When I went to the kitchen to get a can of soda, I saw that the sink was full again.

"Oh cripes," I muttered, my hand exasperatedly slamming into my forehead. I washed the dishes. I washed my dishes. We don't really eat dinner together or anything anymore, so Raph and Mikey go ahead and make whatever they want (much to Sensei and I's chagrin). Unfortunately, I keep forgetting that they're both insufferable kids who don't think it's "cool" to wash the dishes after using them.

Forgetting about my soda, I went over to the sink and started doing something about the dirty dishes. We had enough strange creatures down here; didn't need the sewers to get anymore unsanitary than they already were. As the water flowed over my hands, I found that my mind began to wander. I hate it when it does that.

"Hey bro?" I looked up to see Michelangelo walking into the kitchen. He had been a little down since we started watching television, and it didn't take a genius to know why. Of course, being a genius surely helps. He had two bowls in his hands, and I could see that they once contained chocolate ice cream. "Mind if I add more to your load?"

I sighed. "Sure Mikey. Why not?" He said nothing as he put the bowls in the sink.

"So," he brought up quietly. "Leo didn't show."

Swallowing hard, I nodded my head. "Yeah, well… he probably couldn't find a flight back." I had meant for it to be a joke, but it seemed to fall flat. I spared Mikey a glance and saw that he didn't feel like laughing. Uh-oh. This could be serious. "Hey… you okay?"

His eyes rose to meet mine. Though we don't really know who was chronologically the eldest or the youngest, I had always looked at Mikey as the youngest brother, the one that we can always turn to for a fresh store of optimism. Though there's no reason to baby him since he's as good of a fighter as I am—if not better—I can't help but think that he needs to be protected. That thought went through my mind right now as I looked into his uncharacteristically sad eyes. "What if he doesn't come back?"

The question hit me hard. I had often wondered that myself, even before Leo's training period expired. I mean, how often do we get to go out and see the world? Maybe the jungles of Central America would make this dinghy little sewer look horrendously unappealing. Maybe there's more to life than leading your brothers into one fruitless battle after the other. After all, how often can you fight evil before you forget what you're fighting for?

"He'll come back," I answered nonetheless. "Honest. I mean, come on… it's Leo. Outside of Sensei, he's the only one in the world that we know will never let us down."

"What about Raph?"

I didn't answer right away. I felt that I didn't have to. It's been no secret that Raphael's disappointed me in his unwillingness to let go of his vigilante act. The Shredder was gone. Maybe crime wasn't slowing down, but New York City still had a police force, and they were the law. Now that we've succeeded in defeating our master's old enemy, why wouldn't Raphael just relax and lead the normal life we're entitled to? Well, as normal as it can be, at any rate?

"Yeah, what about Raph?" Mikey and I turned, seeing the brother in question leaning against the wall. One of his sai was out, and he was maneuvering it restlessly. "And think real good about your answer, techie."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Shutting off the water and drying my hands with a dishtowel, I replied, "I'll tell you what about Raph. Raph chooses to believe that just because the team is incomplete, we don't have to follow the rules of teamwork anymore. Raph prefers to sleep until three in the afternoon and then stay out until who-knows-when, fighting a battle that isn't his anymore. Raph thinks that it's more important that he gets his kicks from beating up bad guys instead of becoming a productive member of the workforce for the well-being of his family. How's that, Raph? Did I think 'good' enough for you?"

"Don't push it Donnie," he snarled, pointing his sai at me. "Don't push it. You think that just because Leo's gone, you get to play leader? You're the big bad now, is that it? Well let me tell ya somethin'. You're wrong. Smart as you are, you're wrong!"

"Wrong about what?" I queried, making sure to keep my voice down so I don't alert Sensei.

"Wrong about everything!" Raphael's voice bellowed out, apparently not taking the pains to think about anything other than releasing his own anger. Typical. "Wrong about me, wrong about Leo, and wrong about this not being our fight. This is our city, Donnie. It's always gonna be our fight."

"This is not 'our' city," I told him levelly. "We don't own it. We just live in it. Heck, we live below it. So we need to live below the radar, too. The only reason we came out of hiding last time was because the Shredder posed a much stronger danger than the police could handle. But now he's gone, and the Foot's disbanded-"

"Don't even play that game, Donnie," Raphael interrupted, storming towards me. "You've been watchin' the news as much as I have; you know that the Foot's still around: in spirit. The kids who left the Foot didn't leave their life of crime behind them. They're still out there, and we're sticking it out down here, sittin' on our asses as we wait for the chump who left us behind."

"Raph, I'm not having this conversation with you!" I was surprised by the harsh way the words burst out of my mouth. As trying as he can be, Raphael was still my brother. Leonardo wouldn't snap at him just because he got a little edgy. If that were the case, then Leo would have left the continent ages ago. "Fine, you're angry. Fine, you want to pick a fight. But that has nothing to do with the fact that you can't handle a little responsibility in the wake of Leo's absence! At least Mikey's willing to contribute so I'm not the only person providing for this family." Giving him my shell, I finished with, "Just because Leo was the leader doesn't mean we can't function without him."

"Oh, you took the words straight outta my mouth," Rapael growled darkly.

I could feel his eyes on me, but I said nothing. Finally, I reached over and turned the water back on, meaning to finish with the dishes. I heard Michelangelo sigh before he finally said, "I can use some more ice cream. Anybody want?" He received no answer as he looked into the cupboard just above me. "Huh? …where'd all the bowls go?"

"The sink, maybe?" I remarked sarcastically. Drying off one of the bowls I had just cleaned, I said, "Here, use this. Maybe if someone at least took it upon himself to help with the chores, we wouldn't be having a dishware shortage."

"Donatello!" I flinched when I heard Splinter's voice. Whirling around, I saw that he had entered the kitchen as Raphael sat at the table. "Sit!"

"But Sensei-"

"Sit!"

I gulped. Mikey took the bowl and was about to edge out of the room, but Splinter called him to the table, too. Resigned to a lecture, I shut the tap water off and joined Mikey and Raph at the table.

"I can understand the discontentment that exudes from you, my sons," Splinter told us, slowly pacing around behind us as he spoke. "But this animosity; that is what troubles me most. There are many reasons that may explain why Leonardo is not here at this very moment. I can only hope that none of them involve unforeseen violence. However, in his absence, you are still a family. You walk down different paths and choose to look in different directions, but there is no reason for you to not walk these paths together. Is that understood?"

The three of us muttered affirmations. Satisfied with this, Splinter said that he was going to turn in and bade us good night. When he was gone, Raphael stood up. I looked up at him. His eyes were downcast, but that rarely meant that he was remorseful. He was thinking. And when Raphael took the time to think about something, I find that I'm never wholly comfortable.

"I'm goin' out," he finally said. I stood up, asking him where. Putting his sai away, he answered, "I don't see how that concerns you, geek." Apparently not wanting to hear me put up my defenses, he peered at me over his shoulder. "Just going topside. That's all. Even us lazy, unsupportive types gotta get a breath 'a fresh air." Looking to Mikey, he asked, "You wanna come?"

"Sure!" Mikey said, standing up. I was about to profess my disapproval when he asked, "What about you, Don?"

I thought about it for a moment, but Raphael apparently made up my mind for me. "Nah, I'm thinkin' that Donerella's gotta finish her chores before she can go to the ball." A wry glance at him told me that he was joking. It wasn't like Raphael to suddenly become good-natured, so my guards were still up. "We're just gonna run around topside for a bit. You can join us later, if ya rather get the dishes outta the way."

I thought about it. Donerella. Not my favorite of nicknames, but since I knew that no one would do the chores unless I did, I couldn't help but agree. "Fine. Just be careful, okay? I might go out and join you; depends on how I feel when I'm done." I looked back at the pile of dishes, sarcastically stating, "I'm pretty sure I saw something moving in there, and the last thing we want are for any pests to crawl over us as we sleep."

"We don't need no pests," Raphael professed, slapping Michelangelo on the shell. "We got Mikey."

"Hey!" Mikey exclaimed, with a pout. Changing the subject as Raphael put an arm around his shoulders and led him out, Mikey asked, "Are we gonna go pick up Casey?" I couldn't hear Raphael's answer, though the pair offered me a wave before disappearing. Turning back to the sink, I wondered what Raphael was up to.

Knowing him as well as I did, I figured it couldn't be anything good.