Chapter 3: Improvement and Decline

Mikey sat on the couch with the TV on, but he wasn't actually watching. He couldn't stop thinking about Leo. He glanced over to where Don and Splinter were doing physical therapy on Leo. Two weeks ago Leo could do the most intense and difficult ninja moves with little effort, now he couldn't even stand on him own. Mikey thought about what Raph said, If Leo's gonna heal then he's gonna need the old you to help him, Mikey didn't know if he could be his old self again, but he had to try.

He got up and walked over to Don, "hey you guys need help?"

Don looked up "sure," he said, "you can do his leg exercises," Don showed Mikey what to do. Leo just lay there curiously looking around the room. When the therapy was done and Don was about to lift him up Leo rolled on his stomach and slowly started to crawl. Don Mikey and Splinter stood there in shock for a split second then Don went over to him.

"Alright Leo you're crawling!" said Don. Raph walked in with Leo's lunch and stopped when he saw the sudden improvement. He smiled and set the tray of food down on the table.

"Good job Leo!" said Raph as he helped Leo onto the chair. Splinter sat down next to Leo and began to feed him. Raph walked over to Mikey,

"See how fast he's recovering when you help him?" said Raph. A small smile appeared on Mikey's face. The two of them sat down at the table. Mikey sat on the other side of Leo; Leo looked at him and held out his arms. Mikey hugged Leo. Splinter gave the spoon to Mikey and Mikey started feeding Leo.

"My son he seems to do better when you are near him. He is trying to remember what happened,"

Mikey said nothing, he use to find it so easy to come up with things to say, even if it was stupid, he always said what was on his mind, but now he hardly said anything. This had been worrying his family lately.

It had been five months now and Leo was showing a lot of improvement. He could now walk as long as someone supported him, and he could talk a little better. Mikey's behavior seemed to be unchanged to the family but he actually had gotten worse, he had his ways of keeping it hidden. But Splinter started to suspect something was wrong during training. He noticed that Mikey was having great difficulty in performing the moves, which was very unusual. Mikey was always the first to prefect a move he was the most athletic of his brothers. Splinter grew very concerned he knew something else was going on.

When training ended Splinter asked Mikey to remain in the dojo. When the other were out of hearing range Splinter sat down with Mikey.

"My son I am very concerned for you, I noticed you are not training like you use to," Mikey's gaze fell to the floor he knew he couldn't hide it much longer but he still had to try. "Tell me what is bothering you,"

"I-it's nothing Sensei, I'm fine," yeah like he'll believe that.

"Michelangelo, I demand that you tell me," Splinter said more sternly, he noticed that Mikey's hands were shaking slightly. Splinter reached out and gently took his sons hands. "My son, tell me,"

Mikey squeezed his eyes shut, "I-I…I can't,"

Splinter sighed when he did he caught a whiff of something that he couldn't decipher at the moment; he decided to let it be for now.

"Well, when you want to talk about it I will be here for you," Splinter made a mental note to keep a much closer eye on Mikey.

"Thanks Sensei,"

"You are dismissed," Mikey got up and went into the main room. The smell came back when Mikey walked passed Splinter. He sniffed the air, the smell was faint, and it smelled familiar but he couldn't tell what it was.

That night Splinter was having trouble sleeping, he had too many worries and unanswered questions in his mind. He got up and went into the kitchen to make himself some tea, to meditate to quiet his mind. While he was waiting for the water to boil he heard someone get up, he quietly walked to the kitchen door and peered out into the main room where he saw a figure walk out of the lair, he just barely saw the orange mask in the faint light coming from the kitchen. Splinter quickly turned the water off and went after Mikey.

He followed his son up to the rooftops where Mikey stopped. Splinter quietly got as close to Mikey as he could without being seen. He stayed crouched in the shadows and watched Mikey pull two small items from his belt. Splinter frowned in anger and disappointment when he saw Mikey pull out a cigarette and light it. Splinter came out from his hiding spot and went over to Mikey.

"Michelangelo!" said Splinter sternly Mikey jumped and spun around.

"Sensei! I uh…I can explain," Splinter held out his hand and Mikey gave the light cigarette along with the pack and lighter. Splinter threw the items off the building and they started to walk home. Neither of them spoke until they were underground.

"How mad are you?" said Mikey quietly.

Splinter stopped, the expression on his face answered Mikey's question, "I cannot believe that you would engage in such a disgusting habit," Splinter was silent for a moment "Why?"

Tears started falling down Mikey's cheeks "I just couldn't handle the guilt…I needed something to help me,"

"My son, you have me and your brothers to help you. Smoking may ease your stress but it does more damage than good. I expected you to know that," Mikey continued to cry quietly, Splinter wrapped his arm around Mikey's shoulder and they walked back to the lair in silence.

A/N: Chapter 4 will be posted shortly. Please Review :)