Chapter 33: Blades

A shrill cry rang through the lair, startling Leo from his sleep, as he reached under his bed and grabbed his katanas. He immediately bolted out of bed and threw open his door. He scanned the living room, noting nothing seemed amiss but the cries still echoed through the lair. Leo paused for a second, finally locating the source in the dojo. He raced over, barely noting his brothers were following close by.

Before Leo could open the door, it sprang open, the crying growing louder as Splinter stood in the doorway. Splinter blinked in confusion at the sight of three of his sons, two of which had weapons out and ready. He held a bundle in his arms which was the source of the crying.

"Sensei?" Leo blinked up at him, lowering his katana. "Is everything okay?"

Splinter shook his head, a smile appearing on his face. "Everything is fine. Put your weapons away. Go back to bed. I'll take care of everything."

"Why is Donnie crying?" Mikey asked, walking up to pull the blanket back to see little Donnie with tears in his eyes, mouth wide as his cries echoed through the air.

"He's just hungry. You three should go back to bed," Splinter order as he circled around his sons and carried his crying bundle into the kitchen. Leo, Raph, and Mikey all exchanged looks before following Splinter's orders, turning back to their rooms.

"Do you think he'll cry every night?" Mikey asked.

Leo shook his head. "I really don't know."

"Hope not," Raph breathed. "Man, how did Karai sleep through that?"

"She's in Donnie's room, remember?" Leo pointed out. "He sound proofed it a long time ago and if she has the door shut, she won't be able to really hear anything."

"We should probably let her know," Raph mused. "Donnie understood the need to make sure we weren't kept up with whatever he was working on but when he went to sleep, the door was always partially open so he could actually hear for any danger. I think Karai would want that too."

Leo nodded in agreement as the three separated and walked into his room. He carefully replaced his blade back under his bed and laid back down. The cries had softened and Leo could only hear the soft sounds of his father walking back to his room. "This is going to take some adjustment," Leo said to himself, closing his eyes.

Donatello was a curious yet very cuddly baby. He wanted to see, touch, and even taste everything from the pillows on the couch to Raph's fingers to Leo's swords. That last one had nearly stopped everyone's hearts when they turned around to see Donnie gnawing at the sharp edges.

Raphael had been the quickest and pulled their brother from the steel and held him tightly in his arms, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. Even though the incident had been a few hours ago, Raph didn't want to let go of his little brother. Donnie was currently curled around Raph's chest, head on the place just above his heart, one hand locked on a red tail while the other was wrapped around one of his fingers. Donnie snuffed and burrowed deeper into Raph's warmth, his blanket slipping free slightly.

With tenderness that very few knew, Raph pulled up the blanket and rewrapped it the best he could without waking the little turtle. He was still uncomfortable with the idea that his brother was now a baby but the fear of him getting hurt on their watch was even worse. Raph rubbed the little head, watching Donnie's face relax and calm at the touch, a little smile gracing his features.

"I swear, Sensei. I have no idea how Donnie could have gotten my sword."

And Leonardo was still with Master Splinter about the incident. They really had no idea how Donnie had even gotten the weapon or where it came from. They knew it was Leo's and that was about it. Ever since, all weapons were placed well out of reach of little hands and kept in the dojo. No arguing. And Raph was surprisingly okay with it.

A little squeak caused Raph to look down at his little bundle. Donnie yawned and blinked open his eyes, stretching out his little arms. Raph gave him a soft smile. "Hey there, little brother. Did you have a nice nap?" Donnie fully opened his eyes to gaze up at him. His brown eyes were so wide and innocent and Raph was sure they could make even the Shredder's heart melt. "You are really too cute for your own good." Donnie giggled at his words, reaching up to his brother. "And I don't call anything cute."

"Well, would you look at that?" Karai smirked, leaning over the couch to get a closer look at the two. "Raph calling someone cute and letting a little someone I know do whatever he please."

"Yeah right," Raph scoffed, even though he was helping Donnie grab at his mask tails. "It just seems like everything got a little brighter around here."

Karai nodded. "Well, it all started with Donnie getting mutated then unmutated and now, a way to finally get him back. We all have been living a nightmare that's been going on too long and it's almost over."

"I wouldn't really call this a nightmare though," Raph said as his head was pulled sideways from Donnie's grabs. "Do you happen to have that teddy bear?"

Karai scanned the room and finally noticed the discarded stuffed animal on the floor. She scooped it up and handed it to Donnie. He let out a happy squeal and began to play with the teddy bear. Raph reached up to fix his mask and held Donnie close. "It's almost like a dream. In some weird messed up way, I'm glad this all happened."

"What do you mean?" Raph growled. Donnie jumped at the gruff sound, tears welling up in his brown eyes. "Oh, sorry, Donnie. It's okay. I didn't mean any of that." A few cuddles and the tears were gone, leaving Donnie back to playing with his stuffed animal.

"If this hadn't happened, I would still be in Shredder's hands and I wouldn't be a part of a real family," Karai said softly.

Raph looked over, giving her a smile. "Well, you're part of the family and there's nothing you can do to get out of it. You're here to stay…. Oneesan."

Author's Note: So, oneesan is big sister in Japanese. Just so you know, I do not speak it so this is all looked up on the internet. Special thanks to Rhodesincolumbus, Juanita27, Bipper Cipher3, Aoifetello, Fever To Write, Sonic155, Pilyartquitect, Kamechan98, Andraia452, and Susan for their reviews! Also, to Fever To Write, the crack in Donnie's shell is gone right now. He is basically at the physical health he was at the current age he is in.