Ch 15 Coming Home.

Raph removed the sling that was still wrapped around his right arm and advanced on Jeffrey as the human began to get up. The two faced each other, both with deadly intent in their eyes.

"You think you got what it takes to fight me you damn freak of nature?" Jeffrey pulled out a very long switch blade from his back pocket and flipped it opened. "Come and get me you disgusting terrapin."

Raph held up his sais and the two began to circle each other. Jeffrey yelled loudly and rushed toward Raph who immediately rushed toward him. Leo watched in horror as Raph met Jeffrey head-on. He drop the broom and quickly made his way over to where the other two turtles were. "Shouldn't we be stopping them?" He demanded cradling his right arm.

"Raph's been harboring a lot of anger Leo." Donnie told him. "After what this guy did to the both of you, he needs this."

They watched as Jeffrey swiped the knife back and forth and Raph jumped back in an attempt to stay away from the deadly blade. After a few swings, Jeffrey attempted to bring the blade down on Raph's head. Raph brought his left hand up and with his sia, hooked Jeffrey's wrist and taking his right hand, grabbed under Jeffrey's arm, throwing him over his shoulder. The others watched as Jeffrey flew over Raph's shoulder and sailed across the room smacking into the opposite side of the room with a loud thud.

"GET UP!" Raph screamed, his eyes filled with venomous hatred for this evil human. Jeffrey rolled on to his front and turned to face him, he scowled and grit his teeth but did not get up. "GET UP AND FIGHT ME!" Raph screamed as Jeffrey attempted to pick himself up only to be kicked in the face by Raph. "YOU WANNA TRY KILLING ME AGAIN THEN STOP BEING A COWARD!" Raph's continued, he suddenly threw his sais to the floor. "Stop hiding behind your piece of crap weapons and be a man and FIGHT ME!"

Jeffrey glared up at him and wiped the blood from his mouth. He scowled and clenched his fist but decided to remain where he was. Raph stared at him, breathing heavily. Seeing Jeffrey did not seem to have any fight left in him, he calmed himself down and started to turn away from him, very slowly toward his brothers and Leo. But a sudden yell from behind had him turning back and his fist connected with Jeffrey's jaw just as Jeffrey was about to bring his knife down up Raph's head. Raph jumped on top of him and began to pummel Jeffrey hard in the face. He got up and began to bounce around like he was in a boxing ring. "Get up." His voice low and threatening started to grow louder. "GET UP!

Raph let out a loud angry growl and was just about to run toward Jeffrey and keep the fight going when Leo intervened. "No Raph!" Leo ran over to him and pushed him away. "He's not worth this." He put his left hand on Raph's face and forced Raph to look at him. "You found me." He whispered, fighting back a sob. "Let's just go home…please."

Raph's face soften and he looked at Leo as though he was coming out of a trance. He grabbed Leo and wrapped his arms around him and brought him into a fierce hug. Donnie and Mikey smiled at the two and made their way toward a very bruised and very bleeding, angry Jeffrey. While Raph took Leo outside, Mikey kept watch over Jeffrey and Donnie found some rope to tie Jeffrey's hands and hold him til the local police arrived along with an ambulance.

While they waited, Raph assisted Leo in getting his right wrist free of the shackle. Leo watched as Raph wiggled his sai along the lock. He looked at Leo. "Brace yourself." He grunted as the lock broke and the shackle fell to the ground. Leo hissed at the sudden pain that radiated through his arm. Raph held his arm gently and inspected it.

"Looks bad." He ran his hand gently along the still very swollen limb. "Is it sprain or broken?"

"Just a sprain I think." Leo gingerly massaged his wrist then suddenly looked at Raph axiously. "What day is it?"

Raph looked at him strangely. "Wednesday."

"Then I didn't miss it?" Leo said excitedly.

"Miss what?" Raph held Leo's hands and looked over his wrist carefully.

"Our wedding." Leo told him, sounding relieved.

Raph smiled at Leo and shook his head. "No Leo." He stroked his bruised cheek gently and lovingly. "You didn't miss it." They wrapped their arms around each other and Leo laid his head against Raph's chest. In the distance, sirens could be heard and eventually a local sheriff's car along with an ambulance rolled up.

While the paramedics took care of Leo's neck, arm and wrists, one of the sheriff, a large Rhino, interviewed him while another, a tall skinny worthog, spoke with Raph and his brothers. After they were done, the paramedic insisted Leo be taken to the hospital but Leo declined

"Do I really need to go to the hospital?" He asked. "I just wanna go home, please." He looked from the paramedic to Raph, who was making his way over to them, his eyes pleading with him.

"Can we just take him home?" Raph asked.

"Well, his wrist are scratched up but they're not infected, multiple scratches and bruises along his arms and bruising along his neck but nothing severe and aside from a sprained arm and possibly some dehydration, there really isn't anything else wrong with him." The paramedic finished putting Leo's arm into a bandage and then a sling. He then looked from one turtle to the other. "I can't make him go to the hospital but he should see his doctor as soon as possible but until then, have him rest." He implored and allowed Leo to leave with Raph.

The two walked over to Raph's brothers who had just finished speaking with the worthog and were now walking out of the cabin. Leo watched as the large rhino escorted a very angry and hurt Jeffrey toward the sheriff's car. The two stared at each other and Leo felt a sudden sense of déjà vu come over him. He watched as Jeffrey was put into the sheriff's car and half expected to see a black body bag to be brought out and placed into the ambulance.

A gentle squeeze on his shoulder brought Leo back to the present. He smiled at Raph and followed him toward the SUV. Donnie and Mikey eventually made their way over and the four turtles climbed into their car. Donnie climbed into the driver's side and this time Mikey sat next to him. Donnie looked over at his little brother and couldn't help but notice he had a bit of a dejected look on his face.

"What's wrong Mike?" Donnie asked.

Mikey glanced in the passenger side view mirror. "Oh nothing."

"Come on Mike." Raph tapped his head from behind. "What's bugging you?"

Mikey sighed heavily and looked from one brother to the other. "I was just really hoping we'd get to do some off-road riding." He told them.

"Oh Mikey." The other three chorused and shook their heads and rolled their eyes at the youngest turtle. "We can go another time Mike." Donnie told him.

"Yeah…" Leo chimed in. "And another place." Leo watched the cabins go by as Don drove down the rocky path. "How'd you guys find me?" He inquired.

Each turtle took turns telling Leo what had happened since the Monday he disappeared. Leo nodded and placed his left hand on Donnie's shoulder. "Thank you Don." He told him.

Donnie smiled at him in the rear view mirror and watched as Leo laid himself against Raph for the rest of the ride home. "We're just glad you're back Leo."

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Splinter watched with anxious eyes as the car pulled into the driveway. He, along with Angel, Renet, April and Casey, who was now off work, had been waiting for the last hour for the car to show up. Upon seeing Leonardo, Splinter quickly walked over to him and pulled the young turtle into a hug. "Welcome home my son." He whispered.

"Thank you Sensei." Leo whispered back, nuzzling his head against Splinter's chest.

The girls all gave Leo hugs and Casey walked over to him and patted him on his back. "Welcome home Leo." He then turned to Donnie. "Spike and Slash are going up to Westchester County to bring back Moore." He said. "I think they may want to speak with you…." He glared at the other two and each turtle had to admit, he looked rather miffed. "All of you…about your involvement in finding Leo."

Donnie, Mikey and Raph looked at each other knowingly. "That's fine Casey." Raph clapped his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Just know we did what we did and we would do it again." He took Leo's hand and brought him into the house while Casey glared and nodded at him from behind.

"That's all well and good Raph." Casey followed behind them. "Just next time bring me in on the action."

When they got inside, Donnie insisted they call Dr. Rockwell and have him come and check Leo out. "No Donnie." Leo told him sternly. "I'm fine, I just need some food, rest and a nice long relaxing hot bath." The two stared at each other, eyes narrowing. "I'm fine. Promise." He then turned to Mikey. "Hey Mike, would you mind making me some of your famous noodle soup that I really like?"

Mikey nodded. "Anything for you bro." He and Renet quickly went into the kitchen while Leo sat on the couch. He looked exhausted and Raph sat next to him, looking at him worriedly.

"You don't have to look at me like that Raph." Leo insisted. "Like I told Donnie. I...am...fine."

"I know Leo, but for the past two days you were in the hands of a lunatic and I was scared to death." Raph told him. "So just let me take care of you. Okay?" Leo nodded and took his hand.

Several minutes later, Mikey came out with the soup and Renet had made Leo some buttered toast. While Leo enjoyed his meal, he talked happily with his family and friends regarding their wedding plans since no one wanted to have him relive the recent nightmare. While they chatted, Casey pulled out his phone and walked away from the group. When he returned, everyone looked up at him in wonderment.

"Just got a call from the precinct." He sat back down next to April. "Their sending an officer over to speak with you Leo." He advised. "Do you feel up to telling the officer what happened to you?"

Leo looked at the faces that stared at him with worry and concern. He felt a shudder run through his body at the thought of what he had to say. He felt Raph give his hand a squeeze and looked at him, a slight smile played over his lips. "Sure Casey." He looked at Raph and the rest of them with a timid look. "I need to talk about it at sometime so it might as well be now." He finished his soup and waited, rather nervously, with the others for the officer to arrive. "Raph." Leo turned to him. "I need to tell you something before the officer gets here."

"What is it babe." Raph watched as Leo took a deep breath to steady his nerves. Leo looked at the others and excused the two of them. He stood up and lead Raph into the pantry. He decided that Raph should be told about what happened between he and Jeffrey before anyone else. He stared at Raph with an apologetic look.

"While I was being held by Jeffrey, he threatened to come back here and finish the job of killing you." He closed his eyes and breath deeply as the images came back to him.

Raph looked at him in concern. "What Leo?" Raph placed his hand on Leo's face and stared deep into his eyes. "What happened?"

"I kissed him." Leo blurted out. Raph looked at Leo in shock. "I…I didn't want to do it but he was talking about finishing his job and I…I didn't know what else to do so I figured if I could distract him and make him think that he and I still had a chance, then he forget about you and maybe free my hands and then I… I could get away…get away and come back home….back to you" Leo searched Raph's eyes, looking for a sign that Raph understood what he did. "Raph?" Leo placed his left hand on Raph's cheek. "Please say something." He begged. "Please…tell me you understand?"

Raph met Leo's eyes and he stroked Leo's hand. "You did what you had to do." He said nothing more and took Leo's hand then led them out of the pantry and back to the couch.

A few minutes later, a knock on the door signaled the arrival of the officer. Donnie opened the door and escorted a tall white rabbit into the living room. "My name is officer Miyamoto Usagi." The officer introduced himself. "I am here to take a statement regarding your dealings with a Jeffrey Moore." He took a seat in front of the young turtle and smiled tenderly at him. "Do you feel up to telling me what happened Leonardo?" He placed a recording device on the coffee table.

Leo smiled at the white rabbit in blue and nodded. He took a steadying breath and for the next hour, Leo recounted his harrowing experience. When he was done, Usagi turned off the recorder and gave a sympathetic smile. "We will need you to come down to the police station at some point prior to sending Moore to LA, but for now." He looked at Leo's arm and wrist. "Get some rest and make sure you see a doctor."

Leo nodded and Splinter escorted the young officer to the front door. When he returned, Leo was getting off the couch and smiling at his friends. "I would like to shower now and go get some rest." He told them.

April stood and walked over to him. "We'll see you on Saturday." She told him. Leo blushed and smiled back her. Angel, Renet and Casey welcomed him home once again and wished him a good night. Leo then walked back into the kitchen and made his way up the stairs and into the bathroom while their guest made their way out the house.

Splinter looked at his three sons. They all looked worn and tired but Splinter could see in Raph's eyes a look of anger welling beneath the green orbs. "Perhaps we should all retire for the night." He suggested with a nod to his two youngest sons.

The two turtles took the hint and while Mikey made his way up the stairs to his room, Donnie went into the office to do some work. Splinter now addressed Raphael. "What troubles you my son?"

Raph shook his head lightly. "He kissed him." Raph whispered. "I know I shouldn't care but for some reason, I feel so angry about it." He looked up at Splinter. "I know he did what he had to in order to get away from that bastard..." Raph could feel Splinter's eyes narrow at his choice of words but he didn't care. He was angry and felt the need to smash something. "But I feel so betrayed."

"Why do you feel he betrayed you?" Splinter took a seat next to Raphael.

Raph again shook his head. "I don't know Sensei." He looked down at his hands. "Last year Leo throws me over his shoulder and storms out when he sees me kiss Mona and punishes me for over a week." Raph leaned back against the couch cushions. "But he kisses Jeffrey and just expects me to be okay with it." Raph was surprised to hear a chuckle come from his Sensei.

"I had always liked Mona Lisa." Splinter told him. "And it was unfortunate at that time she could not accept the fact that you were in love with Leonardo." Splinter took Raph's chin and made him turn to him. "But Mona Lisa did not abduct you and take you away from all that you cared about and try to force you to love her."

Raph nodded. "I know Sensei but…."

"Leonardo has been punished enough." Splinter interjected. "Do not continue to punish him over something he had no control over." He gave Raph a knowing look and after a nod to the upstairs, Splinter made his way into his bedroom.

Raph sighed heavily and made his way up the stairs and into their room. He saw Leo on the bed, laying on his side, shell to the door and breathing softly. Raph sat on the bed and stared at his form. "I know you're not asleep." He told him. "I can tell by your breathing."

"I wasn't trying to sleep." Leo rolled over and looked at him, in his hands was their book. "I was waiting for you, figured we still had some talking to do." Raph nodded at him "Well?" Leo cocked his head at him, waiting for Raph to say his peace.

"I was wondering if you wanted to postpone the wedding?" Raph looked away from him.

"Why?"

"You've been through so much and I just figured you wanted sometime to get over…."

"Stop Raph!" Leo glared at him. "For the last two days I was kept prisoner in a basement uncertain if I would ever make it home." He took a deep breath. "And the only thing that kept me determined to get out of there and get home was you." Raph gave him a sidelong glance. "I only thought of you and our love and the moment we declare our love for each other in front of everyone." Leo forced Raph to look at him. "Now what is this really about?"

Raph stood up and began pacing. "I don't blame you for what happened." Raph said. "I know at the time you didn't have a choice." In the corner of his eye he saw Leo's eyes narrow and his mouth frowned. "But I can't help but feel a little angry about it."

"Fine." Raph raised his eye ridges at Leo's response. "You're angry…so am I." Leo got out of the bed and walked over to him. "I'm angry that Jeffrey watched us for over a year and took photos of us doing things together. I'm angry that I let Jeffrey take me by surprise and kidnap me." Leo sat back on the bed and shook his head. "I'm angry too Raph, but I want to do everything I can to get past this and make a new life for us. I don't want to postpone the wedding, I want to be there on Saturday, I want to marry you. I want to put all this behind us and start our new life." He grabbed Raph's hand and pulled him close to him on the bed. "I Love you." He opened the page of their book and showed it to Raph. On the page Raph wrote the last entry Leo had made his own entry noting the time and written in blue: You found me.

Raph smiled at him. "As we begin our new lives together walking down an uncertain road, holding hands in uncertain times, my love for you will continue to grow and I'll be by your side till the end of time." Leo's eyes widen when he heard the quote.

He turned and playfully smacked Raph's arm. "You read my wedding planner." He said in mock anger.

Raph laughed and grabbed at Leo. He playfully pushed him onto the bed and kissed him deeply being careful of Leo's injuries. "I needed something to get me through this ordeal." Leo smiled up at him. "I didn't know we were saying our own vows?" Raph questioned.

"We're not." Leo pushed Raph off him and walked over to his part of the dresser. He opened a drawer and brought out a present wrapped in shimmering white paper. He handed it to Raph and smiled as Raph opened it. "The first one will be finished on Friday night." He told him.

Raph smiled when he saw the book, identical to the other one with a new title: 'THE STORY OF US…OUR NEW LIFE TOGETHER.' On the inside, Raph saw the inscription was the same thing Leo wrote in his notebook. Raph smiled and kissed Leo deeply. "I love it."