Leo sighed with impatience as he glanced at the lair door again. Mikey had been gone for almost three hours and had apparently turned off his Shell Cell. It wasn't like him to go this long without contacting someone. Truth be told, Leo was beginning to feel a little concerned about him. At first glance there was nothing different about him; his exuberant optimism and joking demeanor remained the same. But when you looked closer, something had changed. There was an air of tiredness about the youngest turtle, his boisterous attitude seeming to take more effort. Leo had seen it for days now.

At first the leader had told himself it was just the current state of things affecting Mikey… that it would pass in a few days. But when it didn't, the concern niggling at Leo grew. Even someone as positive as Mikey was allowed to have a bad day once in a while, but this went beyond that. Things didn't get to Mikey… it just wasn't like him.

The sound of approaching footsteps made Leo turn his head to see his hotheaded brother approaching, his face set in a frown.

"He still not back?"

"No," Leo sighed, looking back at the door. Raph crossed his arms, his frown deepening.

"What's the bonehead thinkin'?" he muttered. "He should a' told someone where he is by now."

Leo crossed his arms as well, tapping his fingers.

"Yeah, but sometimes I think, well… that there's something up with him. Lately he just, I don't know, he looks… tired. And I don't mean the normal kind of tired."

He heard Raph let out a soft grunt.

"I know what ya mean. I've seen it too… it's not like him."

The two stood in silence for a little while, then Leo spoke up again.

"Donnie thinks maybe we should talk to him. I mean, really talk to him. And sooner rather than later."

"Well, if that's what the boy genius thinks, he's probably right," Raph said. "He usually is."

Just then, Leo's phone rang. He snatched it off his belt right away, and felt some relief when he saw the caller ID.

"It's Mikey," he said. He saw relief on Raph's face as well, but also a considerable amount of irritation. But Leo recognized it as concerned irritation. They all reacted to concern in different ways, and like with most things, Raph got mad when he was worried.

"'Bout time! Ask the idiot where he is!"

Leo felt some slight irritation of his own as he accepted the call and lifted the phone to his ear.

"Mikey, where the shell are you? Why weren't you answering your phone?"

"Sorry, bro!" came Mikey's cheerful voice. "I'm heading back now… but you won't believe what happened! I'll tell ya everything when I get there!"

With that he hung up, and Leo looked down at his phone, his frown both curious and suspicious now.

"Well?" Raph asked impatiently. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah," Leo said. "He said he's on his way back. But he said something happened… and he sounded pretty excited about it."

Raph sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, boy… what'd the knucklehead get into this time?"

Despite himself, Leo couldn't help but share that sentiment. Mikey's idea of excitement all too often was synonymous with trouble.

"Well, who knows," he said out loud. "Maybe it's something simple."

"Sure," Raph said, sounding distinctly sarcastic.

"Hey, have you heard from Mikey yet?"

Both Raph and Leo looked up to see Donnie exiting his lab, a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, just now," Leo said. "He's fine, but he said something happened. He didn't say what… he wants to tell us when he gets back."

Donnie's brow ridges raised, a look of slight apprehension on his face.

"It's not something serious, is it?"

"He didn't sound upset or worried," Leo replied. "He sounded excited, actually. So, it sounds like something good… or at least something he thinks is good."

Some relief came to Donnie's face, but the apprehension hadn't quite disappeared.

"Well, hopefully he hasn't gotten himself in some kind of trouble."

Leo nodded but couldn't stop himself from smiling in wry amusement; Mikey and trouble tended to go hand in hand. He knew the youngest turtle hardly ever really did it on purpose, though sometimes he did… usually when baiting Raph to get him to blow off steam. Actually, Leo thought that was pretty clever of Mikey. His hotheaded brother got into bad moods quite a bit, but Mikey was usually able to get him out of it, either by listening, talking, or often just plain getting him to vent.

Leo's thoughts then returned to his and Raph's original discussion. Whatever Mikey had to tell them, it couldn't distract from the fact that they needed to have a serious discussion with him and find out if he was okay. Hopefully the youngest turtle didn't just brush it off as nothing… if something was wrong, Leo wanted to know what it was so he and the others could fix it.

The sound of the security system unlocking pulled him out of his thoughts, and the door swung open to reveal a widely grinning Mikey.

"Bros!" he exclaimed as he rushed over. "You are never gonna believe this!"

"Mikey, wit' you, we can believe 'bout anything."

Raph's voice was gruff, but Leo caught the amusement and exasperated fondness in it.

"Oh, not this, Raphie Boy!"

The hotheaded turtle immediately scowled at that name but was apparently more interested in what Mikey had to tell them than calling him out on it.

"So?" Donnie prompted. "What's this big news?"

With Mikey, Leo knew to expect pretty much anything. But what he said, giving them all a bright grin, was absolutely the last thing he expected.

"I met a girl!"

Those words were met with complete silence, the three older turtles staring at him. For a few moments they didn't register, then Leo's brain caught up with it. Narrowing his eyes, he opened his mouth only to have Raph beat him to the punch.

"Are you freakin' insane, Mikey?! You let someone see ya?!"

The youngest turtle immediately held up his hands, clearly anxious to stop Raph from exploding even more.

"Whoa, whoa! It's not like that, Raph!"

Leo crossed his arms, fixing his brother with a glare as he spoke in a stern, no-nonsense tone.

"Then you better start explaining what it is like, Michelangelo."

"I believe that is an explanation I would very much like to hear."

All four turtles looked to see Splinter entering the room. There was only a slight frown on his face, but they could tell he wasn't pleased.

"Oh, uh, Sensei!" Mikey exclaimed, his voice a strange mix of nervousness and obviously faked cheeriness. "Well, y' see, it was the craziest thing! I was on this building, just sittin' there pondering, and I look down and I see this girl on the roof below me."

Splinter raised his brows a little but said nothing. Mikey, with a wide but anxious smile, went on at a fast pace.

"So, I'm wondering, who is this? And then she starts running n' jumpin' like us, and I have no idea if she's a bad guy or not… well, bad girl in this case… so I start following her, and…"

Raph interrupted, glaring at him.

"And ya didn't think ta call us? What if she'd attacked ya?"

"I was gonna, honest!" Mikey protested. "But she was goin' real fast and I didn't wanna lose her, so I didn't have time!"

Leo nodded, his eyes narrowed.

"Go on."

Mikey's eyes moved back and forth over his family, looking apprehensive, but when no one said anything, he went on.

"Okay, so anyways, I follow her till we get to this alley, and then she comes out and asks me who I am, and I didn't say at first…"

"At first?" Donnie's eyes widened. "You mean you told her?"

"Just my first name! And only after she told me hers. I didn't say anything 'bout you guys or where we lived. She didn't say much about her family either, but she said if we know each other better…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Leo said, holding up his hands. "You want to meet this girl again? Hasn't it occurred to you that she was giving you false information?"

To his slight surprise, Mikey's eyes narrowed a little too, clearly annoyed.

"Believe or not, it actually did. That's why I didn't say anything but my first name. But I just… I don't know, I have this feeling, y' know? That she's not a threat."

Leo exchanged doubtful looks with his other brothers, then his eyes moved to Splinter. The old rat's eyes were thoughtful, though he didn't look entirely convinced himself.

"Sensei, do you really think we should be going off feelings with this?"

Splinter raised a hand.

"Your brother can be perceptive of these things, and if he feels there is no threat, it should be taken seriously. However, we mustn't dismiss that the possibility exists. Either way, it would be wise to learn more."

He then looked at Mikey, his look growing sterner.

"But you will not be alone next time."

Mikey blinked, then his eyes grew a little wider.

"Y' mean, you want me to meet her again?"

"You seem to have established some level of trust," Splinter replied. "So she will likely be more inclined to speak with you."

Mikey blinked again, then that wide smile crossed his face again.

"Awesome! You bet, Sensei!"

Leo let out a quiet sigh, but he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from quirking up… he hadn't seen Mikey this excited in days.

"Remember, Mikey, we still need to be careful until we know more."

The youngest turtle quickly adopted a more serious expression, nodding vigorously.

"Oh, yeah… yeah, you bet! Don't worry, bro, I'll be super smooth."

"Idiot," Raph muttered, but Leo could see a hint of a smile on his face too.