A/N Still not mine

A sad sense of nostalgia came over Raph as he listened to the chatter of his two younger brothers following behind him. If he closed his eyes and pretended hard enough, he could almost convince himself things were the way they used to be, and the brothers were merely returning from an evening topside. It almost worked, but not quite. No matter how hard he pretended, Raph was unable to forget their beloved father was dead, and their older brother was two years missing.

The truth of the matter was the nights like these were few and far between. Missing their sensei, and without Leo there to bind them together, the three remaining brothers were close to falling apart. Raph had done the best he could, but he was willing to admit he did not have Leo's touch for leadership. Nowadays, about the only time the brothers spent together was during their weekly outings to scavenge.

Raph was so caught up in his thoughts he did not see the figure lying on the floor until he tripped over it. Only his ingrained reflexes, honed by years of training, kept him from falling flat on his face.

"What the shell," he grumbled as he picked himself up.

"Raph, you okay," Donatello asked as he hurried to his brother's assistance.

"Yeah, fine," Raph said, dusting himself off. "What did I trip over?"

"More likes 'who,' dudes," Mikey said from behind them, his tone stunned.

"What are you talking about," Raph growled as he turned to face his youngest brother.

"Bro, you tripped over Leo," Mikey said.

"What," the two older turtles exclaimed in unison. They both rushed to where Mikey was kneeling. Sure enough, there was Leo, sprawled unconscious against the wall.

"Is he…"Mikey started to ask, but he could not finish the thought, uncertain whether he really wanted to know the answer.

Donatello reached to feel for the pulse at Leo's throat, only to have his touch hindered by the rope digging sharply into his brother's flesh. Immediately he tried to loosen the rope, but it wouldn't budge. Biting back a curse, Don shrugged out of his pack and began digging through it.

"Donny, what's going on," Raph demanded as he younger brother triumphantly pulled his pocketknife from the bag.

"He's got some sort of noose tied around his neck," Don explained as he carefully inserted the blade between the rope and Leo's throat. "It won't loosen, so…" Don gave a sharp tug on the knife, and the well-honed blade cut easily through the fibers of the rope. Dropping the knife, Don placed a hand against his brother's neck.

"Well," Mikey asked, growing concerned when his next older brother didn't say anything.

"I've found a pulse," Don exclaimed, causing his brothers to relax, slightly.

"Is he going to be okay," Mikey asked, still not quite ready to believe Leo wasn't going to disappear once more.

"He should be," Don assured him. "His throat will be sore and swollen for a couple of days, and I'll need to examine him to make sure he doesn't have any other injuries. Otherwise, I don't see why he wouldn't make a complete recovery."

"All right, then," Raph said, once more taking charge. "Don, give Mikey your stuff, and you go on ahead to make sure the infirmary is ready to go. Mikey, get the supplies put away and get some soup or something easy to swallow on the stove. Leo's going to need food in order to get better, but until his throat heals it will have to be soft foods for a while. I'll get Leo and meet you both back at the Lair."

For a moment, Mikey looked like he was going to protest, but a quick look from Don had him complying quietly instead. With his brothers on their way, Raph turned back to Leo. Although he knew their youngest sibling was loathe to let Leo out of his sight now that he had miraculously returned, Raph knew he was the best choice for getting their eldest brother home. While not the tallest of the brothers, Raph was by far the strongest.

Kneeling next the unconscious Leo, Raph eased an arm under his shoulders and knees. As he easily gained his feet, Raph was aghast at how much weight Leo had lost. While always leaner than his brothers, Leo had been solid muscle; that's what you got when you spent two thirds of the days practicing and exercising. Now, though, Leo felt like nothing more than skin and bones. Although he couldn't see well in the dim light of the sewer, Raph suspected Leo would look as bad as his lighter weight suggested. Wherever Leo had been these past few years, it hadn't been kind to him.

It didn't take long for Raph to reach the Lair. Without pause, he moved straight to the infirmary, where Don was waiting for him.

"Put him on the examining table," Don instructed his brother. "I want a better look at his throat, and I need to figure out what's causing the fever."

It was only as he was following his brother's instructions that it struck Raph that Don was right; Leo was covered in a cold, clammy sweat that usually indicated a fever. Stepping back out of the way, Raph let Don move in next the his patient.

With a gentle hand, Don tipped his brother's head back, letting the light shine on the rope burn around Leo's neck. Keeping his touch light, Donny carefully examined his brother's throat. To his relief, he felt nothing odd that might suggest a crushed trachea. That done, he tenderly bathed the bruised and broken skin with a cold cloth, before applying an antibiotic ointment and loosely bandaging the wound. Next, Donny began a more extensive examination of his brother. A closer look revealed no broken bones in any of his brother's limbs, though there were a number of bruises evident. Donny was about to admit defeat, when he discovered the wound his brother's shoulder, hidden beneath the edge of his shell. Donatello let out a soft curse as he got a good look at the infected cut.

"Donny, what is it," Raph asked.

"He has a cut on his shoulder, hidden under his shell," Don said as he began to clean the wound. "It looks like Leo, or someone, has been trying to treat it, but it's gotten infected; that's what's causing the fever."

"Is he going to be okay," Mikey asked from the door; neither brother had heard him come into the room.

"Yeah, he'll be okay," Don reassured him. "I just need to clean the cut up and give him a dose of antibiotics. A couple days of close care, and he'll be just fine."

Mind at ease, Mikey said, "Good, then while you're doing that, I'll fetch the blankets and the cots."

"The cots? Why," Raph asked.

"I don't know about you, but I don't plan on letting Leo out of my sight for a while," Mikey explained. "I figure it will just be easier on all of us if we just bunk down here." He then all but trotted out of the room. Don and Raph exchanged looks, and then Raph just shrugged and got up to help his youngest brother gather the necessary materials.