Here we go, peoples! A big howdy to Wah-Keetcha who found my account on Youtube (same name: Weezelee) Anyway, I won't blab too much. Thank you for reading, peoples!

Disclaimer: I own a cat name Annie, but not TMNT

Chapter V: Bandages

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero." Marc Brown

"You WHAT?!"

Raph's guilt ridden eyes turned downward as Don stood there in total shock. Mikey wasn't far away as he sat with Splinter. April and Casey were standing near by also, and Splinter looked at Mikey's anger stricken face. It was odd for his once optimistic son to be soon angry.

Leo had been kidnapped after having his swords broken…by Raph.

"You've got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME!" Laughing cruelly, Don added, "What fools we were! To believe that you've changed!"

"Donatello." Splinter called a warning. "What is this about?"

Not turning from Raph, Don said, "We knew, Master Splinter. Casey wasn't the only one."

"What?" April asked, "You knew Raph was the Nightwatcher?"

Splinter looked at Mickey and asked, "Is this true?"

"Yes." Mikey whispered, closing his eyes.

Donnie clentched his teeth, "We found out two months ago. Raph begged us not to tell anyone because he believed his own family wouldn't understand. That WE wouldn't understand! We believed him, so we didn't say anything even when Leo planned to stop the Nightwatcher."

"We lied to Leo!" Mikey sadly added, "We were waiting for the right time. It wasn't like we could keep this up forever. We were planning on having Raph telling Leo instead of us; that way Leo wouldn't find out that we lied." Mikey feel silent, his face hiding behind his hands. This coudln't be happening. It just wasn't fair!

"Leo's smarter than that." Don continued where Mikey left off. "He observed our behavior and knew we were keeping something from him. Earlier today he asked me if I was hiding something from him. I told him I wasn't in the position to tell him."

Mikey stood to face Raph as he said, "After Raph left for the diner, Leo confronted us and blamed us for favoring Raph over him!" Already his voice was breaking, "Don was about to tell Leo when we heard the police near the diner. Leo ran off to find out what, and we expected that it was Raph as the Nightwatcher."

"We left for the lair hoping that Raph would reveal himself to Leo." Don growled, "That's what happened. Leo gave us a promise that he would try to understand Raph's reasons for such acts. Hothead here didn't give our brother time to breath before shattering his katanas. You almost killed my brother!"

"How could you, Raphael!" Mickey demanded angrily. "He's our BROTHER!"

Raph just stood there; taking his brother's angry gazes.

"So, what do we do now?"

"I'll tell you what we'll do." Raph answered stiffly, "First we're going to rescue our brother, and then we're going to save New York City."

They found Leo inside Winter's tower. A brief moment of brotherly love was exchanged between the two eldest. Don watched with curiosity, and just had to smile at Leo's forgiving nod. However; he did notice the forming burses on Leo's light green skin, but that would arrive in conversation later. Now wasn't the time.

The four brothers found themselves in terrible odds once again. The stone generals stood in front of the swirling vortex where monsters were spawned from. They had 12 monsters for the sacrifice, but they needed 13. April, Casey and -ironically- Kari were somewhere in New York looking for that monster.

Somersaulting over stone swords and mallets, the brothers managed to dispose of the 'brotherhood.' Raph's man, Casey, delivered the monster with less than graceful theatrics. The cosmos were appeased, and the portal was closed. Winter's immortality ended in a flash of light and ash. The sun rose like any other day, and there seemed to be hope in that sunrise.

So why did the air feel like iron when they came home?

April and Casey returned to their apartment, and Kari, with her ninja followers, disappeared in smoke. Don checked everyone's cuts and boo-boos, but all were fine. Or at least not bad enough a good dose of Advil and a good night sleep wouldn't cure.

Splinter called off training sessions for the next day.

Things couldn't be further from normal. All was tension without the anger behind fleeting gazes. Somehow no one wanted to initiate the conversation they had to have. Things between Leo and Raph were still in 'construction mode.' Mikey and Donnie walked for a conference in Don's room.

"Tonight was defiantly not one of our best." Don sighed; sliding to his bed without energy. Not only did every bone ached, but a total brain shut down was very tempting at the moment.

"Life should be more like sitcoms where problems are solved in 30 minutes." Mikey hummed as he sat next to Don. Although this wasn't his room, Mikey did not want to move for ten years or so.

Rolling his head over in Don's direction, Mikey said bluntly. "They hate us, don't they?"

Giving a sad laugh, Don shock his head, "Not sure. Leo obviously does, and I can't blame Raph if he does. Us being in this room isn't helping things. Possibly they're thinking we're giving them the silent treatment."

"Can't we have a Hallmark moment tomorrow?" Mickey whined, "My shell is killing me."

Growling, Don sat up painfully. "I think it's a good idea to go talk to Raph at least. Did you see his face earlier after we found Leo?"

"Why should be apologize for the bastard's own stupid mistake?"

Was that rage in Mickey's voice? Mickey was rarely enraged to the point of blunt hate or cursing.

"Mickey…did something happen between you and Raph?" Donnie asked.

Turning over to the wall so his back faced the computer, Mickey muttered. "I…I don't want to talk about it."

"Mike-"

"I said I don't want to talk about it!"

This left Don silent quickly. Without another word, Don pulled the blanket over Mickey's shoulders. He turned off the lights, closed the door and left his own room.

"Donnie, wait I…" Don didn't want to hear Mikey's explanation and/or apology. He had to see Raph and maybe, if luck, Leo. In separate rooms were his brothers brooding and sulking after an emotionally draining battle.

The lair's living room was deserted yet all the lights were still on. The TV monitors were black, and Don was grateful to see all their weapons on the rack. This meant no one had left for some fresh air.

First, Raph's room. Don noticed his brother's room door was slightly ajar but every light was out. There wasn't even the faint red light of his alarm clock. Knocking first, Don called out quietly Raph's name, but what answered him was a stifled sniff.

Don steeped into the dark room seeing Raph lying in his hammock. The light from the hallway crawled on the floor and up the wall across. Don saw an alarming sight. Raph was crying with thick tears running down his face. The blanket over his chest heaved upward in the hard sobs racking from Don's older brother.

Raph only cries when things go from bad to hell.

Walking in, Don said nothing as he rested a hand on Raph's chest. Raph mustn't have heard Don because Raph's red blurred eyes snapped opened.

"Leo?" His obviously worn voice questioned.

"No" Don shock his head, "It's me."

"Don? What are you doing here?" Raph asked with a hint of his same, old spirit. Don released the breath he'd been holding for a while. Seeing Raph crying, so broken, was a sight rare and frightening.

"Just…um...came to check up on you. You…uh…hit your arm pretty hard." Don was grapping at spider web strings for an excuse. Raph's pride was already shattered, steeped on, and ran over, so knowing that your younger brother came in to give a pep talk would be the straw to break the turtle's shell.

Going with this excuse, Don lightly brushed the wrapped arm. It wasn't dislocated or anything alarming. Only there was pulled muscles in the bicep and elbow, and the purple bruises were enough to have Don opening the first aid kit.

"You ain't here for my nightly check up, are ya, doc?"

Caught green handed. Don shock his head and expected Raph to close off and tell him to leave him the hell alone. However; Raph's face smiled sadly at the gesture. He was grateful for it- that was obvious.

"I guess I fucked everything up again, huh?" Raph sighed.

Don wanted to say something to deny Raph's guilty place, or to apologize. If Don said that it wasn't Raph's fault, Raph wouldn't believe him, and neither would his own conscience. This was no time to point out the guilty party especially when said party is lying in a hammock crying to near dehydration.

"Let's just…say we all share a piece of the blame." Don said, not raising his hand from Raph's bandage.

Scoffing, Raph just had to add. "Yeah, and guess who wins the blue ribbon for biggest piece?"

Don said nothing. This left Raph to fill in the silence with his deep voice telling of his crime. "First I get shot and the team is disbanded. Splinter still blames you when the blame is rightfully mine. Then I go against my father's orders and create the Nightwatcher. After you find out, I make my little brothers lie…"

"No one made us." Don interrupted softy. "If you were doing something truly dangerous like drugs or something, I would be in Splinter's room in a second. So would Mikey."

"Oh Mikey." Raph sighed giving away the evidence that something had happened between the two. Don was about to ask what, when Don felt a presence near the doorway. Turning, Don meet Leo's own worn eyes. Tiredly Don noticed the irony at where he was placed- between Leo and Raph.

"Donnie? You should be to bed." Leo sounded so tired. "And where's Mikey? I looked in his room, but he wasn't there."

"He's sleeping on my bed." Don answered turning to see Raph's amber eyes mix with fear. Reaching for Raph's hand, Don tightly held it firmly and felt a squeeze in answer. Releasing his hand, Donnie walked away from the hammock, and stopped in front of Leo.

"I'm…just leaving Donnie. I'll be back someday; when Splinter thinks I'm ready. Promise you'll watch over the others."

"You will lead your brothers in Leonardo's absence."

"Ani! Jikangire! (Brother, we're running out of time!)"

"He can't make a mistake because if he does…"

"You can't turn a blind eye to this, ya know? This shipment is happening in your backdoor, and ya don't wanna do anything about it?"

"I know you want to prove to him that you're an awesome leader and stuff. But you're not just the leader now. You're Super Don! You're housekeeper, Splinter's nurse, Raph's punching bag, my psychologist, and now the teams leader? Dude, you may be Super Don, but your not God."

"Leo…" Donnie tried, but found his voice oddly tight. The tears soon followed- hard, fast, and without remorse. "Leo, I'm…"

Reaching up, Leo gently rubbed the steady stream of tears with the pad of this thumb against Don's face. In the blurred vision, Don swore he saw tears in Leo's face as well. If Raph crying was a rare sight; Leo crying happened next to never.

"I am even more ashamed of Donatello. You were to lead you brothers, and because of your actions your brother has been injured. There are no excuses when you are the leader, my student. This team has suffered greatly, and I have no choice but to disband this team. You cannot fight as ninja until you learn to live as a family. That means united in cause and heart."

"It's not your fault either, Donatello. My God, Donatello, It's not your damn fault!"

Embracing the brain of the family, the leader whispered, "Go to Mikey. Get some sleep, okay?"

"Don…are you guys hiding something from me?"

"I…failed, Leo."

"I'm sorry." Now he was silently sobbing on Leo's shoulder, "I'm so sorry, Leo."

Leo released Don, and walked further into Raph's room. Taking that as Don's turn to leave, he walked back into the hallway; leaving the door open. When he walked into his dark lab-bedroom, Don saw the computer monitor was glowing blue. This struck him as odd until an old memory surfaced.

Once Mikey was scared of the darkness. During their childhood Mikey's irrational fear was the blunt of too many jokes and pranks from mean, older brothers. When the fear still existed when Mikey turned ten, Master Splinter took Mikey on a journey deep into the sewers. When they returned Mikey tossed his Aladdin nightlight. He didn't need it anymore.

The fear was completely dead; only psychologically repressed as Donnie diagnosed it. (W: Had to toss Psychology in there, didn't I?) The fear would only arise when Mikey was already scared or in tears. Time after time Mikey would sneak into Don's or Leo's bed during a black out or after a truly terrifying battle. Even a time or two Don had found Mikey snuggled next to Raph on the small hammock or nestled next to his father on his futon.

Mikey was still awake, and the blanket shivered with each sob. His face was turned toward the bluish light of Don's computer monitor. Sighing, Don walked over as Mikey scooted over gratefully to make Don room on the mattress. After cuddling a crying baby brother, Don turned off the monitor who's light was no longer needed.

Mikey hiccupped once or twice where his head lied on Don's shoulder- tucked under Don's chin. Bandage arms held Don like the old stuffed panda bear Mikey still slept with. The panda, Toto, would sleep alone this night.

Listening until Mickey was sleeping easily, Don rubbed the tears away from his own eyes. On the back of his hand was a gaze bandage covering a deep gash. Two bandages were on Mikey; one on his right forearm, the next on his kneecap that was now pressed against Don's calf. Leo had too many bandages that Don lost count. Splinter, their father, had only one over his chest. They all had bandages. Some not as visible as others.

Does someone have a tissue? sniff Dude, am I sappy, or am I sappy?! Anway, thanks for reading. Obviously, this ain't the end. One more growing pain, and then I'll stop tormenting them, okay? LOL! Thanks for reading!

-Weezelee