Splinter watched the way in which his sons interacted from under a furrowed brow. It had been three days since their escape from the Foot, time which they had used to heal, recuperating in April O'Neil's apartment. She had been a gracious host considering that until Donatello had gone to her and asked for her help, she had no idea that he was not human. Since then, he could tell that her curiousity about them made her want to ask questions – but the attitude of the Turtles discouraged her.

Leonardo was still the leader, as had been evidenced by his solicitousness even when they were mere toddlers and had carried over into their current life. Not that the other three seemed to appreciate it much. He had tried once or twice to engage the other three into a discussion about the future and what they would do, but both Donatello and Michelangelo seemed reluctant to talk about it, claiming that it was alright for them to give time to the issue. Raphael's visions of the future were directly at odds with Leonardo's, not dwelling much on where they would live and how they would find it so much as when they were going to get revenge on the Foot.

Raphael. Even as a child he would act before thinking. He clearly resented being confined to the apartment and the thought that they had been forced to flee the fight with the Foot was weighing on his mind. What was needed at that moment was patience and forethought and Raphael was displaying neither. Splinter worried that should the tensions between his sons boil over, Raphael would be the one to go over the top, maybe even leave the building. And the Foot were out there searching for them.

And then there was Michelangelo. Splinter tried not to sigh as he thought of his son when they lived in the sewer. Michelangelo had been the happiest Turtle, the one who liked to play tricks on his brothers and sometimes his father too, always laughing at something. But since the escape from Foot headquarters, Splinter could see little of that child in evidence. Perhaps it was because of the injuries sustained before his brothers could free him, but Michelangelo seemed withdrawn, quiet, almost depressed. He could on rare occaions be charming, mostly when April was around, even making the occasional joke, but for the most part he remained sombre.

Of the four, Donatello seemed happiest with the way things were. He and April had a lot in common and they spent much time engaged in conversations about binary systems and electronic enhancers and other things that Splinter couldn't even begin to guess at. By the blank looks the others gave the pair, it seemed they didn't either. Maybe it was a change for Donatello to have someone to discuss his interests with. Certainly as a youngster he had stood out from his brothers in that sense, more interested in the way his meagre toys worked than in playing with them.

It had not escaped Splinter's attention that the four were not close. Although it was Michelangelo who had originally confided in one of his brothers, he seemed to be the most distant of the four. He had been through a lot prior to their escape and Splinter just had to hope that his current state of mind was due to the stresses of his interrogation and not something that had been going on unnoticed for any length of time. On the first night they had arrived at the apartment, Leonardo and Raphael had seemed to have an understanding, but that was being eroded by Leonardo's concerns and Raphael's frustration. The bickering they fell into had the air of being something of a habit and neither Michelangelo or Donatello seemed surprsed when they did. Only Donatello seemed to never snipe or show irritation with the others but nor was he especially communicative with them either, preferring to work on his electronics or at April's computer.

And as for the way they treated the rat – Splinter couldn't help a sigh when he thought of it. While he had not expected them to become the family they had once been, their outright distrust still wounded him. Leonardo veered between reluctant acceptance and wary concern. Raphael was often downright hostile. Donatello was cautious, wanting to believe but just not knowing how to bring himself to. And Michelangelo, in spite of being the only one of them to believe his tale right from the start, seemed to have no interest in discovering more about their lives before the Foot or in getting to know Splinter.

Then again, Michelangelo was showing little interest in anything.

Splinter decided to meditate for a time. Maybe an idea of what to do about the situation would come to him. All he knew was that dwelling on the matters so far had resolved nothing.

&&&&&&&&&&

"Don?"

Donnie looked up from the laptop and saw Leo stood behind him. "What's up?"

"Any ideas about a new place to live?"

"Nope." Don closed the progrramme he was running and turned his attention to his brother. "We used to live in the sewers before the Foot found us."

"But isn't that a bad idea? They found us there once, what if they do it again?"

"They're pretty big sewers Leo. And when Splinter said we used to live down there, I hacked into the city computer and found the blueprints – or rather, some of the blueprints. The sewer system is a maze and there's disused subway tunnels and who knows what. The maps are so inadaquate, it'd take months to search them all. And I could rig up some security, maybe some motion sensors, give us an early warning if any of the Foot get too close."

Leo nodded slowly. "It could work for the moment at least. We can't stay here much longer and we need to do something. April's been great, but the longer we stay here, the more danger we put her in."

"We can begin looking tomorrow – well, you, me and Raph. Mikey should stay here. He's not up to going with us yet."

"Yeah," said Leo. "Does he seem – distracted to you?"

Don shrugged. "A little. But he did get pretty beat up, our whole lives got turned upside-down in the last few days and this is the longest any of us have spent in each others company and no one elses in the last few years. It's a big change. He'll get over it. I'd worry more about what Raph's gonna say about finding a place."

"He'll be glad to get out for a few hours," said Leo. "He's feeling a little cooped up is all."

Don gave a smirk. "So when we go through the sewers, you two won't start arguing about when what we should be doing about the Foot, or Splinter?"

Leo tried to look offended, but it was a losing battle."He just won't stop complaining!"

"He'll get over it," said Don dismissively. "Speaking of Raph and Mikey, what are they doing?"

"Raph's helping April move some things in the antique shop. And Mikey's raiding the fridge. Splinter's meditating on the roof, he can't seem to get enough of the fresh air. This place is too small, it took hours just to get everyone else out of the way for a few minutes."

"About Splinter," said Don. "What exactly are we planning to do about him? If we find a place to hide out, are we taking him there?"

"Well we can't leave him here."

Don laughed at the thought. "April would love that."

"We have to take him with us," said Leo soberly. "But we also need to keep an eye on him. I mean, it's a bit – weird. He looked after us and we barely even remeber him. I don't know how to react around him."

"Me either," admitted Donnie. "And I thought Mikey would be begging him to tell us about our lives before the Foot, but he hasn't seemed to bother."

"He hasn't bothered about anything that isn't the TV or the fridge," said Leo. "Maybe he'll snap out of it when we find a place to go."

Mikey chose that moment to wander back in from the kitchen, popcorn in hand. Leo and Don stopped their conversation and glanced up at him. Mikey didn't seem to notice the sudden lull in talks, wandering slowly over to the couch and dropping into it, injuries obviously still bothering him.

"Hey, Mikey," said Leo with forced cheer. "We're going to find somewhere new to hide out tomorrow."

"Cool," replied Mikey in a flat voice.

"We thought you should stay here though, no point in slowing down your recovery," added Donnie.

"Whatever." Mikey grabbed the remote control and raised the voume on the TV.

"Hey bro, what's bugging you?" asked Leo, deciding it couldn't hurt to tackle the issue head-on. Mikey had never been one to bottle up his emotions and never gave monosylabic answers when he could talk for half an hour instead. And normally he would never be unconcerned about being left behind while the other three were out.

"Nothing."

"Mike. . ."

"I'm watching this."

Don and Leo exchanged glances. Leo opened his mouth to add something else – what it might have been he wasn't sure – but sudden loud voices were heard on the stairs and a moment later April threw open the door and stormed in, followed closely by Raph and Casey.

"I don't even know what you're doing around here!"

"That makes two of us, toots!"

"What did you just call me?"

Raph paused near the computer, a smirk on his face. "That Casey is always askin for trouble."

"Can't keep his mouth shut," agreed Donnie, slightly too happy about the argument.

Grinning, Leo glanced over to Mikey, convinced he would be laughing at the scene and adding in some comments or telling the humans to lighten up – but the smile died when he realised Mikey wasn't taking any notice or events at all. He hadn't even take his eyes off the television.

Leo narrowed his eyes and glanced back at Don, who was smiling slightly as April and Casey exchanged insults, then at Raph, who had lost his amused expression and was glaring at the window longingly.

What happened with us and the Foot hasn't changed anything, he thought bitterly. We're still too far apart. I don't know what they're thinking and they don't tell me anything. We need to start trusting each other again, we need to become a family. . .

But how?

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Before sunrise the next morning, Don, Raph and Leo were out of the window, finding a manhole and going into the sewer. It wasn't like they could find a place above ground and Donnie had a good point about the miles of sewers and lack of blueprints. It was possible that Shredder would think them too smart to hide back in the sewers again.

This doesn't feel smart, thought Leo as they trailed through the dirty tunnels. But what other choice do we have?

"This is just gross," growled Raph. "There are probably roaches down here, ever think of that?"

"We'll protect you Raph," smirked Donnie.

"Shut up."

"Quiet," snapped Leo. "There may still be Foot down here looking for us. Don, what do the prints say?"

Donnie checked his computer printouts. "We're officially off the map."

"Great," muttered Raph. "Giant mutant roaches!"

"Be quiet Raph!" hissed Leo.

"Why don't you be quiet, Fearless Leader?" Raph glared at Leo. "We should be dealing with the Foot ninja, you kow they'll be looking for us after what happened to Shredder. . ."

"I know!" yelled Leo, surprising his brothers. "I stabbed him in the back! I know they want revenge! But we're not strong enough yet, we don't have a plan and we can't jeapordise Mikey while he's still hurt!"

"We have to do something!" yelled Raph. "Or don't you care what they did to Mikey? To all of us?"

"At least I'm doing something to help us, finding us a home, not pissing and moaning about how we should think about revenge before we do anything about the health of our brother. . ."

"Who the hell ya think I'm thinking of?"

Uh-oh, thought Don, knowing the signs of a serious argument. There wasn't even much chance of one of them storming off and if they did, it was inadvisable. He wished Mikey was there – he was the one who could diffuse their arguments. Not always, but sometimes.

"Uh, guys. . ."

"You're thinking of yourself and you're stupid pride as usual!" yelled Leo.

"Screw you Leo!"

Raph dived at Leo and the pair grappled for a moment. Don grimaced, wondering what to do, but before he could decide there was a creaking noise and in a shower of plaster and concrete, the two turtles vanished from sight.

Eyes wide, Don knelt near the hole left by the two falling through the floor. "Leo! Raph! Are you OK? Leo! Raph!"

There were a couple of groans from below before Leo's voice came floating up. "We're fine Don!"

"And you need to check this place out!" added Raph, his voice sounding awed.

Scowling, Don calculated the perimetre of the hole, the probable depth, the rate of descent. . .

"Stop thinking about it Don – we know that's what ya doing! It's not far, just jump!"

With a sigh, Donnie jumped down the hole and it took only seconds before he reached the bottom. Bracing himself against the landing, Don took in his surroundings. His expression changed from resignition to wonder.

"Wow. . ."

There was a huge chamber previously closed off from the tunnel above, electricity already provided and amazingly still connected. It was covered by strange markings and shards of glass or crysal covered the floor. There was a bridge covering water from the sewer or river at one point, huge amounts of room and best of all, other chambers separate from the others that could serve as bedrooms or other areas.

"This is so cool!" yelled Don in delight.

"Sure is," agreed Raph, surprising Leo slightly with his immediate acceptance of the place as their new home.

"So we're agreed," said Leo, delighted that they could all agree on something for once. "We get Mikey and Splinter and bring them back here."

Raph's face immediately dropped into a scowl. "I don't think we should bring Splinter."

"We can't leave him at April's," said Don.

"He comes with us," said Leo determinedly. "He's not shown us we can't trust him – if it wasn't for him, we may never have escaped for Shredder. So for now, he has our trust."

"He puts one foot wrong. . . " Raph put a hand on his sun and moon daggers.

"We'll be watching him," said Leo. "Where are we exactly?"

"Corner of Eastman and Laird," said Don, examining the map. "I think."

"Right." Leo paced the room, trying to avoid the crystal shards. "Here's the plan. We've got power but not much else. We go get Mikey and Splinter and then a couple of us can go to the junkyard and see what we can salvage."

Don looked indignant. "Salvage!"

"Yes, salvage!" Leo glared at Don's look of horror. "From now on, we don't have access to the Foot technology or cash or anything like that! We have no money, no way of going to buy things – we need you to do what you can."

Don took a deep breath. "I guess I knew this was on the cards. Fine, I can see what I can save from the junkyard for down here."

"Right," said Raph, already looking to the future, distracted from his plans of vengeance. "Let's get Mikey and set up home."

"And Splinter," added Leo.

"And Splinter," growled Raph, momentary feeling of good humour already extringuished.

&&&&&&&&&&&

"You'll love it Mikey," said Raph with forced enthusiasm. His brothers continued sullen demeanour had begun to get to him. The five mutants had left April's apartment under cover of darkness with only a few things that the redhead insisted they take, mostly food and blankets. She had also given them her phone number, but Donnie was keeping hold of that himself.

"Sure," replied Mikey listlessly, beginning to favour his right leg. It was quite far from April's apartment and the turtle had not yet had suitable chance to heal up fully.

"I bet Donnie could rig us up a TV," continued Raph. "Maybe even cable."

"Yeah," said Mikey, interest in cable at an all-time low.

Raph sighed. "Come on bro, aren't ya even a little excited about the new place?"

Mikey just shrugged and continued through the sewers, gaze on the floor. Raph paused for a moment, letting his brother go on ahead – and then there was a noise up ahead, something they didn't recognise. Instinctively, Raph pulled out his sun and moon daggers, brandishing them menacingly as he waited for the unseen threat. Leo pulled out his double-bladed swords and Don touched his nagitana for reassurance. Even Splinter raised his walking stick, ready for attack.

"False alarm guys," said Don, laughing at his own nervous reaction. "Just water going through a pipe. Guess we'll have to get used to it."

Raphael barely noticed the words as he replaced his sun and moon daggers, his attention on Mikey. At the noise, Mikey had dropped his hands to his belt to pull out his chigiriki, and paused when he realised they weren't there. Seeing the spark of the old Michelangelo had given Raph hope for a moment but the way he slumped his shoulders after Don called the false alarm told Raph everything he needed to know.

He feels like a failure...

It made sense. Mikey had been the one imprisoned by the Shredder by acting rashly, the one Shredder had tried to hold as hostage to prevent them escaping, the one who had to be rescued. Something like that would certainly make Raph feel miserable. And Mikey had lost his weapons, taken from him by the Shredder.

Maybe if Mikey was able to feel useful again, like he wasn't a failure, then maybe he would snap out of the funk he was in and get back to his old self. It couldn't hurt to try.

"This is it!" Leo's voice cut through Raph's train of thought as they entered what was to become their new home. In spite of the thick dust and cobwebs, it was obvious that this space could be something special.

Michelangelo turned in a full circle, eyes wide, misery temporarily forgotten. "This is beyond awesome!"

Running into the lair, unmindful of his injuries, he climbed a pillar and pointed into one of the chambers. "This room here – mine!"

Don had entered, intending to put his bag of tools liberated from April into one of the chambers below, when Mikey almost landed on him. "And where you're standing – also mine!"

As Mikey headed off to explore, the other three turtles exchanged grins.Don ditched the tools and walked back to his brothers. "That's the Mikey we know and love."

"I was beginning to think he'd never start acting like himself again," added Leo.

"I dunno that he's back to normal now," said Raph. "But it's a start."

Exchanging high threes, the brothers decided to chase off after Mikey before he could claim everything in the new living place for himself. They had all forgotten Splinter, who had remained silent as he listened to the exchange. Now he allowed himself to smile as he watched the turtles getting over-excited about their new home, out of the reach of the Foot. The place where they would embark upon their new lives.

"It is good to be home," he commented to no one in particular and leant on his walking stick as he entered to make an inspection of his own.