as they made their way for Mikey's room, Don reluctantly agreeing to help look for the elusive ice pack. Leo and Raph listened as their voices trailed off upon entering Mikey's room, and for a moment, all was quiet; then Don came charging out of the room with Mikey hot on his heels, and slammed the door behind him.

"I told you things would start reproducing in there!"

"Dude, nothing lives in my room but me!"

"Then explain why there was something orange on the floor."

"Bro, that was Klunk!"

Don halted his younger brother. "…That was not Klunk."

"How do you know?" Mikey countered.

The brainy turtle gulped and raised an arm slowly. "Because," he said, pointing at Master Splinter's chair, "Klunk is right there."

The cat glanced up at his owner, who, along with Don, was slowly turning pale. Then both of the younger turtles suddenly sprinted for Don's lab. Their brothers shared a confused look as sounds of rummaging could be heard from the subway car.

"Hey, Don, Mikey," Leo called. "What's going on?"

The younger turtle barreled out of the lab, wearing a gas mask and gloves. Don continued to grab supplies, though he paused to yell at his brothers.

"We've got a situation on our hands! Something orange, and I don't know what, is growing on Mikey's floor. We're not sure if it moved or not, but either way, Mikey's room is quarantined until further notice!"

Don then charged up the stairs after Mikey, also wearing a mask and gloves, but armed with what looked like a hazardous material container too. The door to Mikey's room slammed again, and soon, more talking could be heard.

"That is so gross, Don! What the shell is it!"

"How on earth should I know! What was on this plate anyways?"

"Um, some old potato chips and some spilled milk, I think."

"Gross. Wait, what are these?"

"The cheese curls from the top of the fridge."

"What! Dammit, Mikey, I thought I told you to throw these out weeks ago!"

"But they still tasted fine. And…hey, you just swore at me!"

"Yes, I did! And you deserved it! These are way past the expiration date, and if any of whatever that is would have gotten into the air, instead of congealing on your floor, it might have killed us. Who knows what the effects would be!"

"Dude, it's just a pile of orange stuff."

"Fine, then you take this hazmat container and get that "orange stuff" off the floor."

The voices subsided for a couple of minutes. Leo and Raph exchanged a look.

"Never a dull moment," Leo commented dryly. "Hey, wait a minute. Now that I think about it, when I went in Mikey's room last month, those dishes were there." He looked thoughtful, then turned to Raph. "How long has it been since you went in Mikey's room?"

Raph snorted. "Not since 'bout two months ago when I had ta go in there ta find my CD."

"And were the dishes there when you went, too?"

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

Leo looked slightly ill. "That means that plate, and whatever was on it, has been on the floor for at least two months."

"You serious?" Raph shuddered. "Damn, then it ain't no wonder there's things growin' on it."

"AHHHH! Get it off, get it off, GET IT OFF!" Mikey's girly scream tore through the Lair, quickly followed by the turtle himself.

"Mikey, stop running! We can't risk spreading that around the Lair!" Don was charging after his brother with a Petri dish and a bottle of disinfectant.

"Then get it offa me!"

"Get back to your room and I will!"

Leo and Raph watched calmly as their brothers flailed, and then the door slammed for a third time. Then Raph broke the silence.

"Weird. So, anythin' on TV?"

Leo flipped on the television and quickly flipped through a few channels. "Um, some soaps, a segment on Africa on the Discovery Channel, and James Bond."

"Bond, huh? Sean Connery?"

"Nope. One of the other guys."

"Eh, then never mind." Raph levered himself to his feet. "I'm gonna go fer a run topside; maybe go bust some skulls with Case."

A fleeting look of longing passed over Leo's face, but was quickly hidden. "Be careful."

Raph laid a compassionate hand on his brother's shoulder. "You'll be back soon, bro."

"Yeah, sure." Leo waved Raph off. "Go on, get outta here."

"Alright, I'll be back in 'bout an hour."

Leo heard his brother stop in the kitchen briefly, then watched as he exited the Lair. He sighed heavily. Now what? He looked around; the current television selection didn't interest him, and there wasn't much he could do with a bum leg…but he could still draw. The thought cheered him up a bit, and an image of him and his brothers, four silent silhouettes racing across the rooftops, came to mind; it would make a great picture if he could draw it well enough, and it would provide enough of a challenge to keep his mind off of his knee for a while. Don never said I couldn't walk around at all, just not a lot…Snatching up his crutches, he stood carefully, wincing as his right leg bumped the table slightly, then started off for his room. He had nearly made it to the stairs, wondering how he would get up them, when the door to Mikey's room flew open again. Mikey made a beeline for the bathroom, and Don came storming out behind him. His eyes narrowed as they fell on Leo.

"I had a feeling you'd be trying to make a break for it while I was busy," he accused. "I thought I told you to take it easy."

"Actually, you said "keep movement to a minimum". And I'm not "making a break for it"; I'm just going upstairs to get my art supplies."

"Oh? And how exactly were you planning on carrying those downstairs while on your crutches?" Don asked, raising an eye ridge.

"Um…I actually hadn't thought of that," Leo admitted.

Don sighed. "Figures. I'll get them for you, Leo. You could've just asked."

"I thought you were busy with Mikey and the…whatever it is that's growing in his room."

"I was, but we've got it cleaned up now, so it's alright." Don disappeared into Leo's room, then returned, his arms loaded with pencils and pads of paper. He joined Leo at the bottom of the stairs. "I swear, I don't know how Mikey lives in his room with it being in the state it is." He waited until Leo got situated on the couch, then handed him his supplies. "Where's Raph?"

Leo's face fell. "He went topside for a run."

"Oh." Don watched his brother; he could tell how much being an "invalid" again so soon was bothering him. He touched Leo's arm. "If you want to talk or you need anything, I'll be in my lab studying whatever it is that we got out of Mikey's room, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Don." Leo fell to his art, sketching preliminary lines carefully on the paper.

Don watched his brother a few moments longer, then walked off. He met Mikey on the way to his lab and motioned for his little brother to follow him.

"Did you get your arm washed off well?" he asked once they were inside the abandoned subway car.

"Yep," Mikey replied. "And I used the disinfectant stuff you gave me too. What's up with Leo?"

The purple-clad turtle sighed and leaned against the counter. From here he could see his brother still drawing on the couch, casting glances towards the door every so often. "Leo's still really upset about being laid up again, especially since he just got out. And Raph's not helping."

"What'd he do?"

Don snorted and turned back to his desk. "He was insensitive. Right after I just told Leo he'd have to stay off his leg for a few weeks, he went and told Leo he was going topside for a run."

"Oh. Well, Raph kind of doesn't deal with this stuff well."

"I know, but it wouldn't hurt for him to try a little harder to learn to deal with it."

Mikey was silent. He hated it when things got like this between his brothers. Whenever it did, he normally fell to his old standby: diversion. "So, didja find anything new about Iganna?"

If Don recognized Mikey's attempts for what they were, he didn't say anything. "No. Though now that you mention it, I did want to look something else up about her. Can you grab me her purse?"

"Sure!" Mikey was relieved that the topic change had worked. "Where's it at?"

"It should still be on the kitchen table."

"'Kay. I'll be right back." Mikey padded out of the lab and into the kitchen, glancing at Leo as he did so. His brother's face was focused and a little sad, but at least it didn't look as depressed as earlier. Turning back to the task at hand, Mikey ran his gaze around the kitchen, but he couldn't find the purse anywhere. He decided to try a quick search of the rest of the Lair, and located the purse on the floor by the Lair's entrance. What's it doing here? He shrugged and rejoined Don.

"Hey, bro, the purse wasn't in the kitchen; it was over by the door."

Don craned his neck around to see his brother, a look of confusion on his face. "Really? I was sure I'd put it on the table. I guess someone moved it. Can you grab Iganna's license out of there for me? It ought to be in her wallet."

"No problem." Mikey rummaged through the purse, quickly locating the small leather object. Rifling through the different cards, he came up empty-handed. "No dice, Don; her license isn't in here."

"What? I know it was in there; I checked it earlier to see if she'd told us her real last name." Don took the wallet and purse from his brother and searched through it himself. When his search proved fruitless as well, he sighed. "I know I didn't put it anywhere; I kept it in her purse so I'd be sure to know where to find it…did you take her license, by chance?" he asked, turning to his brother.

"No!" Mikey said defensively. "Besides, what would I want it for?"

"Good point. Well, this is confusing. I mean, it's not like it could just run off-" Don cut himself off suddenly. "Wait a minute. Mikey, where'd you say you found her purse?"

"Um, over by the door."

Don flung the purse onto a clear space on his desk and sighed. "Well, that explains it."

Mikey was confused. "Explains what?"

"The license ran off, alright; but it had a little reptilian help."

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Raph leapt across the rooftops, reveling in the cool night air. He loved coming topside for runs, especially his solo ones. It was fun with his brothers, too, but there was just something about being the only one up here, about being so high above this, watching everyone while no one knew you were there…

Ah, enough of this, he thought, shaking off his thoughts. Where's that broad live again?

The red-clad turtle pulled a small card out of his wrist guard, revealing Iganna's license. As soon as they'd gotten back to the Lair, Raph had spotted the purse on the table, and it was like something just clicked; he didn't know why, but he was suddenly sure that what happened to Leo's knee was Iganna's fault. He didn't know how she could have caused the accident, but something in his gut told him to investigate. He hadn't trusted her since the talk they'd had at April's, and Master Splinter was always telling them that one of a ninja's most important weapons was their instinct. So he'd told Leo he was going topside, and swiped the license; he'd check out where she lived, and if the opportunity presented itself, conduct a little…unsupervised visit. Raph reread the address, and was at the given location in less than five minutes.

Making his way down the fire escape, he quickly found the small apartment. It was the work of a couple minutes to get past the lock on the window and slip inside. He looked around at his surroundings: a bathroom. I'll nevah understand why people always put tha windows in tha bathrooms. Raph walked to the door and carefully opened it a crack. He glanced around the apartment, but he didn't sense anyone. Good; makes my job that much easier. The turtle wandered around the small living area, searching for anything suspicious; he wasn't sure what he was looking for, but something was bound to turn up. When he couldn't find anything in the living room or kitchen, he moved on to the bedroom. His search of the drawers and bedside table were also fruitless, increasing his frustration.

Dammit, I know she ain't gonna have a diary lyin' around that says "why I'm a creepy broad", but it's like this dame don't have any past!

Raph was about to call it a night when his gaze swept over the closet. He walked over and opened it, revealing some normal closet inhabitants: shoes, skirts, business suits, and luggage bags. But it was the small box shoved in the back of one corner that caught his eye. Pulling it out, he set it on the bed and opened it. The box was full of photos and small trinkets that Raph assumed were mementos.

"Pay dirt," he whispered.

He quickly shuffled through the pictures, and came across what appeared to be a family portrait; a man, a woman who appeared to be Iganna, and a young girl were standing with their arms around each other, smiling for the camera. He flipped the picture over, and on the back a small note was scrawled: Papa, Mama, and me on my 14th birthday. Raph looked back to the front; the young girl must have been Iganna, but in the picture, her mother looked exactly like Iganna did now. Talk about family resemblance, he mused. He rifled through the rest of the pictures, most of which featured Iganna and her parents, until he came to the bottom. The turtle carefully extracted the letter that lay there and began to read.

To my dearest wife,

By now you have no doubt discovered my absence. While I know this will bring you pain, I have no choice. I can no longer stand by and witness the actions of our daughter. As a father, I love Iganna more than my own life, but her actions of late repulse and horrify me. Even more than that, your acceptance of them and refusal to do anything about the situation also drives me away. I will not be a part of this. I cannot justify or condone what Iganna has done and continues to do. You know that what she does is wrong, but still you will not raise a hand to stop her, telling me that her "gifts" are taxing to control. And yet you control yours; Iganna is a bright girl, and she could curb her actions as well if she wanted to. But she will not. I do not posses the talents that the two of you do, and as such, our daughter shows only disdain towards me. You are the only one she listens to, but you still refuse to act. And so I must leave. My presence and opinion upsets her, so she lashes out, and I cannot stand by and watch as she continues to hurt those I have grown up beside. And since I cannot stop her either, there is nothing left here for me. If her anger is directed towards me, and I am gone, perhaps the attacks will stop. If ever you finally open your eyes to what Iganna is doing, come to me; I will wait for you in America. I am going to the state of New York, to see what life I can make there. I wish you all the best, and my heart is always with you.

All my love, your husband,

Mario

Raph sat back, his mind blank with shock. He was right; there was something wrong about Iganna, something seriously wrong. He looked back at the letter. But what tha shell did this dame do? What did she do that was bad enough that her own father left her? Raph glanced up at the clock, noting the time; he'd been gone only half an hour, but he was suddenly hit with the need to be home. He quickly set the letter back in the box, covered it with the pictures and returned the box to its place in the closet. He made his way out of the bedroom and headed for the bathroom, checking to see if he'd left anything out of place. Only when he'd assured himself that everything was left as he'd found it did he exit the window.

Raph's trip back to the Lair was decidedly shorter than his trip leaving it; a strange urgency pressed on him, like someone was whispering in his ear: get home quickly; run faster; you need to be with your family…you need to warn them.

The last thought bothered him. Warn them about what?

Much to Raph's discomfort, an answer rose from the depths of his mind almost instantly:

Warn them about her.

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A/N: Woo. This one was 20 pages long. . It's like I don't know how to write short chapters anymore or something. :D Hopefully this chapter was satisfying; I know that in the grand scheme not too much happened, but what did happen was necessary to set the scene for the conclusion. I don't really have that much to say about Chapter 11, other than sorry for the kinda cliff-hanger-ish ending. I'm hoping you guys liked it; I thought it was pretty good. And you all should be very proud of me, because I actually researched dislocated knees! XD I surfed the internet for probably around 20 minutes looking up info on dislocated knees, like explanations and healing times, just so everything would be realistic. And I actually learned some things, too, so it was doubly-good:D There are also a few more revelations about Iganna for everybody, mainly a little more info on her past. I know the suspense is starting to drive some people nuts, and trust me, I can't wait for the last chapter to get out either. I'm really proud of it so far, and I'm hoping that I can find the perfect way to end it. So once more, my apologies for leaving you guys hanging for so long, and thanks so much for sticking with me through this. I hope this chapter will at least tide you over until the finale, and please review! (For anyone who does review, feel free to make me feel as guilty as you want about getting the last chapter finished soon; I need all the extra motivation I can get! ;;) Thanks and bye!