A/N: Just to note, the things that have happened to this little girl have not happened to me, but something similar is happening in my life and this is my way of letting it out. I have grown up in an emotionally abusive household, so the feelings of this girl are pretty much my own. I have bad days, but for the most part I'm doing pretty well and am excited to turn 18 and leave this all behind me.

Enough pity partying. Please review! I know I'm weird, but I love to be criticized! It gives me something to work on!

Disclaimer: I (sadly) do not own TMNT

Leo did not have to wait very long for his brothers.

"What's the emergency bro?" Mikey reached Leo first. "What's that?" he pointed to the bundle Leo held in his arms.

Raph and Don came up next to him and they all looked at him expectantly. He unlatched his hold around the shivering body in his arms and all three of his brothers stared in shock.

"Leo, what the hell are you thinking? She's a little girl!" Raph hissed quietly, not wanting to wake her up.

Leo sighed at Raph's outburst. He didn't want to deal with it tonight, not after what he had seen. He motioned for Donnie to kneel next to him.

"She's soaked and shivering. I think she might have a fever. Take her back to the lair. Tell Sensei I will talk with him when I return. Take Mikey with you." He gently laid the girl into Don's outstretched arms.

"Where are you going?" he whispered.

"Raph needs to see something." Leo said, standing rain had slacked off, but a cold drizzle still fell from the sky. "Raph come with me. Mikey help Don."

"But," Mikey's puppy face didn't work on Leo, but he always tried just in case.

"Mikey, Don needs your help." Leo said firmly.

Mikey's face fell in annoyance, but then lit up mischievously. "Ugh, fine. But I get to name her!"

Leo smiled as they walked off to the nearest fire escape, Donnie explaining to Mikey how she already had a name and Mikey saying how he didn't care.

"What you want Leo?" Raph asked.

Leo said nothing, instead began running towards the apartment building the girl had come from, careful on the slick pavement. Raph sighed and ran after him, angry that Leo wouldn't answer him. Leo carefully dropped himself onto the fire escape after he was sure the cops weren't there yet. Raph fell in beside him.

"What Leo? It's cold and I wanna go back to da lair." He sneered.

Leo's face was somber, and Raph almost regretted being mad at him.

"Just look Raph." Leo said quietly, stepping out of the way so Raph could step inside. It was dark and it took a moment for Raph's eyes to adjust. When they did, he noticed the broken plates and cups on the floor, the tipped over chairs and dark patterns on the walls. He stepped up to the wall and confirmed that the patterns were splotches of blood. Shocked, he stumbled back and stepped on a soft, cold lump. He looked down, and saw a woman, eyes clouded and frozen in death. He gasped, and stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over a second, larger body.

"Dude, are these…?" Raph gulped, afraid to say the words.

Leo just nodded sadly. He motioned for Raph to join him and they began slowly making their way home. Leo felt void of all energy at seeing the horror in that room, and Raph didn't mind going slow either.

After a few minutes of silence, Raph spoke up. "Look bro, I'm sorry about getting mad earlier.

"It's okay." Leo knew how hard it was for his brother to apologize. It must have affected Raph just as much as it had himself. They walked the rest of the way in silence, comfortable with the unsaid assurance that they had each other. It was rare that the two were alone and not arguing and fighting, and Leo liked it, but all too soon they were removing the manhole cover near their home and entering the lair. Don and Mikey had put the girl on the couch, and scrounged as many blankets as they could find, leaving small mountain to cover the girl. Donnie was checking her pulse and temperature as Leo and Raph walked up, and Mikey suddenly appeared with a steaming bowl of water.

"Sensei wants you in his room, Leo." Mikey said quietly. Leo could tell he was curious about what he had shown Raph. Leo knew Raph would never reveal what he had seen or what had happened on his younger brothers, he cared about them too much. Leo was grateful that he and Raph were alike at least in that one aspect. Raph kneeled down beside Donnie as Leo walked towards his father's room.

"What can I help with, Donnie?" Leo heard him ask softly, and he could just imagine Don's and Mike's jaws dropping at Raph's sincerity and concern. Knowing what had happened to that poor little girl had really shaken him.

Leo hesitated before the rice paper door, not knowing what he was going to tell his father. He finally sighed and slowly opened the door. Soft yellow light from meditation candles were the only source of light in the room. Splinter's back was towards him, and Leo softly fell to his knees a few feet from the door.

"Sensei." Leo whispered, looking at the ground. A few moments passed, and Leo was worried that his father was mad at him. Finally, the furry rat turned around and sat facing his son.

"My son," he sighed, not knowing where to begin. "I would have expected you to think about the consequences of such actions before bringing a child into our home. You know the risks that come with such knowledge, especially when the knowledge is possessed by a child."

"Sensei," Leo began, but Splinter cut him off.

"No, my son, you have put us all in grave danger! The people above may not believe a little child, but what if one were to become curious and discover us? We would be torn apart, placed in laboratories, dissected." Splinter's voice remained low, but Leo flinched at every word.

"Sensei, please let me explain." When Splinter said nothing, Leo continued. "That little girl just lost both of her parents. While we were out on patrol, I heard gunshots and instinctively went to the source of the sound. What I saw there was enough to make me feel responsible to take care of that child. Ask Raphael. I showed him because he was also angry with me at protecting her. You see how shaken he is."

Splinter was quiet for a moment. "What happened to her parents, Leonardo?"

"Her father shot her mother, and then shot himself twice. That little girl was hiding in a closet when the shots fired, Master Splinter." Leo's voice became gruff and he blinked several times. Master Splinter's face revealed no expression, but Leo could tell he was shocked. Minutes passed. Splinter finally sighed.

"Go get dried off, Leonardo. And send Raphael in to speak with me. She may stay for the time being." Leo's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. As he walked out of Splinter's room, he thought of how different that conversation could have ended. Splinter was not one to throw a poor child out on the streets, Leo knew he was just worried for his family's safety, but he would have found a different way to get her out of the lair before she woke up. His three brothers were still huddled by the small form under the piles of blankets when he walked up to them.

"Raph, Splinter needs to talk to you." He whispered.

"'Kay." His red banded brother stood up and walked away. Donnie yawned and Mikey's eyes kept closing, then darting back open.

"You two go get some rest. I'll watch her for now."

"No, I can," Donnie yawned again. "make it."

"No you can't. Go sleep for a few hours. I'll wake you if anything happens." Leo pushed his brothers off in the direction of their rooms. Leo stifled a yawn as he watched them groggily stumble away. He turned back to the girl and experimentally placed a hand on her forehead. It was hot, but he had expected it to be, so it didn't surprise him. She was still shivering slightly, and Leo tugged the blankets closer to her face. He pulled the recliner to where, if he was laying down, he could still watch her. He made himself comfortable and laid down, exhausted from the day's traumatic events. Twenty minutes later, his eyes were closed, but he heard Sensei's door softly open and close. Raph's footsteps stopped for a moment right behind him, but then he walked to his own room.

An hour passed, then two. It was nearing four o'clock when the girl began to move and shift. Leo immediately sat up and checked to make she was still breathing. He placed a hand on her wrist after digging it out of the covers, but he froze when her eyes popped open. At first she looked straight up at the ceiling, and then her eyes wandered around, taking in her surroundings. Finally, hers met his and he held his breath as her eyes widened, waiting for the scream.

But then her head cocked to one side and her face twisted in puzzlement.

"Hi."