Missing scene from tales of Leo. I do not own.

Raphael was the first to realize something was up. Leonardo and father came back with a lot of stuff, but Leonardo was quiet, too quiet. He wouldn't look them in the face and his voice sounded lame when he answered their questions about his time scavenging with father. This drove him crazy cause he hadn't gone yet!

Then father was cagey when he answered their questions about it too, and he started insisting he teach Leo separately from them for a while. There was only one explanation. Leonardo was in trouble.

It felt a little unfair. Raph knew deep down it wasn't right that father thought Leo responsible for what happened with the alligator. He shoved the feeling back down when it came up telling himself it wasn't a big deal. Now it seemed to be.

If Leo had done something else wrong, Splinter might start thinking it was a habit for him. That wasn't right. The alligator thing had been him not Leo.

When Leo passed by him after his first private lesson with Splinter, after they'd gotten back from scavenging together, he'd asked him how it went. His big bro had just shrugged and told him, "It was just some extra balance training. Not very exciting, really." But Leo wouldn't look him right, straight in the eye when he said it.

Uh-huh.

So, Raph went right past him to see Splinter. The old rat was studying the floor. Really short, little posts were sticking out of it in front of him.

"Hey, Master Splinter?"

"Yes, Raphael …" Splinter replied without looking away from the posts in the floor. He was still holding his chin too.

Raph went on undaunted. "What did Leo do?"

Splinter turned toward his second-eldest son now. His bushy eyebrows drew together over squinted eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You've been treating him different ever since he got back from scavenging with you. What did he do?"

Splinter's eyes first widened, and then softened. He placed a hand gently on his son's shoulder and lowered his voice. "I learned a secret of his while we were away. I do not believe it needs sharing, but that he needs understanding from me now."

Raph's eyes widened. His mouth turned down at the corners. His voice came out strained. "A secret?"

Splinter nodded firmly. "Yes, my son."

"Oh. Well … I was the one who led him into that boarded up tunnel while we played 'Follow the Leader.'"

Splinter gave a soft, humorous smile and nodded. "Yes, my son. I know."

Raph put his hands on his shelled hips and scowled. "So, Leo told! That Squealer!"

Splinter smiled more gently and shook his head. "No, my son. I knew the moment Leo began to tell me about the incident, 'you' had led him into it. I have known you both long enough to know what you and Leonardo would do and not do."

Raph's hands fell from his hips and his arms hung lax at his sides. "Oh …" Then he tilted his head. "Then … what did you punish him for?"

Splinter's eyebrows rose. "For following you. Leonardo did not 'need' to follow that day even if you both were playing a game."

"But … if he hadn't, I might have been killed!"

Splinter raised an eyebrow. "Not if he pinned you before you could finish pulling apart the boards and wrestled with you for trying to until you both were too tired to cause more mischief."

Raph's mouth fell open. His arms hung even more heavily at his sides. He bent over as if they were weighing him down or this truth was. "'That's' what you expected him to do!"

Splinter raised both his eyebrows. "Yes."

"But why?!"

"Because, he is your brother, and as good a fighter as you if not better, and I expect much from 'all' of you so we can 'all' survive. It is a brother's job to protect a brother even from their own poor decisions."

Raphael stared wide-eyes and silent up at Splinter for many moments. Man … poor Leo … Wait! What am I saying?! Poor me!

So, what do you think?

God Bless

ScribeofHeroes