A/N No butt kicking yet, but it's coming. I promise.

When Leo awoke the next morning, he was a little perplexed to find himself in Raph's room. It wasn't that he'd never woken up here before; he had, usually after a nightmare had driven him from his sleep, and he'd sought his brother's presence to drive it away. But usually, those awakenings didn't include him being sandwiched between both Raph and Mikey. Besides, Leo couldn't recall the nightmare that had driven him from his own bed. Then, memory returned, and Leo knew why he was in Raph's room surrounded by his younger brothers. It wasn't because a nightmare had driven him out of his sleep, but because the demons of those nighttime terrors had come horrifyingly to life. Cuddling even closer and burying his head in his youngest brother's shell, Leo couldn't suppress the shiver than ran through him. Immediately, though, Leo felt a hand begin to rub soothing circles on his shell.

"Easy there, bro," Raph whispered as he in turn snuggled closer to Leo. "You're alright."

Being careful not to wake Mikey up, Leo turned over to face Raph, who immediately pulled him into a comforting hug. Tucking his head beneath Raph's chin, Leo whispered,

"I don't want them here."

"Then why did you invite them into our home," Raph asked, though his tone was much gentler than the accusing words would make it seem.

"I don't know," Leo confessed. "I guess I just wanted to prove that, just because they were horrible to me didn't mean I had to be the same way. Besides, I also wanted to rub it in their faces that I had found a place where I was happy and loved, and that I didn't need them anymore."

Raph allowed himself to smile at that admission. In his own way, Leo wanted revenge for what his former siblings had done to him; that was something Raph could get behind one hundred percent.

"Then let's show them what they're missing," Raph said. "We'll just go about our lives like they weren't here, until we can figure out how to get rid of them for good. As much as having that other know-it-all genius around irritates me, I figure having another Donny around can only mean they'll get the problem figured out twice as quickly."

Raph could almost feel Leo smiling against his plastron. "Yeah," he said softly, "in this case, two heads probably are better than one." Then Leo's voice became serious again. "I…I just don't want alone with them. At least, not immediately. I'm not ready."

"Already got that covered, bro," Raph reassured him. "Mikey, Donny, and me aren't going to let them get anywhere near you without one of us at your side. It's probably gonna get a little claustrophobic, but…"

"It'll be better than having to deal with them by myself," Leo said.

"That's not gonna happen," Raph said. "At least, not until Donny and I are convinced you're ready, which probably won't happen until several years after they've gone home."

Relieved for the moment that his brothers were watching his back, Leo nuzzled closer to his brother, content just to soak in the affection he was so freely being offered. The peace didn't last long, however, and the sounds of Donny and Mikey beginning to stir reached them.

"Oh," Leo groaned as he moved away from his brother. "I guess if we're going to keep things normal then that means morning practice."

"What's this," Raph teased as he too got up. "Leader Mine not wanting to practice? Gasp, I think the world is coming to an end."

Leo snatched one of the pillows off the bed and hurled it at Raph, expertly catching him in the face.

"Stuff it, you," Leo mock growled. "And what's with this the 'Leader Mine' business? I though I was 'Fearless Leader'?"

"You were," Raph agreed, "until I noticed how much the title bothered you. After that, Mikey, Donny and I decided we needed something else to call you. We decided that since you were definitely still the leader, and since you are my best friend, and our brother, we would put those two elements together. We thought about a couple of other options, but 'Leader Ours' didn't have the same ring, and 'Oh Captain, My Captain' (1) was too long to say."

Leo just looked at his brother in mystification for a moment before breaking out in laughter. "You nut," he said, but the smile on his face was all need Raph needed to see.

TMNTTMNT

Since it was Thursday morning it was Leo's turn to be in charge of morning practice. The brothers had barely started their stretches when three rather unwelcome figures rather hesitantly entered the dojo. To Raph's and his brothers' immense pleasure, Leo didn't even give the new arrivals a second glance.

"If you're going to join us," Leo said coolly without breaking his focus, "you had better get warmed up."

Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo gave him a startled look, but quickly took his advice. Once everyone was had stretched and warmed up, Leo led the group through a number of katas of increasing difficulty. To Raph, Donny, Mikey, and even Leo's amusement and glee, the three new turtles could not keep up through the final three katas. Raph smirked to himself. It seemed that these three, even with the guidance of their sensei, were not nearly as advanced as Leo, and by extension Leo's new family, who had been learning on their own for a year.

Following the katas, Leo changed the routine slightly. While normally he would have set the brothers to sparring in partners, today he only did so with Mikey and Raph. Raph glared at his brother and best friend, but Leo only gave him a knowing look. As familiar as Leo was with his younger brothers, he knew Raph and the others would be out for blood this morning if he partnered them up with their counterparts. Raph might have been irritated at being circumvented this way, if not for something in the look Leo gave him. When the time came, Leo would not interfere in the "lesson" Raph had planned for his brothers, but now was not the time. Giving his older brother a quick nod, Raph turned back to Mikey, and immediately took the offensive in their sparring match. He wasn't surprised when Mikey met him with equal fervor. Neither brother was happy at not being allowed to take out their aggression on their real targets, but for the moment, this would have to do.

Once Leo was certain Raph and Mikey would obey his directives, he led Donny over to where the other three turtles were waiting. Leo didn't fool himself into thinking that Donny was any less ready to teach the outsiders a lesson, Leo just knew Donny would have better control over himself, which is why Don was Leo's choice to assist in teaching the advances kata forms to the others.

Shutting his emotions away, Leo turned to the three turtles facing him and said, "All right, we're going to start with the first kata you threw had difficulty with this morning."

"And what if we don't want to work through some stupid kata," Raphael challenged, taking a step toward Leo. His progress was suddenly halted by a hard thump as Donny's bo-staff hit his plastron.

"Then feel free to leave," Donny said, getting in red-masked turtle's face. "Leo's in charge this morning. You follow his orders, or you leave. It's as simple as that."

Raphael grumbled, but fell back in line. Donny just shook his head and gave Leo a look. The look Leo sent back told him Raphael's behavior was nothing new to the older turtle. Donny was flabbergasted. If this was Raphael's normal temperament, it was no wonder Leo had come to them in the state he was a year ago. Living with that much hostility on a constant basis wouldn't do anyone any good.

Once certain his former brothers would actually pay attention, Leo and Donny went through the kata once, all the way through. Next, Leo had Donny perform the first few moves, and then had the other three attempt to copy him. Donny couldn't help but glow with pride as Leo was able to put aside his obvious fears and settle into the gentle but firm teaching mode Donny and his brothers had come to know so well over the past year. Leo was never harsh or critical when he corrected you, but neither would he let you get away with sloppiness. When Leo was certain his former brothers had the first half of the kata well in hand, he left them under Donny's watchful eye so that he could go join his other brothers in their sparring.

Fifteen minutes before the two hours were up, Donny called an end to the exercise, and set the unwanted visitors to stretching and cooling down. As the four turtles cooled down, they had the opportunity to watch as a weaponless Leo took on the very much armed Mikey. Donny almost smiled as Michelangelo gave an admiring whistle.

"He's good," Michelangelo said, watching as Leo neatly avoided a very complex attack from the whistling nunchucks.

"Which one," Donatello asked, his voice echoing his own appreciation.

"Both actually," his orange-clad brother said. "That last move? I still haven't mastered it yet. It also takes someone who knows exactly what they're doing to get away from it, and Leo wasn't anywhere near getting caught."

"Yeah, so what," Raphael grumbled. "It's just Leo showing off again."

Donny wanted so badly to hit the red-bedecked turtle, but he was surprised when his counterpart interceded instead.

"You know what, Raphael, I don't think so. Leo's good, we've always known that. But in the year he's been gone? I think he's gotten better, faster. And if you would stop feeling so threatened, maybe you could open your eyes and see that for once."

With Raphael sufficiently cowed, Donny was able to return his attention to his brothers on the practice floor. You don't know the half of it, he wanted to tell the trespassers. But just wait, you'll see.

(1) This is the title of a poem by Walt Whitman. I have no claim on it, I'm just borrowing it.