A/N

Oof. This chapter took way too long. Almost had it finished, but my laptop completely died on me, and I couldn't get my work off of it. Fortunately, I did have some of it saved to the cloud, but, sadly, I still lost about three-fourths of what I had written, and had to rewrite it all again. That's always depressing.

On the plus side, I gots me a fancy new laptop!

Chapter 13: Finally Home

Slowly, Leo found himself slowly drifting in and out of a thick fog. Semi-conscious emotions and flittering scraps of information finally began linking together to once more form coherent thoughts. Ugh. What woke him up? Where was he?

Faintly, he could hear voices around him. Familiar voices. They sounded... worried and panicked? Why? What was going on? In the back of Leo's mind, there was that slight nagging sensation, telling him that he should probably wake up and figure that out. But at the same time, he was surrounded by scents and sounds that he trusted, so he didn't feel the need to struggle too hard. He felt safe. Those voices sure were loud, though. He wished they'd just let him sleep. He was so tired.

"... both know how he is. He won't take that particular bit of news well. I really don't think we should tell him."

"I get what you're saying, dude, but is that a really good idea? I don't think we can keep that kind of thing a secret from him for long."

"What will I do if it turns out he needs surgery?! Oh gods, I know next to nothing about Optometry or how to treat blindness! I'm going to need research material! So much research material!"

Was he dreaming? Awake? He felt warm and dry and safe, and it was just so hard to wake up right now.

"I'm going to need...an... an ophthalmoscope! Where would I even find an ophthalmoscope?! Is... is there a medical junkyard around somewhere? Should... should we raid a optometry office?"

"If we tell him, it's only going to make him worry! He's been through enough already. Plus, he can't do anything about it now, and realizing that is really going to mess him up in the head."

"I... I suppose. It's just... I dunno. It just doesn't feel right, keeping that, of all things, from him."

"I-I should probably look into obtaining a retinal camera as well, though that would probably be way too large and heavy to sneak out easily. Maybe we could just borrow it somehow?"

What... what had even happened anyways? The last thing he remembered was... hm... Well, he had been looking for his brothers. That was easy to remember. He had been doing that for such a long time.

Oh. Oh wait!. That's right! He... he had just found signs of them! He had actually found Raph's bike, had breathed in his red brother's scent! He was so close! And... and then...? Ugh. It was so hard to think with everything spinning around him.

His brow furrowed, and he wrinkled his snout as he gave a groan and a huff, slightly frustrated by the slow process of waking up.

"Leo?!" a familiar voice gasped next to him. "Guys! I think Leo's finally waking up!"

Wait... It couldn't be!

"D-Donnie?!" Leo croaked out thickly in disbelief. He could hardly believe what he was hearing, and instantly shoved his way forcibly to consciousness, desperate to find that voice and verify that he really had heard it. Oh, please! He wasn't just dreaming it, was he?!

And there! As he came out of the fog of sleep, he suddenly realized that beyond the darkness, which was still sort of weirdly spinning and reeling around him, he could sense three auras in the room with him. Brilliant, familiar, wonderful auras of Red, Purple, and Orange! But... but he couldn't see them! Oh gods, he could sense them, they seemed to be right there next to him, but he couldn't SEE them! Were they real, or was this just a dream?!

For the first time in a long time, the ever constant darkness around him seemed to smother and suffocate him, closing him off from the outside world like it had in his first days of blindness. He desperately wanted to SEE his brothers' faces! He could definitely smell them! He could sense their colorful, brilliant, wonderful auras! But he was groping through darkness, reaching out for intangible concepts. They lingered so close yet still so far away! He needed to find them!

"G-guys!" he gasped, and pushed himself up and tried to lunge towards them desperately. He couldn't see! What new scars did his brothers now bear?! How deep did they run?! "Are you okay? Are all three of you okay?!" The sudden movement sent the dark world spinning even more around him. Disorientated, he lost his balance and almost fell off the cot he was apparently laying on. Wait. When had he gotten on a bed?

The red-tinged aura nearby spiked in panic, lunging towards him, and then, suddenly, there were strong hands there, catching him under the arms and holding him up off the floor.

Wonderful, strong, solid, and very real three fingered hands!

"Leo!"

"Raph!" Leo reached across his chest and clutched at the strong hands looped under his arms, holding him up. Raph! Of course! Raph was always there to catch him! He reached upwards toward's Raph's head, feeling the mask tails dangling down and familiar smooth, battle scarred scales. They were real! He couldn't see Raph, but he was definitely real! "Oh, thank the gods, I've-!"

"LEO!" And then he was interrupted by a warm body slamming into him from a different direction, and suddenly, instead of just an intangible orange aura, there instead was a solid, oh-so-familiar and real shell pushed into his arms. Strong and loving scaled arms wrapped around him and hugged him tightly, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that the aura was real and solid and MIKEY!

"Mikey!" Leo desperately clutched at the solid shell of his little brother as if it were a lifeline, not even trying to right his position and quite willing to be half held up by Raph. "I've been-"

"What are you-?! Get off of him, Mikey!" Raph's voice above him sounded slightly panicked, now holding up both brothers as Leo dangled awkwardly in his arms with his feet still halfway on the bed.. "He's still waking up, for god's sake! Give him room!"

"Leo!" Donnie's purple aura pushed its way forward, and both Raph and Mikey struggled to keep their grips on him as a third set attempted to shove them aside and grabbed at his face. "How long have you been blind?! What exactly happened to you?! Are you okay?! Are you hurt?! Tell me what hurts!"

Oh, they had figured it out already? Leo blinked his unseeing eyes, his face squished between his purple brother's probing hands. "Donnie! Don't worry, I'm-."

"Mikey, Donnie, I'm serious! Stop jumpin' on him, you're going to freak him out!" Raph's voice snapped out and his strong arms clutched him closer. He seemed to be struggling to push Leo back up onto the cot he had just tumbled out of, which was quite the awkward task with the two other brothers clinging and worrying over him frantically. It probably would've been a lot simpler and easier for him to just let Leo slid off the bed the rest of the way, which would allow him to either stand or sit on the floor, but Red Brothers seemed determined to get him back on the bed. "Seriously guys, give him some fucking space to breath!"

"I'm not going to 'back off', Raph! This is a medical emergency! Leo's blind!" Donnie's equally determined voice snapped back as his own hands continued clinging to Leo's face as best as he could.

"And if you think I'm ever letting my big bro go ever again, you're crazy! I just got him back!" Mikey's arms clung tighter to Leo's chest, refusing to budge even as Donnie was trying to pushing him aside at the same time that Raph was stubbornly attempted to peel him off. "Leo! I knew you were still alive! I always knew it!"

Leo felt like he was quickly losing control of the situation. He was being squished tightly between three clingy bodies currently radiating highly charged emotional auras, he couldn't get more then a few words out, and, to make things even more complicated, he just couldn't seem to center his sense of balance

"Mikey, move! I need to examine him! Leo, what can you tell me about your eyes?!" From the way his voice was cracking, Donnie was obviously in full panic doctor mode. Leo wished he could see his face. "Do you have any sight whatsoever? Is it painful in any way? What are your symptoms?"

Oof. Why was the world spinning around so much? "Uh, well, I-"

"You can look him over once he's back on the cot, Donnie!" Raph's voice snarled out harshly even as he shifted Leo carefully in his arms and his voice grew softer and reassuring. "Don't you worry, Leo, I gotcha. It's going to be okay now."

Ugh. The jostling definitely wasn't helping his dizziness, and he was starting to feel sort of queasy. "Raph, I think that-"

Mikey's arms tightened, clinging to him even tighter."We missed you so much, Leo, you have no idea! Where have you been?! How did you even get back?!"

Uh-oh. The world was spinning wildly, his stomach gave a lurch, and his mouth started salivating ominously. "Guys, seriously, I- I... Uh..."

"I ain't going to say it again! Get off of him!" Above him, Raph continued to snap at the other two, trying to shove them off while struggling to hold up Leo. "Give him some fucking room, you're crowding him!"

Leo's unseeing eyes widened, and he inhaled sharply through his teeth, a strong wave of nausea overtaking him. "GUYS!"

The urgency in his voice made all three of them pause, their auras shifting to confusion. "Uh... what?"

"BUCKET!"

"Wha-?"

"BUCKET NOW!"

"Oh, shit!"

Leo was hurriedly set on the floor and what felt like a plastic waste basket was quickly shoved into his hands. Just in time too, as Leo grabbed the edges of wastebin and immediately barfed into it, emptying his stomach of what remained of his lunch.

Oh gods, he was really regretting that gas station sandwich right now.

As he retched again, three fingered hands gently rubbed his shell soothingly, while another brother held the tails of his mask to the side and the third kept a strong, steady arm around him, holding him up.

"It's okay Leo. You're okay. Nausea is to be expected, and it should pass quickly. You're okay." he heard Donnie's voice tell him as the hand continued to rub his shell. Although his words were obviously meant to be soothing, there was definitely a quivering, tense undercurrent to his voice, and Leo wondered just who his purple brother was really trying to calm down.

Leo heaved and gagged into the wastebin one final time, though nothing was left to come up. Then, that particular fit over with, he knelt hovering over the waste basket, breathing heavily as he waited a moment to make sure that the waves of nausea were finally done. Three sets of warm, caring hands remained on his shell as he panted for air.

Urgh. Well... as gross as that had been, it seems to have helped a little. It was definitely an unpleasant experience and disgusting, but at least the purge had left the world feeling more stable around him, and he no longer felt nearly as dizzy anymore.

He wrinkled his snout in disgust and reached up to wipe his mouth off with the back of his hand. Then he slumped down to rest his forehead against the edge of the waste basket, before letting out a hoarse, helpless chuckle and shaking his head.

"So... I will admit," he panted, lifting a hand. "this... this isn't quite how I envisioned things going when I finally found you guys."

"I'm so sorry, Leo. The disorientation caused by the sleeping gas can cause nausea." Donnie's voice sounded just a little bit guilty as he kept a hand on his shell. "Don't worry, the dizziness should pass over fairly quickly. You're going to be okay."

"Sleeping gas?" Leo asked, raising his head and blinking.

"Donnie gassed you!" Mikey's voice was filled with far too much enthusiasm, apparently eager to tell the story. He was moving as he spoke, and Leo could almost imagine the wild arm gestations. "Apparently we now have the ability to gas people!"

"Uh..." Leo wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that.

"I-If I had known... I would never... I... I...!" Donnie's whole body stiffened as he sputtered, obviously panicking a bit.

"Oh." Huh. So that's what had happened. That answered a few of his questions. "Um. Well, it's okay, Donnie." Leo said, reaching up to find Donnie's face with a hand. He felt the wet trails of tears on his brother's cheek, and quickly made the discovery that with his hand on his brother's face, Leo could almost visualize the regretful facial expression. Instead of just an emotional purple aura in the endless darkness, he could now almost see the way Donnie's face scrunched up and then relax a little under his touch.

Oh gods, this was really his brother! He-he was really home!

Leo almost melted with relief. He immediately reached out and his three brothers gave surprised, somewhat startled grunts as his strong arms grabbed them and pulled them all in close, clutching the three of them tightly to his plastron in a tight hug.

His three brothers sat there squished together uncomfortably and half crushed in his arms, each of them absolutely still and apparently stunned by the sudden turn.

"I've been looking for you guys for so long!" Leo whispered fiercely, his arms wrapped around all three of them as tightly as he could. "I finally found you! I really finally found you!"

"L-Leo..." Mikey finally gave a sniff, and Leo felt hot, wet tears as he his youngest brother's face press firmly into the crook of his neck.

From his stiff body and turbulent aura, Raph seemed too backed up with emotions to do more then lean into him. And from the way that Donnie was already twisting in his arms and apparently trying to get a look at his face, it seemed like his genius brother was still obviously itching to examine him more thoroughly.

These were really his brothers here! Oh gods, he had missed them so much!

He squeezed them tightly one more time, as if trying to convince himself they were really there, then he released them with a long exhale, though he still kept his hands on his brother's shoulders and shells, loathed to lose physical contact with those three wonderful auras in front of him even as he sat back on his heels, clearing his throat. "Alright, let's try this again, but calmly and one question at a time. I know you have questions for me, and I have a ton for you three.

"First off," he started even as he sensed Donnie lifting a hand, knowing that he probably wasn't going to get any answers until this elephant in the room was addressed. "Yes, I am blind, and yes, it was from that accident back on the plane. No, it doesn't hurt, and I've learned to live with it. I'm fine, I promise. That being said..." He grabbed his brothers firmly, his voice growing a little panicked as he shook them. "... WHAT HAPPENED WHILE I WAS GONE?!"

"Leo, we're all fine. We can go over all that later, right now you're more important!" Donnie struggled loose from his grip and grabbed Leo's face, apparently trying to examine his eyes once more. "First, we need to-"

"I found the Lair!" Leo shook his hands off and grabbed them pleadingly. "It was completely destroyed! And Karai's place! And... and everything was gone! I was searching everywhere for you guys, and I couldn't find anybody! What happened?!"

There was a momentary pause as his brothers apparently glanced at one another, apparently hesitating over something.

"Uh... well..." Mikey started hesitantly. "You see, Leo..."

"It was the NeoFoot." Raph broke in firmly, interrupting Mikey. "Unfortunately, a few months after we... we lost you, they managed to find and launch a surprise attack on the old Lair. We escaped and headed out to find Karai, but then they attacked that as well. But everybody escaped unharmed. Yeah, it got bad for a little bit, but everything is fine now. You don't have to worry, Leo."

"The NeoFoot?" Leo blinked sightlessly. It... it made sense, though from what he remembered, while definitely dangerous, the NeoFoot didn't have the strength to not only attack the Lair on such a scale, but completely obliterate Karai's fortress. Obviously something had happened while he was away. They must've found allies, or some sort of new weapon or something. He decided that he would have to get the full story later. "And everybody else? April? Casey?"

"Oh, they're fine. April and Casey each have their own apartments nearby, but they still visit regularly." Donnie explained, his hands on Leo's face once again, feeling around. "They both have been doing quite well for themselves. April has started a job as a reporter for the Channel 9 news. And, believe it or not, Casey actually has a job as well, working as a mechanic." Leo felt his mask being pushed up slightly on his forehead as Donnie spoke. "Now Leo, if I press here, does it hurt at all?"

"No." Leo answered truthfully as the pads of Donnie's thumbs pressed lightly at the skin around his eyes.

"Hm." Donnie's voice got closer as he leaned forward, apparently peering closely at Leo's face. "The scales around your eyes don't seem to have any excessive scarring and they look healthy enough."

"Let's see here..." Mikey apparently was trying to think of more people they knew. "April's aunt sold the old antique shop and moved to California. It was decided, for the sake of his by-now-very-shot nerves that Kirby would move with her. Casey's dad is finally in prison. Car theft, DUI, resisting arrest, assault of a police officer, among other charges. That was an interesting night." he mused helpfully. "As for Murakami-san, he sold his noodle shop some time ago and moved closer to his daughter in Florida, living out his retirement by the beach. He still writes regularly. He even sent us his pizza gyoza recipe."

From where he was sitting nearby, Raph's red aura continued to roil with some strange emotion. Then Leo heard him exhale shakily, and a scarred three fingered hand grasped Leo's hand tightly as Raph's forehead bumped against his own gently. His brother's low and gravely voice turned surprisingly soft as he whispered. "I swear to you Leo. We're all fine. Everybody's alive. Nobody got hurt. I promise. You don't need to worry."

"Oh thank the gods." Leo exhaled shakily. He closed his eyes, ignoring Donatello's little annoyed huffing at the interruption, and let the words sink in. Everybody was okay. He hadn't lost anybody. Thank the gods, he hadn't lost anybody!

"I... I can't believe I finally found you guys." Leo reached out and gathered his brothers up into a hug again, needing the touch. This time, they were more prepared and readily let him. Donnie even took advantage of the closer proximity to get a better view for his inspection.

"I can't believe you're really here!" Mikey's arms wrapped around him and enthusiastically hugged him back, whispering to himself fiercely. "We got our big brother again." His warm face shifted slightly against Leo's plastron, and Leo guessed that his little brother was looking up towards him. He wished he could see his facial expression. His vivid orange aura seemed to be radiating mostly intense excitement and pure happiness, which Leo expected, but, masked deep underneath, Leo though he could detect an undercurrent of... something else. Deep sadness and... fear? Was that because he was blind? What was Mikey thinking and feeling right now? Did he need comfort? Leo hugged him tighter just in case.

"Leo, are you still experiencing dizziness? Do you think you can stand up now?" Donnie questioned him, shifting to kneel beside him instead, a hand slipping from his face down to rest on his shoulder. "I'd like to get you down to the lab where I can get a better look at you."

"Oh. Uh, yeah. I should be fine now." He released Mikey and sat back again. That's right. His brothers had a new home now. One... one they had built without him. He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "So... uh... Is this your garage? Where do you guys live now? Is it close by?"

"Leo, bro, you're already here!" Mikey said gleefully, wrapping both arms around Leo's and wiggling up against him again. "Our new home is underground, right underneath us! It's huge! Much bigger then our old lair! With pillars and multiple floors and an elevator going up to this garage and an outlet to the ocean and everything! You have got to see it, it's so cool!"

"Mikey!" Raph's aura flared up as he bristled and snarled at him angrily. "Don't say that!"

"What?!" Mikey jumped back in surprise at the hostile tone, and then suddenly seemed to realize his faux pas, and immediately wilted. "Ohmahgosh! Leo, I'm sorry! I forgot! You're... I mean, I-I didn't mean to say..."

"It's okay, Mikey." Leo chuckled, reaching out to rub his little brother's head to comfort him. "Really. And I can't wait to 'see' it. It sounds amazing."

"As far as we can tell, this is an old Kraang outpost that was abandoned and forgotten when we defeated Kraang Prime all those years ago." Donnie explained as he stood up. "We adapted it to fit our own needs quite nicely, actually. The elevator Mikey was talking about is behind a hidden panel in the wall in the garage here. We'll eventually give you the grand tour, but first I want to get you examined and situated." Leo sensed him making some gestures towards the others, but couldn't quite make out what his purple brother was telegraphing. But, at his signal, Mikey quickly moved to stand up behind him, hands hovering over his shell while, at the same time, he felt Raph move up to his other side. Two sets of hands slipped under his arms, and Leo suddenly realized that all three of his brothers were moving to help him stand up.

"Oh, it's okay, guys. You don't have to- I can stand up just fine on my own." he tried protesting, but it was too late, as Red and Purple auras on each side were already lifting him up and helping him stand on his feet while an Orange aura behind him guided him with hands on his shell, steadying him.

Okay. On one hand, he honestly didn't need the help. He was feeling much better, and he was blind, not completely invalid, after all. On the other hand, though, after being lost and alone for so very long, it was admittedly wonderful to be surrounded and loved by his brothers.

"It's okay, Leo." Raph murmured as they all hovered around him as he stood there. "We're here, and you're not alone now."

"How are you feeling?" Donnie questioned him worriedly, shifting around and presumably giving Leo a full visual scan.

"I'm fine." Leo grunted, shaking his head and getting his bearings. He lifted a hand and ran it over his face, exhaling. "I will admit, I'm still actually feeling really tired, but that might be less the sleeping gas and more because I haven't slept very well for, well, literally months." He let a smile crack his face, and he reached out to his brothers around him warmly. "I'm looking forward to finally sleeping someplace where I don't have to keep one eye open for danger." He paused, and grinned at his brothers sheepishly. "Uh. Not literally, of course. Because, well, y'know..."

"Er, yes Leo. We... we know." Donnie's voice held a solemn tone, apparently not picking up on the joking tone that Leo had tried for.

"Well, you do realize that you're going to be sleeping buried in a turtle cuddle puddle tonight, right bro?" Mikey's warm voice was filled with a gentle amusement as he wrapped his arms around Leo's shell.

Leo reached around to grab Mikey's hand, grinning. "I'm counting on it."

"C'mon, Leo." Raph grunted, and Leo was startled as his red brother knelt down and moved to heft him up on his strong, sturdy shell. "Let's go."

"Raph!" Leo protested, trying to wiggle free. "You're not going to carry me as well! I can walk just fine, thank you very much!"

"Don't be stubborn, Leo. You just admitted that you're exhausted, you were just gassed, the way to our new lair is unfamiliar to you, and you're... you're... well, you know!" Raph apparently couldn't bring himself to vocalize Leo's current condition, even as he fought to maintain his hold and not let Leo escape quite that easily.

"Yes, I know I'm blind! You can say it, Raph!" Leo huffed him. "And might I remind you, I just traveled around the world while blind just fine! I told you, I have this figured out! I can handle walking a few yards to an elevator."

"Just..." Raph growled back fiercely, but then, suddenly, he stopped fighting Leo and almost seemed to shrink into himself a little, his voice growing softer and gentler, almost pleading. "Just let me help you this once... Please?"

Leo blinked. Then he shakily exhaled and slowly leaned forward to wrap his arms around Raph's neck. "Fine." he muttered. "But just this once."

"It's probably for the best, Leo." Donnie's hand was on his shell. "I don't want you exerting yourself until I get you properly examined."

Mikey's orange aura moved around and Leo felt his younger brother's three fingered hand reach up to pat him on his snout. "Come on, Leo. Let's get you home."

Leo blinked, and then a grin slowly grew across his face, and he could barely contain the joy that blossomed deep within his chest as he settled on Raph's shell and let his red brother carry him towards an opening in the back wall that led to a once-hidden hallway beyond, with his orange brother faithfully on one side and his purple brother attentively following closely on the other.

Home.

Finally!

After so long and going through so much!

Leonardo was finally going HOME!