Hello! Thank you again to the people who favorite, follow and/or review! You keep me going! I wanted to add a little light since the last couple chapters have been a little...well...hectic for mikey. So enjoy c:

I can feel the lines of dried tears burning into my skin and my eyes are throbbing. I can't squeeze out another tear even if I want to. I stiffly lean back to look at my brother. His own cheeks show signs of crying, crying for his baby brother. Leo is silently watching me, confusion and concern sketch into his face. I take a deep breath to cool my senses.

After I stopped screaming, Donnie took some of my blood and went to work. My brothers decided I shouldn't be alone, so they are keeping a constant vigil on me. Right now it is Leo's turn.

I sat on the couch stiffly, my skin is still tingling but the pain has subdued to a light throb. Leo is standing in front of me, obviously wanting to talk. I see the wheels of his head turning, trying to put the right words together. I sighed

"Go ahead and ask."

"Can you tell me what you saw? If you can't I understand..." Leo crosses his arms and looks down at me with a stern gaze. He used to smile a lot more, he used to laugh and watch us brothers goof around. Sometimes he would join in. Something happened along the way that has hardened Leo to life. The leader inside is taking over, masking his emotions completely. His voice is commanding and his gazes are stern.

Except I still see the brotherly love inside those strong blue eyes. Leo would die for any of us in a heartbeat.

"It's hard to talk about Leo. I am not completely sure if it happened or not." I glance uneasily around the room, waiting for fire to pounce on me again.

Nothing.

Relief pounds through me, I begin to speak again.

"I had two other dreams before this one, as you can guess. The first one wasn't..terrible. It seemed like a usual nightmare. I was alone and it was dark." I am keeping as many details out as possible, I am afraid I will slip back into that world if I relive too much of my dream. I clear my throat, "The second one was worse...I was...being buried..alive. It was worse when I woke up, I am sure you remember." My lungs remember. They suck in air, hogging the oxygen.

It's okay Mike. Come on man, don't go crazy eyes again.

It takes me a minute to gain my composure and I focus on my words.

"I had a dream about...fire." the word rings in my ears, "I conquered it, I was escaping...then I woke up. When I came into the kitchen, the whole thing went up in flames. Including you." I felt my voice drop to a whisper and try to ignore the harsh fear that rolled in my stomach. My heart broke when Leo went in flames. I feel myself starting to tremble.

"It was so real Leo. All of a sudden fire was around me, it hurt. So much. I can still feel the burns on my skin. It had to have been real! You were burning and I just watched. Then all of a sudden I was burning. Burning. I thought we were dying Leo!" A new edge is in my voice, frustration. Anger. I am angry at what I saw, I am angry at what is happening to me; I can't stop it. I tried to stop it in my dream, but it followed me into my reality. My breathing is getting heavier, I realize it's from the anger. My eyes are glued to a spot on the floor, If I look anywhere else, I might see the laughing flames again. I might feel the room sucking in on me while I am being trapping. I might be alone, in the harsh cold darkness.

Suddenly I feel the cushion beneath me sink a little. A body is near mine and I look up to find those brotherly eyes. Leo then leans his forehead against mine, something he did when we were little.

"You are safe Otouto. I am not dead, I am very much alive, and so are you. It didn't happen, It wasn't' real" His voice was smooth and sweet, he smiled slightly and it made me smile. I turn his words around in my head. I knew Leo was fine, but hearing him say it eases a knot in my stomach. The back of my mind still pricking with fear but I ignore it.

"Why does it still hurt Leo? When I had nightmares in the past, it didn't hurt when I woke up. Not physically. I swear I should have burns all over my body! I can FEEL it. The pain is starting to go away slowly, but it still hurts. Why? I don't understand."

I said earlier that I can't squeeze out another tear, that I cried all them all out. But I guess I lied.

I felt one stream down my face. Great, I am crying again.

Leo pulls me into him and I am almost sitting on his lap. I remember all the times Leo pulled me into his lap and just hug me. Like when Raph yelled at me because he couldn't control his anger. Like whenever I got hurt and couldn't stop crying. Like whenever I felt like I wasn't good enough. It has been years since he's done this, but I miss it. I like leader Leo, I respect him, but I am seeing more of him and less of my brother. I miss my oldest brother.

When I spoke, my voice was soft and quiet, almost as If I was trying to whisper.

"Am I going crazy?"

I close my eyes lay my head on his shoulder. I felt Leo's head shake no, but before he could say anything, a rougher, deeper voice broke in.

"Mikey you've always been crazy."

I glance up at Raph standing in front of us, an amused gaze at the sight of me sitting in Leo's lap like we were five again. I pull away from Leo, but I secretly am wanting to jump back in his lap. I stare at the red masked turtle in front of me. His shoulders are proud and hunched back with a confident ease. His sais' are in his belt but he has his fingers looped around the handles, elbows slightly sticking out making a v shape on both sides of his body. His head is tilted slightly and a small smirk is shadowed on his face. Leo growls at his brother,

"You are not helping." He said and glares at Raph.

"Oh I'm sorry." He didn't really look sorry, "I meant to say that even if you are crazy, we still love ya." He gives me a wide smirk and shifts his weight to his other leg. Leo sighs and closes his eyes.

"hardee har har. Gosh, we need to work on your bed side manners." I rolled my eyes as if I am annoyed, but I'm not. I am grateful that Raph is acting normal, like what just happened didn't freak all of us out of our shells.

"This is a couch, not a bed." he added a slight pause, "Also you are not dying."

"How do you know?" I ask.

"Cause you aren't allowed to." His face twists into a cheeky smile. huh. you don't see a cheeky smile on Raph everyday. I feel my own smile brighten.

"Could have fooled me, Your the one who attempts to kill me daily."

"I am not the only one! There is no I in team Mike! Leo and Donnie make a good contribution too." Raph says and Leo tenses at the sound of his name.

"Hey! don't drag my good name into this!" Leo shouts but a large smile makes it's way onto his face. Ah, there's my big brother.

"I hate to admit it, but Raph has a point Leo! just the other day I recall you chasing me around the lair." I giggle and face my brother in blue.

"That's because you stole my Katana AND pretended to be me." Leo growls but he can't hide the laughter in his eyes.

"I was so good! I am a nominee for an Oscar." I say with a little dramatic flare.

"You sounded nothing like me!" Leo insisted. Raph lets out a hoot.

"ya, that's why Donnie and I were rolling on the ground laughing." Raph is beaming, he begins to laugh harder at the memory.

"oh shut up." Leo snaps but Raph keeps laughing.

"Your face haha it was so hahah funny" Raph bends over and holds onto his knees as he laughs. Leo's a mix between laughter and annoyance.

"I said," Leo shifted off the couch, "shut up!" Leo launches and lands on his little brother. They wrestle around a little, Leo begins to laugh and his eyes were bright with enjoyment. Now adays, it's hard to see them like this. When Raph isn't shouting out Leo, and Leo isn't trying to harden against the world. I hear myself starting to laugh out of pure joy as I watch from the couch.

I'm usually the turtle getting beat up, so from a bystanders point of view, I gotta say, it's hilarious.

Out of the corner of my eye, Donnie slides into view. His mouth tilts upwards as he watches the oldest two wrestling and laughing.

"whats going on?" He asks me with a growing smile. But before I can answer him, Leo grabs Donnie's ankle,

"You were laughing too!" Leo said as he pulls Don down. Donnie lets out a little yelp but is soon busy trying to fight his way out of Leo's death grip. I can feel the happiness bubbling through me, washing away all the fear and pain. I hear wave after wave of laughter escape from my mouth. This is what I need, just good old brother fun. For a second I forget about the dream, about the fire. I forget about my fear and the pain. I stand up on the arm of the couch, above the turtle pile. Donnie, somehow, became pinned to the bottom and Raph was thrown over him, shell facing up. Leo grins with triumph as he pushes down on Raph's shell, successfully trapping both of his brothers.

"HEY! Aren't you guys missing someone?" I feel a wicked grin go across my face. All three of my brothers stop and look above at me. All of their faces twist in a look of amused panic. I jump off and hold my arms out for a belly flop. I hear Donnie yell out from under the heap of turtles,

"NOOO"

but its too late and I land hard on Leo's plastron. I hear all of my brothers groan in pain as the new weight is added on. I grin smugly as I sit on top of Leo's shell.

Oh brothers, I would be lost without them.

OOO Sibling love! Theres a little stress reliever for ya Mikey. SO whatcha think? Review! c; Don't leave a girl hanging!